Mary is a writer with seven, about to be eight, nationally published books. (The Talker, a collection of short stories, is coming out from Torrey House Press in March 2017) and has been mentoring writers since 1990 at writing conferences, universities, colleges, and for private students. She wrote her first novel when she was 46, fought her first environmental battle that same year, ran her first river when she was 51, started rock climbing when she was 55, was awarded Distinguished Writer in Residence at Arizona State University in 2007, and likes to solo hike and camp as often as she can. She works with her student's fiction, creative non-fiction, novels, and poetry with respect and a fierce eye for quality. Mary's students tell her that working with her takes them down a wild path to their real stories. She teaches that the deepest stories originate in place.