Monday, February 17, 2014

Author Interview- Maria K.Alexander

Happy Tuesday Readers, today we have with us the fabulous
Maria K. Alexander .




Maria, can you tell me three words that describe yourself starting with A, B, and C.

Hi, Angela. Thanks for interviewing me for your blog. The three words that describe me are: Ambitious, Believer, Creative

What are your three favorite things?

Chocolate, the beach, books

What for you is the best part of writing?

The sense of satisfaction in getting the story out of my head and onto the screen. To be able to invoke an emotional connection between the reader and my characters. One of the best compliments I can get is for a reader to ask for a secondary character’s story.

What is the worst?

Plotting a new story. It’s somewhat easier in a series because I’m building on relationships already established. But the initial plotting of the goal, motivation, and conflict is often a struggle.

Was there any particular inspiration for your characters or story?

The main characters in Untangle My Heart evolved from the first story I wrote, which hasn’t been published. My heroine, Kate, is from an Italian family, as am I. It was very natural and fun to create a loud-talking, hand-gesturing Italian family. I knew from the first story I wanted Kate to be a little edgy because of painful events that happened in her past. I needed a hero strong enough to see beyond her sass to the pain that was keeping her closed off from moving on with her life. I have a thing for British heros and pairing up an ex-playboy who came from a rich upper-crust family seemed a good fit for Kate. He has his own baggage and the combination of his reserved nature, questionable past, and her fiery attitude makes for an explosive couple.

I love the way that sounds. Will there be more books in your series, or can you tell us about any previous books?

I have two more books planned in this series. The next book focuses on Kate’s sister, Vicky, and closes the chapter on events that transpired in Untangle My Heart. The working title is Forever In My Heart, and I’m currently working on edits to submit to my publisher. Fingers crossed they love it as much as my critique partner and Beta reader do. The third book centers on Kate’s oldest brother, Nick. I LOVE Nick and so want to write his story. I’m working out the plot but feel an enormous pressure to get it right because so many people have commented they want his story. At some point, I’d love to go back and re-write the first story (Kate’s best friend and Edward’s twin brother) into a Novella. Their story is my first and the characters are near and dear to my heart.

Thank you for being with us today Maria, Untangle My Heart and Forever In My Heart sound absolutely beautiful. Your cover is simple gorgeous. I wish you the best of literary luck.




Blurb
When her marriage ended in tragedy, Kate DiFrancesco rebuilt her life, but has never gotten over the pain of what she lost. Seeking the help of an ex-lover ignites feelings she’s promised never to have again. She’ll need to untangle herself from dangers in her past in order to break the hard shell around her heart.
Edward Weston has a lot to prove, both to his stuffy upper-crust British family, and to himself. Working alongside Kate, a woman he had a casual relationship with, stirs unexpected feelings. Helping her family makes him realize what he's missing. For the first time, he wants more than a one-night stand.
When Kate is threatened, Edward must overcome feeling unworthy to protect the woman he loves and fight for the family he never thought he’d have.


Excerpt 

“Privacy is a hard thing to find around here, so you may want to lock the door. Especially when you’re wearing only a towel and my sister is on the prowl.”
“I’ll have to remember that,” Edward said, taking a step toward her. “I knew she was smitten, but didn’t think she would be waiting in the room after my shower. I was struggling with a tactful way of getting her out.”
“I’m sure you’re not accustomed to asking a woman to leave your room.”
He gave her an unapologetic grin. “No, usually not.”
“I guess it’s partly my fault. I told her I don’t have any claims to you. Apparently she took that to mean it was open season to pursue you.”
“Yet you stopped by. Why?”
“I wanted to thank you again for your help today. You dropped everything to come and help my family and that means a lot to me.”
He took another step toward her until he stood directly in front of her. “You mean a lot to me. I’d do anything I could to help you.”
She nodded in acknowledgement, not sure she could trust her voice to speak with him all but touching her.
“And you’re wrong about not having a claim on me.” 
His hands found their way to her waist. Her heart thumped and she knew she should pull back, wanted to pull back. But his blue-gray eyes held her in a hypnotic state and she couldn’t move.

Author Bio

A romantic at heart, Maria K. Alexander spent hours as a young girl getting lost in and wishing to be one of the heroines in the stories she read. Books gave her the ability to go to another world where she loved meeting new characters, learning about their problems, and watching them fall in love. 
Maria blogs about her writing journey with The Violet Femmes at http://thevioletfemmes.com. When not writing, she loves to read, bake, downhill ski, visit the beach, and watch romantic comedies. Maria lives in New Jersey with her husband and children, and writes in her “spare” time between juggling a full-time job and her kids’ busy schedules.

You can keep in touch with Maria at:

You can buy Untangle My Heart:
In Print from The Wild Rose Press
Available March 19th in all digital formats

7 comments:

  1. Welcome Maria, thanks for the great blurb and wonderful excerpt.

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  2. Hi Angela. Thanks for interviewing me for your blog! My heroine, Kate, is from a Italian background. Her family used to own a pizzeria. I love pizza topped with fresh mozzarella and basil. For anyone stopping by, what's your favorite pizza topping?

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  3. Hi Maria and Angela. Great interview. I loved Untangle My Heart and can't wait for the next installments to the series. My favorite pizza is a white pie with ricotta cheese, mozzarella, and spinach!

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    1. Hi RoseAnn. You'd have to trick me into eating a pizza with spinach! :-) I make a white pizza with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and rosemary that's total yum! Thanks for sharing.

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  4. Oh RoseAnn, that sounds delicious. I don't really have a favorite topping per say, I just love it all. Give me the works and I'm one happy girl.

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    1. Aside from most veggies (except peppers & onions) & anchovies, I'll eat almost anything on a pizza. I could literally eat it every day!

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  5. Hi Maria! Great post. I loved the book. I'd love to read about Kate's friend and Edward's brother too!

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