Maggie Blackbird

Today, I have author Fiona McGier in the interview chair.  We’re discussing her latest release Two for Tuesday, a contemporary romance.  Don’t forget to check out the excerpt.

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All About Two for Tuesday:

1. First, what’s your favourite scene in the book? Not in regards to writing, but reading, and why?

Fiona:  I love the scene in the restaurant, when Melanie and Marcus are getting up to leave, and music starts to play, so he pulls her into his arms on the dance floor.

2. If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your book?

Fiona:  No, I always enjoy re-reading this book.

3. What do you love most about your two main characters?

Fiona:  I love that they each accept each other for who and what they are.

4. What makes you want to shake your two main characters?

Fiona:  When they split up after graduation from college, they get angry at each other because they both want to stay together, but neither is able to bend to allow for that.

5. If you could spend time with one character from your book, who would it be? And what would you do during that day?

Fiona:  I’d love to sit and share anecdotes from college with Melanie.

6. Did the characters hijack the story or did you feel like you had control of your book?

Fiona:  They told me the story they wanted me to tell.

7. How did you come up with the title for your book?

Fiona:  Since they started out meeting only on Tuesday nights, it was easy.

8. If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the leads?

Fiona:  A hot young actress with red hair, and a sexy Black man with very short hair and glasses.

9. If your book was a candle, what scent would it be and why?

Fiona:  Something sultry that sets a sexy mood.

10. If your book had a theme song, what would it be and why?

Fiona:  She Got the Devil in Her by Buddy Guy.

11. If your book was a colour, what would it be and why?

Fiona:  Red, for hot! And for the color of Melanie’s hair.

12. If a reader asked you why they should read your book, what would you tell them?

Fiona:  It’s a steamy love story about two friends who fell in love, separated, then found each other again.

13. What can we expect from you in the future?

Fiona:  More contemporary romances with sexy times–it’s what I like to write!

Fiona McGuire on Writing:

1. Tell us about your writing process.

Fiona:  I get an idea of characters, sometimes from a dream, sometimes from an image or a news story, and my mind works with it until there’s a romance to be told.

2. How much research goes into your books?

Fiona:  Depends on the books. Sometimes I research places and cultures. Sometimes I don’t do any, if it’s a contemporary romance set in a place I’m familiar with–like my Minnesota Romances.

3. What do you enjoy most about writing?

Fiona:  I actually love the editing that polishes the story to be the best it can be.

4. What do you enjoy least about writing?

Fiona:  I’m not happy when I’m working a lot and don’t have time to write. The characters in my mind yell at me or pout, because they want their stories told.

5. You can only recommend one of your novels to a reader, which would you choose from the books you’ve written so far, and why?

Fiona:  Worth the Wait–It’s unusual for me, since it’s a paranormal romance, but it’s a saga-length book that tells the stories of 4 different couples as they each seek their HEA.

6. What novel was your personal favourite to write, and why?

Fiona:  My first Minnesota Romance, For the Love of His Life. I wanted to stay in our favorite area to go camping, and writing this book was one way to feel like I was still there. Plus the hero is a very sexy, yet conflicted man, who grows into being the man he was meant to be, during the story.

All About Fiona McGuire!

1. Readers know about the writer you, but what about the everyday you?

Fiona:  I’m an English teacher who has been subbing in local high schools since my youngest of 4 kids got into middle school.

2. What is something unique/quirky about you?

Fiona:  I’m an ardent feminist who loves to sew, crochet, bake, and cook. But I like to do all of those things because I choose to do them, not because they’re the only things I’m allowed to do.

3. What are some of your pet peeves?

Fiona:  I wish open mouths came with open minds. Education is a life-long process. If you’re not learning new ideas, you’ve stopped growing.

4. Where were you born/grew up at?

Fiona:  I was born in Chicago, IL, and have lived in the Chicagoland area suburbs my whole life.

5. Describe yourself in five words or less!

Fiona:  Curious, intelligent, loving, motherly, independent.

Fiona McGuire on Reading:

1. What book do you think everyone should read?

Fiona:  The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris–cultural anthropology that teaches us about ourselves.

2. What fiction genre(s) do you read the most?

Fiona:  Sci-fi, followed by Romance.

3. Share your favourite character from a book that you’ve read, and why they are your fave.

Fiona:  Melanie from this book, Two for Tuesday. She’s a lot like I was when I was in college.

4. On average, how much do you read every week?

Fiona:  3-4 books per week–I’ve been doing reviews for a romance blog for months.

