We're launching the Book Tour for FOREVER A FATHER by LYNNE MARSHALL!

Q. What is your motivation behind FOREVER A FATHER? Why did you want to write it?

A. When the Delaney Brothers story first came to me, it had strong paranormal elements. This is not at all the romance subgenre I write in, yet I was intrigued and excited about the idea. Three brothers on a deep-sea fishing trip get capsized in the ocean. Each thinks he is going to drown, but something mysteriously lifts them from the depths of the sea and saves them. After that extraordinary incident, each brother realizes he has a special power. Daniel, has the gift of healing, Mark, the gift of acute and specialized hearing, and Conor, the gift of telekinesis. The original premise was that each brother would have this special power until he saved someone else, because, as they were saved from the ocean, they were each meant to save another.

As you can imagine, this premise doesn’t work for contemporary romance, and I was hoping to get another contract with my usual publisher, so something had to give. As much as I loved the paranormal scenario, I knew it had to change, but I still wanted a touch of magic in the stories. So, working within the parameters of my Harlequin Special Edition romance line, I made some major adjustments. That’s part of the fluidity when brainstorming and creating a story. The fishing trip changed from a near-drowning experience to one where the Delaney brothers save a seal from a pod of Orca looking for a snack. By the way, I based this on a personal experience my family and I had on a trip out to Santa Cruz island off the Ventura, California coast. We became part of a National Geographic moment, and it was tough to watch. Unlike my story, we were not able to intervene, and I could not bear to watch the last moments.

But back to the story. Padraig Delaney, the patriarch of the family, upon hearing the news, claims his grandsons have saved a selkie. With his being from Ireland, the brothers are used to his occasional fanciful logic, and let him decide whatever he wants, what did it matter? Until Padraig insists that since Daniel, Mark, and Conor saved a selkie, they’d each soon find the love of their lives. Of course, the brothers write that off as typical magical thinking from good old Grandda, until…

As the stories turned out, there are three brothers, three wonderful romances, and three happily-ever-afters in this trilogy, so you can decide for yourselves if Grandda is a bit touched in the head, or simply in touch with the workings of fate.

Q. What do you hope readers take with them after they’ve read it?

A. I hope readers understand that past struggles may hold us back, but it is possible to move on and enjoy life and love again. Hope is the word I’d love for readers to remember. No matter how tough things may be, never give up hope, because hope can sometimes work miracles. It did for Daniel Delaney and Keela O’Mara, oh, and little Anna, too.

Q. Do you have a favorite scene that you can share with us?

A. While Daniel is still trying super hard not to get involved with his employee, Keela, he finds out that her little girl Anna is having a birthday, and her father has forgotten it. As hard as it was for him emotionally, Daniel goes to a toy store and heads for the girl’s aisle and buys little Anna a cartload of gifts. He then stops by his family’s restaurant and takes a cake and some ice cream and heads to Keela and Anna’s house.

I loved writing the scene with the three of them having a birthday party. I loved the surprise of Anna, the heartfelt thanks from Keela, and the silly but heroic act of a guy showing up wearing a kid’s party hat and blowing a party favor. He did it without any ulterior motives, all he wanted to do was make a little girl happy. The gesture made a huge shift in the relationship between Keela and Daniel. I loved that part.

Q. If you could sum the book up in one sentence, what would you say?

A. One sentence? That’s impossible. Lol Okay, here goes: With the support of family and one special employee, Daniel Delaney lets go of the past and is gifted with a future more amazing than he could ever imagine.

Q. Share something about you that is unique - maybe about how/where you write... or favorite snack foods?

A. I never realized I was a writer until I was fifty years old. I’d been a wife, mother, and RN for twenty-five years, and had been very happy with my life. Then one day this yearning hit me. Hard. I called it my late-life crisis when I secretly sat down to write my first book. Don’t worry, that book is safely tucked away and will never see the light of day, but it taught me that I could start and, more importantly, finish a book if I put my mind to it. It took me five more years and several more books before I sold my first to Harlequin. My personal motto is: It’s never too late to start something new, and life it too short not to try.