Madness Abounds

Sorry for the quiet on the blog this week. Things are crazy:

1. At home: kids = crazy + Christmas = insanity

2. At work: jamming five weeks of work into three

3. In book land: we're still trying to rename the book formerly known as Same Time Sunday. Hopefully, more to come on that soon!

I'm looking forward to a nice long vacation later this month. My company does a lovely thing for us each year by closing down from Christmas to New Year's. Since I only had to take four days off to get 16 days off and since the kids are home the full two weeks during a time of year when there is less than nothing to do, I figured I'd take the break. I did this last year, too, and I've decided it's my favorite vacation of the year. There's not as much pressure to get out there and DO as there is during summer vacations when the weather is perfect and the beaches are open. At Christmas, there's more time to watch movies, read a good book, or maybe write one. I'm looking forward to finishing up the WIP from hell soon and starting on a new light contemporary that has been running around in my head for months.

I'm also looking forward to some plans with our former neighbors from the Florida years. Our families haven't gotten together in more than a year, and we're planning to spend New Year's Eve together and to do some snow tubing. Have you ever done that? I love it! Of course my oh-so-competitive Cliff Claven has to be like an Olympic bobsledder. He goes SO fast, he jumps the net that's there to catch you. He literally DISAPPEARS off the slope and then comes crawling back up the side of the containment area. I never laughed so hard in my life! And the last thing you want to do on a snowy slope is come close to a urinary incident! Suffice to say that watching Cliff on the tubes is a recipe for said urinary incident!

Are you taking time off at the holidays? What do you have planned?

Signing Books in Baltimore

Yesterday, I signed Line of Scrimmage in Baltimore with my friends Robin Kaye (Romeo Romeo) and Kendra Lee Castle (Call of the Highland Moon and Dark Highland Fire). It was great to see Robin again and to meet Kendra for the first time. Besides sharing a publisher, we are all represented by the lovely Kevan Lyon. After talking our faces off over lunch, we spent the afternoon at the Barnes & Noble at the Power Plant in Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

It was fun to be back in Baltimore, where we spent a lot of time when we lived in Maryland (from 95-98). I remember my now 13-year-old daughter fighting to get free of her stroller as we walked through the stores in the Inner Harbor. My next book, the one formerly known as Same Time Sunday (new name pending, stay tuned), is set in Baltimore. I love the Inner Harbor, Fells Point, Little Italy. It's a great city, and Robin, our new BFF at the B&N there was super to us. Thank you Robin!

Here are a few photos:

Marie, Robin and Kendra



Robin's husband Stephen, the original Domestic God, who kept us in coffee during the signing.



With my friend and co-worker April Pardoe, who "loaned" me her former home in Baltimore to use as my hero's home in the book formerly known as Same Time Sunday. I'll post some photos of that fabulous place when the book comes out!

It's All in the Name...

I learned yesterday that the title and cover of my second book, formerly known as Same Time Sunday, will be changing so I took it off the sidebar of the blog for now. I thought I was going to get lucky with two books published under the names I gave them. But since the name and the cover are so critical to selling the book, I will hope for a great name and cover to give the book the best possible chance for success. That's Zen Marie talking there. She's pretty evolved, isn't she? I'll let you know what we come up with for a new name and cover! Stay tuned.

In Entertainment Weekly, I was reading a profile of Meryl Streep, who at 59, is suddenly the most powerful actress in Hollywood—based on box office dollars. In fact, her numbers have been so strong lately thanks to Mama Mia and The Devil Wore Prada, that she has eclipsed many of her male peers, including De Niro, Pacino, Hoffman and Nicholson. I saw Mama Mia and loved it, even Pierce Brosnan's singing. Despite all this success, Streep still receives scathing reviews, and they still hurt. "Acting," she says, "is very satisfying if you can manage to not have your feelings hurt when they don't like you. I haven't really had any breakthroughs in that area. It still hurts my feelings." Interesting to know that Hollywood's biggest female star, the winner of two Oscars and countless nominations, is still hurt by bad reviews. That gives the rest of us who put our hearts and souls out there—to possibly be trounced upon—some comfort in knowing we all feel the same way about critical reviews, no matter how we choose to stretch our creative muscles—and as much as we claim not to read them!

