Mary Kay Andrews is the New York Times bestselling author of 24 novels including THE WEEKENDERS, BEACH TOWN, LADIES’ NIGHT, SUMMER RENTAL, DEEP DISH and HISSY FIT.
A native of St. Petersburg, Florida, she received a B.A. in journalism from The University of Georgia. After a 14-year career working as a reporter at newspapers including The Savannah Morning News, The Marietta Journal and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where she spent the final ten years of her career, she left journalism in 1991 to write fiction.
Her first novel, EVERY CROOKED NANNY, was published in 1992 by HarperCollins Publishers. She went on to write ten critically acclaimed mysteries under her real name, Kathy Hogan Trocheck. In 2002, she assumed the pen name Mary Kay Andrews with the publication of SAVANNAH BLUES. In 2006, HISSY FIT became her first New York Times bestseller, followed by eleven more New York Times, USA Today and Publisher’s Weekly bestsellers. To date, her novels have been published in German, Italian, Polish, Slovenian, Hungarian, Dutch, Czech and Japanese.
She is married to her high school sweetheart, Tom Trocheck, with whom she has a 40-year (and counting) collaboration yielding two grown children, two adorable grandchildren and countless memorable kitchen experiences. She and her family divide their time between Atlanta and Tybee Island, where they cook up new recipes in two restored beach homes, The Breeze Inn and Ebbtide, both named after fictional places in Mary Kay’s novels. In between cooking and plotting her next novel, Mary Kay is an intrepid treasure hunter whose favorite pastime is junking and fixing up old houses.
Visit Mary Kay online:
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Pinterest
Pull up a lounge chair and have a cocktail at Sunset Beach – it comes with a twist.
Drue Campbell’s life is adrift. Out of a job and down on her luck, life doesn’t seem to be getting any better when her estranged father, Brice Campbell, a flamboyant personal injury attorney, shows up at her mother’s funeral after a twenty-year absence. Worse, he’s remarried – to Drue’s eighth grade frenemy, Wendy, now his office manager. And they’re offering her a job.
It seems like the job from hell, but the offer is sweetened by the news of her inheritance – her grandparents’ beach bungalow in the sleepy town of Sunset Beach, a charming but storm-damaged eyesore now surrounded by waterfront McMansions.
With no other prospects, Drue begrudgingly joins the firm, spending her days screening out the grifters whose phone calls flood the law office. Working with Wendy is no picnic either. But when a suspicious death at an exclusive beach resort nearby exposes possible corruption at her father’s firm, she goes from unwilling cubicle rat to unwitting investigator, and is drawn into a case that may – or may not – involve her father. With an office romance building, a decades-old missing persons case re-opened, and a cottage in rehab, one thing is for sure at Sunset Beach: there’s a storm on the horizon.
Sunset Beach is a compelling ride, full of Mary Kay Andrews' signature wit, heart, and charm. (Courtesy of Amazon.)
How is Drue similar to or different from you?
Drue's so different from me in so many ways. She's prickly and distrustful and has intimacy issues, along with a wide stubborn streak. And she's an athlete! Which I'm not. But in other ways we're alike, strong, resilient and resourceful. We both hate any kind of injustice and tend to root for the underdog.
What were the most challenging and rewarding parts of writing Sunset Beach?
Figuring out the puzzle behind the intertwining mysteries was definitely a challenge, as was gaining an understanding of personal injury law and making it relatable to my readers. The rewarding part was writing a story set in my hometown and creating a character like Drue, who is capable of change. I also really enjoyed writing the 1970's-set scenes.
If Sunset Beach were made into a movie, who would play the lead roles?
Maybe Michelle Rodriguez for Drue. For Brice, John Slattery, for Jonah, Will Arnett
What are some must-have items in your beach bag?
Sunblock and sunglasses. A thermos of icy drinks. Glossy magazines. My smart phone so I can scroll social media and listen to my beach playlist on Pandora or Spotify.
What is the funniest thing you have seen or heard recently?
It's a tie between Randy Rainbow's hilarious parody songs and @PoochofNYC on Instagram, which showcases an adorable dog named Agador all dressed up and all about town.
Which TV series are you currently binge watching?
Season five of Bosch on Amazon.
Thanks to Mary Kay for visiting with us and Tandem Literary for sharing her book with our readers.
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