Hello Marianne, and welcome back to Fallen Angel Reviews.

Thank you, I’m happy to be interviewed again.

Please tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m really average in daily life. I work during the day on the publishing business and write after hours. I have two kids, twin three-year-old girls, and a husband of eleven years.

I am part owner of Venus Press, and I do the website, editing, submissions and other management stuff. I also coordinate the special lines like Sons of Zeus. Oh, tough to be me talking with all those good looking models. Don’t you feel sorry for me?

The last time you were here with Fallen Angel Reviews, Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf had just been released. How has your life changed since then?

A LOT has changed since then. I had moved on to Amber Quill Press and established a name in the erotic romance genre, and now I am involved with the new publisher, Venus Press. I went from a virtually unknown status to an award-winning author. Nice to know I actually have fans awaiting my books when they come out. The biggest change has been the series, Descendants of Darkness, and the unexpected popularity of it. I really didn’t intend it to be much more than a few stories of vampires to write between my “real” projects.

You’re a multi-published author, wife and mother of twins, a web mistress, cover artist and so much more. How do you manage it all?

I try to keep office hours for the business. Monday through Friday, 10am to 8pm is my time is with Venus Press in doing assorted stuff like cover art, website maintenance, editing, etc. Then after hours, usually early in the morning, I write. Of course, I take breaks during the day to be with the kids, etc. My husband helps a lot with keeping the daily stuff going, like cooking. He’s a gem. (Yep, he cooks. I’m not allowed to. I am a good cook, it’s just he says that is his domain.) Weekends, I write, edit, whatever. Sometimes I do a few covers. Yeah, I do work a bit on weekends, but I like making covers. I go out sometimes on weekends to writer meetings or shop with mom.

Describe a day in the life of Marianne LaCroix.

I wake up at about seven thirty/eight o’clock. While still in bed, I pull out my laptop and check email and then start writing. I write until about ten when I shut down the laptop. The kids wake up then (I know, isn’t that cool?) Then I work on VP stuff through the day. I take breaks to play outside with the kids, lunch, etc. I don’t sit the whole time behind my computer on my desk. Evenings after the kids go to bed, I either write depending if a deadline is looming, or I read through submissions. I always have a pile of those. Then I go to sleep. Boring, eh?

You’ve won so many awards and recognitions. What does that mean to you?

It is a thrill whenever an author gets recognition for a work they poured creativity into. I’m no different. I think the two honors that humbled me was the PEARL Honorable mention and the Romantic Times Reviewer Choice nomination for Descendants of Darkness, Vol. 1.

I have to say, getting these recognitions is fabulous for name recognition. I actually have NY publishers say, they have heard of me and my work. Name recognition, you gotta love it. But then when Ms. USB Owner says to me, “You’re Marianne LaCroix? Wow, we have people asking for your books all the time. You got fans here,” it is as humbling as any award.

From what I can tell from your website, A Demon’s Kiss from the Devil’s Talon Tales series is your latest release. What can you tell us about the book and the series?

A Demon’s Kiss is the first installment to a new vampire mini series I came up with, Devil’s Talon Tales. It takes place 10 years before the Descendants of Darkness series, and characters you met in those books will pop by for cameos, or hang around for a full-fledged starring role. Basically the stories are the tales of the owner of the Devil’s Talon, Genevieve St. Claire, and her affairs—the vampires who’d loved her.

In A Demon’s Kiss, Lucius becomes her companion, sharing the Demon’s Kiss, bonding them together through blood and sexual attraction. Readers will get a deeper look at Lucius, and introduced to new vampires to the scene, like Genevieve and Etienne. Diablo (from Mistress of Midnight) will make a promising appearance, which will carry on into the second installment, An Immortal Embrace.

Paranormal Romance seems to be your genre of choice. Why is that?

I used to read dozens of historicals, but then I discovered paranormal. I think that is when the adventure began in reading for me. I started reading time travels then vampires. I still prefer a good paranormal romance to historicals. I think it is the fantasy factor.

What appeals to you most about writing romance?

I can create the stories that I would like to read. I like a lot of adventure, hot sex, and characters you fall in love with. I think I fall in love with every hero I create.

On a side note, I like writing because it allows me to stay home with my kids.

To date, what has been the most rewarding aspect of your writing?

Probably the RT nomination and Top Pick honor. They were unexpected and I am humbled people liked my writing so much to give it such notoriety. The PEARL nomination for Best Erotic Paranormal was pretty cool too…and my book finished in honorable mention, which is definitely terrific.

If you could pick any man to be the leading man in one of your books…who would it be and would you want to be leading lady?

Hugh Jackman. I love him. I am working on a proposal for a novel called Devil in the Dark and only Hugh can be that dark vampire hero. Heck yeah, I would love to be his leading lady. Who wouldn’t after that love scene in Xmen2? Or any other movie with him in it for that matter. I got Hugh on the brain these days.

Do you have any indulgent behaviors one might find surprising? What’s your favorite comfort food?

I like a good cup of Earl Grey in the afternoon. I like to do one-on-one shopping trips with each of my daughters. They love going to Wal-mart. It’s special time with mommy.

Comfort food is, of course, anything chocolate.

If you could go anywhere, be anyone, do anything for 24 hours, what would it be?

I would love to go to Italy and soak in the country—view the art, taste the food, drink the wine. I want to see Michelangelo’s David in Florence and ride in a Venetian gondola. I don’t want to be anyone else, just me….with my hubby by my side to enjoy all of the sites with me. But I’d need more time than 24 hours! LOL

What can your fans expect to see in the future from you?

More vampires and werewolves. That is what I like to write, and that is what my fans want. So, I am going to concentrate on those. And in 2005, they’ll get lots with the Devil’s Talon Tales series (A Demon’s Kiss, An Immortal Embrace, and A Vampire’s Caress), Descendants of Darkness Revisited, Descendants of Darkness: Damon, Dark Angel and Dark Soul. I have about two other fantasies in 2005 coming too, Dr. Heart Throb (Greek mythology) and Eternal Sea (ghost, in the Shadows from Beyond anthology).

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

I am concentrating on DOD stuff this year. I am in the middle of the spin-off series, Devil’s Talon Tales, and hope to do another as well. I will be finishing Rourke for the re-release of the first four stories at VP as Descendants of Darkness Revisited. (Rourke is an added bonus, and all installment—5 stories—will be sold as one download. It will go to paperback as well.) In 2006, I will be doing the werewolf series, Way of the Wolf. Fans of DOD will get a treat with a pre-vampire look at Lucius. (He is a minor character in that series.) I will also be doing more DOD, a new fairy story, Price of Victory, a sci-fi adventure Nighthawk, and another western historical, Indian Outlaw. I will also work on the Operation SpaceQuest serial too.

Marianne thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us.

Thank you!

For all the latest on Marianne LaCroix, check out her website.


Interviewed by: Jaymi