Marina Martindale's Musings.

THE LETTER Book Cover

My illustrator, Wes Lowe, has once again created a brilliant cover illustration for my upcoming contemporary romance novel, The Letter.

The Letter begins with lead character Stephanie’s accidental discovery of a love letter to Danny, her significant other, from his old girlfriend. Hurt and confused, Stephanie is unsure of what to do. A close friend advises her to talk to Danny, but she hesitates. After thinking it over, Stephanie assumes that his ex was simply feeling lonely and has since moved on. Unfortunately for her, things are not as they appear.

Look for The Letter in late spring, 2018.

Marina Martindale

Presenting The Letter

Like my previous contemporary romance novels, The Letter has plenty of plot twists as the characters deal with unexpected challenges. The Letter is a story of things not being as they appear, which causes misunderstandings and people jumping to the wrong conclusion. Danny, the leading man, is more fallibe than some of his predecessors. He’s haunted by issues from his past that he can’t seem to exorcise, while Stephanie, the female lead, is a woman with backbone who calls it as she sees it. However, she sometimes does so without considering the long-term consequences.

The Letter is loosely based on a real-life event which happened to a good friend. She accidently stumbled on a letter to her then fiance from an old girlfriend, desperate to get him back. She was, of course, concerned when she first found it, but it nothing much came of it. They got married and life went on.

Look for characters from some of my other contemporary romance novels to make an appearance. Jesse St. Claire from The Betrayal, will make a cameo, while Paul, a supporting character from The Reunion, will have a more significant role.

The Letter is available on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.

Marina Martindale

An Update on my Upcoming Novel

THE LETTER

A photo of a pair of glasses on top of an open book placed in front of a computer.

I’m busy working on my upcoming novel, The Letter, and, as with my other novels, I’m having a great time getting to know this cast of characters.
The Letter is a story of things not being as they appear.

Stephanie and Danny, the two lead characters, are in a happy relationship. This is, until Stephanie accidentally uncovers a love letter from Martha, a woman from Danny’s past. As the story continues, she’ll discover even more compelling evidence. Convinced that Danny has been cheating on her, she abruptly ends their relationship. Later on, with the start of a new job, she meets Josh. Unfortunately, Josh isn’t who he appears to be.

The Letter is turning out to be more of a classic romance. It’s much like The Reunion. Both stories are set in Denver. And look for Paul, one of the featured characters in The Reunion, to have a supporting role in The Letter.

The Letter is inspired by a real-life event which happened to a good friend. She too accidentally came across a letter to her fiancé from his old girlfriend. The former girlfriend desperately wanted him back, but she eventually moved on. And, I’m happy to say, my friend and her fiancé have been happily married for many years.

The challenge for me as a writer was the fact that this all happened before email, text messaging and social media, so the story would have to be adapted to 21st century technology.

Look for The Letter to be available in early 2018.
MM

Writing Dialog

Photo of a lonely woman sitting in front of a pond. — © Can Stock Photo / Escander81

and experiencing my character’s emotions

One of my cousins was a soap opera actress who once told me how she experienced her characters’ emotions as she portrayed them. She said performing emotionally charged scenes often left her feeling drained.

I’ve found the same is true for me as a novel writer. With nearly every character I create, I experience their emotions as I write. Writing the dialog is what drives those emotions.

I’m currently working on my next contemporary romance novel, The Letter. Danny, a lead character, has a serious problem. Martha, a woman from his past, refuses to let him go. I’ve been building up to a major confrontation between the two for sometime. This past week I finally wrote the chapter where their conflict reaches its crescendo. I expected this scene to be fun to write. Martha has caused Danny a great deal of grief, so I wanted him to feel vindicated. However, as I wrote the dialog, I started feeling emotions I didn’t expect to feel.

Danny begins the conversation in a civil tone. He tells Martha he wants no further contact, but an obsessed Martha refuses to listen. As the scene plays out, Danny becomes increasingly frustrated. His tone becomes more harsh as he tries to get through to her. As his words became more harsh, I started feeling anxious myself. Harsh words, even when justified, can hurt like a fist. Some of the verbiage brought back bad memories of arguments I’ve had in my own past. By the time I finished writing the scene I felt as if I’d been sucker punched.

I planned on writing Martha out of the story after this scene, but now I think I’ll keep her around. She has a real knack for pissing people off, and talent like hers shouldn’t go to waste. While another antagonist will become the main focus for the remainder of the story, Martha will seek revenge on those who she thinks turned Danny against her.

Marina Martindale

Update: The Letter is now available on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.