LET'S WELCOME THE AUTHOR OF: Chubby & Charming ~ Mary E. Thompson

Let’s welcome

Mary e. Thompson

Author of:

Rad-Reader:  How did you this series come about?

Mary:  I had lunch with a friend and told her my idea. I’d read some books about women like me, women who were overweight but didn’t love any of them. I realized I was insane if I didn’t write what I knew’ with this series. My friend encouraged me to write it, said it sounded great. I’m so happy I listened to her! 

Rad-Reader:  What was it about Mandy’s character that spoke to you and said I have to write about her?

Mary:  Mandy reminded me a lot of myself, to be honest. She was someone with a great group of friends, who didn’t feel the need to be involved in a relationship. She was someone who put on a brave face but had a lot of fears buried deep. When I met my husband, I was the same. It took me almost nine months of being friends with him to realize he might like me also. Thankfully, like Mandy, I got over my fears and ended up with an incredible man! 

Rad-Reader:  Xander is a sexy ass character and an alpha male too yet when he is with Mandy he is a total softy.  How did you come to and why did you have him portrayed that way?

Mary:  I think love, true love, means being soft and squishy. When you think about the person you love, you should be ready to fall on your knees to do anything to make them happy. Xander is strong and determined, and yeah, a bit of an alpha, but when he met Mandy, something clicked for him. 

Rad-Reader:  Have you known a relationship like this to have firsthand experience because a lot of the emotions were spot on?

Mary:  I think I do. Most of my stories end up somewhat based on my own marriage. Not entirely, of course, but the emotions that I pull in are definitely ones that I feel about my husband. He’s a wonderful man who supports me, and I’m so lucky to have him! 
Rad-Reader:  I believe I do the same thing when I write.  The emotion can come up quick too.  It's amazing how it can work into a character before you know it.  Not the storyline but the emotion like you said.

Rad-Reader:  Do you think Mandy kept looking for hidden meaning behind everything Xander did at first trying to find fault?  If so, for what reason?

Mary:  Oh, yes, definitely! She never had a man like her for the right reasons. Between her past, and that of her friends, she didn’t trust men. She thought they were either interested in sex, or in someone skinny, or both! Mandy was suspicious. She struggled to think Xander would want her. I’ve been there. It sucks. 

Rad-Reader:  When Xander first saw Mandy what did he notice first her personality or her looks that he liked?

Mary:  I think when they first met, at the coffee shop, he had a picture in his mind. We all do before we meet someone that we’ve spoken to but never met. When she walked over to his table, I think he was a little hurt to realize she didn’t want to talk to him. He always struck me as someone who saw past the walls Mandy put up. Someone who saw her inside. But to answer your question, I think he already knew he liked her personality, so he was looking at her! 

Rad-Reader:  Why do you think her weight didn’t bother him and it did his friends? 

Mary:  Some people are just jerks. It’s a lesson many of us have to learn. Some guys like women with a little extra weight and some don’t. Some people like to make fun of others to make themselves feel better, and some see who a person truly is. There are a lot of things to see beneath the surface of all of us. Not everyone is willing to look. Xander was, his friends… well, they’re those jerks. 

Rad-Reader:  Why did her weight seem to bother her more than him?

Mary:  It was something she dealt with forever. She’d been shunned many times by guys she liked and people in her life because of her weight. Xander didn’t care that she was overweight. He liked her, and that was all he cared about. 

Rad-Reader:  This was a highly sexual book.  Was that done mostly to let readers know that BBW’s are capable of bringing it in the bedroom or any place as per your book?  Or were you just writing an erotica with a BBW flair?

Mary:  I don’t think of my books as erotica, to be honest. They’ve been called that by a number of people, but I work very hard to make sure my books have a story besides the sex. I want there to be something to it other than just sex, but I think exploring that side of a relationship is important. I also think it’s important to show that you don’t have to look like a porn star to have amazing sex. Big and beautiful women have all the same parts as every other woman. Use them! And enjoy them!  
Rad-Reader:  It does have a story for sure.  I'm glad to hear that you write it for the story aspect of it and not for the erotica of it because BBW's do have lives although there have been some that I have read that you would think all they were made for were to get some guy off when it came to his fetish.

Rad-Reader:  Xander started walking that fine line of possessiveness.  Do you think she handled it well with the issue around Drew?

Mary:  I think Mandy was excited to meet Xander’s friends and was a little thrown by the others. When she saw Drew, he was so different from the others. A decent guy. A guy that wanted to be around her like Xander did, but not in a creepy way like he was going to try to steal her from Xander. She also felt like she knew him. When I met my husband’s best friend, I felt like I knew him even though we’d never met. Xander getting possessive was a little funny for me because I never saw him as that kind of guy, but he was falling, too. And he’d already had Mandy turn him down. He was anxious. But I think she handled it well. I think calling him on it and telling him he was the only guy she wanted was the best way to deal with it. Because it was true. It was what she felt. She loved him, and no one else was even on her radar! 

Rad-Reader:  I thought she did too.  I just thought it was kind of fun that he didn't put the Barbie twins in their place and walk away from them without giving them the time of day.

Rad-Reader:  Mandy wanted to put total blame on Xander for what happened at the party.  But what he told her in the car and her inner voice.  If it didn’t feel, right, why did she go? She has some responsibility then for not speaking up to him, Right?

