C. M. MAYO
Author of Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution, etc.

EXPLORERS . MEXICOPHILES . WRITERS
+ ABOUT + PUBLICATIONS + DIGITAL MEDIA + EVENTS + SHOP +
Biographical Note -Interviews ~ Reviews +News Roundup+ Contact

Featured Interviews / Profiles

By Book

Leslie Pietrzyk's Work-in-Progress blog, January 2019
Q & A with C.M. Mayo about Meteor
Read here.



Biographers International Newsletter January 2017
Q & A with C.M. Mayo
Read here.

Jeffrey Mishlove interviews C.M. Mayo about her book, Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution: Francisco I. Madero and His Secret Book, Spiritist Manual for "New Thinking Allowed"

Part One


Part Two


Part Three




Occult of Personality
Greg Kaminsky interviews C.M. Mayo about Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution: Francisco I. Madero and His Secret Book, Spiritist Manual.

Listen to the podcast here.

"I found C.M. Mayo’s book to be very engaging and well-written. This is not your typical history, or even esoteric history book. Mayo is a profoundly creative and insightful artist who is able to bring her own perspective into the frame while enhancing our understanding of her subjects. This is a masterful introduction to a topic that hasn’t been explored in this accessible way before, and may never be again. If you enjoy esotericism, history, politics, and the way that they sometimes intersect, I highly recommend you read C.M. Mayo’s Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution."
Greg Kaminsky, host of Occult of Personality



Shattered Reality Podcast:
C.M. Mayo, Spiritism, and the Mexican Revolution
with Kate Valentine and Fahrusha
Listen to the podcast here.





Just Energy Radio with Dr. Rita Louise
C.M. Mayo: The Secret Book of Francisco I. Madero
Transcript




The Mexican Labyrinth

"How the Talking Dead Helped Forge Modern Mexico"
Guadalajara-based journalist Stephen Woodman interviews C.M. Mayo.
"It is an inconvenient fact for Mexican historians that the “Father of the Revolution” Francisco I. Madero, kept in regular contact with spirits of the dead. Yet Madero, who served as president from 1911 until his assassination less than two years later, was a deeply committed spiritist and believed he spoke to departed relatives and possibly even former Mexican leaders. Through his practice of mechanical writing, Madero put pen to paper and let invisible beings guide his hand, shakily transcribing words of wisdom from beyond the grave. With a Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution, U.S. novelist and translator C.M. Mayo has written one of the only books to focus on this key aspect of his life. READ MORE


Women and Independent Publishing: An Interview with C.M. Mayo, Award-Winning Author, Journalist, Poet, Translator, and Publisher


"C.M. Mayo, Marfa Mondays and Writing"



Lonn Taylor, "The Rambling Boy," reports on the Marfa Mondays Podcasting Project.


Historia en Vivo, Mexico City radio program with Bertha Hernández, March 14, 2015.
Escuchar el podcast (en español)



"Los espíritus de Francisco I. Madero"
En Odisea metafísica hacia la Revolución Mexicana, Catherine Mansell Mayo recupera el viejo Manual Espírita escrito con seudónimo por quien derroca a Porfirio Díaz.
Vainey Fernández. Milenio March 8, 2015



"University of Chicago Alumna Explores Secret Book by Leader of the Mexican Revolution"
By Greg Borzo, Division of the Social Sciences University of Chicago, on-line newsletter, April 2014
Touring archives at Mexico’s Ministry of Finance in 2008, Catherine Mansell, who goes by her pen name, C.M. Mayo, came across a little book called Manual espírita by Bhima.
aaa“Who’s Bhima?” she asked. None other than Francisco Madero, the Mexican statesman who kicked off the Mexican Revolution and served as president of Mexico from 1911 to 1913, before he was assassinated.
...At that moment, Mayo, an accomplished novelist, memoirist, poet and translator, knew “instantly and absolutely” that she would translate this secret, never-before-translated work.... READ MORE


The Mexico City News columnist Charlie Goff: "Madero's Writings"
(The article is not archived on The News' website of the News, but it is in the columnist's blog, Charlie's Digs)


National Public Radio John Ydstie interviews C.M. Mayo about literary translation and Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion. April 1st 2006.

The Book Studio
Bethanne Patrick ("The Book Maven") interviews C.M. Mayo about The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire and the Washington DC story behind the story. January 22, 2010.