I'm looking forward to a signing this weekend at the Barnes & Noble Power Plant in Baltimore's Inner Harbor with my friends Robin Kaye (Romeo Romeo) and Kendra Leigh Castle (Call of the Highland Moon and Dark Highland Fire). If you're in the Baltimore area this Saturday, come by and see us from 2 - 3:30! I'll post some photos on Sunday.

NaNo-BLOG-Mo

While many of my author colleagues worked this month to write a first draft of a novel as part of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), my goal was to blog every day. I achieved my goal for the most part, blogging twenty-six days out of thirty (I left the last posting up for a few days since it took me an hour to make it all work properly). Like writing itself, daily blogging can become a habit if you DO IT every day. After a few days, you start to think differently. You notice things in the news, in the blog-o-sphere and in everyday life that are blog-worthy. You pay attention differently. You plan to blog, and so you do. At least that's how it went for me. Along the way, I noticed my daily numbers going up—ten, twenty, thirty a day. Some days more. If you build it, they will come. So I will continue to build it and hope you'll come.

Late last week, I read this heartwarming post from author Barbara Samuels on Romancing the Blog. It was called A True Connection, and it was about her parents' 50th anniversary. It's the story of an amazing marriage and family. It's a story worthy of a classic romance novel. I left a comment about my own parents' lovely marriage.

I've mentioned here and on other blogs about being a late-in-life football fan. I blame Line of Scrimmage for this new-found affliction. We were out earlier and I hustled my family home to be in front of the TV in time for today's 4 p.m. kick off of the Pats-Steeler's game. I think my transformation is now complete. I wanted to get home to watch the Pats. And Tom Brady isn't even playing. I am a fan. Shocking!

Alrighty, back to the last of the Same Time Sunday copy edits. We're in the home stretch, and of course I'm freaking out knowing this is the last chance to tweak. Oh the pain of separation! Does anyone else ever feel this way?

Books Make Great Gifts!

As the holiday shopping season begins this Black Friday, I thought it would be a good time to pass along some personal recommendations for your book buying pleasure. I've read just about all of these books and each of the authors is a good friend of mine. Peruse the list below and you will see, there's something for everyone on your list. Now, of course, I have to start with my favorite published book from 2008:

Line of Scrimmage
By: Marie Force
The Hail Mary play of a lifetime . . . An NFL quarterback has just 10 days to convince his soon-to-be ex-wife to give him another chance, and he has to act fast—she’s already engaged to her ex-boyfriend. Readers will laugh and cry and hope—that at the end of the day, these two lovers, who clearly belong together, will somehow find their way back to one another.

“With its humor and endearing characters, Force's charming novel will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers, reaching far beyond sports fans.” —Booklist

BUY IT


Dating da Vinci
By: Malena Lott
A gorgeous young Italian, with nowhere to go . . .His name just happens to be Leonardo da Vinci. When he walks into Ramona Elise's English class, he's a twenty-five-year-old immigrant, struggling to forge a new life in America - but he's lonely, has nowhere to live, and barely speaks English . . .She knows she shouldn't take him home . . .Picking up the pieces of her life after the death of her beloved husband, linguist and teacher Ramona Elise can't help but be charmed by her gorgeous new student. And when he calls her "Mona Lisa" she just about loses her heart . . .

"Delightfully affirming romance!" —Booklist

BUY IT


Romeo Romeo
By: Robin Kaye
Rosalie Ronaldi is a woman focused on her career. She has no intention of ever getting married nor is she a domestic goddess—both major points of contention with her traditional Italian Catholic family. However, when she gets a flat tire and is stranded on the side of the road, a mechanic with a tow truck pulls over, and gives her a hand.
Turns out that “mechanic” is actually Nick Romeo, “Brooklyn’s Donald Trump,” a self-made millionaire and serial dater. He’s instantly attracted to Rosalie, even though she’s far from his usual type of girlfriends who are fortune-hunting sticks with breasts. He quickly realizes, though, that he would have no chance with her if she knew who he was—the multi-millionaire playboy who, back in his misspent youth, got her older brother arrested. So he neglects to mention that detail. Somewhat inexplicably to both of them, they click instantly (helped along by Nick’s protective instincts when Rosalie gets pneumonia), and Nick suddenly becomes her live-in caretaker, cook, housekeeper, and lover, all rolled into one. Looming over his head, though, is his hidden identity and the fact that his company is at odds with Rosalie’s.

