Interview with Author Marion Ueckermann and a Six-Book Giveaway!

Welcome to Readers Write to Know! I asked you, my readers, what questions they would ask their favorite authors if given the chance, and the authors visiting my blog answered them! It’s always fun to have an author who is a friend on my blog. I’ve been privileged to work with Marion Ueckermann in the box set Snowflakes and Mistletoe that we released two years ago, and now she’s here telling us about a new Christmas box set! This set comprises six heartwarming Christmas romances and includes her latest release, A Time to Love.

Tell us a little bit about yourself: I come from a close-knit family and live in the eastern suburbs of the capital city of South Africa, Pretoria, with its beautiful purple jacaranda trees that burst into bloom in October/November. My hubby and I live in a not so empty nest as my eldest son lives in the house next door so our two grandsons visit every day. My youngest son and his wife live in Finland.

My published stories have been set in places like South Africa, Zambia, Australia, Finland, Lapland, Norway, Scotland, Ireland, England, and now Budapest—hence my tagline, A Novel Place to Fall in Love.

I have two multi-author series planned for 2018, and am busy turning book 1 of a 7-book series into an audiobook.

 Tell us about your current release: Book 2 (of 3) in my Under the Sun—Seasons of Change series, A Time to Love, releases on December 1st (available on preorder) in the box set “Snowflakes & Snuggles”. Most of the story takes place in the magnificent city of Budapest. It was exciting to bring two of the minor characters from Book 1, A Time to Laugh, into the limelight in this story. Best way to tell you a little more is to give you the blurb:

Everyday life for Dr. Melanie Kerr had consisted of happy deliveries and bundles of joy…until her worst nightmare became reality. The first deaths in her OR during an emergency C-section. Both mother and child, one month before Christmas. About to perform her first Caesarean since the tragedy, Melanie loses her nerve and flees the OR. She packs her bags and catches a flight to Budapest. Perhaps time spent in the city her lost patient hailed from, can help her find the healing and peace she desperately needs to be a good doctor again.

Since the filming of Jordan’s Journeys’ hit TV serial “Life Begins at Sixty” ended earlier in the year, journalist and TV host Jordan Stanson has gone from one assignment to the next. But before he can take a break, he has a final episode to film—“Zac’s First Christmas”. Not only is he looking forward to relaxing at his parents’ seaside home, he can’t wait to see his godchild, Zac, the baby born to the aging Dunhams. His boss, however, has squeezed in another documentary for him to complete before Christmas—uncovering the tragedy surrounding the doctor the country came to love on his show, the beautiful Dr. Kerr.

In order to chronicle her journey through grief and failure, Jordan has no choice but to get close to this woman. Something he has both tried and failed at in the past. He hopes through this assignment, he’ll be able to help her realize the tragedy wasn’t her fault. But even in a city so far away from home, work once again becomes the major catalyst to hinder romance between Jordan and Melanie.

That, and a thing called honesty.

Do you feel pressured to compromise your standards in order to reach a larger audience or be more successful? Never. Jesus and the gospel are always part of my stories. That’s something I would never want to compromise on.

With all those characters in your head screaming to get out how do you write fast enough to get it all down? One word at a time!

How do you push past the fear of your writing being average and be bold enough to sell it to a publisher(or agent or audience if you self-publish)? I’m not sure I’ll ever get past that fear of my writing not being good enough. However, I know I’ve been called to write, so I keep on writing. And the great feedback I get from my beta readers and reviews reminds me that this fear, this insecurity, is only False Evidence Appearing Real.

Do you have your plotline and character development already laid out before you begin writing a book, or do they develop as you write? I have a VERY basic framework before I start writing, but being a pantser, most everything develops as I write.

Do you have pre-determined length in mind when you first begin a book? I like writing in the 35-40K region, so generally I plan to write to around 35K. However, sometimes that doesn’t always go to plan. Like the last book I wrote, A Time to Love—when I started the story I thought it would probably be around 25K (short for me), however, by the time I got to the end, I’d written around 43600 words.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers? Just keep on writing, and don’t expect to publish that first masterpiece. I promise, one day you’ll look back on it and thank your lucky stars for the rejections because you’ll realise just how much you had to learn.

What is your preferred method of writing? (computer, pen & paper, etc.) Computer! If I had to use a pen and paper, I wouldn’t be able to read what I’d written.

Find Marion online:

Website , Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, PinterestBookbub

Preorder Marion’s upcoming box set!

Marion is giving away one copy of her Snowflakes & Snuggles box set! This set comprises six heartwarming Christmas romances and includes my latest release, A Time to Love. Enter below:

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4 comments

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    • bn100 on November 29, 2017 at 12:27
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    nice advice to share

  1. Thank you for having me on your blog today, Hallee…it’s been fun

    • Sherri G on November 30, 2017 at 09:00
    • Reply

    Thanks for sharing with us today, Marion. I’ve read several of your books and always enjoy them. I’m looking forward to reading the Snowflakes and Snuggles boxset. (I love that name!). I see it releases tomorrow!!

    • Bonnie Roof on December 1, 2017 at 17:43
    • Reply

    Enjoyed your interview, Marion, and would love to read Snowflakes and Snuggles – thanks for the giveaway opportunity!!

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