Costco Connection - June 2012

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Mary Kay Andrews’ fan base is no mystery
An escape into real life

FRANCE FREEMAN

By Judi Ketteler

AFTER WRITING a highly successful mystery series featuring Callahan Garrity, Kathy Trocheck found herself thinking about a new kind of story—a story about relationships and place—that wouldn’t be part of a series. “But I realized that my readers didn’t want a Kathy Trocheck book that didn’t feature Callahan,” says Trocheck, who first decided to adopt the pseudonym Mary Kay Andrews to write the book Savannah Blues.

BILL MILES

Kathy Trocheck,
aka Mary Kay
Andrews

Eight books later, writing as Mary Kay Andrews, Trocheck has found a strong niche in women’s fiction. Her latest book, Spring Fever, was just released this month. Although they’re branded as women’s fiction, the Mary Kay Andrews books haven’t left mystery behind altogether. In fact, Andrews’ books often have a mystery element (perhaps a juicy secret revealed at the end, as in Spring Fever). However, they rely less heavily on plot elements and more on the characters’ relationships with each other. “The recurring theme in all of my work is our search for home and a relationship that lasts,” Trocheck says.

Real-world heroines

The women’s fiction category is crowded these days, but, writing as Andrews, Trocheck has built a base of readers because of how relatable her characters are. “My books are like an escape hatch. The covers are colorful, designed to draw you in and be fun. It’s all about snatching an hour for yourself after a busy day,” she says.

What you won’t find in Spring Fever: endless shoe shopping or cocktail drinking. Her characters are more likely to enjoy pulled pork sandwiches and sweet tea at the local greasy spoon, and have to deal with much less glamorous things, such as the day-to-day trials of a job. In fact, Annajane Hudgens, the protagonist in Spring Fever, works in the marketing department of a family-owned regional soft drink company. Trocheck did research by spending time with a real-life North Carolina company with a sim-

COSTCO HAS 50 SIGNED COPIES of Mary Kay Andrews’ Spring Fever to give away. To enter, search for “JuneBookPick” on Costco.com and follow the instructions. Or print your name, address and daytime phone number on a postcard or letter and send it to: Mary Kay Andrews, The Costco Connection, P.O. Box 34088, Seattle, WA 98124-1088.

ilar profile, and doing homework on what someone with Annajane’s job would have to deal with daily. “It’s important to know how things actually work,” she tells The Connection. Readers relate to Hudgens not only because she comes across as a real person with real problems, but also because of the conflict she’s working against. “There always has to be somebody opposing what your character wants out of life, whether it’s the other woman, an evil boss or truly a criminal,” Trocheck says. In Spring Fever, it’s the sleek, beautiful and deceptive Celia who stands in the way of Annajane snagging her man.

In a genre often accused of having flat characters, Trocheck really takes time to think about character motivation. That’s where her journalism background comes in. Before she wrote either mysteries or women’s fiction, she spent 10 years covering hard news and crime for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

A new life for old books

Because of the success of the Mary Kay Andrews
books, a whole group of readers is now interested in
Trocheck’s earlier body of work. Several of her out-
of-print mysteries are about to be brought back into
print as e-books. Also, HarperCollins will be re-
releasing the Kathy Trocheck books as Mary Kay
Andrews ones, with new covers. Trocheck says, “It’s
exciting, because those books will get a second life.”
Trocheck relates to her readers in many ways,
including her love of what she calls “junking.” She
even has tips for junking on her site. “I love history,
old things and anything vintage,” she says. She often
communicates with her readers via social media
about antique shows she attends. “I’m not a lady in
a tiara with a feather pen,” she says. “I’m just like my
readers—doing the same things that they do.”
And just like her readers, she wants a happy
ending. “You always get a happy ending with my
books,” Trocheck says. “I want to create a big juicy
peach of a book that readers will want to take a bite
out of, and when they turn that last page, they’ll sigh
and wish they could do it again.” C

Judi Ketteler ( judiketteler.com) lives in Cincinnati.

She tells stories for a living, and is the author of

Sew Retro (Voyageur Press, 2010).

NO PURCHASE, PAYMENT OR OPT-IN OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS SWEEPSTAKES.

Purchase will not improve odds of winning. Sweepstakes is sponsored by Macmillan, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, N Y 10010. Open to legal residents of the U.S. (except Puerto Rico) who are age 18 or older at the time of entry. One entry per household. Entries must be received by July

1, 2012. Winners will be randomly selected and noti;ed by mail on or before August 1, 2012. The value of the prize is $25.99. Void where prohibited. Winners are responsible for all applicable federal, state and local taxes. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received.

Employees of Costco or Macmillan and their families are not eligible.

WITH JUNE heralding the of;cial start of summer, friends and fellow readers keep asking me for beach-read suggestions. This year the title that’s rolling off my lips is Mary Kay Andrews’

Spring Fever.

Annajane Hudgens is four years divorced and seemingly over her ex, Mason Bayless. In fact, she’s engaged and ready to leave the small town that holds so much of her history. But when Mason’s second marriage is stopped as his intended walks down the aisle with someone else, Annajane wonders if she’s been given a second chance.

Oozing with Southern charm and packed with delightful characters, this is a go-to summer book. In fact, only one thing could make it any more enjoyable: reading it while sitting on a rambling front porch and sipping an ice-cold glass of sweet tea.