Interview & Giveaway with L. Marie Adeline

Well, I like to say I’m a left-handed Gemini, which usually explains a lot—because both symptoms or signs of writerly-ness. Not that writing’s an affliction, though at times it might seem like one. I was born on a farm and moved to the city when I was four, then back to the country at ten, and have moved pretty much ever since. I have a sister and two brothers to whom I’m close. But I’ve lived away from them, mostly in Toronto, except for a few years in Washington D.C., New York City and a few months in Argentina in the 90s. (Buenos Aires figures prominently in S.E.C.R.E.T. Shared). And my background is Italian on my dad’s side, Romanian on my mother’s…so I’ve always felt a little like a cultural mutt. Oh, and though I love what I do, I’ll probably be a far more passionate and committed reader than I’ll ever be a writer.

Funny, a lot of writers will probably say this: but it was never a conscious choice.  I have just always written. I can’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t writing, whether it was short stories as a kid, or in a journal, something which I’ve done compulsively for much of my life.

Loorie Moore, Alice Munro, Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, Christopher Hitchens, Philip Roth, Jean Rhys, Sam Lipsyte, David Sedaris, Zane, Jonathan Tropper, Tom Perrotta, Nick Hornby, Karen Russell, Kate Atkinson, Gary Shteyngart, William Goldman, Mary Karr, Vince Gilligan…I could go on and on. The writer and book that I’ve gone back to again and again would be Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier. It’s romantic, gothically sexy, thrilling and terrifying. And I know it might not be a popular thing to say, but television has had the biggest influence on my writing, both watching and working in it. It’s helped me hone a point of view. It’s helped me to understand how you hold an audience/reader’s attention, and to deny its influence is ridiculous.

You’re talking about the erotic romance genre, I imagine. To be honest, I didn’t think about the actual genre, and its rules, and whether there were any. I just set out to write the best book I knew how, providing elements of what this genre expects; love and sex. But when it came to creating the plot, characters and dialogue, the components of what constitutes a book or story, I didn’t worry about genre rules. Again, I just wrote the best way I knew how.

My strictest writing ritual is getting at it early in the morning. As the day progresses, my mind fills up with news, TV, Twitter, calls, demands on my time. If I don’t wake up at the crack of dawn and get at it, I get nothing done later in the day. Sometimes I set myself a quota (about 1500 words) but usually I’ll try to tackle a given chapter or scene and go for about five to six hours maximum. The most I’ve ever written was about 7,000 words. Those are great days. Now the days where I kill a few thousands words always feel a little funereal.

S.E.C.R.E.T. Shared, the second book in the S.E.C.R.E.T. trilogy, brings us deeper into the New Orleans-based sex organization that grants one lucky woman her fantasies. In this book, Cassie guides a woman named Dauphine Mason, through her own sexual steps, a woman who’s nursing a big heartache from a bad breakup. But it’s still Cassie’s story, and the book deals with the loss of Will, whom she realizes is the love of her life. And how she tries to win him back. Will and Cassie aren’t done with each other yet. But there will be several more obstacles to overcome before they get their happy ending.

It’s one of those things that came to me in an instant. I know it sounds insane, but it’s true. I was talking to my editor about the Fifty Shades phenomenon, and she said that if I could come up with a concept and write it, she’d take a look at it. Cassie and S.E.C.R.E.T. literally “showed up.”

Can you share with us your current work(s) in progress?

I’m working on the third book in the trilogy and the sexual stakes are higher than ever, not to mention matters of the heart for Will, Cassie. The restaurant opens, and there will be yet another S.E.C.R.E.T. candidate who must learn to let everything go, in order get everything she wants in life and love.

Oh dear, that’s a tricky business when it comes to erotica…ok, let’s see…ok. Luckily I opened it pre-coital, in the middle, when Dauphine’s taking a cab to her hotel in Buenos Aires. She’s a woman who has never flown before, so her first take of the city was as thrilling for me to write as it was to experience for the first time. Music, food, dance and architecture, Buenos Aires is a feast for the senses!

I would do what I was doing before S.E.C.R.E.T., which was producing, writing and directing television; which is equally fun and challenging, but uses a different set of skills.

Just bought Cuckoo’s Calling and Dr. Sleep…love J.K. Rowling and Stephen King both. I can’t believe they weren’t on my earlier list. Am saving both for when I’m done book three and can go on a nice long holiday somewhere hot and do nothing but read, read, read.

More info:

S.E.C.R.E.T. Shared hits the shelves in North America October 15^th.

Here’s how people can reach me and find out more about the S.E.C.R.E.T. series.

Twitter @lmarieadeline (https://twitter.com/LMarieAdeline)

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/LMarieAdeline

And there’s a website at www.secretnovels.com

Cheers!!!