Interviews about Meteor (Gival Press Award for Poetry)
Work-in-Progress

 


Interviews about Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution: Francisco I. Madero and His Secret Book, Spiritist Manual, winner National Indie Excellence Award for History
Occult of Personality podcast
New Thinking Allowed TV
... and
more


Interviews about The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, the novel based on the true story, a Library Journal Best Book of 2009
The Book Studio TV

Mary J. Lohnes
... and more


Interviews about Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion, a collection of 24 Mexican writers, many in translation for the first time
National Public Radio

Inside Mexico
Luis Felipe Lomelí
... and more



About Miraculous Air: Journey of a Thousand Miles through Baja California, the Other Mexico
Washington City Paper
Baja Breeze
Vagabonding
... and
more

About Sky Over El Nido: Stories
(Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction)
Film Threat
U Georgia Press

... and more


About Podcasting for Writers & Other Creative Entrepreneurs

More Interviews

Interviews BY C.M. Mayo
(Mostly Podcasts)
July 23, 2014
El Financiero
(in Spanish)
Alberto Baude Barrientos interviews C.M. Mayo about books, publishing, and the latest, Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution and the novel, El último príncipe del Imperio Mexicano.
 
April 23, 2013
Interview by Jon Winokur for AdviceToWriters.com
 
February 13, 2013
Spotlight on C.M. Mayo over at Lisa Carter's Intralingo Blog, on getting started in literary translation, translating Mexican writers Agustín Cadena and Mónica Lavín, and tackling the translation of Francisco I. Madero's secret book of 1911. February 13, 2013.
 
 January 30, 2012
Rose Mary Salum, editor of Literal, interviews C.M. Mayo about translating Madero's Spiritist Manual, for the Literal Magazine blog
 
 July 25, 2010
"Author Turned Publisher C.M. Mayo Takes Digital Rights Into Her Own Hands"
Jada Bradley interviews C.M. Mayo about Dancing Chiva Literary Arts and the adventure of digital publishing. In-Reads.com
 
The Kenyon Review (on the web)
A conversation with C.M. Mayo about the writing of "The Building of Quality" -- how it began with James Howard Kunstler's rant 'n rave... (This short story is now available as an e-book for Kindle at amazon.com.)


John Randolph Bennett's Blog: The Theory of Writing / The Writing of Theory
Interview with C.M. Mayo about Dancing Chiva Literary Arts. March 31, 2011.
 
 Connections Literary Magazine: "The Politics of Love"
Mary J. Lohnes interviews C.M. Mayo about The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire. October 2010.

Jenn's Bookshelves Blog
Interview by Jenn about The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire. November 12, 2010.

Historicalnovels.info
An interview by historical novels blogger Margaret Donsbach. October 20, 2010.

Latina Book Club
Maria Ferrer's NYC-based blog, embracing Hispanic heritage. September 15, 2010.



El Calendario de Todos Santos

Writer Michael Mercer interviews C.M. Mayo about the writing of The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire. March 2010

The Book Studio
Bethanne Patrick ("The Book Maven") interviews C.M. Mayo about The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire and the Washington DC story behind the story. January 22, 2010.

Coffee with a Canine Blog
Interview by Marshal Zeringue. November 25, 2009.

Critical Mass: National Book Critics Circle
Small Press Spotlight: An Interview with C.M. Mayo by Rigoberto Gonzalez. October 11, 2009.



Fall for the Book Festival (George Mason University): David Heath interviews C.M. Mayo
about The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire and the story behind the story of Mexico's half-American prince. September 2009. (To read the complete interview, which includes previously unpublished Q & A about the Empress Carlota, click here.)

Amigos de la Universidad de Chicago
(University of Chicago Mexico Alumni Association)
Apropos of the presentation of The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire in Mexico City September 2009.
Click here for photos of the event.

Write On! Online
Debra Eckerling interviews C.M. Mayo about The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire and the writing process. July 3, 2009.



largehearted boy

A guest-blog post with a playlist for The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire.

Savvy Verse & Wit Interview by leading book blogger Serena Agusto-Cox about The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire.

Whereabouts Press Blog John Bennett interviews C.M. Mayo about The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire and some of the stories (by Araceli Ardón, Fernando del Paso, Mónica Lavín) in Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion.




The Poet and the Poem Grace Cavalieri inteviews C.M. Mayo and Francisco Aragon. Recorded Fall 2008 at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.



Ten Questions for C.M. Mayo
Writerly interview by Wendy Burt March 1, 2009.

