Guest Blogger: Author Marilyn Baron

Please enjoy today's interview with Marilyn Baron, author of Under the Moon Gate and the prequel—Destiny: A Bermuda Love Story. Comment on today's post and you will be entered to win a free copy of the book of your choice in digital format.

Hi, Marilyn. Tell us a little about yourself and what you write. 

I write in a variety of genres. As a matter of fact, I highlight my interest in multi-genre fiction on my Web site at www.marilynbaron.com on my homepage as follows: FINDING YOUR FOOTPRINT

Sometimes my writing fancy turns in different directions—from humorous women’s fiction to romantic thrillers and suspense to paranormal. But it’s always fun and full of surprises. And, in the end, it always turns to love. There is more than one pathway to love. What’s your reading footprint?

My sister and I even wrote a musical, called Memory Lane, about Alzheimer’s, which we’re trying to get produced.

When I’m not writing, I run a public relations business in Atlanta, which means I’m still writing. I love to read and I’m a member of two book clubs.

 Do you find any recurring theme or idea in your writing? 

Humor. Everything I write has a touch of humor in it. I like to laugh and so do my readers. Also, many of my books, especially the women’s fiction, feature older characters. My latest two books, Under the Moon Gate and Destiny: A Bermuda Love Story, feature a Bermuda theme. Both books are set in Bermuda. Under the Moon Gate is a romantic thriller set in contemporary and WW II Bermuda. Destiny is set in the 17^th century.

 

What do you consider the most important element of a story? 

All my books have a happy ending or a promise of a happy ending, and in many cases, surprise endings. Although in my prequel, Destiny: A Bermuda Love Story, readers have to read Under the Moon Gate to find out whether their hero and heroine’s destiny is fulfilled. 

 

Do you have a writing schedule or do you just write what you can when you can?

I work out of my house so I fit my writing in between client projects. I am most productive in the morning since I tend to fall asleep in front of the TV at night.

Do you listen to music when you’re writing? 

 

Not lately, but for Under the Moon Gate I definitely did, especially the Big Band sound. I listened to a lot of ‘40s music since much of the book is set during WW II. Often I’ll look outside my window and watch the deer or the birds and that provides a lot of inspiration and distraction.

 Lately, I’ve heard other writers talk about creating inspiration boards consisting of things that inspire them or represent different aspects of the book as they write it. Do you do this? If so, do you find it helpful? How so? 

Actually, no. I know a lot of writers who do that. When I get an idea I research as much as I can on the Internet. With Under the Moon Gate, I did a lot of library and newspaper research so I could get an idea of what Bermuda was like during WW II. As far as setting, I’ve been to Bermuda on vacation about 10 times so I was familiar with contemporary Bermuda.

 Everyone’s road to publication is different. Take us down yours. 

My first foray into publication was writing short stories. I wrote four humorous, supernatural short stories for TWB Press (www.twbpress.com), a small publisher of science fiction, supernatural, horror and thriller stories and books.

Next, my sister and I wrote The Edger, a humorous women’s fiction which we self-published in 2012. That was followed by a comedic mystery we cowrote and self-published in February 2013, called Murder at the Outlet Mall.

Then, The Wild Rose Press offered me four contracts within a year and I have another one pending. So this has been a great year for me. I also had a Web site designed, which I think is important for all writers to have.

Are you working on anything right now or do you have anything new coming out soon? 

My next book due out with The Wild Rose press is Sixth Sense, which won the Georgia Romance Writers 2012 Unpublished Maggie Award for Excellence in the Paranormal/Fantasy Romance category.  It will be a three-part series about a psychic detective agency. Book Two in the Series is called “Homecoming Homicides.” Book Three is “Murder on the Repositioning Cruise.” I just went on a Mediterranean cruise to do research for that book.

My women’s fiction, Significant Others, is due out from The Wild Rose Press around Christmas.

 

Do you have any advice for other writers? 

Never give up. Finish the book. You can always improve copy you’ve written, but you can’t fix a blank page. Don’t be afraid to try self-publishing, especially if your books don’t fit a particular niche and might be considered a “hard sell.” Keep writing. I had books that were finished, but not published and once you find an editor and publisher who like your work they’re going to want more, so make sure you have more to offer. 

