Monday, June 27, 2011

Writing Romance: Marie Force (Guest Post & Giveaway)



Good morning lovelies and welcome to our week long Writing Romance event, hosted by myself and the lovely Kelly at Secrets of a Book Lover
Everyday this week we will have a wonderful author stop by each blog for an interview or guest post focused on...Writing Romance, and of course there will be fab giveaways as well! So make sure to check in each and every day to visit with some of your favorite romance authors! Note: Because RWA starts this week some authors won't be around all day but don't worry, they will check in whenever they get a chance to respond to reader's questions and comments. J

Okay, enough with the boring stuff...today I have the pleasure of having one of my favorite romance authors, Marie Force, joining us at Reading Between the Wines! Make sure to visit Secrets of a Book Lover where  Karen E Taylor will be visiting today!


What Makes a Great Romance?

By: Marie Force

Togetherness. There. That’s it. End of blog.
Just kidding! When Crystal asked me to write a blog for today she offered me a number of topics, and I chose to answer the question in the title. My favorite romances have the hero and heroine together for most of the book, battling through their issues to get to their happily ever after.
While I do include them in my books from time to time, I’m not a big fan of “girlfriend scenes,” in which the heroine pours out her heart to a friend while she’s avoiding the guy who caused all her problems.
I want to see her with her guy, working through whatever is keeping them apart. I want to see them enjoying each other, fighting with each other and loving each other.
That doesn’t mean girlfriends and secondary characters don’t play a big role in a great romance. They do. Just like in real life it’s important that the people in the lives of our characters interact with our couple as they work toward their happily ever after.
This summer, I’ve published three of my favorite books for Kindle, Nook and other e-readers. The McCarthys of Gansett Island series takes place on a fictional Rhode Island island and opens with Mac McCarthy accidentally knocking Maddie Chester off her bike in downtown Gansett. Maddie, a single mother, is badly injured so Mac basically invites himself into her home and her life to nurse her back to health and care for her infant son.
I loved putting Mac right in her apartment where they had to fight their way through all kinds of issues while dealing with their instant attraction to each other.
In the second book, Fool for Love, Mac’s best friend Joe Cantrell has been in love with Mac’s little sister Janey for as long as he can remember. When she ends up in a crisis, she turns to Joe, and he takes her to his home on the mainland where they spend a few days testing the waters of what they could have together.
These situations are the most fun to write for me, and I hope, the most fun for readers, too.
So those are my thoughts on the matter. I’d love to hear what you have to say about what makes a romance memorable for you. I’ll give away PDF copies of Maid for Love, Fool for Love and the third book, releasing this week, Ready for Love to one commenter.
Thanks for having me today!

Marie Force is the bestselling, award-winning author of the Fatal Series from Harlequin’s Carina Press. The series includes FATAL AFFAIR, FATAL JUSTICE, FATAL CONSEQUENCES, FATAL DESTINY and FATAL FLAW, with more books planned. “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.”
Marie is also the author of the following contemporary romances: EVERYONE LOVES A HERO, LINE OF SCRIMMAGE, LOVE AT FIRST FLIGHT, TRUE NORTH, THE FALL, THE WRECK, MAID FOR LOVE, FOOL FOR LOVE and READY FOR LOVE.
Since 1996, Marie has been the communications director for a national organization similar to RWA. She is a member of RWA’s New England 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 two kids and a feisty dog named Brandy.
Find her on her website, or on her blog, where she runs the popular weekly Romance & Oreos Book Club, on Facebook, and on Twitter. Marie loves to hear from readers. Contact her at marie@marieforce.com.


~*GIVEAWAY*~

As Marie mentioned above, she is graciously giveaway away digital copies of all three of her The McCarthys of Gansett Island novels to one lucky reader! 
To enter, just leave a comment answering Marie's question at the end of her post AND fill out the form below. 
Open Internationally, giveaway will end at 11:59pm on July 8th when one winner will then be selected at random and contacted via email. 




26 comments:

  1. hi Marie! hope is what makes a romance story memorable for me. i love reading stories that talks about hope. i go for characters that are able to transcend the challenges they face because of hope. c",)

    hi Crystal! thanks for hosting the giveaway.

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  2. I agree with not being a big fan of "girlfriend scenes." I like it when the heroine works out everything with her guy. That being said, I think that's what makes a great romance memorable. I love a good emotional roller coaster that ends up in a HEA :) Thanks for the interview!
    jrosemergy@gmail.com

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  3. I love the angle of Togetherness Marie. I never thought of it in quite those terms before, but you're right. Keep the hero and heroine together as much as possible, add tension and confict and see what happens. Great post.

    So let's say two or three characters are trapped in a confined space for an extended period of time, let's say a 4 hour car ride...what could be the most annoying thing one of the characters could do to ramp up the tension and stress levels of the driver? :-)

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  4. For me, a perfectly perfect-imperfect heroine - you know the one who protests how plain and dull she is but everyone and everyone wants her - is almost an automatic DNF. Also, idealized, air-bushed beauty is reinforced way too much as the standard in mainstream media. Why would I want to spend time reading about that woman, too? I'd much rather spend my time with a couple who have had some realistic wins and losses in their lives, and don't look like supermodels in the bargain.

