Author Interview & Giveaway: Marie Force

Ravishing Romances welcomes

Marie Force

Winner of the Giveaway is Michelle MsRomanticReads!

Ravishing Romances loves Marie Force. 

If you've read her novels you may notice the above is an imitation of The Wreck's famous line, and just like The Wreck - this love will last forever. 

(In a total non-creepy way.)

"Starstruck" best describes Marie's readers, but after joining one of her many Facebook Book Discussion groups her members will tell you she is 100% approachable.  I will tell you she is always gracious, kind and extremely thankful to write for a living.

So ladies (and gents?), meet Marie Force.

Thanks so much for inviting me, Sallie! I’m thrilled to be here!

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Q:        You author the McCarthys of Gansett Island series.  No one would publish it, so now you have six self-published books with a seventh (Longing for Love) due late Summer/early Fall of this year.  How did this happen and are publishers wanting to distribute the series now?

A:  You are right! Maid for Love, book 1 in the McCarthys of Gansett Island Series, was rejected by just about every publisher in the romance business. As I say now, thank GOD for that! LOL! Once Amazon and other retailers made it possible to publish direct to Kindle, Nook, Apple and Kobo, as well as other platforms, I jumped on the opportunity to bring this series and my other already-finished books to readers who were asking me for more, more, more.

I also had the opportunity with this series to do something I’ve always wanted to do: publish books three months in a row, which I did in April, May and June of 2011 with Maid for Love, Fool for Love and Ready forLove. It wasn’t long before readers were clamoring for more of the McCarthys and Gansett Island. So far this year I’ve released Falling for Love in January, Hoping for Love in March and Season for Love in June. I hope to have book 7, Longing for Love, out in late summer or early fall. To say the readers are addicted is putting it mildly! I’m very, very pleased—and lucky—to have had this opportunity to publish direct to readers. It’s been a wildly successful undertaking in every possible way. By the way, for those of you looking to check out the series, Maid for Love is free everywhere for a little while longer!

Oh and no, no one is beating down the door to publish the McCarthys because they know I’d never part with the lucrative e-book rights. :)

Q:        Longing for Love is next and your heroine owns a lingerie “and other items” shop.  Does this mean police chief Blaine will use her handcuffs instead of his?

A: That means any number of things are possible between the feisty Tiffany and her police chief love interest. Of course everything will be strictly legal. . .well, almost everything. I’m having a blast with Tiffany and Blaine’s story. She has been a series favorite since book 1, and her journey has been so fun to write. I’m enjoying the opportunity to give her a taste of happiness after the disappointment her marriage to Jim became in the end.

Q:        How many more books are you planning for this series?  Will you write novels for all eleven Ballard siblings?

A: I have noooooo idea how many more books are coming from the island. We still have Adam McCarthy waiting patiently for his turn at love, and many other characters arriving on the island for a variety of reasons who will be brought on to the canvas in upcoming books. I also have readers asking for the Big Mac and Linda blast-from-the-past love story, which would be fun to write. So I’d say the McCarthys will be around for a good long while yet. I haven’t got any plans for the Ballard siblings (or the Lawry siblings) right now, but you never know! 

Q:        Twice you’ve written about couples with a significant age difference.  How are readers reacting to these relationships?

A: Oh those stories are ALWAYS so controversial! I love it! Readers have strong opinions—both for and against—about the May-December romance, regardless of which partner is the older of the two. In Marking Time, I had an older man with a MUCH younger woman, and that was SOOOO fun to write. I couldn’t WAIT to write the part where her father finds out his daughter is cavorting with the friend he asked to “keep an eye on her” for him. <EVIL GRIN> Such scandalously delicious fun!

Incidentally, for the Kate and Reid fans from Marking Time, watch for their follow-on story in Coming Home, which picks up ten years after we last saw them. It’ll be interesting to see what has changed for both of them—and what hasn’t. J

In Season for Love, we met Carolina Cantrell, mother of Joe Cantrell, who was the hero of book 2, Fool for Love. She shares a passionate interlude with Irish charmer Seamus O’Grady, who works for her son—and is just two years older than Joe. Since Season for Love was released in June, I’ve received tons of mail from readers who can’t wait to see what becomes of Carolina and Seamus—and they can’t wait to see the fireworks when Joe finds out who has designs on his precious mom! Fun, fun, fun! I did a lot of giggling as I wrote their scenes, knowing I was setting off a firestorm! I haven’t been disappointed by the readers’ reactions!

Q:        You’re writing Coming Home, a fourth novel in the Treading Water series.  Are you excited to write about Jack and his family again?  Can we get any information about Coming Home?

