Welcome to this stop on
the Midnight Moon Tour,
presented by
Innovative Online Book Tours!!
Please join me in welcoming Marilee Brothers
to A Night's Dream of Books!!
She is the author of the exciting series.
Unbidden Magic!
Midnight Moon is Book 5 in the series.
Marilee Brothers
And now for the interview!
Maria: When did you begin to write?
Marilee: Although I've always written poetry and short stories, I didn't get serious about my writing until after our three sons were grown and gone.
Maria: Which writers have been your role models?
Marilee: There are so many! I love everything by James Lee Burke, Carl Hiaasen, Jeffrey Deaver, and Elizabeth George. Their creativity and use of the written language inspire me.
Maria: I am not familiar with these authors, but will certainly do some research in order to get to know them. If they inspire you, then I certainly want to read at least some of their books!
Marilee: Thank you! And yes, you definitely should try to read at least one or two of these books.
Maria: You're very welcome! Now, have you always wanted to write fantasy, or are you interested in other genres, as well? If so, which ones?
Marilee: Before the Unbidden Magic series, I wrote a medieval romance, Castle Ladyslipper, and a romantic suspense, The Rock and Roll Queen of Bedlam. After I finish my current book, I plan to write a thriller.
Maria: Interesting! What motivated you to become a writer of young adult fiction?
Marilee: It had never occurred to me to try writing for the YA market until I received a note from an editor who worked for a big publishing house. She rejected my romantic suspense but said, "You have a natural voice for writing young adult fiction. Give it a try." So, I did!
Maria: I'm so glad you did, too! What do you think accounts for the great popularity of young adult fiction? Not everyone who reads it is in that age group, after all.
Marilee: I think you've hit the nail on the head. Young adult fiction is extremely popular with grown-up adults. The books are shorter, full of action, and can easily be read in a couple of days. Most of the mail I get is from adults, not young adults. Whatever it takes to get people reading is fine with me!
Maria: I agree with everything you've said. In my case, since I'm not a young adult, either, I would add two more reasons: the lack of profanity and very graphic sex scenes. I'm sick and tired of reading books for adults because of those two things. So I've gravitated more and more toward young adult fiction.
Marilee: I wouldn't be surprised to see that many adults read YA for those reasons, as well.
Maria: Did any real-life person inspire the character of Allie Emerson, did she come from the depths of your unconscious mind, or was it a combination of the two?
Marilee: You know, that's a very interesting question. The concept for Allie Emerson was based on a distant family member who'd been raised by a single mother in a travel trailer parked next to a pasture. Her clothes came from yard sales and second-hand stores. She was picked on at school. If ever a person needed some magic in her life, it was this girl.
Maria: What prompted you to incorporate faeries and their world into this series?
Marilee: I felt I needed a deeper explanation for Allie's special powers other than the lines on her palm and the moonstone. I mean, the girl could stop the world from turning! It takes some powerful mojo to do that. Consequently, I developed a faery lineage for Allie from both her mother and father. It made sense to me.
And guess what? All four of my granddaughters are in the book. The hedgerow pixies, Maddie and Ari, are my littlest grandgirls. Pookie (Paige) and Meg (Megan) make their debut as water sprites.
Maria: Oh, that's cute! What a great idea! I happen to love the direction you've taken the story in, but some readers don't. How do you deal with their criticism?
Marilee: You're right. People either love or hate Moon Spun. (This is the third book in the Unbidden Magic series.) As a writer, I've learned to develop a thick skin regarding criticism. Readers are entitled to their opinions. When I wrote Midnight Moon, the last book in the series, I tried very hard to tie all the bits and pieces together, including the faery business.
Maria: How did you arrive at the idea of the Trimarks? Were you inspired at all by the rumored existence of the Illuminati, or conspiracy theories in general?
Marilee: No, not at all. Since I'd used palmistry to explain Allie's destiny, I wanted to take that concept, skew it, and make it evil. Therefore, all Trimarks have a full or partial inverted triangle somewhere on their palms. As you read through the series, you will also discover the Trimarks have a faery connection. They are evil beings known as dark fae.
Maria: What new project(s) are you currently working on?
Marilee: I'm about half-finished with my new YA book, The Blue Rose. In the fall of his senior year in high school, seventeen-year-old Gabe Delgado finds a baby on his front porch. Undeniably, his baby. And this baby has some unusual qualities. My publisher calls it "the magic baby daddy book".
Maria: Sounds amazing! I'm looking forward to reading this one, as well! I'd like to thank you for visiting my blog, as well as this wonderful interview!
Marilee: My pleasure! Thanks for inviting me!
Maria: You're very welcome! Now I have to hurry up and get the second book in your series, because I want to read them all eventually!
Midnight Moon
(Unbidden Magic #5)
Marileet Brothers
Trade Paperback, 242 pages
Bell Bridge Books
December 14, 2912
Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Suspense,
Young Adult Fiction
Book Synopsis
(Goodreads)
The Trimarks are planning an invasion. And the only things standing in their way are Allie and the moonstone.
All Allie wants is a normal life - friends, boys, school dances. Right. Like that's going to happen.
In two weeks, during the summer solstice, Allie's going to face the biggest challenge of her life, fighting against time to save the world from a Trimark invasion. You'd think the world of weird might leave her alone to plan how she's going to survive. But nothing in Allie's world is simple or easy, especially when she's attacked by Trimarks trying to steal the moonstone. Then Sammie disappears into the faery world of Boundless, and Allie must follow and bring her home, only to find the fairy queen, Luminata, isn't about to let Allie leave. So, what's a girl with magical powers supposed to do?
Fortunately, she has a team to help her, a team with special talents of their own.
All Allie wants is a normal life - friends, boys, school dances. Right. Like that's going to happen.
In two weeks, during the summer solstice, Allie's going to face the biggest challenge of her life, fighting against time to save the world from a Trimark invasion. You'd think the world of weird might leave her alone to plan how she's going to survive. But nothing in Allie's world is simple or easy, especially when she's attacked by Trimarks trying to steal the moonstone. Then Sammie disappears into the faery world of Boundless, and Allie must follow and bring her home, only to find the fairy queen, Luminata, isn't about to let Allie leave. So, what's a girl with magical powers supposed to do?
Fortunately, she has a team to help her, a team with special talents of their own.
Book Links
Author Bio
A former teacher, coach, and school
counselor, Marilee lives in
Washington State and writes full-time.
Her books include Castle Ladyslipper,
a medieval romance,
The Rock and Roll Queen of Bedlam,
winner of the 2010 Booksellers Best award for romantic suspense, Moonstone,
Moon Rise, Moon Spun,
Shadow Moon, and Midnight Moon.
Marilee is a member of the
Romance Writers of America, Pacific
Northwest Writers Association,
and the Society of Children's Book
Writers and Illustrators.
Online Links
For the complete tour schedule,
just click on the button below, which will
take you to the I.O. Tours website.
Once there, scroll down the page to find
the Midnight Moon Tour schedule.
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