Multi-genre author of Victorian romance, UPON YOUR RETURN, and 23 other books. Reached the Top 10 Authors list on AuthorsDB.com for the last 3 years. TOP 20 Authors of 2018 on Amy’s Bookshelf Reviews blog. DIRECTIONS OF THE HEART was nominated for the Author Academy Awards. UPON YOUR LOVE and THE MISSING PIECE placed in the TOP 10 on the 2017 P&E Readers' Poll. DIRECTIONS OF THE HEART was nominated for the 2017 Reader's Choice Awards. The I Love Romance Blog became a finalist in StartDating DK's Romance Blog Awards of 2017. ILRB landed on Feedspot’s 2017 TOP 100 Novel Blogs and TOP 100 Romance Blogs.
DIRECTIONS OF THE HEART placed in the TOP 10 Books of 2017 on Amy’s Bookshelf Reviews blog. TOP 20 Authors of 2017 on Amy’s Bookshelf Reviews blog. Mystery Blogger Award for 2017. A to Z Blog Challenge Survivor in 2016. March 2016 Empress of the Universe title - winner of the "Broken Heart" themed contest and the "I Love You" themed contest on Poetry Universe. SECOND CHANCE HEART and A LITTLE MAGICK placed in the TOP 10 on the 2015 P&E Readers' Poll. Nominated in the TRR Readers' Choice Awards for Winter 2015. Poetry winner of the 2015 PnPAuthors Contest. The Versatile Blogger Award for 2015. Honorable Mention in the 2014 BTS Red Carpet Book Awards. Finalist and Runner-up in the 2014 MARSocial's Author of the Year Competition. Honorable mention in the January 2014 Reader's Choice Award. Liebster Blogger Award for 2013, 2014 and 2016. 2013 and 2014 Amazon Bestseller Ranking for UPON YOUR RETURN. Winner of the Great One Liners Contest on the Directory of Published Authors.
Marie lives in the Midwest with her family and three cats. She has been writing for a little over twenty-five years. She has more works in progress than she can count on two hands. Since 2010, Marie has published 24 books in the genres of historical romance, contemporary romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance, dramatic fiction, fantasy, science fiction, mystery/thriller, literary fiction and poetry. She has also contributed to several anthologies. Her current published series are The Heiresses in Love Series, The Eternal Hearts Series, The Magick Series, The Code of Endhivar Series and The Blood at First Sight Series.
Enter the Other World at your own risk…
What if you found out that you weren't exactly…human?
Myah Sullivan is suddenly living that nightmare. There are Others in the world, dangerous, supernatural creatures that make her mind spin and cause her to question the reality she’s always known.
Oliver King is her savior, a vampire who tries to show her the way. Through her journey she learns far more than she ever thought she would about herself, and about the past. Soon, she discovers that there is so much more to meeting Oliver than mere happenstance.
Can Myah accept her new reality, or will she retreat into that normal, safe world she once thought was her own?
Meet the hero of BLOOD INSTINCTS, Oliver King, AND Marie, in these in-depth interviews:
1. What is your occupation? Are you any good at it? Do you like it?
I am an artist. Working on portraits and landscapes gives me an outlet I wouldn’t have had otherwise, so yes, I enjoy it. And if my fans and manager have anything to say about it, I guess I do all right.
But I once was a Hunter in the Other World, keeping supernatural miscreants in line. I was a warrior and trainer of recruits.
2. What is your family like?
(Looks away.) They are all gone now. When they were still alive, we were very happy. My parents were usually supportive, and I had a tendency to feel protective of my little sister.
3. What did your childhood home look like?
I lived in an Antebellum estate in Leesburg, Virginia. The house was large and white with black shutters, surrounded by lush fields.
4. Do you have any hobbies? What do you enjoy doing?
Besides painting, I tackle woodworking projects in my free time. And I’m pretty good at Judo and Aikido.
5. What is your greatest dream?
My greatest dream is to have a family of my own someday, even if that only means finding a female who is an Other, like me. But vampires have a long life span, so I have a lot of time on my hands. (He winks.)
6. What kind of person do you wish you could be? What is stopping you?
I’ve outgrown lamenting my fate as a vampire. I have accepted it. I think all of my trials made me who I am, and I’m all right with that.
7. Who was your first love?
Was…of course, I had crushes on females in the past. But no woman has really made me want more than I already have… except for Myah.
8. What's the most terrible thing that ever happened to you?
Losing my family while I was away in battle. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself. The only solace I have is that my sister got to live a full life.
9. What was your dream growing up? Did you achieve that dream? If so, in what ways was it not what you expected? If you never achieved the dream, why not?
Honestly, I can’t remember those early dreams. My father expected me to go into the family business; I didn’t want that, though. I guess, in a way, I achieved what I aimed for. I became something more than what he wanted for me.
10. Who is your role model?
My shifter friend Hank…he’s a good male who made his own family in this world of Normals, and somehow he has managed to protect them. To be happy. Shouldn’t we all aim for that goal?
11. Is there someone you pretend to like but really dislike?
I don’t need to pretend to like someone. It’s a waste of effort.
12. What is your deepest desire?
That Myah will give me a chance and let me in.
13. What is your greatest fear?
I suspect she won’t accept the combined beauty and peril of the Other World.
Thank you for visiting us today.
* * *
Let’s shift over and get the author’s perspective. We have Marie on the stage today. Hi, Marie!
We just got to talk to the hero of your story, Oliver. Quite an interesting character.
1. Can you tell us a little about him?
Sure! Oliver is a 207 year old vampire. He’s had a tough life. He is also a gentleman, and I can’t resister that in a male character.
2. What are your character's greatest strengths?
Oliver is honorable, brave, and multi-talented.
3. What are his greatest weaknesses?
Myah is his greatest weakness. He wasn’t prepared for his response to her.
4. What are some of his favorite foods?
Like some, he enjoys good food and savors wine. But he tries to mainly stick to forms of red meat. He doesn’t drink blood all the time. If he eats human food, though, he needs to limit his intake or he’ll get sick.
5. What's a positive quality that your character is unaware that he has?
Oliver is more heroic than he’d ever guess.
6. Will readers like or dislike him, and why?
They will definitely like him, especially the fact that he is patient with Myah.
Well, now that we have a real taste of Oliver, we have a few questions for you as well as the author.
7. What first gave you the idea for Blood Instincts?
When I knew it was time to write the sequel to Second Nature, the premise that kept coming to me was…what if I found out I was something more than human? And it just snowballed from there.
8. What is your writing style like? Are you a pantster or a plotter?
I am a hybrid actually, a bit of both. I write as many random scenes as I can, and then I write a full outline to give myself some guidance. After that, I just keep working on each section until the book is finished. Maybe it doesn’t sound too glamorous, but the process works for me.
9. I’m throwing this one in for our aspiring writers. Did you come across any specific challenges in writing Blood Instincts or getting it published? What would you do differently the next time?
I guess you could say time placement became an issue. Eventually, I decided to throw a lighthearted, futuristic angle on it. And the problem resolved itself. I probably wouldn’t do anything different the next time. Back when I wrote the Heiresses in Love Series, I came across the same dilemma with the time spans between each book, and that worked out all right.
Did I have trouble getting the novel published? No, I just had to submit the manuscript to my publisher, who previously handled the sequel, and soon they accepted Blood Instincts too.
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