South Dakota author to speak at Nobles County Library in Worthington

Jan. 13—WORTHINGTON — South Dakota author Mary Yungeberg writes character-driven thrillers about spies, assassins, terrorism and counterterrorism, and she'll be bringing her writing and publishing knowledge to the Nobles County Library in Worthington from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18.

"I'm looking forward to sharing about the stories and the writing process," said Yungeberg, who has written five books in her Rowan Milani Chronicles. "I love talking about my books and I'm just feeling very honored that I was asked to do it."

Her novels feature Milani, a decorated Iranian-American FBI agent and assassin, whose life takes a harrowing turn when he visits Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for an anti-terrorism operation.

Yungeberg earned a bachelor's degree from Iowa State University, and has had a number of different careers over the years, including selling swine breeding stock to farmers on behalf of a big company, freelancing as a writer for horse-related publications and serving as a professional resume writer.

"I was a Pizza Hut waitress for a while — I hated that," she said.

In 2000, she started working for United Airlines in Sioux Falls, and like many others, she was deeply affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, spending days looking for names of people she knew in flight manifests.

It was the first time she'd really thought about terrorism.

She left the airline in 2008, and while on an Alaska cruise with a friend, Yungeberg finally had time to sit and think.

"I knew that I wanted to write thrillers. And I came home and told my husband 'This is something I really want to do,'" she recalled.

She couldn't stand the idea of waking up one morning and realizing she had never pursued her dream. With the support of her husband, she quit her job and started writing.

"My lofty goal at the beginning was that I wanted to educate, or help people understand the threat that our country faces from terrorism, in an entertaining way," Yungeberg said.

As she had known some Iranian students in her time at college and had a great appreciation for their culture, she decided she wanted her hero to be Iranian-American. Then she started asking what-if questions, and her character, Rowan Milani, grew as the answers came.

The first book in the series, "Consummate Betrayal," deals with Milani's betrayal by sophisticated terrorists who have insinuated themselves into high-ranking positions in the government.

Yungeberg, who is not Iranian and has no direct experience in the intelligence community, spends significant time and effort doing research for her books in order to ensure all of it is accurate. Over time, she's developed a number of sources who have helped with that objective, including the man on the cover of all five books, Nicholas Guilak, an Iranian-American actor.

Yungeberg's writing process is a bit different from that of most writers. When she's ready to start a new book, she sits down with a laptop and "interviews" her characters, asking them what's on their minds and how they're doing. She ends up with a few pages of conversation that eventually evolve into and become part of the book.

"I'll let the characters lead," she explained. "My process doesn't involve sitting down and saying 'Here's my plotline, here's my arc, here's where I'm going.' Everyone's different. For some other writer... the way I do it wouldn't work at all."

She gives her characters backgrounds with families, educations and even astrological signs.

"They've all got to be people, because otherwise, they're stick characters," Yungeberg said.

She advised other people interested in writing to follow their dreams, and invest time and resources to learn the craft. She also emphasized the importance of not taking things personally, and checking the credentials of every company and organization.

"If it's something you want to do, do it. Never give up," Yungeberg said. "Take the time to really learn your craft. Do whatever you can."

For more information about Yungeberg, visit maryyungeberg.com or visit her author page on Facebook. Her books are available on her website as well as on Amazon.com.