FemmeFan.com Loves Line of Scrimmage!

Thank you to Ivette at FemmeFan.com, a site targeted toward sports-loving women, for this lovely review of Line of Scrimmage! I especially appreciate such kindness toward a Red Sox fan from a Yankee fan! :--)

First and foremost, this is not a football book filled with football-speak and x's and o's. This is a book every red-blooded woman will enjoy. Why, because, surprisingly, Line of Scrimmage is a love story. And what a love story, it sizzles.

This book contains some very is hot and erotic scenes. I must admit that I blushed several times during the recounting of the intimate love scenes and I definitely broke out in a sweat on a few occasions. It's a love story with the ingredients you want and expect in a love novel, sex, a beautiful athlete and a compassionate woman. If you happen to be a female who love sports, then that is simply a bonus.

I kick myself for waiting so long to read the book. But I made up for lost time as I sped through it in less than two days. This is the perfect book to wile away the hours by the pool. Warning, stay close to a source of water; you just might need to cool off occasionally!

Marie Force writes with humor, passion and compassion. She tells a story of strong characters who have to fight through the demands and celebrity of a professional athlete trying to win back his one true love. I think women will enjoy reading this book, whether they are baseball fans, football fans, or simply fans of good old fashioned love.

Read the complete review at http://www.femmefan.com/site/featuredarticles/2008/Sept08/BookReview_Line%20of%20Scrimmage_article0914.htm.

My First Book Store Signing

One year to the day after I got "The Call," I had my first book store signing today at Annie's Book Stop in Sharon, MA. Thank you to Merry Cutlter, RT's Book Seller of the Year for 2008, and her son Paul for hosting a lovely autographing party. My New England Chapter mate Neringa sent me this magical picture:



Blogger isn't letting me load the rest of the photos, but thank you to everyone who came and to my daughter Emily who was my helper today.

This Time Last Year...

The new season of Grey's Anatomy premiered tonight. I luvvvve Patrick Dempsey. Passionately. Sigh... Anyway, last year, I watched the premiere with my cousin Jen. In the early minutes of the show, I got "The Call" from my former agent, telling me that Sourcebooks wanted "Line of Scrimmage." The season premiere of Grey's Anatomy is forever tied to my call story, as is my "baby" cousin Jen. We weren't able to watch the show together tonight. I can't say I blame her for having other plans since I kind of screwed up our viewing last year with all my whooping and hollering. We ended up watching the show on TiVO a week later.

The next ten months went by reallllly slowly. Sure, a lot was happening. Copy editing and galley proofs and cover art and promotion strategies. On August 20, I returned home from vacation to find my author copies on the font porch. Since then I feel like I've been on a tilt-a-whirl. Parties and signings and interviews (newspaper and radio). The best part, without a doubt, has been sharing the excitement with my family and friends.

Next spring will bring the launch of "Same Time Sunday," a book I'm so excited about. This was the third book I wrote, and the only one that kept me up late on a Sunday night writing the end, only to drag me out of bed twice more until I finally gave up and finished it at 5 a.m. I love the ending of that book, and I hope readers will, too. We're also talking about what'll come next after STS. These are exciting times.

One year ago right now, it hadn't happened yet. What a difference one phone call can make.

We're in the Paper!

The Newport Daily News did a lovely feature on me and Line of Scrimmage. Thanks to my old friend Jim Gillis for such a nice article!

Check it out!

Taking to the Air Waves to Talk Romance and Football

Listen in to my upcoming radio interviews!

Monday, September 29, 10:30 am ET (8:30 am MT), KBUL, Billings, MT

Monday, September 29: 3:30 pm ET, WBCB-AM, Philadelphia, PA

Wednesday, October 1, 8:05 am ET, WAQY-FM, Springfield, MA

Wednesday, October 1, 9:15 am ET, KKOT/KTTT-FM, Omaha, NE

Wednesday, October 1, 11:15 am ET, WSBC-AM “The Morning Break Sports Show,” Chicago, IL

Wednesday, October 1, 5:20 pm ET, WADB-AM “The Locker Room with Kevin Williams,” NY, NY

Wednesday, October 1, 6:20 pm ET, WKCT-AM, Bowling Green, KY

Thursday, October 2, 8:40 am ET, 95.9 WATD-FM, Boston, MA

Friday, October 3, 6:15 pm ET (5:15 pm CT), KXYL-FM ABC Radio Network, Abilene - Sweetwater, TX

Friday, October 3, 8:30 pm ET, WEEI- WVEI “Planet Mikey,” Boston, MA

Saturday, October 4, 8:15 am ET, “Spadora on Sports,” Syndicated to 5 stations in Upstate NY

Line of Scrimmage Is Launched!

On Friday night, I officially launched Line of Scrimmage with a party for my friends and family in Newport, Rhode Island. We sold more than 100 books and I had my first case of book signing writer's cramp! Before I was published, I had a lot of help and support from a wide circle of friends who kept me going when I wondered if I would ever get "The Call." I wanted to be sure these special supporters stood out in the crowd, so I had purple T-shirts made with the book cover and the 09.01.08 date on the front and my character's name and number on the back: Sanderson, 18. The shirts were purple and the lettering yellow because those are the Denver Mavericks team colors in the book. Ryan wears number 18 because both my kids were born on the 18th of the month and I finished my first book on the 18th.

