Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Wedenesday Guest- Cara Marsi


Cara Marsi is a former corporate drone and cubicle dweller with a romantic soul. She craves books with happy endings and loves to write about strong heroes and feisty heroines.

She credits her love of romance to the old Thirties and Forties romantic comedies she watched on late night TV growing up. Cara is published in romantic suspense with The Wild Rose Press and has also published numerous short romance stories. Cara and her husband enjoy traveling and she loves to write about the places they've visited. They share their house with a fat black cat named Killer.

Please visit my website. I love to hear from readers: www.caramarsi.com

Suspense seems to be the theme of your books. Have you led a suspenseful life?
First, thank you for having me today, Paty.
Have I lived a suspenseful life?
I laughed out loud at your question. My life has been relatively boring and getting more so every year. Writing suspense allows me to live vicariously through my characters. I like to think I'd be feisty and a fighter when confronted with danger, but I'm afraid I'd cower in a corner. So I put my heroines in danger and make them feisty and brave even when they're scared. I love the theme of putting everyday people into extraordinary circumstances and see them rise to the occasion. This is what I did with my romantic suspense novella, Murder, Mi Amore, from The Wild Rose Press. I took an innocent American tourist, Lexie Cortese, and thrust her into a world of intrigue, murder, and terrorists. And I threw in a mysterious, sexy Italian named Dominic Brioni who might or might not be involved in the strange things happening around her.

Which do you prefer to write- contemporary or paranormal and why?

This is a hard one to answer. I'm very comfortable with contemporary because that's the world I live in. I try to stay informed on what's happening in our culture so I can write genuine stories about real people in our world. However, writing a paranormal like my werewolf romance, Cursed Mates, allowed me to make up my own world. That was fun and gave me a lot of latitude as a writer. But I made sure my fictional world was rooted in reality.

What are you working on now?
I had two releases within two days of each other: Murder, Mi Amore and Cursed Mates (from Noble Romance Publishing). Promoting these two books has taken a lot of my time. I've just completed a sweet romance novella. After the darkness of both Murder, Mi Amore and Cursed Mates, I needed to get back to the light. My novella is yet unnamed but it's the story of a struggling bridal shop owner and the sexy guy, the town's former bad boy, now a multi-millionaire, who comes back to town with an agenda that forces my heroine to reexamine her life and learn to live and love again. She teaches him to let go of his old hurts too. If anyone can come up with a title, I'll be forever in your debt. I'll even name a future character after you. Also, my 2007 romantic suspense, Logan's Redemption, from The Wild Rose Press is now available exclusively on Amazon Kindle and BN Nook for 99 cents.

Blurb:

Lexie Cortese is in Rome to forget. The last thing she expects is to meet a sexy Interpol agent who suspects her of being part of a terrorist plot involving a stolen diamond. Suddenly thrust into a world of murders, muggings, and kidnappings, Lexie doesn’t know what to think—or who to believe.

Dominic Brioni’s assignment is simple. Befriend the American and bring her to justice. Only Lexie seems the most unlikely terrorist Dominic has ever met. Sweet, determined, and direct, she faces life with courage and fire, a fire that sparks his protective instincts and a longing for something more—something he allowed himself to hope for only once before.

But that woman betrayed him, and his boss isn’t about to let him forget it. With his career on the line and Lexie in danger, will Dominic learn to trust his heart before they both get killed?

