My name is Mary Kate Pagano, but you can call me MK. I live on the top floor of a converted pencil factory in Jersey City. I like to wander. I consider books as important to survival as food. I spend a great deal of time writing down the stories of the people I’ve made up in my head.

I write about reading, writing, traveling, and living in this space. If any of these things are of interest to you, I suggest you stay a while.

Reading: I read a lot. I feel unwell when I’m not immersed in a book. I talk about my favorite books and authors quite frequently. Please join in!

Writing: I’ve completed drafts of three four novels: a young adult mystery set in Normandy, France, a young adult contemporary/thriller set at the Jersey Shore, another young adult contemporary about a high school stage crew, and a weird feminist maybe-fantasy filled with political intrigue and some musings on what it means to be an unattractive female in a world where that’s valued. The Jersey Shore story I’m editing (for the millionth time) finally querying! is on submission after many revisions, thanks to my amazing agent; the stage crew story is going through its fifth sixth round of revisions; the mystery and fantasy are waiting on shelves, for now. I have several other ideas in the works and am working on one of them probably as we speak. I’ve learned a tremendous amount in the years since I’ve started taking this whole writing thing seriously, and hope you find my learnings useful.

Traveling: I spent the first 18 years of my life at the Jersey Shore. I spent the next 5 years in Worcester, Massachusetts. Then I took off for a year, exploring many corners of Europe, particularly France, before “settling down” in New York City. I still make it a point to leave the country and go somewhere I’ve never been at least twice a year and write a funny story about it. I had a baby, so travel less than I used to, but the wanderlust is still alive and well deep inside of me.

Living: As a person who has over a quarter of a century of living behind her, I feel as though I’ve learned a decent amount of things, though nowhere near all the things. I like to share what’s helped me along the way in the hopes that it will be helpful to you, too.

I also talk books and other writerly (and wanderlusty) things in these places:
Goodreads, Twitter, Instagram (bookish), Instagram (personal), Tumblr (bookish), Tumblr (personal).

I can be reached at mary {dot} katherine {dot} 18 {at} gmail {dot} com