Marilyn Baron - Stumble Stones, Interview and spotlight.

Stumble Stones a New Novel by Marilyn Baron

Delivers Dark and Humorous Romancing the Stone-style Suspense

I'm so happy to welcome Marilyn Baron, a fellow Wild Rose Press Author, to the Flight Deck today.

I asked Marilyn about her latest release and her favourite part of writing this book:

Stumble Stones: A Novel was just released August 19 and I’m very excited about this book. Stumble Stones has elements of romance, humor, suspense, mystery and intrigue. Set in contemporary and 1940s Europe, it’s about a cache of priceless diamonds hidden in World War II that holds the key to an unsolved mystery and a promise of lost love. It incorporates a lot of my favorite things: Travel—it is set in Rome, Baden, Switzerland, and Berlin, as well as on a Scandinavian cruise. I like to set books where I’ve vacationed and I definitely tap into that in this book. I spent six months in college in Florence, Italy, so that’s one of my favorite settings. At the beginning of the book, the heroine is on her way to Italy, to get away from her ex-husband and spend as much of his money as she can. As a matter of fact, that was the opening line. “Life was better in business class, especially when your cheating ex-husband was paying for it.”

I’m also very interested in World War II and a big portion of the novel flashes back to the Holocaust stories of two women. My father was a top-turret gunner on a B-17 during the war and I’ve always been fascinated by his stories and the journal of his flight missions. Most of the books I read and enjoy are set in World War II. That was the part of the novel I enjoyed researching and writing the most.

I love watching soap operas so I made my heroine, Hallelujah Weiss, a writer for the soap opera As the Planet Spins and most of the chapters in her point of view begin with a soap opera script, revealing the parallels in her life and the life of Polly Winthrop, the character she writes. It is my most serious book to date. It’s a multilayered dark and humorous suspense and I tried to achieve the perfect balance between darkness and light with a hopeful, surprise ending.

HL: What do you do for fun when not writing?

I read. I’m in two book clubs and on the steering committee of an organization that plans and holds a communit ywide book event. I’m never without a book and I enjoy all genres from literary fiction to young adult. Likewise, I write in a variety of genres, from humorous coming-of-middle-age women’s fiction to historical romantic thrillers and romantic suspense, to paranormal/fantasy. To me, reading other authors’ books isn’t a time drain. It helps improve my writing.

HL: When did you start writing?

I wrote my first “novel” called East-West Island when I was in third grade and my teacher read it to the class in installments. All of the characters were kids in my class. I majored in journalism and public relations and minored in creative writing and I have a public relations firm so I wrote for a living before I started writing fiction.

HL: So What comes first: the plot or the characters?

The title. I can’t start a book without a title. Then I have to name my characters. The plot isn’t fleshed out when I start. I am a “pantser,” which means I write by the seat of my pants so the plot develops as I go along. Often, the ending surprises me.

HL: What have you learned about writing since you were published that surprised you the most?

It’s hard work. It takes focus to sit down at the computer and write and revise, rinse and repeat until you get a product you are happy with. When my characters stop talking to me, I know the book is ready. The amount of time it takes to promote a book once it’s released is much more than I ever imagined.

HL: What’s your writing process? Has it changed since writing your first book?

Yes, I used to write longer books and now my books are getting shorter as I get older. I don’t have a set writing schedule. I write when I have time, between writing for clients. I wish I had more time to write.

HL: Do you listen to music when you write and if so, what kind of music – or do you find it distracts you?

I don’t do that much anymore, but when I first started writing I definitely listened to music of the period I was writing about. For Under the Moon Gate, a WW II romantic thriller, I listened to Big Band music and music of the ‘40s, which I love. For Stones, my women’s fiction, I listened to all the songs I grew up with. Music never distracts me.

HL: What is your personal definition of success?

Putting my books out there so I will leave something behind. Having readers tell me they loved one of my books.

HL: What is your favourite source of inspiration?

Inspiration can come from anywhere and everywhere, from anything that sparks your imagination. In fact, ideas can come when you least expect them, and when inspiration strikes, ideas just might come from the heavens.

Here are my Top 10 sources of inspiration:

Eavesdropping

Titles and Character Names

Travel

Dreams or Daydreams

Conversations

Real-Life Experiences and Events

Hobbies or Interests

Reading other Books

From Other People

The Cosmos

HL: Is there any advice, as a new writer, that you were either given, or wish you had been given?

Every well-known author I’ve ever met or interviewed has a common piece of advice for new writers and that is—Finish the Book! You can always revise and improve a manuscript, but you can’t fix a blank page.

HL: What sort of research do you do for your books and what’s your favourite source of information?

For my book set in Bermuda during WW II, I did extensive research by reading archived New York and Bermuda newspapers from the 1940s to find out little things like what people ate, what movies they watched, what style of clothes they wore, what things cost, etc., and that helped to give the book dimension and immerse me in the times I was writing about. Thank you so much, Marilyn, it was so interesting to find out more about you - now let's see some more of the book itself.

Synopsis

Hallelujah Weiss, writer for the steamy sudser As the Planet Spins, gets a second chance at love when she flees to Italy to get over her recent divorce, courtesy of her cheating ex-husband’s credit card. A woman scorned, Hallelujah has sworn off men and is determined to reinvent herself. The new Hallelujah is eager to live life on the edge, more like Polly, a character she writes and idolizes.

Lonely Berlin hedge fund manager Alexander Stone, a number cruncher who puts his faith in numerical data, still believes in destiny, despite the fact his fiancée just dumped him. Always a man with a plan, Alexander did not plan on Hallelujah.

After a chance encounter on a flight to Rome, the unlikely pair faces danger when they team up to return to their rightful owner a stash of WW II vintage jewels. The hidden diamonds hold the key to an unsolved mystery and a promise of love.

 Stumble Stones is available at:

Amazon UK Ebook

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stumble-Stones-Novel-Marilyn-Baron-ebook/dp/B01HLSSXSY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473286816&sr=8-1&keywords=stumble+stones+baron+kindle

Amazon UK Paperback

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stumble-Stones-Novel-Marilyn-Baron/dp/1509209115/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1473286816&sr=8-1

Amazon US (Ebook and paperback)

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=stumble+stones+baron

Stumble Stones E Book The Wild Rose Press

http://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-titles/4473-stumble-stones-a-novel.html

Stumble Stones Paperback The Wild Rose Press

http://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/paperback-books/4433-stumble-stones-a-novel-paperback.html?search_query=Stumble+Stones+Paperback&results=1

Barnes & Noble Nook

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stumble-stones-marilyn-baron/1124055735?ean=2940158118838

About the Author, Marilyn Baron
Marilyn Baron writes in a variety of genres, from humorous coming-of-middle age women’s fiction to historical romantic thrillers and romantic suspense to paranormal/fantasy. Stumble Stones is her 11th novel published with The Wild Rose Press.

She’s also published five short stories with TWB Press and self-published three books, including a musical about Alzheimer’s called Memory Lane. AmazonEncore republished her book Sixth Sense on September 15, 2015. 

She’s received writing awards in Single Title, Suspense Romance, Novel With Strong Romantic Elements and Paranormal//Fantasy Romance. She is a Georgia Romance Writers (GRW) Maggie Award winner, a PAN member of Romance Writers of America and GRW and winner of the GRW 2009 Chapter Service Award. A public relations consultant in Atlanta, Marilyn graduated with a BS in Journalism and a minor in Creative Writing from the University of Florida. She worked in Public Relations for AT&T in Atlanta for 13 years before starting her own PR firm. She was a 2016 Nominee for the 52nd Georgia Author of the Year Awards in two categories—Detective/Mystery for Landlocked and Romance for The Widows’ Gallery. Read more about Marilyn at:

Author Media Links

Website www.marilynbaron.com

Twitter https://twitter.com/MarilynBaron

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marilyn-Baron/286807714666748

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4722647.Marilyn_Baron

Amazon Author Page

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Marilyn-Baron/e/B008PJFQPC/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

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