I am so pleased to have Marianne Rice here with me today, celebrating the release of her new book, Then Came You, the second in the Wilde Sisters. I have read the first book in the series, Sweet on You, and I’m telling you; you are in for a treat 🙂
Marianne, welcome to my humble blog. When I write, I’m afraid I am not much of a planner. I normally start with an idea and a couple characters and I just let it develop as I write. What about you? Are you a plotter or a pantster?
M- I like to “cook” my stories in my head. I run through my main characters, the internal and external conflicts, and the resolution a few times before I actually sit down to write. I don’t plot anything out on paper…just sit down and go. But the story is pretty well thought out before I start Chapter One.
What genre do you write? What made you want to write in that genre and for that age group?
M- I write contemporary romance. It’s my favorite genre to read as well. U.S. History is my history of choice so if I ever write a historical it would probably be a western. Cowboys are pretty darn sexy.
LOL. Something about those Stensons. When did you decide you would like to be a writer? Have you always liked to write?
M- When I was on maternity leave with my newborn son and my two and four year-old daughters. It was my means of escape. I always read a lot and the more I read the more I created stories in my head. Then one day…I wrote the story.
I know what you mean. It’s like going on vacation without ever leaving the house. What book do you wish you would have written? Why?
M- The Great Gatsby is my all-time literary favorite. Such a classic full of love, mystery and drama. As for contemporary romances, geesh, that’s hard. I’d be honored to have my name slapped on the cover of pretty much any book by Jill Shalvis, Susan Mallery or Kristan Higgins.
Have you written or plan to write in other genres?
M- No plans yet, but as I mentioned earlier, maybe a cowboy series someday.
Is there a certain type of scene that’s harder for you to write than others? Love? Action? Racy?
M- Love scenes are definitely the hardest, although I’m getting better at it. Each book seams to increase in heat rating.
I’m sure your readers appreciate that, lol. What’s in your reading list right now?
M- I currently have 234 books on my Kindle, and more than I can count that I need to review. Time, please freeze for me!
I hear you. I’m on the same boat. Looking forward to the Summer so I can get through some of those TBR books. Now, I know your books are going to be extremely successful and one of these days a big Hollywood producer is going to want to make a movie out of it. Who will play your main characters?
M- Well, my hero inspiration for Grayson Montgomery in Then Came You is Liam Hemsworth (his brother Chris was my inspiration for my football book, False Start). And the lovely, adorable Rachel McAdams would play the ever bubbly youngest sister, Thyme Wilde.
Do you write full time? How do you find time to write and do you have a special place where you write?
M- That is my dream. I teach high school English and am a mom to three children (9, 12 and 14) who are all very active in sports. Oh, and there’s the husband as well! I am fortunate to have school vacations free, which is when I get most of my writing done. I spend the in-between months “cooking” up my story so when I have a moment I can bang out a pretty high word count in a short amount of time. I have a lovely office space off the living room, but my children find me too easily there. I tend to be more productive when I retreat to my bedroom with my laptop.
I have to “hide” in coffee shops in order to get away from my family and write, so I totally get it. Do you ever feel attached to your characters as if they were real? How do you come up with them? Do you base them off people you know or something else?
M- Oh, so very much. But the sad thing is, as soon as I delve into my next book I sort of forget about him/her. I guess that’s a good thing, right? You want to love your next characters even more.
Do you have any advice to give new writers? When you first started writing for publication what were your expectations and were they met?
M- Don’t stop. I wrote for seven years before I seriously pitched and queried my books. I’m glad I didn’t rush my first book and try to put it “out there” for the public. It wasn’t ready. I wasn’t ready. Join writer’s groups, attend writer’s conferences, network online. Never stop learning. I learn something with each book, with each editor, with each publisher. That’s a good thing. And when you type THE END, don’t rush back to edit. Give yourself some space, maybe start your next book, then go back and edit. And edit. And revise. And revise. And then send to beta readers and then edit and revise. Then, if you’re ready, send to an agent or publishing house. Too many writers are rushing their work and not giving themselves the time or the credit they deserve.
Just my two cents.
And great advice it is. It’s been a pleasure chatting with you, Marianne and I wish you all the success in the world. And readers, don’t forget to go show her some love and check out her author’s page–and buy her book, of course!
See you all next time!
Author Natalina Reis 