About the Author
My Background
A major part of my work experience was writing and editing. Writing fiction for children never occurred to me even though for years I had crafted bedtime stories to help guide my children through setbacks. The stories would be about someone like them in a similar situation and how they worked out a solution. Years later, while creating a similar story for a grandson, he asked me to “save this story so I can hear it again.” It was the proverbial “lightbulb” moment as I typed The Run-Away-Bluebird. I loved it. A chance encounter with another unhappy child prompted me to write Don’t Call Me That – My Name is Michael. A friend’s relationship inspired It Was All a Big Mistake. My own experience gave me the topic for My Too Big Nose!
I’ve found my passion—helping elementary school children understand and solve concerns early so they don’t become painful, life-long memories.
Never-the-less, a good story is only the first step; getting it published requires work. A lot of work! And sometimes it is a difficult process. I wrote Don’t Call Me That! – My Name is Michael some time ago, but lost heart after I was told it needed work. In truth, I hadn’t a clue about what needed to be done! A conversation with an author’s relations officer helped me “see” the issues and my passion was restored. I completed the changes, and I’m pleased to announce that Don’t Call Me That – My Name is Michael is finished and was launched September 9-10 at the Printers Row Lit Fest in Chicago, Illinois.
Hopefully, now that I’ve completed a full publishing cycle, maneuvering the publishing highway will be a bit easier. I look forward to the challenge of completing my other stories.
Happy reading,
MaryAnn
MaryAnn M. Butterfield has been a non-fiction writer all her life, both for work and pleasure. The desire to write stories for children at the elementary level became a focus only after her grandson asked her to repeat a bedtime story — she had made up the story to help him understand and resolve a problem he had faced during the day. His request, however, spurred her toward studying the craft of writing for children, which she did while attending many seminars and lectures at the Society of Book Writers and Illustrators Conferences in Los Angeles, California. She has since written several more stories, but the issue in Don’t Call Me That! My Name is Michael is especially important to her, and the first she chose to be published.
Professional Affiliations
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (International)
Southwest Manuscripters
Guest Speaker – October 2014 – Topic: Your Book Has Been Published – Now What?
Shown here with past-Presidents, Dan Lambert, Ph.D. (published in Easy Reader, Other Words, Wrapped in Plastic, The Gamer, and The Gamer and Games Unplugged, as well as poetry, and other works.) and Bernadette Shih (author of, Ling Ling; Good Friends; Ping Ping Panda: The Power of Personal Responsibility–written with Stephen Smoke, author of over thirty novels, television scripts, etc.; among other works, including non-fiction and poetry).
Served as Past Chairperson/Southwest Manuscripters:
Mona O’Connor Poetry Contests
Edith Battles Non-Fiction Articles Contests
Betty Simmon’s Short Story Fiction Contests
South Bay Critiquers
Writer’s Digest/Abbott Press