Finnigan the Circus Cat

Mary T. Wagner is a former newspaper and magazine journalist who changed careers at the age of forty by going to law school and becoming a criminal prosecutor. However, she never could step away from the written word entirely, and inevitably the joy of writing drew her back to the keyboard. A Chicago native, this mother of four and grandmother now lives in "coastal Wisconsin," where she draws much inspiration for writing from the nearby shore of Lake Michigan. Wagner's ongoing legal experience has ranged from handling speeding tickets to arguing and winning several cases before the Wisconsin Supreme Court...sometimes in the same week! Wagner has won multiple awards for her inspiring and empowering essay collections, which include "When the Shoe Fits" and "Running with Stilettos." She is also a "team blogger" for Growing Bolder. Wagner's life experiences includes the defining watershed of motherhood, and stints as a Girl Scout troop leader, truck stop waitress, office temp, judicial clerk, and radio talk show host. She counts both wearing spike heels and learning to use a cordless drill and chainsaw among her "late blooming" discoveries, and would be hard pressed to surrender either her favorite stilettos or her power tools.