Q&A with author Marie Force and an awesome giveaway!

Q & A with author Marie Force

   We had the fabulous opportunity to get to know Marie Force a little better. Here is our Q & A session with her. Read below to see what she had to say.

Three Chicks:   Have you always wanted to be a writer?

Marie: Yes! It’s the only thing I’ve ever been particularly good at, and from an early age, I was encouraged to pursue it by teachers as well as my parents. I’ve worked as a newspaper reporter, editor in chief of a trade magazine, communications director, etc. So writing has always been my thing. The fiction writing came later—about nine years ago.

  

Three Chicks:  Who inspired you to write?

Marie: My mom, her sisters, her mother and her sisters were all tremendous letter writers, so the gene probably comes from that part of my family. I can’t say any one person inspired me to write, but my mother’s untimely death at 67 from cancer got me moving, because I realized my dad wasn’t going to live forever, and I wanted him to be part of the journey. He’s enjoyed all the fun stuff that’s been happening lately, and I love having him introduce me as his daughter, the New York Times bestselling author. He’s too cute!

Three Chicks: What do enjoy writing better a romance or mystery/thrillers?

Marie: I love them both, but the mystery/suspense is definitely more challenging. After donating tremendous amounts of brain matter and bone marrow to writing a Fatal book, slipping into a straight contemporary with Gansett Island or Vermont is like a vacation. 

Three Chicks: Where do you come up with your story ideas?

Marie: The story ideas are really everywhere when you’re looking for them. The Fatal Series originated from a story I read online about a congressman who was found dead in his Washington, D.C.-area home. It turned out he’d had a heart attack, but I asked myself what would’ve happen had he been murdered. Fatal Affair and the series were born from that question. While watching a report on NBC Nightly News about the Vermont Country Store and the family that runs it, I got the idea for my Green Mountain Series that begins next Valentine’s Day with All You Need Is Love. The Gansett Island Series was inspired by my lifelong love affair with Block Island, Rhode Island. I never worry about running out of ideas. I joke that I am far more concerned about running out of life before I run out of ideas.

Three Chicks: What music do you listen to while you write?

Marie: I don’t listen to music while I write. I like the quiet. But I’m a big fan of classic rock and what my kids call “sappy lite rock.”

Three Chicks:  How do you come up with your characters?

Marie: They often present themselves to me as fully formed people, just waiting for me to write their stories. Since I never plot out my books in advance, I make it all up as I go and somehow I end up with interesting people who I want to know more about. Hopefully, that's a good sign that others will want to know more, too.

Three Chicks: Do your family and friends read your books?

Marie: Many of them do. My family and friends have been extremely supportive of my writing and my career as an author. I couldn’t ask for more than what I’ve gotten from the people around me as I pursued this dream. My kids, who are 18 this week and 14, are still too young to be interested in reading Mom’s books, which is fine with me. I may not ever be old enough to envision them reading my books! My 21-year-old niece, who will soon be a mom, has been lobbying to read my books lately, and I told her I’ll let her know when I am ready for her to take on my books. I’m not ready yet. LOL!

Three Chicks: Which character do you relate to the most?

Marie: Hmmm, I think Clare from the Treading Water Series is a lot like me—very focused on her family, fiercely protective of her kids. I also think I’m a lot like Maddie on Gansett Island (without the oversized breasts) because she tends to be the center of the social whirl in their family, which I certainly am in my family. I wish I were more like Sam in the Fatal Series because she’s an ass-kicking female you can’t help but respect. I love everything about her.

Three Chicks: If you could be a character in your book who would you be and why?

Marie: Probably Sam in the Fatal Series because she is so awesome and unafraid to say it like it is, even if that gets her in trouble. She also gets to sleep with the super sexy and amazingly awesome (if I do say so myself) Senator Nick Cappuano, so that would be a side benefit to taking on Sam’s life. 

  

Three Chicks:  What can we expect from you in the future?

Marie: I’ll be continuing to add books to the McCarthy, Fatal and Green Mountain Series for the next few years while developing a couple of other ideas that have been percolating. I have a historical romance about 75 percent written that I’ve had such fun with. I don’t expect to go tramping into the historical genre with a vengeance, but I would like to pursue the series idea I have that begins with book 1, Duchess by Deception. I’ve also been working on an edgier contemporary series, written from the first person perspectives of both the hero and the heroine, which I’m having an absolute blast with. It’s forcing me to stretch my horizons a bit as a writer and to try something new as I’ve never written in first person before. That story idea also has mega series potential, so we’ll see what happens there. Finally, readers are after me every. single. day. to write more in the Treading Water Series, which is currently at four books.  I thought I was done with Coming Home, but they say otherwise. I may give the people what they want at some point, but for now, my plate is very full, and I am one very happy author.

Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to stop on by and chat with us!

Marie Force is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling, award-winning author of  more than 25 contemporary romances, including The McCarthys of Gansett Island Series, the Fatal Series, the Treading Water Series and numerous stand-alone books. Her new series, Green Mountain Series, is coming in on Valentine's Day 2014. While her husband was in the Navy, Marie lived in Spain, Maryland and Florida, and she is now settled in her home state of Rhode Island. She is the mother of two teenagers and two feisty dogs, Brandy and Louie. Subscribe to updates from Marie about new books and other news at http://marieforce.com/. Follow her on Twitter @marieforce. And on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MarieForceAuthor. Join one of her many reader groups! View the list at http://marieforce.com/connect/. Contact Marie at marie@marieforce.com.

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