Marianne Mancusi shares with us a bit about herself and her thoughts on writing. Don’t forget, she’s here all week, so stick around.
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Hey all,
I’m excited at the opportunity to be hanging out with you guys this week! Thanks for having me.
I guess I should start with a little bit about myself. I’m an author of ten adult and teen romances and write for three publishers – Dorchester, Berkley, and Dutton Children’s. I’ve written in a variety of genres: paranormal comedy, time travel, contemporary, and darker, sci-fi/romance mash-ups for Dorchester’s Shomi line. My first book, out in 2005, was a comedic Arthurian time travel called, “A Connecticut Fashionista in King Arthur’s Court.” My next book (out in September) is a post-apocalyptic pilgrimage to Disney World, called “Razor Girl.” Or, as my agent likes to say, Casablanca with zombies.
Why so many genres? I sometimes blame my day job. I’m a television producer for a nationally syndicated women’s lifestyle show called Better TV. Every day I wander out into New York City to cover a different story. Sometimes I might be cooking with a celebrity chef (usually in a restaurant I can’t even afford to eat at!), other times I might be explaining how to survive your child’s first haircut. I cover fashion, fitness, beauty, diet, cooking, parenting, relationships, etc. etc. It’s a blast and every day is different. I could never be bored.
I guess I just love variety and new experiences. In fact, I often find myself wondering what it would be like to be reborn time and time again—experiencing a different type of life each time. Maybe in one I’d be a poor single mom, struggling to make ends meet. The next I’d be a rock star or a famous actress, surrounded by paparazzi. I’d be a computer genius or a brilliant artist. A dog walker or a mistress to a millionaire playboy. All would be fascinating, very different lives to lead and I think it’s a shame, sometimes, that we’re only allowed to go around the planet once.
Which is why being an author is such a great job. You can explore different lives, delve into what makes different types of people tick. Have wild adventures all from the comfort of your own computer. Through my books I’ve gone back in time to Arthurian England, shot arrows with Robin Hood, danced in 1920s speakeasies, made out with vampires. I’ve been a video game designer, a magazine editor, a high school goth, a manga artist, and a comic book cat with superpowers. It’s pretty awesome when you think about it. The sky’s the limit.
Of course this is true for readers as well. By picking up a book you, too, can also experience a wide array of lives.
Which brings me to my question of the day. Out of the books you’ve read, whose life would you most like to lead for real?
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You can visit Marianne on the web at her blog and her website.
Check out her books here.
you perfectly illustrate why i’ve always been puzzled by the advice ‘write what you know’. why would i want to do that? i want escapism and excitement from reading, not same-old, same-old. so post-apocalyptic disney world sounds just right.
and your covers are really interesting – completely different from one another in feel, font, layout, color…
who would i like to be? daphne from ‘mr impossible’ or helena justina from ‘the silver pigs’, because rupert + egypt or falco + ancient rome = too good to resist.
That is an interesting question. Frankly, many of the books I enjoy have heroines having to do battle or go through quite a bit of danger and conflict before they can reach their “happy ending”. While the hardwon happiness is generally considered sweeter to reach, I’d rather not have those experiences given the option. Therefore, I would choose to be Ella Fairmont from Joan Smith’s Escapade. It’s a Regency romance with a bookworm heroine who wins the hero from three marriage minded young ladies, each of whom are admired for a different strength. Heroine also writes a society column on the sly.
At one time I wanted to be Anita Blake from LKH’s series. She had 2 men at her beck and call, but now she must be sore all the time from the horny ardor she has going on.
Katie I was so going to say that seriously! Now she has all the hotz menz to love on her and anyone who thinks she’s a fraud goes straight to H E double L~!
Okay then I’ll take Merry by LKH. I mean how can you go wrong there?
Outside of LKH I would like to be Jess in Lord of Scoundrel she had some good times with Dain and I bet her life gets easier now ;0)
Hmm… I’d love to go into the future and lead Eve Dallas’ life. I could handle having Roarke as my husband and live in the luxury he affords plus. I’d live to be a kick*ass heroine.
Wow! What a busy life you have!
There are 2 series that I love to read and I wouldn’t mind leading either of the heroines lives: Anna Pigeon from Nevada Barr’s books or Jacobia Tiptree from Sarah Graves series.
Both live fairly “real” lives.
I wanna be Jaz from the Jaz Parks series by Jennifer Rardin! I loves her books. And Jaz totally rocks, plus she’s with Vayl, super hot vampire!
Hey guys! Good picks! And I totally know what you mean – heroines often go through a lot before their HEAs! But still – such adventures! And maybe worth it — if you knew beforehand it’d all work out in the end. 😉
As far as in my own books, I would have loved being fashion editor Kat Jones in A Connecticut Fashionista in King Arthur’s Court. She gets to go back in time and hang out in a medieval castle and fall in love with the sexy Lancelot. Yum!!
For other books – I’d love to be Ash’s heroine in Archeron!!!! (Whoever she might turn out to be!!)
Marianne
I also want to be Cat from Jeaniene Frost’s Vampire Huntress series! She is a redhead, kicks major ass and has an undead lover who is hawt!
I’d have to go with Eve Dallas, too. I really, really want an Autochef, and Roarke, and flying cars, and Roarke, and all that lovely money, and Roarke, and..uhm, Roarke!
Plus, like Ann M. said, she’s totally kick-ass!
Lol. A Connecticut Fanshionista in King Arthur’s court? I love that title :-D.
Whosel ife I’d like to lead?? Jeez, what a question. I think my lfie is pretty boring, so I think I’d like to be Stephanie Plum for a change. Guaranteed action. Knowing you’ll never get killed (she doesn’t know it but we do!). Sexy shoes in my wardrobe. Sweets and cakes all day long. And the men. Gosh, the men. The chance to play with Ranger. Yes, I want to be Stephanie!
Mary M.
Gosh it’s hard to pick just one heroine who’s life I’d want to steal…maybe Meredith Bancroft when she marries Matt Farrell from JM’s Paradise or maybe Alex from JM’s
Something Wonderful, can you guys imagine me as a Duchess? How awesome would that be seriously?
Oh to dream…but wow, what a great post Marianne. Thanks for coming by and hanging with us. Your job sounds so exciting, maybe I’d want to be you. Have you ever cooked with cutie patootie Tyler Florence yet? Let me know if you do. =)
Marriane, your life sounds fascinating! It’s always intriguing to learn why authors started to write/what motivates them to write. Thank you for sharing that with us. As for what character I’d want to be in real life, hm…I don’t know. Elizabeth Bennett might be cool because she always knows just what to say and is so witty about it; she’s loyal to friends and a wonderful sister – all good qualities. But that style of living could get old fast. I can’t think of anyone else I’d like to be yet – maybe she hasn’t been written – so I guess I’ll have to make do with being me for now.
Off the subject, my younger daughter is totally anime/manga obsessed and has some great ideas for stories, but insists that only Japanese writers/artists can create anime. It’s nice to see that you’ve done that – perhaps I can use this to encourage her to continue doing it herself. I think I’m going to have to get your book for her – and for me, too. I’m not usually into manga, but I love the cover of yours. it looks like an intriguing read.