Mary Kay Andrews

As a child I loved to read. In elementary school I read all sorts of books, including every single Baby-Sitter Club book. At one point, I thought I was cool if I was reading really thick books, like Wuthering Heights, which I didn’t even understand. The point is I liked to read as a kid, whether it was a cheesy book from a series or a novel I couldn’t even comprehend. I thought I was cool because I was into reading.

When I was in 5^th grade, my teacher introduced me to a book called Number the Stars. It was about a young Jewish girl who didn’t look like the rest of her family. She had blonde hair, blue eyes and looked more like the accepted Aryan race. Her family decided to let her live with their neighbors so her life would be spared by the Nazis. She would easily pass as their child since she looked more like them, and nothing like her dark eyed, dark hair, Jewish parents. That book deeply intrigued me, so I went on to read The Diary of Anne Frank, I Have Lived a Thousand Years, and many, many other books related to the Holocaust and World War II. In fact, that is ALL I read about, unless I had to read something specific for school. There are few other books that I really enjoyed besides my Holocaust related books.

Sometime between the end of middle school and high school I lost just about all interest in books. For the most part, I didn’t have the time (or make the time) to read. Soccer and my social life pretty much consumed all my time. It was seldom that I found the time to pick up a book, but when I did, it was always, of course, a WWII or Holocaust related book. This non-reading period continued into college, again, because I didn’t really have the time to read. It wasn’t until I graduated from college that I developed a love for reading again…and all thanks to one author…

I was introduced to Mark Kay Andrews (her novels, at least) by my dear step-mother, Julia. We were in a hospital waiting room while my dad was having surgery, and I ran out of magazines to read. Julia, an avid reader, brought an extra book. She gave it to me and said, “I think you’ll enjoy this since you’ve spent a lot of time in Savannah. The novel is set in Savannah, and it’s just a fun, quirky book. It’s got all those things- mystery, suspense, love- that women love to read about.” I took it, reluctantly, thinking, I don’t typically read the books that ‘typical women’ read, but why not.

Savannah Blues was the title, and after reading one chapter I was hooked. I literally could not put the book down. Ryan came to the hospital when he got off of work. He saw me reading, and his first response was, “Really! Since when do you read?” I read the book in a few days’ time, only to go to Barnes and Noble and purchase the next book in the series, Savannah Breeze. Just as good, if not better, than Savannah Blues. The sequel to the first two, Blue Christmas, had to be special ordered because they usually only carry it around the Holidays. I was sad to finish the three because I wanted them to continue… I wasn’t ready to give up the characters. Mary Kay Andrews has four other books, thank goodness, but it didn’t take long for me to read all of those! Each one of them is equally pleasing- drawing me in to the point where I really don’t want to finish them because I don’t want them to end. It may sound silly, but I often continue to think about the characters once I’m done reading the book- wondering what if this happened?, what if that happened?, what if it ended like this?, etc.

I’ve shared my Mary Kay Andrews book with all the women I work with and some of my girlfriends. Everyone that reads them enjoys them just as much as I do. I recommend them to everyone! Please go buy her books. They are worth every penny and then some!

I recently went to her website just to check in and see if there is anything new. I checked out the “contact” section, and found that you can email her- the message really goes to her- and she’ll try to reply. I sent her a quick message about how much I love her novels and how I’ve shared them with so many people that equally enjoy them. SHE WROTE BACK to let me know how much she appreciated my kind words, and most importantly, to tell me she’s working on another book that will be out June 7^th!!  To say I was excited is an understatement- my calendar is marked! Oh, and it gets better… Her upcoming novel is a sequel to Blue Christmas, so my favorite characters will be back!

If you’re in need of a good book, please look up Mary Kay Andrews. I suggest starting with Savannah Blues, then Savannah Breeze, then Blue Christmas, but those are the only three you need to read in order. The other four are individual novels that are separate stories with different characters. It’s almost time to lay by the pool on the weekends…don’t go without one of her books!