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Sunday, September 6, 2009

An Interview with Author Marcia Colette

From author Marcia Colette, her exciting new release "Stripped".

Someone wants their perfect weapon back, only she’s not coming quietly.

Alexa Wells wants her life back. She’s just not sure what that life was. The memories inside her head—a stripper’s—aren’t hers, and before she humiliates herself onstage one more time, she sets out to collect the scattered pieces of her mind. The trail leads to Boston, charges of identity theft and murder, and the real bombshell: a forgotten werewolf lover who insists she’s a werewolf hybrid.

Matt York doesn’t care that she looks at him like he’s been smoking crack between court cases. Now that he has her back he’s not about to let her go it alone, even if she can easily kick ass and take names all by herself. Amnesia only scratches the surface of her problems, and like it or not, she’s stuck with him.

She’s also stuck with Robert Gamboldt, a venture capitalist who’s not above murdering his way to the top. He’s not about to lose his prize possession without playing dirty. It’s a simple enough offer. Be his personal assassin, or go to jail.

With options like that, it’s enough to make a hybrid go full-blood.



Marcia Colette has stopped by to tell us about herself and about her new release, "Stripped, an urban fantasy unlike any you may have read before. So, of course, first off I had a few questions for Marcia:

1. Do you find it difficult to combine a love of horror with the happy ending required of romance?
Not really. As long as the hero and the heroine end up together, I think anything is possible regardless of how brutal or gory. I guess that's why I take no prisoners when it comes to my paranormal romances.

2. You refer to your work as the creepier side of writing – why?
No matter how hard I've tried, my writing has always been on the dark side of things. I wanted make sure there was no mistake about where I was coming from and where my writing was going. If readers can hang for the ride, then they're more than welcomed to join me. But if they don't like me torturing my characters, then my stories won't work for them. It's better people know that off the bat, rather than to be shocked about me tearing off a limb.

3. What inspired Stripped?
I had fallen in love my characters from Half Breed. I wanted to know how Alexa and Matt met. What would put them through the ultimate test? Well, I couldn't kill either one off because that would mean no Half Breed. But I could snatch one from the other and make them work double time to get back together. Next thing I knew, Stripped was born.

4. When can we expect your next book and will it be tied to Stripped or Half Breed?
My next book will be tied to Stripped. In fact, it'll take place a few months after Matt and Alexa have been married and I'll still be turning my happy couple's lives upside down. My goal is to have it finished before the end of the year, but depending upon how the whole pregnancy thing goes, it might throw my plans into a curve. Fingers crossed, it won't. If all goes well, there will be a fourth book, which will take place after Half Breed.

5. Do you write full time?
No such luck. The day job supports my my reading habit, so I can't give it up just yet. But if I were ever in the position to change that, I'd happy jump at the chance.

6. If you had six months left to live – would you finish the book?
Heck yeah! Which one, I have no idea. Probably the sequel to Stripped, along with the paranormal YA that I'm currently working on.

And Marcia Colette - Just the Facts:

Paranormal author Marcia Colette was born and raised in a single-parent household in upstate New York. She graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a bachelors degree in biomedical engineering and a masters degree in information technology from American Intercontinental University. After a couple of moves from north to south to north, she is now living in the south again in the lovely state of North Carolina.

Unlike many authors, Marcia hadn’t discovered her love for reading until her late twenties. As it turned out, her tastes were very selective and different than most of the stuff her English teachers tried to shove down her throat. She has been a lover of the paranormal from her first horror movie and has never looked back.

Marcia is a member of the Horror Writers Association, Paranormal Mystery Writers, and Romance Writers of America.

The best place to find her is on her blog where she loves connecting with readers and other writers. Conferences/conventions where sci-fi, fantasy, and horror reign supreme are a good bet, too, along with the occasional romance conference.

For more information check out Marcia's website at www.marciacolette.com or her blog at http://marciacolette.wordpress.com.


If you have a comment or question for Marcia drop them in the comments. She's always glad to meet her readers.


I don't know about you but Marcia's story has me intrigued. Thanks for being here Marcia.

Ryshia

www.ryshiakennie.com


16 comments:

Edie Ramer said...

Happy Labor Day, Marcia! Great interview! Hope you get some writing done.

Marcia Colette said...

Thanks, Edie. And yes, writing is definitely in the picture today. :-)

And a huge thanks to Ryshia for having me today. I'll be stopping in on and off throughout the day.

Ryshia Kennie said...

It's a pleasure having you Marcia and seeing another aspect of that incredibly large romance genre in your writing. Your take on horror and romance is brilliant! I'll be sure to be watching for what follows Stripped!

Teresa said...

Which of the classic horror and romance writers have inspired you to take on this interesting genre combination?

Harry Markov said...

Okay, since I am intrigued by all the gory love you proclaim to horror. I will ask you some killing questions.

Is it easy for you to kill your characters and does the amount of love you have for them play a role in the decision making on how they will die?

Linda Detta said...

Great home page on your website—sounds like your books match the suspenseful atmosphere created. Good job!

I am particularly interested in the characters who met their bitter end in Stripped. Where were they derived from--people you’ve met, a manipulated version of these, creations of your dreams or imagination? What inspiration creates these complicated intriguing, entities?

Linda Detta said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Melissa said...

I Loved it!! As I say to all my favorite authors, please write faster:)

Melissa

Marcia Colette said...

Wow. I make run to the mall and the infamous Barnes and Noble and I come back to blog comments. Woohoooooooooo! I love talking to people. Hello, everybody. :-)

Teresa: Without a doubt Dracula. The ironic thing is I don't write vampires. Not primarily, anyway. Some others are Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and VC Andrews's "Flowers in the Attic" series. Although, the latter was a bit twisted at times.

Harry: It depends on the character. If it's someone I really like, then it's oh so hard. If it's decided that they'll die, then there has to be something gained, even if it's to show the killer's viciousness glow.

Linda: Many of my characters are manipulated verison of people I've either met or have seen on TV. And strangely enough, my inspiration comes from the same place. I sit back and wonder some times if I were to do something differently, what would it be? My answer to that is in the stories I write.

Melissa: Thank you, Melissa! Comments like yours make me want to work the fingers harder. :-)

booklover0226 said...

Good morning, Marcia.

This books sounds wonderful; I can't wait to read it.

What are your thoughts on book trailers? Do you use them? Do you think they are helpful in book sales.

Thanks,
Tracey

Nancy Badger said...

Surprised to hear you are working on a YA! Considering the pregnancy, I guess I shouldn't be but I do wonder if it will be along these shape-shifter lines? Can't wait to read STRIPPED.
Nancy B.

Marcia Colette said...

Ack. I can't believe I had forgotten to check this sooner. Sorry about that, ladies.

Hi Tracey! I think book trailers are nice, but I also think they're more so for the author than the reader. To this day, I can't recall buying a book because of the trailer. A good blurb will snag me a lot faster.

*waving to Nancy* No shapeshifters in this one. There is a vampire mentioned, but he gets such little playtime that it would be a HUGE mistake to call this a vampire book. None of the teens are vampires. They're more sinister than that. :-D

Mary Marvella said...

Busy Marcia! Just got back from DragonCon. Missed seeing you there.

Marcia Colette said...

Same here, hon. I so wanted to go this year, but baby duty called. Next year is another story. ;-)

Liz Kreger said...

Hey Marcia. Terrific interview. Ya gotta love dark and gritty books. I've find that I enjoy the darker urban fantasies more and more these days. Wonder why?

Anonymous said...

Best wishes!