Welcome to My Guest Author: Marilyn Baron

Today I welcome Author Marilyn Baron to my blog! So over to Marilyn....

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.

Find Marilyn on Facebook or Twitter.

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.

DEAD MIX

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.

Dead Mix is also available at:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble