Meet Mary Payne Moran

 

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mary Payne Moran. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Mary , so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

Teaching and connecting with children has always been my purpose. Early in my life I was a nanny for families, needing more I went to culinary school. In the fall of 2008, I began teaching children how to cook at The Hollywood School House in Los Angeles. I loved how curious and interested kids were about cooking. In the summer of 2008, I taught cooking at The Agoura Arts Camp, and I found parents wanted their children to explore healthy new foods in a safe and carefree environment. This started my journey on teaching cooking and healthy eating to children and families, thus the idea of The Vita Gang Mysteries, Who Stole D? began.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

My focus is on two things, my cooking school, The Silver Lake Kitchen, and spreading the word about my passion project The Vita Gang Mysteries, Who Stole Vita D?, it took 16 years to come to fruition.

In the fall of 2008, I was teaching children about the importance of vitamins and what the vitamins do for their body. With years of experience around kids I knew the best way to connect to them was with animated characters. I sketched out a few variations and made coloring sheets for my students. The children loved the characters. I knew I was on to something important.

In the fall of 2009, I launched my first cooking tour called, Vegetables or Not Here I Come, it was an interactive school assembly on my own dime, in hopes of spreading the word about healthy eating. It was also an opportunity to test out my new Vita Characters and if they would resonate with other children. I created a few handouts with early versions of The Vita Gang, and at every school I asked the kids about the characters, and how to make them better. Slowly the characters came to life, built by kids for kids.

Over the next few years, I wrote the story, and with every version, I would check with my students to see what should be done to make it better and more exciting. Before I sent the written copy to the illustrator it had been read to over a thousand children.

My illustrator and I worked tirelessly on the creation of the characters and their world, we had a completed beautiful book with a healthy and kind message. Sure of my creative efforts, I sent it out to agents everywhere, hoping for it to be published. To my surprise it was rejected, so I put it and the stack of reject letters to bed for almost ten years.

Over the next ten years, I continued to teach cooking, became the resident chef for Traditional Home magazine and became a mom. In my small home kitchen, with a child always on my hip, I sharpened my recipe writing skills. After every issue of the magazine, I would receive letters from readers who had questions or comments about the recipes. I loved connecting with readers. It gave me purpose while my book lay quiet in my cabinet, waiting.

In the fall of 2023, I had a baking class and only one person showed up. As always, I feel one student is as important as a full classroom. What I didn’t realize was that night, I would be the student. My sole student was a rom-com movie writer who had written some of my absolute favorite movies from the 90’s. We ended up talking about a book he had recently self-published and the benefits of self-publishing compared to back in the day. By the end of class I knew it was time to dust off the cobwebs and bring The Vita Gang to life.

In the winter of 2024, 16 years later, The Vita Gang Mysteries, Who Stole Vita D? was published and released on February 2nd. My dream had come true.

These days my head is spinning with Sumer Cooking Camp at The Silver Lake Kitchen. I teach children to be empowered by cooking and provide them life skills. I’m also working on my first cookbook that will hopefully be out soon and a second installment of The Vita Gang Mysteries.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Passion, patience and resilience are qualities that have shaped me into who I am today.
Passion- As an excited teenager I was eager to go after my dreams (even if they weren’t fully realized). With every job I asked myself; What do I like about this job? What knowledge can I gain and use later in life? And, what job would I want next?

Patience- This is my most important skill. Usually, what I desired did not happen fast. Patience gave me the strength to wait and not give up.

Resilience- Persistence is the most important quality. No’s, rejections, and other road blocks could have stopped me, but they forced me to find different ways, different approaches, and ask more questions.

How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?

Yes, finding enough funds to support the second and third books in “The Vita Gang” series and my cookbook. If anyone would like to support me, please buy “The Vita Gang Mysteries, Who Stole Vita D?” at Bookbaby.com, for your friends, grandchildren, local schools, stores or local libraries. All profits go towards funding the second and third books. https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-vita-gang-mysteries

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Coe London
Margo Moritz

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