Our guest today is Mary Maurice. Welcome!

I’m happy to host Mary Maurice today, author of Burtrum Lee, a scientific mystery, during her WOW! Women on Writing blog tour. Also, Mary has shared her thoughts on “keeping readers engaged,” especially for our Choices readers. Thanks so much, Mary, for your interesting ideas for engaging your readers.

Keeping Readers Engaged

by Mary Maurice

First and foremost, I try to get the reader’s attention with a good title, and then I reel them in with a semi-hypnotic rhythm, while making sure that there are no stump-words. (words that are complicated, making the reader stop and go over the sentence again, losing the momentum that you’re trying to achieve).

Speaking from experience, when I come upon a word I have to think about, most times I set the book down soon after, and sometimes never return to it. Simplicity is a key, as well as colorful and spicy words. I have a box of Crayola’s on my desk which I use for descriptive detail, as well as fruit colors, and anything else to captivate the imagination. I try to keep the chapters short, and throw in clever words here and there to keep the text alive.

But the most important thing is an interesting story, without one, no matter how good the writing is, the chances of disengaging the reader are greater.

Have I engaged you?

About Burtrum Lee:

Coated with a life of lies and deceit, Burtrum Lee Conner is sick to her stomach. Dozens of times throughout her life the feeling of not being who she is has tormented her. But she kept it to herself, believing that maybe it’s just a chemical imbalance of some kind considering she is one of the first artificially-inseminated babies of the nineteen sixties. Now, there’s more though, something much deeper, much more maniacal than she could have ever imagined. She’s not the first test tube baby at all, but the first¦.

Burtrum Lee Conner, born into a world of scientific mystery, discovers that the life she’s been leading for the past forty years, is the wrong one. Her parent’s Jed and Jane Conner, stealing her as an infant, brought Lee up as their own. Even her devoted grandmother, Clair Conner, kept this secret close to her chest until they were found out. And now, Lee Conner’s biological mother, Katie Lee, wants her back, but not before the diabolical Dr. Stone has his say.

Paperback: 219 pages
Genre: Scientific Mystery
Publisher: Silver Leaf Books LLC (August 28, 2017)
ASIN: B07576YGKS

Burtrum Lee is available in ebook and in print on Amazon and Goodreads 

About the Author:

When I was a child growing up in the Detroit area, I thought I wanted to be a painter, and then as a teenager the idea of being a musician intrigued me, then as a young adult, I realized that I’m a writer.

After attending Western Michigan University for two party filled years, I decided to leave academia and explore the real world to learn what life is truly about. For fifteen years I’ve traveled the country working in restaurants, writing and doing readings wherever I was welcome.

While living in Minneapolis during my twenties, I was fortunate enough to be tutored by Dr. Jonis Agee, who was at the time head of the creative writing department at St. Catherine’s College in St. Paul. Her lessons were imprinted in me for all of these years, and have influenced my writing ever since.

My adventures landed me in San Diego, Chicago, San Francisco, and Oregon, finally leading me to the Land of Enchantment where I’ve resided since 1994. Living in Santa Fe, and the beauty and isolation that surrounds me, has inspire my creative muse in ways that no other place has. While still working in the hospitality industry, my passion for the craft of writing has never been stronger. And I know with each sentence I write, and every paragraph I compose, my ultimate goal is to find the perfect word.

Keep on bookin!

Find Mary Online:

Website: http://www.marymaurice.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marymauriceauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MMauriceAuthor

Thanks again, Mary. We wish you huge success on your book. Keep on writing!