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  5. The romance I like is the type they have to fight for. I love it when the characters have to come back from unsurmountable odds from their own life to learn to love the other. I also agree with you, Marie, forget the BFF thing...that happens all the time in real life..give me more :)

    mrsworldwidewebb@cox.net aka Kathy

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  6. Hi everyone,
    Just stopping by for a quick hello during a busy workday to thank you for your comments and feedback.

    Gee, Mike, could you be referring to our ride to NYC tomorrow in which I will have to gag you to keep you from making me laugh so hard I can't drive? Hmmmm!

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  7. For me romance has to have real connection and a believable story. If you manage to pull that off I will usually stick with not only the book but also the series if there is one as I get invested in the characters!

    mmafsmith at gmail dot com

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  8. LorettaLynn/TemepranceJune 27, 2011 at 1:39 PM

    romance, I would have to say.. It all have to do with how they start to how they end up..Some start out rocky and you would never think anything would come to a happy ending..Its not easy but that is what makes romance great:)
    Thank you for the interview it was great and the great giveaway too

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  9. Hello!

    Hmm, what makes romance memorable for me is the journey. The big build up to a beautiful finale. Little things get under your skin and you're unable to forget them.. and the next thing you know, you can't live without that person.

    Amanda
    ohmorningglow AT aol DOT com

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  10. To make a romance memorable for me it has to be about more normal people. She isn't drop dead gorgeous and he isn't the epitome of male perfection so women swoon in a half mile radius when he walks past :) Please give me some flaws, it's a mole not a beauty mark lol.
    irgl7(at)bonzo15(dot)plus(dot)com

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  11. There's a couple of things that can make a book memorable for me. The love scenes, the humor and the cover are a few!

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  12. what makes a romance memorable for me, is when a woman and a man fight together whatever they have to to stay together till the end, whether it's fire or storm, they must face it all and end up togehter.
    Thanks for the giveaway

    recupefashion@hotmail.fr

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  13. Great chemistry makes a romance memorable for me.

    iqb99@yahoo.com

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  14. What makes a romance memorable for me is the chemistry between them and the storyline. I like when they meet for the first time and feel an attraction for each other and they fight the attraction. Things happen like someone is trying to kill them or the family tries to keep them apart which pulls them even closer together and they fall deeply in love and end up living happily ever after. Tore923@aol.com

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  15. I am a big sucker for romance! I think what makes it most memorable for me is the passion. If you truely love each other then I believe the passion has no limits! A kiss, touch, even a look.
    heltondexter@yahoo.com

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  16. What makes romance most memorable, the affection, passion and they way the characters treat each other that attact me the most. I hat nothing more than characters that intentionally hurt or injure the one they supposedly love.

    Thank you for the interview and contest. urbangirlreader (at) gmail (dot) com

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  17. a hero who falls the hardest and changes his mindset...for example if he had commitment issues since childhood but realized he can NOT live without the heroine...i do love when they work out their issues together but "friends" can add some light and fun to the situation at times..

    thanks for the giveaway
    gfc follower
    seachele71@hotmail.com

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  18. what makes a great romance to me, is when the book is emotional, whether it has laughing, crying, yelling, or all, in it. i like to see conflict and trials jump in between the hero and heroine and how they handle them. a good romance book keeps me engrossed from beginning to end, i cant put the book down. i jump into the story and i am the characters. and most important, it has to have a happy ever after ending! :)
    thank you for the awesome giveaway!

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  19. I agree togetherness is very important in romance. I love that the hero and heroine accept that thy want to be together and work towards it.
    I think the most important thing in romance is the emotion. When an author can make my stomach wrench and grasp for something to hold on because I'm eagerly waiting for that perfect moment and a happily ever after. I'm looking for true love, or a way for the author to show the they can express it in words.
    Thanks for the giveaway!
    Lindadao2060 at yahoo dot com

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  20. A little bit of struggle and hard to get makes a great romance for me!

    I'd love to enter the draw. I'm following you on GFC (Darlene), and my email address is darlenesbooknook at gmail dot com.

    Thanks for the giveaway!

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  21. A good heroine and hero amke a great romane story

    ktalley28@gmail.com

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  22. Hi Marie, what makes a romance memorable for me is the characters. Their circumstances, traits, and actions is what makes a story. I love ones who are unique and strong, but still sensitive enough so I can connect emotionally with them.

    Cambonified(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  23. what makes a romance memorable for me is the characters and how much they are willing to sacrifice for the person they love and how they bring out the best in each other.their emotional connection matters as much as their physical connection.

    GFC-Janhvi Jagtap
    justjanhvi at gmail dot com

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  24. Chemistry and likeable characters make a great romance for me.
    I really loved the characters in Line of Scrimage.

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  25. What makes a romance memorable for me would be the realistic build up of the chemistry, attraction and emotion between the hero and heroine that would have me rooting for them to their eventual HEA.

    Thanks for the giveaway! I really enjoyed Marie's other books and would love to read The McCarthys of Gansett Island books!

    chibipooh(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete

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