Champagne Musings: A little about DK Marie, Author of Fairy Tale Lies

1. When and why did you begin writing?

I began writing fiction in the winter of 2013. I love making up small snippet and stories in my head but never wrote them down. One day I tried, seeing if I could turn them into a full story.

2. Tell us your latest news.

Pertaining to life in general, or writing? If it is about writing, I’m excited to have recently signed with a great publishing house. J I’m also enjoying working on my Opposite Attract series.

3. When did you first consider yourself a writer?

When I completed my first novel. It was terrible, but it was mine.

4. Do you have a specific writing style?

It is sort-of messy plotting. I write up character development sheets on each main character. Then I make a rough outline of the book. During all of this, I’m also writing up scenes and dialogue as they come to me. Needless to say, my notes are a mess.

5. How did you come up with the title?

I had a hard time coming up with a title for Fairy Tale Lies. I not only wanted to show how neither character in the story believes in a HEA, but also how the old concept of a woman waiting around for a rich prince to save and love her is worn out. In this story, I switched the traditional roles and have Greta come from an extremely wealthy family while Jacob is working class. Also, neither saves the other, they find their inner strength within, while also falling in love with each other.

6. Is there a message in your novel you want readers to grasp?

Hmm. I guess it would be that a person needs to love themselves before they believe others will love them. In Fairy Tale Lies this is more Greta’s struggle than Jacobs. Also, that a fairy tale love doesn’t all look the same, and there is no checklist. People are fascinating and different, their path to love should be as unique.

7. Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

I tend not to describe scenery. I love writing dialogue and what’s happing with the characters. So, when I write my first draft, it is almost as if everyone is floating around in a white room. Don’t worry, it is filled in during the subsequent drafts and edits.

8. What was the hardest part of writing your book?

Time management. I love the whole process of writing a book. From the character development stage to the final edits, but everything takes longer than expected. I set aside time for each step but keeping on my self-imposed deadlines is difficult.

9. Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

My interest in writing brewed for a while. One of my closest friends tried for years to convince me to write, but I didn’t think I had a full story in me, let along many. Then one day I was reading an interview by Veronica Roth. She talked about how as a kid she loved playing make-believe, then as Roth grew older the friends became stories she made up in her head and later wrote down. This sounded so much like me, I thought I’d give it a try; take the flash fiction tumbling around in my head and see if I could make them into a full-length story. To my surprise, I found the words flew from my fingertips to my WIP.

10. Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?

Everything takes longer than expected.

11. Do you have any advice for other writers?

Study the craft, always look for ways to improve your writing, and most of all, find your signature style, your voice.

12. Do you have anything specific you want to say to your readers?

I hope you enjoy reading the story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

13. What inspired you to write your first book?

The characters inspired me. I love them and wanted to share their story.

14. Can you share a little of your current work with us?

Currently, I’m working on the first draft of the forth book in the Opposite Attract series. As in all my books, the stories are stand-alone, but the characters in each book mingle in some way. In this story, it is extra fun because so many main characters for the other stories visit in this one. Writing about them all is a treat.

15. Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

While all the books take place in the wonderful state I grew up in, Michigan, I don’t base my characters or events from my life. I like to have full access to the creative process, and I can’t have that if the people and events in my real life intrude.

FAIRY TALE LIES IS NOW AVAILIBLE!

She's sweet. He’s sexy. Together they're scorching sensuality.

Greta and Jacob aren’t looking for love, but when they meet, their attraction is white hot, melting away all self-restraint.

Both times.

The first is a stormy spring afternoon, spent indulging in each other’s bodies. When they’re abruptly interrupted, they part ways convinced they’re nothing more than an erotic chapter in the other’s life.

However, when they unexpectedly meet again, Jacob isn’t willing to let Greta slip away this time. He convinces her to give them a chance.

Lust turns to love, but resentments fester. Jacob’s convinced Greta will never see him as anything more than a blue-collar nobody. A temporary indulgence. Greta fears she isn’t strong enough to stand against both her family’s scorn and Jacob’s growing anger.

As tempers flare and passions deepen, they have to decide if their love is strong enough to shatter the cynicism and misconceptions of what it means to be each other’s fairy tale ending.

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