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!
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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!
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.
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.
This would be a dream come true to win.
ReplyDeleteWe have the same 1st name, we go to the same beaches and live in the same state! I'd love to win!
ReplyDeleteI love your books, I would love to win this giveaway :) the interview was brilliant :)
ReplyDeletelove all your books.. they take me on an awesome adventures. keep up the good work. even if I do not win, I will still read your work. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your new release, Marie! I really love your romantic adventure stories...got most of 'em. If you'll keep on writing, I'll keep on reading them! jdh2690@gmail.com
ReplyDelete