MC: Start off by telling us about you. Who is Lynne Marshall?

LM: I’m new to the world of writing.I started writing my first book, the book of my heart, in 2000, discovered the world of romance, began pursuing my career, and by 2005 I had found my niche and sold my first book. I live in Southern California with my husband of twenty-four years, and our Rhodesian Ridgeback, Rogan. I have two grown children, a daughter who will be getting married on May 12th (yikes!) and a son training as a medic for a special forces unit in the Army in North Carolina. I’m a rare bird, I was born and raised a California girl! And I’m one of six Americans writing for Harlequin Mills and Boon Medical Romance line.

MC: Do you have any hobbies or special interests? If so, how do they influence your writing?

LM: I have been a Registered Nurse for twenty-five years, which explains why I write Medical Romance for Mills and Boon. I also love camping, and though we don’t own an RV, my love for traveling definitely influenced my current e-book with Triskelion, One for the Road. I was thrilled to get a 4 Star review for One for the Road from Romantic Times BOOKreviews. My age influences why I like to write single title contemporaries with more mature heroines. I believe in love at any age, and enjoy reading about people closer to my own age. However, my heroes and heroines in the medical romances are always in their twenties and early thirties.

MC: Tell us about your book HER L.A. KNIGHT. Does L.A. stand for Los Angeles?

LM:Yes, Los Angeles Mercy Hospital is the fictitious medical facility where all of my stories for Mills and Boon take place.
Crusading nurse, China Seabury, wants to forget her past, but her scars won’t let her. The E.R. charmer, Physician’s Assistant Rick Morell, needs to prove his worth. Though off to a bumpy start, the E.R. adversaries soon discover what a great team they make–while on duty. And after hours, they finally learn the meaning of unconditional love.

MC: How did you come up with the idea for the book?

LM: That’s a great question, and I hope you don’t mind a bit of a long answer. Several years ago my husband and I were having some work done on our car when I noticed the young office manager. She had taken California casual to a new level wearing short shorts and a summer tank top. The scars and gashes on her legs could not be ingnored–she’d obviously been in a horrible accident. But she had no qualms about showing the evidence. when I felt the time was right, and I wasn’t invading her privacy, I asked her about what had happened. She said she’d been hit head-on by a drunk driver when she was a teenager. She’d undergone five surgeries and several years of rehab and was lucky to be able to walk again. Her story, courage, and pride started my creative wheels turning. What if, I thought. What if. And from that China Seabury, the heroine of my latest medical romance, Her L.A. Knight, was born.

MC: What’s coming up next from you? Should we mark our calendars?

LM: I have a July release in the UK, In His Angel’s Arms, which is currently in hardback and in stores in England in May. And I recently sold another medical, my fourth, to Mills and Boon, which will be available in 1/08.

MC: Any upcoming events, chats, that sort of thing.

LM: I will be participating in the July Literacy Signing with the RWA in Houston on July 11th, and am thrilled to be part of a workshop with two other HMB authors and two of the HMB editors at the RWA National conference July 14th called: Exposing the Truth About Writing Short Contemporary Romance.

MC: Tell us about a thrilling moment in your writing career.

LM: The most thrilling moment for me will always be hearing Kimberley Young, my first editor with HMB, saying those magic words in her lovely British accent, “We’d like to buy your book.” !!!! I continue to be thrilled every time I hear that phrase, but the first time was absolutely the best.

MC: Now for some fun questions. If you could have any special power, what would it be?

LM: Oh, I love this question. I’d like the power to reverse time! That way I would have started my writing career a whole lot sooner!

MC: Five words that describe you?

LM: Yikes. Let’s see. Optimistic, diligent, devoted, nurturing, and silly. (with an emphasis on silly, please. )

MC: Anyone who’s been to my myspace page knows I love two things. First of all, peaches. Do you have a favorite food?

LM: Peanut Butter! Laura Scudders smooth. I’ve got to have it every day. Fruit? Too many to choose from, but I’m leaning toward a perfectly rippened nectarine. (that’s almost a peach! LOL)

MC: What beverage do you always have on hand while you’re writing?

LM: Water! Though I do take a Chai Tea break around 2 o’clock each afternoon.

MC: The other thing I love… okay, I’m slightly obsessed with is flipflops. Do you have any obsessions? Collections?

LM: No obsessions, but I am an avowed bookaholic. I can’t stop buying them!

MC: What’s something that your readers may not know about you?

LM: I trained to be a dancer in my teens and early twenties. I had a true passion for dancing. I used to be a darn good singer, too!

MC: What is your writing schedule like?

LM: I’m a morning person, so I get my best work done before noon. I admit that I don’t write every day, but sometimes I go on binges, especially if I have a deadline looming, where I’ll write in four hour stretches, and put in well over eight hours a day. I do editing in the afternoon or evening, if necessary. But I try not to do any work after four or five in the afternoon each day.

MC: How can readers (or anyone else) get in touch with you?

LM: I’d love to invite everyone to visit my website: www.lynnemarshallweb.com If you’d like to get in touch with me, you can e-mail me from there.

1 Comment

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  By Christine London, May 2, 2007 @ 5:53 pm

  Thanks for this lovely interview with one of my favorite Romance Writer’s of America Chaptermates. Lynn is as delightful in person as she is here in written form. What a special talent she has, as well. All her success is much deserved.
  A dancer? Hmm…this bit is new to even her collegues. No wonder she’s so graceful!
  Once again Madison, thanks and cheers,
  Christine London
  Sunninghill Snow June 11th at Phaze.com

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