Author Profile: Mary Casanova

by Sharron L. McElmeel

This article is copyrighted and may only be printed from this website for personal professional use. The copyright notice must remain on all copies. No reproduction, distribution, or electronic transmission of this article may be made without written permission from Sharron McElmeel. A version of this article first appeared in The Book Report, May/June 2002 (Vol. 21, No. 1; pages 40-41; and some of this information will be incorporated in a volume of author/illustrator profiles to be published by Libraries Unlimited in 2003.

Author Profile: Mary Casanova
by Sharron L. McElmeel



Writing in the outdoor adventure genre and from a male perspective is probably not the way one would guess that a mother of two would break into the writing field but that is exactly what Mary Casanova did.

An outdoors person who grew up in a family with seven brothers and two sisters, Casanova found herself with many experiences to feed her writing. She was born on February 5, 1957 in Duluth, Minnesota and grew up in St. Paul. After graduating from high school she traveled to Aspen where she spent a year as a ski-bum. Later she attended college in Minneapolis and Duluth and eventually married, became the mother of a son and daughter, and settled in Ranier, Minnesota which is near International Falls, the "Icebox of the Nation." It's also where her family had a team of sled dogs, where moose are regularly seen, and where poaching (illegal hunting) has resulted in some unusual arrests -- all of which is fodder for her writing.

Writing as a Craft


Casanova says, "Since high school, I knew I wanted to be an author, but not until I was in my 30s and working on a master's degree did I stumble upon a course in writing for children taught by Newbery author, Marion Dane Bauer." The year was 1989, and Casanova's children were just 7 and 4. The week-long workshop with Bauer, "was a turning point in my life; it was as if I was coming home. She decided to give herself a year to see if she could get published. "After reading Gary Paulsen's book, Hatchet, I started to think about my own north-woods stories, and that's when the early ideas for Moose Tracks started germinating."

Casanova attended "every writer's conference I could, trying to be open and learn from critiques by Jean Craighead George, Pam Conrad, Avi, and others." It was six years before her first novel, Moose Tracks, was published. Now many books later and fourteen years later, Casanova is a full-time writer. Her time is divided, by seasons, into writing and speaking times. Winter and summer is her time for writing and spring and fall often find her on the road to speak and connect with her readers. She says, "I can revise anywhere, although I am not good at writing new drafts while I'm on the road." Being a writer and meeting and hearing from readers who tell her that a story touched them or that they couldn't put it down, is "chocolate frosting on chocolate cake." "Writing," Casanova says, "is my life's calling."

"Our lives are like fireflies, brilliant flashes of light in the darkness, here and gone. Each life matters. Listen to your dreams and giftings; take risks, live fully, make a difference." -- Mary Casanova

Casanova's books are fast paced, most feature a male protagonist, and reflect her love of the wilderness, while others appeal to her interest in distant times; but sometimes are more whimsical. Moose Tracks was inspired by her own life near the Canadian border where she sees many wild animals. Casanova says, "Readers will find my love of animals in every book -- even Riot and Curse of a Winter Moon have dogs in them. My characters care about things that I struggle with, usually moral dilemmas, social strife, environmental issues, etc. Whatever the issue, my main characters are usually struggling with a way to speak up, to give voice to their feelings and concerns." As a child in a family of 10 children, Casanova says "...it wasn't easy to be heard -- writing has become a way for me (and my characters) to have a voice."

Gathering Inspiration


Each writer has a writing schedule (or non-schedule) - - each has a way she or he works best on their writing. For Casanova it is to create rough drafts on her laptop computer. Sometimes she writes in her sunroom where she can watch snowflakes fall. At other times she might write while floating on her houseboat on Rainy Lake. She says, "I'm a morning person and prefer writing from about 9 a.m. to noon or 1, five days a week. Long ago, I decided to take evenings and weekends off from my writing as a way to create a more harmonious family life." Her love for writing gives way to baking bread, playing the piano, or hiking - -activities which allow her "brain a rest and [her] subconscious to do its creative brewing."

In writing Moose Tracks Casanova turned to the community around her home and recalled the stories her Grandpa Eric had told her about the bull moose that charged the train as it was chugging down the track, and another bull moose that had held him captive in a tree for a log time on a cold day. She wrote a book, Riots, about a labor dispute in her hometown. Wolf Shadows told of two friends whose friendship was torn by their conflicting views of wolves and their place in the out-of-doors and Stealing Thunder examines Libby's relationship with her friend Jolene, and with the horse both Jolene and Libby love. Until writing Stealing Thunder, each of Casanova's books had featured a male chief protagonist but eventually she has turned to writing such books as When Eagles Fall, a book about a girl named Alex who gets lost with an injured eaglet on the Minnesota-Canadian border.

Researching -- An Important Writing Element


Many of Casanova's early books grew from her experience in the northwoods but more frequently now her writing takes her away from the northwoods. Her love for times past has taken her to France where she conducted research for Curse of a Winter Moon, set in sixteenth century France. On a return trip to research a second book set in France Casanova says she spent a week "floating on the Grand Canal, exploring the passageways of the palace, and biking along the cobblestone streets."

"More and more, I love the research piece of writing. Though I will do lots of research before I begin writing, I eventually grow impatient and need to start a book. While I write I'm surrounded by books related to my topic, whether it's eagles or 18th Century France."


More Books


Sometimes the story comes to Casanova. Several years ago when a Chinese exchange student lived with the Casanovas the student practiced his English by sharing some of traditional Chinese pencil-sketch story. Casanova particularly liked a story that became the inspiration for a picture book for "all ages." She framed the traditional tale in a situation that has the villagers not only surviving a drought but learning to listen to one another. Ed Young, a Caldecott illustrator, "brought the story to life through his exquisite artwork [and] it continues to make a difference in the lives of those who hear it, young or old."

Two novels are scheduled for publication in 2002. When Eagles Fall will be released by Hyperion Press, and Pleasant Company will release another novel. In 2003, Farrar, Straus, Giroux will release a picture book, One Dog Canoe, illustrated by Ard Hoyt and more picture books are in the works. "I see myself as a novelist who loves to tinker with picture books between longer projects. Not that picture books are easy. This simple picture book [ One Dog Canoe] took 32 drafts before getting it right."


When asked if she had more stories begging to be a picture book Mary Casanova responded, "Yes, but the novels always speak more loudly." Those interested in learning more about the background of Casanova's books might visit her website at www.marycasanova.com. Readers who are interested in writing to Casanova can also e-mail her from her site.

Selected Bibliography of Titles Cited (Novels)



Curse of a Winter Moon. Hyperion, 2000.
Jean-Pierre is marked with the curse of the loup garou -- the werewolf, because of the circumstances of his birth. When their mother dies, Marius is left to care for Jean-Pierre and to protect him in the face of the community's hysterical campaign to find and destroy enemies of the church. Set in sixteenth century France.

Moose Tracks. Hyperion, 1995
A young boy attempts to save an orphaned moose calf from poachers.

Riot. Hyperion, 1996.
The drama of a family divided by a labor dispute in a paper mill town.

Stealing Thunder. Hyperion, 1999.
When Jolene realizes that Thunder is being abused she makes plans to rescue the horse from harm.

When Eagles Fall. Hyperion, 2002
Alex discovers that her survival has everything to do with facing her past.

Wolf Shadows. Hyperion, 1997.
When wolves are re-established in the Minnesota north some farmers are against it. Seth and his friend Matt find themselves on opposite sides of the debate.


###

©2002

Sharron L. McElmeel



Return to Sharron McElmeel's home page.