Come on, you know Mary, right? She’s the author of several novels, and she teaches outstanding workshops, online and in person. I was Grasshopper for her online workshop January 2007, "Plotting with the Mythic Structure," aka the Hero’s Journey, and I gave her an acknowledgment for it in Camp Follower.

Last Saturday, I finally got the opportunity to meet Mary in person when she came to Raleigh to teach “Plotting with the Mythic Structure” to the Heart of Carolina Romance Writers. We met briefly before the workshop started, and I gave her an autographed copy of Camp Follower. That night, after she’d eaten dinner and returned to her hotel, she called and invited me to drive over and chat with her. And chat we did, for about two hours in the hotel bar.

How many more excellent workshops will Mary be teaching? Hmm, she wants to return to her fiction, and switching between writing and teaching modes is difficult. She sure has some intriguing, unique ideas for fiction, and I cannot wait to read the novels that come from all that. Like me, Mary enjoys the challenge of exposing readers to a protagonist that they’ve been historically or culturally conditioned to dislike, then making readers like that character. Fun! Mary is constantly analyzing what she’s read, especially series, to find out what works and what bombs. She talked about rereading two series that she’d enjoyed on the first pass, comparing them, and discovering that one no longer held up. Seems a book or series has staying power when the themes in it rise above any novelty setting, plot, or characterization the author introduces. Gimmicky books fail this test. And Mary also plugged for Margie Lawson’s workshops. In case you didn’t hear my victory whoop in my posts about Moonlight & Magnolias, I’ll stump for Margie’s workshops again: “The EDITS System,” and “Power Up Emotion.”

But Mary and I talked about lots more than just “shop.” Personal baggage inspires each of us to write what we write. She and I exchanged some of those stories. I’m beginning to wonder whether all of us Baby Boomers had the same parents, teachers, authority figures: fire-hardened in the Great Depression.

You know, Mary didn’t have to invite me over last Saturday night. She had a red-eye flight out of Raleigh the next morning, was exhausted after teaching all day, and thought she was coming down with a cold. I wouldn’t have blamed her if she’d just chatted on the phone with me a few minutes. But Mary Buckham in person goes above and beyond what we expect, just as she does for students online.

Sign up for her workshops. Catch her in person when she comes to town.

Having met a Master, Grasshopper is honored and humbled — and looks forward to meeting her again.

**********

Did you like what you read? Learn about downloads, discounts, and special offers from Relevant History authors and Suzanne Adair. Subscribe to Suzanne’s free newsletter.