Author's Name: Marianne Mancusi
Website: www.mariannemancusi.com Blog: www.mariannem.blogspot.com

Marianne Mancusi is a multi-pubbed author whose credits include: A Connecticut Fashionista in King Arthur's Court - Dorchester Love Spell May 2005; Sk8er Boy - Dorchester Smooch October 2005; Boys that Bite (2-part series) - Berkley Jam May 2006 and December 2006; Vintage Romance (untitled) Dorchester Love Spell - July 2006; The Camelot Code - December 2006; and A Hoboken Hipster in Sherwood Forest - February 2007.

New Release:
A Connecticut Fashionista in King Author's Court
May 2005 from Dorchester Love Spell

Once upon a time there lived an outspoken fashion editor named Kat, who certainly was not your typical damsel in distress. But when a gypsy curse sent her back in time to the days of King Arthur, she found she'd need every ounce of her 21st century wits (and pop culture references) to navigate the legend. After all, surviving a magical plot, an evil prince, and a case of mistaken identity--all without changing history or scuffing your Manolos--takes some doing!

Luckily, she's got her very own knight in shining armor, Lancelot du Lac, on her side. The honorable-to-a-fault and devastatingly handsome champion insists on helping her out, even though she's not quite sure she wants him to. After all, shouldn't he be off romancing Queen Guinevere or something? Will Kat manage to stay out of trouble long enough to get back to her beloved café lattes, cosmopolitans and cashmere? And what will Lancelot's forbidden love mean for the kingdom of Camelot?

On Balancing Careers...

By day, I work as a television news producer for the NBC station in Boston. (WHDH-TV) It's a fun job, where I learn a little bit about everything. I can be uncovering government scams one day and introducing people to the latest diet craze the next.

It is a challenge to balance both writing with a full time career, but I try to do so by keeping a regular schedule. Every morning before work, I write, no matter what. Luckily, having a background in TV news means I'm used to tight deadlines and lots of pressure!

On Her "Big Break"...

I had been writing contemporary romance and submitting it to agents, without much luck. A bit discouraged, I decided to try something completely different. Something that would (hopefully) really catch their attention. So I wrote CT Fashionista in the summer of 2003. Then I attended the NJ RWA conference in October of that year. I pitched the manuscript to agent Paige Wheeler of The Creative Media Agency. She asked for a partial and then a full and then offered me representation in November. (Same week I got married - what a stressful but exciting time!!!)

After having me do revisions, she sent the manuscript out to seven chick lit publishers in February. By Nationals, six out of the seven had rejected it. They said they liked the writing, but had no idea how to market something that wasn't exactly chick lit, but wasn't exactly time travel romance either. No one seemed willing to take the chance.

At Nationals, I met Kate Seaver of Dorchester. She said she'd read 25 pages of CT Fashionista and "loved it so far." I couldn't' sleep that night, I was so excited. About a month later, Dorchester made an offer.

After that, the tide seems to have turned and I sold six other books within seven months.

On Genre...

I like the voice of Chick Lit. Its irreverent, funny, casual tone. But at the same time, I wanted something a little different. Something that would stand out amongst the bad boss, bad boyfriend, good shoes stereotype of the genre. I wanted a chick lit book that would appeal to traditional romance readers as well. And I had always wanted to write a fantasy novel as well. I loved the legend of King Arthur - the knights, the magic, the royal betrayal of Lancelot and Guenevere. So I came up with the idea to combine the two.

As for my Young Adult stuff, I had no idea I wanted to write it, but my agent, in her infinite wisdom, said I had a "young voice" and conspired with Kate Seaver to get me to write a couple of YA proposals. And I guess she must have been right, 'cause it's really taken off. It's fun to write YA, because I feel like I can revert to being a fifteen year old again.

I try to write my teen books just as I'd write my adult books and just make the teen books tamer (no sex, no major swearing) and have the subject matter about high schoolers. Besides, that it's pretty much the same. I don't want to be the type of YA author that talks down to her readers -- I figure they're pretty smart. And I don't preach to them either. There are no big Lessons with a capital "L" in my YA books. They're just funny chick lit/romance stories with a teen protagonist.

On Research...

I've always been a fan of Arthurian legend and had read many novels set in that time period already. So I had a good base. Then I went and researched further-- reading books on medieval customs and doing a lot of Internet research on King Arthur and the 11th century time period. There are many different versions of the legend of King Arthur, and so I was able to cherry pick my favorite parts from each story and weave together my own story of what really went down in Camelot.

