Author Marie Force Visits

It’s my pleasure to welcome author Marie Force  back to Thoughts in Progress as the special guest blogger.

Marie is on a virtual book tour with her latest release, EVERYONE LOVES A HERO. 
 
Thanks to Marie and Danielle at Sourcebooks, I have copies of EVERYONE LOVES A HERO to giveaway to 2 lucky visitors commenting on this post. The giveaway is only open to residents of the U.S. and Canada. The deadline to comment is 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 7. Be sure to include your e-mail address in your comment if it’s not included in your profile.

Marie stopped by today to talk about ‘keeping it all straight’ since her latest book is a different genre that her previous book, FATAL JUSTICE.

Mason asked me to talk about genre hopping and how I manage writing multiple books at the same time. Until recently, I’ve never tried to write more than one book at a time. But since the Fatal Series has taken off, I now find myself facing the reality of writing two or three Fatal books a year.
While I love that series and adore writing about Sam and Nick, I don’t want to abandon my straight contemporaries. So lately I find myself working on two books at the same time.

What I work on at any given time depends on what’s “speaking” to me at the moment. Sometimes the ideas are flowing freely for the novella I’m doing for Sam and Nick’s wedding (FATAL DESTINY, out as a freebie in September). Other times, I’m caught up in the other story I’m working on about a woman who lost her family in an accident and reconnects with her first love more than a year later. I’m really enjoying that story.

Of course the reality is that I have an actual deadline of Feb. 28 for FATAL DESTINY, so that one is the priority. But having the other book going in the background gives me something different to focus on when the words aren’t flowing on the novella. Switching back and forth doesn’t give me any kind of whiplash, probably because the stories are so different.

What has given me whiplash recently is having two books released within a month of each other while the novella was on deadline. The blog touring and the promotion demands make for an interesting challenge when they’re spread out over a year. Releasing two books in a month: whiplash!

Here’s some info about my February release, EVERYONE LOVES A HERO:
Hero pilot Cole Langston is learning to live with—and enjoy—his newfound fame and the rabid female attention that comes with it until a lucky punch knocks some sense into him and opens his eyes to true love.
When his copilot suffers a heart attack in flight, Cole lands the jetliner in a blizzard and revives the stricken captain. Catapulted to national hero status, Cole has more women vying for his attention than he knows what to do with. They all have one thing in common: they try without success to bring this happy-go-lucky pilot down to earth. Then comes an airport altercation, a punch to the face, and the lovely Olivia—a shy, timid artist who does what no other woman has ever managed to do: steal Cole’s well-protected heart. With women coming on to him everywhere they go, Olivia struggles to believe that Cole is ready for a committed relationship. His biggest problem is getting rid of all his extra ladies before the only one he wants figures out that she’s one of many.

Are you a multi-tasker or can you only focus on one thing at a time? Thanks so much for having me, and I look forward to chatting today.

Marie, thanks so much for guest blogging here today. I’m not organized so I can’t image writing two books at the same time besides having to promote books already published. WOW.

Now a little background on Marie. She is the author of FATAL AFFAIR (June 2010) and FATAL JUSTICE (Jan. 2011), Books 1 and 2 in her new Fatal Series from Harlequin’s Carina Press. Book 3, FATAL CONSEQUENCES, is coming in July 2011, FATAL DESTINY, the Fatal Wedding Novella, in September 2011 and Book 4, FATAL FLAW, in February 2012. “This novel is ‘The O.C. does D.C.,’ and you just can’t get enough.” (RT Book Reviews, 4.5 stars for FATAL AFFAIR).

In its July 2010 issue, RT Book Reviews named Marie a “Future Star of Romantic Suspense.” Carina recently acquired Marie’s contemporary, GEORGIA ON MY MIND.

In addition, Marie is the author EVERYONE LOVES A HERO (Feb. 2011), LINE OF SCRIMMAGE (Sept. 2008) and LOVE AT FIRST FLIGHT (July 2009). Of LINE OF SCRIMMAGE, Booklist said, “With its humor and endearing characters, Force’s charming novel will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers, reaching far beyond sports fans.” Wild on Books said, “LOVE AT FIRST FLIGHT by Marie Force is most definitely a keeper. It is an astounding book. I loved every single word!” Marie is also the author of TRUE NORTH and THE FALL, available as e-books via Amazon.com and Smashwords.

Since 1996, Marie has been the communications director for a national organization similar to RWA. She is a member of RWA’s New England, From the Heart and Published Author Special Interest Chapters. While her husband was in the Navy, Marie lived in Spain, Maryland and Florida, and she is now settled in her home state of Rhode Island. She is the mother of Emily, 15, Jake, 12, and a feisty dog named Brandy.

You can find her at www.mariesullivanforce.com, on her blog at http://mariesullivanforce.blogspot.com, where she runs the popular weekly Romance & Oreos Book Club, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Marie-Force/248130827909, and on Twitter at twitter.com/MarieForce. Marie loves to hear from readers. Contact her at marie@marieforce.com.

What are your thoughts on writing more than one book at a time? Can you go back and forth from one writing to the other without problems?