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Today we are interviewing Marica Love, author of Married to the War.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
Marica Love’s passion for humanity, music, creativity, and living an abundant life is rivaled only by her love of children; motherhood is the root of her greatest successes.
Born and raised in Australia, Marica is the eldest of four siblings. She moved to Europe at the age of eighteen and stayed until the end of the Croatian War of Independence in 1995. Marica’s personal journey is candidly chronicled in her new book, Married to the War, the first in a series.
Once hailed by a newspaper photographer as “Nice, friendly, flamboyant and savvy”, Marica embraces those accolades and flourishes in every role she undertakes. She was the station manager, a member of the board of directors, on on-air presenter and program manager with WOWfm 100.7 for five years and was the producer of her television show ‘Unsigned & Inspiring’ on CH31 in Sydney. Music serves as an endless source of motivation and inspiration to her. As the owner of The Cake Pop Emporium Pty Ltd in 2013, she had the honour of serving political dignitaries, the Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard and MP David Bradbury in her store.
Marica is not influenced by other’s opinions and expectations. When the calling came to start over in life again, she embraced the opportunity. She is guided from within and will continue to bring her ideas to life with the influence of God and her Angels. A strong will, tenacity and compassion are virtues which enabled her to begin again and she is thriving.
She currently lives in Sydney with her beloved pup, Ellie Mae. When not writing or furthering her skills, Marica enjoys hanging out with her adult children, traveling, the beach, cooking, movies and pampering sessions.
While she continuously grows as an individual, passing on the gift of creativity and self-discovery is important to her.
Please visit her Facebook Fan Page – ‘Marica Love’ for news and updates.
Describe the purpose of your book in a few sentences.
Following my soul’s calling to write about my life’s journey. My book is about my personal experiences in a war zone, like everyday living for five years. Going from a free country Australia to a war torn country, former Yugoslavia to be with the one I love at the age of 18. It is about one’s strength, endurance, spiritual growth, learning, survival and more.
Who do you think would most appreciate this book?
Because I wrote it from my heart and soul. My book is long awaited and it is a piece of history.
What inspired you to write down your five-year journey through the Croatian War of Independence?
My children, my 23 year old son and my 18 year old daughter were my main inspiration and drive. There were a lot of other individuals along the way too. I love writers and successful artists who followed their inner calling and passion. I look up to them.
What was it like revisiting those memories from the war?
It was a huge emotional rollercoaster. I would close my eyes, put my headphones in and go back in time with my mind eyes while I listen to the music I feel at the time. I cried a lot, had scary moments, some fun moments, but a lot of lonely times. It was therapeutic in a way.
How do you think reading your book will impact people?
Hopefully, people will say no to war and spread love. I think people will find it interesting and unique. I am looking forward to hearing from my readers!
What do you have in mind for your next writing project?
I am writing my sequel, ‘married to the war, memories’ and the aftermath. I have already been asked when they are being released by readers who have enjoyed my first book. I am finishing my two cookbooks called ‘my recipes from Croatia’ one are cakes and the other are meals. I will be publishing 13 books in total over the next few years. Its my lucky number.
Is there anything else you'd like potential readers to know about your book?
Yes, there was one morning when it started bombarding and I sat my son on my lap as I listened to the civil defense sirens sound off. I looked at my son and said, ‘one day we are going to write a book about this war and tell everyone what we are going through.’ Well, that time is now, my book is born. Words are powerful, believe in your dreams and yourself. I believed we would survive and we did.
10% of my book sales will go toward animal charities my son and daughter choose.
Thank you
Love and light with many blessings I wish you, marica love.
More Information
http://www.lulu.com/shop/marica-love/married-to-the-war/paperback/product-22089958.html
http://www.lulu.com/shop/marica-love/married-to-the-war/ebook/product-22093067.html
https://www.createspace.com/5316200
twitter.com/maricasworld
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marica-Love-Authorpreneur/412850402089809
Today we are interviewing Peppi Hilton, author of the ghost/horror novel The Appointment.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
Gender: Female. Place of residence: Large Edwardian country house on the fringes of Yorkshire bordering with Lancashire in the north of England, UK. I am the owner of a property company (offering lots of inspiration for ghost stories and horror stories or crime stories) and I am also an Author. I have a daughter and three grandchildren. I also have a wickedly intelligent cat and she is absolutely adorable. We share our home with a long-suffering partner of many years.
Is there an author that had a major influence on you while you were growing up?
