Marie Force's Blog, page 12

My New (Ad)Venture

Happy Monday! It's a gorgeous day in Rhode Island, a little blustery, but the sun is out. I had a fun and productive weekend and spent some time launching my new formatting service for authors looking for someone to help them prepare their books for electronic publication. Don't worry—I haven't totally lost my mind. I'm hiring some people to help me out with this so I can continue to do what I do best: WRITE!

I've posted all the information about the Formatting Fairies here. I'm looking forward to working with my fellow authors to help them to maximize the myriad opportunities available to us today. I'll also be posting regular tips and pointers, gained from publishing 12 books on my own.

I moved some mountains this weekend on Season for Love, the next McCarthys of Gansett Island book. I'm really enjoying Laura and Owen's story as well as the subplots unfolding for some of our earlier couples. We'll meet some new characters and lay the groundwork for sizzling future romances. Fun, fun, fun as the island hunkers down for a long, cold, cozy winter.

We had dinner this weekend with one of my college friends, and afterward we went to play the slot machines at this ginormous gambling hall that is the first thing visitors to Newport see when they come off the bridge (cringe). I hadn't been in there since I was 17 and got caught (two months shy of 18) by one of my mother's friends, who promptly ratted me out to my mother. At that time, the building was devoted to Jai-Alai, a fast-paced game that's popular in Latin America. Now it's all slots, all the time. I hadn't played in so long, we had to ask how to do it. Sort of embarrassing! Being there reminded me of my late mother who LOVED to play the slots. She was never addicted or anything like that, but she never missed a chance to pull the handle. She'd hate the fact there are no more handles to pull. It's all buttons now, and no quarters to hear clinking into the tray when you win. She loved that part, too. We spent (lost) a grand total of $15 between us, but had lots of laughs in the process.

What did you do this weekend? Anything fun?

Back Up and Running

I got my laptop back yesterday with a new hard drive. I've been making jokes about my "brainless" laptop because it's a brain without any data. The data recovery process with the old hard drive is taking forever, but they say that's a good thing. The longer it takes the more data it will recover. Fabulous! I bought a new wireless backup hard drive that will receive regular updates, and I now have a site on "the cloud" where I will post the latest files for books in progress. Yes, I should've had all this before now. Again, a valuable lesson learned the hard way.

A lot of my writing friends have told me that my experience has exposed weaknesses in their own backup systems. It makes me feel a little better to know I might've helped to keep this from happening to someone else. It's also a reminder to have a backup plan for everything you can't live without: keys, credit cards, bank account info, etc. We live in a world where everything is so accessible. I've never felt so cut off as I did for five days without my Siamese twin, as my family calls my laptop.

I'm working on getting back into the swing of things, typing up the longhand writing I did over the weekend and tending to all the usual stuff on my brainless computer.

In other news, my kids have had an exciting week. My daughter was named one of four captains of her swim team for next year (her senior year), and my son had his braces put on, much to his dismay. The worst part for him is the orthodontist told him no Coca Cola for next two years. He may need a 12-step program to wean himself!

Hope you're having a good week!

A Lesson Learned the Hard Way

I dropped my laptop on Friday. It's been in the shop ever since, as the techs try to recover my files, photos, music. In short--my entire business. I have a backup hard drive. I hadn't plugged it in for more than a month, but thank God I have that much. Stupid. After more than 15 years of working on computers, I certainly know better. After this, there will be onsite and offsite backup mechanisms so this can never happen again. They tell me they'll be able to recover most of the data. The good news yesterday--after four long days of waiting--is the data is there to be recovered. Huge sigh of relief. Of course, I've got a lot of crap on that computer so it's taking forever to recover it. No idea when I'll get it back.

In the meantime, I'm improvising. I wrote a ton over the weekend in old-school pen-and-paper style. My daughter showed me last night that I can dictate what I wrote via Siri on my iPhone and she will do the typing for me. After some cleanup, voila. Three books in progress, their fate now in question as I wait to hear how much or how little I'll get back from the old hard drive. I have no one to blame but myself for being stupid and careless about this kind of thing. I've had five long days to think about how it will never happen to me again.

Don't let it happen to you. Backup. Everyday. I will from now on.

Hoping for Love On Sale Today

Welcome back to Gansett Island as Evan McCarthy's book, HOPING FOR LOVE, hits e-bookshelves today! Here's all the info you need about the book:

All her life, Grace Ryan was the "fat girl." Taunted and teased and ignored by her peers, she tried every diet ever invented to no avail. Desperate to change her life as her twenties slipped away, she decided it was time for drastic measures and had lap-band surgery. More than a year later, she's lost 130 pounds and is venturing into the dating world for the first time. During a boat trip to Gansett Island with the new guy in her life, Grace refuses to have sex with him and finds herself abandoned without a dollar to her name at McCarthy's Gansett Island Marina.

