Guest Author Marla Martenson + Giveaway!

Please welcome my guest author for this week, Marla Martenson! Marla is the author of two self help books titled Excuse Me, Your Soul Mate is Waiting and Good Date, Bad Date. Her newest book is a memoir about her life as a matchmaker in Beverly Hills and it’s titled appropriately, Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker.

In this book which I recently reviewed, Marla dishes about the celebrities she has run into while working and what life is really like working in the town that was made famous in Pretty Woman. Please welcome, Marla Martenson!

Hi Marla! Thank you so much for being here today to talk to my readers! I loved your book and I have so many questions for you!


1. What made you decide to write a book about your job as a matchmaker?

Since I had written two self -help books already about dating, I really had nothing left to say on the subject as far as giving advice, so I was thinking about what I could write next. I really enjoy reading Jen Lancaster’s memoirs and I am a big fan of the chick lit genre, so I decided to write a memoir about my experience as a matchmaker, which is a very unusual job. It turned out so well and was so much fun to do, that I am now writing the sequel to Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker.

2.  Please tell me about your worst client experience and your best experience.

I guess the worst client experience was the story in the book about Frank Stein, a lawyer who was screaming at me over the phone, threatening to sue me because I tried to match him up with a 48 year old woman. “I don’t date 48 year old women, they don’t look good!” He barked at me before he threatened to sue me.

The best experience I had was when I was invited to the wedding of a couple I matched up (that story is in the book as well) I felt like I really made a difference in someone’s life.

3.  Do you still work as a matchmaker?

I do still work as a matchmaker, however I now have my own boutique company called Cupid For Hire, visit me at http://www.cupidforhire.com/

4.  How many of your clients have ended up married as a result of you matching them together?

I have been a matchmaker for almost nine years now, so there have been countless couples that have gone on to get married, I have no idea how many.

5.  Do you have any plans to write a fiction novel?

Funny you should ask, because I have a novel that is halfway finished. I started it about five years ago and I got stuck in the middle and busy with my other books. I was just thinking about it today though and how I really need to get back to it because it is very funny. It is about a single waitress in Chicago and all of her dating disasters and adventures.

6.  What are you currently working on?

I am currently trying to finish up the sequel to Dairy of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker. It will be published in spring of 2011. There are more outrageous stories and funny situations that I deal with so stay tuned.

7.  If you could match any two celebrities up, who would it be?

I would love to be able to find Jennifer Aniston a good guy since she is always going for the bad boys. And if Rod Stewart was single and I was single, I would like to match the two of us up together. J

8.  How do you stay so positive even when things are going wrong in life?

That is a good question. It’s not easy these days with the economy so bad and hearing about the oil spill, and day –to- day stresses that we all deal with. I tend to be a very cheery and upbeat person in general, but I find myself getting down sometimes like everyone else. I am usually able to pull myself out of it pretty quickly by thinking about all that is good in my life, starting with my health and having a place to live. I really do recite affirmations and pray and am grateful for what I do have instead of focusing on what I don’t have, and it helps me keep a positive attitude.

9.  What is your #1 piece of advice for couples?

My # 1 piece of advice would be to have a short memory. My husband and I get into squabbles and become aggravated with each other, but luckily we let it go and forget about it very quickly. Don’t bring up something your other half did last week, month or last year, its over and done with, move on and be happy.


10.  If your book was a movie, who would you have play yourself and your husband?

My book is actually being shopped as a film or TV series and there are several fabulous actresses that I could picture playing me, such as, Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Sara Jessica Parker, Sandra Bullock or Kristin Davis. I only have one man in mind to play Adolfo, and that is Antonio Banderas!

11. What authors do you enjoy reading?

I read a lot and there are so many amazing authors out there. As far as chick lit goes, I love Jane Green, Jen Lancaster and Caprice Crane, I like to read anything by David Sedaris and Laurie Notaro, they are incredibly witty and brilliant. I also adore Rohinton Mistry, Khaled Hosseini and Elizabeth Gilbert. And as far as self help goes, I enjoy Wayne Dyer, Dan Miller, Deepak Chopra and Eckart Tolle to name a few.

12. What are you currently reading?

I am currently reading several books on marketing, since I am in the middle of promoting Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker and need all the advice I can get.

13. How long does it take you to write a book?

I have been putting out a book per year. It generally takes me anywhere from six to nine months to write a book, but that is not sitting down everyday all day like a full time job, since the first three books were all written while I was working full time at the matchmaking company. If I could just write, I imagine I could finish a book in three months.

14. What is a typical writing day like for you?

I never have a typical writing day, some days I write for a few hours, some an hour and some days not at all. But I write on my MacBook Air at a little desk in the living room, or snuggled up in my bed with a pillow as a desk. Since I have been writing memoirs, sometimes I have to wait until something interesting or exciting happens to me so that I have something to write about. I often will plan to do something different or crazy in the hopes that a good story will come out of it.

15. If you could have one wish, what would it be?

Oh boy… just one? I would wish that Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker makes it to number one on the New York Times bestseller list.

16.  Is there anything else you’d like to share with my readers?

I love and appreciate all of you and I want to encourage you to go for your dreams. I wanted to be a published author since I was about eight years old. I finally got the courage to go for it a few years ago and got published at the age of 45. So, it’s never too late for a dream to come true!


                                                              CONTEST:
 

Marla is giving away one copy of Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker to a lucky reader who leaves a comment or question for her on this post. Please include your email address so I can contact you if you win. Contest will end on July 8th at 7:00 pm EST and is open to US residents only.