BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR MARY MARTINEZ

Author Mary Martinez writes romantic suspense, romance, and women’s fiction. She’s recently begun to dabble in young adult mysteries. Today she sits down with us for an interview. Learn more about her at her website and her two blogs, Mary’s Garden and The After Work Cook.

When did you realize you wanted to write novels?

I’m not really sure when, for as long as I can remember.

How long did it take you to realize your dream of publication?

50+ years, but then I took a lot of years out to work and raise a family.

Are you traditionally published, indie published, or a hybrid author?

At one point I was a hybrid author. Now I’m indie published.

Where do you write?

I have an office I write in every morning before the day job. Then once every other month I have an 8 hour writing day with my critique partner at Barnes and Noble. My two friends and I have an annually three day writing retreat. Not to mention any other time I can find a place to sit down with my laptop.

Is silence golden, or do you need music to write by? What kind?

Oh I have music to write by. And depending what I’m writing depends on what I listen to. When I wrote Watching Jenny (she’s a rock star) I listened to Gwen Stefani and Alanis Morissette. Right now I’m writing a fantasy set in ancient Ireland, I’m listening to Celtic Women. The louder the better.

How much of your plots and characters are drawn from real life? From your life in particular?

Not the plots, but characters have personality traits of friends. Most of my work is fiction.

Describe your process for naming your character?

I use a baby name book. First though, I write the back-story and if the character is Irish or Italian I look for ethnic names. For my fantasy I’ve researched and will be using ancient Celtic names, some named after gods of lore.

Real settings or fictional towns?

Most of my towns are real settings, but I’ve written a couple of books with a fictional town.

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?

Effie in my latest book is petite and cute and dresses whimsical. Likes to wear bright colors and one sock is striped and the other polka dot, that sort of thing. She’s described as reminding people of a demented elf or Tinkerbell in another life. With a potty mouth of course.

What’s your quirkiest quirk?

I’m very random. My mind is always working so I’ve been known to just ask a question about the world at a random moment

If you could have written any book (one that someone else has already written,) which one would it be? Why?

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. Because it was just brilliant.

Everyone at some point wishes for a do-over. What’s yours?

I have a lot of those. Let’s see, there are so many. High school I would have studied more and gone onto college instead of listening to my parents to get married and have kids instead. I love my kids; I just would have had them a couple of years later.

What’s your biggest pet peeve?

I have to work a day job so I don’t have time to write 20 emails. So my biggest pet peeve is when I put ALL the information in an email about an event of some sort and the people I’m sending it to skim and don’t read. Then send me 20 emails asking questions that would have been answered if they’d read the damn email. Sorry, pet peeve big time.

You’re stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?

Since there is no Internet of electricity, my laptop is out. So a LARGE pad of paper, a box of pencils/pens, and water.

What was the worst job you’ve ever held?

Working as an office manager for an HOA (Home Owners Association) crooked as crooked can be.

What’s the best book you’ve ever read?

Oh sure, like I can come up with just one. In Cold Blood of course. LOL. But seriously I have so many. So I’ll go with the most recent best book I’ve ever read. And that would be The Rent Collector.

Ocean or mountains?

Ocean

City girl/guy or country girl/guy?

City Girl

What’s on the horizon for you?

Hopefully a contract with one of the NY publishers. The fantasy story I’m writing. I’ve been planning this for years.

Abandoned, Book VI of The Becket Series (Release date February 14, 2018)

Glenna Beckett loves her family dearly, but being the youngest of six can be overwhelming. Moving across country helped her learn who she was outside the family. She’s built a successful business in the form of a quaint shop on Main Street of Calistoga, that sells a bit of everything vintage, the new age term for antique. What more does she need?

Then he walked into her shop. International playboy, Lance Gordon. After a whirlwind courtship he asks her to marry him. Burying a niggle of doubt in the pit of her tummy, she says yes. He’s even agreed to have the wedding in Brooklyn so her family can attend. But he never arrives.

Glenna refused to believe she’d been abandoned at the altar and asks her brother, Tyler, to contact an agent friend on the West Coast to search for Lance.

Patrick McGinnis can’t believe he’s walking into a prissy shop in the high end of the Napa Valley searching for a missing groom. The bride, Glenna Beckett, is everything he feared, drop dead gorgeous, and a spoiled brat. Not that he’d ever tell her brother that. He hates wild goose chases, and this mission is exactly that. Patrick’s certain the playboy fiancé is off wooing some other delectable creature.

