Indie Author Advent Day 2: Marie Landry
Welcome to day 2 of the 2025 Indie Author Advent! This fun series will help us to get hyped for 2026 by celebrating some of the wonderful indie releases of 2025! Today I am interviewing Marie Landry. Be sure to check out my Instagram for even more excitement with this event!
Marie's 2025 Releases
1. What is your favorite thing about your 2025 releases?
"One of my favorite things about Love in the Neighborhood is the anxiety representation. The FMC, Bryn, has struggled with anxiety for years, and it’s been particularly bad in the two years since her divorce. She also struggled with a serious bout of depression before the start of the story. She’s become a recluse who barely leaves the house, gets everything delivered, and rarely speaks to anyone other than her online friends. All of Bryn’s anxiety struggles were written from personal experience. There were times while I was writing when I wondered if it was too much; I’ve read reviews over the years from people who have made disparaging, apathetic comments about characters with anxiety and depression, and it made me a bit wary. I’ve written about anxiety and depression in the past, but never to this extent. I decided it was too important - both to Bryn’s character development and to people who deserve to see themselves represented - so ultimately, I didn’t hold back. The messages I’ve received from readers thanking me and telling me how much they related to Bryn have warmed my heart so much.
My favourite thing about A Not-So-Lonely Christmas, my story in Mistletoe Moments, is how I managed to pack a lot of heart into an 8,000-word story (which was our word limit since there were 15 of us in the anthology and we didn’t want the book to be massive). It was a fun challenge, especially because I ended up loving the characters so much and could have written much more!"
2. What are your inspirations for your books?
"I very rarely have celebrities in mind when I’m creating characters, but Gabe in Love in the Neighborhood was inspired by Pedro Pascal. I love writing green-flag men, but I wanted to take it up a notch and add in some of the things people love most about Pedro: how funny he is, how kind, how quirky, how he notices little things about people and remembers them. He’s a perfect balance of sunshine and sex appeal, and I kept that in mind as I wrote Gabe, who’s genuinely a good, caring, loving, thoughtful, generous person, and who sees Bryn even when she doesn’t want to be seen.
A Not-So-Lonely Christmas is about Clara’s first Christmas without her mother. My beloved mum died last year, and as difficult as my first Christmas was without her, I knew it would have been worse if I’d been alone. I channeled that into the story - Clara thought she’d be spending the holiday alone until an unexpected run-in with a friend/coworker is exactly the Christmas miracle she needed."
3. Why do you think representation is so important in books?
"Everyone deserves to see themselves reflected in books. I’ve read so many books that have made me feel seen, made me feel less alone, and have given me hope. Representation also goes a long way toward building empathy. Seeing characters whose lived experiences are different from our own, whatever that may look like - BIPOC characters, queer characters, disabled characters, characters who struggle with their mental health - makes us more aware of other people’s struggles, and that awareness can make us better-rounded, more compassionate people."
4. Any advice for people who want to publish in 2026?
"It’s never too early to start talking about your book and building buzz. A lot of new or unpublished writers worry that there’s nothing to share without a cover or blurb, but you can start talking about your book at any time. Share bits of your writing process, tell us about your characters, the tropes, share a favourite quote, talk about what inspires you, share a playlist. I promise there are people out there who will be interested in what you’re writing at any stage, and their enthusiasm can be a great boost to keep going."
5. What are you most looking forward to in 2026? Any more releases on the horizon?
"As of right now, I’ll be releasing at least two books in 2026; one is a small-town second-chance romance, and the other is a small-town age gap romance where she’s older. I’m also hoping 2026 will finally be the year I write my dream book: A Very Perry Adventure, book three in the Perry series, which is a sapphic romance set in Edinburgh, Scotland."
6. Is there anything else you would like to add?
"Thank you for this feature and for supporting indie authors! For all the other indie supporters out there, I’d like to add that the best way you can support an indie author is to talk about our books. Write a review, tell your friends, post about our books on social media, share/repost our content, engage with our posts on social media, mention our books when other readers are looking for recs, etc. Word of mouth is crucial for indies, and your support means the world to us."
Outro
Thank you to Marie for getting involved in this advent! I am excited to see what they come out with in 2026. Stay tuned tomorrow for another amazing indie author and their releases!
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