Guest Blogger: Marie Force and a two-book giveaway!
July 2nd, 2009 by LaDonna
Working It Out In My Books
By: Marie Force
Thanks to LaDonna and the gals at Magical Musings for having me back again! I’m a daily fan of your blog, even if it’s in lurk mode
Within my group of friends, there’s been some speculation recently that I’m using my books to work out some of my life issues. I had an almost violent dislike of football until my muse delivered a swaggering hero who insisted he was an NFL quarterback and not the baseball shortstop I would’ve preferred. When my hero in Line of Scrimmage, Ryan Sanderson, won the argument I was forced to immerse myself in football and came away a fan. Imagine that!
Guess what else I hate? FLYING! I’d be perfectly happy to never again race down a runway at 500 miles an hour (or whatever speed it really is) and lift off into the sky. However, my life dictates that I must fly—often—and I hate it so much that I’m forced to take a tiny white pill just so I can work up the wherewithal to step foot on a plane. So where does my second book, Love at First Flight, open? In an airport! What’s wrong with me?
My characters, Michael Maguire and Juliana Gregorio, meet at the Baltimore/Washington International Airport on a Friday evening when they are on their way to visit their significant others in Florida. He’s engaged to Paige, a high-maintenance yet lovable woman he’s dated for four years. Juliana is looking forward to seeing Jeremy, her boyfriend of ten years who has seemed distant lately on the phone. During the flight, Michael and Juliana commiserate on the pitfalls of long-distance relationships and both are anxious about the weekend ahead. A Baltimore prosecutor about to begin the murder trial of his career, Michael has better things to do than attend the over-the-top engagement party Paige and her parents have planned for that weekend. Juliana is anxious to know what’s bugging Jeremy lately.
After Michael and Juliana each endure a disastrous weekend, they meet up again on the flight home, striking up an unlikely friendship that leads to love. Michael’s trial spins out of control, endangering both of them as they deal with an ex-fiancée and ex-boyfriend who refuse to go quietly. One of the things I love best about this book is the way Michael and Juliana are friends first and lovers second. Their love blossoms slowly and sweetly as they support each other through difficult breakups and challenging work and family situations.
As Love at First Flight hits shelves across the country, tell me, have you ever had a close encounter of the romantic kind on a flight? Are you a member of the mile high club? LOL! I’m not, and don’t worry, neither are Michael and Juliana! I’ll give away a copy of each of my books to a lucky commenter. If you’ve already read Line of Scrimmage, just let me know.
If you wish to discuss all the rules I broke in Love at First Flight, join me Monday, July 20, at 7 p.m. EDT on my blog http://mariesullivanforce.blogspot.com for a book club discussion. Warning, there will be spoilers, so make sure you read the book before the party! I’ll be giving away some great prizes to participants.
Oh, and by the way? I love football, but I still hate to fly!
Contact Marie: marie@marieforce.com
Website: www.mariesullivanforce.com
Blog: http://mariesullivanforce.blogspot.com
First off, I’ve posted my exciting news on my personal blog, but still have to do it here. I signed with an agent last week, and couldn’t be happier, more excited, more thrilled, more over-the-moon than I am!! I’m still walking on air
I started reading a book with a heroine whose life has been falling apart for years. She meets this hot guy and at this first meeting, he offers to help her. So what does she do? She gives him a saucy grin.
I would have forgotten about this and gone on with my day, but something happened to reinforce this. I recently took
They aren’t perfect. I’ll probably never use the tiny Mardi Gras band (though I like it), but I’m just playing.
I’m in the midst of building the characters for a new story/series that I’m mulling over. This is going to be completely different from what I’ve done in the past and I want my characters to reflect that difference. This will be much darker and I’m going to need a pair (or three) main characters who are … not so much damaged, since I don’t do damaged per se, but characters who are able to handle the darker side of life.