At home for the summer awaiting the launch of his debut CD, music star-in-the-making Evan McCarthy is performing at the Tiki Bar when he notices Grace looking lost in a sea of happy people. Evan comes to her aid and quickly finds himself smitten. But the last thing Grace needs after all she's been through is a guy who "doesn't do relationships." Will Evan change his ways to win Grace's heart?
ISBN: 9781467976978Read an excerpt!Get it at:AmazonKoboAppleSmashwordsAll Romance E-books Join the Hoping for Love Reader Group on Facebook!

HOPING FOR LOVE, McCarthys of Gansett Island Book 5, Out TUESDAY!

I'm really excited to announce that Evan McCarthy's story, HOPING FOR LOVE, book 5 in the McCarthy Series, will be out this coming Tuesday! I think this might be my favorite of all the McCarthy books. I really enjoyed writing Evan and his love interest, Grace Ryan. Until he meets Grace, Evan is one of those toxic guys we all know to stay away from. He's out for a good time and a commitment-free life. Grace has recently undergone lap-band surgery and lost a lot of weight. She's venturing in the world of dating and men for the first time at 28. She's looking for a man, not an overgrown boy. Evan, who is immediately taken with her, realizes pretty quickly that he's going to have to make some big changes if he's to stand a chance with lovely Grace. Can he do it?

Read an excerpt from HOPING FOR LOVE.

Grace's character was fun to write because, among other things, she's an inappropriate laugher, like yours truly. Many of the stories Grace shares about her inappropriate laughter (wakes, funerals, weddings, etc.) are actually my stories, including an incident that occurs in a restaurant when she's out to dinner with Evan. Been there, done that, laughed about it. Like me, Grace has trigger words and trigger people who she can't make eye contact with in a tight spot. This was far more fun to write about than it is to live through!

Another thing you can expect in HOPING FOR LOVE is more of Owen Lawry and Laura McCarthy. I hadn't intended to give Owen and Laura their own book, but their story presented an opportunity in HOPING so SEASON FOR LOVE will follow HOPING. It will take us through winter on Gansett Island (even though it will be out this summer) and will include a wedding and an engagement in addition to Owen and Laura's story. After that, the series will skip forward to the following summer with Tiffany's book, LONGING FOR LOVE, followed by Adam McCarthy's story, LONGING FOR LOVE. While I was writing HOPING, I had an idea for a follow-on series that would keep the action on Gansett for some time to come.

REMINDER: As a self-published author, I'm not able to offer this or any of my books for pre-order. The retailers don't provide that option yet. I hope someday they will. For now, I will do my best to have the book available by March 6, but please know that much of it is out of my hands once I upload the book.

I hope you enjoy Evan and Grace's story as much as I loved writing it!

Everyone Loves a Hero Giveaway Winners & Other Giveaways

Congratulations to Brenda and Amy, who are the winners of the signed copies of Everyone Loves a Hero! I was really moved and appreciative of the lovely stories readers shared about their leap of faith moments. Thank you to everyone who entered the contest!

Cole and Oliva's leap of faith is one of my favorites in all my books, and I also appreciated the kind words about how much you guys enjoyed the book. It's been out a year now and I'm still hearing from readers who enjoyed it.

If you haven't yet joined the Everyone Loves a Hero Reader Group, come on over!

I'm giving away copies of Falling for Love and Fatal Flaw on Elise Rome's blog during her March Madness promotion this week. Come on by to comment to be entered to win one of the books.

I'm really excited about the upcoming visit from my friend Bella Andre, who is coming over to the Marie Force Book Talk group on Monday, March 5, to talk about her Sullivan series as well as her other books. She's bringing a bunch of giveaway copies of the Sullivans, so if you haven't yet joined the fun at MFBT, get on over there so you can chat with Bella on Monday!

Finally, I'm excited to report that I hit my 25,000-word-by-the-end-of-the-week goal in Fatal Attack today. I'm really enjoying where this book is going. The mystery is very different than anything I've ever done before, and I'm digging it! Sam is at her all-time crankiest, which gives me the giggles when I'm writing. She's so bad and sooo fun to write!

