In launching my series of Individual Interviews with Hubbers. There was no one else I wanted more than to start with Mighty Mom.

So why MM? Well, 2 main reasons and many after that;

Firstly, she is consistently my definition of a true Hubber. One I aspire to. Responds instantly to messages, comments on other Hubs (1000 comments as of today). Supports other Hubbers with advice. Comments back to those who comment on her Hub. Let’s face it, she has a strong portfolio of Hubs with a wide variety of content. Remains active in the forums. Participates with questions and answers. Supports new Hubbers, bringing me to my next point.

Secondly, MM was one of the first fans I got and didn’t just become a fan but offered support and motivation in what she said. This inspired me to stop fearing Hubs and start really writing some, from the heart. And so now I do. We never know who we are going to help. I believe MM is someone who tries to help when approaching everything she does.

(MM comment; That's a very important point about HP, Kimberly. Helping each other is a HUGE part of the gig. And I see you are jumping right into that and helping others in all kinds of ways, including your new Forum threads.)

MM, you are an inspiration to many of us and I can’t thank you enough for doing this interview on your own time, even as busy as you already are.

(MM comment; My goodness, Kim. That's quite a buildup. I will admit I do try to be helpful to others as that's what "community" is about. Being busy has nothing to do with it! I'm thrilled to be asked.)

She sports a score of 99 for her involvement and talent. An unbelievable 769 Fans with 80 Hubs. This having joined Hubpages a little over a year ago.

(MM Comment; I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression here. 80 hubs is not a lot! I feel like a slacker compared to some Hubbers who are publishing several times a week!Also, Hub Scores, like pounds, fluctuate. You could drive yourself crazy fixating on a change of 3-4 in a day or a week. But thanks for the buildup anyway!)

Although originally a New Yorker, now lives in California. Is married with one teenage son. Juggles motherhood and being a wife, with writing independently and professionally full time as a writer in Marketing. Under the pen name of www.mymightypen.com a site worth visiting.

I want to note this name is dedicated to MM’s mother, Eileen Cash Reid, who did The New York Times crossword puzzle daily in ink. She is the inspiration behind the name Mighty Pen. ‘The pen is mighty indeed!’

(MM comment; Thanks for mentioning my Mom. She was and still is the best words person ever.)

MM reveals that family and relationship Issues are dear to her heart (we’ll find out more in a minute).

(MM Comment; I will admit to NEAR to my heart. Did I really say "dear"?? Hmmm. Not every day, that's for sure!)

Whether Mighty Mom represents a cartoon character, or real mother; Mighty Mom as a name, is defined as empowering moms in today’s society to embrace the multiple and numerous demands and responsibilities as primary care givers.

Sound Familiar-that, in a nutshell, is what our Mighty Mom is to all of us and to whom she approaches.

Hi Mighty Mom, thanks again for sharing with us, so let’s go;

Personal Information;

1-What would you like us to know, that we don’t, about you personally?

LOL Kim. I thought I'd covered pretty much every intimate experience in my life in my hubs already. What could possibly be left to reveal? Well, here's a couple:

1. I am left handed

2. I am adopted

So thanks for the idea. Two fab new hub topics. Woo hoo!

2-What does family mean to you and the importance of it?

At this stage of my life, the word that comes to mind is RESPONSIBILITY.The importance of family? I think for me it's two things. First, it's proving to myself that I can do the right thing and be there consistently for other, even when I may not feel like it. At my stage, roles have reversed with the parents. And I still have a teenager at home, although he's quite independent. It's definitely an "odd" time in my family life.

The other thing that family means to me NOW is stewardship of traditions and memories. You don't realize just how much your parents do in this regard until they're gone.

3-Have you always wanted children and what kind of mother are you?

I became conscious of my biological clock ticking in my late 20's. However, becoming pregnant was not easy for me. I went through the ups and downs of infertility and finally - miraculously, and naturally (after a Red Sox game at Fenway Park - there's TMI for ya!) -- I got pregnant naturally. My miracle baby boy was born in March 1992.

What kind of mother am I?

My ex-husband and I moved from MA to CA when my son was an infant. I met another recent transplant whose daughter is the same age as my son. I used to say to her, "I must be a good mother since my baby's still alive!" Of course back then it was 100% facetious.

Now that Sonny is 17.5 and we've been through what we've been through (seven years of absolute torment), I really believe it. He's still alive and I'm taking a lot of the credit, dammit!

Seriously, I'm a very intuitive, empathetic and pragmatic mother. And yes, grateful that Sonny is still alive!

4-Relationships in general, professionally or personally, hold and importance to you. Do you find it to be very time consuming or enjoy any time to be with another person?

I feel very fortunate to have made the break from "corporate America" and the constant socializing that goes on in the workplace every day. People are actually a distraction to me in what I do for a living (write). Of course, some interaction is imperative to determine clients' goals and objectives.

I would say I enjoy time with others when it has a purpose - either social (coffee with friends, going for a walk) or relates to a project. Other than that, the amount of time I have to spend with people is kinda time consuming, yeah.

