The evening light is upon us and the fire table is lit. I have a special guest on the deck today so please welcome Marie McKinney. She used to be a counselor but her own mind turned her into a romance author. You will find the human drama that makes life interesting in the contemporary and paranormal romances she writes.
I love the diverse characters from different
backgrounds she creates and helps them fall in love. Her book, After Paris captures all that plus emotional twists and turns with a
second chance romance.
I’m so excited Marie has a new book out and she’s
here today to tell us about it. The Arrangement was released in August. She has joined me at the high-top fire table
for drinks. She’s enjoying a Vanilla Coke with Tennessee Honey Jack Daniels. I
decided to have one too since I’m a sucker for Vanilla Coke. We have a bowl of
Reese’s Peanut Butter cups between us. Marie and Flyboy share the love of these
wonderful sweets. Lucky for us, he’s out flying thus leaving all the Reese’s
for us!
Thanks for joining us, Marie. Since the temps
are going down, I’m going dive right into this. I know you have After Paris and
now the 1st book in the Wilde Men series but how many books to you
have prior to these?
The Arrangementis not my first book but it is only the second book I’ve written under my name.
I started writing professionally as a ghostwriter in 2012 and did that for a
few years until that little voice in the back of my head said, “Enough. Don’t
you want to see your name on your
work?” In all I’ve probably written somewhere in the neighborhood of fifteen or
sixteen books. I’m not real sure since once it’s approved by the client, I’d
ceremoniously let it go, delete the file, say goodbye and move on. A nice
little figurative trashcan fire of my ex’s things.
I’ll drink to that! *We
clink glasses and take a drink* It’s crazy how
the mind works. What inspired you to write your latest book, The Arrangement?
Usually the
characters come to me before the story, with this one though, it was the other
way around. I wanted to write an arranged marriage trope but make it modern day
and realistic. The only scene I
“borrowed” from real life is the opening scene with Maggie at work and her
customers chanting “salad, salad” at her. My niece worked as a waitress while
putting herself through med-school and was always blessed with the most
interesting customers. The restaurant Black Tin Roof will show up from time to
time and most of that comes from her fabulous rendition of life in the service
industry.
I love
basing fiction on the reality in my life. Good for your niece and her
inspiration. Do you give her a cut of the fame?
No she doesn’t
get royalties, but I do give the best Christmas presents. Lol.
I’d
rather have the wonderful gifts. LOL Sounds like you have a nice arrangement.
LOL See what I did there. LOL How did you come up with the title, TheArrangement?
Laziness was my
inspiration, lol. “The Arrangement” for a story about an Arranged Marriage.
I think it sounds a little dirty, in a sexy
way. I love your character names, Magdalena and Aidan. How do you come up with your
characters’ names?
Sometimes it just
comes to me and those times I have to be careful and check my long list of
already used character names to make sure I’m not double dipping, or repeating
consonants. Once I had a Diana, Deirdre and Daniel all in the same book, no
lie. Apparently, that month was represented by the letter “D.” When I’m stuck
on a new name, usually the character’s backstory helps me. Even if that
backstory isn’t used in the actual novel. Magdalena and her sisters Miriam and
Guinevere had a young mom who fantasized about being rescued by Robin Hood or a
literal knight in shining armor hence the names.
Oooh, I
love the story behind the story, or I should say…the story behind the name.
Hey, if you could have any movie star take on a role of one of your characters
who do you think it would be?
AHhh. I don’t
know! I never visualize my characters as actors or actresses. I know, I’m the
only one in the world. They always appear in my mind’s eye as themselves,
though, so I really don’t know.
Come to
think of it, my characters look more like regular people than movie starts.
Anyways… back to your writing. How naughty do you get with your stories?
I consider myself
pretty middle of the line. I don’t fade out and close the door but I’m not
pulling out whips and chains and making them beg in excruciating detail. There
are sex scenes, they get pretty steamy, there’s a lot of build-up and intimacy
even when they’re not having sex. But I think everyone has their own way of
rating so my just enough might be someone else’s whoa buddy. Only one way to
find out, hint hint, nudge nudge. Lol.