In honor of Ryan's character in Line of Scrimmage, we wore cowboy hats and boots. We had a few extra T-shirts that we raffled off for donations to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. I'm pleased to report that we raised $500 and a donation will be made in my mother's memory to PanCAN. Thanks to everyone who came to the party, including the friends and cousins who flew in to share in my big day. It was a great night and one my family and I will always remember!

LOS Has Been Promoted...

...to the FRONT of my local Barnes & Noble! Here are some pictures we took today when my friend Mary and I went in to sign the in-store copies. I signed five copies at 3 p.m. Later this afternoon, someone told my dad they had just bought the last one! They asked me to come back in and sign more on Monday and scheduled a signing from Noon to 3 p.m. on September 28 at the Middletown, RI store.

Whoo hoo! Front of the store!



Mary has read all my books and was a great friend of my mom's. Now she's a great friend of mine!

Single Titles Gives Line of Scrimmage Five Stars!

LINE OF SCRIMMAGE is a skillfully told story about a marriage in crisis and the lengths a couple will go to save it. Début author Marie Force put her football research to good use when writing this book, adding credibility and interest to an already awesome novel. Her characters; Ryan, an alpha male with a gentle heart and Susannah, a well-grounded, sophisticated woman, are made for each other and their passion simply sizzles as they work through their problems. Secondary characters, including the football team, are well thought out and defined. I whole heartedly recommend LINE OF SCRIMMAGE as the perfect football season book by an up and coming new author. Keep your eye on Marie Force!

Read the full review

The Celebration Begins! Line of Scrimmage Launch Party!

Happy September 1! Today is the day Line of Scrimmage officially launches. I'm pleased to invite you to attend the launch party here and simultaneously on the Casablanca Authors Blog. All this week, everyone who comments will be entered into a drawing. I'll be giving away two copies of Line of Scrimmage as well as two Barnes & Noble gift cards! One week, four winners! Enter again over on the Casa Blog for four more chances to win! Both contests end at midnight Eastern Daylight Time on Friday, September 5.

I want to thank my family and friends for sharing in the excitement of these last few weeks with me. So many people helped to get me here, and I thank you all for your endless support and enthusiasm for my books. Line of Scrimmage is dedicated to my parents, George and Barbara Sullivan, who always said I could, and to my husband Dan and our kids, Emily and Jake, who stood by me while I did. I wrote the following paragraphs for my website, but I thought today would be a good day to retell my story.

When we lived in Jacksonville, FL, from 1998-2002, my husband deployed on the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy for months at a time. The kids and I used to drive down to Ft. Lauderdale to visit my parents who spent winters there. My dad and I would take long walks through the marinas where he would show me the boats we were going to buy someday. “You need to get busy writing that book,” he would say. My reply was always the same: “When exactly do you think I could fit that in? Between changing diapers and working full time?” With a big grin, he would say, “Three to six a.m. is available.” A pipe dream. That’s all it was. But there was this character running around in my head. A man with thick dark hair, gray-blue eyes, an engaging grin, a quick wit . . . His name was Jack, and he was an architect. I’d find myself talking to him in the car, when I was doing dishes or bathing babies. He’d crop up on days at the beach and on walks through the neighborhood. Someday, I said. Someday, I’ll write Jack’s story.

In 2002, I began to make some notes. I stumbled upon those notes recently and laughed so hard I cried. It was God-awful! Clearly, I wasn’t ready. Once in a while, though, I’d reopen that file, take another look, and make some more notes. I vividly remember outlining the story I had in mind to Dan when we were out to dinner one night. He loved it and encouraged me to pursue it. I knew I wanted something to happen to Jack’s wife, Clare, something that would incapacitate her but not kill her. I had great plans to put Jack through the wringer, but inevitably, life would interfere, and he’d get relegated to the back burner.

After we moved to Rhode Island in August 2002, I started to get more serious about the book but still wasn’t able to get very far. A year later, in November 2003, my mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The next nine months were a roller coaster ride, during which I turned to the book more and more often, seeking an escape from reality. By early August 2004, I had four solid chapters that my mother was the first to read. I made her cry, she said. She died shortly after.

Something that had lain dormant for years kicked into gear in the aftermath of my mother’s death. I asked myself—what are you waiting for? What meaning will it have to finally write that book if you wait until neither of your parents—the two people who always said you had it in you—aren’t around to read it? I firmly believe my mother is sending me these amazing characters who continue to pop up out of nowhere and lead me on one great adventure after another. How else can I possibly explain the incredible things that have happened in the four years since she died?

I finished Jack’s book, Treading Water, on May 18, 2005, and it’s my fondest hope to one day see it published. I’ve finished a few since then, including Line of Scrimmage, but no accomplishment will ever mean more to me than writing “The End” on that first one. You sort of expect the world to at least have the decency to tip on its axis in tribute to your enormous accomplishment. But alas, kids still have homework, there’s work and laundry and bills and dinner to make. Life goes on, but nothing is ever the same again.

My dad has read all of my books. Yesterday was the fourth anniversary of my mother's death. Today Line of Scrimmage officially launches. I like to picture her holding her own launch party in heaven. "WHOO HOO!" she would say. "WE DID IT!"

Has there been an event in your life that spurred you to action? That got you to do something you always said you were going to do?