Featured Interview With Author Marji Laine
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up in Dallas, Texas, and still live in the area with my hubby of almost 37 years and a rescue named Rosie (a.k.a. Madame Barksalot).
Growing up in the 70s and 80s, and as a latch-key kid, I spent my evenings with the Brady Bunch and the Huxtables, with plenty of Happy Days.
I also saw most of America – the lower 48, at least. Since my mom was a teacher, we took long road trips in the summer. Only the far northeast and the far northwest were missing from my trip log by the time I graduated high school.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I've always had a fascination with books. On those long road trips, my place was in the back of our station wagon. I had the drinks, the snacks, and my books. Paradise!
I wrote my first screenplay in 2nd grade – a crime film where my best friend and I died at the end, misunderstood tragic characters who had been driven to crime. It was magnificent. LOL!
I really started writing early on in my marriage, on the flight home from my honeymoon to be exact. But I never completed any of my novels until almost 20 years later. When I wrote those magical words, "The End," I was hooked!
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I grew up on Trixie Belden and Phyllis A Whitney novels. I loved the twisted mysteries with just enough suspense to keep me turning the pages. And of course, a little romance to keep things interesting!
I still prefer to read books like that especially if the characters are Christian, although now, those books are usually classified as suspense. That is also what I write. My suspense is gripping, but would not be classified as a thriller. And it absolutely must have some unexpected twists and turns in it. I don't write suspense without mystery, although I do sometimes spin up a mystery that only has light suspense. And I almost never write without some romance added.
I also write in the Christian realm. My faith is too much a part of me. It seeps into my stories without thought most of the time. I write about broken characters thrust into impossible situations who must rely on their faith and the people God has put into there path for their very survival.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book, THE VISITOR CATCHES A BOUQUET, is part of a 7-book, multi-author project that is the culmination of a two-year collaboration. Each book stands alone with it's own mystery along with light suspense and family drama.
In my book, the final book, the family visitor, who has made the rounds all over the US, arrives in Dallas in time for a grand gala for her family's charitable foundation followed by her great-niece's wedding. (Think "Murder, She Wrote with a little twist.) The problem is, she stumbles upon the body of a murdered man. A man that she recognizes.
Mac, the visitor's great niece, spins the story from her point of view, since she's stuck trying to hold everything together when first her great aunt and then her groom get stuck in the pokey. Her grandmother certainly isn't any help. With growing dementia, grandmother tends to find fault everywhere. She trusts little and dislikes much and is actually pushing that the wedding be postponed indefinitely.
The family strain stretches even tighter when Mac's dad's business becomes involved. Mac's a peacemaker, but even she is pushed beyond her limits as the possibility of the wedding, let alone the chance for happiness, become the substance of fairy tales.
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