5-MM, is being alone difficult for you or a time to relax and enjoy some quiet time? Are you even alone often?

Hubby works at home as do I.Most of the day we are engaging in parallel play (or I guess I should say parallel work) in different rooms. Even if we are in the same room watching TV, I can zone out and be "alone" with my Hubber friends around the world!

6-Are you able to spend much time with your immediate family, given how busy you are?

Be the glue that held us all together, and when Mom died in 2005 Dad continued in that role. With Dad gone, we (my sister, brother and I) are trying, but it's not the same. They are actually the busy ones as their kids are in sports mode. We do spend a lot of time with Hubby's mom, as she is recently widowed and lives around the corner from us.

7-How long have you been writing for Mighty Pen?

I launched Mighty Pen in 2002.

8-What are your future goals with respect to where your company is going?

That I'm getting a bit long in the tooth to be a marketing copywriter. The industry has changed so much with the advent of the internet and social networking sites. I've been feeling the need for a career that will carry me into my gray haired years. Especially since I won't be retiring til I'm at least 90!

9-Which people do you most enjoy spending your time with?

Hubbers, of course!

10-What is the one element you would say is most important in a families unit?

A non-answer. But I can't think of one other thing that fits the bill. Love, of course. But love alone doesn't prevent families from splitting apart. Trust and tolerance. Yeah, but those can be smashed and manipulated. I know! How about.... RECOVERY!

11-Favorite Book-I really liked The Secret History by Donna Tartt and The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (although I don't think I'll go see the movie).

12-Favorite Movie
To Kill a Mockingbird. Love Greg Peck as Atticus Finch. Close second is Silence of the Lambs.

13-Favorite Junk Food
Potato chips.

14-Favorite color
RED!

15-Favorite thing to buy; Shoes

16-Favorite website to buy on line
Amazon.com. Are you kidding me? Like I'm gonna say anything else. I worry that they monitor us. Hello Amazon.com! I love you!

17-Favorite word / Least Favorite word
Blessed/Blame (I'm into alliteration as you will see in my hubs.

18-Favorite side of the bed for sleeping
Right side. Always. That's right side facing out from theheadboard. Which is odd, given that I'm left handed.

19-Favorite flavor ice cream
As long as it doesn't have marshmallows in it, it's my favorite! I've never met an ice cream flavor I wouldn't eat, although am trying to be good by eating Dreyers "Double Churned" with ½ the fat (basically means I eat 2x as much of it. LOL).

20-Favorite motto
The pen is mighty, indeed. Yep, that's my company motto and it pretty much sums it up!

21-What brought you to HubPages?

I saw an ad on Craigslist.

22-Why do you stay?

I keep meeting cool people like you. I love writing here. I love the emotional support here.

23-What do you enjoy most about Hubpages or Hubbing?

I have immense respect for HP as a community. I feel they manage the site really well and address suggestions/complaints quickly. Hubbing has become a wonderful creative outlet for me. Not to mention 24/7 free therapy with support from people all around the world! How frigging cool is that?

24-Your most recent 6 Hubs are varied in content, do you have a favorite, and why?

http://hubpages.com/hub/Your-Halloween-Personality

http://hubpages.com/hub/What-You-Did

http://hubpages.com/hub/Mudpie-Poetry

http://hubpages.com/hub/Say-Aloha-to-Hawaiian-Dance

http://hubpages.com/hub/Queasy-Headed-Morning

http://hubpages.com/hub/Innocence-Lost--Too-Much-Gained

Wow. That is quite a hodgepodge, isn't it? Yeah, I think if you segregated out any six of my hubs you'd get a similar mix of serious and personal. It amazes me that 4 of the 6 are poems. I never expected to be writing poetry, but have discovered it to be one of my favorite outlets. Go figure!

Let's see. Of these six hubs, I like the Halloween Personality hub because it's light and fun and people can relate to it. And it's timely. And Halloween is my favorite holiday (there - another thing people don't know about me but now they do!).

The one that's a real soul-bearer, though, is Innocence Lost. That is how I have been feeling recently.

25- Do you have an all time favorite Hub, and why?

Do you mean an all time favorite written by someone else or written by me?

I think my favorite hub of mine is the one I wrote chronicling my father's last day alive and participating in his death. I was a surreal but very spiritual experience.

http://hubpages.com/hub/-Death-Vigil-the-Ultimate-Zen-Experience

My favorite hub by someone else has got to be the one by Christoph Reilly on lifelike blowup dolls. I can't seem to find it among his hubs now. Perhaps he's unpublished it.But trust me, it's worth reading! Hard to imagine someone so seemingly normal and well-adjusted as CR coming up with that topic! That's another thing that blows me away (no pun intended with the blowup dolls) about Hub Pages. I am constantly amazed at the range of things people write about.

26-Your main favorite Hub Topics are Business and Jobs,Teens, Christmas and my favorite, Men. Do you have one that is your particular favorite and what drives you to write about that category?