Excerpt
Lexie had started to run to him when someone grabbed her arm, pulling her around. A man, his face hidden by a ski mask, held tightly to her. Her shock ratcheted to fear.
“Let go,” she yelled, trying to jerk her arm away from him, but his grip tightened.
The dim light from the balcony above illuminated his flat black eyes. She had seen those eyes before. Holy shit. She was in trouble. The masked man grabbed for her purse. She screamed, and with strength she didn’t know she possessed, whammed him on the head with her purse. He staggered back, swearing, and slipped and fell.
Lights and freedom beckoned from the nearby Via Corsi, but all Lexie could think about was Dominic. Turning on her heels, she ran to him, slipping on the ancient stones herself as Dominic struggled to stand. But before she could reach him, the mugger caught up with her and grabbed her shoulder, twisting her around.
Dominic sprang up and flew at the mugger, knocking him to the ground. The two men grappled, rolling together on the cobbled street.
Lexie, her heart thumping wildly, looked for an opening to bean the mugger again, to give Dominic a better chance at overcoming him.
“Stop it! Stop it! Leave him alone!” The mugger ended up on top, and she whaled away with her bag, getting in any shot she could.
Shouts and the slap of running feet vibrated through the alley. The mugger swore, jumped up, and raced away, a few men giving chase. Several others helped Dominic to stand, yelling in excited voices, and gesturing toward where their attacker had disappeared.
Dominic winced in pain. Lexie looked down at his ripped, blood-soaked pant leg. “Dominic, you’ve got to get to the hospital. You’re bleeding.”
“I’m okay,” he said. “It is nothing.” Brushing dirt off his jacket, he turned to the men and said something in rapid Italian. With nods, they strode away.
Breathing heavily, Lexie disagreed. “You’re not okay. We’ll get a cab and take you to the hospital.”
He cupped her shoulders. “I’ve been through worse. I’m fine. Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
“No. I’m…” The full impact of what had happened hit her. The adrenaline that had given her strength suddenly dissipated and she began to tremble. “I’m not okay.”
“Lexie.” Dominic moved forward to take her into his arms. She held on for dear life, needing his strength. He rubbed his hand along her back. “It’s okay, Lexie. We’re both okay. You’re safe with me.”
She clung to him. It wasn’t her imagination. Strange things were happening. She had nothing anyone could want. She didn’t know who to trust. Dominic said she was safe with him. But was she really?

Buy link for Murder, Mi Amore:
http://www.thewildrosepress.com/murder-mi-amore-p-4345.html
Also available on Amazon Kindle, Fictionwise, All Romance Ebooks and other online sellers.

Buy link for Cursed Mates:
https://www.nobleromance.com/ItemDisplay.aspx?i=212
(soon to be in print)
Also available on Amazon Kindle, All Romance Ebooks, Manic Readers and other online sellers.

Watch my video trailers for Murder, Mi Amore and Cursed Mates:
http://www.youtube.com/user/CarolynMat2

14 comments:

Cara Marsi said...

Paty

Thanks for having me today. Your questions were fun and I enjoyed answering them.

Alison Henderson said...

Your story sounds fantastic! I love romantic suspense (although I, too, lead a pretty boring life). Congrats on your new releases.

Cara Marsi said...

Alison, thanks for posting. Wrting suspense helps spice up my boring life.

Amy said...

I love mysteries and the wonderful movies from the 30's and 40's--I'm so glad you blogged about this!

I'm definitely going to check it out!

Cara Marsi said...

Amy, thank you. I'm happy to meet another fan of the old romantic comedies.

Sandra Edwards said...

Cara I love ALL your books, no matter the genre. Every time I read one, I'm swept away!

Sandy

Lauri said...

I love old romantic comedies! They are the best. Two books, two days apart, I quiver at the thought of that promo! :)

Best wishes for many, many, sales!

Donna L Bolk said...

Wow, this sounds great yet another book to be added to my TBR pile. I'll never catch up!! I love that you named your cat Killer, I would expect no less from a suspense author.

Cara Marsi said...

Sandy, thank you for posting and for your kind words about my books.

Lauri, thanks for posting. I've found another fan of old romantic comedies. I knew I couldn't be alone. I'm not complaining about 2 books in 2 days after having a dry spell, but sometimes my head is spinning.

Thanks, Donna. I hope you enjoy Murder, Mi Amore. My son named the cat. Killer is a sweetheart who's afraid of everything. My son like irony.

Kat Duncan said...

What a great excerpt! The characters come through so clearly in just the short piece. I can't wait to read it!

Cara Marsi said...

Kat,

Thank you. I hope you enjoy the book. Thanks for posting.

P.L. Parker said...

Hi Cara - better late than never, going crazy with edits, etc., but wanted to stop by and say "Hi." Congratulations on the new releases and many sales!

The Word Place said...

Ah, Rome...the perfect setting for romance and danger! Sounds like a terrific read, Cara!

Cara Marsi said...

Thanks, Patsy, for taking time out to comment.

Thanks, Judy, for commenting. Yes, Rome is definitely the perfect place for romance.