Mary Paula Hunter is a writer living in Providence, Rhode Island. She received early praise for her writing when as a dancer and choreographer, she told stories about her eccentric Midwestern family while she danced. Laurie Stone, in the now-defunct VILLAGE VOICE wrote that Mary Paula’s writing was brilliant. Jennifer Dunning in THE NEW YORK TIMES also praised her hybrid work, especially the honest storytelling. Finally the writing won out… although she still creates dances (mainly in her kitchen), and works on performance art projects.
“CAN I HAVE A HUG FIRST? is a short story collection born out of author Mary Paula Hunter's career as a performance artist. Her monologues turned short stories feature midlife adults struggling to align their crazy minds with an equally crazy world. Hilarious and tragic in a high-energy mix, these stories will get the reader questioning what came first—the whacked mind or the whacked world?"