Literary You: A Chat with Marilyn Baron

Gorgeous Italian locales, fine art stolen by Nazis, a side of romance... I'm thrilled to welcome multi-published author Marilyn Baron, whose books whisk us away to beautiful destinations around the world. Her latest, The Case of the Forgotten Fragonard, is set in Florence. It launched just a few weeks ago. We'll learn more about this tantalizing new cozy mystery -- including a great excerpt -- but first let's get to know Marilyn a little better.

Marilyn, congratulations on your latest release!

1) What sort of books did you enjoy reading as a child? Did you have a favorite book or series?
The author who inspired me to become a writer was Laura Ingalls Wilder who wrote the “Little House” series of children’s novels. 
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I loved those books.

2) What sort of books do you enjoy reading nowadays? I enjoy Historical Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Literary Fiction and Suspense.
 
3) Around what age did you realize that you liked to write? And when did you know that you wanted to write books?
In the third grade, I wrote my first short story, “The Gold Lace Dress.” In fourth grade, I wrote a novel called “East West Island,” which featured all of the children in my class. My teacher read it aloud in installments after lunch. I had some great teachers who inspired me to write. Throughout grade and high school I was either editor or feature editor of my school newspaper and I wrote programs for school assemblies. When I was eleven, I got a poem published in Highlights for Children, the one you get in the dentist’s office. It was called The Spider Web. I majored in Journalism and Creative Writing at University of Florida and had a career in corporate Public Relations and then started my own PR firm. So, I’ve been writing my entire life. But I didn’t start writing books until I joined Georgia Romance Writers.

Oh, wow! You were a busy little author in grade school!
 
4) What’s the first thing you wrote that you remember being proud of?
In addition to writing projects like annual reports and marketing brochures for corporate clients, my first novel, Under the Moon Gate, an historical romantic thriller set in contemporary and World War II Bermuda about a German spy and a British socialite was probably what I was most proud of.
 
5) Tell us about the creative force within you. What inspires you to write, to create?
I’ve wanted to write for as long as I can remember. I’ve written in a variety of genres from women’s fiction to historical romantic thrillers, from romantic suspense and paranormal to cozy mysteries. I’ve written in a number of formats, from novel length to short stories to anthologies. My sister and I even wrote a musical called “Memory Lane,” about Alzheimer’s.
 
6) What’s your writing space like?
We live in a high-rise condo on the 35th floor in Midtown Atlanta. Since COVID, my husband and I share an office, which comes in handy when I have computer questions or issues. I have a great view of Peachtree Street and the Atlanta skyline. It’s really more of a library that we turned into an office.  

Amazing view!​

7) Do you have a favorite time of day to write? Any habits or little rituals that put you in a writing mindset?
I love to write looking at the ocean, but we sold our Florida beach condo. I write mostly in the morning, since I find myself taking a cat nap in the afternoon and I’m too tired to write at night. I majored in Journalism and have my own PR business, so I work better under deadline.  
 
8) Time to talk about your latest release (rubbing hands together). But first, how did you come up with the idea for the series? Are there any interesting tidbits you’d care to share with us?
Yes, I spent six months in college living in Florence, Italy, studying art history, English and Italian. My favorite painting is “The Birth of Venus,” by Sandro Botticelli in the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, so I featured Botticelli in my first book [The Case of the Missing Botticelli] in the Massimo Domingo Mystery Series. Book 2, also contained in The Case of the Missing Botticelli, features the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. And the third, in The Case of the Forgotten Fragonard, features French artist Jean-Honoré Fragonard. I set many of my books in Florence, but this series is my first attempt at cozy mysteries. The series is all set in Florence and, the heroine and her sexy carabiniere boyfriend (later husband) travel to different cities in Italy—Venice, Lake Como and Rome—in search of Nazi stolen art. I’ve traveled to those cities many times, so I enjoyed going back there in the books. I am fascinated by World War II (my father was a top-turret gunner on a B-17 flying bombing missions over Europe, including on D-Day) and I love art history, so I’ve combined the things I love most in this series.   

Such a wonderful idea for a series!  

​9) Now let’s hear about The Case of the Forgotten Fragonard.  
Hadley Evans Ferrari, art detective in Florence, Italy, is on the scent of a forgotten Fragonard painting at a villa in Rome when she stumbles across a treasure trove of stolen artwork—from Hermann Göring’s personal World War II stash.

