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mvw888

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first registered 25.03.10

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about me

Thanks to the wonderful authonomy community for your feedback and support of The Qualities of Wood. I've posted a bit of my new project, and I'd love your feedback.

The Qualities of Wood is now available for purchase. I'm very proud that my book is the first representing the authonomy imprint!

Please visit my website at maryvenselwhite.com for more information about the book and future projects.

I am a full-time mother of four and writer living in southern California.

My favorite current reads on authonomy:

Pascual's Birthday - Diana Henderson
undo redo - David Breitling
Daisychains of Silence - Catherine MacLeod
A Shirtful of Frogs - Shalini Boland
Master of the Miracles - bunderful
The Doctor of Summitville - Bill Carrigan
The Bosphorus Dreams - Nicole Ellis
Nothing You Can Do - G E Fordson
Last Days of the Transitional Objects Institute - Andrea Levin
Last Things - John Squires
Notes on an Orange Burial - Greg Levin
Walk to Paradise Garden - John B. Campbell
Luminous Dark - Ross Clark
Death and the Tango in Madeira - Jim Williams

favourite books

Lolita, Anna Karenina, Out Stealing Horses, The Remains of the Day, The Book Thief, The Cave, Gilead, Winesburg, Ohio, The Time Traveler's Wife, The Great Gatsby, Plainsong, Walking into the Night, The Sea

my websites

http://maryvenselwhite.com    

HarperCollins is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Self-publish with CreateSpace

my books

Fortress for One

Mary Vensel White

Gina H. lives alone. She has her comforts, her routines. What happens one rainy weekend when the outside world intrudes, forcing Gina out?


Gina has a reliable job, a modest condominium, a new car. Over the course of two days in March, her orderly life is disrupted by a co-worker who insists that she meet an eligible suitor, and by a pushy neighbor who won't leave her alone. A hand-delivered manila envelope contains information that will force Gina to reevaluate the past, while a choppy voicemail message propels her toward a much different future.

 

The Qualities of Wood

Mary Vensel White

A girl is found in the woods and a tangle of secrets unravels. Can Vivian trust her impressions? Can she trust anyone?


"The heart of another is a dark forest, always, no matter how close it has been to one’s own." --Willa Cather

When Vivian and her husband Nowell are enlisted to prepare his late grandmother’s house for sale, they decide to take a break from city life. Nowell leaves before his wife to begin work on his second mystery novel, and by the time Vivian joins him in the country, a real mystery has begun. A local girl has died in the woods behind the house. Nowell’s brother, a shiftless and rough sort, arrives with his new wife, and details begin to emerge about the girl. Vivian is enmeshed, even after the death is ruled an accident. She can't forget it, can't ignore the strange behavior of the lonely bachelor who lives nearby. Meanwhile, her marriage is unraveling as Nowell loses himself in his work and Vivian seeks purpose and truth.

The Qualities of Wood is about the things we tell and sell ourselves to get by. It’s about impressions about the past and present, and whether they can be trusted. And it’s about the difficulty of relationships and the subjectivity that makes us uniquely human.

 

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latest

fledglingowl wrote 1 day ago

Mary, Congratulations on being published. Proud to be on the same si....

Cecily Macintyre wrote 2 days ago

searing critique will follow! x

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my comments

latest

I wrote 23 days ago

Well thank goodness for Aunt Sadie, a beacon of reasonableness in a sea of skewed perspective. I thought it was a clever way to start the story, with Julia submerged in bath and steamy romance, avoiding her life so much so that she's forgotten to fetch her children. This made me lose much empathy wi... view book

I wrote 23 days ago

This is truly wonderful, and worthy of the accolades you've received here. From the first scene, where you begin with Tara's perspective then pan out to a broader view of the horrific incident, an entire world is introduced with its cast of characters, stepping forward at perfectly chosen times to b... view book

I wrote 46 days ago

Just what good chick lit should be in my unseasoned opinion--funny, snarky, irreverent. This was a most enjoyable read. I like the set-up, with the deceased but famous husband, the fish-out-of-water aspect and for originality, the game and what that will eventually mean to the fledging relationship.... view book

I wrote 57 days ago

The most gripping thing I have read in some time. From the first sentence, I was immersed in the mind of your character and the setting expanded from there--the cell, the immediate situation, the visitors introducing Dublin/outside. And then the disturbing glimpse at a childhood action--you have pro... view book

I wrote 73 days ago

I loved your short pitch - it made me laugh and it really gives the flavor of the rest, I think. Very engaging voice and definable characters. That's really important, I think, setting up your supporting cast for something like this, sort of a buddy story, maybe The Hangover meets Guy Ritchie :). Bu... view book

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