Monday 6 August 2012

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:

23 comments:

  1. I so agree, Marilyn! And even when you're reworking a new book, as I'm doing now, cut out the sections you think to get rid of and paste them in a new saved file. Never know when they might be used!

    I'd love to go to Australia! How cool!

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  2. I first *met* Marilyn when I commented on her blog post and won her short story, Follow an Angel. I LOVED it and I'm proud to have her here today as my special guest blogger.

    Welcome to my blog. You make some wonderful points about "holding on to old friends". No writing is ever wasted. Sometimes you have to write several pages or even chapters to get to the point where the story really begins. It doesn't mean you can't use part of the previous pages/chapters somewhere else. Or they might be useful in another book. Sometimes a scene doesn't quite fit the WIP, so you turf it only to find that you could have used it after all. That's why you should always have a document where the extra bits go.

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  3. Terry,
    That is a great idea. I've done that too. That way I don't feel like I'm really losing anything even though I may never revisit those words again. It allows me to move on. Thanks so much for commenting. I absolutely loved Australia.
    Marilyn Baron

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  4. Hi Marilyn and Serena,
    Great post. In fact I'm in the process of revisiting an 'old friend' right now (my Italian story, Serena). I still love it as much as I did when I wrote it but with fresh eyes I can see what needs work.
    Glad you had a great time with us Down Under, Marilyn and we hope to see you back here one day.

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  5. Hi Terry,
    Lovely to see you here. I love Australia, too. I was born here and have traveled a little, but not as much as I'd like to. Thanks for visiting Down Under :)

    Hi Louise,
    Oooh, I adore your sexy Italian! I'm glad you're revisiting him :) Thanks for dropping in.

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  6. Louise,
    I would love to see your Italian story on the shelves. I love Italy, too. I studied there in college in Florence for sixth months and I love anything Italian (especially spaghetti). I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees a treasure in something old. And I would love to go back to Australia. And Serena thanks for having me.

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  7. Hi Marilyn,
    Great blog and very sound advice.I have been "re-doing" old manuscripts that have been cowering in drawers for years, I also am a TWRP author and have several novels with them.I too, have written a novel set during World War II, although I have to say the era of the Great War (World War I) is my favourite era. So, we have a lot in common including our friendship with Serena.

    Regards

    Margaret

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  8. Margaret,
    So nice to meet another TWRP author. I am so excited about the new book and being a TWRP author. What is your WW II novel called? I don't know as much about the first world war as the second but I read a great book about WW I by Ken Follett called Fall of Giants. He is about to come out with his new book about WW II in September and I can't wait. We do have a lot in common and thanks so much for commenting.

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    1. Hi Marilyn,
      I will have to check out Ken Follett, never heard of him before. Sebastian Faulks' Bird Song was a great WWI novel, a little on the dark side though.
      My WWII novel is titled A Mortal Sin. It is out on Kindle now, but used to be with TWRP(over 5 years) as The Trouble With Playboys, but I got my copyright back and thought I would work on it a little more and try a different publisher. Nan Swanson is my editor at TWRP. I love working with her. I have a new manuscript with her right now.

      Regards

      Margaret

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  9. Hi Margaret,
    Always lovely to see you here. You have a great history of selling some of your "old friends" too. Great books and time-accurate, which is so important!
    Thanks for coming in and saying hi to your fellow TWRP author, Marilyn.

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  10. Love the analogy Marilyn, and love the way you're spreading your wings at the moment. And, to anyone reading this, I can't recommend Dead Mix highly enough.

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  11. Margaret,
    Nan Swanson is my editor at TWRP, too. I'm really looking forward to working with her on the new book. Thanks so much for commenting and for telling us about your book.
    Marilyn

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  12. Andy,

    Thanks for your kind words about Dead Mix. And thanks for visiting Australia all the way from Leeds. Talk about writers, AJ Kirby is a great writer. I love reading his books and stories.

    Serena,
    I have really enjoyed guest blogging with you and hope I can do it again soon. Thank you.

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  13. Hi Andy,
    I have no doubt that Dead Mix is a real page turner! I LOVED Follow That Angel and look forward to reading Dead Mix.

    Thanks for being my guest blogger, Marilyn, and for some sound advice. I hope you make it back Down Under one day soon.

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  14. Some friends of ours will be spending a month there in January so I will be living vicariously through them. I do hope I can get back there one day.

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  15. Thanks for the nice mention, Marilyn. It was definitely Karma.

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  16. Thanks, Barbara. And thanks for inviting me into your Triberr tribe. I'm really enjoying meeting all the members.

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  17. Marilyn and Serena, Enjoyed the blog, Marilyn. Yep, I agree, keep those manuscripts - even that first one stored under the bed. We grow and can add to/revise and put it out there again. Good luck with the WWII book. Would love to visit Australia - especially today. So hot and humid here in Macon, Ga!

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  18. Maxine,
    Thanks for visiting the blog. It's hot and humid in Atlanta, too. I have several manuscripts I am going to rework because I still have faith in them and there is a spark of something there to develop.

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  19. Great to hear a much loved story finally found its home and thanks for sharing.

    Never giving up is great advice, it's so easy to stick the rejected stories in the bottom drawer.

    Cheers,
    Margaret

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  20. Thank you Margaret. I'm looking forward to finally holding the book in my hands. I appreciate your comment.

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  21. Hi Barbara,
    Lovely to see you here. I must confess I don't know anything about Triberr. I'd love to find out more. Thanks for dropping in.

    Great to see you here Maxine. I'm glad you enjoyed Marilyn's Blog.

    And always wonderful to see you here, Margaret M. And the words, "Never give up!" are words to live by.

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  22. Serena,

    Triberr is basically Twitter on steroids. It is a social networking tool to enhance the readership of your blog through Twitter. Bloggers band together in tribes and help their tribemates cross-promote. It helps you build a stronger online presence and expand your reach. I'm in 4 tribes. I've really enjoyed being a part of Triberr.

    Marilyn

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