Interview with… Marie Ferrarella

Marie first sold to Harlequin on January 15, 1983. Her Desire debut was Tried and True and this month marks the publication of Carrying His Secret, her 250th book! What she loves most about writing for Harlequin is her fantastic editor, Patience Bloom, who lets her be herself.

Find Marie on Facebook and visit her website for news on upcoming books!

1. What book first got you hooked on Harlequin?
Irish Thoroughbred by Nora Roberts

2. How did you celebrate selling your first manuscript?
I sent out birth announcements

3. Which of the many books you’ve written has stayed with you the most and why?
Sundays Are For Murder I was writing that book in my head for 5 years. I love doing murder mysteries.

4. What’s top of your TBR pile?
I hardly get any time to read any more. It’s probably Mary Higgins Clark. Love her work.

5. What book do you wish you’d written and why?
Gone with the Wind—because it’s very close to perfect.

6. What’s harder – first or last lines?
Last lines. First lines always come to me.

7. How do you choose your characters names?
I am forever jotting down names. The story dictates the characters names. They have to “feel” right for me to use them.

8. How do you push through writer’s block?
I don’t have writer’s block. I do, occasionally, have writer’s “pause” It lasts for a few minutes at most. Writing is an action verb—I just do

9. What’s the best career advice you’ve ever had?
I never received any memorable advice. However, the best advice I can give is never give up. If you believe in yourself, just keep trying until you reach your goal.

10. Your preferred writing snack?
I don’t snack when I write. If I did, I’d eat too much and get the keys dirty. You promise yourself a reward after you finish what you’re doing.

11. Who is your favourite fictional couple?
Agatha Christie’s Tommy and Tuppence

12. If you could rewrite your life, what would you change?
I’d have my mother live longer. She always had faith in me and she died a month before my first book hit the shelves.

13. What would your readers be surprised to know about you?
That I met my husband at 14. I had five dates before I went out with the man I eventually married. He was my first boyfriend, my first kiss.

14. What is your most overused word?
Grinned

15. If I wasn’t a romance author, I would have liked to be…
A chef.

16. When was the last time you said ‘I love you’?
Eight hours ago. I tell my husband and my kids I love them every day.

17. What does love feel like?
It feels like our insides are smiling.

18. What’s your guiltiest pleasure?
Ice cream.

19.Every hero needs a…
Strong heroine.

Hope you all enjoyed these insights into the wonderful world of Marie Ferrarella. Marie’s answers (especially #13 and#17) have got us feeling all loved up and we want to know, what does love feel like to you and your characters?