Make New Friends (But
Keep the Old)
By Marilyn Baron
When I was a Girl Scout I use to love this
traditional song:
Make new friends,
keep the old.
One is silver,
the other is gold.
I find the sentiment in that song has
particular relevance to writing novels. I have several old manuscripts (friends)
sitting around that I couldn’t find a market for because they represented a particular
niche. Examples include novels about older heroines, which aren’t always the
easiest to place, and a novel about World War II.
Last year, I dusted off one of my old
favorites, revised it, and lo and behold, after some additional revisions
suggested by the editor, it sold. My romantic thriller, Under The Moon Gate, set in contemporary and WW II Bermuda, will be
released in the spring 2013 by The Wild Rose Press. In the past, no one seemed
particularly interested in the topic of World War II. However, my new editor
found something she liked about it, bought it and it will be marketed as a historical,
which I didn’t realize I wrote. I typically write women’s fiction, paranormal
and romantic suspense.
I never gave up on my “old friend.” I had
faith in it. My husband even liked it and he doesn’t read any of my books. The
only novels he reads are about World War II, so he actually agreed to read
parts of this one. I have always been fascinated by the second World War since
my father had been a top turret gunner on a B-17, flying missions over Europe.
That’s one of the reasons I wrote it. Another was the location. My family and I
had been to Bermuda on vacation many times and it’s one of our favorite places
to visit. So I combined my love of Bermuda and my interest in World War II into
one novel.
I believe getting a contract on this book must
have been fated. Earlier this year, Barbara Edwards invited me to join her
Triberr tribe, Shining Roses for the Wild Bunch. I had no idea what this tribe
was but I accepted her invitation. Months later, I signed the contract with The
Wild Rose Press and noticed that some of my fellow Tribemates also wrote for
TWRP. I emailed Barbara, who confirmed that, yes, all of the writers in the
tribe are Wild Rose Press authors. Her response was, “Must have been karma.
Congratulations.”
Hanging out with old friends doesn’t mean you
shouldn’t continue to work on something new. Right now, I’m finishing a new
romantic suspense, partially set in Australia, because I fell in love with the
place when I visited. However, don’t throw out old manuscripts like worn out
shoes. As a matter of fact, I’m revising another “old friend,” a humorous
women’s fiction that finaled in a writing competition.
The moral of this story is Don’t give up. Trust your instincts. Get
out your old manuscripts and give them a second chance. Your writing has no
doubt improved since your last reunion. You saw something in these gems once and
you may again. Like an old stuffed, well-worn Teddy Bear, there is still
something to love.
 |
| Georgia author Marilyn Baron on a trip to Australia in 2009 makes friends with a koala. |
Georgia Author Marilyn Baron, a member of Romance Writers of America and Georgia
Romance Writers, writes humorous women’s fiction, humorous paranormal short
stories and romantic suspense.
Her latest paranormal romance, Dead Mix, was just released by TWB Press.
To read more about her women’s fiction, “The
Edger,” visit her blog at Petit Fours and Hot Tamales;
for her angel stories visit TWB Press.
Marilyn's next book, “Under the Moon Gate,” a romantic thriller set in contemporary
and WW II Bermuda, will be released from The Wild Rose Press in spring 2013.
MUSIC TO DIE FOR
The devil went down to Georgia. Roswell, Georgia, and more specifically, The Lion’s Den music store. Enter at your own risk. The proprietor there specializes in mixing music to die for...on CDs that are guaranteed to knock you dead by the final note. As the citizens of Roswell go missing, one man, Daniel Craig, ventures into town on the hunt for lost souls, a search that will change his life, forever.
