The Secret Life of a
Career Wife is the sequel to The
Secret Life of a Housewife. I highly suggest reading the first novel before
reading the second. Otherwise, you might be a bit confused about the storyline.
How long did it take
you to write The Secret Life of a Career
Wife?
This novel was a weird one. I wrote it while writing The Secret Life of a Housewife. Then I
stopped writing this one and rewrote the first novel then trashed pretty much
75 percent of this story and rewrote it in a month. All together it took
three-years.
What inspired you
when writing The Secret Life of a Career
Wife?
I was inspired to write this novel by Lisa’s character.
Initially, Joyce’s story was going to be a sole project. Yet, I decided to
write a little intro for The Secret Life
of a Housewife in Lisa’s point of view, and that intro turned into the
missing piece of Joyce’s story. Plus, Lisa’s life and secrets are worth being
exposed.
Why/when did you
decide to become a writer?
I’ve always loved to write. I loved it when I was in second
grade, and my teacher made us create our own little books. I think I still have
the book actually. That was the beginning of my love for literature. I had a
few years where English was hard for me, so I did not write. But those years
passed by, and I was back to doing what I love.
Writing is my escape from reality. In creating novels, I can
go anywhere I want. Do anything I want. It really does give you a god-like
complex because you are creating these characters whose lives are in your
hands. I do like to abuse this power sometimes by killing off major characters.
What can I say, I have a dark side too.
How did you come up
with the story in The Secret Life of a
Career Wife?
I honestly just sat down and wrote what came to mind. I
tried to channel Lisa’s character. I knew she was older and had to be a Leo, so
I came up with a birth date and looked up her signs. The birth chart for the
time matched the personality I felt she had, so I simply stuck to it and went
from there. Because I wrote Joyce’s story, I had a better understanding of who
Lisa was and knew that she hid quite a few secrets.
Did anything stick
out as particularly challenging when writing The Secret Life of a Career Wife?
The hardest part for writing Lisa’s character was, by far,
channeling that dark energy. For a good majority of the novel, Lisa is
depressed or doing something majorly demented. I am a happy, bubbly person, so
writing for her character was a challenge. Sure, I might have a bit of a dark
side but nowhere near that evil.
What do you like to
do when not writing?
When I am not writing, I am working as a substitute teacher.
I love it because I get to meet so many different people and have a flexible
schedule. I love to hike, hang out with friends, and enjoy a night in with the
husband and kitties. I love spending time with family, mother-daughter dates
with my mom. I’m a very spiritual person, so I enjoy meditating and being in
nature.
Where can readers
find out more about your work?
All of my work can be found at:
mariahrembry.com