We at the Jaunty Quill are thrilled to have author Marie Force (Line of Scrimmage, Love at First Flight) joining us today. Thanks for dropping by, Marie!

 

Thanks for having me, Kristan and the other Jaunty Quills!

 

First of all, tell us about Love at First Flight and how this idea came to you.

 

It all began with a delayed flight and a penchant for eavesdropping… Way back in 1999, I was in the Baltimore airport waiting for a late flight to Jacksonville, FL, where I lived at the time. A twenty-something guy and girl—who were not together—were discussing their upcoming visits with their long-distance loves in FL, and both were lamenting the trials and challenges the distance had caused in their relationships. They discovered they were on the same flight home on Sunday night and agreed to meet up again to compare notes on how their respective weekends had gone. I thought, wouldn’t it be cool if they fell for each other? And a novel idea was born! I carried the idea around with me for six years before I wrote the book. I finished it in 2006 and sold it last year.

 

Your first book, Line of Scrimmage, is not a typical romance because the hero and heroine are already married. Readers went wild over this aspect of the book…In Love at First Flight, we’re given another non-traditional set up. You seem to enjoy pushing the boundaries a bit in your writing. Is this a deliberate choice, or something organic?

 

Love at First Flight is definitely an untraditional romance because we see the hero and heroine, Michael and Juliana, with other people before they get together—and when I say with, I mean with… I worried that readers who love traditional romances wouldn’t care for this aspect of the story, but so far reviewers really like it (phew!). The “boundary pushing” isn’t deliberate, as I certainly didn’t set out to write offbeat romances. With both Line of Scrimmage and Love at First Flight, the ideas felt fun to me so I ran with them, and readers have responded enthusiastically.

 

When do you struggle in your writing? What’s the hardest aspect of a story for you?

 

I struggle to find the time to write. I have a full-time day job and two busy kids, so the writing time is really limited. The hardest aspect of a story for me is probably the opening scene. I have to get that just right before I can move forward. This trend goes back to my newspaper reporting days when I had to get that first paragraph just so before I could write another word. I haven’t changed much in the twenty years since then!

 

And what do you enjoy the most?

 

I love writing dialogue. It’s my favorite part of writing fiction. I love being the evil puppet master who gets to speak for all my characters. I also find myself salivating with anticipation when I get to write a great big fight scene between the hero and heroine, including the exchange of painful and scathing barbs that undermine the relationship. I’m not sure what that says about me, but it’s the truth!

 

Are you like any of your characters? Anyone from your real life pop into your books?

 

There is definitely a little bit of me in all my characters. Ryan in Line of Scrimmage was a smart aleck like I can be, and Susannah got some of her sarcasm from me. I share a hometown with Michael in Love at First Flight (Newport, RI) and have devotion to my extended family in common with Juliana. As for real-life characters, I have an unsold manuscript that features a cast of senior citizens that are based on my dad and his friends, which was really fun to write. Sometimes you realize you can’t make up better characters than those who exist in your real life.

 

Who are some of your favorite authors?

 

Nora Roberts is my all-time favorite as well as her alter ego J.D. Robb. I also enjoy a lovely writer named Kristan Higgins. Her books are seriously hysterical! Lisa Kleypas’s contemporaries are wonderful. I adored Sugar Daddy and Blue-Eyed Devil, and I’m campaigning hard for Smooth Talking Stranger for my birthday. I’ve ventured into the historical genre for the first time this year, and I’m currently reading Lisa’s Wallflower series. I love it!

 

Any trends you see these days in romance? Any pet peeves or favorite devices you care to share?

 

In the way of trends, I’m hearing that contemporary is finally making a big comeback. Yay! This is great news for those of us who love to read and write contemporary romances. As for peeves, I recently posted on the Casablanca Authors blog (http://casablancaauthors.blogspot.com) about my romance peeves. Here are a few of them:

1. Modern women who come across as TSTL (too stupid to live).

2. An overabundance of “girlfriend” scenes… Page after page of the heroine bemoaning to another woman about her love life problems. I’d much rather see her fight it out with the guy. (And if I get to write the fight, all the better…

3. Important scenes that occur “off camera.” I want to experience all the big moments, not hear about them later, especially if the heroine is telling her girlfriend—ACK! Double demerits!

4. I hate misunderstandings. I don’t want to see a hero and heroine break up, especially without a great big hairy fight, over a misunderstanding that everyone but them knows is a misunderstanding.

Glad you asked?

 

What’s next for you in terms of writing?

 

I’m working on a new series about four brothers and their manipulative mother’s efforts to marry them off to women she decides are perfect for them. She will find that her “boys” have ideas of their own about what constitutes a perfect mate and none of their mother’s candidates come close to making the cut. I’m setting the series on an island with a family marina business at the heart of it. Since I grew up on an island, we’ve always had a boat, and I worked at a marina for five summers, I figure I’m well prepared to write these books.

 

Note from Kristan: Marie will give away a signed copy of Line of Scrimmage and Love at First Flight to a lucky responder!