Interview and contest: Marie Force - Everyone Loves a Hero

Today I welcome Marie Force to my blog. She is the author of Everyone Loves a Hero. And at the bottom of this post is a giveaway of 2 copies.

Welcome to Mur-y-Castell!

Tell me something about yourself, so we get a better understanding about the woman behind the author.

MF: Thanks so much for having me today! The most important thing to know about me is I’m Mom to two wonderful kids, a daughter who is 15 going on 30 and a son who is 12 going on 6. LOL—what is it about girls maturing faster than boys?? They are very busy and active in sports and theater (my daughter is quite the actress), so I spend a lot of time at games, meets and shows. I’m really enjoying the ages they’re at now. They’re a lot of fun to be around. I also work full-time as the communications director for a national membership organization, I’ve been married for 18 years and I live in Rhode Island. I also have a darling 14-month-old dog who is as naughty as naughty gets. She’s lucky she is so cute…

Your newest book is called Everyone Loves a Hero; can you tell us a little bit about it?
MF: When his copilot suffers a heart attack in flight, First Officer Cole Langston 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.

Could you tell my readers why they will love Cole?
MF: Cole was so fun to write. We meet him just as he reaches the point in his life where he’s ready for more than transient relationships. It’s a year after his national hero moment, and he’s had enough of the limelight and all the craziness that goes with it. So he’s in the perfect place mentally to meet the love of his life. He’s charming and adorable and totally smitten with Olivia.

Do you believe in love at first sight?
MF: Absolutely! I’ve written about love at first sight several times in my books, and I find it to be an intriguing concept because of the way it changes lives so dramatically. Without warning, bam, there he/she is, and nothing is ever the same again. I love that. 

You have also written a lot of other books. Could you tell me about those?
MF: Sure…. Here we go!

Fatal Affair (Book 1, Fatal Series): On the morning of the most important vote of Senator John O’Connor’s career he is late—again. His best friend and chief of staff, Nick Cappuano sets off to O'Connor’s apartment expecting to roust him from bed and hoping he is alone. But what Nick finds is that O’Connor, the handsome, amiable Senator from Virginia, has been brutally murdered, and Nick’s world comes crashing down around him. Complicating the disaster, the detective assigned to the case is none other than Sam Holland, Nick’s one-night stand from six years earlier, the woman who broke his heart and haunts his dreams. With six years worth of unfinished business hanging between them and more than a few scores to settle personally and professionally, Nick and Sam set out to find the senator's killer while trying—and failing—to resist the overwhelming attraction between them that seems to have only grown over the years.

Fatal Justice (Book 2, Fatal Series): Supreme Court nominee Julian Sinclair comes to Washington expecting to be confirmed to the high court. Instead, he’s found shot execution-style in a city park. Detective Lt. Sam Holland’s list of suspects is long, but does it include her significant other, Senator Nick Cappuano, one of the last to see Sinclair alive? While tracking down Sinclair's killer, Sam is also confronted with a new lead into her father's unsolved shooting that leads to unexpected danger for her. In the meantime, Sam's partner, Detective Freddie Cruz, returns to the "scene of the crime" when he looks up Elin Svendson, one of the late Senator John O'Connor's sexy ex-girlfriends. After a lifetime of virtue, will Freddie be led down the road to ruin by a temptress who wants only one thing from him?

The Fall: Dr. Ted Duffy has finally met a woman who makes him ache with desire. Too bad she’s dating his best friend of twenty years. This simple premise has momentous consequences for Ted in “The Fall,” a story that explores the bonds of friendship, the expectations of family, and the power of love to unite and divide. Ted is a third-generation pediatric oncologist in Boston. He is thirty-seven years old, married to his work, and considers his patients to be “his kids.” He and his friends spend summer weekends in Newport, Rhode Island, which is the only break Ted allows himself from the grind of his job. After a devastating loss at work, he leaves for Newport where he meets his friend’s new girlfriend, Caroline. Over that first weekend, Ted and Caroline fall in love. When they later act on their feelings, shock and disbelief ricochet through his tight-knit group of friends and family. A highly respected doctor, a beloved son and grandson, a loyal friend, Ted is stunned by his sudden free fall from grace.

True North: The first time Travis North lays eyes on Liana McDermott, she’s wearing the most hideous bridesmaid dress he’s ever seen. He doesn't immediately recognize the world-famous super model who is attending her cousin Enid's wedding at the country club he owns. Thanks to Enid's shameless matchmaking, Travis and Liana become acquainted and later embark on a two-week fling intended to be free of emotion and entanglement. As Liana's return to work gets closer, however, Travis wonders how he'll ever let her go when the time comes while Liana considers whether he might be her true north. Two high-powered careers, two amazing weeks and a love that comes along just once in a lifetime. Is she ready to give up her career for a different kind of life? Does he want the same things she does? After insisting on an emotionless affair, she can't very well ask him. Or can she?

Love at First Flight: A Baltimore prosecutor set to begin the murder trial of his career and a hair stylist with a dysfunctional family meet in the airport on their way to visit their significant others in Florida. After they each endure a disastrous weekend, they meet up again on the flight home, striking up an unlikely friendship that leads to love.

Line of Scrimmage: In the Hail Mary play of a lifetime, a sexy NFL quarterback has just ten days to convince his wife to give him a second chance before their divorce is final—and he has to act fast because she’s already engaged to her high school boyfriend. Line of Scrimmage is a story of reunion, redemption, rejuvenation, and renewal. 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.

Are you working on something new and exciting right now?
MF: I have Fatal book 3, Fatal Consequences, coming July 18, and the Fatal Wedding novella, Fatal Destiny, which I’m writing now, out on September 5, 2011. Fatal Book 4, Fatal Flaw, is coming next February.  I recently sold my contemporary, Georgia on My Mind, to Carina Press. I’m not sure yet when that will be out. I’m also working on a new contemporary.

Now for something else; Which three things would you take to a desert island and why?
MF:  My family, my iPod Touch, which I use as an e-reader, and a wifi connection.

Any advice for aspiring writers?
MF: The most important tip I always give to unpublished writers is to never give up. The only way you fail as a writer is to stop writing. Because there are so many ups and downs in this business, it’s important to be extremely protective of your writing and to not let the low points turn you off on the thing you most love to do.

Thanks!

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Now to the CONTEST: 2 copies of Everyone Loves a Hero

Rules:

1. US and Canada

2. Ends Feb 8th

3. If you want you can just write enter me, but to make it more fun; Ask Marie a question, comment on the interview, the book, or tell me if you believe in love at first sight.

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CLOSED

EVERYONE LOVES A HERO BY MARIE FORCE – IN STORES FEBRUARY 2011

Fame has its perks…
Reluctantly famous, First Officer Cole Langston finds being in the spotlight has its advantages—until he meets Olivia. Having women throw themselves at him everywhere he goes becomes a serious problem when he's trying to convince her she's the one…

And its price…
Olivia has trouble trusting a guy like Cole, and everywhere she turns she sees reasons to run. But he's the only man who's ever seemed to understand her as an artist and as a woman…

Cole is working overtime to prove to Olivia that he's serious, but her deep seated mistrust and his entourage of unwelcomed fans may be more than they can overcome…

ABOUT THE AUTHORMarie Force is the author of Line of Scrimmage, Love at First Flight, Fatal Affair and Fatal Justice, as well as True North and The Fall (available as eBooks through Amazon.com). She is a member of RWA’s New England, From the Heart and Published Authors Special Interest Chapters. Marie lives in Rhode Island with her family and their feisty dog named Brandy. To find out more information about Marie’s upcoming releases, please visit http://www.mariesullivanforce.com/.