Dear Diary: Leap Day Giveaways and Other Musings

Happy Leap Day everyone! Since this day only comes around every four years, we have to take the time to celebrate in high style. My most faithful readers know there's a connection to Leap Day in Everyone Loves a Hero. In honor of Cole and Olivia and the leap they take together, I'll be giving away TWO copies of Everyone Loves a Hero here on the blog. To be entered to win, tell me about a time you took a leap of faith and how it changed your life. YOU MUST include your email address to be entered into the drawing and ONLY entries posted to the comments section of this post will be considered. The contest ends at 5 p.m. tomorrow, March 1, and winners will be posted tomorrow night. Leap away!

I'm also offering a giveaway copy of Maid for Love today on my friend Pamela Clare's blog where we are celebrating Pamela's "12th" birthday. She is a very accomplished 12-year-old, and if you haven't read her I-Team books, you are sooooo missing out. I'm very much looking forward to diving into her historicals once I finish the final book that I'm judging for the RITAs (the romance writing equivalent of the Oscar). I got a great batch of books this year that really held my attention, but I'm looking forward to digging back into my TBR pile! At Pamela's blog, some of my other writing friends are offering giveaways as well: Julie James, Bella Andre, Joyce Lamb and Joan Swan. Come comment about your favorite birthday memory to be entered into the drawings for seven different books!

In other news, this week I set a goal of getting the new Fatal Book, Fatal Attack, to 25,000 words by Friday. This morning, I hit 20,000, so it's looking good for making the goal for the week. Perhaps I will even exceed it. I made it back to the gym this morning after being off with the kids last week. I always love being there, but I hate getting myself there. It's a mental hurdle I'm working to get past as I keep the gym front and center on the schedule. Another interesting thing I noticed yesterday is that when I was working two full-time jobs, I took a heartburn pill almost every day. I can't remember the last time I took one. Interesting what stress does to a body!

My other big news is that my daughter is now a licensed driver. I've had many people tell me you haven't really experienced parenthood at its finest until you kids start driving. I'm happy for her that she passed the first time around and that she will have some increased independence, but I am also worried, too. People drive like maniacs around here. I'm not worried about her. I'm worried about them. So, to all the crazy drivers who live near me, keep away from my kid please. She's a very good kid, and I want her to be safe always. Sigh...

Today I'll be Skyping into my reader friend Karen Lawson's book club to talk about Marking Time. We did Treading Water last month and had a great time, so today we're doing book 2. I'm always happy to join the book club chats and with Skype I can be there "in person." If you'd like me to join your book club meeting, send me an email to get on the schedule.

Lastly, who did you like among the guys last night on American Idol? I liked Phillip Phillips the best. How about you? And what did you think of the Parenthood finale? I love that show SO much it's not even funny! One thing I have to say is WHOA, DREW! Who knew you had that in you, my shy friend? Did you watch? What did you think? Can't believe we have to wait six months for more of the Bravermans.

Dear Diary: Back to Work, NYC, WIPs and The Oscars

Ahhhh, what's that I hear? The sound of silence? Well, not entirely... The kids are back to school after 10 days off, but Brandy and Louie are having their first morning wrestle and the guy is here to take the doors off the rooms in my house. The doors are the final frontier in the recent home renovation project. For nearly 10 years, we've lived in a house that has all different doors on all different rooms. I scratch my head wondering when that was ever in style. Umm, never? We've been saying we were going to do this job for ages and now, it's ON. So one final week (I hope) of disruption in the house before things really get back to normal.

Over the vacation, I took my kids to NYC for a few days. (Photo to the left was taken at the top of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. The building under construction to the right of the Empire State Building is the new World Trade Center tower.) We got very lucky with balmy weather that made walking around the city much more pleasant than it would normally be this time of year. The kids ice skated at Rockefeller Plaza, we went to the top of 30 Rock and my daughter got to see Jimmy Fallon practice his monologue. Funny story about the monologue... They were giving away tickets in the NBC Experience store, so we grabbed three and of course never looked at them. When Emily heard she was going to meet Jimmy Fallon (one of her favorite comedians), she had to go back to the hotel to shower and change. I thought that was really cute. She was like a giddy little kid, and I haven't seen her like that in a long time. We get back to NBC and we're told by a self-important security guard that Jake can't go in because he isn't 17. "Well," he mutters under his breath, "she isn't either." Okay, shut up now, please! Emily has always looked much older than she is, even though she won't be 17 until July. No one would argue if you said she was 20 or older. Jake, on the other hand, won't look 17 when he IS 17.

