Jennie Marts chats about her Page Turners series (plus a giveaway!)

 

Today, I’m very happy to welcome Jennie Marts, author of the Page Turners romantic comedy/mystery series. She is here to talk about the newly-released third installment, Just Another Manic Monday.

After the interview, leave a comment for the chance to win a copy of the book that started it all, Another Saturday Night and I Ain’t Got No Body. Clever title!

… 

1. Your latest release, Just Another Manic Monday, is the third installment in the Page Turners series. What else can you tell us about the story?

It’s Edna’s story and this character is a funny, sassy eighty-year-old who considers herself an expert on murder due to her extensive knowledge of CSI and crime-show television episodes. She gets the surprise of her life when her Monday morning game shows are interrupted by the arrival of John Collins, the love of her life…a man she thought had died years ago after being accused of murder.

John Collins is back, bringing with him a charming smile, a dog named Havoc, a second chance at love…and a threat of death. Danger surrounds this former bad-boy, and even after a lifetime apart, he still ignites a spark in Edna. A spark she thought she’d buried decades earlier.

This book flashes back to the sultry summer of 1955 as Edna tells the love story of her and Johnny and more than the weather gets hot and steamy. But the past has a way of catching up to you and a deadly threat has followed John to Edna’s door. Edna, with her sarcastic wit, a pocket stun-gun, and a few hare-brained schemes, is ready to fight for the man who still makes her pulse race.

Falling in love all over again, Edna must choose to risk it all to save the man she loves. But is finding your long lost love worth losing your life?

 …

2. How does it connect with the other books in the series?

My romantic comedy/mystery series is set in the small town of Pleasant Valley, Colorado. It’s centered around a wonderful group of women in a book club called the Pleasant Valley Page Turners. The women range from their teen years to their eighties and each book features a different woman and her story.

Every book has romance, friendship and mystery because in Pleasant Valley, dating can be deadly. These women are easy to fall in love with as they search for romance and clues while eating really great desserts!

… 

3. What do think people will love most about this book/series? What do you love about it?

I think the answer is the same for both. I love a story that makes me laugh, cry, and connect with the characters. I love a good romance with a happy ending. This series is fun because of the relationships of the women and how they love and support each other and how in each book, you get to know one of them a little bit better. Every book has its own romance, its own hunky hero, and its own mystery to solve, yet you still know all the characters. My goal is for each reader to connect with one of the women in the group and to feel like they are part of the Page Turners book club.

..

4. In the spirit of Desperately Ever After, I must ask: If you had to choose, which fairy tale character (doesn’t have to be a princess and doesn’t have to be Disney), would you be and why?

I love Tinkerbell. She’s cute and blonde and gets to sprinkle people with pixie dust!

 …

5. Spreading the word is one of the most daunting aspects of self-publishing. How do you get your titles out there?

Marketing is one of an indie author’s biggest challenges. I am really about building relationships and word of mouth. I love connecting to readers and bloggers and other authors. I am always trying new things to get the word out about my books. I have done lots of Facebook parties and blog tours. I am very open to meeting people so one of my favorite things is to do a guest appearance at a book club after they have read one of my books (so if you are in Colorado and want me to come to your book club- let me know!). One of the neatest things I have done was to participate in an auction for an elementary school and I auctioned off a chance to be a character in my next book. That was really fun!

…

6. A writer’s life is certainly not an easy one—from rejections to dwindling sales, to tough reviews, and so on. How did you get through the bad days?

It is all about the support of other writers. Writing is one of the neatest professions in that we truly support each other and I have an amazing group of writer friends in my town and online. We all know how tough writing is, yet we understand this bone-deep need to keep doing it! 🙂 When I get stuck or frustrated, I can always find another writer to make me laugh or offer a shoulder to whine…I mean, cry on. And if that fails, there’s always Cheetos.

 …

7. What is the best piece of advice you’ve received that you can share with aspiring writers?

I think the best advice I’ve been given and that I give is that writing is a marathon, not a sprint. It is a hard, hard job that takes a lot of time to do and a lot of time to see success at doing it. And there is a lot of waiting for things to happen, so you always need to be writing the next thing.

 …

8. What can fans expect from you next?

I have several things. This October, I have a novella appearing in a Halloween anthology with a group of amazingly talented women who all write romantic comedy. It’s got a couple of side characters from the Page Turners series and all the proceeds will go to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. I have a hot cowboy romance set in a small town in Montana coming out this spring with Entangled Publishing. And of course, I’m working on the Tuesday novel in the Page Turners series.

 …

In addition to her website, jenniemarts.com, you can keep up with Jennie on Facebook and Twitter (@JennieMarts). Her books are available at Amazon.

…

 

ENTER TO WIN!

Jennie is offering a free e-book of Another Saturday Night and I Ain’t Got No Body! To be considered, scroll back up and give your own answer to question #4. The giveaway will remain open until 11:59 p.m. (PST) Tuesday, August 12, at which point a winner will be chosen at random.

Best of luck to you all!

 

FEED YOUR BEACH BAG!

Desperately Ever After imagines what happened to our favorite fairy tale princesses in a Desperate Housewives/Sex and the City sort of way. It’s a 2014 NIEA Chick-Lit Finalist and an Amazon Top 10 seller for both Women’s Fiction and Humor. Snag one before the sequel comes out August 20!

…

Click here for Amazon US or here for Amazon UK   

…

COMING UP!

Next Wednesday, August 13, Laura Brown will stop by to talk about her debut novel, Lila’s Choice, and to give a copy to one  lucky winner.

Mark your calendars 😉

..

*** FOR EXCLUSIVE UPDATES FROM SKIPPING MIDNIGHT ***
SIGN UP HERE

…