posted on April 8, 2016 by Marie Ferrarella

A LITTLE BIT OF THIS, A LITTLE BIT OF THAT.

by Marie Ferrarella

Cavanaugh or DeathIt has been four years since my last blog (Oddly enough, the first words in the Confessional begin the same way—except with a different time reference). One reason is that I’ve been exceedingly busy upping my book count (presently at 297 titles sold, 286 of which belong to the Mother Ship—Harlequin). Another reason is that until just after Christmas, I was usually busier than God trying to keep all the balls in the air at once. These last nine weeks, however, I have been housebound due to some reconstructive surgery I had done—no, not on my face (which would have been welcomed)—on my foot. I now understand the true meaning of the term “cabin fever.” It consequently has made me duller than dishwater after two recyclings so this isn’t going to be overly promising. But you are here and so am I so here goes.

I began writing because, back before the first woman burned her bra (and if you don’t know what I’m talking about, I am really older than you), all the heroines in stories ever did was stand around, wring their hands and do a lot of fainting (when you’re born without a spine, there’s not much else you can do). I wanted to be an actress and I wanted to play heroines who were brave. Faced with this lack of decent female parts (I did have Annie Oakley and Sheena, but those roles were already filled by Gail Davis and Irish McCalla respectively) I decided to write my own. I began small—I gave the Cartwright boys of Bonanza a sister (Kit) and took off from there. Since I had no idea what a TV script looked like, I wrote the episodes in the form of short stories. I progressed to my first novel, a  historical that took place during the Civil War. The  sequel took place with the same cast of characters during the Reconstruction. Somewhere along the line, I stopped thinking about becoming an actress and focused on becoming a writer. Specifically a published writer.

The journey from my first rejection slip to my first contract took a mere twenty-two years. The path between was littered with rejections slips and tears—lots of rejection slips and lots of tears. Why am I boring you with this? Simply to tell you that if you really, truly want to write—write. No excuses, no procrastinating, write. Don’t let anyone tell you that you have no talent, or that you’ll never make it, or that anyone who ever said you could write lied to you. All of this and more was said to me at one time or another. What saw me through all this was not an abundance of talent, but the overwhelming desire to prove everyone (except for my mother who always had the utmost faith in me)wrong. That and I had all these stories that were looking for an outlet.

Now I have one, thanks to my wonderful primary editor, Senior Editor Patience Bloom. I am also encouraged by Senior Editor Gail Chasan and if that isn’t great enough, there’s also Senior Editor Kathleen Scheibling. If I’m bragging, it’s only because there were many dark years between here and there where editors would buy one proposals and reject six, shredding my confidence along the way. Now there’re only the thrill of creating new worlds and populating them, the way I am able to do with my Cavanaugh Justice Series for Harlequin Romantic Suspense. What began as a possible five book series is now up to thirty-two books and counting. The latest book (number 31) is out this month, CAVANAUGH OR DEATH. And for that I have Patience Bloom and you to thank—every night of my life. I hope you like it.

marieferrarella.com

 

CAVANAUGH OR DEATH can be purchased in mass market paperback and/or eBook format for/from:

 

 

 

 

 

Marie Ferrarella

Marie Ferrarella

Born in West Germany, arrived in the U.S. at four, I began writing when I was eleven. I began selling many years after that. Along the way, I acquired a Masters in Shakespearean Comedy from Queens College in N.Y, a husband and two kids (in that order)---the dog came later. My first romance was bought by Second Chance At Love November of 1981. The road from there to here has a hundred and thirty-seven more sales to it. I've been published by Silhouette, Harlequin, Zebra, Harper, Bantam and Berkeley. I've been fortunate enough to have received several Rita nominations from the Romance Writers of America Association over the years, with one win for Father Goose (in the Traditional Romance Category). I've also been nominated several times in various categories by Romantic Times Magazine. I hope to be found one day---many, many years from now---slumped over my computer, writing to the last moment. But before then, I would dearly love to write a successful screenplay. My goal has always been to entertain. Entertainment Weekly 2015 named me the fifth most prolific romance author of all time---and I have since moved up to the fourth position, having published 296 works.

http://www.marieferrarella.com

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