“Wonderful Laugh Out Loud Humor, a sexy and precious love story with twists and turns until the very end. Do Not Miss This Treasure!!” —Single Title Reviews

BUY IT


The Wild Sight
By: Loucinda McGary
Cursed with the Irish clairvoyance known as "The Sight," Donovan O'Shea fled to America to escape his "gift." Fifteen years later, his father's illness has forced him to return to the family homestead where years earlier, Donovan's mother disappeared into the fens and was never seen again. Now the same fens are offering up secrets, both ancient and recent, and restoring a terrible legacy that just may drive him mad. And if this were not trouble enough, a beautiful woman walks into his life, claiming to be his half-sister.

Rylie Powell never knew her real father. Her mother would only say he was a charming Irishman who seduced her, married her, and then abandoned her and his baby daughter. But after her mother's death, Rylie finds tantalizing clues about her father that send her off to Northern Ireland and an archeological site on Dermot O'Shea's property, the man listed on her birth certificate as her father.

Did Dermot O'Shea father both Donovan and Rylie? What is Donovan's connection to the Celtic High King Niall of the Nine Hostages? And what secrets do the fens hold that invites murder?

"...brings elements of the supernatural into this smashing romantic suspense novel. ...McGary never shortchanges the sizzling romance... as she weaves in ancient legend and recent murders, building to a dramatic, memorable conclusion." —Publisher’s Weekly Starred review

BUY IT


Slave
By: Cheryl Brooks
Looking for something different? If you'd like a strong heroine, plenty of adventure, steamy romance, and hot, erotic sex with an irresistible alien lover who can purr, then this first book in The Cat Star Chronicles series is for you! Join Captain Jacinth "Jack" Rutland and Carkdakund "Cat" Tshevnoe on their rescue mission on a planet with facscinating world customs, danger, and a surprising secret!

"A hugely remarkable first foray into the written word, SLAVE will enthrall and entice. The sexual tension and compatibility of the two main characters are hot enough to start a fire. Add in a thrilling new world and my reading experience was complete." —Romance Junkies

BUY IT


Warrior
By: Cheryl Brooks
Action, adventure, sizzling romance, and another irresistible Zetithian lover are the hallmarks of this second book in The Cat Star Chronicles series. Join the powerful witch, Tisana, and Leccarian "Leo" Banadansk, a golden-haired Zetithian warrior, in their race to find two kidnapped boys and earn Leo's freedom from a lifetime of slavery! Plenty of laughs are provided by the local animals with whom Tisana can communicate telepathically, but watch out: This witch can set you on fire!

"Ms. Brooks masterfully combined Sci-Fi fantasy, paranormal elements, hot and sensual alien attributes and hilarity with characters that wiggled their way into my heart and dreams. My advice is to rush out and grab a Warrior of your own." —Whipped Cream Erotic Romance Reviewers

BUY IT


50 Ways to Hex Your Lover
By: Linda Wisdom
What’s a witch to do? 700 year young Jazz Tremaine lives the good life as a curse eliminator and driver for All Creatures Car Service even if ghostly Irma haunts her precious 1956 T-Bird convertible and magick bunny slippers Fluff and Puff make life crazy for her. Now her PI ex vampire Nick Gregory is back in town and needs her help with a serial killer of vampires that’s using dark magick. Can Jazz work with the sexy vampire without reliving the past? What do you think?

“With clever writing, a high sensuality factor and an unfettered imagination, Wisdom makes a sparkling entry into lite urban paranormals.” —Publisher’s Weekly

BUY IT


Hex Appeal
By: Linda Wisdom
Jazz’s life is never boring. Now she’s having disturbing nightmares that involve Nick and he’s having them too. Someone doesn’t want them together and to make matters worse, Jazz’s beloved magick bunny slippers, Fluff and Puff are accused of eating a carny were-weasel! Once again Jazz is doing her hexy stuff to find out who’s messing up her usually blissful dreams and who dared to frame Fluff and Puff when everyone knows were-weasels taste nasty.

