Mary Kay Carson
May 2014 Talent Spotlight
 
"I feel like fiction tells universal truths and nonfiction tells specific truths. We need both kinds." - Mary Kay Carson

Our May spotlight celebrates nonfiction children's book author Mary Kay Carson. She's written over 50 books, and her latest book Park Scientists: Gila Monsters, Geysers, and Grizzly Bears in America's Own Backyard [HMH Books for Young Readers, $18.99 hc] has earned a starred review from School Library Journal. Some of her other books include Beyond the Solar System: Exploring Galaxies, Black Holes, Alien Planets, and More; A History with 21 Activities [Chicago Review Press, $18.95 hc], and Why Does Earth Spin? And Other Questions about Our Planet [Sterling, $12.95 hc].
 
Carson's talent, advice, and knowledge is treasured. Friend and fellow author Emma Carlson Berne says, "Mary Kay has always struck me as the very definition of a writing professional. She is serious about her research and writing standards, never talks down to her readers, and cherishes the subjects she chooses. But at the same time, she always manages to keep her sense of humor about a job and a field that can be tough on the nerves. I'm not as far along in my career as Mary Kay, and I've always valued her advice and guidance, both of which she offers freely."
 
Q: Your new book, Park Scientists, is all about the U.S. National Parks. How many national parks have you visited and which is your favorite?
A: You inspired me to count them up, and I've visited exactly half of America's 58 national parks. In case you're wondering which ones, they are: Arches, Big Bend, Biscayne, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Bryce, Canyonlands, Carlsbad Caverns, Cuyahoga Valley, Everglades, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, Hawaii Volcanoes, Joshua Tree, Mammoth Cave, Olympic, Petrified Forest, Rocky Mountains, Saguaro, Sequoia, Virgin Islands, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Zion.
 


Choosing a favorite among them is tricky, because I like different aspects of each. Watching red-hot lava pour into the sea at Hawaii Volcanoes N.P. was a real bucket-list experience. And we've been to Saguaro, Great Smoky Mountains, and Rocky Mountains National Parks enough times to have favorite hikes and must-see stops. But I'd never been to Yellowstone N.P. before writing Park Scientists and it really blew me away. The geysers and hot springs are otherworldly, and the wildlife density is like nothing I've seen except in the Serengeti. We saw bison, elk, and antelope herds as well as grizzly and black bears and wolves.
 
Q: What is the best part of the writing process for you? The worst?
A: The most enjoyable part of the writing process for me is usually the research, which is fortunate since that's what nonfiction writers spend most of their time doing. It's fun to learn about new things, talk to interesting people, and especially visit amazing places like I got to do for the Scientists in the Field books. Knowing that you're going to write about a place heightens your senses. You pay attention to smells, sounds, and little details that might make it into your manuscript.
 
I'd say the worst part of the writing process, or at least the hardest part, is getting out a first draft of the manuscript. It's just not fun for me. It takes an enormous amount of mental energy and focus, which is pretty exhausting. I'm embarrassed to admit that the old Dorothy Parker quote, "I hate writing, I love having written," often rings true for me.
 
Q: What are the pros and cons of writing nonfiction?
A: I've only ever published nonfiction, so my experiences with writing fiction are pretty limited. But, in general, I think nonfiction is a good match for people who enjoy research, though plenty of fiction writers do quite a lot of research as well.
 
As far as the business end of it all, I think, in general, nonfiction can be easier to break


into than fiction. Science topics especially are in need of continual updating, so there is a market there.
 
As far as negatives go, writing nonfiction isn't as prestigious as fiction. It's harder to get an agent because there's little chance of a Harry Potter blockbuster-type book or lucrative movie rights in nonfiction. Nonfiction authors sometimes complain of being second-class citizens in the children's literature world, but I came from a science and journalism background, so I don't feel that. Fiction and nonfiction are different and do different things. I feel like fiction tells universal truths and nonfiction tells specific truths. We need both kinds.
 
Q: When did you know that you wanted to be a writer?
A: I wasn't a kid who wrote stories or even kept a journal. I didn't write for the school newspaper and I only took the minimum required English courses in college! I was a science major, so I had a full plate. I didn't really become interested in writing until I was serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in my early 20s. Living without electricity, telephones, running water, or plumbing makes one appreciate letter writing. I started a science-writing graduate school program at New York University after leaving the Peace Corps. It seemed like a good combination of my interest in science and writing skills. From there I got a job working on SuperScience magazine at Scholastic, and 20+ years later I'm still writing for kids.
 