    

Mary:  She spent their whole relationship waiting for the other shoe to drop. She was completely convinced that he was going to be just like every other hot guy she’d ever known. I think that’s one of the reasons readers have enjoyed this book. It’s real. Thin people are judged just as much as overweight people. We judge each other. We all have preconceived notions. None of it is fair, but that’s why you have to look beneath the surface to the person hidden inside. Mandy was embarrassed, and nothing Xander said would change her mind. Not in that moment at least. 

Rad-Reader:  I really liked the feel of the character Drew but then he just fell by the wayside.  What happens to him?

Mary:  I loved Drew. He was always a character that I had a soft spot for. And he gets his own happily ever after in book seven in the series, Husky & Hot! 
Rad-Reader:  That is nice to know.  He was a cool character and I am glad he finds some for himself.

Rad-Reader:  Do the childhood friends he fought with ever come and make amends for their behavior or did they let the friendship die?

Mary:  Oh, no. Those friendships are over. There are some things that can’t be repaired. 

Rad-Reader:  Claire seemed so tortured from her past.  Will she find a guy that will help heal her heart and give her soft place to land and lay her head and her heart?

Mary:  Yes! She gets her happily ever after, too! Lush & Lovely, the second book in the series is Claire’s story. 
Rad-Reader:  Good deal! :)

Rad-Reader:  If your book was made into a movie who would you have play…

Mandy:  A model from Pinterest

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/15833036164375375/

Xander:  Tyler Hoechlin

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/273875221062197176/

Claire:  Chrissy Teigen

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/6051780725897413/

Drew:  Jason Mamoa

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/416371928020005363/

Mary:  

Mandy:   A woman on Pinterest 
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/376121006355001992/

Xander:   Jensen Ackles
 https://www.pinterest.com/pin/348043877435408735/

Claire:  A woman on Pinterest 

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/321514860871870924/

Drew:  Stephen Amell 

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/158048268146965563/

Rad-Reader:  What song best describes your couple or your book as a whole?

After Hearing Her Voice

I Choose You ~ Mario

After Their First Date Went Bad

Let Me Help You ~ Mario

Mary:  I listen to country music, and this song spoke to me. It always made me think of Mandy and Xander, and him wanting her to meet his friends, wanting to show her off.

"Show You Off - Dan & Shay"

Rad-Reader:  What do you like to do on the weekend?

Mary:  Enjoy my family! We do movie night and game night and go to the park or enjoy outside. My kids are still little (7 and 9) so they’re active, and they get us up and moving every day! 

Rad-Reader:  What was your favorite band as a teen?

Mary:  I’ve listened to country music since I was an early teen. I think my favorite then was Garth Brooks. I still tear up when I hear some of his music. So many country songs are like miniature love stories. They’re beautiful.  

Rad-Reader:  Who was your favorite movie star as a teen?

Mary:  John Travolta. Don’t judge me! 
Rad-Reader:  Hahaha! ; )

Rad-Reader:  What is your lucky number?

Mary:  7. I don’t know why. It just always has been.  

Rad-Reader:  What is your favorite drink?

Mary:  I mostly drink water, but when I want something different, I go for Coke or wine. I’m a big fan of wine! 

Rad-Reader:  What is your next project and when is it coming out?

Mary:  The next thing coming from me is Everything She Never Wanted. It’s part of my Raise A Glass series and will be out August 22. The final book in the Big & Beautiful series, book thirteen titled Ample & Alluring, will be out October 3. It’s my first Christmas book, and I’m really excited about it!

Rad-Reader:  Where can our readers buy your books?

Mary:  All the major retailers! 

Amazon:
 https://www.amazon.com/Mary-E-Thompson/e/B00FKV8GQ4/ 

Kobo:
 https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Mary%20E%20Thompson&fcsearchfield=Author

iBooks:
 https://linkmaker.itunes.apple.com/en-us?country=us&mediaType=books&term=mary+e+thompson  

Barnes & Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/%22Mary%20E%20Thompson%22Ntk=P_key_Contributor_List&Ns=P_Sales_Rank&Ntx=mode+matchall 

as well as a few smaller e-book retailers. Many of my books are also in print. And they are available for libraries to order if yours doesn’t have my books in stock! 

Rad-Reader:  Where can our readers find you on the Web? 

Mary:  Mary: My website is MaryEThompson.com (http://maryethompson.com). 
I’m also on Facebook (http://facebook.com/authormaryethompson), 
Twitter (http://twitter.com/authorMET), 
Instagram (http://instagram.com/authormaryethompson), Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/metdaisy7),  
Goodreads (http://www.goodreads.com/maryethompson)! If you sign up for my newsletter (http://maryethompson.com/fiction-free/), you’ll get a free ebook, any one you choose, from me as a thank you for signing up! 

Thank you so much for all the time you gave us to have this all do right before you went on vacation.  I can't believe you forgot.  When I had my three older children that we adopted young I counted down the days to be away from home so there would be no routines to follow.  :)

So, really thank you.  You are now a 1 Rad-Reader Misfit and we invite you to come back anytime you have a new book coming out so we can have it put on our Shout Out: An Author's Place.  We look forward to working with you again.  It's been a pleasure for sure.

Char & Pat