Here is the YouTube link for the book trailer: https://youtu.be/SizQ3LXSc9o

The trailer is FABULOUS!​

10) I comprehend that you’ve just recently published a book. Still, I can’t help but ask – do you have anything waiting in the wings?
I just signed a contract for a short story called, “Blame it on the Moon,” for the Wild Rose Press series Jelly Beans and Spring Things.  It will be published June 21, 2023. It’s about a woman who goes out on her balcony to watch the Blood Moon and when she comes back inside it’s three years later on the night of the next Blood Moon and everything has changed. I have also been researching an historical fiction to be set in Portugal, a country I just visited.
 
11) Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I write destination fiction and love to set my books in locations I’ve visited, from Bermuda and Australia to Scotland, Austria, Italy, Greece, St. Petersburg and Germany, as well as places I’ve lived like Miami, Tallahassee and Atlanta. Next year, I will celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary. My husband and I have two daughters and two granddaughters.
 
Marilyn, thank you for sharing your time and travels with us! Wishing you new adventures and joyful celebrations with your family for many years to come!

Time for The Case of the Forgotten Fragonard!

Tracking stolen art in gorgeous Italian villas…secrets and danger…

Hadley Evans Ferrari, art detective in Florence, Italy, is on the scent of a forgotten Fragonard painting at a villa in Rome when she stumbles across a treasure trove of stolen artwork—from Hermann Göring’s personal World War II stash. When she and the palazzo’s interior decorator are held hostage by the head of a secret Nazi organization and required, in a race against time, to appraise all the artwork in the house for private sale, she fears they will never escape with their lives. Can her sexy carabinieri husband Luca Ferrari and the police department’s Art Squad get there in time to come storming in and “save the day” before the villa’s evil Count “ties up loose ends”? 


Excerpt: The Case of the Forgotten Fragonard
 
“How do you know me?”
 
“Who in Italy doesn’t know the famous and beautiful Signora Ferrari of Massimo Domingo Art
Detective Agency?”
 
“I wasn’t aware anyone knew my name. My boss is the premier art expert.”
 
“Signora, you’re too modest. Your reputation precedes you, as does the highly questionable and fading reputation of your boss. And your particular expertise will be put to very good use here, I assure you. It’s a special job that requires your particular skills.”
 
“What exactly are we doing here?” Hadley demanded, acting more courageous than she felt.
 
“Okay, let’s dispense with the niceties, if we must. I have inherited a number of paintings, and I’m in need of your talent in authenticating and tracking the provenance of what I believe are masterworks.”
 
“You mean stolen Nazi art.”
 
The man straightened. “Certainly not. I have the records that maintain these paintings were legally sold to the buyers and that I now own Palazzo Allegretti and all of its contents.”
 
“But I understood that Herr Muller had purchased the palazzo.”
 
“Herr Muller works for us. He’s what you could call an anonymous third party. We’ve been waiting a long time to release these paintings onto the open market. I simply need your assistance in verifying their authenticity, perhaps giving us an idea of their current value, which has undoubtedly risen since they were…”
 
“Confiscated?” Hadley posed. “Is that the word you were looking for?”

Amazon          Barnes & Noble:  
 
The Case of the Missing Botticelli (Book 1 and 2)

About the Author

Marilyn Baron writes in a variety of genres from women’s fiction to historical romantic thrillers and romantic suspense to paranormal/fantasy and cozy mysteries. She’s received writing awards in Single Title, Suspense Romance, Novel with Strong Romantic Elements and Paranormal/Fantasy Romance. She was also The Finalist in the 2017 Georgia Author of the Year Awards (GAYA) in the Romance Category for her novel, Stumble Stones, and The Finalist for the 2018 GAYA Awards in the Romance category for her novel, The Alibi. Her novel, The Case of the Missing Botticelli, has been nominated for the 2023 Author of the Year Awards in the Romance category. Her latest novel, Book 3 in the Massimo Domingo Mysteries series, is The Case of the Forgotten Fragonard. Released March 22, 2023, the cozy mystery is Baron’s 29th work of fiction. Her short story, Blame it on the Moon, will be released June 21, 2023. A public relations consultant in Atlanta, Marilyn is past chair and current member of Roswell Reads (a one city-one-read program) and serves on the Atlanta Authors Series Committee. Past Roswell Reads authors have included Geraldine Brooks, Ann Patchett, Delia Owens, Rick Bragg and Laura Morelli. Marilyn is also a reviewer for The Book Review Crew and Authors on the Air. To find out more about what she writes, visit her website at: www.marilynbaron.com/.

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