Marin Thomas Author Interview ~ JeanBookNerd

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Marin Thomas is an ward-winning author of over forty romance novels for Harlequin Books and Tule Publishing Group as well as her own Indie titles. She also writes romantic women's fiction for Berkley Books. Marin grew up in Janesville, Wisconsin, where she was inducted into the Janesville Sports Hall of Fame for being the city’s first female athlete to receive a Division I basketball scholarship. Marin played basketball at the University of Missouri in Columbia for two years before transferring to the University of Arizona, where she played center for the Lady Wildcats from 1983 to 1986. During her time at Arizona, Marin was an Academic All-American and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in radio-television. After graduation, she married her college sweetheart in a five-minute ceremony at the historic Little Chapel of the West in Las Vegas, Nevada. Marin and her husband are recent empty nesters and currently live in Phoenix, Arizona, where she spends her free time junk hunting and researching ghost tours.

Was there a defining moment during your youth when you realized you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always been an avid reader and I loved writing research papers in high school and college, but it wasn’t until college that I jumped into fiction writing. I took a creative writing class as an elective—who does that? I spent more time doing homework for that class than in all of my others classes combined and I loved every minute of it. My short stories received praise from my instructor as well as the classmates who’d critiqued my work. At the end of the semester the teacher pulled me aside and encouraged me to continue writing. She said no matter what career path I chose, I should make time to write. It wasn’t until I had my first child and became a stay-at-home mom that I pulled out those short stories from college and began writing with the intent of becoming published.

Beyond your own work (of course), what is your all-time favorite book and why? And what is your favorite book outside of your genre?
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. My mother passed her love of reading on to me and this was the last book she and I read together and discussed before she passed away in 2006. A favorite book of mine that I read at least once a year is the Rules of Life by Richard Templar.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received from another author?
You can’t please every reader so don’t try to. Write your book the way you believe it should be written and it will connect with the readers it’s supposed to.

In your new book; THE FUTURE SHE LEFT BEHIND, can you tell my Book Nerd community a little about it?
The Future She Left Behind is a story about a woman who has lost herself in marriage, motherhood and caring for others. Along the way, she also lost her art, the very thing that drove her from her hometown decades earlier. When Katelyn Chandler’s life goes off the rails and her husband files for a divorce, she’s forced to start over and live life for herself. But starting over gets complicated when her mother-in-law insists on coming along for the ride.

Katelyn returns to Little Springs, Texas where the proud matrons of the town—her mother and an old flame—show Katelyn what life could have been like if she hadn’t been so desperate for something different all those years ago. And Katelyn isn’t the only one changing. Her mother and mother-in-law also find their inner selves in ways they never would have imagined.

The Future She Left Behind is filled with strong women, quirky, heart-warming characters and stresses the importance of family, friendships and finding your roots.

What part of Katelyn did you enjoy writing the most?
I had fun writing Katelyn’s relationship with her mother-in-law. Don’t get me wrong. I love my mother-in-law, but I should have known I was in for a wild ride with the lady when my husband confessed that one of the reasons he was so attracted to me when we met was because I had nothing in common with his mother.

What was the most surprising thing you learned in creating Jackson?
That he was able to forgive his mother for abandoning him as a child and that he found the strength to let her back into his to life.

What are some of your current and future projects that you can share with us?
I’m finishing up two contemporary romances, scheduled for release in 2018 and then I’m digging out a book I began writing years ago but had put aside when I got too busy writing Harlequin romances. This story is a light-hearted, action-adventure with my trademark whacky sense of humor, a great cast of geriatric characters and an opposites-attract love story.

If you could introduce one of your characters to any character from another book, who would it be and why?
I’d introduce the wealthy mother-in-law Shirley Pratt in The Future She Left Behind, to Hank McArthur, the cranky old rancher who lives in Unforgiven, Oklahoma, in The Promise of Forgiveness. I’d love to see those two butt heads.

What’s the best advice you can give writers to help them develop their own unique voice and style?
What helped me develop my writing voice and style was my ability to draw on my own life experiences. I don’t try to be someone I’m not and I don’t try to write like I’m someone I’m not. I’m a blue-collar girl at heart and my life experiences…the people I associate with… those I grew up with…are salt of the earth folks. They aren’t perfect people. They’ve made lots of mistakes in life, but they’re people with big hearts. These are the people I care about and write about.

What's the most memorable summer job you've ever had?
During a summer break from college I worked the night shift in a non air-conditioned factory that made fuzzy bathroom rugs. The machine I operated sported a warning sign with an image of a man’s severed arm—lest you fall asleep at 3:00 a.m. while operating this machine. After my shift ended at 7:30 a.m. I had to walk through the department that applied the non-slip rubber backing on the rugs. By the time I got to the exit I was high from sniffing the glue fumes in the air.

What would be harder for you, to tell someone you love them or that you do not love them back?
It would be more difficult to tell someone I do not love them back. I don’t like hurting people’s feelings.

What decade during the last century would you have chosen to be a teenager?
I’d stay in the 70’s before computers and cell phones. Did I forget to tell you my nickname is Vintage Marin :)

One woman's journey home gets derailed by her soon-to-be ex-mother-in-law in a novel filled with humor, small-town charm, rekindled love, and the resilient ties of family.

Cast aside by her cheating husband, Katelyn Chandler is ready to pack it all in and drive home to Little Springs, Texas. She wants a chance to regroup, reconnect with her mother, and get back to her art.

But Shirley Pratt--master manipulator, elitist snob, and Katelyn's terror of a live-in monster-in-law--has other ideas. Shirley insists on joining Katelyn's trip after her son tries to pack her off to a retirement community. Katelyn has no choice but to play peacekeeper between the ornery old woman and the proud matrons of Little Springs. Yet the small town seems to be changing Shirley. And as Katelyn weighs the wisdom of picking up where she left off with Jackson Mendoza, the town bad boy and her high school sweetheart, she must find a way to believe in the strength of her dreams.

Praise for THE FUTURE SHE LEFT BEHIND

“A deeply emotional story about family ties, second chances, and the pleasures of taking life one day at a time. Beautiful.” —Jane Porter, USA Today bestselling author of It’s You

"Characters who feel like neighbors, a quirky small-town setting, a snooty mother-in-law, a heroine coming into her own and a smokin’-hot leading man are ideal ingredients for a story that readers will find difficult to put down. A book-club worthy reminder that family can be found in unexpected places." —RT Book Reviews (starred review)

Praise for THE PROMISE OF FORGIVENESS

“There’s a big promise in this book: love, redemption, and a story so gripping I couldn’t put it down.” —Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Silver Linings

“A compelling story of forgiveness with a warm heart at its center. You won’t want to put it down!” —Joan Johnston, New York Times bestselling author of Shameless

“Resonates with the power of redemption and absolution while exploring the idea of choosing your own family. A complex novel that examines the mother-daughter bond and the lengths a person will go to to be forgiven.” —Kate Moretti, New York Times bestselling author of Thought I Knew You

“A heartfelt novel of mysteries hidden in lonely hearts. Marin Thomas gives us characters that jump off the page, people we root for and who dare to reach for love. A keeper!” —Curtiss Ann Matlock, USA Today bestselling author of Love in a Small Town

“The Promise of Forgiveness takes a heartfelt look at the complexities inherent in familial relationships. It’s authentic and poignant, and will have you turning pages well past bedtime.” —Emily Liebert, author of Some Women

You can purchase The Future She Left Behind at the following Retailers: