Maria K. Alexander Embeds Bits of her Life into her Romances -

Multi-published author Maria K. Alexander shares how her life is wound into her stories. AND she has a new series set on the Jersey shore for us.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m a native New Jersey girl and am married with two kids. I have a full-time day job and juggle writing around my crazy schedule. I fell in love with reading at a young age and would always have my nose in a book. I mostly read romance books, but also like mysteries and women’s fiction. I’ve been published for eleven years and have six books available. I’m a hybrid author and just ventured into the self-publishing world at the beginning of this year.

What do you do when you are not writing?

Now that my kids are grown, I have more time on my hands. My husband got me hooked on Pickleball, and I play a couple of times a week. I love to bake, crochet, go to the beach, and repeatedly binge watch Gilmore Girls. I also enjoy traveling and recently went to Italy to visit my son, who was studying abroad in Florence. With my daughter, I go to as many Broadway shows as I can afford.

What interesting jobs have you had? How have those jobs affected your writing?

My family owned a catering business that I worked at throughout high school and college. I’ve seen more weddings and still get an eye twitch when I hear the song Celebration by Kool and the Gang. It was great working with my dad, uncle, cousins, and an assortment of people that became like family. In my Tangled Hearts series, I tapped into those memories when creating the DiFrancesco family. Rather than catering, the family owned a trattoria in Northeast Philly. With my knowledge of the restaurant business and my Italian heritage, I created characters rich in personality, flawed, and in need of figuring out their life. And along the way, they fall in love.

Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?

I add small little things about my life into my stories. It may be a funny comment a character says that is something my mom has said. Or the heroine is super organized and always has a list (much like me). When creating the fictional beach town of Pelican Bay, I used the name of the street where we used to own a beach house in the story. I built the town, incorporating things I love from all the Jersey Shore beach towns I’ve been to. In my Pelican Bay series, I used the backdrop of a tragic event that was very scary and indirectly affected me and people I know. On October 29, 2012, Superstorm Sandy hit the Jersey Shore and devastated much of the area, causing death and displacing people from their homes. A co-worker had been significantly affected and myself and other co-workers helped organize donations for the people of the area, where they could pick up clothes, supplies, and food. It was heartbreaking, and I admired at the strength it took to move past such a tragedy. In You’re Still the One, the first book in the series, it’s ten years after a hurricane hits Pelican Bay and destroys much of the town, including the amusement pier, owned by the heroine’s family. After the death of her grandmother, the heroine (Emma) asks her friends to return to the town to use their skills to bring visitors back to the town. She specifically needs the help of Jason, her high school sweetheart, who now owns a successful home improvement business and is co-host of a Property Brothers-like reality TV show. Each book in the series focuses on a different renovation project in the town and shows the journey of the characters moving on from where their life has taken them over the ten years since the storm. They’ll need to learn how to face their fears, renew friendships, rekindle old love, find new love, and learn that it’s time for forgiveness and new beginnings.

Can you tell us about any other upcoming books, series, or writing plans?

I’m working on edits for A Kiss in the Moonlight, the third Pelican Bay book, which will release early next year. Maddy is a single mom and pop star who is getting ready to release the first album since her daughter was born four years ago. She’s moved to Pelican Bay to help her friends prepare for the grand opening of the amusement pier. Being back in her hometown has caused Maddy to realize how much she’s missed being around her friends, and reignites feelings she’s had for Tyler, her bestie’s brother. Can she overcome her insecurities about her late husband and the guilt she still harbors from the events ten years ago when a hurricane ravaged the town to find her own happiness? It will be released in early 2025.

I invite you to visit my website at http://mariakalexander.com where you can sign-up for my newsletter and get Till There Was You, a free short story and prequel to the Pelican Bay series. From there, you can also connect to me on social media and be the first to receive cover reveals, snippets, and excerpts.

Thanks for hosting me, Zara. For those reading, please comment and share what books you read this summer.

She needs his help to rebuild her family’s amusement pier. His reality TV show needs some positive PR. Sparks fly as they team up to make opening day a hit—on the pier and on camera.

Ten years have passed since a hurricane ravaged the small beach town of Pelican Bay and changed the course of Emma Erickson’s life. Now, as successor to the foundation to rebuild the boardwalk, Emma must convince her friends to return, including the boy who once held a special place in her heart.

Jason Maguire hasn’t looked back since leaving the hurricane-ravaged beach town ten years ago. When he returns home for a funeral, he’s forced to face the girl he left behind. Now, tempted by a proposal to use his renovation skills to restore the pier and attract new tourists to the dying beach town, he’ll need to overcome the past that’s haunted him.

With the town and their hearts on the line, will it be enough to reunite them or prove they were never meant to be together?

If you like heartfelt small town romance with a second chance at love, close-knit friendships, and a swoon-worthy reality TV home improvement hero, then you’ll love Maria K. Alexander’s series starter.

Available from

AMAZON

BOOKS2READ

Maria K. Alexander is an award-winning author of Contemporary Romance. She writes about strong women, who are fearless in pursuit of their ambitions. Her stories have strong connections with family and friends, both important parts of her life. When not writing, she loves to read, bake, crochet, bike, visit the beach, and watch romantic comedies. She has two adult children and is a semi-empty nester. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and juggles a full-time job, while dreaming of writing full time by the Jersey shore.