Poder y negocios
"Se puede conocer a México
a traves del corazón"

An interview (in Spanish) by Dolia Estevez about Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion, Miraculous Air, and Tameme. October 2007.



National Public Radio
John Ydstie interviews C.M. Mayo about literary translation and Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion. April 1st 2006.

Flannery O'Connor Award Series Editor Nancy Zafris Interviews C.M. Mayo
An interview about Sky Over El Nido and what this judge looks for in a mansucript. April 2008.




Inside Mexico

Inside Mexico's co-founding editor Margot Shetterley interviews C.M. Mayo on writing about and translating in Mexico. June 2007.
(Photo by Luz Montero)



Saint Ann's Review Interview: Editor Beth Bosworth interviews C.M. Mayo. Summer / Fall 2008







Travel'n On Radio Tonya and Ian Fitzpatrck interview C.M. Mayo about Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion, Miraculous Air and Mexico's Baja California peninsula, Mexico City,the forthcoming novel, The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, and more. January 6, 2009.


National Book Critics Circle Blog "Critical Mass"
Rigoberto Gonzalez interviews C.M. Mayo: "Small Press Spotlight" about Tameme, the new chapbook series, literary translation, and more. April 22, 2008.

EWN E-Panel: Publishing Panel on Chapbooks
The Emerging Writers Network Blog, by Dan Wickett. An interview with a panel of six chapbook editors, including C.M. Mayo (editor of Tameme Chapbooks ~ Cuadernos). October 10, 2008.

Baja Breeze
In the premier issue (August- Sept 2007), editor Adam Behar interviews C.M. Mayo about the new paperback edition of her memoir, Miraculous Air.

DCist Interview with C.M. Mayo
by Shawn Westfall, DCist's literary correspondent and improv workshop leader extraordinaire

Solutions Abroad
Umair Khan interviews C.M. Mayo about living in and writing about Mexico. June 2007.

The Quarterly Conversation
Elizabeth Wadell interviews C.M. Mayo on the Wide World of Mexican Fiction. Summer 2007.

Eight Diagrams
Wayne E. Yang, litblogger extraordinaire, interviews C.M. Mayo about literary translation and Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion. June 30, 2006.

Edna Spokane Interviews C.M. Mayo about Her New Anthology, Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion
C.M. Mayo about Mexican literature, translation, and the Mexican fascination with the macabre.

Washington Independent Writers Interview: C.M. Mayo on Mexican Literature and the anthology Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion

Emerging Writers Network Reading the World: E-Panel of Literary Translators: C.M. Mayo and others on the art of literary translators.

Hill Rag An interview with C.M. Mayo about her reading of "The Building of Quality" for the inaugural A Space Inside Reading Series at Riverby Books on Capitol Hill.

Rolf Potts' Vagabonding An interview with C.M. Mayo about travel writing, Baja California, V.S. Naipaul, and the writing of Miraculous Air.

Creative Nonfiction (on the web) A conversation with C.M. Mayo about her recent essay in Creative Nonfiction's special "Mexican Voices" issue, "The Essential Francisco Sosa or, Picadou's Mexico City"

ATA Chronicle Lily Liu's Interview with the editor of TAMEME. "Literary translation is an art and it matters very much how well it is done..."

Film Threat
"Talking Pictures: Kahlo's Ghost" -- C.M. Mayo on Salma Hayek's "Frida".





Washington City Paper
"Baja Afresh" Louis Jacob interviews C.M. Mayo about Miraculous Air.


Emerging Writers Network Dan Wicket Interviews C.M. Mayo about Sky Over El Nido, winner of the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fictionand asks the Farenheit 451 question...



CLMP Newswire "Literary NAFTA Crosses Borders" C.M. Mayo on the founding of Tameme, the bilingual (Spanish/English) journal of new writing from Canada, the US and Mexico

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   














































































































































































































































More Interviews
July 23, 2014
El Financiero
(in Spanish)
Alberto Baude Barrientos interviews C.M. Mayo about books, publishing, and the latest, Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution and the novel, El último príncipe del Imperio Mexicano.
April 23, 2013
Interview by Jon Winokur for AdviceToWriters.com
February 13, 2013
Spotlight on C.M. Mayo over at Lisa Carter's Intralingo Blog, on getting started in literary translation, translating Mexican writers Agustín Cadena and Mónica Lavín, and tackling the translation of Francisco I. Madero's secret book of 1911. February 13, 2013.
 January 30, 2012
Rose Mary Salum, editor of Literal, interviews C.M. Mayo about translating Madero's Spiritist Manual, for the Literal Magazine blog
In-Reads.com
"Author Turned Publisher C.M. Mayo Takes Digital Rights Into Her Own Hands"
Jada Bradley interviews C.M. Mayo about Dancing Chiva Literary Arts and the adventure of digital publishing. July 25, 2010
The Kenyon Review (on the web)
A conversation with C.M. Mayo about the writing of "The Building of Quality" -- how it began with James Howard Kunstler's rant 'n rave... (This short story is now available as an e-book for Kindle at amazon.com.)


