1–What is the title of your latest release?
I have an anthology of Christmas stories – novellas and a book – which came out on November 29. It’s a box set of previously published stories. My next new novel is coming out on the 13th of December. MIDNIGHT EMBRACE, book two of the Women of Midnight trilogy. The Women of Midnight is a mini-series inside the Midnight world. The Midnight world is made up of righteous dudes, mainly former SEALs. The Women of Midnight – first Felicity, then Hope, Emma, and Riley – make up the IT department of their highly successful security company, Alpha Security International. But the heart of ASI is quickly becoming the IT department, run by these super smart women. They provide intel and amazing ground support and advice on video games, though our super soldiers never beat them at any game. The women are loved by their partners and cherished by the company.
2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Midnight Embrace: Scary things are happening in the financial markets. Inexplicable things Emma Holland is paid good money to understand. But she can’t. Then her co-worker at a big bank in San Francisco disappears. Will she be next? She calls in ASI operator Raul Martinez and together they figure it out, save each other’s lives and save the world while falling in love.
3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I live in Italy, but I’ve spent a lot of time in San Francisco, a city I love love love. It’s smart, stylish, funky, and friendly. Just a fabulous city. When plotting out Midnight Embrace, I knew I had to set the story outside Portland, Oregon so the hero and heroine could be separated from their support system. All three Women of Midnight stories take place outside Oregon. Hope and Luke solve the mystery of her birth in Sacramento, California. Emma and Raul need to be in San Francisco and Riley and Pierce (the third WoM book) are in Washington DC, saving the world.
4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?
Oh man, I’d love to hang out with Emma! She’s smart and interesting, with a slightly cynical and skewed sense of humor. My kind of person. She’s a diplomat’s daughter and has lived all over the world. She’s also loyal to her friends. Oh yeah, I’d gladly hang out with her. I believe in friendship like it’s a religion. A good friend is worth more than gold or diamonds. A good friend is forever. A lifesaver. Someone who’ll help you hide the body.
5–What are three words that describe your hero?
Smart, brave, loyal.
6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Hmmm. I learned some scary things doing the research. I learned how easy it is to mess with the financial system. I learned there are things called “dark pools”, which are secret stock markets, where you can make investments, you don’t want anyone to see. Which sounds like a ton of potential trouble, right there. And I learned more than I wanted to know about the fentanyl trade. Scary scary stuff.
7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
There’s no correct answer. Every writer does what s/he thinks is best. I personally like to get all the way through the first draft, even with problems, before going back to rewrite and edit. I might change a character’s name halfway through and go back because names are important to me. They have to fit the character. But otherwise, I power my way through the book, beginning to end, as fast as I can to keep the momentum, then I go back.
8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Well, a couple of years ago I would have said things like cheesecake and dark chocolate, but alas, I developed type 2 diabetes, so I must rein myself in with the sweets. So my treats now are soft cheeses (LOVE Camembert!), small amounts of whole meal bread, and fruit. I’ve trained myself to look the other way when someone’s eating a slice of blueberry cheesecake when out to dinner with friends. And I try to think charitable thoughts about the blueberry cheesecake-eating person and try not to attack them with my fork.
9–Describe your writing space/office!
I am lucky enough to have a really nice office/study. In inherited a lot of artwork which covers the walls. I have two big bookcases and two small ones filled three-to-a-row with books but I am not adding to the collection because I read exclusively eBooks now. And thank God, because I have over 3000 books on my iPad with the Kindle app. I have a pretty desk, an antique Florentine table, and a very comfortable office chair. But the most spectacular thing about my study is what is outside the door – a huge terrace that encircles the house. The terrace looks out on a lovely valley, several hilltop villages, and – the kicker – to the south is a thin blue line which is the Ionian Sea. If I had powerful enough binoculars, I could see the Greek temple where Pythagoras taught.
10–Who is an author you admire?
I have a lot of authors I admire. I love Nora Roberts, both as herself and as JD Robb. She never fails to create amazing characters that come to life on the pages (or, in my case, on the screen). I love Stephen King, who for the last 20 years has given up on terrorizing us with horror stories in favor of terrorizing us with true-to-life characters, showing the depths and the heights people can attain. I love the classic genre writers: Lee Child, James Patterson (some of his books), Linda Howard, who has made me cry buckets, Lisa Kleypas, Andy Weir, and Octavia Butler.
11–Is there a book that changed your life?
I think Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series. I read it in my early teens and I could FEEL my brain expanding, to encompass the universe and vast time scales. Funnily enough, I tried to re-read it lately, having watched the series on TV, but instead of something shiny and new, it felt like I was on an old ship that was ragged and creaky. But at the time, reading it just blew my mind.
12–Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)
I had been writing and writing, sending off proposals, and kept getting rejected. I wrote five books. At one time, I kept getting calls fielded by my Italian husband, from someone called Holly Queen, according to him. It was Harlequin calling when I finally was able to talk to someone, but the book was not quite what they were looking for. At the time, I was a simultaneous interpreter, and on March 28, 1998, I was in Brussels, in my hotel room, when I got a call from Kensington. They liked one of my books and wanted to buy it. The editor really liked the book and asked whether I had any others available. “Why yes,” I answered. “Yes, I do.” And that is how I published 5 books in my first year.
13–What’s your favorite genre to read?
Equally: thrillers, romance, science fiction. I love how you can usually count on the genres to make you feel better. Romance, of course. No matter the odds against them, a HEA is guaranteed in a romance. Two opposites attracting, or maybe old friends slipping into love, whatever the scenario, a romance will ensure that the two characters will find their soul mates. I love that—the certainty that misunderstandings and difficulties will melt away. In the world of thrillers, of course, a happy ending is not always the case, but mainly, the bad guys are defeated and the good guys prevail. I particularly love stories where it’s one man or woman against the powers that be. Great forces are aligned against them, but they uncover the truth and ensure justice prevails. Science fiction doesn’t always have a happy ending, of course, but there is always something that opens your mind and even if it’s dystopic, it makes you think.
Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of apocalypse and post-apocalyptic literature. I’m just now finishing the Black Autumn series, excellent. It’s an entire genre unto itself, separate from the others, and definitely not hopeful, definitely without happy endings. But man, they force you to evaluate your life and how you live it. You are plunged into a world where you have to live by your wits and strength and will. It’s always very interesting. After I finish one of those novels, I always go to the kitchen sink and turn the tap on and watch clean water flow out. Because I can.
14–What’s your favorite movie?
I am a movie and TV series junkie so it’s hard to choose just one when there are so many jostling around in my head. Recently I rewatched, for the billionth time, The Martian, and was reminded why I loved it so. And why I loved the novel, too. Mark Watney is the very epitome of a resourceful man, surviving on a lifeless planet. But that’s not all. In every message back to Earth, Mark takes care to express his affection for his fellow astronauts. Every single person in the movie, every single one, is a good guy. Is trying her (and his) very best. A thousand good guys all working hard to save one brave man. There is such a feel-good atmosphere, but not cheap feel-good emotions. No, it is all heart-breakingly hard, and yet no one ever falters.
I can’t wait until Project Hail Mary is made into a film. That book is so very intellectually stimulating and emotionally satisfying. I think I have re-read the last ten pages a hundred times and it is a never-failing pick-me-up.
15–What is your favorite season?
The fall, absolutely. This is a relic of my childhood and my teen years. I loved loved loved school. I loved everything about it. Seeing friends, everything organized for you, and basically, all you had to do was read! Something I excelled at. I came from a broken home and so school made sense to me the way home didn’t. I was always sad when summer came and excited when school started! I still love the fall; it feels like a new year starting. With new books coming out, I love fall fashion.
16–How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Unless it’s a milestone birthday, ending in an 0, I usually have low-key celebrations. If I’m celebrating with my husband and son, we have a favorite restaurant in the countryside, a huge terrace under a pergola. And the weather is always nice because my birthday’s in September. Otherwise, sometimes I celebrate with friends. When I was an interpreter, and traveling all the time, invariably, I was traveling, away from home, on my birthday. But now I’m a writer and life is better and I’m home for my birthdays.
17–What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I really really enjoyed The Good Place. It was a ton of fun, yet made you think about things like life, death, and eternity. All while making you laugh and charming you. I also really enjoyed Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. I like TV series that create a world for you.
In terms of podcasts, I enjoy my son’s podcasts on world-building in films. A really smart and entertaining take on narration and structure in movies. Worldbuilding by David Cinnella.
https://www.youtube.com/@worldbuildingfilms507
18–What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Well, I live in Italy, so I guess I have to say Italian cuisine. I lived for many many years in Florence so I was familiar with Tuscan cuisine, but now that I live in the south, I appreciate southern Italian cooking more. It’s poor people’s cuisine, heavy on vegetables and legumes. With world-class bread, fresh sauces, and very little meat.
19–What do you do when you have free time?
I read. Read, read, read. I have a group of friends and we often meet for coffee or go out for a pizza in the evening. I’d love to say I garden but the truth is, I have a black thumb. I’ve discovered there’s one plant I can cultivate – pothos and I have them everywhere. I can keep basil alive but not rosemary which is supposed to be a very hardy plant. Go figure.
20–What can readers expect from you next?
On the 13th of December, Midnight Embrace comes out, the second in the mini trilogy, the Women of Midnight. I am writing the third in the series, Midnight Caress, right now. Then, I will write a book, Black Inc., about Jacob Black, who has figured large in the Midnight series. Then, the Men of Montemare, where the hero of the first book (out of 4) turns out to be … a king! I’m looking forward to writing those and hope you look forward to reading them!
MIDNIGHT EMBRACE by Lisa Marie Rice
Women of Midnight #2
Lisa Marie Rice’s books can be summed up in one word — addictive!” — Katie Reus
Ruthless enemies are after her — but they’ll have to go through him first.
Something is very wrong …
Emma Holland needs help. Something is very wrong with the financial market and her colleague, a money genius who works with her at an investment bank, is missing. She is very good at dealing with money but this kind of trouble is out of her wheelhouse. She needs help and turns to her best friends, who work for a security company that knows how to deal with trouble.
They send Raul Martinez, hard-eyed and hard-bodied, and just the man for the job. But Raul turns out to be a huge distraction, right when she needs all her wits.
And he is just the guy to fix it
Raul Martinez has dealt with trouble all his life, he’s fine with trouble. But something about the gorgeous curvy redhead has all his senses aroused. She’s stirred up a hornet’s nest and someone very bad is after her. The idea of Emma hurt … Raul can’t even go there. Not going to happen. The people after her are smart and ruthless, but Raul intends to keep her close. Very close.
Before the world explodes
Romance Suspense | Romance Contemporary [Oliver-Heber Books, On Sale: December 13, 2022, e-Book, / ]
Buy MIDNIGHT EMBRACE: Kindle | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR
About Lisa Marie Rice
Lisa Marie Rice is eternally 30 years old and will never age. She is tall and willowy and beautiful. Men drop at her feet like ripe pears. She has won every major book prize in the world. She is a black belt with advanced degrees in archeology, nuclear physics and Tibetan literature. She is a concert pianist. Did I mention the Nobel? Of course, Lisa Marie Rice is a virtual woman and exists only at the keyboard when writing erotic romance. She disappears when the monitor winks off.
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