Author Interview - Marie Higgins

Author Marie Higgins

Since Marie Higgins was a little girl playing Barbies with her sister, Stacey, she has loved the adventure of making up romantic stories. Marie was only eighteen years old when she wrote her first skit, which won an award for Funniest Skit. A little later in life, after she’d married and had children, Marie wrote Church roadshows that were judged as Funniest and Best Written. From there, she branched out to write full-length novels based on her dreams. (Yes, she says, her dreams really are that silly)

Marie has been married for twenty-six years to a wonderful man. Together, they have three loving daughters and several beautiful grandchildren. Marie works full time for the state of Utah, where she has lived her entire life. Marie plans to keep writing, because the characters in her head won’t shut up. But her husband smiles and pretends this is normal.


What is your favorite quality about yourself? I love to make people laugh. Perhaps it started in grade school or even in junior high when most the kids picked on me or called me names…but I wanted them to like me for the person I was – not my looks. That’s when I showed them my humorous personality. Laughing is all part of who I am now.

What is your favorite quote, by whom, and why? Magic is believing in yourself, if you can do that, you can make anything happen." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The reason I like this quote is because it’s easy to fail. If we can’t believe in ourselves, we are nothing. The Magic comes when we believe!

What are you most proud of accomplishing so far in your life? Next to having children and keeping my marriage going (almost 28 years…) I’m very proud that I’m a writer! I’ve accomplished that great task of not giving up! I’ve accomplished the task of entertaining people! I love this job!!

Have you developed a specific writing style? When I first started writing, I wrote plain man-meets-woman kind of romances. Nothing exciting happening except the love story. The more I wrote, the more I wanted a little mystery/suspense mixed in with my stories. In order to do this, I needed to learn how to drop hints throughout the story without the reader guessing what I was doing. The more I wrote that way, the more I wanted to add twists and turns so the readers wouldn’t call me a predictable writer or guess my endings. Now some of the comments / reviews I get from readers are that they are ‘addicted’ to my stories. And I’m the Queen of Twists and Turns. Yeah, gotta love that!

What is your greatest strength as a writer? Being prolific. Rarely do I write a story where my characters don’t talk nonstop to me. If I can’t write, it’s because family things have come up – or I’m sick. Usually, I’m a write-aholic. I work full time at my day job, and when I return home – and after dinner – I’m on the computer typing my manicured nails down. J

Can you share a little of your current work with us? I’m nearly finished with book #3 of my Colonial series. “Take My Heart” is book #1, “Falling in Love Again” is book #2, and “Wonderland By Night” is book #3. Gabriel Lawrence is the hero in book #3, but he’s been in the first two as well. Here is the blurb:

Not even disguises can deceive the heart.

In a world where freedom is questioned and everything is in turmoil, Lady Sarah Emiline Townshend needs to hide her identity for fear mobs will kill her and her family after her uncle—a political leader—passed laws that the good citizens in Boston did not approve of. Her father sends her to stay with some longtime friends of his in New Hampshire. Before she arrives, she decides to switch places with her maid. Now her name is Emmie, not Lady Sarah. This way she won’t have to look over her shoulder constantly, and she’ll be free of the restricting title of “Duke’s daughter”. But when she meets a handsome man, she suddenly wants him to look at her as a woman—not a servant. Protecting her life is more important.

Gabriel Lawrence’s pirate ship is almost captured and he fears the worst. Someone in his crew is a traitor. He tells his crew to hide out for a few months in hopes that the Royal Navy will forget about them. Gabe also hopes that the real traitor will be discovered. During his stay at his aunt and uncle’s in New Hampshire, he meets the niece of one of his enemies—Oliver Townshend. Because she doesn’t know who Gabe is, he plans on getting close to her to see if she knows any more of her uncle’s secrets. But the very lovely and mesmerizing maid, Emmie, captures his attention and her quirky personality keeps him wanting to know her more. But Emmie's over-zealous nature for adventure places both of them in danger and he is forced to play the honorable rogue.

How can he protect them both when an unknown spy is always one step ahead…and wants Gabe dead?