Current WIP

I'm between projects at the moment. Just finished "Boys that Bite" - a vampire YA comedy about a high schooler who, through a case of mistaken identity, accidentally gets bit by a vampire one week before prom. She has one week to figure out how to reverse the process, or become a creature of the night forever. It's very Buffy the Vampire Slayer'ish.

Next up is something completely different - a sort of "historical chick lit" Dorchester is calling Vintage Romance. There are several authors doing these Vintage Romances, each taking place in a different decade of the 20th century. My story will be about a flapper in the 1920s. Should be a LOT of fun to write! 

On Writing Schedules...

I write every morning from around 6am - 8am.

On Writing Challenges...

People can be unintentionally callus about romance writing. For example, the other night a friend of a friend said to me, "I'll buy your book and I'll EVEN read it." I'm thinking, um, what else would you do with it? Then she goes on to say, "Not that I NORMALLY read that kind of formulaic fluff."

But while it gets me mad that our genre doesn't get enough respect, I try to remember that I'm not writing for her. There are plenty of others out there who enjoy happily ever afters and those are the people I want my books to speak to.

On Writing Rewards...

Right now, it's been people telling me they "can't wait" for my book. It's so exciting knowing I wrote something that people I don't even know want to read. I think it'll be even more so when people start getting the book and write to tell me how much they love it. (Hopefully!!) Then I know the long, lonely, early morning hours at the keyboard have all been worth it.

Also, just seeing my book in print was pretty cool in and of itself.

On Plotting...

The ideas are inspiration. Have no idea where they come from. **grin** But once I work out an idea, I write out a synopsis first. You have to, after you sell your first book, because you're writing on proposal. Once I have about a five page synopsis, then I start writing. I'll write one to three chapters and then send it in to my agent to start shopping around.

I am not a good plotter, so it's important for me to develop one at the synopsis stage. If I know the basic trail map, so to speak, I won't get stuck in the middle of the book, not knowing which way to go. At the same time, often my characters will surprise me and the plot will change a bit midway through, as they do something I hadn't expected. That's okay. As long as they eventually get back on the road of my original plot in time for the ending.

On Agents...

My agents at Creative Media Agency are essential to my writing career. They get me deals, negotiate tricky situations, create realistic due dates for the projects, and make sure I don't sign any weird contract clauses. I could not do this without them.

To other writers, I would say, try to get an agent. Unless you're writing category romance, in which contracts are boilerplate. Otherwise, there's just too much to know about contracts and everything and you'll want to concentrate on your writing, not the business end of things. Also, they can bug publishers about your submissions. There's no waiting two years to hear back from a publisher if an agent's involved.

Some say it's harder to find an agent than a publisher, but it definitely is worth it if you can.

On Publishers...

Dorchester has been absolutely wonderful to me. I highly recommend them for first time authors. While they don't pay as big an advance as some larger houses, they make up for it by great support, great covers, and great distribution. They are always available to answer my questions (even the dumb new author ones!) and have been very supportive of getting my book publicity, etc. An author friend told me she doesn't even know the name of the in-house publicist at her publishing company. I talk to mine regularly and she's very helpful.

I have just really gotten started working with Berkley, so I don't have a ton of info on them... but they seem great as well.

Advice For New Writers

Writing is subjective. And while you may get a hundred rejections, it only takes one "yes" to turn your whole life around. Don't give up. Perseverance is the only secret to publication. That and write a good book and stop worrying so much about font size and margins. That kind of stuff only matters in contests. Editors and agents care much more about content.

On FTHRW...

Support, a great cheering section, and inspiration. There are so many talented, wonderful women on FTHRW, all sharing the same dream. Also, it has an awesome contest - I first became acquainted with the group through the Golden Gateway.

Marianne Mancusi's new and upcoming releases:

A CONNECTICUT FASIONISTA IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT

Released May 2005

When a modern fashion editor stumbles back into Camelot and falls in love with Lancelot, how will the history of King Arthur's court change?

SK8ER BOY October 2005 from Dorchester Smooch It’s Romeo and Juliet with text messaging. Good Girl Dawn Miller meets a bad boy skateboarder from the wrong side of town and falls in love, even though her parents (aka “The Evil Ones”) say “no way.” So how can she convince them not to judge a boy by his cover?

BOYS THAT BITE (2-part series)

Berkley Jam May 2006 and December 2006

VINTAGE ROMANCE (untitled)

Dorchester Love Spell - July 2006

THE CAMELOT CODE

A HOBOKEN HIPSTER IN SHERWOOD FOREST

February 2007

Visit Marianne online at http://www.MarianneMancusi.com