Mary Lynn

Since I was old enough to hold a pencil and put it to paper, I have written. Words, stories and places come to me as old friends, whispering to me of possibilities and story lines. Characters, ethereal figures who tell me of their lives, hopes, dreams and fears, are as real to me as my own children. They wake me in the night, tug at my coat on the street, sit beside me in the car and beg me to chronicle their stories and I listen. 

The stories I write are real life situations. Though they are fictional, they are never made up. Tough, gritty and raw, life is full of pain, sorrow and heartache, yet it is also rich with beauty and it is the stories of people overcoming the worst they encounter that inspires me to create. I enjoy learning about history, any form of history, whether very personal or an event that has shaped a country. I have learned over the years to pay attention to the world around me and by doing so, I have been fortunate enough to glean touching stories to write about. 

I am a mother of three grown children who have blessed me with four granddaughters. I reside in Northern Illinois with my husband, two cats, Bailey Reginald and Chester Obadiah and our two birds, Georg and Liesl.