Hi Marlie. I’m so happy you could join me today. Readers! Marlie is giving away a $10 Amazon gift card to one lucky commentor, so you better be sure and leave her a comment.

Tell us about yourself.

Since I’ve published my first book, You Belong To Me, I’ve really set a goal to become a fulltime writer. I have a day job that takes an enormous amount of time and energy – I’m a project consultant for large university projects – and I have to really manage my energy to be able to write. So, I’m using my weekends to write and get my next few books out there. I have a wonderful husband who supports my writing and two grown sons who have always cheered me on. My only hindrance is my time.

Tell us about your current release.

You Belong To Me is a story that doesn’t quite follow the romance pattern. Colin and Erin do fall in love quite early in the book, and in fact marry by the mid-point, but their relationship deepens and strengthens over the course of the book as they face several devastating blows from Erin’ ex-husband, a sociopath that is intent on getting her back. The best comment I’ve gotten from a reader about the book is that it made them cry. Well, I’ll tell you, it made me cry several times writing it. I think it delivers a lot of emotion and depth in the telling of Colin and Erin’s story.

Tell us about your hero. Give us one of his strengths and one of his weaknesses.

Colin is a lawyer – yeah, I know – and has all of the skills and capability you would expect. So he’s strong, smart, and of course, handsome. But inside, he has doubt about himself, mostly in the area of relationships. He isn’t quite sure he’s whole, or that he is able to give love the way he sees others in their relationships. He worries about being good enough – and in the story you’ll find out why he appears to have command of his world, but lives with that deep-seated doubt about himself.

Tell us about your heroine. Give us one of her strengths and one of her weaknesses.

Erin owns an art gallery – she is smart and witty. She’s been to hell and back, and survived. She’s strong, but she lives with a constant anxiety about her ex-husband, and rightfully so. She gave up some of her power when she was with her ex, and now she doesn’t quite know how to get it back, how to find her own strength again.

What genre(s) do you write in and why?

I write romance, romantic suspense and am currently working on a fantasy/paranormal. I’ve always read a wide variety of romance novels, and I read fast, so two books a week even while working is not unusual for me. There are several authors that inspired me to write paranormal, Christine Feehan

How many books have you written? Do you have a favorite?

I’ve written about 5 books, but only one is currently published. The others are WIPS waiting for editing or a rewrite.

Tell us about your current WIP.

I have two books I’m working on. One is the sequel to You Belong To Me and is Elizabeth’s story (she is the hero’s sister in You Belong To Me). The second is a paranormal/fantasy that has archeologists as the hero and heroine and is set in Guatemala and Egypt. I am hoping to finish and publish by the end of June!

What inspired your latest WIP?

The as-yet-unnamed fantasy/paranormal came about because of my own background as an anthropology major in college. I spent a summer on a dig in Upstate NY along the St. Lawrence River, and just love all things historical.

All self-pubbed books are rumoured to be shoddily edited. What do you say to that?
Baloney! I’ve read some books from large publishing houses that were shoddily edited, especially when converted to a Kindle version. And I’ve read some fantastic self-published books that were perfection in editing and in writing!

BIO
Marlie Bridges lives in the rolling hills of upstate New York. She began writing because a character jumped into her head and she had to find a way to make him come alive. She loves writing about the wounded hero or heroine, their challenges in moving forward and their victory in overcoming life’s hurts, often through the power of love.

EXCERPT

Noticing movement through the gallery window, he rapped on the door. Erin opened it with a smile and invited him in. “I’m just hanging a painting. There’s some coffee in the little kitchen back there to your right. Help yourself while I finish this up.”

Colin couldn’t help but notice her curves – in all the right places. To distract himself, he said, “I brought the donuts,” holding up the bakery box.

“Do you need any help?”

“No, I do this all the time. I’ll be done in a minute. Go on, get some coffee.” She eyed the bakery box he carried. “Dinkel’s?” she asked. When he nodded, she added, “My favorite.”

“Mine, too,” he said, glad he’d taken the extra time to drive there on his way. Through the gallery to the back, he turned into the little kitchen, spotted the coffee center and poured two cups.

“There,” she said, walking into the kitchen, brushing off her sleeve, “I’ve just been putting up some things to replace what I sold last night.” She took the cup of coffee he offered her and set it on the counter, dropped two lumps of sugar into it and topped it off with some milk from the tiny refrigerator. “How about we raid the goody box first, then do the tour?” she asked.

They sat at the little table in the corner of the kitchen. Erin untied the string on the bakery box and opened the lid. “Cinnamon sugar,” she said and laughed.

The expression on her face – one of pure delight – stopped his heart and he knew he was here for more than the paintings, more than the investment opportunity. He’d convinced himself on the drive over that she wasn’t his type. But now he wanted to get to know her.

She brought out some paper plates and napkins and took one of the donuts. “Do you want one of these or some of this…” she asked, pointing into the box.

“Apple Cheese Stollen. It’s my weakness.”

“Let me cut you a piece.” Using a knife from the drawer in the counter she cut him a large wedge, set it on the paper plate and sat down across from him.

When she bit into her doughnut, she closed her eyes and seemed to savor it. Crumbles of cinnamon and sugar on her lips caught his attention and when she caught them with her tongue, he imagined licking them off himself. Breaking into his fantasy, she said, “You’re a Harvard grad, aren’t you?” Was there a hint of disdain in her tone?

“Does it show?” he said.

She smiled. “Not so most people would notice, but you can’t fool a Boston College girl. You guys were always easy pickups.”

Colin laughed. It had been a long time since someone made him laugh. Erin’s intelligence and wit surprised him.
“What do you do, Colin?” she said.

“I’m a lawyer,” he said.

She hesitated before she said, “You mean divorces, stuff like that?”

He laughed. “God, no! I’m in mergers and acquisitions. Pretty boring stuff, really.”

“So why do you do it?”

“Well, it’s not boring to me. Only to the poor sucker who has to listen to me talk about it when I get on a roll. So, I’m not going to talk about it, now. The last thing on my mind is business. So tell me what brought you to Chicago.”

It was as though a cloud passed in front of the sun the way her expression changed. She reached for her coffee cup – her hand trembling – gripping the cup with both hands. All the laughter disappeared from her eyes.

“I needed a change of scenery,” she said and took a sip of her coffee.

Waiting to see if she would say more, he didn’t respond. Her eyes darkened and sadness filled them, but she recovered her composure and said, “It’s not a big deal, it was just time to move on to new territory.”