I picked those faves when I first started hubbing. Who would have thought I'd soon be adding "death" "funerals" and "family psychopaths running amok with the family's money"? Certainly not me!

What drives me to write is when some aspect of my life, past or present, comes to the surface demanding to be expressed in written form. Hubbing has been great therapy for me this year.

But hey, now that I know Men is one of your fave topics, I'll be sure to write more about MenJ. BTW, some of my favorite Hubbers are men and vice versa!

27- The Tags on your profile read;family,advice, music, love, poetry, children,health, recovery, relationships, entertainment and father. Could you talk to us about any two of these tags and why they are integral in your writings.

Hard to choose just two. But here goes.

Music is one of my favorite things to write about. I guess I've never outgrown being a college dj and a band groupie! Top 10 lists are fun, reasonably easy to put together, and always bring great comments and suggestions. Very accessible and universal, I guess you could say.

Recovery is of course central to my life. I could probably write something recovery-related once a week and never cover the same ground twice. BTW, I have found, quite by accident, that some of my absolute favorite Hubbers are also in recovery!

Coincidence? I think not!

28-Who inspired you at Hubpages when you first started?

One thing that really got me excited right away was having one of my hubs elected as a HubNugget of the Week. That gave me an instant boost of confidence.

I also can't say enough about the HP Admin Team - Ryan and Maddie et al are awesome.

Some of the most inspiring Hubbers for me were ones I met in the Forums. The Forums were more civil then (oh God, listen to me - already nostalgiazing the "good old days of Hub Pages").

There are also a lot of Hubbers who made/make me want to be a better writer. I don't want to get into an exhaustive list because I know I will leave someone outJ

29-Any advice for the Hubber transferring from a Newbie to a mature Hubber and when do you think that timeframe exists? (ie; 3 months etc.) Did you feel a transition?

I'm chuckling at your use of the word "mature" because not everyone aspires to be "mature" or even has the capacity to be "mature." They pride themselves on being immatureJ (see Forums).

But I do understand what you mean.

I don't think you can measure it in terms of time or even number of hubs written or comments posted. Every Hubber is individual. You find the area that makes you feel most comfortable.

You build your library of hubs at your own pace. Spend time reading other people's hubs and getting to know others in the Forums (but I would caution you- be careful not to get sucked in. Those Forum threads can be addictive!).

There does come a time when a light bulb goes off and you suddenly feel like you 'belong' here.You see regulars showing up to comment on your hubs. You feel like your writing is improving and you're using more of the capsules for your hubs and being more creative. Hub ideas come more easily.

In terms of being a Hub presence, I think there also comes a time when you feel you can leave comments and have them understood by others. At first it's easy to feel a sense of trepidation (I know I felt it) that people won't understand where you're coming from. Some people are bothered by this more than others - I've seen some newbies jump right in as if they'd been on here for 6 months.

Can't say exactly when it happened - probably a couple of months in - but I distinctly remember looking forward to logging on and participating in the chatter and feeling a part of the gang.

Now that I'm an old fart I don't worry about what impression I'm making. People know where I'm coming from. They may not agree (and quite often don't) but they know what I stand for.

30-Is there anything that would make you leave Hubpages and why?

That's not something I like to contemplate. But a couple of things:

1. If the site became much more commercial - full of product reviews only. The joy of Hub Pages is being able to read people's CREATIVE writing.

2. If there was 100% turnover of the Hubbers I know and love. I've seen quite a few of the regulars who were active when I started go elsewhere. There have also been a lot of new Hubbers who came in and became regulars. I guess what I'm saying is I don't do "change" all that well and I don't want to be the last Hubber from 2008 standing!

31-What 3 pieces of advice would you offer a new Hubber?
Mighty Mom, thank you so kindly, you will help and inspire many, as you did me, and already have, here at Hubpages

1. Read the "How To" hubs written by other hubbers, especially Maddie Ruud's. That will help you avoid common problems.

2. Don't write long hubs of text only. The capsules are there for a reason. Use subheads, bolding, photos, videos, links,etc. A hub is more than the words. It's the whole package. Make the most of the tools Hub Pages offers you!

3. Keep in mind what you are here for. Not everyone hubs for the same reasons. It's not a competition. It's not a race to a Hub Score of 100 or to get 1000 fans or publish 5 zillion hubs.Get to know the people here. We are a COMMUNITY of writers. You can learn from others and they can learn from you!

Is there anything you would like to add?

I want to thank you so much again for interviewing me! And best of luck with this series and all your other endeavors on HP. I'm so glad to have met and befriended you, Kim.

Hugs andPeace! MM

There is no finally with Mighty Mom, I believe she will be around for sometime (I'm hoping for this) and will contine to help and inspire us. Thank you Mrs. Mighty Mom, your experience and motivation treats us all.

hmmmmmm.....

So which do you like for Halloween? Trick or Treat? If you were standing on my doorstep, what candy would you like?

No tricks with this Mighty Mom, only the straight truth.

Thank you so much again for taking the time to do this interview.

-Kimberly Gray