INTERVIEW WITH MARJI LAINE

 

Marji Laine is a graduated home-schooling mom of four with two college students staying in the nest for a little longer. She and her hubby of 34 years also share their North Texas home with a rescue pup named Rosie. When Marji isn't editing or publishing the books for her authors at Write Integrity Press, she indulges in penning her own mystery, suspense, and romance novels. She loves acting in musical comedy, has directed many stage productions, leads a high school Bible womens' study and sings in her church choir. She prefers mountains to beaches, dogs to cats, NASCAR to football, Magnolia pie, white roses, green, and Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. You can find her at her website: MarjiLaine.com

INTERVIEW

If you had to describe yourself in one sentence, what would you say?  

Marji Laine loves her job of helping authors publish their books, but she considers writing her own books a sheer vacation.

What do you do when you’re not writing? Any interesting hobbies?

My kids are all grown, but we often get together either in person or online to play strategy games like Settlers of Catan, Dominion, or Scythe. I also crochet when watching movies (and I love the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel). I enjoy word games and logic problems to end my day.

What genre did you start out writing? Have you changed course? Is there another genre you’d like to try someday? What is it?

I grew up reading Phyllis A. Whitney mysteries. I loved a juicy mystery with a little danger and a little romance. That’s what I intended to write as well, but I was told that I either needed to write cozy mysteries or suspense. So I focused on romantic suspense and have enjoyed writing in the genre. The mystery is still a hug part of my stories, though. I have also written on romance, AIN’T MISBEHAVING. It has two other books in the series once I get back to it. There’s no mystery involved (shocking!) but it is a truly feel-good story.

If you could go back in time and do something differently at the start of your career, what would it be?

I don’t know that I would do anything different. Maybe start my career about 10 years earlier. If I had been able to. Homeschooling four youngsters at that point, there wouldn’t have been time.

Do you have any writing goals you haven’t met yet? What are they?

I have a couple of goals in my writing that I’d like to meet.

1.      Complete the 9-book series that I’m working on. I want to finish most of it before I start releasing them.

2.      Get to the point to where writing is part of every day. It was for a long time, but when I took over the publishing company, other books were always more important.

 What are you working on now?

I’m so delighted to be able to write another book for Celebrate Lit Publishing. We’re doing a second Ever After series. I have had so much fun writing and promoting A GIANT MURDER, that I’m looking forward to finishing my second for them that should be released next year.

What is the most important thing you’d like readers to take away from your books?

A memory of their first love. My characters are broken and dependent on the Lord, with strong faith and real issues. I want readers to connect with them and once again feel the igniting fire they originally had in their walk with the Lord. We all have distractions, and just life in general that pull us away from that passion we once felt. My hope is that my characters, in their dependence on God, will inspire a new passion for Him and His ways.

Anything else you’d like to share?

All of the Ever After Authors are doing a blog hop right now – a mystery blog hop! (The best kind!) Enter to win an Amazon gift card and see if you can figure out “Who Spilled the Beans?” My blog at MarjiLaine.com will have clues tomorrow, but check out Liz Tolsma’s article that starts it all: 

https://liztolsma.com/2021/07/26/who-spilled-the-beans/.

Also, I’m doing a Goodreads giveaway. Three US winners will receive a signed copy of A GIANT MURDER along with a box of other related goodies! Here’s the link to enter:

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/328890-a-giant-murder

A GIANT MURDER

An exclusive party with the socially elite of Dallas.

An elaborate venue high atop the downtown Adolphus Hotel.

A host who is one of the richest men in 1926 . . .

Also, one of the deadest.

Josephine Jacobs was just doing her job, serving the food giant everything except his eternal “parting shot.” With the Century Ballroom literally full of suspects, why has she been pinpointed for shooting TG Taggert?

And there are plenty of motives for his death:

     1.      The theft of Chef Ganderson’s “magic” beans,

2.      TG’s tryst with and mistreatment of songstress Harper Davis,

3.      And then there’s the thief in the family, TG’s son Jack.

 With her long-time friend, Officer Porter O’Brien, Josie attempts to find out who really killed “the giant,” and clear her name. 

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