Meet Marilyn Barr and her Strawberry Shifters
Today I am interviewing romance author Marilyn Barr who specializes in romance stories about characters who have different abilities and body types. But I will let her tell you all about it.
Do your travels influence your writing?
My family loves to travel and our annual trips have become the other pack locations in the Strawberry shifter’s series. Rosie Paulino’s sons are coming of age and need to find potential mates outside of isolated Strawberry. This is a common problem, so packs have joined together to trade youngsters in summer internships. Frank Paulino Junior is the first of Rosie’s sons to leave and we watch his journey to Seagrass Island FL, in Smoother Than Spumoni. Seagrass Island is modeled after Anna Maria island where my family travels at the end of each summer. In researching the upcoming novella, I went on multiple dolphin sighting tours to film prototypes for Suzie Larkin, MBA student, and Encantado Shifter. Many intriguing characters in Seagrass shift into a manner of animals with a wide range of unusual side effects so I would love to write a novella or novel for each of them too. While Suzie’s best friend Jean has made up her mind to intern at Bergan Pharma in Strawberry, more spin-off novels will be written so fans can check-in with the pack who can surf the best.
Had Frank never met Suzie, he would have traveled to the mountainous North Carolina pack. The home of this pack is modeled after Gatlinburg TN where my family hides away every November. Will Rosie send another son away if Frank decides to stay with Suzie? Or will she manipulate the young couple into living in Strawberry, so another son has a chance at finding love without leaving her too lonely? Stay tuned.
What other genres of novel would you love to write?
I love paranormal romance, but I have been batting around the idea of sending witches into space. Having a master’s degree in particle physics and natural curiosity of all things extraterrestrial, I miss researching the quantum mechanics that hold space-time together. (Read as Uber-nerd phone home.) My idea is that a tyrannical cult leader becomes President of the United States. He bans all religions outside of his cult and most of them go underground.
However, a group of witches refuses to give up their coven or conform to the ideals of the cult. It is no longer politically correct to burn them at the stake so what is a tyrant to do? He sends them into space. The witches are banished to Mars to build a colony in the name of the United States and claim territory before the other countries. The witches have minimal support from Earth but instead use their intuition, natural living skills, and mystical powers to survive.
How did you come up with the title?
The titles of the Strawberry Shifters books are puns based on what the main characters need the most to find happiness. In the case of Bear with Me, Alison needs her husband to stick around long enough to hear what she needs from him. Alison has lost her inner power, leaving Grant in the dark on what it would take to save their marriage. Just because they have been together for over twelve years doesn’t mean he can read her mind. Grant also needs Alison to “Bear with Me”. He has worked tirelessly to provide a lavish lifestyle for the family and has landed his dream job. Financially, the couple is set for life. He hasn’t divided his time evenly between work and home but will make the changes necessary to reclaim the love of Alison. Will Alison wait for him to find a healthy work/life balance?
The second book in the series is Round of Applause. What could the characters need to find happiness with that title? Find out during the holiday season of 2020.
Are there certain characters you would like to go back to, or is there a theme or idea you’d love to work with?
The Strawberry shifters is a sixteen-book series that details the lives of those who live in Strawberry, Kentucky and in some way support Bergan Pharma. I am very excited to write an installment with the working title, Cotton Batting. In the book, I want to take on the issue of fat-shaming. In 2018, I lost over sixty pounds using a healthy diet, exercise routine, and natural healing of inflammation from my autoimmune disease. While my friends supported my journey, I got the most bizarre comments from acquaintances. I knew they were trying to be complimentary but things like “bet you are glad to buy clothes from the real stores now” and “bet your husband is much happier now” didn’t sit well with me. My self-doubt spiraled out of control wondering what they weren’t saying when I was heavier. I have never had weight-related health problems but rather the opposite. Most conventional remedies for ulcerative colitis cause weight gain. It is an issue of beauty, not health.
I’m not a shrinking violet so I want to take this issue head-on. I can’t wait to introduce the world to Tyler, the hippo shifter. Tyler was a teenage runaway who Rafaella the witch took in during the 1990s. When he was attacked by a Sluagh pack leader, Vinnie saved the kid by converting him to a shifter. Tyler had hoped to grow into a fierce werewolf, lion, or leopard. With his waistline growing exponentially, he had the sinking suspicion he was meant to be something “greater”. Being a hippo isn’t the same as being docile, Tyler is a fierce warrior with a healthy, yet larger, body. (Note: Hippos kill more people yearly than all the big cats in Africa combined).
