Why do you write the genre that you write?
I’ve always loved mysteries, but cozy mysteries appealed to me in particular because I could identify with my protagonist. So far my main characters have always been female and have had jobs and family that I could draw on to some extant from my own life. Of course, they were always involved in much more exciting situations than I’d ever experience, which made it a lot of fun.

How did you come up with your pseudonym?
I had a little fun picking my pseudonym. “Emmie” came from the first two initials of my name, Mary Ellen. Then I decided if I was going to have a pseudonym, I wanted to be “called well.”

Tell us how you got into writing?
Very gradually. Writing was something I always enjoyed, and I joined the staff of both my high school and college newspapers. Later on I started dabbling with humorous verses, and one was published in the Saturday Evening Post. Short stories came next, then I graduated to full length novels. After that: full steam ahead!

What jobs have you held before, during and/or after you became a writer?
My first job was as a teenager working in my father’s drugstore, making milkshakes and sundaes as well as ringing up sales. I earned a degree in Medical Technology and worked at the National Institutes of Health in clinical chemistry, an area where creativity is frowned upon. My next job was as a stay at home mom, which, once I had spare time, led to my professional writing.

Where do you write?
Always at home, usually in my favorite chair next to the window.

What is your favorite deadline snack?
Something chocolatey.

Where can we find you?
maryellenhughes.com and emmiecaldwell.com
Links to book sellers are posted there as well as links to Facebook and Twitter.

Now to have some fun . . .

Vanilla or chocolate
Chocolate

Ice cream or cake
Ice cream

Broccoli or squash
Broccoli

Pizza, burgers, or pasta
Pizza

Breakfast, lunch, or dinner
Breakfast

Mountain or beach
Mountain

City or Country
Country

Introvert or extrovert
Introvert

And even more fun . . .

You are stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?
If I were practical, I would want a tent, a knife, and a crateful of matches. On the other hand, a crateful of books would be awfully nice, along with a crateful (crates count as one, right?) of chocolates (one can’t survive on berries and fish alone, can one?) and – oh, practicality just pushed in – a crate of matches.

My bio:
Mary Ellen Hughes has published 12 mystery novels and several short stories under her own name. As Emmie Caldwell, she writes the Craft Fair Knitters Mystery Series. A native of Wisconsin, she’s lived most of her adult life in Maryland, which has inspired many of her stories.