Also – check out the book trailer here -http://youtu.be/kPS5CGlAuWA

Tell us about your hero in “Take My Heart”. William Braxton is a secret member of the “Sons of Liberty” – a group of men who banded together to fight for their freedom and wanting to bring a different way of life to their families. But because this group was secret, nobody knew that he was part of the Sons of Liberty, not even his cold-hearted, cheating wife. When his wife leaves for a while and then returns, she’s pretending to be a different woman, although he knows this is just one of her acts. Strange thing is, she’s never been this way before—kind to him and especially caring to his children (from his first marriage). He doesn’t want to believe his wife has changed, yet seeing is believing. And he certainly doesn’t want to give his heart to her for fear she’ll turn back into the monster he married and it would break his heart.

Here is the blurb: Switching roles and the pursuit of freedom come together in the hunt to discover who can be trusted and who is really the traitor during the Colonial times. Mercedes Maxwell’s sister’s last wish was for Mercedes to find evidence against Kat’s husband, William Braxton, and have him hung as a traitor to the crown. Mercedes isn’t naïve when it comes to capturing traitors, because her own deceased husband had once been an agent for the King when they lived in England.

When she meets William Braxton for the first time, all is not as it seems. Portraying her twin, Mercedes knows this is the only way to get close enough to William to discover his secrets. What she finds along the way are little surprises she hadn’t counted on, especially when she begins to give her heart to a man who may be a spy against the crown.

How did you come up with the title? Funny thing about the title…I couldn’t really decide on a good title for this story. I wanted to have the word “Pretend” in the title, since the heroine is pretending to be her twin sister, and the hero is pretending to be a Loyalist, but nothing really was sticking. Originally, when this book was first published, the title was “Pretending You Are Mine”. But I just wasn’t happy with it.

During this time, I was listening to a favorite childhood singer – Engelbert Humperdinck. Although I love most of his songs, one of the songs jumped out at me – Take My Heart…and I thought it fit this story. So, wa-la, “Take My Heart” became the title of my Colonial romance.

How important do you think villains are in a story? VERY important! I love reading stories with evil villains! To me, they are what keeps the plot going, especially if the villain is wanting to harm the hero or heroine. I have written one doosie of a villain in “Take My Heart”…one I hope surprises the reader in the end.

What contributes to making a writer successful? Determination! A writer must be determined to keep writing and to keep learning. If they aren’t, then they are just another fish in the sea with a bunch of other writers, in my opinion. But it’s those writers who are determined to write their heart’s out and keep learning that make the best and most successful writers.

Links

Blog * Twitter

Take My Heart by Marie Higgins

Mercedes Maxwell’s sister’s last wish was for Mercedes to find evidence against Kat’s husband, William Braxton, and have him hung as a traitor to the crown. Mercedes isn’t naïve when it comes to capturing traitors, because her own deceased husband had once been an agent for the King when they lived in England.

When she meets William Braxton for the first time, all is not as it seems. Portraying her twin, Mercedes knows this is the only way to get close enough to William to discover his secrets. What she finds along the way are little surprises she hadn’t counted on, especially when she begins to give her heart to a man who may be a spy against the crown.




Book Trailer

Praise for Marie Higgins
”I enjoyed this book immensely. Each book of Marie's that I read is better than the last. I recommend this book to young adults and older who enjoy historical mystery, intrigue, fight for freedom, clean romance. This is the book for you.”
~~Mary Walling / Goodreads

“Few authors have mastered the art of storytelling like Marie Higgins. In this Colonial-era romance, Marie takes her reader on a wild ride. Every chapter, every scene, every line envelopes the reader's senses and imagination with passionate romance, deep emotional struggles, unexpected twists and turns, and neverending ups and downs. This was a hard book to put down and earns an unequivocal five stars from me. Thanks, Marie, for writing such great romances!”
~~Wanda Luce / Goodreads

 “Marie Higgins's Take My Heart is a stunning colonial romance. With well developed characters and heartwarming scenes, this book will steal the hearts of romance lovers and historical fiction fans. There are numerous twists and Higgins keeps you guessing at every turn as to who the real villain is. This book is a "must-read" for anyone who loves romance, history, or just a good story. FIVE STARS ALL THE WAY!!” ~~L.D. Smith / Kindle

“Breathless! From start to finish you will keep wondering, questioning, and hoping. You will root for the underdog, and smile as love conquers all. Great read. You won't put it down until you're finished!”
~~M. Henning / Kindle

Purchase

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Amazon Kindle

Tour Schedule

Tour Giveaway
$25 Amazon Gift Card
Ends 1/31/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.


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