The Qualities of Wood

A girl is found in the woods and a tangle of secrets unravels. Can Vivian trust her impressions? Can she trust anyone?

"First novels aren't particularly known for their powerful writing; but from the first sentence, Mary Vensel White's The Qualities of Wood captivates and holds the reader: 'In the small, congested airport, Vivian didn't recognize her husband.' Slowly a small town's secrets come to light in a story that skits a fine line between mystery and psychological suspense."
   —Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Review

"The Qualities of Wood portrays the tension between a young married couple hitting a rough patch after a move to the country. It explores memory and perspective and how these can alter one's concept of the truth. It kept me guessing to the very last page."
   —Katie O' Rourke, author of Monsoon Season

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I have always found imagination to be a great and humbling power. What better gift than the ability to imagine another place, another time, another life? I've been writing for a long time and reading for a long time before that. Thanks to my early influences: Ruth Chew, who showed me books can, in fact, do whatever they want and Little Women, with its unforgettable characters. I wouldn't have written long fiction with Lolita and Anna Karenina, and I owe much to Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson, a history work with a little spark that I return to again and again to start fires. Lastly, my unnamed town in The Qualities of Wood may be a few interstates away from Winesburg, Ohio. Maybe.

I hope my writing reaches others in the same way so many stories have informed, influenced and enriched my life.