Marie hails from Rhode Island, and has a communications background previously working as a reporter, editor, and writer for the last 20 years. Marie also served as the communications director for a national membership organization. Marie’s first visit with Magical was to celebrate her debut book, Line of Scrimmage. We look forward to seeing all of you here for the fun. Marie will be giving away a copy of Love at First Flight, and Line of Scrimmage so be sure and leave a comment Thursday for our drawing!
So … instead, I’ll do a review of “Midnight’s Daughter” by
Finishing a first draft is like having a…well, naked baby. I know the writing process birthed my little darlin, but know once here this baby of mine will continue to evolve during the revision process. I have a hardcopy to hold now, since she’s been living in my computer and I printed her out. That’s something, and I don’t mind telling ya I do hug those to my chest and breathe them in… again. I also hug books when I read an extraordinary story and feel its magic.
I must tell you, I get more excited with each story. And when it comes to the final revisions, I know whatever outfit she chooses will resound with the spirit of my story. That’s crucial to me, that my stories reflect my character’s true essence. I’ve always valued the uniqueness in people and the characters who come to me. In our family, it’s those individual quirks we love and encourage. I give my hat off to my daughters, who have encouraged my grandchildren to express who they are. That’s the greatest gift of all, I believe, to discover who you are and embrace it with all you’ve got.
So, what’s your story about?
What do you need in the logline and how can it help you stay focused? There are many answers to what you need in the logline but they all have three things in common. The logline should tell us WHO the story is about, WHAT he wants (Goal), and WHY he can’t have it (Conflict). A good logline will have the GMC. I like to start my loglines with the inciting incident or character motivation. Why does the protagonist need to go through this story? What prompted him to take action?
How does all this keep you focused? Think of all those essays you wrote in school. You had to have a thesis statement at the beginning that you would prove in the rest of your essay. The same goes for your logline and book. If you refer back to your logline every once in a while as you’re writing it can help you stay on track. By using sexy librarian I’m constantly reminded of at least one trait my heroine needs to show in every scene. By chapter four have you veered off in some other direction that has nothing to do with the core of your story? If you have that logline and know what the spine of the story is you can use that to make sure every scene, every chapter builds on that spine. Then when you’re done you don’t have to try to come up with a pitch. You already have one ready.
When I hear the word ‘gather’ I think immediately of hunter gatherers, of women sort of strolling around with baskets, chatting and picking, and watching kids and keeping an eye out for any hovering carnivores. That sort of covers my writing process, LOL.
We’re redecorating our upstairs bathroom. My husband knows how to tile, so he’s doing everything but the plumbing. I’m skipping a long story about finding the perfect tiles, but with the help of an interior designer friend, we ended up getting our tiles from a place that only sells to contractors. We made two mistakes ordering — the first because of a new employee at the tile place and the second ours.
I felt a little depressed, but reminded myself how much I like the first half. It didn’t happen by accident. I sweated through the first half; it was the second half that was easier.
We have a wonderful line-up for July. First up, on July 2nd, is contemporary romance author Marie Force. Her recent release, LOVE AT FIRST FLIGHT, is out now with Sourcebooks. Historical romance author Christine Wells is our guest on July 9th. Her latest release, WICKED LITTLE GAME, is out on July 7th. Christine will give away a signed copy of Wicked Little Game to one lucky commenter to our interview with her. On Friday, July 10, led by the talented and nefarious Kim Killion, 14 Kensington Zebra Debut Authors are hijacking Magical Musings for the day! On July 16th, debut author Kandy Shepherd will be our guest. Her upcoming romantic comedy, LOVE IS A FOUR-LETTERED WORD is also out on July 7th with Berkley Sensation. Natalie Damschroder is so dedicated she's been known to write with a cat lying across her arms -- and has the picture to prove it! She will share some of her wisdom with us on July 23rd. In additon to her awesome and hot books about romantic adventures, Elisabeth Naughton writes awesome blogs. Her second Dorchester Love Spell book, STOLEN HEAT, is out on July 28th, and we're delighted to have her as our guest on July 30th.



