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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-
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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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.