Yesterday I participated in a blog tour for author, Nicola Marsh.  She was kind enough to allow me to interview her for my blog.

Nicola always wanted to be a writer but she didn’t get her start there, instead it was in the health industry.  One day she decided to start writing and her previous career was nothing but a distant memory.  This was back in 2001 and since then she has written over 30 books and 11 more out in 2012.  WOW!  that is a LOT of writing.  (I’m doing good to get a few blog posts up each week!)  I was reading through Nicola’s website and there are so many fun facts about her there:  she wants to visit every continent, wants to learn to ballroom dance, is attracted to a sense of humor in a man (me too!  When hubby asks why I love him, I tell him it because he makes me laugh) and loves anything by Harlan Coben (me too!).

So on to my questions:

SBR: How Long does it normally take you to write the first draft of your books?
NM: Writing almost daily hones speed and I’m lucky I write a fairly clean first draft.  For a category romance (45-55 thousand words it can take anywhere from 4-6 weeks.  My mainstream novels have taken about that time too, crazily enough, but usually require more extensive revisions.  Some books are easier to write than others and Not the Marrying Kind was one of them.  The story flowed out in three weeks.  Loved it!  Wish they were all like that!

SBR: What authors have inspired you in your writing over the years and why?
NM: Nora Roberts is a huge inspiration for her work rate, her dedication and her sheer tirelessness.  She treats writing as the business it is and I admire that.  It’s how I see my writing, as a job.  A dream job but hard work all the same.

SBR: What books do you have on your bedside table?
NM: Barbara O’Neal’s The Garden of Happy Endings (have been saving this one for ages, for when I’m on holiday soon) and Su Dharmapala’s The Wedding Season.

SBR: What do you do in your free time?
NM: With two young boys and juggling deadlines, what free time?!  When I do grab a minute, I read.  Could read all day and night!  (I hear you Nicola!)

SBR: What do you think of e-books?  Good, bad or otherwise.
NM: E-books are innovative, easy to buy, reasonably priced and addictive!  (She doesn’t have to tell me this…I can’t tell you the number of e-books I have on my Sony and Kindle….gotta be over 700!)

SBR:  What would be the theme song for Not the Marrying Kind of made into a movie?
NM: Would have to be Going to Vegas by Jimmy Ray.  It would be the perfect movie song.  You can check it out here

USA TODAY bestselling author Nicola Marsh writes flirty fiction with flair.

She’s had 32 books published with Harlequin Romance and Presents series, a fun, flirty contemporary mainstream romance BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD with Entangled Publishing (nominated for Romantic Book of the Year 2012) and sold over 3 million copies worldwide.

Her first category romance for Entangled Publishing’s Indulgence series, NOT THE MARRYING KIND, releases July 2012, with another category contemporary romance FALLING FOR FLYNN releasing with Crimson Romance October 2012.

Her urban fantasy young adult novel SCION OF THE SUN releases November 2013 with Month9Books.

She’s also a Waldenbooks and Bookscan bestseller, has finaled in a number of awards, including the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, HOLT, Booksellers’ Best, Golden Quill, Laurel Wreath,

More than Magic and has won several CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Awards.

A physiotherapist for thirteen years, she now adores writing full time, raising her two little heroes, sharing fine food with family and friends, and her favorite, curling up with a good book!

She loves interacting with readers so you can find her in one of these many places!

Website,  Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads

NOT THE MARRYING KIND BLURB:

Who said marriage had to be convenient?

LA party planner Poppy Collins has kept her side business—planning divorce parties as the Divorce Diva—under wraps, but keeping her sister’s company afloat is proving tougher by the day. When a new divorce party prospect gives Poppy the opportunity to save the day and boost her bottom line, she can’t pass it up. But this time, she’s about to get way more than she bargained for…

Vegas golden boy Beck Blackwood knows Poppy’s secret, and he’s not afraid to use it to get exactly what he wants—a wife. With his reputation and corporate expansion plans on the line, the only way he can repair the damage is by getting hitched, and fast. And if blackmail is the only way to get Poppy to the altar, then so be it…

But they’re in the city of high stakes, and Poppy has a few aces up her sleeve. Now it’s time to find out if they’re playing to win…or if they’re playing for keeps.

Link to excerpt

Buy the book from Amazon and Barnes & Noble