“Bless Jazz Tremaine’s witchy, Prada-loving heart – she’s captured mine! I can’t get enough of Jazz and her vamp lover Nick. Kudos to Linda Wisdom for a series that's pure magic!” —Vicki Lewis Thompson, NYT bestselling author of Wild & Hexy

BUY IT

The Lady Flees Her Lord
By: Michele Anne Young
She’s desperate for peace and safety… Unfashionably plump Lucinda, Lady Denbigh, is running from a husband who physically and emotionally abused her because she has failed to produce an heir. Posing as a widow, she seeks refuge in the quiet countryside…
He’s returned from the wars, wounded and tormented… Lord Hugo Wanstead, with a wound that won’t heal, finds his estate impoverished, his sleep torn by nightmares, and brandy his only solace. When he meets Lucinda, he finds her beautiful, body and soul, and thinks she just might give him something to live for… Together they can begin to heal, but not until she is free of her violent past…

"This is a wonderful book. Beautiful historical background with two characters who just are not perfect. It makes the story so much more real when you can relate to them. I look forward to reading more from this author. Armchair Interviews says: Highly recommended for those who love historical romance." —Arm Chair Interviews

BUY IT

SEALed With a Kiss
By: Mary Margaret Daughtridge
Even a hero needs help sometimes… Navy SEAL Lt. Jax Graham is as at home in the water as…well, a seal, but he’s completely out of his depth when his ex-wife dies and he must find a caregiver for the son he hardly knows. He intends to let
Tyler live with his grandmother—until he spends the weekend from hell with the two of them, that is. One look at bright, bossy, and sweetly sexy Pickett Sessoms and Jax knows she’ll expect more than he has to give. But right now, he needs help with his sad and silent son, and she knows a lot about kids. What about Tyler? Well, Tyler is only four years old. He doesn’t know a lot about anything. But he's sure he needs a mommy who isn’t dead, a daddy he can trust, a dog, and a bed of his very own.

"With a hero who's not only a tough Navy SEAL but also an insecure, vulnerable father and a pretty but unsure heroine with a big heart and a huge amount of love to give, how can this story miss? It doesn't; it delivers in a huge way. Throw in a lost little boy and some great dogs and you get a heart-touching story that will keep you smiling and cheering for the characters clear through to the happy ending." —Romantic Times, four and a half out of five.

BUY IT

Books to Look Forward to in 2009

Mystery Solved

Yesterday, I mentioned that the body of Joseph "Joe Onions" Scanlon had been found here in Rhode Island, 30 years after he was killed in a mob hit. Today I found out where he got that nickname. Apparently, Joe made all the girls cry! LOL! Don't you just LOVE that? As a fiction writer, that's something I wish I had thought up. Truth is, at times, definitely more entertaining than fiction.

While we're on the subject of Rhode Island, tonight on one of the entertainment shows, they featured this fabo new hotel in Dubai, which was described as "a city the size of Rhode Island." Cliff Claven LOVES when people compare things to the size of Rhode Island. It happens more often than you think. Let me know the next time you hear it. I don't get why no one compares things to Delaware. They're not exactly Texas, either.

Today I got the copy edited version of Same Time Sunday from the publisher. Now, let me tell you, as a copy editor my own self, it sure is stressful to get your baby back after it's been through someone else's review (Note from the copy editor: "my own self" is not proper English and should not be mistaken as such). I'm pleased to report that the editor commented on how "clean" it was. YAY! Cleanliness is very important to a copy editor. It may even be more important than Godliness. I'm just saying...

Also today, I got totally cool fan mail (from a real live person who I do not know—this is still an amazing thing even after it's been happening for a while). This is what my new BFF in Virginia Beach had to say about Line of Scrimmage:

A Wonderful Read
Hello Marie,
I had to e-mail you after reading Line of Scrimmage. I love Sundays when I can curl up with a good book as my husband and sons are downstairs watching football. I couldn't put your book down and stayed up past midnight to finish it. I'm 52 years old and have been married for 32 years; I have also read quite a number of romance novels in my time. Your novel was a story that really touched on the characters emotions, feelings and lives, separately and together. It was so easy to relate to them. By the end of the book I was cheering for Ryan and his Susie and felt as if they were friends, not characters in a story. I'm looking forward to reading anything else that you write and wish you all the best in this well chosen endeavor.

If that doesn't just make your day, I don't know what will. Thanks for taking the time to write to me, Marilyn!

Moonrat posted a hysterical story today about the goings on in her office building. I seriously laughed out loud. Check it out.

