The Ultimate Beach Read by Marilyn Baron

Hi, I’m Marilyn Baron. Author Alicia Dean tagged me for this mini blog hop. You can find her post here:  Alicia Dean. As part of the blog, I am answering the following questions about my current project:




1) What am I working on? I’m currently working on Book Three of my Psychic Crystal Mystery Series called Murder on the Repositioning Cruise for The Wild Rose Press. Book One is called Sixth Sense. Book Two is called Homecoming Homicides.

      2) How does my work differ from others of its genre? This book and, in fact the entire series, is psychic suspense, but while it’s dark in parts, it’s also humorous, which is a hallmark of all of my books. Book Three will have an even lighter tone than the first two books, which feature serial killers.  

Murder on the Repositioning Cruise is set on a cruise ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The psychic detective team, former Atlanta police detective Jack Hale and “Crystal Ball Kate” from Sixth Sense, is called in to calm the fears of the superstitious crew. Juliette Spencer, Kate’s mother, and Sheriff Will Bradley, a character we met in Homecoming Homicides, are posing as husband and wife on the same two-week transatlantic cruise to catch an art thief and investigate a murder. Juliette will be fine if Sheriff Bradley’s amorous advances in close quarters don’t cause her to jump ship or throw him overboard. It’s a suspenseful romp on the high seas.

     3)     Why do I write what I do? I don’t write in just one genre. I write romantic thrillers, historicals, women’s fiction and paranormal, so I write whenever an idea hits me. It may be a book title that provides inspiration or even the name of a character. 

    4)     How does your writing process work? I usually start out with a title and some character names I like and then I develop the story. I do research and then I start writing. I usually edit as I go along, although I don’t recommend that. I don’t plot in advance, just write and revise.

Right now, I want to be anywhere where it’s warm and sunny. In fact, I want to be on the pink sand beaches of Bermuda. So if I had to choose the perfect beach book for the perfect beach getaway it would be Under the Moon Gate.


Under the Moon Gate is set in contemporary and World War II Bermuda.

Here’s the Blurb:

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.


I’ve visited Bermuda many times, which is why I wanted to set my book there. And World War II is my favorite period of history so I combined my two loves. Actually, my husband only reads books about WW II and spies so I had to write one of those if I wanted him to read it.

What do I love about Bermuda? People can’t seem to stop talking about The Bermuda Triangle, but not many people are aware of the other things Bermuda has to talk about. So, courtesy of the Bermuda Department of Tourism, I thought you might find these little known facts about Bermuda interesting.

  1. Contrary to popular belief, Bermuda is NOT in The Bahamas. It’s located 650 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., and is less than a three-hour flight from Atlanta. It stretches for 21 miles along turquoise waters and is surrounded by a 200-square-mile coral reef plateau.
  2. Pink sand beaches. Bermuda’s signature pink sand comes from a combination of crushed coral, calcium carbonate, and foraminifera. There’s a picture on my Web site.    
  3. Bermuda is the oldest British colony.
  4. Visitors cannot rent cars in Bermuda. Tourists can rent motor scooters, but if you’re not careful you’ll get a bad case of road rash. 
  5. Bermuda does have its own currency, but Bermuda dollars are only usable on your Bermuda vacation, so it’s a non-exportable currency. Bermuda dollars are pegged to the U.S. dollar at a 1:1 exchange rate.
  6. If golf is your game…Bermuda is home to more golf courses per square mile than anywhere in the world.
  7. Love-Love. Thank you Bermuda for introducing tennis to America. 
  8. Bermuda has a rich literary heritage. Bermuda has attracted and inspired Mark Twain, Noel Coward, James Thurber, Eugene O’Neill and John Lennon. Before publishing The Secret Garden in 1911, Frances Hodgson Burnett stayed at the Princess Hotel, giving rise to the rumor that the secret garden was located somewhere in Bermuda. William Shakespeare’s The Tempest was inspired by a shipwreck that occurred near St. George in 1609, the year before he wrote the play. That shipwreck was also the inspiration for my book Destiny: A Bermuda Love Story, the prequel to Under the Moon Gate, which was released in September.
  9. Bermuda Shorts. Bermuda shorts, made of Irish Linen, are an acceptable part of the everyday wardrobe in Bermuda and are worn by most businessmen. 
  10. Bermuda remains the world’s number one wreck diving destination.

Excerpt from Under the Moon Gate:
   

     “For heaven’s sake, I’m coming,” Patience called out. She 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, sweat-stained 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.

If you haven’t been to Bermuda already, I hope you get a chance to go one day.  But reading my book is the next best thing to being there.


Author Bio


Marilyn is a public relations consultant in Atlanta. She’s a member of Romance Writers of America and Georgia Romance Writers (GRW) and the recipient of the GRW 2009 Chapter Service Award. She writes humorous women’s fiction, romantic thrillers/suspense, historicals and paranormal for The Wild Rose Press and has won writing awards in Single Title, Suspense Romance and Paranormal/Fantasy Romance. She and her sister, Sharon Goldman, just released a play about Alzheimer’s called Memory Lane. You can find out more about Marilyn’s books and short stories and listen to a medley of the music from Memory Lane on her Web site at www.marilynbaron.com or view it on YouTube at http://youtu.be/Hgi_mIdt5MA.

Here’s where you can find me:

Author’s Website www.marilynbaron.com








And now, I'm passing the baton to these authors:

Catch their blogs next Monday, April 7th.
Mary Marvella:
Mary Marvella had been telling stories for as long as she can remember. She's a Georgia girl through and through and Southern to the core.
Love, lust, sweet tea, and southern comfort.

www.MaryMarvella.com
AND
MJ Flournoy:

MJ Flournoy lives in Georgia, USA. MJ writes romantic suspense with paranormal elements. MJ's motto is, "If it is to be, it's up to me." When not writing, MJ enjoys traveling, reading and doing any type of research. 

  

10 comments:

  1. Ah, sounds like the perfect beach read escape. I will probably never get to Bermuda, so I will for sure check out your book soon. (I have the autographed paperback, woohoo!). I enjoyed reading about your WIP and your writing process. I wish I could just think of characters or a title and start writing. I definitely have to plot mine out.

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  2. Thanks so much for inviting me to participate in this blog hop and I hope you enjoy the book. I hope you do get to Bermuda because it's so wonderful. Everybody has her own process, there's no good or bad. I am a marketing writer in my day job so themes and titles come easy to me. So I'm lucky in that regard.

    Marilyn Baron

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  3. The book sounds fascinating, and Bermuda looks like it would be a fabulous place to visit!

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  4. Thanks, Diana. I appreciate that. You can read all about Bermuda and more in the book. If you get a chance to read this romantic thriller, I think you'll enjoy it.

    Marilyn Baron

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  5. I love the thought of a novel set in Bermuda! Like you, I'd like to be on those pink sand beaches even if it's just in my head.
    Going to get it now, Marilyn! Thanks for joining us here on the BEACH!

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  6. Marilyn, you are a writing machine! Or maybe you have minions to keep things going. Your books are keepers! Love this one and, yes, I'd LOVE to visit Bermuda!

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  7. Kim, Thank you so much for ordering Under the Moon Gate. I hope it brings back memories of Bermuda. I wish I were there now, too. I love your blog and thank you for inviting me to guest blog.

    Marilyn Baron

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  8. Mary,
    I have no minions. I could use some, though. Glad you enjoyed Under the Moon Gate. Hope you get to visit Bermuda. Thank you for commenting. Looking forward to your post next week on your blog.

    Marilyn Baron

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  9. I'm sure you won't Mary.

    Marilyn

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