Sunday, October 19, 2014

Monday's With Marcia, Part III

We're starting week three of Swoon Fest, I can't believe it! I hope you all are having as much fun as me! How many MLM books have you read so far? I'll have to go add mine up and see, I just finished one this morning and I'm trying to decide which one to start next. I think I'll follow KJ's example and put a bunch of the titles in a hat and draw one out. Either that or have you guys decide for me. ;) Anyway, Marcia has answered some more fun questions for us. Next Monday is out last day for the Q&A so if you have any lingering questions you're dying to have answered get them submitted this week. Now, sit back and enjoy this fun interview!

What's your favorite TV show? Currently? Ha ha! That changes so much! BUT one standing favorite that never changes is The Middle! Absolutely my favorite! I also like LOVE Sleepy Hollow...definitely a favorite! Grimm and Modern Family as well...The Mentalist and Criminal Minds!

Who is your favorite romantic male character? You mean overall? I LOVE John Thorton, Captain Wentworth and Edward Rochester! And I LOVE Matthew Quigley! Those are the heroes that popped to my mind first.

Any plans to write more fairytale inspired stories? I absolutely love your retellings of fairytales!! I was wondering if we will see anymore soon? I would love to see how you retell many more of the classics!! :) Of course! I LOVE fairy tales and I LOVE writing them! My soon-to-be-released book, The Moon of Painted Leaves, is kind of a combination of Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood...kind of...slightly...at least those are the two fairy tales that inspired me where it is concerned. I’d also like to do a Goosegirl-type, a Donkeyskin-type, maybe something akin to The White Cat...and something like Arabian Nights...not to mention another Beauty and the Beast. But, we will just have to see what pops out...or if and when.

Who would have been your #1 on your Dreams to Do list (the kissing one) when you were 14? His name was John, ha ha! Would you have been able to cross him off? Absolutely! And when I was 16, I was able to cross him off...but unfortunately he was NOT a good kisser...poor thing.

Why are most of your heroine's brunette? The easy and most honest answer is probably because I’m a brunette and it’s something my subconscious demands. Brunette’s and their dark features just appeal to my imagination, I guess. Maybe I think of brunettes as more mysterious and adventurous, while to me blondes are softer and more delicate or something. I’m not really sure. It’s weird, because one of the best friends is a beautiful strawberry blonde, so I’ve always wondered why more of my heroines aren’t blonde. However, the fact is that only 2% of the world’s population is comprised of natural blondes...so in truth, if I wrote 100 books and only 5 of them ended up with blonde heroines, I’d still be above the true average. Maybe my subconscious operates on that info as well. Who knows!?! Ha ha!

I love the authors notes at the end. I am ashamed to say I didn't read them the first time through because I was wanting to get to the next book. I have taken the time and I love them now.  Anyway, the question  I wondered is why all your books don't have them?  I just never thought readers would be that interested in an Author’s Note when I first began being published. I mean, to me, the book just unfolds out of my life experiences meshed with my random imagination, and it never occurred to me that that would interest anyone. At this precise moment, I can’t even remember which book was the first to include an Author’s Note! But because of the incredible reader response to the positive where the Author’s Notes are concerned, I always include one! I’m so glad they are well-received. Readers really do seem to like them!

How do you choose the cities your contemporaries take place in? Well, they are usually cities that are very familiar to me so that I can set a mood without having to travel, you know? I’m not really much of a traveler...I like my home and the comfort and coziness of being in it. Therefore, I do choose cities that are close to my heart. Does that make sense?

What has been your favorite vacation ever? Ha ha! I don’t think I’ve taken it yet! Honestly! I’d probably have to say the trip we took to New Orleans in 1987...because it was the first time I’d been to Kevin’s home town...and since I’ve always loved the Old South, Civil War History, etc. New Orleans was incredible to me! So much to see! So much history all around! The food is incredible, too! But I still hope to take a trip to Salem, Massachusetts and/or Sleepy Hollow, NY (formerly Tarry Town, NY) one day. I’ve been to New York AND Massachusetts, but not on a vacation Kevin and I planned, or that was very relaxing, you know? So...I’m still waiting for my favorite! Although, the quick trip our family took to Astoria, Oregon to see the Goonies house was FABULOUS! I LOVED that one, too!

Were you surprised by how many people adored your books? Yes!!! And I still am! I’m astonished and very grateful that so many people have enjoyed my stories. It’s what I set out to do, after all...to entertain and make life seem a bit less daunting, you know? And every day I’m still amazed at how many readers like them!

How do you come up with your titles? It’s actually kind of funny...because a lot of the time, I have a title pop into my head and then write a book to match it! A Crimson Frost was that way. I was driving along one day, and I thought, “Hmmm...A Crimson Frost...that sounds like an intriguing book title. Now what can I possibly write to go along with it?” The Heavenly Surrender was like that, too...meaning, I had the title before I had the book. But the majority of the time, I just sit and think about what the book is going to be about, and then come up with a title. The Rogue Knight was a funny one because I was really struggling with a title. So I called my friend and said, “It’s this book about this guy, whose name is, Knight...and he’s kind of gone rogue from his family...and he also kind of pretends to be a rascal...you know, a rogue...so he’s a rogue, Knight and...” My friend interrupted me and said, “Why don’t you just call it, The Rogue Knight?” My daughter did the same thing when I told her that my character, Sage Willows, has a habit of pinching a sage leaf now and then, and that the hero notices that he touch smells like sage. My daughter said, “Why don’t you just call it, The Touch of Sage?” So those two titles I had help with! But most of the time, I just think about the story and work out a phrase that I think makes a good title, you know?

Which book would you do a sequel to if you chose to do one? Saphyre Snow! I don’t know why...but that’s the one I always think I’d like to do a sequel for!

That's all for today, tune in next week for our final interview. And don't forget to take the quick poll below!
Poll
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I'd love if Marcia did an anthology of short stories based on...

4 comments:

  1. So far this month I've read: Ransom Lake, Autumn Lake, Aspen Falls, Rogue Knight, Desert Fire, Kiss in the Dark, Midnight Masquerade, Untethered, Daydreams, Echo the Past, A Bargained-for Bride, Pirate Ruse, Whispered Kiss, A Good-Lookin' Man, Divine Deception and A Crimson Frost

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  2. It's been so neat learning more about Marcia! THANO YOU!!

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  3. I already commented and it disappeared...so hopefully I don't leave it twice. :)
    These questions and answers have been so great! I've loved it! Thank YOU!

    P.S. I've lost waaay too much sleep this month in honor of swoon fest...and I have major bags under my eyes to prove it. I've read : Good Lookin Man, Man of Her Dreams, Bride for a Bargain, Midnight Masquerade, Dusty Britches, Born For Thorton's Sake, Whispered Kiss, and I just finished Daydreams. I may have bags under my eyes...but I've had a smile on my face. :) Seriously so fun!!

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