What’s one quirky thing about you?
I’m a health nut, which you wouldn’t know looking at me (lol), but I love to read about health related science.
When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
I’ve always written blog posts as an adult or for fun as a kid, but it was when my eight year old daughter at the time said I should write a book about the story I was telling her at bedtime. I didn’t know if I could, so of course, I had to see!
What has been your best experience as an author so far?
All the friends I’ve made at conferences, online, and in group projects. I can’t imagine not staying friends, even it I gave up writing tomorrow.
What sort of challenges have you faced as a writer? How did you overcome them?
Motivation when sales aren’t there or it seems like it’s taking forever to build a readership. It can be a lonely occupation: just me and the computer screen day after day. That’s when I have to remember to get out, experience life, and let the motivation return naturally rather than forcing it.
Have you learned anything really cool or interesting while researching your books? What’s been the weirdest research you’ve ever had to do?
Oh man. I write romcom, so I’ve looked up some pretty odd things. The latest was “what fruits could a flamingo and a peacock eat that would give them the runs, but not kill them?”
What advice would you give to new writers in the field?
Make friends with other authors and build your community. They’ll help you when you need it most, just like you’ll help them. Don’t think you can do this alone. Oh, and if you’re looking to get rich quick, look elsewhere. lol
Tell us a little about your writing nook! Favorite tea/coffee/writing snack?
I have an office that used to be a sunroom in our current house. We don’t have A/C so it gets a bit hot in the summer, so I’ll take my laptop to the porch those days. I drink a big thing of water and I can’t have any music on while I write. Before I write, music is awesome and stimulates book ideas, but not during the actual writing.
Of all of your own characters, who would you most want to date?
Lol probably the one I just wrote, Remington Roth, a millionaire rancher from Wyoming, turned philanthropist.
What project are you currently working on?
I’m writing a series with my co-author Delancey Stewart, called the Digital Dating series. And I’m finishing the last couple books in my Sisters From Hell series. From there….who knows?
What’s next for you?
I’m going to take a breather and decide what I most want to focus on. Maybe a new pen name, or maybe a spin off….we shall see…
Author Bio:
Marika Ray is a USA Today bestselling author, writing steamy RomComs to make your heart explode and bring a smile
to your face. All her books come with a money-back guarantee that you’ll laugh at least once with every book.
Marika spends her time behind a computer crafting stories, walking the beaches of southern California,
and making healthy food for her kids and husband whether they like it or not. Prior to writing novels, Marika
held various jobs in the finance industry, with private start-up companies, and then in health & fitness. Cats
may have nine lives, but Marika believes everyone should have nine careers to keep things spicy.Tell us a little about your new release:
One Night Bride is a steamy small town RomCom about a vacation fling that turns into an accidental marriage.
Where did your inspiration for the book come from?
I grew up in a small town so that was the inspiration for the setting. I’ve always wanted to tackle writing a cowboy hero, and he was a perfect fit for the super boss babe heroine I had in mind. The two are hilarious and explosive together. Yum!
Did you outline the story or dive right in?
Always an outliner! I have to know where I’m going. I leave wiggle room to include funny scenes or side characters, but a general outline is a must for me.
How did your characters come to life?
I wrote a previous book about one of the sisters, so it was a natural to do a spin off series about the rest of her sisters. When your dad is the chief of police in a small town, the shenanigans practically write themselves.
Did you do any cool or interesting research for this story? What did you learn?
Yes! I have a friend (and the designer who made the cover for One Night Bride) who lives on a real life ranch so I asked her lots of questions about ranch life.
What was your favorite part of working on this story? What was the most challenging?
Favorite part was the hero. He was so fun to write. The most challenging was the family dynamics. Keeping each sister’s story straight, along with their significant others gets tricky.
What’s next for this story – is it part of a series? When does it come out?
Yes, this is book 2 of the Sisters From Hell series. There will be 4 books total, with the other two set to release later this year.
Share an Excerpt:
A throat clearing had me looking back upstairs to where Remington stood, arms crossed over his impressive chest. “Are you done freaking out yet or should I take a nap?”
Heat flooded the skin from my chest upward. I hated being out of control. I hated anything disrupting my timeline, my schedule, or my carefully laid-out plans. That’s why sleeping with Remington was supposed to stick to one night while on vacation. He wasn’t supposed to bleed over into my actual life.
I gaped at him, trying to come up with words to describe why his being here was putting me off-kilter, but all I could think about was how good he looked with that T-shirt struggling to span his muscles and the damn jeans that fit his thick tree-trunk legs like a well-worn glove. It hit me like a scathing review read aloud in public. I could get addicted to this man in the span of a single orgasm, and I’d already had more than a few with him. I had to get rid of him. ASAP.
“We need an annulment,” I stated, never more certain of anything in my life.
Remington barreled down the stairs, his boots a louder sound than my house had heard since I bought it six months ago. He barely fit through the doorways. The furniture looked doll sized compared to him. He didn’t fit in here. He didn’t fit in with my life. He had to go.
“Well, now. Let’s not be hasty,” he drawled, coming close enough to cup his hand on my arm. I pulled my arm back, afraid a simple touch could lead to…well, hell. He’d already taken me in a public bathroom and we’d gotten married, so what could a touch lead to that we hadn’t already done?
“Ugh!” I practically yelled, seething inside. “Don’t start that good-ol’-boy drawl with me, Remington Roth. My knees won’t buckle like the girls back home.”
He flat-out grinned, the a–hole. “I really wish they would. I’d like to see you on your knees.”
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