Author Interview: Christine Marciniak

Christine Marciniak, is the author of When Mike Kissed Emma. Here is a bio in her own words, "I've loved to write ever since I can remember. And I recently unearthed evidence of one of my first printed masterpieces. I wasn't worried about seasonal applicability at that time. When I was a teenager I wrote lots and lots more and even tried my hand at acting. I'm no longer a teenager, and am a happily married mother of two wonderful children."

For more info on Christine, visit her site:
http://christinemarciniak.com

When Mike Kissed Emma by Christine Marciniak
Genre: Young Adult/Adult Fiction
Release Date: Available Now
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Pages: 176

Summary: Emma Landon has a plan: she's going to be in the high school musical and sing the most romantic song possible to her boyfriend. She's not looking for the lead, just a decent part where she and Trevor can dance together on stage. The plan starts to unravel when she gets the starring role, and playing opposite her is not her perfect boyfriend, but the school loner, Biker Mike. When Mike kisses Emma at the school dance, everything changes. Emma must figure out what is more important—the way things look or something deeper.

Book Trailer:

Author Interview:

1) Christine, when was the first moment you knew you wanted to become a writer? I don’t remember not wanting to be a writer. Wait, that’s not entirely true, when I was six I wanted to be nurse, but then I saw a TV show about operations, learned that blood was involved and that was the end of that dream. I started writing stories when I was around nine. And while different dreams sometimes came to the forefront, including being a television star (when I was about 12), I always wrote.

2) What inspired you to write When Mike Kissed Emma? When Mike Kissed Emma started out as a subplot in an entirely different story. A friend pointed it out to me and even pulled all of the parts out so I could see how it was really a complete story within a story. At first all I changed were the names and a few details. Then there were several major plot changes. Through it all it remained a love triangle focused on a kiss.

3) Are the characters in the book based on someone you know? The characters in the book are not based specifically on anyone I know. But I’m sure there is a little bit of a lot of different people in many of the characters.

4) What was the hardest part of writing When Mike Kissed Emma? Rewriting. When Mike Kissed Emma was re-written in its entirety at least three times. And by that I mean not just minor changes, but serious plot changes each time. Each revision made the story better though, and I’m glad I did them all. It gave me the final product I have today.

5) Just like Emma, have you ever had feelings for two people at the same time? Yes. I suppose you want a little detail on that. In my junior year of college I found myself interested in two guys and they were both interested in me. The first was a guy who I’d been interested in for awhile, and had been hoping he’d notice me. The second was a friend whose interest took me completely by surprise. On paper the first guy seemed like the better match. We were both English majors, we shared classes, we both wrote. The second guy and I had virtually nothing in common as far as hobbies or interests. It seemed like the decision should be easy. The fact that it wasn’t actually was a clue to what the right decision was. And how did it all turn out? Well, I’ve been married to that second guy now for fifteen years. (And I still remember our first kiss.) [Eleni: Aww! I love endings like that!]

6) If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in When Mike Kissed Emma? No. I think during the many re-writes of this story nearly everything that could be changed was. At this point I like it just the way it is.

7) Are there any new authors that have sparked your interest? PJ Hoover, author of The Emerald Tablet and Lisa Greenwald, author of My Life in Pink and Green are two new authors whose books I’ve loved this past year.

8) What book are you currently reading? Two books that I just finished and absolutely loved were Laurel Snyder’s Any Which Wall and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

9) Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers? First, I’d like to say that I hope my readers really enjoy the book, and thank you. Second, the one thing I learned from the process of writing this and getting a publisher is that you can’t be afraid of change. If I’d have stuck with the original draft I had and only made superficial changes, the book would never be getting any readers. I let myself be open to new ideas, just like Emma lets herself be open to…. (oops don’t want to give too much away.)

10) Tell us something about yourself that no one knows about. I’m a complete wimp when it comes to horror movies. I used to get nightmares from the TV commercials for horror movies. And it goes without saying that I refuse to watch them. In fact I used to get nightmares from the commercials for the movie Edward Scissorhands. I never saw the movie, but I don’t think it’s supposed to be horror. So basically, I’m a big scaredy-cat.

And thank you so much, Eleni, for interviewing me for your blog. I am really delighted to be here. [Eleni: No, thank you! Great answers to all my questions.]