Interview with Annette Marie, THREE MAGES AND A MARGARITA

Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series?

My newest book is Three Mages and a Margarita, first in the Guild Codex: Spellbound series. Ever wondered what it’d be like to work at a magic guild? That’s exactly where the heroine Tori ends up, except she isn’t magical. She’s just a regular human. Hilarious adventure ensues as her magical customers get her into all kinds of trouble.

Have you ever had a minor character evolve into a major one? Did that change the direction of the novel at all?

In my YA urban fantasy series Steel & Stone, the heroine Piper meets two untrustworthy daemons: a draconian, Ash, and an incubus, Lyre. Ash takes the stage as the hero of the story, but Lyre was hiding secrets from the beginning. He grew as a character, taking on a larger and larger role, until I knew he needed his own story—so I wrote it! In the Spell Weaver trilogy, prequel to Steel & Stone, Lyre is one of two narrating leads and I had so much fun writing his tale.

If you used a graphic designer/publisher’s designer, how involved were you during the creative process for your cover?

I’m lucky enough to have a background in graphic design, so when it came time to publish my first book, I took on the task of designing the cover. In some ways, it was an impossible challenge—I knew so much about the book; how would I condense that into a single image?—yet, I also knew my heroine and what side of her I wanted to show on the cover. I’ve designed the covers for all my books, and it’s one of my favorite parts of the publishing process.

What is your writing process? Do you listen to music or do you like silence?

Music is a huge part of my writing process. I have playlists of my favorite mood-setting songs, and I’ve hit major periods of writer’s block when I couldn’t find the right music. Sometimes I’ll listen to a single song on repeat for hours because it’s setting the perfect tone.

Do you outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?

I absolutely outline! Back in the early days, I did very loose outlines and that got me into trouble more than once. I’ve since honed my outlining game to the point where I rough out almost every scene before I start the first chapter.

Besides writing, do you have any other passions?

I love anything arts and crafts! Aside from writing, I draw, paint, sculpt, and sew. I have an entire room of art supplies and half-completed pieces, plus a bad habit of starting more projects than I have time to finish.

Some fun facts about you, which do you prefer – dogs or cats? Chocolate or vanilla? Coffee or Tea? Talk or Text? Day or Night?

Cats! I have an adorable gray minion of darkness named Caesar. Chocolate all the way. Neither coffee nor tea—I will take my chocolate in liquid form, please and thank you. Text and email. And night—I’m a huge night owl.

What’s next for you?

The next book in the Guild Codex series comes out on November 16. In Dark Arts and a Daiquiri, Tori is eyeball-deep in new trouble—this time in the form of a dangerous black-magic felon that her guild is hunting. She wants him to kidnap her. Yes, “wants”. It’s complicated.

Three Mages and a Margarita
Annette Marie
(The Guild Codex: Spellbound #1)
Publication date: September 14th 2018
Genres: New Adult, Urban Fantasy

Broke, almost homeless, and recently fired. Those are my official reasons for answering a wanted ad for a skeevy-looking bartender gig.
It went downhill the moment they asked me to do a trial shift instead of an interview—to see if I’d mesh with their “special” clientele. I think that part went great. Their customers were complete dickheads, and I was an asshole right back. That’s the definition of fitting in, right?

I expected to get thrown out on my ass. Instead, they…offered me the job?

It turns out this place isn’t a bar. It’s aguild. And the three cocky guys I drenched with a margarita during my trial? Yeah, they were mages. Either I’m exactly the kind of takes-no-shit bartender this guild needs, or there’s a good reason no one else wants to work here.

So what’s a broke girl to do? Take the job, of course—with a pay raise.
—
Note: The three mages are definitely sexy, but this series isn’t a reverse harem. It’s 100% fun, sassy, fast-paced urban fantasy.

Goodreads / Amazon

Author Bio:
Annette Marie is the author of Amazon best-selling YA urban fantasy series Steel & Stone, its prequel trilogy Spell Weaver, and romantic fantasy trilogy Red Winter. Her first love is fantasy, but fast-paced adventures and tantalizing forbidden romances are her guilty pleasures. She lives in the frozen winter wasteland of Alberta, Canada (okay, it's not quite that bad) with her husband and their furry minion of darkness—sorry, cat—Caesar. When not writing, she can be found elbow-deep in one art project or another while blissfully ignoring all adult responsibilities.

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