Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Welcome Margie Church Today & a Contest

Welcome to Dawn’s Reading Nook, Margie. Please let my cabana boys/girls get you a drink and make yourself at home. Comfortable? Great…now let’s get down to business.

Q: For the readers out there who might not know about you or your work, can you please tell them a little about yourself.

Dawn, your boys make a fantastic Godfather – even if it is too early to be drinking! Quickly about me: I don't get carded in the bar any more. I've been writing fiction for about four years. Nopeming Shores is my tenth romance. I just got my first tattoo – a writer's quill piercing a heart. My dog's name is Jewel. My toenails are painted and so are my fingernails, but not the same color. What? It's cold here – nobody can tell! I just did my first author's reading from my erotic BDSM romance, The 18th Floor, in Las Vegas

Q: How long have you been writing? What got you in to writing?
I've been a professional writer for over 25 years and a published author for three. I'm hardwired to write. Since I write/promote about 60 hours a week, it's never far from my thoughts. And my characters have trouble with time zones so I don't sleep much.

Q: Where do you get your ideas for your stories, characters?
A couple of tragedies inspired Nopeming Shores – deaths and near-deaths. A picture of the Heidelberg Castle in Germany inspired Love Bites (vampires). A one-sentence challenge started WET and Awakening Allaire. Daydreaming inspired The 18th Floor (BDSM – snicker). Obviously, it doesn't take much sometimes! 

Q: Are you a by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of writer, or do you have to use an outline to put your collective thoughts into some semblance of common sense?
I am very much the plotter. Characters and story arcs are well-defined before I start writing. Noble Romance's editors are very tough and make us recheck the smallest details for believability and accuracy. I can't imagine being a pantser and surviving that. LOL

Q: Tell us all about your latest or upcoming release. What inspired it?
Nopeming Shores is a sensual paranormal (ghost) romance. Current events were part of the story inspiration. I conceived the basic plot about 18 months ago, after my brother in-law was deployed to Afghanistan. I saw how difficult it was for my sister to have her husband gone.

Personal tragedy inspired the character of Gabe. Years ago, my father was violently taken from me. I think anyone who's experienced a sudden loss, recognizes the turmoil it creates. You have a million questions that can't always be answered, and you wish you could have been there in that last instant of life to sooth their journey into the afterlife.

On one occasion, my father's ghost visited me. I won't deny it was shocking to see him, frightening even. Luckily he was whole again, and able-bodied.

My co-author, J. Andrew Lockhart, is a poet and adds, "When I was 30 I had an intracerebral hemorrhagic stroke. My wife and I had a one year-old son, and I was beginning my career as an attorney. My world ended on that day. After years of rehab and memory loss, I ended up as an elementary music teacher, a father of four children, and a writer.

My story, after 15 years, has a happy ending, but many times I think about what would have happened if I had ended up like Gabe. That is what drove me through this book. It was much more emotional than I thought it would be. I would spend many nights thinking about how I would handle his situation, and how my wife would have taken it.

I'm very glad that I did it, though. I actually learned from Gabe, and I was also able to give Margie the insight from a man who has been there."


Q: If you had super powers, what would they be? Why?
I want to fly – I love birds and watching them soar on the breeze.

Q: What is one thing readers might be surprised to know about you?
I need a tummy tuck? IDK! I married my high school sweetheart 29 years ago this month.

Q: If we asked your muse to describe you in three words, what do you think they might say?
She's Totally Nuts. (I know it's a sentence, but my muse is a wise ass.)

Q: When creating your characters, do you have models in mind or are they totally fictional?
I look for photos of people who resemble what I'm envisioning. It helps me identify with the character as I'm writing them. I don't model characters after people I know. That's creepy to me. In Nopeming Shores, actress Jennifer Garner is the visual model for Lily Holliway and Prince Harry is the model for an important secondary character, Shane Keefe.

Q: Are you in control of your characters or do they control you?
There's a balance. Sometimes they really surprise me – in a good way. The hero in my WIP has much stiffer um spine, yeah spine, than I thought he would. Other times they need to dial it back and wait their turn. I have characters that have whined about not getting enough ink. Sheez.

Q: If you came with a warning label, what would it say?
Margie is never predictable. Watch out.

CONTEST: Tell me what inspires you to try a new author and you could win a copy of Nopeming Shores, my sensual ghost story.


Q: Please tell us where we can find you on the web.

Nopeming Shores by Margie Church with J. Andrew Lockhart

An IED snuffed out Gabe Holliway's life, but couldn't destroy his love. Using his unique gift, Gabe struggles to help his young wife, Lily, rebuild her shattered future.
But when Gabe's ghost reaches out to her, Lily fears she's lost her last hold on sanity. Can she trust what she discovers and what her heart says? When she sees Gabe face-to-face, can she believe her eyes?
When love transcends death, the answers are found in Nopeming Shores.

