Marie Force, New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of more than 40 contemporary romance novels was recently in Toronto and spent an evening with Kobo, Harlequin and an intimate group of lucky fans to celebrate Marie.

Mark Lefebvre and Marie Force during interview and Q&A

Mark Lefebvre, Director of Kobo Writing Life, interviewed Marie during the evening. In the conversation, Mark and Marie discuss:

• How Gansett Island, a fictional island is based on Marie’s favourite real island, Block Island, is a spot that Marie goes to regularly
• The next Gansett Island book (Celebration After Dark – coming December 1st) which will feature Big Mack and Linda
• The READER WEEKEND summer retreat that Marie runs for her fans, (limited to 300 people) which is co-ordinated and plann by Julie, Marie’s Executive Assistant
• How Marie has been with a Harlequin imprint (Carina Press) since 2010 when Fatal Affair was launched and the recent deal for books 10 through 13 which is, so far, the biggest deal of her career
• A reveal that Sam is not going to get pregnant any time soon in the Fatal series (because of how significantly that might change everything in the series)
• How new ideas are constantly flowing through Marie’s mind and the amount of time she ends up spending thinking about fictional people in her life
• The six people that Marie employs full time
• The fact that Gansett Island is Marie’s favourite series and how Sam from the Fatal series is her favourite character to write.
• The manner by which Marie embraces both traditional publishing and self-publishing and how she enjoys the collaboration of working with publishers
• How self-publishing allows her to do things such as bring out three books in three weeks (something that is a rare feat when it comes to traditional publishing)
• How the first books from the Fatal series sat on the shelf for a full year before Carina Press came along, wanting to do something different about the way that romance was presented to readers

Marie surrounded by some friends and fans who attended the special celebratory evening in Toronto in September 2015

Kobo CEO Taka Aiki and Marie Force

Marie also answers questions from her fans about:

• If Skip might ever recover from his paralysis
• Whether or not she will write until Scotty becomes an adult
• Her most memorable fan interaction
• Whether or not fans will see more of Shelby and Avery
• The hardest part of writing romance
• The best ways to keep informed about Marie’s new works and the new Marie Force app that is available to keep fans informed and connected
• Whether or not she plots out books ahead of time
• Where she writes most often and whether or not she writes longhand or via a computer
• If Doctor Harry Flynn might ever have a love interest
• Her influences for writing

After the interview, Mark goes over a few tips for those about to embark upon NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), conjuring up a few tips derived from articles on the Kobo Writing Life blog by Kevin J. Anderson and Chris Mandeville.

Links:

Marie’s books on Kobo

Marie’s Website

NaNoWriMo

With more than 4 million books sold, Marie Force is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling, award-winning author of more than 40 contemporary romances. Her New York Times bestselling self-published Gansett Island Series has sold 2 million e-books since Maid for Love was released in 2011. She is also the author of the New York Times bestselling Fatal Series from Harlequin’s HQN, as well as the New York Times bestselling Green Mountain Series from Berkley, among other books and series.

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