AAD Author Spotlight & Giveaway: Mari Freeman

She loves roller coasters, red wine, and football.  Her favorite holiday is Halloween.  And that's just the tip of the iceberg for readers wanting to get to know Mari Freeman.  Mari was kind enough to stop by to help us get to know her better --and tell us a bit about her sexy stories!

Jen: I just finished Hot, Hard, & Howling. Tell everyone else a little about the story.

Mari: Howling is the first in a three book series about some very special, half-demon sisters. The poor Halflings. Their human blood ties have diluted their magic, leaving them some very unreliable Demon powers.

Nell Ambercroft is the smart, sassy heroine of this first book. She is the oldest and the most traveled. Telekinesis is her demon magic. But her inability to control it leaves her frustrated, makes her the butt of many jokes, and eventually, it puts her life in danger.

Nell and the sexy, restrained Werewolf, Trent Nicholas, find themselves in New Orleans and lost in the bayou for some hot lovin’ and fast action while working to determine who is trying to kill Nell.

Jen: You're revisiting the Hot and Hard series with your new release. What is it about? What connects the two books together?

Mari: Hot, Hard & Hexing returns us to New Orleans when Nell’s sister, Sonja, tries to use a blood magic talisman to boost her psychic abilities in order to save her kidnapped cousin. Instead of stronger abilities, the spell gets Sonja some smoldering sexual visions.

She involves sexy ex-police officer, Ray Burgess, in the search and he becomes the star of those hot visions. Sonja has to figure out how to make sense of her real feelings for Ray and fight a Dreamstalker to save her cousin.

Jen: Characters in both Hot, Hard stories visit New Orleans. Do you have a special connection to the city?

Mari: ~I do. I love New Orleans. The vibe of the city is amazing. I spent many a summer’s night playing in the Quarter. Back when I lived in Ft. Worth, Texas, my best friend was from NOLA. We drove over often. I got into serious mischief at a very early age in that city. Even today, I try to go back as often as possible.

Jen: Not all of your books are paranormal romances. Tell us about some of your other titles. Do you have a soft spot for any one in particular?

Mari: I write stories. Sometimes characters change the game on me midstream. I follow their lead. The romantic comedies were born from a funny character who found herself in a very silly situation (putting on a glamorous wedding for a pug). How could I resist that?


Turns out I love the comedy. I think all my books have a thread comedy woven through them, even the paranormals. Birthright is my epic urban fantasy/romance. There’s something like twenty-two very special characters in that book. I had planned it as a stand-alone novel, but recently I’ve gotten a lot of feedback and requests from readers to revisit that world. I’m excited to be going back to that world soon.

Jen: I'm fascinated by some of the 24 facts you have listed on your website. What possessed you to intern at a morgue? What was that like?

Mari: My degree is in Forensic Anthropology. I specialized in identification of ancient remains. Given that, the morgue was not such strange a place to intern. I learned a lot about myself and other people working there. (And do have some horror books in the works.) I worked the weekend graveyard shift. It was not as bad or as good as you might think. It was a job. An interesting job, but not one I wanted to spend my life doing.


Mari Freeman



Jen: Do you write full time? Do you have a "day job"?

Mari: Writing is my day job, my part time job and occasionally my night job too. I’m dyslexic. So, I’m not terribly fast. I need all the time I can get to get those pages down.

Jen: When people see your name on a book, what should they be expecting?

Mari: I want to take the reader on a wild, hot adventure. My books will always have a strong female lead. And since my heroes are also big bad alphas, you get a pretty exciting personality clash.

Jen: What do you, as an author, get out of attending conventions like RT, AAD, and RomantiCon?

Mari: I love meeting people. Cons give you a great opportunity to talk with readers and other writers. I learn things from both. I think as an author in this changing environment, you have to be out there listening to what readers want and what the publishing industry is doing. Things move fast, you have to keep up.
And then there are the parties. Love the parties.

Jen: What are you looking forward to most at AAD in New Orleans?

Mari: Well, IT’S NEW ORLEANS! The food. The music. The Voodoo shops. What more can I say? Of, curse seeing old friends and making new one’s. I did thinks the panels at last year’s AAD were some of the best I’ve been on. I anticipate they’ll be even better this year.

Mari is sharing a copy of her new book Hot, Hard & Hexing with one of you!  Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter. This contest is international. You can find Mari on her website and on Twitter.