Friday, January 18, 2013

Take my Heart Blog Tour, Interview, Review and Giveaway



                          

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Take My Heart by Marie Higgins

Mercedes Maxwell’s sister’s last wish was for Mercedes to find evidence against Kat’s husband, William Braxton, and have him hung as a traitor to the crown. Mercedes isn’t naïve when it comes to capturing traitors, because her own deceased husband had once been an agent for the King when they lived in England.

When she meets William Braxton for the first time, all is not as it seems. Portraying her twin, Mercedes knows this is the only way to get close enough to William to discover his secrets. What she finds along the way are little surprises she hadn’t counted on, especially when she begins to give her heart to a man who may be a spy against the crown.




Book Trailer

                       



Praise for Marie Higgins
”I enjoyed this book immensely. Each book of Marie's that I read is better than the last. I recommend this book to young adults and older who enjoy historical mystery, intrigue, fight for freedom, clean romance. This is the book for you.”
~~Mary Walling / Goodreads

“Few authors have mastered the art of storytelling like Marie Higgins. In this Colonial-era romance, Marie takes her reader on a wild ride. Every chapter, every scene, every line envelopes the reader's senses and imagination with passionate romance, deep emotional struggles, unexpected twists and turns, and neverending ups and downs. This was a hard book to put down and earns an unequivocal five stars from me. Thanks, Marie, for writing such great romances!”
~~Wanda Luce / Goodreads

 “Marie Higgins's Take My Heart is a stunning colonial romance. With well developed characters and heartwarming scenes, this book will steal the hearts of romance lovers and historical fiction fans. There are numerous twists and Higgins keeps you guessing at every turn as to who the real villain is. This book is a "must-read" for anyone who loves romance, history, or just a good story. FIVE STARS ALL THE WAY!!” ~~L.D. Smith / Kindle

“Breathless! From start to finish you will keep wondering, questioning, and hoping. You will root for the underdog, and smile as love conquers all. Great read. You won't put it down until you're finished!”
~~M. Henning / Kindle


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Author Marie Higgins

Since Marie Higgins was a little girl playing Barbies with her sister, Stacey, she has loved the adventure of making up romantic stories. Marie was only eighteen years old when she wrote her first skit, which won an award for Funniest Skit. A little later in life, after she’d married and had children, Marie wrote Church roadshows that were judged as Funniest and Best Written. From there, she branched out to write full-length novels based on her dreams. (Yes, she says, her dreams really are that silly)

Marie has been married for twenty-six years to a wonderful man. Together, they have three loving daughters and several beautiful grandchildren. Marie works full time for the state of Utah, where she has lived her entire life. Marie plans to keep writing, because the characters in her head won’t shut up. But her husband smiles and pretends this is normal.

Interview With Marie


1. Where did the idea come from for the book?
I wrote “Take My Heart” many years ago, so I don’t recall where I got the exact idea… But I do know I was toying with different scenarios and playing the ‘what if’ game. I wanted my heroine to pretend she was someone else – and there had to be a good reason she did what she did, of course. The hero was pretending he was someone else as well, mainly because he was a Patriot and some of the things he did could get him hanged for being a traitor.
 2. What genre does your book fall under?
Historical romance. Is there a ‘sweet’ romance genre? If so, it would fall under that one, too. But my story is definitely sweet, and definitely historical…and definitely romance!
I know I don’t write 100% historical accuracy, but my books aren’t about the historical time period…they are about the romance and the characters, and about writing a fun story.
3. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Ohhh…this question is too hard!! I really have never thought of it. My characters look like those pictures in my book trailer, and that’s what I see when I think of them. http://youtu.be/uRc8xTT8_r4
So I guess my answer for this would be…I’ll let the producer decide which actors will play the parts. J
 4. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Switching roles and the pursuit of freedom come together in the hunt to discover who can be trusted and who is really the traitor during the Colonial times.
 5. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
My book is self-published already…but had been previously published several years ago by a publisher.
 6. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
This was my first Colonial. I had written historicals before, but they were Victorians and westerns. So when I wrote “Take My Heart”, it took longer because there was a lot more to research. I wanted to get it as historical accurate as I could, knowing not all historicals are 100% accurate. And I wanted to make it the best story I had written so far. This story had more twists and turns than my others when I first started writing it, which also was time consuming since I wanted it perfect. I wanted to drop enough hints without giving the plot away. So…the first draft took about a year. The second draft took only a few months. Usually, I can write a full length story in a couple of months, but this one took much longer.
 7. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
By well-known authors – or MY other stories? Well, I’ll answer both questions because they are easy. As for the first… I honestly don’t read a lot anymore, but I haven’t found a well-known author who I can compare my story to.  Yes…it’s that different. J  As for the second part of that question—what other stories of MINE could I compare this story to? Only books #2 “Falling In Love Again”, and #3 “Wonderland By Night”, since I’ve added the same adventure, same level of romance, and same level of twists and turns with a bit of suspense.
 8. Who or What inspired you to write this book?
My dreams did. That’s where I usually get my ideas—from my dreams. And if it wasn’t for my critique partners pushing me to get this baby written…I would have given up, I’m sure.
9. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
For those readers who love mystery and suspense…this book has it!

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My 5 Star Review

I am privileged to host Marie Higgins on my blog today. As I went through the interview questions she answered I could see so much of myself in her answers. Her simplicity and honesty comes through each one and I could learn a little bit more about this remarkable author.
A lady with many books and experience in her life that truly love to write, inspired by her dreams and motivated by a loving and caring husband. What more do we need right?
As I understand it "Take my Heart" was featured before under another name, but since I did not read the first edition this was a enjoyable read I can recommend to all lovers of historical romance and not to worried about the authenticity of the period.
Right from the start you are pulled in to the lives of twin sisters Mercedes and Katherine and just like Mercedes you think this man William Braxton must be the scum of the earth.
Your heart went out for Katherine who suffered under his hand ending up in the asylum and when Mercedes received a letter of her sister's death anger boiled in you regarding this man.
But as always you are introduced to the most perfect man any woman can dream off. Other wise it would not be a romance novel.
When we finally meet William what we have learned and what we experience are two different things. And Mercedes find herself in a world so full of lies that it was hard to decipher what is truth and what is lies. And your opinion change, switched as you are pulled into this world of treachery and deceit, finding the truth amidst all the turmoil of the constructive and interesting plot.
The cause of the Sons of Liberty struggling for freedom against the flamboyance of the King of England and his subjects and your views and opinions change to understanding and you sympathies with their cause.
I really loved the characters of both Mercedes and William. Both are strong willed and not afraid to fight for what they believe in, willing to do everything they can so that justice prevailed for the family and friends.
You see men flock to her because of her beauty, disregarding the marriage vows and openly flirting with her and how she step back and convince William that she is a "changed" woman, not the same as she were previously. And through her actions that normally speaks louder than words she changed his mind causing him to fall in love with his "wife" Breaking down every lie and replace it with truth.
Each character that were portrait in the book offered you a glimpse in the heart of Katherine and her sick and twisted game of greed, disregarding a man's feelings and his two children for her own selfish gain. Mercedes restoring their trust and confidence with persistent love and care.
A heart felt and sincere story of human emotions in the mist of a great unraveling plot that can capture the imagination of the reader, taking you away for a few hours in the world of the people and time. When fighting for the right cause were still admirable and truth prevailed.


Tour Giveaway
$25 Amazon Gift Card
Ends 1/31/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.




2 comments:

  1. What a beautiful review! I was so thrilled to read it! THANK YOU! And thank you for hosting me on your lovely blog today!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Marie, the honor was mine

    ReplyDelete

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