The
build-up makes a scene even more intense and sexy. Yes, friends, you need to
dive into The Arrangement to find out! Now, Marie, you like to take
readers on an emotional ride and do it well. What would you say were difficult
scenes to write?
The second
chapter when her sisters are getting loaded into a car and taken away. That
scene took the longest because it punched me in the cry-box every time.
Especially when Maggie settles her little sister who has Autism and sends her
off, knowing she can’t explain why they’re not going together. I have an eight-year-old
on the spectrum and I might have over-personalized the moment, imagining how he
might feel.
Personal
things like that pull a reader in. As an author, I know how research goes when writing
so what is the strangest thing you’ve Googled while working on a story?
This story was
pretty tame. The wackiest it got was putting together the Kilabarian language.
But I have had stories that would get me convicted on an episode of CSI. The
strangest thing I’ve ever googled for a novel was “How much of the body remains
after a house-fire.”
Hopefully
“big brother” isn’t watching you. LOL Do you have any rituals to must haves
while you are writing?
Each book is
different. I’ve had books where I’ve had to
write it the old-fashioned way, pen and paper. Then there were books where I
powered through with chocolate and snacks. Luckily those are few and far
between. The Arrangement wanted to wake me up in the middle of the night for
just one more scene that could not wait. All my recent work, though, does not
get started or completed without my grandmother’s picture siting right in front
of me.
Okay…now
for some fun stuff. What’s your favorite food?
Ice cream. Any.
All. Vanilla with sprinkles. Birthday cake. Chocolate Chip cookie dough. Ooo
Ben and Jerry’s used to have this flavor: sweet cream ice cream with cashews
but they were coated in something first. If I had a genie, I’d completely waste
a wish on bringing that sucker back.
Oh, girl…
we are going to be best friends! I have a freezer dedicated to ice cream! LOL
What is your favorite thing to wear?
Leggings
Yes! Nothing
is better than wearing leggings and curling up with a good book such as The
Arrangement. Where is you favorite place to read?
I live in the
south, there are very few days I have the need for a fireplace. Still. I
imagine curling up on my couch in front of a roaring fire, reading away. In
reality it’s my bed. Lol.
You need
to visit my log home in the wood in the middle of winter. Flyboy will build us
a nice fire in the fireplace, make us Jack and vanilla cokes, and make sure we
have cuddly blankets handy. Oh, Flyboy wanted me to ask you, what place would
you like to visit some day?
It’s on my
bucket-list to write underneath an Irish sunrise. Or sunset. Ireland and sun.
Wildflowers. Fields.
Flyboy
has been there and said it’s definitely worth it. Do you have any special words
for your readers today?
Hi!! I hope
you’re enjoying my novels as much as I’m enjoying releasing them to you. The
best part about being an author is being able to share some small piece of a
world I get to create with an infinite number of other people to appreciate.
The second best thing is getting to hear what you think about it. Reviews are
our (authors) life-blood. Feed me, Seymour. Lol. No, seriously, thank you for
taking a chance on me.
Thanks
for joining Marie McKinney and I on the deck. Sorry, we won't share the remaining Reeses with you, I'm letting Marie take the rest home. You can find Marie
Twitter and
Instagram: @mckinney_writes
Website:
ILoveTheWayYou.com
Check out MarieMcKinney’s Amazon Author Page
Please
check out her latest book, The Arrangement, the 1st book in the
Wilde Men series.
When Magdalena was a little girl,
the worse thing she could imagine was never knowing who her father was. Then
she grew up and met him.
Now with
the threat of what’s left of her family being ripped apart, she’s forced to wed
his rival to stop a brewing war from imploding a world she never knew existed.
When the
girl he’d pledged to marry was murdered, Aidan Wilde swore he would never share
his life with anyone else. He promised her he’d dedicate every breath to
ruining her killer. Who would have thought that in order to do the second he’d
have to break his promise about the first? But that doesn’t mean he’s going to
give away his heart.
He’s not
the husband she wanted but he’s the one she needs.
She’s not
the wife he wanted but she’s the one he’s owed.
Together
Magdalena and Aidan could be a force to be reckoned with.
But first
they have to get out of their own way.
The Arrangement on Amazon