Tyler, the man, is happy with his size and secure in himself. He not only runs Strawberry’s only grocery store by himself, but he also coordinates the weekly game night for the guys in town. He loves strategy games, technology, and solving puzzles. His easy smile, quick wit, and talent for solving problems make him popular with vampires and shifters alike. Tyler’s life is low stress and easy until microbiologist Kimberly Parker moves to town. If only the judgy woman weren’t his destined soulmate, then he could tell her to shove her BMI rhetoric you-know-where.
Kimberly is a star at her New Jersey pharma company until her personal life runs her out of town. Hiding in Strawberry seemed like a safe idea until she is introduced to the paranormal aspects of the town. She can’t run for she knows too much, and hiding isn’t working. She has an unlikely hero in the grocery store owner who has always been too nice. If she can get him to change his outside, maybe they could date. However, she can’t trust him to protect her from the phantoms of her present or the monsters of her past at his size, or can she?
Do you have writing tip for other authors?
If you are like me, you will worry about every step of your journey. It starts with worrying about whether you have it in you to finish your first novel. Next comes the anxiety of letting others read it, the brutal query process, and the anticipation of meeting your dream editor or agent. Once you get the coveted contract, you will worry about ARC reviewers and editing choices. When it is time to release your book, you will worry about promotions, sales, and rankings. However, you do not have to be miserable.
Just write. Every day at the same time of day (if possible) write something. Whether it is 10 words or 10 chapters, every written word counts toward your dream. When you feel the doubts creep up, and you want to pace your floor while wringing your hands, sit and write. It doesn’t matter if you delete the words later because you would never release anything unedited anyway. Just write it. The muse shows up on her terms. Today may be the day, so be there for it.
Let’s examine each worry. The fix for finishing your book is to write it. The tip for not perseverating on the query process is to be distracted by writing the next book. You cannot count minutes between refreshing your email inbox and count the words you put on a page at the same time – or at least I cannot. Once you sign your contract the time between editing rounds is best spent, you guessed it, writing your next book. The release, promotions, platform building, and pieces needed to market your book are time-consuming. However, in every training I have attended, the experts agree there is one bull’s eye that increases sales and rankings. It is the release of your sequel, so write your next book.
I started writing my first book to give myself a mental vacation, an escape from my daily responsibilities. It made sense to give myself a mental vacation from publishing my first book by diving into the next book. It was easier to not take criticism of Bear with Me personally when my head was in Round of Applause. The anxiety of waiting for the wheels of publishing to turn was mitigated by my excitement over Go Scorch Yourself. Will I be obsessing over my sales rankings of Bear with Me tonight? No, I will be writing Book 4. Just write and everything else will fall into place.
Bear with Me by Marilyn Barr
Blue eyes, dimples, and silky brown hair; Grant Luther has all of Alison’s weaknesses.
When he asks for one last chance to save their marriage, she agrees to relocate their family to isolated Strawberry, Kentucky in pursuit of his career dreams. Grant views Alison’s sensory issues as limitations and protects her from outside threats. When he finds his new job includes changing him into a shifter in a war against the soul-sucking Sluagh he vows to keep the changes a secret. What he doesn’t know is Alison has been hiding a magical secret of her own. One that makes her a target of the Sluagh.
Will Alison emerge from Grant’s shadow to protect her family? And can Grant learn that being different can be a strength not a weakness?
Marilyn Barr currently resides in the wilds of Kentucky with her husband, son, and rescue cats. When engaging with the real world, she is collecting characters, empty coffee cups, and unused homeschool curricula.
She has a diverse background containing experiences as a child prodigy turned medical school reject, biodefense microbiologist, high school science teacher, homeschool mother of a savant, and advocate for the autistic community.
She would love to hear from readers via her website: www.marilynbarr.com
Or find her on Social Media
Enjoyed the interview! I loved how you came up with your title, Marilyn. Wishing you continued success with Bear with Me!