Unfortunately, once Patrick started to dig, he finds there’s more to the tale and it will take all his skills as an agent to keep Glenna safe. Especially when the case takes a turn and threatens the safety of his son, Finn.

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Meantime, in honor of the new release, read Disappear, Book I The Beckett Series, for free through 3/8/18.) 

BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--GUEST AUTHOR MARILYN LEVINSON

Multi-genre author Marilyn Levinson writes mystery, romantic suspense, and young adult books. Today she sits for an interview. Learn more about Marily at her website.

When did you realize you wanted to write novels?

I started writing fiction when I was in elementary school. I wanted to be an author or a ballerina when I grew up. Writing won out.

How long did it take you to realize your dream of publication?

A few years. My first children’s novel, And Don’t Bring Jeremy, was published in 1985.

Are you traditionally published, indie published, or a hybrid author?

I’ve published with the big houses, with small presses, and I’ve self-published a few novels.

Where do you write?

I write in my office on a large-screen computer.

Is silence golden, or do you need music to write by? What kind?

I prefer writing in silence.

How much of your plots and characters are drawn from real life? From your life in particular?

My characters are very real to me. Their personalities reveal themselves as I write their stories, explore their pasts and motivations, relationships and values. They aren’t based on actual people—at least I don’t think they are. I draw on my own life experiences occasionally, but I’m grateful that I haven’t had to deal with actual murders. Therefore, my plots are drawn completely from my imagination.

Describe your process for naming your character?

Having the right name for a character is of utmost importance to me. I’ll often look through a baby-naming book for suggestions. I take into account a name’s meaning and how it sounds. I like feminine names for women characters that lend themselves to nicknames. Alexis is usually called Lexie; Gabriela is called Gabbie.

Real settings or fictional towns?

Many of my novels take place on Long Island because I’ve lived here most of my life. I refer to actual towns and landmarks in my books, but most of the action takes place in villages and communities that can’t be found on any map.

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?

Cameron Leeds, the ghost in Giving Up the Ghost and my WIP, can only appear in the den of the cottage where he used to live. This gives Gabbie, my sleuth who lives in the cottage, an out when she doesn’t feel like dealing with Cam’s investigative suggestions.

What’s your quirkiest quirk?

My writing habits aren’t the best. I end up writing feverishly at the end of the day.

If you could have written any book (one that someone else has already written,) which one would it be? Why?

The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy. This is an amazing novel with brilliant writing that only a very special person could have written. Roy said she won’t write another novel. I hope she changes her mind.

Everyone at some point wishes for a do-over. What’s yours?

I wish I’d been more adventuresome when I was a young adult.

What’s your biggest pet peeve?

I wish authors weren’t in the position of having to sell themselves and their books 24/7. I started publishing when promoting was the publishers’ job, though writers did readings and presentations at libraries, bookstores, and schools. I miss those days.

You’re stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?

A few beloved books (please let that count as one must-have) sunglasses, a garden to grow veggies.

What was the worst job you’ve ever held?

Filing in a bank the summer after high school graduation.

What’s the best book you’ve ever read?

I’ve read so many books I’ve loved, I find it hard to name my favorite. That said, I love Vikram Seth’s novel, A Suitable Boy, which is about four Indian families. One story line is that of a family choosing a suitable husband for their daughter. Though the book has 1,349 pages, I wish Vikram would write a sequel.

Ocean or mountains?

I like to visit both, actually.

City girl/guy or country girl/guy?

At this time of my life I like the quiet country with occasional visits to the city to visit museums and see an occasional play.

What’s on the horizon for you?

I’m working on The Return of the Ghost. After that, I’ll write the third book in my young adult Rufus series. The second Rufus book is coming out in a few months.

Anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself and/or your books?

I love writing novels in three different genres. It’s fun going from the mind of a ten-year-old boy who’s learning to control his magical powers to a woman solving mysteries and enjoying the attention of two male admirers.

The Devil’s Pawn

After fifteen-year-old Simon Porte's family is killed in an automobile crash, his father's brother, whom he's never met, brings Simon to live with him and his wife in upstate New York. Simon doesn't trust Uncle Raymond, and for good reason. Raymond is dying and using his diabolical powers to take over Simon's body. Simon must develop his own supernatural defenses. With his dotty great-aunt, his young sister, and a pair of odd twins, he wages war against the evil Raymond and his cronies.

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