A: I can’t wait to really dig into Coming Home! As you and many of my readers know, Treading Water, Marking Time and Starting Over were my first three books, and remain to this day so very near and dear to me. It’s hard to believe it’s been SEVEN years since I finished Treading Water (even though I only published the series in late 2011). So the idea of revisiting my beloved Jack and his family after all these years is like a delicious treat that I can’t wait to indulge in. I’ve already begun work on Coming Home, and will dive in deeper once I finish Longing for Love. All I can tell you now is I have a lot of fun things planned for that book, and I’m so looking forward to writing it. :)
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 Marie, I sincerely offer my beta reading services for Coming Home or any of your other novels.  I'll proofread, edit and praise anytime you need.  - Sallie

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Q:        How many books on average do you write a year?  It seems you write uncommonly fast, Mrs. Force.

A: I’m so lucky to write relatively quickly. I write even faster now that I no longer have a day job requiring so many of my limited brain cells! So far this year I’ve written Hoping for Love, Season for Love and Fatal Attack. I plan to finish Longing for Love and Coming Home before the year is out, and will need to be pretty far into Fatal Mistake, which is due January 30. So a busy few months ahead! I’m also moving to my dream home in late August, so that has been a huge disruption to my normally sedate life! In my best year ever, 2006, I wrote six books. That’s my record so far!

Q:        Tell us about your unpublished historical and erotica novels!

A: Ohhhh, you do pay attention, Sallie! I have a historical romance, Duchess by Deception, about three-quarters of the way finished that I’m super excited about. I hope to get some time soon to finish that up and get it out to readers. It’s a real departure from what you all are used to from me, but it’s a super fun book, and I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. The erotica is also a project I mess around with (pun intended) any time I feel stuck on the current work in progress. It’s a real ROMP that has been fun so far to write. I hope to finish that before too much longer as well, but it will be out under a pen name that will be a badly kept secret. J

Q:        Your fans really are a cult following and I’m a proud bumper sticker carrying member.  You have Facebook discussion groups for every book you’ve authored and you’re very active on each thread.  You’ve also blogged that you spend a few hours each day personally responding to fan emails.  How do you manage all this, a family and a writing career?  It’s nothing short of amazing.

A: Well, it doesn’t hurt that I love EVERYTHING I get to do every day! Answer tons of fan mail? Such a hardship! LOL! Hang out with readers who love my books and can’t get enough of them? An awful burden! Spend time in imaginary worlds of my own creation? Simply dreadful. And raising two of the best kids I’ve ever had the privilege to know? Priceless I tell you.

I’m so very blessed to be doing exactly what I love to do every minute of every day. Who has it better than me? Somehow it all gets done. I don’t spend any time trying to figure out how! I give thanks every day to that “cult” following who have made it possible for me to truly live my dream. Without the lovely readers who buy my books, I’m just another wanna be hoping to make it big someday. You guys have made every one of my dreams come true!

Q:        Your Facebook c u l t fans have questions for you:

            (Amy) What’s it like to be so awesome? 

Well, gee, my teenagers might use a different word to describe me, but I like the word awesome. That works for me. HAHA! No, seriously, Amy, that is sweet of you to say. My readers are the awesome ones. Truly!

            (Kim)  What story line or research were you the most embarrassed by?

I’m not easily embarrassed, which is a lucky thing for a romance writer! Thanks for the question, Kim!

            (Judy)  Is your personal life as romantic as your books?

Snort, Judy, not hardly! My husband tells people I save all my best stuff for my characters, and he’s pretty spot-on about that. I’m a seriously unromantic person in real life. My idea of romance is my husband fixing the malfunctioning toilet or cleaning up the dog puke. Be still my heart!

            (Lisa)  Who do you see as Nick from your Fatal series?

Lisa, John F. Kennedy Jr. is the only man, living or dead, hot enough to play my Nick. As a New Englander who grew up in Kennedy country, his death remains a source of sadness to me 13 years later.

            (Karen)  Which of your characters is most like you?

Good question, Karen! You all know I’m nothing like Sam, who is fearless and ballsy when I’m afraid of my own shadow! However, Sam and I do share a fear of flying! I have always identified the most with Clare from Treading Water and Marking Time, who is the same kind of “all in” mother I am. And, let’s face it, she’s one of my few heroines in her 40s like I am!

Q:         Last question.  You're now selling Gansett Island merchandise??

A: There is a new store where McCarthy series fans can get beach towels, beach bags and bumper stickers, with other stuff coming soon! View store here.

What's the bag look like?  

One of Marie's lovely fans gave Ravishing Romances permission to use this picture:

Thanks so much for the great questions! So fun!

Happy to take questions from anyone else who has one, although when this runs I’ll be just back from the romance writer’s conference in California (major big long flight required—ick) so I’ll be a bit loopy!

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You heard her, everyone.  The floor's open for questions.  

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GIVEAWAY

Those who comment on Marie's interview will be entered to win

the entire McCarthy Series

Already read the McCarthys?

Then you will receive another book of your choice!

The series/book will be sent to one reader on Kindle, Nook, Apple or Kobo in the format of their choice.