Whilst there are too many to mention, I would say Evelyn Waugh whose book Brideshead Revisited was an inspiration. Also Emily Bronte who wrote Wuthering Heights and whose short life was spent walking on the wild Yorkshire moors. The Bronte family lived in Haworth in Yorkshire in the early 1800’s which is very close to where I live and on reading her poems you can almost sense her soul walking on the moors. The Parsonage in Haworth, where the Bronte family lived, is still open to the public and perhaps one day I may write a ghost story which takes place there!
How long have you been writing?
About thirty years on and off.
Describe the plot of your new book in a few sentences.
An unsuspecting female photographer, working for a local estate agent, keeps her appointment at The Grange, an abandoned mansion hidden deep in a forest across the wild Yorkshire moors, unware of a distant family connection to its long-forgotten gruesome past and latent mesmeric presence. And when an evil spirit, with an unimaginable power, returns from the dead to exact his revenge on all who cross his path, Kelly’s life will never be the same again, nor will her sanity.
Who do you think would most appreciate this book?
All adults, male and female, and teenagers from the age of 14 years providing they like ‘scary’ stories.
What inspirations contributed to this book?
For years I was fascinated by a house which was shrouded by trees. Only the top of its ivy clad Italianate towers could be seen above the trees. Many years later it was offered for sale and all the trees were cut back so that the house could be seen. It immediately inspired me to write a ghost story and that is my latest title: The Appointment.
Who was your favorite character to write?
The evil spirit who returns from the dead.
Why did you decide to set your book in the Yorkshire moors?
Because I have always been drawn to the moors in that part of the world, they are wild and mysterious.
If you were Kelly, would you have kept your appointment at The Grange? Why or why not?
Definitely not, I would have been scared to death.
Did you listen to ghost stories growing up? If so, are there any that you still remember?
I always enjoyed Dickens’ story about SCROOGE. It wasn’t scary but there was an important moral to the story.
As a horror writer, do you have any exciting plans for Halloween? I know Stephen King had trick-or-treating at his house for a few Halloweens.
My daughter has now taken over that role, but I have often been asked to write short scary stories about witches and ghouls and ghosts etc., for their Halloween parties because she remembers all the ones we had when she was growing up.
What is your favorite book and why?
My library is stuffed with favourite books, but most of them are non-fiction. I like biographies of interesting people, many unknown ones, some writers, but never celebs. I love the letters which were written by many authors in the days that letters were the only form of communication and which have been salvaged and saved for the world to read; such as Charlotte Bronte, Patrick Bronte, and Jane Austen, but also William Wordsworth and many more. I have a particular interest in 19century social history.
Are there any aspects (e.g. character building, world building) of your writing that you've been practicing?
No, but I can offer lots of advice to others.
How do you feel about the increasing popularity of ebooks?
Wonderful, but I still love the real thing.
What are your goals as a writer for the next ten years?
To retire from full-time business into full-time writing.
Is there any aspect of writing you don't like?
Padding just to fill in the story, but I try to avoid that.
Have you ever had writer's block? If yes, how'd you deal with it? If you have not had writer's block, why do you think you haven't?
I am just the opposite, I have too many ideas and can’t keep up with them.
Do you write with a computer, typewriter, or pen and paper? Why do you use this tool? Computer and I write the story on to the computer straight from my head. I can’t live without them.
What do you have in mind for your next project?
I am already half-way through my next book called The House in Gallows Lane. This one is a typical ghost story as it takes place in a very haunted house.
Is there anything else you'd like potential readers to know about your book?
The Appointment is a very scary book, but holds the reader in suspense all the way through so that they can’t put it down. It is easy to read and there are lots of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing, so they can never work out the ending which leaves the story on a cliffhanger. It offers more than just the traditional ghost story, and if it is well received, there is a sequel. The book has had good reviews already.
An excerpt from The Appointment:
She
ran down one corridor after another, blindly fleeing in any direction
not knowing where she was going. It was like being trapped in a maze.
The fear was now in control and had numbed all her senses. She passed a
back staircase as she fled through a myriad of darkened passages, until
she finally arrived at another door. Her body slammed against it as she
slowed to an abrupt halt. She turned the handle, but it wouldn’t open …
More Information
Buy the book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/APPOINTMENT-chilling-ghost-story-malevolence-ebook/dp/B00KS9DC5I
Contact the author: peppihilton at gmail dot com
