Louise Marley Interview

I’ve been incredibly lucky again to be able to interview another of my favourite authors the lovely Louise Marley. Her ebooks are perfect for this sort of weather either curling up on the sofa while it thunders outside or just lazing in a hammock in the hot sunshine I would highly recommend them! She now has four books written and after her answers to the questions below I cannot wait till the 5^th is out! For 77p head over and see what you think!  

I discovered your writing through ebooks and your current book Breathless is only available currently as an ebook. Do your sales tend to be higher through eink rather than paper?

The sales of my ebooks are way, way higher than those in print. This is probably because my first three books were originally published as paperbacks about 10 years ago and are not easy to find. I obtained the rights to these books and republished them as ebooks - revised, updated and with new covers. Their success took me completely by surprise. As I’d had no luck finding a publisher for Breathless, I decided to go ahead and publish that as an ebook too.

I tend to buy your books as soon as they’re available.  When is your book about Natalie likely to be out?

My latest book, Nemesis, will be published in August. This is the one about Natalie, who is obsessed with finding out who killed her sister fifteen years previously.

Are you planning on any sequels to your books?

I have ideas for sequels to both Why Do Fools Fall in Love and Breathless - it’s finding the time to write them! The sequel to Breathless will be about Phyllis Halfpenny, the elder sister of Selma and Connie, who was mentioned but never seen. We’ll also find out more about the mysterious highwayman, Matthew Elliott.

Do you ever get confused for the Science Fiction writer Louise Marley? (Ps I prefer your books!)

The ‘other’ Louise Marley is a lovely lady. She writes science fiction, fantasy and paranormal. My favourite book of hers is Mozart’s Blood, which combines opera with vampires. As Louise is based in America and we both write for very different genres, there wasn’t really a problem until ebooks took off. Hopefully not too many people get confused!

Do you have a particular place to write at home? Or is it as the inspiration follows you?

I’m lucky enough to have my own study, which used to be the dining room until I took it over. Sometimes if the sunlight is at the wrong angle, I take my laptop into the kitchen. I also do a lot of editing on my Kindle. This I can do anywhere, even the garden, which is great!

How many hours a day do you spend working?

I write during every spare moment I have. ‘Working’ can consist of answering emails from readers, writing blog posts, articles and short stories, tutoring, reading the trade press and keeping up with social networking.

How do you get your ideas?

Different things will set me off. With Nemesis I was walking around a National Trust garden and I suddenly had the idea for a story about a suspected murderer who returns to the scene of his crime. With Breathless I wanted to write about marine archaeology. I love reading historical romances and I knew I did not have the patience to write one (all that research!) so I cheated and wrote a mini-story. This became the diary segments of Breathless.

Did you grow up wanting to be a writer? If not what led you to writing?

I seem to remember I wanted to be an actress! I have no idea why! Writing was always something I was good at, but it never occurred to me that I might make a living from it. When I took maternity leave from my work as an administrator, writing stories kept me sane. I then had some short stories published, got a book deal and haven’t had a ‘proper’ job since!

I adore reading books to relax and drift away. Do you read to relax or do you prefer books which make you think?

Because writing is my work, the last thing I want to do when I relax is read something that is going to make me think! I therefore read commercial fiction, which I love, mostly chick lit, historicals and murder-mysteries. I also have a soft spot for vampires.

Breathless

"Nothing ever happens in the seaside village of Port Rell, which is why Lainey Jennings is so keen to leave it. She’s only twenty-four, there’s so much more she wants to do with her life. Crazy and outlandish things; like ice diving in Alaska, explore the underwater caves in Mexico, maybe even search for the lost city of Atlantis. Stay in Port Rell forever? Talk about purgatory!

Since the death of her father, she’s struggled to keep the family diving business from bankruptcy. There’s just one thing that keeps her going. Her dream that one day she’ll discover the lost wreck that her father was so obsessed with, the legendary Mary Eliza - responsible for destroying Port Rell almost four hundred years ago.

When an old, unknown wreck is discovered in the bay, sleepy Port Rell is under siege once more. This time it’s from the media, including a team from the Wreck Raiders TV show, led by handsome archaeologist Zac Nelson. The villagers are quick to cash in on their unexpected popularity. But ancient wrecks aren’t the only things waiting to be discovered.

Because someone in Port Rell has a secret."