THE WRITE PATH with Jackie Marilla

Jackie Marilla

In my series The Write Path, my guests talk to me about their books. Today I welcome author Jackie Marilla, who will, just in time for the holidays, discuss her novelette Always on Christmas with me.

Let me hand over my mic. The next voice you’ll hear will be Jackie’s.

1. What is your book about?

First off, I love to write stories that take place on cattle ranches in Hawai’i. Many of the ranchers here are Portuguese-Hawaiian and the mix of those two cultures lends itself to a rich backdrop for my stories. My sweet contemporary novelette, Always on Christmas, is a story of learning to graciously receive gifts. When Emma Sanchez inherits a run-down cabin in Hawai’i, she and her seven-year-old daughter move to the Big Island to start a new life. After Emma and Ally rescue a calf that belongs to Hank Amaral, the single rancher next door, Emma sees their relationship as an exchange of favors.

Emma doesn’t believe in getting something without returning something; Hank doesn’t believe in not giving when you have plenty to share. It takes a hurricane (literally) and little Ally’s belief in the magic of Christmas to soften Emma’s heart toward Hank.

2. What do you think attracts readers to your main characters?

I think my characters are likable because they aren’t perfect. When I develop the main characters for my stories, I fill out a three page questionnaire that tells their likes, dislikes, history, quirks, and even their favored word when stressed (Hank says dang). I’ve had reviewers comment that they didn’t like a character and I’m okay with that. If readers are looking for alpha males, for instance, they may not like that my males may start out as alpha, but they are all softies in the end. I love a man who is willing to change in the name of love.

3. What message do you hope the reader takes away from your book?

When I started writing Always on Christmas, I knew I wanted to write a Christmas story with a child who believed in Santa, a single mom who prided herself on her ability to raise her daughter alone, and a rancher who wasn’t all that interested in women until he met Emma. I wanted the story to be about giving from the heart and learning to receive graciously. It’s a story of swallowing pride, in big gulps, to do what’s best for a child and finding happiness as a bonus.

4. What do you think was it about your book that made it so easy to attract a publisher?

My publisher, so far (fingers crossed!) has published all four stories I’ve sent to them. I think the reason Books To Go Now is so receptive is that I don’t send sloppy drafts. I get feedback from five beta readers before the final revision and I pay attention to editing. Since I write romance, my publisher knows she will get a love story with three-dimensional characters that have realistic conflicts and a happily-ever-after.

5. Comparing the ideas you had before writing the book with the finished product, would you change anything if you could travel back in time?

What a great question! I don’t think I’d change the basic plot. I like the flow of the story and the characters that populate it. But, I seem to be guilty of a timeline error in each book I’ve published. Something like the scene is supposed to be in the morning and I have the guy dropping in on an afternoon hula class. Perhaps readers don’t notice so much, but I do after I’ve been away from the story for a month or so. Maybe I’ll just make a game of it—“Find the Timeline Error and Win a Gift Card.”

Social Media Links:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/jackiemarilla?ref=hl

Blog: jackiemarilla.blogspot.com

Amazon Author Page: bit.ly/amzn_marilla

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/jackiemarilla/

Purchase Links:

Only on Valentine’s Day

Amazon: bit.ly/only_marilla

Barnes & Noble: bit.ly/bnonly_marilla

Love Those Hula Hips

Amazon: bit.ly/HulaHipsAmz

Audible Audiobooks: bit.ly/audiolthh_marilla

Barnes & Noble: bit.ly/bnlthh_marilla

Lesson Plan for Love, Story 2, The Pancake Club

Amazon: bit.ly/lessonplan4love

Always on Christmas

Amazon: bit.ly/alwaysonxmas