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Marie Force

Born: Newport, Rhode Island, United States

Occupation: Writer and Author

Genres: Contemporary romance and romantic suspense

Notable work(s): The Quantum Series, The McCarthys of Gansett Island Series, The Fatal Series, The Green Mountain Series, The Treading Water Series and multiple standalone titles. [Ref: https://marieforce.com/books]

Spouse: Dan Force

Children: One daughter, one son

Marie Force is a U.S. author of more than 40 contemporary romance and romantic suspense novels that have been on the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestsellers’ ebook and combined ebook/print lists. To date, more than 4 million of her books have been sold since her September 2008 debut. Marie was one of the first romance authors to self-publish her books and is currently a hybrid author who self-publishes some books while publishing others through traditional publishing houses.

She writes the self-published Gansett Island and Treading Water Series, the Fatal Series for Harlequin’s Carina Press and the Green Mountain Series for Berkley Sensation, a division of Penguin Random House. She also has seven stand-alone books.

In April, 2015, Marie wrote the Quantum Trilogy under the name M.S. Force to let readers know the stories were more erotic than her other books. She released the three books in the series, Virtuous, Valorous and Victorious, within a three-week period. All three made the New York Times bestsellers' list. The trilogy has become a series and Rapturous, book 4 in the series, was released in January, 2016.

Many of Marie’s books have been inspired by the places she’s lived and worked, including Rhode Island.

Personal life
Marie Jean Sullivan was born to George and Barbara Sullivan in Newport, Rhode Island. Her brother, George, was born a year after her. The family lived in nearby Middletown, Rhode Island, also located on Aquidneck Island. When she was in tenth grade Marie’s English teacher at Middletown High School told her she was a good writer, which surprised her.

Marie graduated from Middletown High School in 1984 and from the University of Rhode Island, where she doubled-majored in journalism and political science, in 1988. She worked for a community newspaper where she learned to write quality copy on deadline.

When Marie was 26, she married a Navy sailor, Dan Force. Once married, the Forces moved to Rota, Spain, where Dan was stationed from 1992 to 1995. While in Spain, Marie earned a master’s degree in public administration through a program offered by the University of Maryland. During this period, she considered writing a book, but family and work demands delayed those efforts.

Marie and Dan returned to the States, where Marie worked as a communications director for a national organization in Alexandria, VA, a position for which she worked until 2011, when she left to write full time. Marie finished her first book, Treading Water, on May 18, 2005.

Marie and Dan have a daughter and son. They currently live in Rhode Island.

Writing career
Treading Water was the first book Marie completed and while looking for an agent and publisher, she began work on two follow-up books, Marking Time and Starting Over. She also wrote several stand-alone books and in 2008, Line of Scrimmage was published by Sourcebooks.

Marie continued writing stand-alone titles including True North, Georgia on My Mind, Love at First Flight and The Fall. Sourcebooks also published Love at First Flight in 2009 and Everyone Loves a Hero in 2011.

In early 2010, Marie sold Fatal Affair to Harlequin’s Carina Press digital-first imprint. Fatal Affair was released in June 2010, followed by Fatal Justice, Fatal Consequences, Fatal Destiny, Fatal Flaw, Fatal Deception, Fatal Mistake, Fatal Jeopardy and Fatal Scandal. Fatal Series Prequel Novella: One Night With You, released in June, 2015 and Fatal Frenzy in September, 2015. In August, 2015, Marie signed a seven-figure contract for the Fatal Series that will take the series to book 13.

True North was the first book she self-published in November of 2010 just as authors were starting to explore the world of self-publishing.

The Gansett Island Series, self-published by Marie’s company, HTJB, Inc., began with the publication of Maid for Love in 2011. In March 2013, Waiting for Love, Book 8 in the Series, was Marie’s first book to hit the New York Times bestseller e-book list at number six. I Want to Hold Your Hand was published in June 2014 and I Saw Her Standing There in November 2014. Book 4, And I Love Her, was released in March 2015 and book 5, It's Only Love, released in November 2015.

The Quantum Trilogy was launched in a three-week period in 2015. The first three books, Virtuous, Valorous, and Victorious all made the New York Times bestseller list. Marie decided to make the books into a continuing series. Book 4,'' Rapturous, released in January 2016.

Success
Marie’s books have been on the New York Times Bestseller list more than twenty times, several of them in the top 10. She has sold more than 4 million books since her 2008 debut. She self-published her books when the practice was relatively new. As a result of what she learned about the nascent practice, she started the E-book Formatting Fairies, a company that helps authors prepare their books for e-book and print distribution.

Marie is currently a hybrid author who uses self-publishing and traditional publishing to reach her fans. Self-publishing allows her to have full control over such aspects of her book as cover designs, release date, pricing and marketing. Traditional publishing allows her to have a team of people working to help grow her readership.