A warm welcome to Author Marina Adair!

 

 

 

This savvy author and self admitted Twitter Nut visits with us about her writing, watching Wipe Out and her NEWLY released book, Kissing Under the Mistletoe!!

 

 

 

AM: What inspired you to become a writer?

MA: A) There was no more room in my head, B) my husband claim’s it’s cheaper than therapy, and C) when I was a kid I was sick—a lot. Meaning that some years I spent more days at home with my grandma watching the morning line-up of The Price is Right and Wheel of Fortune—yes, there was a time when Pat Sajak and Vanna White ruled both day and nighttime television—than in school. When my hour of TV time was up, and the make-up work was complete, I would lie on the couch and create stories to entertain myself.

The first time I remember making-up a story from start to finish I was seven. My dad took me to see Xanadu, staring Olivia Newton John, and when I got home I strapped on my white roller skates with the hot-pink wheels, went in the yard and skated around to the film’s 8-track reenacting the movie. Later that night I hid under the covers with a flashlight and my Barbies and create an elaborate story about Olivia’s character: Kira was a runaway muse (I had no idea what a muse was but it sounded cool) who knew karate and got by in the world singing in dive bars and roller skating. Over the years, the plotlines shifted, the characters evolved, but there was always a Happily Ever After. It wasn’t until I became a mom and realized there were no children’s books that had heroines who looked like my Vietnamese-born daughter that I sat down and wrote my first book. Children’s books weren’t my thing, but I kept writing and eventually found my voice and passion in romance novels.

Other than writing, is there anything else you'd rather be doing?

Reading. Watching Wipeout with my family, because, really, what is funnier than people falling down? Oh, and eating burgers! I love cheeseburgers. The only thing better in this world that eating a big, juicy burger, is eating a big, juicy burger with and iced cold beer . . . while figuring out how to create world peace.

When did you get serious about writing?
I got serious about my writing when I finished my first novel 4 years ago. I got serious about my writing career when I got my sixty-third rejection. I know, weird, right? But I figured that if 63 people didn’t like my plot, voice, heroine . . . pick one and insert, then maybe I had chosen the wrong career. If I was a surgeon and my first 63 patients found me lacking in the rudimentary skills needed to excel in that field I’d most likely be fired…or in jail.

Devastated, I called the only published author I knew and cried. It was ugly. Every Dear Author woe came out sputtering and snot coated. But Hannah Jayne, being a great friend, brought me a bottle of wine, a box of chocolates, and when I was good and drunk said, “Real writers get rejected. Get over it. Write another book.” So I did. I tried my hand at romance, my favorite genre, and discovered that my voice worked, I did know how to weave plots, and my characters came alive on the page. More importantly, I realized that my first novel wasn’t the OR and I wasn’t a surgeon yet. I was a first year student in med school. It took me three more novels to actually make it to the OR, and even now, after seven novels completed, I feel like I am still completing my residency.

What is your viewpoint of the current trends going on in the publishing world?

Things are changing so rapidly right now in publishing it is exciting and terrifying all at the same time. With self-pub, traditional pub, and now e-exclusive publishing with big houses, authors have more opportunities than ever. That also means that as authors we have more responsibility to get informed and decide what path is the best for each author and each book.

How has that affected how you went about publishing?

That just because the industry trends are moving fast, doesn’t mean that I have to rush my product to market. I went into this business knowing that I wanted to write the best story possible every time and see my book on bookstore shelves. So for me, traditional publishing was the best fit. It would take longer, there would be many more of murdered darlings, but I was willing to put in the time and take the rejection if it meant becoming a better writer. Four years, three failed novels, 80 rejections, and over 5000 hour of writing later, I sold my first book. It was worth it though, because within the first five months of 2012 I sold 7 novels to 3 different New York Publishers—and I got to see my book on the shelves of my local bookstore…and yes, I cried!

Please, tell us about your book.

KISSING UNDER THE MISTLETOE is the first in the ST. HELENA VINEYARD series. It follows a single mother who moves to the Napa Valley to make her daughter's Christmas wish of a forever home a reality, only to discover that the man who destroyed her professional reputation is the hometown hero. This was a fun one to write because what’s more entertaining than two sworn enemies who can’t keep their hands off of each other. Especially when Regan is looking for a fresh start and Gabe DeLuca, a smooth talking wine maker, is determined to run her out of his town . . . or into his bed. Being a man, he can’t seem to make his mind up.

Is there anything else you'd like to add before we wrap things up?

I would just like to thank you, Amy, for letting me drop by and I hope everyone enjoys KISSING UNDER THE MISTLETOE!

Where can people find you on the web?

You can find me at the links below. But be warned, I am a twitter nut and have been known, on occasion, to stalk other romance addicts.

LINKS:
Website: www.MarinaAdair.com
Twitter: @MarinaEAdair
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marina-Adair/313569728682853?ref=hl

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Amy's Review of KISSING UNDER THE MISTLETOE!

 

Definitely a 5 star read! To say I loved this book would be an understatement. The characters were well written, the plot captured and held my interest and left me wanting more. Marina Adair is definitely an author on my watch/to read list. I look forward to reading more of her work, especially the St. Helena Vineyard Series!