A Gifted Multi-Cultural Writer

I'm not an effusive, demonstrative, terribly touchy-feely kinda gal… but I have an Enormous Capacity for LUV—of a LOTTA fellow crime writers. (You ladies and gents know who you are!)

Marilyn Meredith is one… her life is so different from mine… she is happily married to "Hubby"—with tons of kids, grand-kids, and even greats!!! And her professional CV is radically unlike mine—She is a product of the West Coast, which I've only visited scantily on business assignments.

But this gal exudes such a ton of warmth, sincerity and generosity—I can't help lovin' her! A Bunch—as our warm-hearted North Carolina colleague, Kaye Barley, would say!

I'm so impressed by this lady's knowledge of and sensitivity to the cultures of folks in her neck of the woods—the American Indian cum Mexican tribes… and their cultures and mores… she writes with such authority, sensitivity and passion—I'm deeply impressed!

Welcome, Marilyn, we are so honored to have you here! We LUV you!

Thelma Straw

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Where I Get My Energy

Me and Great-Granddaughter Jaslyn

Thelma asked me a question that I get from a lot of people, and it always makes me laugh—and wonder a bit.

Am I being asked that question because I’m old? I guess when you get to be my age people expect you to retire to the rocking chair. I don’t have a rocking chair, plus I’ve noticed that those who quit doing things when they get older don’t have much fun. And some of them don’t last as long as I have.

Okay, so I’ll reveal my big secret, and it doesn’t have anything to do with energy. I tend to poop out in the afternoon and often grab a nap—usually while watching something on TV.

My day begins around 4:15 or 4:30, the time I automatically wake. I’m not one to sit around in my p.j.s like I’ve heard some authors do—I always get dressed. Who knows what might come up during the day and I want to be ready for it.

My routine consists of Bible study, straightening the kitchen, fixing a cup of Chai latte, checking email, a quick look at Facebook and promoting whatever’s new on my blog. Once that’s done, I get busy with whatever book I’m working on. I usually do that for around three hours—but if I’m also doing the laundry or other chores, I’ll be up and down.

Being the mother of five, babysitting grandkids, raising two others at different times, and for over 20 years being the administrator of a residential care home, I am used to interruptions and don’t have any trouble getting back to what I’m doing.

To be honest, I have much less on my calendar than in earlier years. And I don’t accomplish nearly as much as I once did. I still do things the same way though—I make lists of what I want to accomplish each day and usually manage to do it. I’m never only writing a book.

There are some things I’ve really cut down on, the big one is flying to events. I used to love flying, but too often these days the time between flights is such that you almost need to run to make them in time. I’m not running anywhere anymore. Instead, I’m choosing to take part in events that are close enough to drive to—and there seems to be one or two a month.

What I don’t do is chat on the phone. I’ve never really liked to do that, I much prefer email or private messaging someone on Facebook. I seldom write letters anymore—though I do write and send get-well, birthday and anniversary cards and thank-you notes. I don’t do housework—instead I pay relatives who can use the extra money to do it. I don’t do much visiting either, except with family.

For fun, hubby and I love to go to the movies—but we’re picky about what we see—and we like to go out to eat. We make out-of-town events that have to do with writing into mini-vacations. I also play Bunco once a month with the church ladies, and do like to play games with family members, young and old.

I have no idea if this really answers the question, but it’s the best I can do.

Marilyn Meredith

Visit me at http://fictionforyou.com/
Blog: http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/

Contest: The winner will be the person who comments on the most blog posts during the tour.
He or she can either have a character in my next book named after them, or choose an earlier book in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series—either a paper book or e-book.

From here I’m hopping over to see John Wills, a friend from Public Safety Writers Association. http://jwillsbooks.com/

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Marilyn Meredith is the author of over thirty-five published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, the latest River Spirits from Mundania Press. Marilyn is a member of three chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. She lives in the foothills of the Sierra.

Scary Things in my Past

Marilyn Meredith rejoins us today as part of a blog tour for the latest in her award-winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree series, SPIRIT SHAPES, where ghost hunters stumble upon a murdered teen in a haunted house and deputy Crabtree's investigation pulls her into a whirlwind of restless spirits. The author of over thirty published novels, Marilyn draws inspiration from her home town of Bear Creek and its environs in the southern Sierras, including the nearby Tule River Indian Reservation. Marilyn is a member of EPIC, three chapters of Sisters in Crime, and the Mystery Writers of America, and serves on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America.

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Whether or not scary things that happened to me along the way have influenced my writing, I’m not sure—but I have a hunch they may have.

When I was a young teen I did a lot of babysitting for the family up the street. The dad was a police officer and he told me where he kept his gun and that I should use it if need be. (Can’t imagine any law enforcement officer doing this today.) One time while I was babysitting, someone tried to get in the front door. I got the gun, and hollered, “I have a gun and I’ll shoot.”

Then I called my dad. Of course by the time he got dressed and came to the house, there was no one around. What the policeman said when he got home, I can’t remember. (This was long before 9-1-1.)

