Interview w/ Marquita Valentine!

Woot! Yall I'm so glad to be home from vacation! Had a great time but man it's nice to have my own bed and see the herd. And even more exciting? We have Miss Marquita Valentine joining us on the blog again for a great little interview. So check out our chat and leave her some love. She's an awesome one! 

Welcome back to herding cats & burning soup Marquita! Always nice to see you :)

We've got a few questions for ya if you don't mind.

I've been reading on your Holland Springs' series this year and am just loving it. What got you started writing the series?

Oh thank you! Actually Glee, weird, right? An actor hero was right up my alley. So…Christian Romanov was born. 

 As for the Holland Springs Series, I knew I wanted to write contemporary, but wasn’t if I wanted it to be a small town series, or single title standalone novels.  I think I managed to do both. You don’t have to read them in order, but you can. J

Oh how neat! Never would have guessed Glee :) Alright so, if you were trying to win someone over to the series with just a quick little teaser how would you "hook" them?

Holland Springs is a small town filled with people who have epic love stories waiting to be told!

Aw, I love that Marquita and it's so true! I loved that show "Pop-up Video". Could you tell us 4 behind-the-scenes fun facts about your series? 

1. The Ambroses (a family that is referenced in every book) are loosely based on my husband’s family’s antics and treatment of one another.  

2. My books have two recurring themes: Forgiveness and Emotional Masks  

3. Holland Springs is a combination of two towns: one I live in and the other I shop in. J  *that's pretty awesome!*

4. Originally, I intended to base the entire series on the Ambrose siblings (which all of them will get their own HEA written), but decided that I didn’t want to limit myself to a family when I had an entire town at my fingertips, lol! 

I'm really glad you decided to play with the whole town :) So many fun possibilities! Now, if you could spend the day with any of your characters doing...anything. Who would you pick and what would yall do?

Gosh, Hot Builder (my husband) would be jealous if I picked one of my heroes and their heroines might not be too pleased either…So, I’d have to pick Jemma Leigh. She’s a secondary character in the series that knows everything about everyone. I’d ride around in her fabulous pink truck and go to all the shops in Holland Springs. <G>

OooOo I just saw you have a new series coming out! Congrats! Alright so, spill, tell us all about it :)

YES! Going the Distance consists of three, each with their own couple and category trope: best friend’s older brother, enemies to lovers and an anti-double makeover story/unrequited love. 

I had to go back in time to write the first book, DRIVE ME CRAZY, because readers kept asking me about Carter and Melanie’s story, but it couldn’t be a “marriage in trouble story”.  Then Carter’s best friend, Jake Henley showed up, and after that, the ultimate of NASCAR racer badasses, Chase Montgomery, decided to make an appearance (love it when that happens!)  BAM!  Going the Distance was born.  Drove All Night (book #2) and Driven By Love (book #3) will be out in the Spring and Summer of 2013. J

Aaannnndddd Think Quick!!

1. Favorite fast food? Waffle Fries. 

2. Oddest thing you can see from right where you're sitting? Pink leopard print wrapping paper.

3. Favorite smell? Fresh linen and freshly cut grass. 

4. Best cooking disaster? I've blocked it from my memory and commanded Hot Builder to do the same. 

5. Something that makes you do that "omg" girly squeal? Anything pink and sparkly ;)

6. Favorite super power? Mind reading. 

7. Go-to guilty pleasure? A glass of wine and a romance novel while taking a hot bubble bath.

Whew! That sounds really good right about now! LOL Thanks so much for coming by today Marquita! I can't wait to read Drive Me Crazy and check out the new series :) It'll be perfect for our "Sports Romance" reading challenge! Woot!

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Internationally bestselling author, MARQUITA VALENTINE, writes small town romances that are anything but small. Lisa Kleypas, Carly Phillips and Rachel Gibson are her favorite contemporary authors. Marquita met her husband aka Hot Builder at Sonic when they were in high school. She suggests this location to all of her single friends in search of a good man -- and if that doesn't work, they can console themselves with cheesy tatertots. She lives in North Carolina in a very, very small town with Hot Builder and their two children.

She loves hearing from readers. Contact her at marquita.valentine@yahoo.com

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Alright kittens. It's your turn! Leave Marquita some love! She's one of my local NC authors and a wonderful lady. Have a favorite of her stories? What to ask her another question? Or just say hey? Go for it!