Interview & Giveaway: Twice Cursed by Marianne Morea

UFI welcomes Marianne Morea Author of The Cursed by Blood series. Thanks for Joining us!!

What can you tell my readers about yourself that they might not know from looking on your bio or reading in another interview?

Everyone knows authors put a lot of themselves into their characters, either their true personalities or traits they wish they had. In my case, my heroines are very much like me. I’m no-nonsense, I have strong opinions, I’m a true 2^nd degree black belt in traditional Japanese karate and I’m wicked quick with weapons, especially nunchucks and a bo staff. But what people wouldn’t know about me, is that for most of my life I wasn’t that way. I walked the halls of my High School, invisible. My friends were few, and though I wasn’t bullied, I was ignored…so, of course, that left plenty of time to dream…to create worlds and characters in my head, the way I wanted them to be and the way I wanted myself to be. It wasn’t until I was in my early thirties and had my first child that I realized I needed to change. That I need to cultivate a strong, vital personality in order to teach my daughter to be strong…to lead by example, so she didn’t grow up lonely like me. I wanted my kids to see that anything is possible, and that you’re never too old, or too weak, and that the words ‘I can’t’ shouldn’t exist in their vocabulary. But that was a lesson I had to teach myself, first. My oldest is now sixteen, and she’s a strong, compassionate, determined young woman. You could say we both grew into that, together.

What do you enjoy doing on your down time?

I read, I love to dance and my family loves to travel. In fact there isn’t a place I’ve written about that I haven’t been to personally. Over the years my personality may have blossomed into that of a strong, independent woman, but the mold was set a long time ago for me to be a dreamer, and that hasn’t changed. So when I experience a new place, the flood gates open and so enter the ‘what ifs’. I’m also a huge ice hockey fan. Go NY Rangers!

What is your Favorite part of writing? 

Falling in love with my characters and living their lives vicariously through the pages I write. I love deciding their fates and letting my own inhibitions,(yes, I still have a few!), letting those stays fall to the wayside and having my characters just go for it.

Do you have any certain routines you must follow as you write?

Not really, but I do try to get the bulk of my writing for each day done while my kids are at school. I like to have quiet, and the luxury of privacy when talking to myself and my characters. I know, I sound nuts…but that’s part of my creative process.

What are some of your Favorite books or Authors in the Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Genres?

I have so many, it’s hard to keep track. I love Sherrilyn Kenyon,  KarenMarie Moning, Christine Feehan, Charlaine Harris (I’m a huge Eric Northman fan), Kim Harrison (If I could be any character, it would be Rachel Morgan!), J.R. Ward ( love the names!) and yes…Nora Roberts.

How would you explain the Twice Cursed to someone who has never heard of it before?

That’s a good question. I have found that explaining Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance to people who don’t read the genre to be a relatively daunting task. Most of the reactions I get run the gamut from the disdainful sniff of “you actually write that white noise?” to people whose eyes light up with interest and mischief. Mostly I just explain that Twice Cursed is paranormal urban fantasy…fun, escapist fiction with Weres, Vampires and Sex all wrapped up with a suspenseful plot that includes a twist or two just for fun.

What can you tell me about the world that the Cursed by Blood Saga  is set in?

Everyone knows that New York has a dark side, but the Cursed by Blood Saga is set in the darkest part of that underbelly, and the kicker is that it’s right there under your nose, in the most chic, fashionable places. In this world there are lines drawn and line crossed, intrigues and deception just like the human world, only here it’s infinitely more deadly and cruel…but there are elements of hope and rationale threaded throughout that keep their world looking to the future, looking for more.

Would you recommend starting the series at book 1 or are the books in the series able to be read as stand alones?

I’ve tried to make Twice Cursed a stand-alone book by including as much of the backstory as I could, short of regurgitating the story from book one ( Hunter’s Blood). But like with most books in a saga or series, to get the most out of a story and to understand the nuances and references that may come up, it’s best to read from the beginning. The third book will be called ‘The Lion’s Den’ and I will try to make that a stand-alone, as well, but again, there’s always something lost when you pick up a series in the middle. I would never want a reader to feel cheated, so I would suggest reading the saga from the start.

