The Book That Almost Wasn't: Fatal Deception's Bumpy Road to Publication

Fatal Deception, book 5, in the Fatal Series hit the e-book shelves today after a long and winding road to publication. In the midst of my 23rd book, something happened that had never happened to me before. I dropped my laptop and FRIED my hard drive, taking TEN chapters of Fatal Deception with it. If you'd asked me when the last time I'd backed up was, I would've said a week, maybe two. It was more like a month. Painful lesson learned. I was also working on one of my Gansett Island books when the fry-o-lation occurred. I very easily recreated the chunk I was missing in that book. Not so easily done in Fatal Deception.

I always say the Fatal Series books are my most complicated. Because they are so bendy and twisty, there was NO WAY I could easily recreate 10 chapters. My brain was resistant to even THINKING about it. Thus, I had to bring in the experts. To make a very long and UGLY story short, it took TEN WEEKS and THREE THOUSAND dollars to recover my ten chapters. Yep, you read that right. Disk Doctor in California got back the missing chapters, but it wasn't cheap. Since my choice was either to abandon the book or pay the money, I paid. During the ten weeks in the abyss, I kept plugging forward with Fatal Deception from where I'd left off, not knowing if the missing chapters would ever be recovered. When I got back the missing chapters, I pasted the whole thing back together and finished it up--in time for the deadline. Minor miracle! I don't recommend writing a book under these conditions. I now have extremely sophisticated backup systems that I rely upon to keep this from ever happening again.

Fatal Deception, the book that almost wasn't, is out TODAY! Here's what you can expect in this latest installment—my favorite yet in this series. Jealous Nick, Kinky Nick, Sam more obnoxious than ever! Fun, fun, FUN!

The wife of the White House deputy chief of staff has been beaten to death, and their one-year-old daughter is missing. D.C. Police Lieutenant Sam Holland is in charge of the murder investigation, but she's forced to collaborate with Special Victims Unit detectives as well as thorn-in-her-side FBI Special Agent Avery Hill. Then, a cold case of her father's resurrects old hurts—a distraction Sam cannot afford.

As Sam's investigation heats up, so does Nick's political career—and the heat carries over to their bedroom. Will Sam put the pieces together in time to catch a killer and find the baby, or will ambition, greed and lies prove fatal?

Get it now at Kindle • Nook • iBooks • Kobo • Carina Press

Read an excerpt.

Join the Fatal Deception Readers Group on Facebook when you're done with the book to dish about the story with other fans of the series.

And don't forget: Book 1, Fatal Affair, is FREE this month everywhere ebooks are sold! 

Hope you enjoy the latest installment in Sam & Nick's ongoing love affair!

True Confession

My name is Marie Force and I am guilty of ignoring my blog. There. I said it out loud. I can't believe it's been almost three months since I posted here! You'd think I had nothing to say, which couldn't be further from the truth. If you've gotten to know me at all, you know I've always got plenty to say! So what's new?

FATAL DECEPTION, book 5 in my FATAL SERIES, will be out on November 12. I'm really excited about this book, which in my humble opinion, is the best one yet. Sam and Nick are back with more married adventures. You'll see more of series favorites Freddie, Gonzo, Jeannie, Skip, Graham, Laine and of course, SCOTTY! I've also come up with what I think is a fun way to get our superstar wedding planner, Shelby Faircloth, back onto the canvas in a more enduring role. She was so damned fun to write and her dynamic with Sam made me laugh out loud more than once, so how could I not find a way to get her back into the series? If you haven't already pre-ordered your copy, you can do so now at:


Kindle
Nook
Apple

More retailers coming soon! Here's a bit about what you can expect in FATAL DECEPTION: 

The wife of the White House deputy chief of staff has been beaten to death, and their one-year-old daughter is missing. D.C. Police Lieutenant Sam Holland is in charge of the murder investigation, but she's forced to collaborate with Special Victims Unit detectives as well as thorn-in-her-side FBI Special Agent Avery Hill. Then, a cold case of her father's resurrects old hurts—a distraction Sam cannot afford. 

As Sam's investigation heats up, so does Nick's political career—and the heat carries over to their bedroom. Will Sam put the pieces in time to catch a killer and find the baby, or will ambition, greed and lies prove fatal?

Read an excerpt here.

I get a lot of questions about the Fatal Series, so let me answer a few of them here.

How many books do you plan to write in the Fatal Series?

I don't know yet. I figure as long as I'm having fun with Sam and Nick and readers are enjoying their adventures, I'll keep writing the series. 

What will the next book be called and when will it be out?

Book Six will be called Fatal Mistake, and I believe it's scheduled to be out in June 2013. 

Will the Fatal Series be coming to print?

YES! I'm pleased to report that books 1 and 2, FATAL AFFAIR and FATAL JUSTICE, will be out in  2013 in what's called mass market paperback format (meaning they will be in bookstores and retail outlets close to your homes) from HQN, which is a Harlequin imprint. I'm hoping the rest of the books will follow soon after. In the meantime, the series has been coming to print via eHarlequin.com. Fatal Consequences is currently available there in print.

Will Sam ever have a baby?

I'm not sure yet how that will play out. I do know that bringing a newborn in their lives would vastly change the landscape of the series, and not necessarily for the better. So if and when Sam has a baby, I do expect it to be much later in the series. 

Will we ever find out who shot Skip?

I believe we will, but I'm not sure when yet!

If you have other questions about the Fatal Series, please feel free to post them in the comments. I'm happy to provide the answers—if I have them!

In other news...

Right now I'm working on two books at the same time. COMING HOME, book 4 in the Treading Water Series, will hopefully be out by Christmas, and WAITING FOR LOVE, book 8 in the McCarthys of Gansett Island Series, will be out early next year. Right after that, I'll be diving into FATAL MISTAKE as well as book 1 in my new Green Mountain Country Store Series that's coming in late 2013. If you're interested in audio books, watch for the McCarthy Series coming to audio in 2013!

So that's what is keeping me busy at the moment! Hope you're doing well and getting lots of reading time!