John Randolph Bennett's Blog: The Theory of Writing / The Writing of Theory
Interview with C.M. Mayo about Dancing Chiva Literary Arts. March 31, 2011.

Connections Literary Magazine: "The Politics of Love"
Mary J. Lohnes interviews C.M. Mayo about The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire. October 2010.

Jenn's Bookshelves Blog
Interview by Jenn about The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire. November 12, 2010.

Historicalnovels.info
An interview by historical novels blogger Margaret Donsbach. October 20, 2010.

Latina Book Club
Maria Ferrer's NYC-based blog, embracing Hispanic heritage. September 15, 2010.

El Calendario de Todos Santos
Writer Michael Mercer interviews C.M. Mayo about the writing of The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire. March 2010

The Book Studio
Bethanne Patrick ("The Book Maven") interviews C.M. Mayo about The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire and the Washington DC story behind the story. January 22, 2010.

Coffee with a Canine Blog
Interview by Marshal Zeringue. November 25, 2009.

Critical Mass: National Book Critics Circle
Small Press Spotlight: An Interview with C.M. Mayo by Rigoberto Gonzalez. October 11, 2009.

Fall for the Book Festival (George Mason University): David Heath interviews C.M. Mayo about The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire and the story behind the story of Mexico's half-American prince. September 2009. (To read the complete interview, which includes previously unpublished Q & A about the Empress Carlota, click here.)

Amigos de la Universidad de Chicago
(University of Chicago Mexico Alumni Association)
Apropos of the presentation of The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire in Mexico City September 2009.
Click here for photos of the event.

Write On! Online
Debra Eckerling interviews C.M. Mayo about The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire and the writing process. July 3, 2009.

largehearted boy
A guest-blog post with a playlist for The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire.

Savvy Verse & Wit Interview by leading book blogger Serena Agusto-Cox about The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire.

Whereabouts Press Blog John Bennett interviews C.M. Mayo about The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire and some of the stories (by Araceli Ardón, Fernando del Paso, Mónica Lavín) in Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion.




The Poet and the Poem Grace Cavalieri inteviews C.M. Mayo and Francisco Aragon. Recorded Fall 2008 at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.






Ten Questions for C.M. Mayo
Writerly interview by Wendy Burt March 1, 2009.

Poder y negocios
"Se puede conocer a México
a traves del corazón"

An interview (in Spanish) by Dolia Estevez about Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion, Miraculous Air, and Tameme. October 2007.



National Public Radio
John Ydstie interviews C.M. Mayo about literary translation and Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion. April 1st 2006.

Flannery O'Connor Award Series Editor Nancy Zafris Interviews C.M. Mayo
An interview about Sky Over El Nido and what this judge looks for in a mansucript. April 2008.

Inside Mexico

Inside Mexico's co-founding editor Margot Shetterley interviews C.M. Mayo on writing about and translating in Mexico. June 2007.
(Photo by Luz Montero)



Saint Ann's Review Interview: Editor Beth Bosworth interviews C.M. Mayo. Summer / Fall 2008








Travel'n On Radio Tonya and Ian Fitzpatrck interview C.M. Mayo about Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion, Miraculous Air and Mexico's Baja California peninsula, Mexico City,the forthcoming novel, The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, and more. January 6, 2009.


National Book Critics Circle Blog "Critical Mass"
Rigoberto Gonzalez interviews C.M. Mayo: "Small Press Spotlight" about Tameme, the new chapbook series, literary translation, and more. April 22, 2008.

EWN E-Panel: Publishing Panel on Chapbooks
The Emerging Writers Network Blog, by Dan Wickett. An interview with a panel of six chapbook editors, including C.M. Mayo (editor of Tameme Chapbooks ~ Cuadernos). October 10, 2008.

Baja Breeze
In the premier issue (August- Sept 2007), editor Adam Behar interviews C.M. Mayo about the new paperback edition of her memoir, Miraculous Air.

