Snuggling Under Snowdrifts, Book 2
Monster Romance
Date Published: 8/8/2023
I found the most elusive spot to hide from my parent’s cult but in claiming my cave, I accidentally allowed a snow monster to claim me…
Dr. Sydney Decker
Six months ago, Dr. Vera Thompson disappeared into the wilderness to settle with a mysterious “survivalist colony” without a known location. She may have bought their lies, but I was born into an isolated group of religious fanatics and can’t believe Vera would fall into the same trap. Her weak “find my phone app” signal is the lifeline between us, and I won’t stop searching the frigid tundra for her. My best friend helped me escape but now, it’s my turn to save her.
Sergei
Loneliness threatens my sanity with each rejection at the annual mating chase. Females fear my hot temper and need for control, instead of appreciating that I am the biggest and fiercest male chuchunya. I had lost hope I would discover my dushevnayasvyaz or soulmate, but then she found us. This season I find myself breaking the ancient rules and deliberately damaging the rituals I hold dear…at her request. I meant what I said when I promised to rearrange the world to make my dushevnayasvyaz happy, but when will I be pushed too far?
Caught between the regimented conditioning of the clan and the willful spirit of his dushevnayasvyaz, Sergei must choose the order which keeps him stable or his chance at fated love. Will they escape punishment for their deeds or face shunning in a desolate place where community means survival? Will Sydney recognize he’s betraying his kin to win her heart or ignore their bond in fear of losing her independence?
What is the hardest part of writing
your books?
The first
chapter is difficult for me. I put too much pressure on myself to create the
perfect hook on my first try at my first sentence. As I draft, I put notes on post-its
of foreshadowing and easter eggs I wish to drop earlier in the book. By the
end, the back of my laptop is covered with post-its. I know my characters
inside and out. After incorporating the foreshadowing, I will rewrite chapter
one. I double revise and double-edit chapter one in each of my self-revision
rounds too. As for that first line hook, my beta readers and I will meet at a
coffee shop and decide on the first line by committee.
What songs are most played on your
Ipod?
Each of my
books has a ‘couple’s song’ that I play on repeat while I write. For Snuggling
Under Snowdrifts 1: Cuddling My Chuchunya, the song was “It’s All Coming Back
to Me Now” by Celine Dion. Book 2: Spooning My Chuchunya has the song “I Think
I Like You” by The Band Camino. “Woke Up in Love” by Kygo, Gryffin & Calvin
Scott (Alok Remix) is Adam and Patricika’s song in Book 3: Cherishing My
Chuchunya.
Do you have critique partners or beta
readers?
I have an
army of critique partners from the Kentuckiana Romance Writers. We are a
nonprofit author support group spanning from southern Indiana to northern
Tennessee. We support one another through manuscript swaps, blurb workshop
sessions, and marketing mentorship.
My beta
readers were a part of my journey before I decided to pursue an author career.
Back in 2016, I would print my manuscripts at the local office supply store to
give to my friends. We would meet at my house for treats and my fake book club
while my husband traveled for business. Imagine the look on his face when the
global quarantine kept him from traveling and he saw how elaborate my
pretending to be an author had evolved. Within four hours, I had a website,
business cards, and query letters sent out. My fake book club members are now
my official beta readers and accountability partners. I would be lost without
them.
What book are you reading now?
I must admit
I don’t write tentacle monster romance because they are my favorite to read.
I’m five books into The Match Program series by Rena Marks and each book is more
delicious than the last. This series is for lovers of The Handmaid’s Tale by
Margaret Atwood with a big twist. The women are saved by a bridal match program
to tentacle aliens. Spicy, heart-warming, and funny, these books rank as some
of my all-time favorites.
How did you start your writing career?
I wrote
screenplays and was involved in theater since middle school. I loved spoofing
the classic works we were assigned in school in the form of bawdy plays or song
parodies. I used song parodies to study for tests too. Most of my AP Biology
knowledge can be sung to N’Sync’s greatest hits. However, in the late 1990’s if
you were a girl and good at math, you were pushed into science or engineering.
I have four advanced degrees in scientific fields that I don’t use.
Despite my
rigid course load, I wrote my first fanfiction spin-off of an Anne Rice novel
in high school. I hid stacks of vampire romances in drawers and boxes until I
found myself as a bored homeschool mom. In 2016, I went to a vision board party
where I put “paperback writer” on my board. I wrote three books in four months
and haven’t looked back.
Tell us about your next release.
Dr. Sydney Decker pledges to find her bestie, Vera, who disappeared
on the Canadian tundra. Sydney is shocked to find Vera,
living happily ever after under permafrost with a Chuchunya snow monster. Hiding
in their cave is the perfect escape from Sydney’s childhood within her parents’
cult.
When she’s
discovered by the Chuchunya clan leader, she finds herself in the
middle of the annual mating chase and fake-mated to Sergei, the fiercest of the
Chuchunya clan. While he may look feral on the outside, Sergei is a marshmallow
inside who lives a lonely life. Chuchunya females fear him, but he may be just
the Chuchunya to scare away Sydney’s nightmares and those who search for her.
About the Author
Marilyn Barr lives in the wilds of Kentucky with her husband, son, and rescue cats. She has nine books with The Wild Rose Press in multiple romance subgenres from sweet, new adult romance to erotic, fantasy romance. She loves to place monstrous characters with hearts of gold in historical romances and her historical, paranormal romances have won the Crowned Heart Award, 2nd place in National Excellence in Story Telling (NEST) Contest, Imadjinn Award for Best Paranormal Romance, and Grand Finalist for the InD’Tale Magazine’s RONE Award. When engaging in the real world, you can find her with the Kentuckiana Romance Writers, volunteering with her son’s Special Olympics teams, or dancing around her kitchen. She is a sucker (haha) for cheesy horror movies, Italian food, punk music, black cats, bad puns, and all things witchy.
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