Meet Marian Lanouette, the Author of “Burn in Hell” by Gerri Brousseau
NOP: Marian, welcome! What would you most like your readers to know about you?
Marian: I love creating and writing. When I’m immersed in my writing, Jake and his crew become more real than the people around me.
NOP: Are you one of those writers born with a pen in your hand and ideas flitting through your mind, or did your interest develop later?
Marian: I always wrote. There are so many stories in my head I started to write them all down and outline them for a later date. Some are part the Jake Carrington Series others are stand alone stories.
NOP: How long did it take you to complete your first manuscript?
Marian: It took me three months to create the first draft.
NOP: Did it fly from your fingertips, or did the story emerge slowly?
Marian: I couldn’t stop my fingers from flying across the keyboard.
NOP: Was the second book in the series more difficult or easier to write?
Marian: No, this one too flew from my mind to my fingers. It’s the third one I’m working on now that has given me some rough days. I think it relates back to the research on serial killers. After a while you need to walk away and breathe.
NOP: Literary Inspiration: throughout your life, what novels have lifted you, made you think, “Someday I want to create something like that….”
Marian: I love the JD Robb In Death Series and I loved Agatha Christe’s mysteries. As a young girl I loved the Nancy Drew series. Two books that left a lasting impression were, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden and the Red Badge of Courage.
NOP: Let’s talk about romance. You’re a mystery writer so with all the intrigue of murder going on in your books, how do you set the mood for your characters, what do you draw from that helps your H/H achieve oneness with each other? And how much conflict do you give them, along the way?
Marian: Hmmm! I do love the murder and intrigue along the way but for the Hero/Heroine relationship it can’t be easy or it’s not worth it. When I create my characters, I give them real problems and feelings. For them to grow they need to understand what the problem is and work toward resolving it.
NOP: What shining moment in your journey stands out the most as a real turning point for you as a writer?
Marian: Honestly, is was joining the CTRWA and meeting all the wonderful writers who were so happy to help, teach and share their knowledge. I would not have been published so soon if not for them.
NOP: When did you know you were going to write a series?
Marian: From the first sentence in If I Fail. I knew I couldn’t tell Jake’s story in one book.
NOP: How about divulging a few things about Jake.
Marian: Well, he’s an excellent lover. Very considerate and smart, nothing gets past him. At times though he leads with his heart, he has to watch that.
NOP: Would you please give us an excerpt … 
Marian: Certainly, I hope you enjoy it.
“Son of a bitch,” Kyra whispered.
Life’s not fair. In the last two hours she’d dumped over three thousand dollars into the God damn machine. This bitch sits down right next to her and hits the jackpot on the first spin. I’ll never get my son back this way.
Kyra Russell wiped away the tears that rolled down her face. Why couldn’t she hit the jackpot? Ten grand—she only needed ten grand to pay her lawyer. Taking another hundred-dollar bill out of her purse, she stuffed it into the machine and hit the maximum-credit button, anticipating the results. Loving the rush, her stomach jumped with excitement. Each time, her mind cheered ‘this is it.’ As the wheels rolled into place, a cold chill raced through her veins. One by one, they landed. By the second symbol, she realized she’d lost again. Kyra’s heartbeat increased, pounding in her chest, beating in her ears like African tribal drums, causing her anger to spike. It’s the next one, she told herself, banging the maximum-credit button again. Lord, she needed to take a pee break, though didn’t dare leave her machine for fear someone else would hit the jackpot after she’d primed the machine.
Watching the attendant pay the woman, Kyra counted along with him. The bitch won seventy-five hundred dollars. After the woman received her payout, Kyra tried signaling the attendant.
“Excuse me,” she called.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“I need to use the restroom. Can you watch my machine or lock it down?”
“I need to call a supervisor over. It’ll be a few minutes.” He pressed the button in his earpiece.
She watched him whisper into it. After ten minutes, the supervisor came over and locked down the machine for her, letting her know she needed to be back within the hour or they’d release the machine.
“Thank you.”
“Not a problem, Kyra,” the supervisor said.
He read her name off her reward card, addressing her like he knew her. Well, screw him.
She pushed off her seat, rushing to the ladies’ room. Kyra didn’t want to stay away too long, giving them a chance to re-program the machine against her or reset it. She hated the new system with the tickets. Since they’d installed it, she hadn’t won like she used to. How else could she lose constantly? Winning used to be the norm when she first started. It became addictive. She’d won twenty-five thousand dollars on one spin. On another night, she’d won eight thousand dollars.
Boy, the cash rolled in then. The feeling was indescribable when those wheels rolled into place and the bells went off. The noise the machine made when it hit a jackpot had crowds surrounding her. Though on that night she’d gone home with only twenty thousand dollars—she’d blown five grand trying to win more. Greed always took over. Winning excited her. It was the rush, the euphoria she got every time she pushed the spin button that kept her coming back.
The casino treated her like royalty, even gave her a host. He got her into the popular shows or restaurants anytime she wanted. Nothing was too good for Kyra, as long as she showed up and put her money into the machine. She became a regular at the players’ lounge—eat and drink for free. Yeah, free, her ass. The cost was extreme. Somewhere along the line, Kyra lost her self-respect—along with her marriage, her son, and her savings.
I have to tell you, Marian and dear readers, “Burn in Hell” had me from the beginning. Loved it. Please tell our readers where they can get this book, as well as the first book in the series, “If I Fail.”
Visit Marian at: www.marianl.com
Or contact her at: marian.author@gmail.com
Filed under: romance
Lady Smut
- C. Margery Kempe's profile
- 52 followers
