Even as a young girl growing up in the Bronx Mary Higgins Clark knew she wanted to be a writer The gift of storytelling was a part of her Irish ancestry so it followed naturally that she would later use her sharp eye keen intelligence and inquisitive nature to create stories. <br> Along with all Americans citizens of the Bronx suffered during the Depression. So when Mary's father died her mother opened the family home to boarders and placed a discreet sign next to the front door that read 'Furnished Rooms. Kitchen Privileges.' <br> The family's struggle to make ends meet; her days as a scholarship student in an exclusive girls academy; the death of her beloved older brother in World War II; her marriage to Warren Clark; writing stories at the kitchen table; finally selling the first one for one hundred dollars after six years and forty rejections -- all these experiences figure into <I>Kitchen Privileges.</I> <br> Her husband's untimely death left her a widowed mother of five young children. Determined to care for her family an& to make a career for herself she wrote scripts for a radio show. In her spare time she began writing novels. <I>Where Are The Children?</I> became an international bestseller and launched her career. <br> When asked if she might consider giving up writing for a life of leisure Marv has replied 'Never. To be happy for a year win the lottery. To be happy for life do what you love.'