EXCERPT:
In his spirit state, Gabe heard and watched the entire scene between his wife and Jana. He stood behind Lily while she said goodbye to Jana. He walked out of the building with Lily to the car. The wind caught a wisp of her hair, and he wished he could tuck it behind her ear. He used to love stroking Lily's soft, wavy tresses.
Not yet. She wasn't ready to know he was close by, trying to help her cope. Hell, he was trying to cope, too. God had given Gabe a chance to help Lily, and himself, but it was all in the timing. Gabe wouldn't get long. The Shepherd of Souls had been very clear about that.
Lily drove out of the parking lot, but instead of taking her usual direct route to the base exits, she drove through the grounds.
In his spirit form, Gabe followed her.
She slowed down near one of the park benches.
We met there. Gabe recalled seeing Lily with her brown-bag lunch when he'd gone jogging on the historic base. She'd caught his eye immediately. Her long, graceful limbs and full lips captivated him. When she smiled, the sun seemed to dim. Her charming demeanor wiped out all his defenses.
She'd shaded her eyes to speak to him. "I've never seen you before."
"I was in Seattle for some training, but I'm stationed here. Are you visiting your husband?"
She'd giggled this wonderful, heart-warming sound, and her face turned the loveliest shade of pink. Gabe knew in that moment, he was pretty much a goner.
"No, I'm not married. I started working at the commissary last week."
"Well, if you have lunch in the park, I'll be seeing you. I jog through here almost every day."
Gabe didn't usually take that route, but he was darn glad he had that day and every day after. Lily had waited for him, sometimes bringing along an extra bottle of water or a piece of fruit for him. They'd talk for a little while and he'd finish his run, although his mind was never on physical fitness after he saw Lilianna Carston.
Now Gabe sat on that same bench, remembering the delight in her eyes when he'd asked her to dinner the first time. They'd been almost inseparable after that date. They thought they'd have a lifetime together.
He turned toward her car and saw the strain on her face.
Her shoulders rose and fell in a deep sigh before she drove away from the curb.
Gabe didn't get off the bench and follow her. Being dead wasn't exactly halos and fluffy clouds for him.

18 comments:

DawnsReadingNook said...

Thanks Jeffrey and Margie for taking the time out to be here today. Congratulations on your newest book, Margie.

Dragon Momma said...

Congrats on your latest book! It sounds wonderful and heartbreaking at the same time.

What inspires me to try a new author? The genre of their story, to start. Then, the excerpt. I DO look at ratings. I have been fooled before by a somewhat good rating for a story, only to barely finish it and then delete it off my hard drive AND my Nook. That is never a good thing. I rarely delete anything. That's why I have almost 300 books on my Nook! :p

Stacy Wilson
dragn_lady at yahoo dot com

Margie Church said...

Dawn, thank you for having me back!

Stacy - Nopeming Shores is exactly as you described and since it's a romance, it does have a happy ending! I think reader and reviewer rankings are important. I don't make many comments back, but I acknowledge them. And, if I get blasted out of the water by someone, I check their other reviews to see if they have a history of shredding every book they review. Obviously then you have to wonder about the credibility of the reviewer. I don't think you're going to find those troubles with my books!

Thanks for visiting. Please keep in touch.

Anonymous said...

Always lovely getting to know more about you Margie, and the behind the scenes glimpses of where the story and characters came from gives us all a well rounded perspective! Thank you for the good reading!
Renee

Margie Church said...

Renee! Thanks for coming by. I enjoy hearing about the insights to a book and the process too. Glad you enjoyed ours.

Mary Preston said...

Word of mouth inspires me to try a new author. Great reviews - rave reviews.

marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

Unknown said...

Great interview. Can't wait to read the book. It's amazing how a tiny event or situation can trigger an idea for a story. Great job.

Johnny Miles said...

Hey Margie:

As always, an absolute pleasure getting to know more about you. Sounds like a winner! I hope it does as well as "Teak" if not BETTER. Big hugs to you, m'lady. And Happy Anniversary.

Unknown said...

Hey Margie, If a story line sounds good I give it a try whether I know the author or not. so blurb, excerpt and well written reviews are what get me to try a book out.

Margie Church said...

hi Marybelle - do you belong to a book club? How do you learn about new authors in this sea of writers?

Margie Church said...

Cindy - thank you - and yes, it is shocking how little can inspire us. Thank goodness!

Margie Church said...

Johnny - from your lips to every readers' ears! It's amazing how well Teak has done - this is a completely different subgenre and we'll have to see what the market says. Hopefully it'll be a thumbs up!

As always, I'm looking forward to the day we meet.

Hugs.

Margie Church said...

Michelle - well then, lets hope I get some great reviews. I already am confident the book is well-written! Thanks for stopping.

Unknown said...

Margie, I already know it will be well written and the story sounds interesting and expect you will be getting many great reviews. Though reviews don't turn me off books anyways they just occasionally peak my interest in one. I've read too many books that had negative reviews that I loved and I have read ones that had numerous positive reviews that I just didn't care for, but every once in awhile a review will be written in a way that will cause me to look into a book more. How did the tat turn out and did you ever get a chance to post a pic of it?

Margie Church said...

Michelle, I think after awhile people who follow reviews get a sense of whether this review or that was worth its salt. It's such a subjective business. All of it.

As for the tattoo, yes! I got it done last Saturday, to celebrate Nopeming Shores' release and photo is on my Facebook album!

Pommawolf Emeraldwolfeyes said...

Great interview Margie & Jeffery,
I choose to try an author usually because something in the blurb or an excerpt has grabbed me on an emotional level especially if the characters catch my attention revealing a bit of themselves. I am a highly emotional reader and I want to connect with the characters story situation. The author has something to say or share through characters, and I seriously want to find out mystery....*S*

Thanks for the great post

Darcy
pommawolf @hotmail.com

Margie Church said...

Thanks for coming by, Darcy. I don't think Nopeming Shores will have any problems hitting your emotional buttons.

Margie Church said...

Marybelle, you are the winner of Nopeming Shores! I'll be in touch shortly with the details.

Thanks everyone.

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