'Like keeping in touch with friends'

 

“The characters I'm most emotionally involved with are like friends you leave behind when you move away. You don't see them regularly anymore, but you still love them and keep in touch.” – Mary Doria Russell

 

Born in Illinois on this date in 1950, Russell, who now resides in Cleveland, OH, has authored 7 novels, earning acclaim for all.   

 

Planning to be an anthropologist, she already had earned a doctorate in biological anthropology and was teaching anatomy as a “post-doc” at Case Western dental school when she tried her hand at writing, authoring a Sci-Fi tale called The Sparrow.  A massive bestseller and winner of numerous prizes – including the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award – it led to her earning “Best First Novelist” accolades and put her on a new career path.

 

Among her other top titles are a sequel to The Sparrow called Children of God, the historical murder mystery  Doc, about notorious gunfighter, gambler and dentist John Henry “Doc” Holiday, and her most recent title The Women of the Copper Country.  Set in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the meticulously researched novel tells the story of the young union organizer Annie Clements, once known as America’s Joan of Arc. 

 

“Wisdom begins when you discover the difference between ‘That doesn’t make sense’ and ‘I don’t understand,' " she said.  "I don’t have much in the way of advice, but here it is:  Read to children.  Vote.  And never buy anything from a man who’s selling fear.”