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.
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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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Bermuda is the
oldest British colony.
- 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.
- 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.
- If golf is your
game…Bermuda is
home to more golf courses per square mile than anywhere in the world.
- Love-Love. Thank you Bermuda for
introducing tennis to America.
- 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.
- Bermuda Shorts. Bermuda shorts, made of Irish
Linen, are an acceptable part of the everyday wardrobe in Bermuda and are
worn by most businessmen.
- 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:
And now, I'm passing the baton to these authors:
Catch their blogs next Monday, April 7th.
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.
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.
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