Which character was your favorite to write about? What about the hardest to write about?

 

My favorite character to write was Jack Cochran. He is sharp and witty, and the repartee between he and Lily would crack me up even as I was writing it. He’s also one of the hardest character for me to write, but I think the hardest character of all was Lily. She’s my heroine, and there are so many layers to her that she is the quintessential onion. Just when you think you have her figured out, she surprises you.

What Other Projects can we look forward to reading from you?

I have  six WIPs planned for 2013/14, including sequels to both my series (Cursed by Blood Saga and The Legacy Series). I also have an Upper YA horror planned for release in the spring. It’s called Hollow’s End, and is a blend of horror, paranormal suspense, and of course, romance.

 

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Marianne Morea is a New Yorker, born and bred, and for the most part her stories and characters embody the grit and complexity of the city. An avid traveler, she uses her experiences from around the world in all her books. There isn’t a place her characters live or travel that she haven’t been herself, and through her words, tries to transport my readers. Like most authors, her love affair with the written word started as a child with the books she read. Even today, she loves to read almost as much as she loves to write. Marianne’s favorite stories are the ones that transport her, that bring her to places and introduces her to characters that leave readers breathless…the ones that spark the fire of her imagination, allowing her to dream in the world of ‘what if?’ She’s always been a scribbler, and from the time she could write her name, Marianne has been making up stories. So it was no surprise to family and friends when she earned degrees in both Journalism and Fine Art, but after working in the trenches of Madison Avenue as a Graphic Artist, she decided to do what she loves most fulltime. Write.

Her dark paranormal romance, Blood Legacy, is the first book in her Legacy Series, and takes you from New York City to the Costa del la Luz in Spain, to foggy London and the romance of Rome. The story also takes you back in time 300 years to a place rife with conflict and brutality, bringing an historical edge to my vampires, their lives, a love that spanned the centuries and the search for absolution and redemption that carries death in its wake. Hunter’s Blood and Twice Cursed are books one and two in Marianne Morea’s contemporary shifter series, Cursed by Blood. The story is set on the east coast of the U.S., taking you from the rocky coast of Maine to the heart of New York City, the NYPD and the vampire underground. Revenge and the struggle for power all play a part in this urban fantasy suspense, where Weres and Vampires are forced to work together to solve the mystery of what’s tearing their veiled world apart from the inside out.

In the meantime Marianne is also a founding member as well as a former President of The Paranormal Romance Guild, a not-for-profit organization for readers and authors of the genre. She’s now a PRG Board Member and Co-Chair of the PRG Event/Marketing Team. She is still writing, and when not sitting ‘bichok’ (but in a chair hands on keyboard), she’s spending time with her husband and three kids, traveling to exciting, romantic places …for inspiration, of course! Who says dreams can’t come true?

Find Marianne and her books

Website / Facebook

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Twice Cursed
Cursed by Blood #2

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 Psychic investigator, Lily Saburi is no stranger to the supernatural. Tough as nails, she’s a hunter in her own right, a once self-proclaimed vigilante that has joined forces with the man she once sought to kill, and now can’t live without. Sexy, Sean Leighton, Alpha of the Brethren of Weres. Their passion surpassed every obstacle set in front of them, yet in the wake of a mysterious virus threatening everyone they love, they are embroiled in an unforgiving scheme of political double dealing, hidden agendas and assassination, with Lily and Sean as primary targets. To stay together, they are forced apart. But treachery follows hard on Lily’s heels when she returns home, to find New York City bathed in a series of bloodbaths. Baffled, the police have no leads, so they call in their last line of defense to work the case. Lily.
Thrown together with homicide detective, Ryan Martinez, dangerous sparks fly as the two uncover the undead truth behind the killings. Long hidden secrets are revealed, as are truths too unbelievable to accept when Lily is kidnapped, and Sean and Ryan have to work together to find her.
Revenge and the struggle for power all play a part in this urban fantasy suspense, taking you from the rocky coast of Maine to the heart of New York City, the NYPD and the vampire underground, where Weres and Vampires are forced to work together to solve the mystery of what’s tearing their veiled world apart from the inside out.

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