5 Questions with Mary Jo Hazard - Palos Verdes Magazine

Welcome to PV Reads!
Each month we feature a writer who answers fivequestions. This month, we are introducing you to Mary Jo Hazard, a marriage and family therapist, children’s author, novelist and an advocate for mental illness and domestic violence victims.

PVM: How long have you lived on The Palos Verdes Peninsula?

MJH: We moved into our house in Miraleste, Rancho Palos Verdes, twenty-four years ago; it was the best move we’ve ever made. We have views of the harbor, Catalina, the San Gabriel Mountains, Los Angeles, the Hollywood sign, and the coastline down to Dana Point.

PVM: We understand you are actively involved with Rainbow Services. Can you tell us about this agency and how you came to be involved with it?

MJH: Rainbow Services Is a domestic violence agency In the South Bay area. Their mission Is to provide shelter and support to anyone impacted by domestic violence, empowering them to move beyond trauma towards safety & stability. Keeping victims of domestic violence safe is the foundation of their work. In the late ’80s, Rainbow was my first internship when I accumulated hours for my Marriage Family Therapist license.

PVM: What was the last book you read?

MJH: I’m reading Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker. It’s an award-winning book—a true story, narrative nonfiction, about the Galvins who had twelve children, and six of their sons were diagnosed with schizophrenia. It depicts the effects of mental illness on the sons and the other family members. It’s fascinating, it breaks my heart, and I can’t put It down.

PVM: You started your writing career focused on children’s books and then pivoted to young readers and novels? Can you tell us about this progression?

MJH: I never intended to write children’s books; that came about when I tried to find books about the peacocks of Palos Verdes for my youngest grandson, and there weren’t any. I remembered the Toni Morrison quote, “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it,” so I did. I had a niche market on the hill, and The Peacocks of Palos Verdes was very well received, so I followed it up with Palo’s World, another book about a peacock, and then P Is for Palos Verdes. I loved writing children’s books, but Stillwater, my coming-of-age novel, let me put my therapist hat back on. The book is about three close friends who help each other through significant life-changing situations, suicide, mental illness, and physical abuse. Their friendship demonstrates how much everyone needs respect, love, and support- a vital message so crucial during this pandemic.

PVM: Can you share something about the illustrations/illustrator in your children’s books?
MJH: Two talented local photographers illustrated my nonfiction children’s books. Bryce and Ivy grew up on the hill, and their eye-catching photographs made my text come alive, and Jason Norton, a young illustrator who lives In San Diego, illustrated Palo’s World–my first children’s picture book. The Illustrator of my latest children’s picture book, Smile and Say Hi, is Srimalie Bassani, and she hails from the land down under–Australia. The book is about a little boy too shy to make friends until he meets some adventurous dragons who encourage him to “smile and say hi.”(Therapist hat on again.) I’ll be reading and discussing Smile and Say Hi at the Peninsula Friends of the Library virtual “Literary Weekend” in March.

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Shannon Cavanagh
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Welcome to PV Reads! Each month we feature a writer who answers fivequestions. This month, we are introducing you to Mary Jo Hazard, a marriage and family therapist, children’s author, novelist and an advocate for mental illness and domestic violence victims.

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One Reply to “5 Questions with Mary Jo Hazard”

Welcome to PV Reads!
Each month we feature a writer who answers fivequestions. This month, we are introducing you to Mary Jo Hazard, a marriage and family therapist, children’s author, novelist and an advocate for mental illness and domestic violence victims.