Mary Curran Hackett - Ghostwriter
The best-selling author of PROOF OF HEAVEN and professional editor. I love to edit personal stories that inspire hope and transformation.
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Overview
As a ghostwriter and editor, I have helped executives, celebrities, wellness experts, and religious leaders share their unique stories and vision for the world.
In addition to ghostwriting books, I have published two best-selling and critically acclaimed novels of my own PROOF OF HEAVEN and PROOF OF ANGELS (William Morrow/HarperCollins). I also have a forthcoming memoir that will be published next year. In addition to books, I have written several profiles of acclaimed writers, including Pulitzer Prize Winner, Dave Eggers, Oprah Book of the Month Club author and best-selling author Janet Fitch, former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins, and host of NPR’s Fresh Air, Terry Gross. I have also appeared on NPR’s This I Believe and my essay “Never Give Up,” which aired on the program, was anthologized in This I Believe: On Fatherhood (Wiley).
With over twenty years of experience in publishing–writing, ghostwriting, developmental editing–I am a skilled interviewer and have a knack for getting people to open up and share their story in ways only they can tell it. As a person who has both served as an editor and writer, I understand both sides of the process and try to be the editor I myself need as a writer and the writer I wish to work with as an editor.
I am also an avid reader and look at each text as a reader might—hanging on every word and hoping to come away from each book transformed, enlightened, and a bit wiser, not to mention a more compassionate person for reading it.
Reading, writing, and working with people makes me happy. I love what I do. I try my best to be congenial and easy-to-work-with. I sincerely want every person to experience the process of writing as both the gift and a joy that it is, but I also recognize the extraordinary discipline, strength, patience, skill, effort, and passion required to see a project through to completion. And thanks to years of hard work and experience, I possess these virtues—not to mention a healthy sense of humor and acceptance of my own limitations.
In addition to ghostwriting books, I have published two best-selling and critically acclaimed novels of my own PROOF OF HEAVEN and PROOF OF ANGELS (William Morrow/HarperCollins). I also have a forthcoming memoir that will be published next year. In addition to books, I have written several profiles of acclaimed writers, including Pulitzer Prize Winner, Dave Eggers, Oprah Book of the Month Club author and best-selling author Janet Fitch, former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins, and host of NPR’s Fresh Air, Terry Gross. I have also appeared on NPR’s This I Believe and my essay “Never Give Up,” which aired on the program, was anthologized in This I Believe: On Fatherhood (Wiley).
With over twenty years of experience in publishing–writing, ghostwriting, developmental editing–I am a skilled interviewer and have a knack for getting people to open up and share their story in ways only they can tell it. As a person who has both served as an editor and writer, I understand both sides of the process and try to be the editor I myself need as a writer and the writer I wish to work with as an editor.
I am also an avid reader and look at each text as a reader might—hanging on every word and hoping to come away from each book transformed, enlightened, and a bit wiser, not to mention a more compassionate person for reading it.
Reading, writing, and working with people makes me happy. I love what I do. I try my best to be congenial and easy-to-work-with. I sincerely want every person to experience the process of writing as both the gift and a joy that it is, but I also recognize the extraordinary discipline, strength, patience, skill, effort, and passion required to see a project through to completion. And thanks to years of hard work and experience, I possess these virtues—not to mention a healthy sense of humor and acceptance of my own limitations.
Services
Languages
English (US)
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs
Health & wellbeing
Inspirational
New Age
Religion & Spirituality
Self-help & Self-improvement
Work experience
Writer and Ghostwriter
Self-employed
April, 2009
–
Present
(almost 11 years)
I have been freelancing as a writer, developmental editor, and ghostwriter for nearly a decade. My novels Proof of Heaven and Proof of Angels were published in 2011 and 2014 by William Morrow/HarperCollins. I have ghostwritten for authors who have been published by Harper, Penguin Random House, and Simon and Schuster and have helped hundreds of clients edit, write, and/or publish their books on their own. Because of the nature of my work, I can't share all of the books I have ghostwritten, but I can provide samples upon request.
Adjunct Faculty
University of Cincinnati
January, 2005
–
June, 2013
(over 8 years)
As an adjunct faculty member, I taught classes in writing, rhetoric, and literature.
Editor
Franciscan Media
April, 2003
–
April, 2012
(about 9 years)
For nearly a decade I served as an editor, writer, copywriter and project manager for an international nonprofit press. Responsibilities included, but were not limited to: acquiring, editing, researching, fact-checking, copyediting, and proofreading book manuscripts (up to 10 per season); assisting authors with the writing of their books; acquiring titles and developing new products; writing back cover copy for books edited; evaluating book queries and submissions, initiating and shepherding titling, design, and production process of each book; working with authors, freelancers, and designers throughout the book production process. As a specialist in marketing and public relations, I was also responsible for developing products and book concepts based on target demographic research, while helping marketing to create promotional material and catalog copy as well as working with designers and professional photographers for book cover shoots.
