SPOTLIGHT: The Nurse’s Not-So-Secret Scandal by Wendy S Marcus

Today I'm excited to Welcome Harlequin Medical Author Wendy S Marcus to HarlequinJunkie....

Wendy Welcome and Thank You for blogging with us today and also for doing an awesome Giveaway!

Sara: Please tell us a little about you

Wendy: I’m a registered nurse, although I’m not practicing at present. I have three children a husband and a dog. I love red wine, social networking, and chocolate covered apples!

Sara:  What inspired you to write your first book? How long did it take you to publish your first book?

I started to write my first manuscript after I read a book I thought was truly awful and thought I could do better. What a long journey that set off! I wrote at night, after a full day of work followed by a full evening of carting around/feeding/nagging my children. I wrote for about two years (during which time I took a college class on writing fiction and studied dozens of books on the craft of writing) before my work got noticed during a Harlequin online pitch. Then I revised my story (which was my second completed manuscript) under the supervision of an editor for over six months before I finally sold.

                                               

Sara:  How did you choose the genre you write in?

Wendy: I write sexy contemporary romance because that’s what I like to read.

Sara:  Is your writing space messy, organized or somewhere in between?  

Wendy:  As I write this I am surrounded by clutter on my desk. But that’s mostly because I am barreling (like an out of control eighteen-wheeler on the downward slope of an icy mountain) toward a deadline. (That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!)

Sara:  Which comes first? The character's story or the idea for the novel?

Wendy:Typically I start with a vague idea of what I want to write about then I explore who my characters will be.

Sara: How do you come up with the titles for your book?

Wendy: Good or bad, I cannot take credit for my book titles. The editorial staff at Mills and Boon come up with all my titles. 

Sara:  What do you do when you are not writing?

Wendy: Honestly, for the past two years, it feels like all I do is write.  But that includes time I spend actually writing, promoting, social networking (my absolute favorite pastime) and on administrative stuff like updating my website/blog, responding to e-mails, and mailing out books. For a quick peek into my life, as I write this post, it is 1:05 a.m. on Monday, May 14^th. (I am so late because I spent a huge chunk of my Mother’s Day working on my current manuscript – in between a delicious brunch, opening presents, and a fabulous BBQ dinner.) Also as I write this I am blogging at an Australian blog where it is already Monday afternoon.

Sara:  Have you written a book you love that you have not been able to get published?

Wendy: I loved my first manuscript, which I titled The Tides of Fate, but it would require a major re-write to make the writing strong enough and the story good enough for publication.

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Sara:  Tell us about your Newest release

Wendy: My most recent book is The Nurse’s Not-So-Secret Scandal which is out now in the UK, U.S., Australia/New Zealand, and France.

Sara:  What sparked the idea for your novel “The Nurse’s Not-So-Secret Scandal”?

Wendy: The television show Hoarders: Buried Alive. (It’s true, inspiration can come from just about anywhere.)

Sara:  What were the challenges you faced in bringing this book to life?

Wendy: Roxie is not your typical medical romance heroine. I worried about how readers would react to her brash nature and tainted past. And Fig is not a traditional medical romance hero yet I fell in love with him. In The Nurse’s Not-So-Secret Scandal, my medical elements didn’t all take place in a medical setting. I delved into psychological conditions in a real-life setting.

Sara:  What are your current projects? Can you share a little of your current work with us? Is this book part of a series?

Wendy:  This week I will be finishing up my fifth book which is tentatively scheduled to be released in the UK in January 2013 as a 2in1 duet with my fourth book. The two stories are linked by twin nurses. In the first story in the duet, the hero is a wounded war veteran. In the second story, the heroine is a nurse dealing with the ramifications of her decision to undergo bilateral prophylactic mastectomies. I am very excited with how each of them has turned out!

Here’s the back of the book blurb for The Nurse’s Not-So-Secret Scandal: 

AUS / NZ Cover

The shocking secrets of nurse Roxie Morano!

Between family nightmares and a series of lousy men, nurse Roxie Morano’s life is a disaster zone. But enigmatic (and gorgeous!) new colleague Ryan ‘Fig’ Figelstein is ignoring her hazard warnings – instead, he’s signaling his attraction! Now Roxie’s bulletproof heart is at risk for the very first time…but dare she dream Fig will stick around when he discovers all her secrets?

To read an excerpt from The Nurse’s Not-So-Secret Scandal, or to learn more about me and/or my books visit my website: http://wendysmarcus.com/

Thanks for stopping by!

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UK Cover

One lucky commenter will be chosen at random to win a copy of the 2in1 UK edition of The Nurse’s Not-So-Secret Scandal which includes a complete novel by Emily Forbes. 


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