Most writers are avid readers, too. What do you enjoy reading? 

I like to read romance, women’s fiction and spy novels.

When the work day is done, what is your favorite way to relax?

Sitting in front of the TV, zonking out on the couch. I think I sleep through every TV show.

 

Thank you so much for having me here today! Thanks everyone for stopping by and visiting with me!

 

AUTHOR BIO:

Marilyn is a public relations consultant in Atlanta, a PRO member of Romance Writers of America (RWA) and Georgia Romance Writers (GRW) and winner of the GRW 2009 Chapter Service Award. She writes humorous women’s fiction, romantic thrillers/suspense and paranormal.

She was born in Miami, Florida, and graduated from The University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism (Public Relations) and a Minor in English (Creative Writing). Go Gators! She lives in Roswell, Georgia, with her husband, and she spends a lot of time hovering over her two wonderful daughters.

 Where to find Marilyn-

Web site- www.marilynbaron.com  

Blog- www.petitfoursandhottamales.com  

Twitter- https://twitter.com/MarilynBaron

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marilyn-Baron/286807714666748

 

LATEST RELEASES

Now out in e-Book format from The Wild Rose Press, DESTINY: A BERMUDA LOVE STORY, is the prequel to UNDER THE MOON GATE.

 

 

The relationship of star-crossed lovers Elizabeth Sutton and Edward Morgan founders off the coast of Bermuda with the shipwreck of the Sea Venture in the seventeenth century.  Edward is seduced by the captain’s daughter and trapped into an unhappy marriage, but he and his new wife continue the voyage to Virginia to rescue the starving Jamestown Colony.

Elizabeth, still in England and pregnant with Edward’s child, receives Edward’s letters telling of the shipwreck but knows nothing of his marriage.  When her child is old enough, Elizabeth follows Edward as far as Bermuda.  Will he return and will the lovers be reunited, or will their eternally entwined souls search forever to fulfill their destiny?

BUY DESTINY: A BERMUDA LOVE STORY

AMAZON

 

Now out in e-Book and Paperback from The Wild Rose Press, Under the Moon Gate, is a romantic thriller set in contemporary and WW II Bermuda.

Dashing sea captain Nathaniel Morgan sails into the life of prim and proper Bermuda heiress Patience Whitestone and threatens to expose her family secrets at any cost. The two are immediately at odds when Nathaniel moors his vessel in front of her estate and refuses to leave until he finds the cache of Swiss gold he’s convinced was buried somewhere on the property during World War II. Can Patience save herself and her family’s reputation when she finds herself reluctantly drawn to this determined “pirate”? Or will someone from the past make good on his threat to destroy them both? Their fate is inextricably linked to Nazi plots and to the beautiful moon gates of Bermuda in this compelling tale of love and intrigue.

BUY UNDER THE MOON GATE

AMAZON (E-Book)    AMAZON (Paperback)   THE WILD ROSE PRESS (Paperback)

Excerpt from Under the Moon Gate.

Patience yanked open the thick Bermuda cedar door, ready to brush off the unwanted visitor.

Instead, she experienced a shock of recognition when she stared at the man standing before her.

Taking a step back, she examined him cautiously. With long black hair, pulled back by a stark white tie, stunning blue eyes, and a fabulous face that managed to look both sensitive and sensuous, he could easily pass for a dangerous pirate.

Perhaps she was daydreaming or hallucinating. She hadn’t gotten much sleep last night—or any night in the past month—and she had been reading a romance with a lusty pirate hero on the cover. Probably she still had pirates on the brain.

 

Although the man at her door was in desperate need of a shave, he intrigued her. Her “pirate” was a tall, imposing presence in tight-fitting but ragged khakis, with muscles bulging out of a snug, sweatstained white T-shirt.

Good Lord! was the first coherent thought that pierced her brain. She might have said it out loud had she been capable of speech. Her grandmother had said someone would come for her, but certainly she didn’t mean so soon and definitely not this brash pirate person. And what was he doing at her door, unannounced and unwelcome, on a Sunday afternoon, disturbing her peace and leaving her speechless? One look at this man and she was about to toss all thoughts of proper behavior out the window.