Meet MRV Author Kathy Mehuron
Mary Kathleen (Kathy) Mehuron is a long time Valley resident, and author of a number of books. Mad River Romance sat down with her to learn more about her books and her writing process.
Mary Kathleen, HUGE congratulations on TWO books. Let's talk about each one. First, what was the inspiration for The Belonger?
Thank you, it still hasn’t hit me that I pulled both the books off for the same launch date in late June. The Belonger is my third novel, and my 4th is already done and being considered by a HUGE agent so please keep your fingers crossed.
A Belonger is someone who has historic ties to the Turks and Caicos Islands as well as other parts of the British West Indies. That’s part of the inspiration for the title of The Belonger but “inspiration” isn’t a strong enough word. So much of the book is based on two historic hurricanes that our family endured there. All of us fell in love with Grand Turk Island, in Turks and Caicos, the British West Indies many years ago. It has the third largest coral reef in the world and the water is as pristine as it comes. My husband is an expert scuba diver and all three of our sons learned to dive as well. It’s the perfect arrangement for me because when they are diving, I get hours to write.
In 2017, I, along with Bruce Hyde, our oldest son and the 4th generation in our family to own Mehuron’s Market, overheard a very important conversation. The tiny island of Grand Turk had the wherewithal to construct a cruise center with its own little town to host passengers from cruise ships. A committee was assembled on island to improve and expand the tourist trade. Bruce and I knew that real estate prices were going to soar when their action plan was announced. It was a coincidence that the announcement was on Bruce’s birthday, but I took it as a sign.
We chipped in to buy a house we could afford, which was a run-down wood post and beam. I was only there twice when in 2018 we got the news that a hurricane of historic size, Hurricane Irma, was on its way. The eye passed right over and we knew the damage was extensive, but we didn’t know if any part of our house was salvageable. My son and I were standing in the parking lot of Mehuron’s when I told him I was planning on finding a way to go into that state of emergency. I didn’t trust the insurance company to do the right thing for us and I had invested a big portion of my life savings to buy the house. For the first time in Bruce’s life he raised his voice to me. ( The scene is recreated in the novel but, instead of being in Vermont, mother and son argue on the street in Grand Turk.) He said, “But how will I protect you Mom?” You see there was no phone, Internet or cell service. We weren’t even sure you could get water and food, let alone a guarantee that we could get on the island. Bruce forbade me to go, and instead, he and his brother, Thomas Mehuron, packed survival equipment and flew out of New York City.
I was informed they miraculously made it. Yet, there was no time to celebrate, as the moment they landed there was news that another historic storm was headed their way. Two of my three sons were trapped in Hurricane Maria. For days I didn’t know if they or any of our friends were alive. The stories told afterward are collected and told in The Belonger.
And how is the book being received? Who's loving it?
The reviews are great and sales brisk. It’s certainly the most successful book I’ve written thus far. Released in late June, it was hailed as, “The perfect summer read.” And now that it’s hurricane season—you can just imagine.
And the second book, Take Me Back: An Anecdotal History of the Mad River Valley. I know you are helping revitalize the MRV historical societies with this book, which is wonderful, but how did this idea develop?
While trying to sell The Belonger, I began writing some articles about the history of The Mad River Valley for The Valley Reporter newspaper. It was very selfish at the time; I simply need to write every day and be read by actual people. But during my research for the articles I was struck that the Fayston, Moretown, Waitsfield and Warren Historical societies were struggling. They need volunteers. It occurred to me that there might be a way to help. In the meantime, the articles became an almost weekly column called Take Me Back. By studying YouTube videos I was able to apply for and achieve 501(c)(3) non-profit status. No one was more surprised than I was. The Take Me Back mission is to raise awareness about and money for organizations that want to showcase the history of the Valley. It all led to trying to create a fundraising product which became the non-fiction book, Take Me Back: An Anecdotal History of the Mad River Valley. We arranged for it to come out the same day as The Belonger, because the novel had a professional publicist. I thought that some of the publicity from the novel would spill over onto the fundraising book. It worked out perfectly; we sold the entire print run out in less than one month. The effort took two years from when the first article was written to the need to plan a second edition.
Take Me Back: An Anecdotal History of the Mad River Valley is non-fiction told in the voices of locals. All the contributors- writers, editors, artists and photographers donated their work. Local businesses and individuals pitched in to pay for the graphic designer and printer. Public Relations and Communications Manager of Sugarbush Resort, John Bleh, was an early and enthusiastic believer in the project. When Sugarbush came on board as the Flagship Donor it was the push needed to enable 100% of the purchase price to go to history projects across our Valley.
New York Times Best-selling author James M. Tabor agreed to be the project mentor. My son, Jonathan C. Hyde, who is a show-runner for Amazon Prime, was the lead art consultant. Having Jonathan in the mix meant we talked about the visual impact of the book for hundreds of hours... and he bossed me around a lot. It was my job to search Vermont for a graphic designer that matched Jon’s criteria. It took many months to find Marin Horikawa of Moderate Breeze Design, but it was he who elevated a fun book into a work of art.
This is not your average coffee table book. It is, like so much of the Valley’s heritage, a home-grown product from start to finish. We believe that is part of what will make it a keepsake for generations to come. The first print run was small-batch, hand-crafted first editions. We wanted it to be a gift to all who love this area and so we were obsessed with the quality of the materials used.
A celebration and book signing party took place on June 21st at a Lawson’s Supersessions event. It was held in the beer garden and The Phineas Gage Project performed for the crowd. Both books could be purchased that day and all proceeds went to the non-profit.
Where can people buy this one?
If you are interested in Take Me Back: An Anecdotal History of the Mad River Valley, please email marykathleenmehuron@gmail.com. You can buy The Belonger wherever you buy books. (Editor note, I bought my copy at the Artisan Gallery on Bridge Street.)
Switching to the personal side, what's something you love about writing?
Something? Does that mean one thing I love about writing? Well, I have these stories in my head and the characters feel very real to me. Now that my children are grown, there is nothing I enjoy more than bringing the people in my novels to life. But I have to say, with the Take Me Back column, the show Take Me Back: The Interviews on MRVTV, and the book Take Me Back: An Anecdotal History of the Mad River Valley—the great pleasure has been creating platforms where others, especially our elders, get to tell their stories that will be archived for future generations.
As you know, we are Mad River Romance. Can you share with us one of your favorite romantic spots in the MRV?
We are so, so fortunate that romance lives everywhere in the Mad River Valley no matter what your age. I see the young teens down at the covered bridge flirting and learning about what liking someone and eventually love might be. Young people are building their lives together here by creating startup businesses and raising families. The middle-aged are enjoying the moveable feast that is our Valley food and music. Skiing. Biking. Still playing in the outdoors. And us older adults? We have the good sense to move toward a time when the sweetest pleasure is in the simple things. Gardens. Sunsets. Starry skies. The signature sandwiches at Mehuron’s (You know I did have to mention our store). And friends that we share all this with. But then one of us takes another’s hand and that says, “ Do you see what I am seeing? We are the luckiest people in the world.”