
Amy Melnicsak and Mary Chase met in a poetry writing class at Northwestern but decided fiction was more their speed. They wanted to write the kinds of books they loved to read when they were growing up. And frankly still read.
5 fun(ish) facts
Mary on
Amy

- Amy was a fiction major in college and seems to enjoy making things up.
- She travels as much as possible, while lamenting the declining value of frequent flyer miles. Currently she’s made it to six of the seven continents, with no current plans to visit Antarctica.
- Mary can’t help but notice that although Amy has been studying Chinese since they met, she still can’t understand a word of it.
- She lives in Evanston, IL with her husband, daughter, two stepsons, and a vicious dog Mary avoids.
- Although Amy is a frequent viewer of Wives with Knives and Evil Stepmothers, she is trying to remain off both shows.
- Mary was a theatre (Northwestern spelling, not ours) major and still has trouble staying away from drama (TV, unrealistic musical breaks, and long monologues to uninterested parties).
- She enjoys writing first kiss scenes although her own was less well-staged. It was like many terrible first kisses. Just a dare, with no return engagement.
- Mary has a lot of red hair which made her stand out on the Army base in Japan where she grew up. Amy would have traded places with her in a minute and finds Mary’s lack of enthusiasm for Japanese culture and cuisine to be a huge disappointment.
- Mary likes to stay at home where she lives in Park Ridge, IL five minutes from the airport with her husband and two musical-theater-loving daughters.
- While claiming to be very busy, she has watched every every episode of Law & Order (regular, Criminal Intent, and SVU) and the entire seven seasons and A Year in the Life of Gilmore Girls three times. Sadly, this did not help her win Gilmore Girls trivia.
Amy on
Mary
