Please help me welcome Marian Lanouette to my blog today. She will be giving a copy of one of her books to a lucky commentor, so be sure and leave a comment for her.

Books:
If I Fail, A Jake Carrington Mystery September 7, 2012
Burn in Hell, A Jake Carrington Mystery January 18, 2013
As the World Ends, Novella January 2013

Thank you so much for having me here today, Cindy. I love your blog and your guests. It’s an honor to be included among them.

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

I write mysteries with romantic elements. It’s the puzzle and the steps required to solve a mystery that intrigues me. I love reading a good mystery but I love my romance too. So, both together is a home run.

Tell us about your current series.

My current series titled A Jake Carrington Mystery is about Lieutenant Jake Carrington and his Partner Louie Romanelli. It’s set in a small city in Connecticut. Jake runs the homicide department and now as the added burden of missing persons department. Each book looks at a couple of murders as we grow to know the detectives in their personal lives.

What inspired your latest book?

Burn in Hell the second book in the Jake Carrington Mystery revolves around Kyra Russell. She and Jake meet at a party and start dating. But soon after he starts to suspect things aren’t right with Kyra. She cremates people for a living (something I used to do.) As I did it years ago, my imagination always took off in different directions with the possibilities of the job. When I created Jake, I thought I’d have to use cremation somehow.

What is your favorite part of writing?

I love the first draft. As the story flows from my mind, to fingers and then the keyboard, it’s so exciting.

What is your least favorite part of writing?

Trying to sell and wade through the rejections. But I understand the need and how it makes the story stronger.

What is your next project and when will it be released?

My next project after Burn in Hell is released is As the World Ends. It also releases in January 2013. I’m working on the third book in the series, Mated for Life. I’m actually two-thirds done with the first draft.

What is your typical day like?

I get up, exercise, eat, shower and I’m at my desk for the next six hours writing, researching, marketing, blogging and/or answering emails. Then lunch and three more hours of writing or plotting.

How much time do you spend promoting your books?

It’s seems since my first book If I Fail, A Jake Carrington Mystery came out in September 2012, all my time is devoted to marketing. But in reality, I’d say I spend three to four hours a day marketing my writing.

What works best for you?

Believe it or not “Word of mouth” advertising. If one person loves your book they are going to speak it up to another and so it goes down the line. The important thing to do is write so readers love it and want to talk about. I want to stop here and offer a special thank you to all the readers that loved If I fail. You’re a great bunch. Thanks also for the wonderful reviews.

Excerpt Burn in Hell:

With her head down, she sat at her machine, waiting on the supervisor to come back—to unlock the machine so she could play again. More than anything, she needed to win. A hand landed on her shoulder, startling her. Jerking away, Kyra turned to see who belonged to the hand. Crap, not the supervisor. Joe Dillon, not exactly the person I want to see right now.

“Hi, Kyra.”

“Hey, Joe.”

“How’s it going?” Her host sat down next to her.

“Not good,” she whined.

“I’m sorry to hear it. You know you have a payment due soon?”

Double crapola. “Yes, I know.”

“Why don’t you leave the machine for a while? Come have something to eat with me?”

What could he be up to, she wonder?

“Why?”

“Why? Kyra, let’s discuss your loan payment over dinner, explore your options.”

What options? There weren’t any. All week she racked her brain trying to find a solution to the mess. Though a quiet guy, Joe scared her. Deep inside, she understood he could destroy her. Not a person she’d want to cross.

“Kyra? Please, no one’s going to touch your machine. Maybe a break will change your luck?”

“What the hell. I could eat,” Kyra hissed. Something had to change.

“How about a steak?”

“Fine.”

They got up at the same time, bumping into each other. Joe sat back down, let Kyra get up first. He followed her as she headed to the Trenton Steak House. Joe grabbed her arm and pointed to the private elevator that went directly to the entrance to the Whale Room. She looked at him. He smiled.

“What’s up, Joe?”

“I think you need a real break Kyra, so we’ll head up.”

Curiosity got the better of her, but she figured she’d find out what he was up to in good time. Then the fear hit her. Maybe she shouldn’t leave the floor with him. She owed the casino seventy-five thousand dollars. Behind on her payments, she spent three grand tonight trying to win her next payment. Stupid—how could I be so stupid? I should’ve made a partial payment with the three grand instead of gambling tonight. They wouldn’t beat up her up, would they? Tasting the bile as it violently pushed up from her stomach, scorching a path to her throat. Kyra couldn’t control the tears that flooded into her eyes when she started to choke.

“Are you all right, Kyra?”

“I don’t want to leave the public floor, Joe.” Kyra’s hands shook along with her entire body. Unable to control her voice as it cracked, her mind searching for an escape.

“I have a deal for you, but I can’t discuss it in an open area. We’ll discuss it upstairs, over dinner.” He smiled.

Oh yeah, she thought, the farmer leading the cow to the slaughter. “What kind of deal?”

“We’ll discuss it upstairs,” he repeated firmly.

“You’re not going to break my legs or anything like that. Are you?” she half-heartily joked.

“No such thing, Kyra. Relax.” Now’s the time too really worry, she thought. Just like the “trust me” phrase, it gave her the willies.

* * * *

Joe Dillon studied Kyra as they rode up in the elevator. To look at her, you’d never guess she’d lost control of her life. He liked her curves, her full lips, and the wild, curly red hair. Shorter than he, she stood about five feet four inches—he didn’t like looking up at a woman. Too many women today were taller than him. He looked into her green, green eyes, his mind taking off in all directions. Not now, Joe. Kyra’s not worth the trouble. He knew she had a son—her divorce a by-product of gambling. The boss told him this morning she was losing custody of her son. What woman gambles to the point of losing her child? Joe thought about the deal he’d be offering her, dragging her down even further. He pushed the guilt from his mind. Not my fucking problem. Kyra did this to herself. If I ever caught Camile gambling, I’d break her legs. Joe saw what gambling did to families. Too much heartache for too little reward, he mused.

Joe thought of the deal he’d lay on the table for her—two choices—wondering which one she’d choose. Neither was pleasant. I’m only the messenger. That’s how he justified his work. Blinded by greed, these people put themselves in this position with their gambling addictions.

Bio:
One of ten children, Marian took to writing to explore new and adventurous places. While her friends traveled on planes for vacation, Marian traveled in books. With an overactive imagination, it didn’t take long for her to start creating her own characters and stories. If I Fail, A Jake Carrington Mystery that released in 2012, is the first book in the series.

As an avid reader, she discovered mysteries by reading the Daily News as a youngster. Intrigued by the real life crimes, and how the police worked and eventually solved them, ignited her imagination beyond the ordinary.

An English professor marked her final paper with an A, but wrote a note that said, “Well done, though you’re not Virginia Woolf yet, so add a little action to the story.” That one line had her punching up the action in stories to come.

Marian has many plans (books) for Jake Carrington and his crew. She invites you to discover these wonderful characters and share your impressions at:

marian.author@gmail.com or www.marianl.com
Buy links:
If I Fail: Amazon:
MuseItUp Publishing:
Burn in Hell:
As the World Ends