Mary Lynn Reed lives in the Maryland suburbs of Washington D.C. She holds a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, and works as a mathematician by day. Her fiction has appeared, or is forthcoming, in The MacGuffin, Happy, Karamu, FRiGG, elimae, SmokeLong Quarterly, The Summerset Review, The Angler, Identity Theory, and other journals.

Your first novel, “Once You’ve Been to Siberia,” which you are currently seeking representation for, is a coming-of-age-novel about “a reluctant mathematics prodigy with temporal lobe epilepsy.” Can you tell us a bit more about it? How does the title play into the story?

Yes, my first novel “Once You’ve Been To Siberia” fits into the classic structure of a “coming-of-age novel.” It is literary fiction and the protagonist, Allie Waters, is a dreamy intellectual sort of tomboy, who is unimpressed with her remarkable gift for mathematics yet in love with the power of her mind. As a child, Allie begins to experience an intoxicating sense of “brain-static” followed by the sensation that she is slipping through her skin, flying out her window, floating above the front lawn. After an unfortunate incident on the playground, Allie is devastated to learn the truth about her brain and those brief episodes of “altered consciousness” she craves. That’s where the novel begins. The story follows Allie from childhood through college, through friendships and love affairs (including a ménage a trois with her best friend, Michael, and her first lover, Shelby), intense intellectual pursuits, and the discovery of a deeply guarded family secret.

Regarding the title, one of the characters in the novel uses “Siberia” as a descriptive metaphor for a particular state of mind. The phrase “Once You’ve Been To Siberia” comes from an actual line of dialogue near the end of the book and represents a critical moment of understanding and connection between Allie and her lover. I hope, also, that once the reader reaches that key line, its meaning will resonate and ripple back through the early portions of the novel as well.

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Currently, you are writing a young adult novel. What is it about?

Yes, my second novel is underway and it feels like it could belong to the Young Adult/Teen genre. It is about a transgendered fifteen year-old, Dana Hutchinson, star of the girls’ cross-country team, who is training for her first triathlon while her increasingly violent impulses are leading her down a path toward juvenile delinquency. Dana struggles to “do the right thing” when she finds herself caught between the tough guy she longs to be (her violent older friend, Tommy Myers) and Jenny Fitzpatrick, the eccentric sixteen year-old violinist both she and Tommy are in love with.

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While both of these novels are written, at least partly, in a younger voice, your first novel is intended for a general audience, while the novel you are currently working on is meant for teens. How does this change the process?

It’s interesting because when I started this new novel, I didn’t immediately frame it as Young Adult. I actually began with a much larger, more complex project in mind. So, the process of starting the novel wasn’t different at all. But after drafting about a hundred pages or so, I realized that my protagonist, Dana, had other ideas about her story. The character got herself into a lot of trouble in those first hundred pages and she was also dealing with major gender identity issues (she truly believes she is a boy though she is wholly female, physically). So, well into the process of writing, I began to get the idea that this novel could (or perhaps should) be aimed at teenagers. Dana’s voice is very direct, the language is simple, the story is plot-driven and, I think, it’s a pretty fast-paced read. At that point, I began reading Young Adult novels voraciously, and then I became certain that, yes, Dana’s story (sorry, the new novel doesn’t have a title yet!) should be aimed at that market. It just felt “right.”

I’m not sure yet whether my interest in Young Adult novels will extend beyond Dana’s story. But my favorite themes (issues of sexuality and gender identity) seem to fit naturally into the scope of the “problem novel,” so I’m very excited about this new project. I’m completely in love with Dana; the entire process of bringing this character to life has been a joy for me. A total writer’s high.

But, while this new novel emerged as Young Adult organically, there are some basic, practical differences about writing for a general, literary audience and writing for teenagers. For one thing, “Once You’ve Been To Siberia” truly is a literary “coming of age” novel in that Allie grows and matures over more than a decade of time and the story is told in a more complex, multi-layered way. Whereas the span of time elapsed in the Dana novel is less than six months and the action of the plot line is more direct. I don’t think “Siberia” is a “difficult” read but it is definitely aimed at a more mature audience. For one thing, the issues of sexuality and sex are dealt with more frankly, a little more explicitly, than I think would be appropriate in a novel written for teenagers.

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What, may I ask, is a “problem novel”?

A problem novel is a sub-genre of Young Adult literature where the young protagonist struggles to deal with some difficult situation, usually a traumatic personal event or social issue. Most Young Adult novels which aren’t part of some other sub-genre (like science fiction, fantasy, or mystery) seem to be of the “problem novel” variety: teenagers dealing with abuse, homelessness, sexual orientation, or in the case of my new novel, gender identity.

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In July, you will attend the Sewanee Writer’s Conference. For those who may not know, Sewanee is one of the more prestigious conferences in the country. Tell us about the application process, the faculty you’ll be working with, and the workshops you will be attending.

The application process was pretty simple. You submit a sample of your work and fill out a brief application. I submitted two short stories and needless to say, I was thrilled to find out I’d been accepted! I’ve never attended an in-person writing workshop or conference before, so it’s a fantastic opportunity for me.

Unlike some other conferences, Sewanee does not announce faculty assignments in advance of the workshop. Contributors are given the list of faculty members and allowed to indicate their top three faculty choices, but you don’t find out who your workshop leaders are until you arrive in Sewanee. Another unique aspect of the Sewanee format is that each workshop is led by two faculty members. So, every participant gets to work closely with at least two of the faculty writers. Also, workshops are held every other day during the two-week conference, and contributors are allowed to “audit” other workshops on their off days, even workshops outside their genre. In addition to fiction, Sewanee has workshops in both poetry and playwriting. So, I’m looking forward to soaking up as many workshops and lectures as I can! I can’t wait!