DCist Interview with C.M. Mayo
by Shawn Westfall, DCist's literary correspondent and improv workshop leader extraordinaire

Solutions Abroad
Umair Khan interviews C.M. Mayo about living in and writing about Mexico. June 2007.

The Quarterly Conversation
Elizabeth Wadell interviews C.M. Mayo on the Wide World of Mexican Fiction. Summer 2007.

Eight Diagrams
Wayne E. Yang, litblogger extraordinaire, interviews C.M. Mayo about literary translation and Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion. June 30, 2006.

Edna Spokane Interviews C.M. Mayo about Her New Anthology, Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion
C.M. Mayo about Mexican literature, translation, and the Mexican fascination with the macabre.

Washington Independent Writers Interview: C.M. Mayo on Mexican Literature and the anthology Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion

Emerging Writers Network Reading the World: E-Panel of Literary Translators: C.M. Mayo and others on the art of literary translators.

Hill Rag An interview with C.M. Mayo about her reading of "The Building of Quality" for the inaugural A Space Inside Reading Series at Riverby Books on Capitol Hill.

Rolf Potts' Vagabonding An interview with C.M. Mayo about travel writing, Baja California, V.S. Naipaul, and the writing of Miraculous Air.

Creative Nonfiction (on the web) A conversation with C.M. Mayo about her recent essay in Creative Nonfiction's special "Mexican Voices" issue, "The Essential Francisco Sosa or, Picadou's Mexico City"

ATA Chronicle Lily Liu's Interview with the editor of TAMEME. "Literary translation is an art and it matters very much how well it is done..."

Film Threat
"Talking Pictures: Kahlo's Ghost" -- C.M. Mayo on Salma Hayek's "Frida".

Washington City Paper "Baja Afresh" Louis Jacob interviews C.M. Mayo about Miraculous Air.


Emerging Writers Network Dan Wicket Interviews C.M. Mayo about Sky Over El Nido, winner of the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction-- and asks the Farenheit 451 question...



CLMP Newswire "Literary NAFTA Crosses Borders" C.M. Mayo on the founding of Tameme, the bilingual (Spanish/English) journal of new writing from Canada, the US and Mexico



Frequently Asked Questions

How did you learn to write?
First, I love to read so from the time I was small I read a lot. Second I wrote a lot. Third, I took several writing workshops at summer writers conferences from good writers (Kelly Cherry, Clark Blaise, Leonard Michaels, David Rieff, Marilyn Robinson, Paul Bowles, and others). Fourth, I read -- and continue to read -- many books on craft. On my workshop page I provide a list of recommended books.

Where do you get your ideas?
I relax and I pay attention. Then it happens. What is "it"? I'm not sure. My theory is, when the brain goes into theta, consciousness expands.

Do you write every day?
I try to. When all else fails, there's always the daily five...

Where can I find your books?
In any US and many Mexican bookstores; if you don't find it, the bookstore can order it for you. My books are also available on all major internet booksellers. For all purchasing options, click here.

Do you give readings of your work?
Yes -- for a current schedule of events, click here.

Are you available to read manuscripts/ edit?
Not at this time. If you are looking for a freelance editor, check out my recommendations on my resources for writers page. Good luck to you!

Do you offer writing workshops?
Yes - for updates you can visit my workshop page. If you'd like to be notified about updates, I invite you to join my mailing list.

Who are some of your favorite travel writers? And which of their books would you recommend?
It's a long and ever-growing list.

>For my answers to the three most frequently asked questions about the writing business, click here.

Links no longer live

 

Washington Examiner
Foggy Bottom Author Q & A. Faves & Raves of C.M. Mayo. November 19, 2010

BookCast: Podcast interview by Sam Clay with Pam Jenoff and C.M. Mayo about writing historical fiction. September 2009. Click here for direct link in itunes.

Women of the Web
Didi Menendez of MiPOesias interviews C.M. Mayo about publishing Tameme.
October 14, 2007.

The Retriever Weekly Apropos of a reading from Miraculous Air at the University of Maryland -Baltimore campus.

Baja Talk Radio Ted Donovan interviews C.M. Mayo about Miraculous Air, July 19, 2005 1-2 pm Pacific Time. It's been archived--- click on the link to listen in!

April 13, 2013
Radio veteran and author-podcaster Larry Matthews talks with C.M. Mayo about the strange and surprisingly Washingtonian story of The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, and the Marfa Mondays podcasts, and far (far) West Texas. (Larry Matthews podcasts)