What was funny about the whole incident was that he was far more indignant about the crack to his age than he was about not getting to see Jimmy Fallon. So here I am in NYC with a major dilemma: do I let my kid go off by herself to see one of her favorite comedians or do we scuttle the whole thing? She was very good about it and said if Jake can't go in, I won't go either. Another mom standing in line with her two girls spoke up and offered to take Emily with them. She needed two more tickets to get her group in, so we gave her our tickets and she took custody of Emily, which was very comforting. I did tell her, "If you steal her, you deserve her, and she's VERY expensive to have around." The other mom, who was there with two teenage girls of her own, thought that was funny. I think she can relate! Of course it all worked out fine, and Emily actually exchanged words with Jimmy Fallon, which is the highlight of her life thus far. The other mom waited with her until we were reunited which was really great of her. While Emily was in the show, Jake said he would've been really bummed if she'd had to miss it because of him. There's hope for him yet, but he did tell me he "needed" a Coke to get him past the disappointment. Such an operator! One of my friends pointed out that letting Emily go off by herself in NYC was a good "dry run" for 18 months from now when I might be leaving her there for college. Sniff... I don't like to think about that!

Speaking of college, while we were in NYC, we toured NYU for Emily. I can sooooo see her there. Sigh... It's four hours by car from here, but a quick one-hour flight. She would have some amazing opportunities as an NYU student. Now we'll have to see about getting her in. I think it's great that she is seeing these schools now and realizing what she needs to do grade-wise for the rest of her junior year to make it happen. We also went to see the 911 Memorial. After living through that searing day, I wasn't all that keen on going to the memorial, but both kids really wanted to see it. In the end, I was glad I went. I think the memorial is beautiful and fitting and so incredibly sad. Have you seen the memorial? If so, what did you think? If not, would you want to?

Not much work got done while we were in NY, but over the weekend I wrote the first two chapters of McCarthy book 6, Season for Love. I needed to get the first chapter done so I can include it in the back of Hoping for Love. Season will feature Owen and Laura with snippets of stories for all the earlier couples as winter sets in on Gansett. It will show our island friends over the holidays with a wedding thrown in and possibly an engagement. Book 5, Hoping for Love, is off to the proofreader for a last look before it goes live in March. This week, I'll also be showing off the cover of Hoping for Love at the McCarthys of Gansett Island Reader Group on Facebook, so make sure you join the group for the first look at Evan and Grace's cover and to be the first to hear the release date.

This week, I'm back to work on Fatal Attack. Time to kick that book into high gear! I've also been chipping away at Duchess by Deception in my "spare" time. If you're keeping score at home, yes, that's three books currently in various stages in three different genres: contemporary, romantic suspense and historical. And you wonder why I worry about my head exploding?!

Finally, what did you think of the Oscars? I thought the show itself was a major SNORE. I hate all the stupid "bits" and the acrobats and other junk that sucks up time I'd rather see given to the winners so they aren't played off five seconds after they get on stage. Billy Crystal was just okay, in my opinion. Robert Downey Jr. was hilarious and should be next year's host. I was disappointed that my fellow Rhode Island native Viola Davis didn't win, but I love Meryl Streep, and as always, she was classy and perfect. (LOVED Collin Firth's Mama Mia comments. I don't know about you, but I could listen to him read the phone book. He's adorable!) I loved Meryl's dress, too. Normally, she's somewhat of a fashion disaster, but last night, she was spot on. Angelina, please keep your leg in your dress. We really don't care. I swear. Brad, love that you're sporting "The Rachel" these days. Nice tip of the hat to Jenn. The only nominated movie I saw was "The Descendants." I had soooo many issues with that movie and the plot (they're going to hunt down the mother's lover while she is DYING in the hospital? Really?), but I had no issue with two hours of George Clooney on the screen. Dreamy. I was thrilled to see Christopher Plummer win as well as Octavia Spencer. I'm looking forward to seeing "The Help." What did you think of the Oscars? Have you seen any of the movies? Which one is must-see?

Happy Monday!

Dear Diary: School Vacation Week

The kids are home this week, which clearly changes the writing dynamic. One of them sleeps until noon and the other is up earlier, but he's good about entertaining himself when I'm working. So I'm trying to get some writing done in the AM and then hang with them (as much as teenagers wish to "hang" with their mother) in the afternoons. Tomorrow, we're heading to NYC for a few days for college tours at NYU and Fordham for my daughter, the artsy-theater-musical type. While we're there, we also plan to tour the 911 memorial, which both my kids wanted to do, and go skating at Rockefeller Center, which my hockey-playing boy wants to do. He also asked if we could score some tickets to a Knicks game so he could see their new sensation Jeremy Lin play. I laughed. Hard. As if! I'd like to see Wicked while we're there if we can fit that in. We'll see! My husband HATES NYC, so it's a great time to go with just the kids since he is working this week.

