Today I'm interviewing Marji Laine here on the Suspense Sisters, and over at ptbradley.com/blog, I'm reviewing her latest suspense book, Breaking Point. And she's giving away a print copy of BREAKING POINT here at the Suspense Sisters! Must have a Continental US address.
And, if you leave a comment on my blog I'll enter you in a drawing for either a $10 Amazon gift card or a book from my extensive library!
If you had to describe yourself in one sentence, what would you say?
I’m content on my path, consciously finding joy where I am, while I’m there.
That's an awesome thing to be able to say! So, what do you do when you’re not writing? Any interesting hobbies?
I can’t say any of my hobbies are really interesting. I do more publishing for others than I do writing at this point. I do love building book covers. That’s not so surprising, though because I love photography and scrapbooking. Aside from writing (which is like vacation time for me), my favorite afternoon would be spent creating book covers while watching a NASCAR race.
That muliti-tasking thing. (G) What was your favorite book as a teen or child?
Trixie Belden Mysteries were my favorite books when I was a pre-teen. I even collected a set of the original ones for my daughters and they loved them too. As a teenager, my favorite author was Phyllis A. Whitney. Her mysteries were riveting, twisted, and downright scary!
Phyliss A. Whitney was my favorite as a teen, too! Tell us three things about yourself that might surprise your readers.
I’ve directed three adult musicals and fourteen children’s musicals, and I choreographed (and played Ado Annie) in Oklahoma.
One of my photographs was used on a calendar (the month of October) for the city of Commerce, Texas.
I’m on the planning team for Kathy Ide’s SoCal Christian Writer’s Conference.
You are a busy lady! What is the most valuable piece of advice you’d like to give to unpublished authors?
When I first started writing, mentors would tell me to keep writing. And their advice was wise. Continuing to write was crucial to opening the doors of my creativity. But I think my best advice to share would be to have a teachable spirit. Listening to the wise counsel of others—critique partners, mentors, and other professionals—is essential for improvement, which all of us need! Having that teachable spirit also exemplifies Micah 6:8 – walking humbly before God and allowing Him to teach us through the suggestions of others.
I so agree, Marji. What would you like readers to know about your story? (And hop over to my blog for a review!)
BREAKING POINT isn’t my debut novel, but it is the first one that I wrote (and rewrote and rewrote …) over a decade ago. This story started with a strange dream that I had. It was only a scene, really. A woman was stranded on the roof of this beautiful Victorian house during a thunderstorm. There was someone looking for her. A figure peaked over the edge of the roof and spotted her, but as he adjusted his angle to aim his gun at her, the decoration on the edge of the roof gave way and he fell backward. That was the dream and I built the entire story around it. But in the five, page-one rewrites that I’ve done on this story, that scene disappeared. Maybe it will come back in another book?
Oh, wow! I wish I could dream like that! Love the premise! What’s next from Marji Laine?
I have a number of projects that I’m working up, most of them in the planning stage. I have a spinoff series from my novellas, Grime Fighter Mysteries. These will also be mysteries from the standpoint of a law student studying for the bar exam. I also have the second of my Dallas Duets romance series stirring in my mind. But the one I will work on next is the third book of this Heath’s Point Suspense series. It’s called BOILING POINT and the rough draft is complete. Just a little tweaking to do—not five rewrites! Hopefully, it will be coming out next year.
Back cover copy
Alynne's Stone's planned out and predictable days ended when she hurried to her mother's side to support her during a family tragedy. She knows no one in this country town and has nothing to do with her father’s death. So, why does she seem to have a target on her back? How can she stay and support her mom when someone is intent on eliminating her?
Police Lieutenant Jason Danvers believes her father was murdered. How, he can't fathom, but he also can't ignore the details that don't add up. Nor can he ignore the attempts made on Alynne’s life. Could that crazy story about buried treasure have something to do with her “accidents”? Still dealing with the pain of his own wife's death, he can’t allow an innocent woman to die on his watch. Especially one as scintillating as Alynne Stone.
Bio
After seventeen years of homeschooling and eight years teaching in the public-school realm, Marji is still a teacher at heart, nowadays opting for writer meetings, workshops, and conferences as well as teaching a high school Bible study in her home. When she’s not writing or publishing the stories of others, she enjoys watching sports (especially NASCAR and Texas Ranger baseball), theatre, and the Hallmark Movies and Mystery channel.
She and her hubby of thirty-two years live in a suburb of Dallas, Texas with two rescue dogs and one precious daughter who keeps them from having to be empty nesters for a little bit longer. She loves game night with her extended family and friends, singing harmonies in worship music, and talking shop with other writers. You can usually find her in her favorite recliner, tapping on her laptop with her fur-babies snoring at her feet. Or at www.MarjiLaine.com.
You can purchase BREAKING POINT at Amazon.