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MEET MARY BATTEN (has moved to Virginia)
by Bonnie O'Brian

What did you most like to do when you were a child?

Mary Batten

I loved to read, play outdoors with my brother, and play what we called “dress up.” Dress-up was a dramatic game during which my friends and I made up a play and then put on various old clothes, which were like costumes, and then we made up dialogue and acted out the parts.

What books influenced you most when you were growing up?

Fairy tales, Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy mystery novels.

Did you write stories when you were growing up? at school? Or at home as a hobby? As a young child, or as a teenager, or both?

Yes, I wrote stories, poems, and plays. I wrote at home and at school. For example, when I was in the 6 th grade, we had to learn 12 spelling words each week. We had to use each one in a sentence. I thought that was boring so I made up a story using all 12 words. My teacher asked me to read my stories to the class and my classmates seemed to look forward to each week’s story.

When you were a child did you ever have moments when you decided that you were going to be a writer when you grew up?

I knew I wanted to be a writer by the time I was 8 years old.

What was your first job when you graduated from college?

I began working before graduating from college. Between my freshman and sophomore years, I had a summer job writing for the Norfolk Virginia-Pilot, a daily newspaper in Norfolk, Virginia. Writing for a newspaper was the best training I ever had for writing to deadline and length. I would advise anyone who wants to be a writer to get a job on a newspaper. The experience is invaluable.

Was your first book accepted immediately? or did you experience a number of rejections?

There were a number of rejections before a publisher accepted it. This is the norm for writers. An important lesson for writers, or anyone who goes into the arts, is learning not to take rejections personally. It’s all part of the artistic life.

What are the topics are some of your books?

Scientific discoveries made by chance, deception in nature, tropical forest ecology, invasive species, animal sleeping behavior, female mate choice.

Do you focus on fiction or nonfiction? Which do you prefer? Do you find one easier than the other?

I make my living as a nonfiction writer. Most of my books, television shows, and magazine articles deal with science subjects.

Do you do other types of writing - for example, educational,

nonfiction, magazine work?

Yes. I’ve written more than 50 nature/science documentaries for television and many magazine articles for a variety of magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Ladies Home Journal, Science Digest, and The Cousteau Society’s membership magazine Calypso Log.

What kinds of things inspire you to write?

The natural world. The things that animals and plants do to survive are far wilder than anything a science fiction writer could imagine. Our planet is extraordinary and the things that go on right under our noses are fascinating.

Where do you get your ideas?

Anyplace – nature, a newspaper article, a conversation I chanced to hear – ideas can come anytime, anyplace. You have to be observant and keep your mind open all the time so you don’t miss anything.

What gave you the idea for PLEASE DON’T WAKE THE ANIMALS?

While on a television assignment to Panama years ago, I met a marine biologist who told me that the parrot fish made a mucus sleeping bag every night. In the morning, it would wiggle out of its mucus cocoon and swim away. That was such a neat story that I decided to do some research on how other animals sleep. When I had enough stories, I wrote this book about how different animals sleep.

Have any of your books earned special recognition?

Yes. ALIENS FROM EARTH won the 2006 Izaak Walton League of America Conservation Book of the Year Award. This book was also selected by New York City Public Schools to support 4 th-grade science requirement for the study of ecosystems. ANTHROPOLOGIST: SCIENTIST OF THE PEOPLE was selected for Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students by the National Science Teachers Association and the Children’s Book Council. ANTHROPOLOGIST: SCIENTIST OF THE PEOPLE was also selected for the 2003 to 2009 Middle School California Collections and the 2003 to 2008 High School California Collections. THE WINKING, BLINKING SEA was in the 2003 to 2006 Elementary California Collections.

Do you enjoy researching or do you prefer working totally from your imagination?

I enjoy researching because I am always learning something new and that is exciting.

Do you work on more than one book at a time?

Yes.

When you do school visits, what question do children ask you most?

Children ask some of the same questions as adults: When did I start writing? What do I like most about writing? What would I advise a young person who wants to be a writer? I love children’s questions because they are direct and honest.

What do you most want the students to get out of your school visits?

Excitement for writing and for science.