Some of you have asked how our new dog Louie (also known as Screwy Louie when he is being crazy and just LOUIS when he's misbehaving) is fitting in. Well, it's like he's always been here. He fits in perfectly with all of us. He and Brandy get along great. They love to wrestle and play and then they collapse for a nap before starting the whole process over again. We have an invisible fence in our yard, which is the only kind of fence we could possibly have since our yard is really weird. The invisible fence gives them the full run of the place, and Louie is now fully trained on the fence and knows his limits. It makes life a lot easier when we can send them out to play in the yard when they are getting too wild inside. Brandy really seems to like him, but even she has her limits. On the first night we let him sleep outside the crate, it was like she told him, "I don't mind having you around here, but don't get any ideas about sleeping with us." That first night, he got in bed with Jake and has slept there every night since. Jake loves having Louie snuggled up to him. He says, "Let's go to bed, Louie," and off they go. The only bad part is when Louie uses Jake's belly as a springboard when he bounds out of bed in the morning. Ooof! He's a cute little dude, and already love him.

Next on my mind is the season finale of Downton Abbey. WHOA! Did you see it? That last five minutes made my foolish heart go pitter patter. My friend and fellow Downton addict, Julie, sent me this link to a blog that deconstructs each episode. It's pretty comical reading and the author is, like me, a HUGE fan of Maggie Smith's dowager countess, who in my humble opinion, steals every scene she is in. I agree with the blog's critique of some of the second season's bigger failings, but even with the glitches (Robert's "thing" with the maid? UGH!), it's still riveting TV. I've even got Dan watching it, and he agrees that Maggie Smith is hysterical.

On the writing front, I made great progress on Duchess by Deception this weekend. It's coming right along. I'll be spending more time on that today along with Fatal Attack, which is also continuing along. There won't be much writing getting done while we're in NYC, so I'll hit it hard again next weekend.

I'll be back on Saturday to report in on our trip. Wish me well! Three days in NYC with two teenagers! Pray for my sanity! :-)

Dear Diary: Observations from the Book Store and on the Loss of Whitney

For the first time in a very long time, I stepped foot into my local Barnes & Noble and found it to be a very different place than it was the last time I was there. In November of 2010 I made the leap to e-reading and have never looked back. This has fundamentally changed my relationship with my local bookstore. To be honest, e-reading has ended that relationship. I no longer have a reason to be somewhere I used to spend a tremendous amount of time. The loss of that relationship saddens me. However, as one who has tried to embrace new technology, I have to admit that I adore e-reading. I adore the easy access to books, the ability to have what I want when I want it (that applies to all things--not just books, LOL) and I love being able to read in the dark of night without bothering my husband--too much anyway.

I noticed that the romance section, still stashed way in the back of the store, has shrunk dramatically to two sides of a small aisle. It seems only the biggest names in the genre are featured there, with few exceptions. The new release paperback display that used to be in the front of the store is now stashed way  in the back. My kids asked why we had to walk past toys and other gadgets to get to the books. I told them because so many people aren't reading print books anymore. They were insulted on my behalf that my print books weren't featured in my home book store. I told them not to be because my readers are finding me in the e-bookstore where my books will never go out of print. Despite the move to e-reading and the fact that they have e-readers, both my kids bought print books yesterday. My older one, who is 16, told me she's not ready to completely abandon print books. I think I might be, however. I'm reading print books for a published author contest right now, and I find them to be hard on my eyes now that I've become accustomed to e-reading.

Where do you stand on the print vs. ebook debate? Have you made the leap? If so, do you have trouble going back to paperbacks when need be?

In other news, thank you to Carrie at Seductive Musings for listing Everyone Loves a Hero as one of her favorite books of 2011. In her note to me, she said, "I thought it was such a wonderful story and it was one of my absolute favorite reads from 2011."

Today, I'm watching Whitney's funeral on TV. As one who came of age in the late 80s/early 90s, hers was the voice of my generation. I remember singing her songs into my hairbrush with my dorm-mates in college. We loved her so much, and we were quite convinced our singing was every bit as good as hers. Of course no one's singing was ever quite like Whitney's. My daughter made a comment questioning just how big a star Whitney really was. We told her she couldn't begin to conceive of what a huge star Whitney was in her day. While the last years of her life were filled with struggles, I hope she'll be remembered for her amazing, singular talent and her generosity to a generation of female singers who owe so much of their success to the path she paved.