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You are very dedicated to studying and improving your craft. Have you taken any classes, or been mentored by anyone? What is your favorite book(s) on the craft of writing?

My formal education is all in mathematics. B.S., M.S., Ph.D. Very well-rounded education, ha! I’ve never taken a writing course at a college or university. But I did take a few online courses several years ago, when I first decided to Do Something about my lifelong dream of writing fiction. Through those online courses I was extremely fortunate to meet a writing teacher who–quite literally–changed my life: the extraordinarily gifted Terri Brown-Davidson. Terri is a brilliant teacher and an extremely honest critic. I felt an immediate connection with her fervent passion for both the art and craft of fiction writing and several years later, I still call Terri my teacher, my mentor, and now also, my very dear friend.

My favorite book on the craft of writing is the one I hope Terri will write someday. I learned the basics of craft from Terri; she has a unique and technically rigorous approach to teaching writing which also integrates the formation of an emerging writer’s own artistic aesthetic. I cherish all of my lecture notes from her classes and I hope she shares them with a larger audience someday in book form.

If forced to pick a published book that has had the most impact on me as a writer, I’d say Ray Bradbury’s little gem Zen in the Art of Writing. I’m also quite fond of Joyce Carol Oates’ The Faith of a Writer: Life, Craft, Art.

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What was the first book you fell in love with?

This is a tough question. After pondering it awhile, I’d say I have two answers. The first book I fell in love with from a total reader’s perspective–that is, total immersive and connective experience– was Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown. It was the first “coming out” story I’d ever encountered; I read it when I was sixteen and needless to say, its impact on me was profound.

The first book I fell in love with from a writer’s perspective, though, was East of Eden by John Steinbeck. I was eighteen when I read it and though I already had some abstract notion of wanting “to write,” reading East of Eden was the first time I felt, deeply, the power of the literary novel.

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What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received, in regards to writing or life in general?

Trust Yourself. Never Quit. And Wear Sunscreen.

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You are an avid collector of quotes by and about writers. Where do you find them? Can you share a few of your favorites?

I cull quotes from wherever I can find them: web sites, writing craft books, essays, interviews. I enjoy finding quotes that resonate with me at a given moment and then sharing them with friends. Picking out a few favorites is difficult, because I love so many! But here are a few I never tire of…


There are three rules to writing fiction. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.
~ Somerset Maugham


Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.
~ Anais Nin


Be obscure clearly.
~ E.B. White


It’s a feature of our age that if you write a work of fiction, everyone assumes that the people and events in it are disguised biography — but if you write your biography, it’s equally assumed you’re lying your head off.
~ Margaret Atwood


Writing a novel is like making love, but it’s also like having a tooth pulled. Pleasure and pain. Sometimes it’s like making love while having a tooth pulled.
~ Dean Koontz

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I’ve noticed that many of your stories contain some reference to mathematics, which I personally adore. Is this something you purposely incorporate into your work, or does it sneak its way in there?

When mathematical references and metaphors find their way into my fiction it is always intentional. It’s something I very consciously explored when I first began writing fiction. I searched both mathematics and the sciences (physics, especially) for interesting metaphors that could sustain a short story. I’m not sure how many of those stories succeeded but it was a fun exercise in mixing my two “selves.” My flash “Euclid’s Elements” (which appeared in SmokeLong Quarterly) is one story with mathematical content that I’m particularly proud of, but I think my interest in leveraging mathematics into fiction might have run its course for me, especially after writing “Once You’ve Been To Siberia.” The majority of that novel takes place while the protagonist, Allie, is in college studying (and reluctantly falling in love with) mathematics. Writing Allie as this emerging mathematical genius was a very powerful experience for me. It felt like rekindling an old flame. Though Allie is much more mathematically talented than I ever was!

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Do you find the mathematical mind of Mary Lynn is the polar opposite of the writer Mary Lynn, or do your two sides mingle?

This is a really interesting question and in a general sense (not specifically with regard to my mind, that is), it is something I contemplated a lot while writing “Siberia.” In fact, my complete answer to this question is one of the key themes of the novel. Creation is creation, and “getting there” for a mathematician may require a different set of technical skills than for a writer or a visual artist, but the artistry– the creative process– feels very much the same. That’s my short answer. For the longer, hopefully more satisfying and literary answer, I hope you’ll read my novel!

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Describe your work space.

It’s a total mess! I have an entire room devoted to my “writing life” and it is a disaster area 99% of the time. I don’t have a desk. I have a drafting table I’ve owned since graduate school and refuse to give up. So I have no drawers for organization. (Not that I’d use them wisely if I had them.) I also have an old card table next to the drafting table and both of these large work surfaces are routinely covered with paper and books– story drafts, craft articles, lit journals, market lists, junk, junk, junk– everywhere. And then, every once in awhile it just gets to be too much, and I clean like a madwoman for a few days, and for a moment– a very brief moment– there is peace, tranquility, and organization in my life.

Oops. Moment’s gone. The joy of creative chaos is restored!

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Contact Mary Lynn

Read:

“Talking Sponge,” “Fever,” and “How it Began”
published by FRiGG

“Cool”
published by elimae

“Writer’s Block”
published by The Angler

“Euclid’s Elements”
published by SmokeLong Quarterly

“Existential Thread from the Cheap Seats”
published by The Summerset Review

“Rebel Without a Belt”
published by Identity Theory



Filed Under: The Writer Profile Project |