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Title: Two for Tuesday
Series: N/A
Author: Fiona McGier
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Heat Rating: 4/5 Lots of steamy scenes
Book Length: 140 pages
Publisher: eXtasy Books
Release Date: January 29, 2021

When a world-famous cardiologist has his personal life going up in flames, he seeks out the one who got away. She’s tried to forget him, but he didn’t get to be rich and famous by not pursuing his dreams. And she’s never been good at saying No.

Blurb:  Dr. Marcus Jones is world-famous for inventing a procedure to make cardiac surgery quicker and safer. He has achieved much in the ten years since he graduated from medical school, including accumulating more wealth than he had ever dreamed of growing up in the projects in Chicago. But he has not been as successful in his personal life. His lawyer-wife is divorcing him–but then he was never really in love with her. He has only felt that way about one woman–the one he dated back in college–the one who got away. But he didn’t get to be rich and famous by not pursuing his dreams. And she’s never been good at saying No. When he finds her name on the internet he contacts her, determined to see if he can rekindle what they once had together, back when he could only spare one night a week away from his studies, and his world revolved around Tuesdays.

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Note:  Excerpt set-up-Marcus and Melanie had what she told him was a 1-night stand last week.

Marcus was deep into his homework a week later.  His roommate was already asleep, having pulled two successive all-nighters in order to pass his most recent tests.  Marcus was studying with the light shaded, trying to see, but really having to force himself to concentrate.  He knew it was Tuesday night, and he also knew that he had no money this week.  She probably wouldn’t care.  She’d either buy me a beer or offer me one back at her place.  But I can’t go into the bar with no money.  And what if I show up at her place and she has a man up there already?

He sighed, trying to concentrate on mitochondrial DNA and the role it played in proving evolutionary theories.  Don’t think about her breasts with those hard nipples.  Don’t think about how she smells–how she tastes–or how she looks when she arches her back from an orgasm that I gave her.

He realized that he was hard again, that he was sweating profusely, and that there was someone knocking on his door.  Swearing under his breath at his situation, he stalked over to the door and swung it open, expecting to see someone wanting to borrow his calculator.  In his current mood, he was ready to be belligerent with the intruder.

“Hi-ya Marcus!  I know it’s Tuesday night, but not the right one for you, right?  Well, I just got a check in the mail from my folks because I told them I needed a couple more books.  I downloaded one of them as an ebook and borrowed the other one from a friend.  Thus I find myself with a little bit of extra cash.  What can I do with this extra money?  I asked myself.  Then, thinking altruistically of course, I remembered that you’re so skinny because the food in the dorms sucks so bad.  Yeah, I  remember.  My acne acts up just thinking about eating here.  Yuck!  No one wants to live here past freshman year.  The fact that you have to just bites the big one.  So anyway, I thought of you and your big–you know–appetite!”

She smiled at him in a wicked way, licking her lips, letting him know just what she had been thinking about.  “So how about you and I take a stroll down to the Pizza Pit and split a pitcher of beer and a pizza?  The surest way to know if you’re compatible with someone is what kind of shit you like on your pizza, right?  I mean, like if you wanted dead fish or anything gross like that, I’d either have to dump your ass immediately, or at least make you bring a toothbrush along, so you could brush before I kiss you again.  Which reminds me–”  She pasted herself to the front of him, twining one of her legs up and around behind his ass, wrapping her arms around him, and pulled him down for a very long, arousing kiss.

After a few sweaty moments, during which he wondered if his sleeping roommate would notice if he dragged her into his room and nailed her against the wall, just to take the edge off, she pushed him back.

“Phew!  Even better than I remembered.  Marcus, you da man.  I knew you were good enough to drag back to my bed for another round.  Let’s go eat.  Food first–then each other for the rest of the night.  Okay?”  She smiled as she licked up his neck, rubbing herself against him.  “You coming?”

“Honey, you keep kissing me like that, and I will be before we even get out of my doorway!”

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I sub in high schools during the school year. Otherwise I’m writing and blogging about my books–and reading and writing reviews. Not only do I write erotic romance, I love to read it too. I often read while camping with my long-time HEA. Our four adult kids sometimes join us. I’m an avid Jazzerciser, and I love to hike in the woods. I also enjoy sewing–mostly masks these days– crocheting afghans to keep my loved ones warm, and baking–cookies, muffins, and especially pies. I’m known for my never-fail pie crust, so I put the recipe on my website under the pies tab, along with some of my family’s favorites, that I featured in one of my books that had a heroine who baked lots of pies.

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