Mystery We Write: Disappear by Mary Martinez

It’s Day 5 of the Mystery We Write Blog Tour and my guest is Mary Martinez. Mary can be found online at her website, blog, on Facebook, Twitter and at Goodreads. Welcome, Mary!

Thank you, Anne, for hosting me on your blog today. I’ve been really looking forward to our Mystery We Write Blog Tour. I always find out such interesting things about my guests on my blog. I hope I can share something new with you about myself.

Here’s a bit of a bio: I have lived in Utah my entire life. I love my kids and all my grandchildren oh and throw in the hubby also, just kidding family is very important to me. We are University of Utah fans, you’ll usually find me in a Red UTE t-shirt. I work a day job and my secret private affair in the evening is with my characters.

Okay Anne, you can start the grilling now.

Anne: What how-to-write book would you advice beginning writers to read? Why?

Mary: Stephen King’s On Writing. Why because it doesn’t read like a ‘help’ book, it’s interesting and very informative. But then I have always been a big Stephen King fan. Another one I would recommend is Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass. It has a workbook with it, and the workbook itself is well worth it. The exercises he has you do is very enlightening about your writing and your characters.

Anne: What is the hardest part of writing for you?

Mary: Finding the time. I know everyone has the same problem, and I’ve heard that time management courses work well. Unfortunately I’ve been to several and implemented them. But with my work, my family and life in general I do have a difficult time finding that block of space with no interruptions and long enough to get into my characters heads—to write.

Anne: What is the most surprising thing you’ve learned about yourself from your writing?

Mary: That I can write. Seriously, I didn’t think I’d EVER be able to write 100,000 words. My Watching Jenny was 125,000 when it was finished, of course it’s nowhere near that now. But it’s really taken a lot of work, discipline and polishing to learn how to write one though. But I’m pretty proud of myself.

Anne: Do you have a favorite quote or mantra?

Mary: Be grateful for what you have! Say Thank you every day! That’s one of my Mantra’s. The other one is: I am a RITA award winning NY Times Best Selling Author. I figure if I say it a million times a day it will be true by the end of this year. (I’ll let you know if it works)

Anne: What does the current state of your home office say about you? 

Mary: I have a large L shaped desk which is a bit cluttered on one end, but mostly organized. Which is why I’m getting so much done today. I have a book case full of writing books, and the other corner has a box full of toys and a little bus the kids ride around. So what does that say? Writing Nana!

Now Anne has given me permission to brag about my newest release:

Disappear (Book I of The Beckett Series)

After two years undercover as an FBI agent to infiltrate a crime organization and discover the identity of a hit man, Tyler Beckett’s cover is blown. Tyler’s new assignment is to protect the only witness who can identify the mysterious killer. If only he didn’t find her so attractive. Each day it becomes harder to keep his objective, especially since he knows the interest is mutual.

Keira Cavanaugh is the only witness to a hit ordered by a crime boss. The safe house is compromised and the same hit man shoots Tyler. Fearing Tyler is dead, Keira plans revenge on the crime organization. She must fake her own suicide in order to survive.

When Tyler discovers what Keira plans, he realizes he must stop her before he loses her for

good.

Available in eBook now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords. Print available May 2012

GIVEAWAY: During the blog tour Mary will be throwing all the people's names who comment about the content of her posts, at each stop, into a hat for a drawing. There will be  a give away to two lucky winners, one copy of any of her books (winner's choice). Winners will be announced at the wrap up at the end of the blog tour on April 28th.  

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Best of luck to the winner of Mary's giveaway. To enter my giveaway draw, drop by Lou Allin’s blog. I'm visiting there today on the Mystery We Write blog tour. Leave a comment to win an ecopy of Frank, Incense and Muriel, book one of the Muriel Reeves Mysteries. 

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