Q: What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
A: Everyone says to write what you know, but I think it's also really important to know the writer (i.e. yourself)! I meet a lot of people who want to be writers, but are frustrated by not knowing what to write or how to find the time, etc. Writing can be a difficult and solitary endeavor, one that often depends only on the writer's own motivation. So it's important to know what motivates you, why you want to do this exactly, and what you're hoping to accomplish. Why am I the person to write this story or essay or investigate this topic? Why me instead of anyone else? Figure that out, and you'll be on your way.
 
Q: What is your favorite book that you've read?
A: I'm a big speculative fiction and science fiction reader, and loved it as a kid, too, as well as adventure/survival books like Julie and Wolves, Island of the Blue Dolphins, and My Side of the Mountain. The Giver by Lois Lowry is an all-time favorite. (I hope the movie doesn't ruin it!) The last really terrific adult book I read is The Dog Stars by Peter Heller, but it's not kid-friendly! Heller is a well-known nonfiction writer and it was his first novel. So maybe there's hope for me, too!
 


Q: What is your favorite book that you've written?
A: Emi and the Rhino Scientist holds a very special place in my heart. It's the story of Terri Roth's work at the Cincinnati Zoo to help a very rare Sumatran rhino named Emi have a calf. I have some strong ties with folks at the Zoo and Emi has since passed away, so the book means a lot. Plus it was the first book I ever got published "out of the slush pile," the first that my husband and I had a joint contract for, and I got my first starred reviews with it.
 
Q: What's the weirdest experience you've had writing non-fiction? The neatest?
A: The most bizarre experience I've had was going into Bracken Bat Cave in Texas for The Bat Scientists book. Bracken Bat Cave is the largest colony of mammals in the world. It's the summer home of 20 million Mexican free-tailed bat mothers and their pups. The concentration of bats is so high that you have to wear a respirator over your mouth and nose to protect your throat and lungs from toxic ammonia fumes created by so much bat guano. It's 115 degrees Fahrenheit inside, and you need to wear rubber boots because you walk through mounds of sandy guano roiling with biting beetles that eat the guano as well as any fallen bats. Little baby bat skeletons litter the shifting floor. I had bad dreams for weeks!


 
Oddly enough, one of the neatest experiences was at the same cave - but on the outside. Watching all the bats come out of the cave as the sun was setting was awe-inspiring. It's like a living tornado of spiraling bats coming out and going up into the sky and making a ribbon of bats all the way to the horizon. And it goes on for hours. It's something I'll never forget.
 
Q: What is it like working with your husband as your photographer?
A: I feel very fortunate to be able to work with my husband, Tom Uhlman. He's a fantastic photographer. When we're on site together and he's taking pictures and I'm perhaps interviewing someone, I don't even think about what he's photographing. I'm 100% certain he'll find and capture the perfect images to go with the text. It's really terrific to be able to trust someone like that. Traveling to fun places together is a treat, too. We both are self-employed and work out of our home so we spend lots of time together, something I know other couples struggle with. Of course, we also get on each other's nerves, argue about the TV being too loud, and don't agree on what constitutes suitable camping weather, but I wouldn't trade working with him for anything.
 


Q: What is your favorite thing about being a writer?
A: Always learning and moving on to new things, I'd say. One of the best parts about writing books is that you delve in, soak up lots of information and experiences, painfully give birth to a manuscript, and then move onto something new. So about the time I'm tired of thinking about bats, say, I start researching Pluto. I like juggling projects that way. It keeps things fresh and helps me get unstuck sometimes. The other thing I really like about being a freelance writer is setting my own flexible work schedule. If it's a beautiful day and it's going to rain all weekend, I go for a bike ride today.
 
Q: How did your dog, Ruby, get a reputation as a "wonder beagle"?
A: It was declared so by us! Tom never liked dogs and I sort of knew going into the marriage that I'd likely never get to have a dog, so when Ruby won his heart it was truly a wonder.
 
Q: What is your favorite branch of science?
A: I majored in biology in college, specifically ecology and systematics (classification), and I am still a big animal, nature, and outdoorsy person, but writing so many books about the planets and stars has really turned me into a space geek. There's so much currently going on, so much being discovered in the universe, and so many missions within our solar system that it's an amazing field to be part of right now. My next big book project is a Scientists in the Field book about New Horizons, the first ever mission to Pluto. It launched in 2006 and will finally get to Pluto next summer. How cool is that?
 
To get more information about Mary Kay Carson and her work, you can visit her website at www.marykaycarson.com. For available copies of her work, please contact us. You can call us at (859) 781-0602, email us at [email protected], or visit us at the store.
 
Written by Eileen B. of The Marble Society