Portfolio (12 selected works)
What can you learn from the most successful companies in the world? The Capital One Story will help you understand and adopt the competitive strategies, workplace culture, and daily business practices that enabled an unlikely credit card startup to revolutionize the credit industry.After twenty-five years in the credit card business, Capital One has earned its place in wallets across the world... read more
What can you learn from the most successful companies in the world? The Sephora Story will help you understand and adopt the competitive strategies, workplace culture, and daily business practices that turned the makeup retailer into a paradise for makeup enthusiasts everywhere.Sephora is a playground for women, chock full of lipstick, eyeshadows, foundations, blushes, and so much more, just w... read more
Proof of Heaven: A Novel
Mary Curran Hackett
“Proof of Heaven belongs on any keeper shelf. It’s beautifully written, mesmerizing and tragic, thought-provoking, and a reaffirmation of faith….I loved this book.”—Shelley Shepard GrayProof of Heaven by Mary Curran Hackett is an astonishing debut—a moving, inspiring, and wise first novel that explores beautifully the meaning of family, faith, and love. The story of a mother’s unshakable belie... read more
Proof of Angels: A Novel (P.S.)
Mary Curran Hackett
From the critically acclaimed author of Proof of Heaven comes an unforgettable novel about hope, renewal, and the gift of angels among us—friends, family, lovers . . . and even mystical others—sure to touch your heart.Sean Magee is a firefighter—a hero who risks his own life to save others, running into dangerous situations few have the courage to dare. While fighting a horrific blaze, Sean be... read more
Become Zen with your money and alleviate your anxieties about finances and earning potential. Ken Honda—Japan’s #1 bestselling personal development guru—will help you heal your relationship with money and discover the lifestyle that will truly make you happy.Ken Honda knows that getting rich quick is no way to achieve happiness. Too often, money is a source of fear, stress, and anger, often br... read more
This I Believe: On Fatherhood
Dan Gediman, John Gregory, Mary Jo Gediman
Compelling stories of fatherhood from the popular NPR radio show From the popular radio series This I Believe comes this touching and thought-provoking compilation of original essays on one of the most fundamental of human relationships-fatherhood. It is a relationship filled with joy and heartbreak, love and anger, lessons learned, and opportunities missed. The stories in this collection are ... read more
Care for Creation: A Franciscan Spirituality of the Earth
Ilia Delio, Keith Douglass Warner, Pamela Wood
Three of the greatest minds in Franciscan theology, Ilia Delio, O.S.F., Franciscan Keith Douglass Warner, O.F.M., and Pamela Wood, come together to discuss one of the greatest crises of our time—the destruction of the Earth. This book takes both a theological and practical approach to developing a Franciscan spirituality of the earth. Four sections highlight the distinct relationships creation... read more
Mary and Me: Catholic Women Reflect on the Mother of God
Ginny Kubitz Moyer
How does Mary, the Mother of God, speak to the modern female experience? Does she comfort, challenge or inspire? Ginny Moyer wanted to know how women today would answer those questions, so she invited women of all ages, some cradle Catholics and some converts, some lay and some religious, to share their thoughts on Mary. In the process of collecting women's stories, Moyer learned that the answ... read more
Compassion: Living in the Spirit of St. Francis
Ilia Delio O.S.F.
What is compassion and how does it emerge in the human heart? What moves one to compassion? Can we learn compassion as a way of life? Can we let go of our fears to love more deeply? Compassion guides us through the life of Francis, tracing his growth from a selfish, materialistic young man to the humble, holy saint beloved by millions. With this book as your guide, you can do simple things eve... read more
The Humility of God: A Franciscan Perspective
Ilia Delio O.S.F.
The humility of God is really about God's relationship to the world and God's fidelity to the world, even when everything in the world seems to fail.—from the Introduction "Here as in her previous work, Sister Ilia builds on her outstanding command of the scholarship about the work of Bonaventure which has developed so remarkably in the twentieth century. Together with this she brings her pers... read more
Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps
Richard Rohr O.F.M.
We are all addicted in some way. When we learn to identify our addiction, embrace our brokenness, and surrender to God, we begin to bring healing to ourselves and our world. In Breathing Under Water, Richard Rohr shows how the gospel principles in the Twelve Steps can free anyone from any addiction—from an obvious dependence on alcohol or drugs to the more common but less visible addiction tha... read more
Mystics: Ten Who Show Us the Ways of God
Murray Bodo
Christianity is a mysterious faith. Some of these mysteries can be described with Scripture or doctrine, but others can only be experienced. Those graced with these experiences, these intimate glimpses of God, are called mystics.Father Bodo's sensitive guidance leads us into the heart of what these mystics have expressed about God and how their insight can deepen our own experience of the divi... read more
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