Monday's With Marcia, Part II (Updated)

We had a lot of great questions come in this past week and it's been fun reading Marcia's answers. I love these posts the most because its so fun to get to know Marcia better and to learn more about her. I'm posting this a little early, tomorrow is a holiday and I'll be out with the family most of the day. Enjoy!

Will you write another Christmas book.....PLEASE?!?!?!?!  Ha ha!  Done!  Watch for it to release toward the beginning to middle of November!  J

What got you started with scented candles? Oh, wow!  Let me think...hmmm...it was definitely Yankee Candle...and probably at least 15 years ago!  I discovered Yankee Candle’s “Harvest” scent candle one year, and I was hooked!  All year ‘round I simmer apples, nutmeg and cinnamon on my stove to make the house smell warm and comforting.  I’ve done that since my children were itty bitty.  But when I discovered Yankee Candle’s “Harvest” scent, I started burning it in autumn.  I added Jack Frost/Peppermint as my Christmas/Winter scent.  Then one year, I was shopping in a furniture store with my BFF, Sandy, and we discovered Salt City’s Pumpkin Spice and Evergreen!  Holy cow!  Incredible scents!  Now during Christmas, I burn a Yankee Candle brand Peppermint/Jack Frost along with a Salt City Evergreen!  Yowza!  Perfect holiday scent!  I’ve also settled on Salt City Pumpkin Spice for autumn...well, pretty much burn it all year ‘round in truth. Ha ha!  Wow!  That was a long answer!  Sorry.

Which of your Heroes in your book would you must like to meet in person?  Hmmm...that’s a hard one, since I’m already married to them all!  My husband, Kevin, really is my inspiration for my heroes!  There are even dialogue lines in my books that are direct quotes from him!  J  But to better answer your question, if you could stir Ransom Lake and Michael McCall together into one person, you’d pretty much have Kevin!  So I guess...Ransom Lake!  J

Do you approach the romantic relationships between older adults in your books differently than the younger couples as you write them (example: Reno Garrett and Flora Dale vs. Tom Evans and Cedar Dale)?  Not really.  They usually get less time in the book, but I think people are the same no matter if their 20 or 90!  Girls/Women are perpetually 16 on their tender little hearts and souls.  Experience and life weather people, but the desires and feelings are always the same.  Women are tender-hearted sweet-16, and men are eternal heroes.  So even though the older adults don’t get as much “page time” with their romance...I don’t really approach them any differently.  J

Are the experiences in the book based on someone you know, or events in your own life?  Most of the time I incorporate my own, personal experiences into my books.  I was once rattling off to a friend a few tidbits of romantic histories in my life, and when I had finished, her response was, “Wow!  No wonder you can write the way you do!”  I do also integrate little tidbits I pull from my moments with close friends.  It’s my way of expressing my love for, and adoration of them...printed offerings of gratitude for the way they’ve enriched my life, you know? 

What gives you inspiration for your characters and story lines? My life!  Seriously!  My own life experience is from whence I draw most of my story lines.  As for inspiration for character personalities, my husband, myself, my family and very close friends gift me all of that!  J

Does your husband read your books?
Ha ha ha ha!!! That is a question that a lot of readers ask...and the answer is this: He’s read ONE!!! When The Heavenly Surrender was first published, he decided he’d better read it...and so he did! I was very proud of him, and loved that he said he missed the characters after the book was over. He said he would read every one of my books as they were published. To date, he’s still only ready one! Ha ha! I don’t mind at all, though...they’re really not his genre! 

If you could pick ONE of your books to be a movie, which book would you choose? That’s a REALLY hard question! Yikes! However, for the big screen, I think I would pick either The Highwayman of Tanglewood, or A Crimson Frost...simply because I love those kinds of movies! The westerns would make good ‘made-for-TV’ movies, I think...like for the Hallmark Channel. Or even some of the contemporary books...like Take a Walk with Me as a Christmas movie on TV.

Ridiculous question: how do you pronounce the name Calliope? I just want to make sure I’m saying it right.
Ha ha! NOT a ridiculous question, at all! Several people have asked me, and though there are actually TWO ways to pronounce the word, Calliope Ipswich’s first name is pronounced, “kuh-LIE-uh-pee,”...NOT “kal-ee-OH-pee.” Does that make since? And just for fun I’ll add, that although most of us think of a steam organ when we think of Calliope...Kalliope with a “K” is the muse of heroic poetry in classical mythology. 

Do you play a role in designing your covers?
In the beginning, yes! Now, yes! In between...it was a toss up...and often VERY frustrating! But now, it’s all me and the graphics designer! 

Where would your dream trip be? If you could travel anywhere, where would you love to go? Have you ever traveled outside of the United States? If so where?
My dream trip would be North East during autumn! Especially Salem, Massachusetts, Tarry Town, New York, and Vermont, of course! And those places are actually where I’d travel if I could to ANYWHERE!  I’ve traveled very little outside the continental United States...other than several trips to Canada (LOVED Victoria). And in truth, there are soooo many places I’d like to see in the U.S. that I truly don’t have a whole love of desire to travel abroad. If I did decide I wanted to, I’d choose Ireland, Scotland, England and Austria. But I’m happy here, and there is soooo much to see! 
Will you ever come back to Thatcher AZ?
Ha ha! What a funny question! And, I don’t know...but probably. 

And today, I'd like to leave you with a wonderful quote from Marcia that I just love:

"Falling in love is an adventure--the breathless, goose-bump-rendering voyage of a real-life hero and heroine. Falling in love is simultaneously wonderful and painful -- a mingling of uncertainty and euphoria. Love stories are, after all, like people -- as individual as snowflakes. Each love story is entirely unique -- each love story should be admired, cherished, and valued!"