Finally, Yahoo reported on five TV characters who really have to go. Izzy Stevens on Grey's Anatomy was one of them. THANK YOU! What did I say last week about that damned Denny ghost floating around Seattle Grace? Just too weird for words. I cringe at the notion of them getting it on tonight as the previews suggested they will. EW EW EW! I'm pleased to report that as I suspected it would be, the story line is being universally trashed. I wish the writers would check with me before they air this stuff. I could tell them it isn't going to work. If you happen to talk to them, please give them my number!

:-)

Delayed Gratification

The other day, I posted the following on the Casablanca Author's Blog. I'm interested in what my blog readers have to say about this. Let me hear from you!

Yesterday I had lunch with a new-ish friend who read and loved Line of Scrimmage. The last time we dined together she asked if she could read another of my books. I said sure and sent her my latest, a romantic suspense. Today, she asked if we could talk about the book. She had so many questions about the process and the origins of the story. (She also mentioned that my brain must be a busy place. Personally, I prefer the word chaotic.) Did I want to talk about the book? You betcha!

As writers, we wait FOREVER (or so it seems) for our work to see the light of day. It can take years from when we finish a novel until the day we hold it in our hot little hands as a real, live book. "Same Time Sunday" will be out in the Spring of 2009—only 10 years after I had the idea and three years after I finally wrote it. In many other creative fields, the gratification comes a little sooner. Write a song? Here, let me sing it for you. Complete a painting? Put it up on a wall for all to admire. Finish a book? It's kind of hard to shove 400 pages at your visitors and say, LOOK! I wrote a BOOK! So we wait months, sometimes years, to learn whether the story that touched our hearts will touch others as well. That takes perseverance.

I've been very lucky to have a corps of dedicated, enthusiastic readers who have read every word I've written and who kept me going during the long road to publication. Some writers shudder at the idea of showing their work to readers prior to publication. I'm not one of them. I've been asked if I worry that no one will buy the book when it comes out in print. Every one of my readers bought copies of Line of Scrimmage for themselves and everyone they know. I signed scads of copies for each of them. Most of them re-read it as a book and found the experience—as I did myself—to be entirely different. Their reactions, their comments, their passionate response to my stories and my characters have provided me with my own focus group over the years. Without them, I probably would've given up long before my seventh novel became my debut book. I think it takes a lot more courage to show our work to people we know than to put it out there for the masses. Our writing is a window to our soul, one most keep closed to others their entire lives. We choose to expose ourselves and our innermost thoughts and imagination to the world. This takes courage, and it takes perseverance.

I'm closing in on the end of my twelfth novel. And like a proud mom, I believe in and have high hopes for every one of my dozen "children." Each of them has taught me something new or forced me to go places I'd never been before. I've delved into alcoholism, chronic illness, murder, ethical dilemmas and family dynamics. I've ventured into romantic suspense and learned that while I love the outcome, the process is draining. After I finished the first one, a book I called "The Wreck," I was a wreck! I didn't write a word for three months while I recovered. I've written two series, which taught me a whole other form of storytelling. The first series began with the book of my heart, "Treading Water." This is the one that if and when it is one day published, I will be able to say NOW, now I have achieved the goal of my lifetime (other than raising two healthy, productive human children, of course). Every mother has a special affinity for her firstborn. It is no different for writers. While many may come after it, none are ever again quite the same. As I hope for the opportunity to share more of my stories and characters with readers, these experiences, along with the friends I've met along the way, sustain me.

What sustains you during the long wait from finished novel to printed book? Do you allow non-writers to read your work? If so, why? If not, why not? To the readers out there, do you like reading a book in manuscript format?

Fans I Never Expected

Several of the "older ladies" in my life have told me recently how much they loved Line of Scrimmage. I have to admit that after they said, "I read your book," I braced myself for the comments about how sexy it was. But the first part was followed each time with "...and I loved it!" WHEW! My dad's cousin, age 75, told me today she plans to read it again. I ran into my aunt, age 77, coming out of church tonight and after she told me how much she loved it she said she bought some extra copies for her friends. "I told them it was sexy," she said, "and now they can't wait to read it." Another friend of ours, age 81, has read all of my books and clamors for more. To be honest, I wasn't expecting the over 70 crowd to embrace LOS and my romance writing career the way they have. However, I couldn't be more delighted to count them among my enthusiastic readers.

My favorite question from Aunt Betty tonight? When will the next one be out? I'm still waiting to hear the exact date that Same Time Sunday will launch, but I think it's May 1. I'll keep you—and Aunt Betty—posted!

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.