Hi everyone and welcome to my interview series Saturday Night Author Fever, where I interview authors with a bit of a 70s music and diversity theme. I personally love 70s music, especially disco music, and sometimes on Friday nights when no one is looking you can find me dancing to classic 70s songs such as September, Bennie and the Jets and We Are Family. However, books are my true passion and because of this, I thought it would be a great idea to mix my two loves and start this interview series. The questions will be similar every week, but with a new author every time, and I hope you’ll enjoy the answers as much as I have. Now let’s get this party started!

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This Saturday Night we welcome Marie Meyer. Thank you so much for sitting down with me today in my galaxy of books.

Marie, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your books? What do you think about 70s music?

I am a middle school teacher by day and a romance author by night. I have a husband and two awesome daughters, whom I love spending time with. I love 70s music! I’m dating myself here, but spent a couple of years in that decade!

When did you feel like this is it, I’m an author whose words are going to be read by, and have an impact on, others?

When the words of my first book just poured out of me. I couldn’t stop them. I was excited to write and I wanted more than anything for my story to end up in the hands of readers!

What do you want your readers to take with them after having read your books?

That no matter your circumstance in life, everyone is entitled to being loved.

What does the future look like for you, Marie? Future projects, releases etc.?

I’m currently working on a handful of projects and putting together synopses and outlines for my agent. A couple of YAs and two contemporary romances. Hopefully these stories will get to be told! I’d love for people to meet these awesome new characters!

If one (or several) of your characters got invited to a 70s-themed party, what would they wear and what song and/or person would bring them to the dance floor?

The male protagonist from my newest release, Live Out Loud, is a musician named Thor Kline. He loves Jimi Hendrix. He’d channel his inner Jimi: flashy coat, fringe, bell-bottoms, and a bandana. He’d get out on the dance floor to Jimi Hendrix’s “Ezy Ryder”. Knowing my characters, Thor and his bandmates would be the guys up on stage rocking out! They’re always down for a jam session! And if Thor’s girl, Harper, was in the audience, he’d make sure the show was extra loud for her—since she’s deaf, she relies on the vibrations of the music.

You can easily look back at the 70s and see how the times have changed. If you look at the book community and publishing world today, what changes would you like to see for the future?

I’d love for publishers to take a chance on new authors and market them as aggressively as some of the big name authors.

Marie, can you recommend two already published diverse books you’ve read and loved and one you can’t wait to read?

I’ll Scream Later by Marlee Matlin and Archer’s Voice by Mia Sheridan. I read both of these books as research for my book, Live Out Loud. Since Marlee is deaf, I wanted to read a story about a strong, deaf woman. I’ve always loved and admired Marlee Matlin, so I thoroughly enjoyed reading her story. Archer’s Voice features a character that does not speak. It is a beautifully written love story and I highly recommend it! Since my main character in Live Out Loud is deaf and does not speak, both of these books were helpful to me while I was writing Harper’s story.

The diverse story I can’t wait to read is The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Sounds like a fabulous book!!

Lastly, to end this interview, do you have a favorite 70s song to recommend your readers?

I’m a fan of Abba! A “Dancing Queen” all the way!

Thank you so much, Marie, for answering my questions. I hope you readers enjoyed this interview, I know I did! Eager to find out more about Marie Meyer? All information about her and her books can be found on her website. You can also find her on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, and Goodreads and buy her books on Amazon.

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About The Author

Marie Meyer has been a teacher for sixteen years. She spends her days in the classroom and her nights writing heartfelt romances that will leave readers clamoring for more. She is a member RWA (PAN) and a 2017 RITA® Finalist. Marie’s short fiction won honorable mentions from the St. Louis Writers Guild in 2010 and 2011. She is a proud mommy and enjoys helping her oldest daughter train for the Special Olympics, making up silly stories with her youngest daughter, and bingeing on weeks of DVR’d television shows with her husband.

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Since I promised a very 70s music-themed interview series, I have one last surprise, a favorite 70s song of mine (and there will be a new one every week yay). Now let’s get those dance moves on, here’s Last Dance by Donna Summer.

Do you want to listen to all of the songs from my Saturday Night Author Fever interview series?

To make things easier I have created a Spotify playlist that features all of the songs mentioned in my Saturday Night Author Fever posts. You can check out the playlist below or go here. Every time a new interview is published new songs will be added to it.

Thank you so much for tuning in this Saturday, what did you think of the interview and the music? Let me know in the comments below or on my Twitter!

*Thank you to the lovely Claribel Ortega for the gifs used in this blog series. You have to follow her on Twitter and check out her website here.