My folks were at the evening service at church and I got a ride home. I went into the house and straight to the bathroom. I left the door open and was looking in the mirror and saw someone run by. I followed, stomping my feet and yelling, “I’m coming after you.” My weapon this time, a hair brush. Whoever it was ran out the back door, the same way they got in. Now this is really dumb—I sat out on the front porch until my folks came home.

Once as a teen, I was riding on the street car and while looking out the window, saw a dead body on the sidewalk and someone hosing off the blood. What happened, I’ll never know.

One New Year’s Eve, when hubby was overseas, I had all the neighborhood kids over so their parents could go out. Since I had five of my own it was quite a group. Everyone was in the living room except my youngest who was in bed in my room with the sliding glass door. We were all playing a game, when my little boy came out and said, “There’s a man in my bedroom.”

I grabbed a baseball bat and started hollering, “I’m coming to get you!” I got there in time to see a leg exiting through the open door.

This one was only scary at first—then funny. I came home from a college class to find the three kids who were still at home huddled together in the living room. I asked what was wrong, the answer, “Someone is in your bedroom.” Sure enough when I tried the door it was locked. It had a drop down latch and the only way to lock or unlock it was from the inside of the room. I called the police. When the officer arrived, he tried the door, shouted, etc. Then said, all he could do was kick the door in. I knew hubby wouldn’t be pleased. Had an idea. Went outside and looked through a slim crack of the curtain. Oh, my, the answer was clear. There was the cat on the dresser, batting at the lock. I showed the officer. He said, “I better knock the door in anyway, how else will you get in?” I told him my husband would figure it out. And he did. He took the hinges off the door, the cat ran out, then he put the door back as it should be.

Because I’ve been around for a long time, there have been many such occasions. Now, if someone tried to get in probably neither hubby nor I would hear them. Fortunately, our grown son lives on the property—we’ll let him worry about intruders. Oh, and we do still have cats, but no door with drop-down latches.

© 2013 Marilyn Meredith
http://fictionforyou.com
http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/
Click here to buy: Spirit Shapes

Contest!

The person who comments on the most blogs on Marilyn Meredith's blog tour will have the opportunity to have a character named after him or her in the next Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery.

Tomorrow she’ll be visiting here: http://www.kathleenkaskawrites.blogspot.com/

Marilyn Meredith's Rocky Bluff Characters

Our returning guest, F. M. Meredith, a/k/a Marilyn Meredith, writes two police procedural series. Dangerous Impulses is the ninth in her Rocky Bluff P.D. mysteries and Raging Water was the twelfth Tempe Crabtree, resident Deputy Sheriff of Bear Creek, in the mountains of California. Marilyn (I’ll just call her by her given name) describes her police procedurals as on the cosy side. Yet all the classic elements are present: convincing policemen performing as expected, an intriguing (even exotic) setting, and crackling-good story. Her procedurals are ‘exotic’ to me—a writer of NYPD procedurals–since set in small rural locales far from Big Cities. Rocky Bluff, the setting of Dangerous Impulses, is a fictional beach community between Ventura and Santa Barbara. Like the best of our genre, though—McBain’s 87th Precinct, Wambaugh’s LAPD—Marilyn uses a recurring ensemble of cops and locals so we settle in and feel at home while following their latest trials, public and private.

Robert Knightly

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Because this is the last blog stop for my tour for Dangerous Impulses (#9 in the series) I asked for a suggestion as to what someone would like to know about the series. The answer was, "What inspired the characters?"

Officer Doug Milligan is the main character in the first book, Final Respects. In many ways he resembles my son-in-law who served 15 years in law-enforcement before losing his life in the line of duty. Not in looks of course, nor in the unhappy marriage, but they have similar attributes and definitely the same kind of love for the job. Anyone who has read any of this series knows life changes Officer Milligan matures and he becomes Detective Milligan.

Doug’s first wife’s description is the same as a neighbor of ours who no matter what she wore looked like a model. Fortunately, our neighbor had a much better personality.

Lt. Tom Gilbreath is the main character in Bad Tidings (second book) and I must confess he’s a dead ringer for a good friend who was not a police officer but our kids’ high school vice principal and truant officer. His wife in the book has many of the personality characteristics as my friend’s wife—but that’s where the resemblance ends.

And yes, I did fashion the most dreadful Cal Sylvester in Fringe Benefits after an obnoxious cop who lived in our neighborhood years ago. No, he didn’t figure out a plan to kill his wife, but he wasn’t a nice man.

Stacey Wilbur has a lead part, if there is such a thing in a book, in Smell of Death. She doesn’t look like anyone I know, but her strength and perseverance are based on two female police officers that I know. Despite her vow to not date anyone of the Rocky Bluff P.D. she becomes interested in Doug when she helps him on two cases.

No Sanctuary features two ministers, composites of pastors I’ve known over the years, and two churches—one is exactly like one I went to as a kid, the other similar to one I visited.

Rick Strickland plays a part in all of the books, a handsome womanizer who is a publicity hound—at least that’s how he starts out. Life change for him in the first book and he probably matures more than any character in the series—though he does have his shortcomings. I don’t really know anyone like him, but the publicity hound aspect came from a police officer my son-in-law told me about.

Gordon Butler debuts in Fringe Benefits. He’s not really like anyone I know, but he’s become a real person to me. Despite, or perhaps because of, being a by-the-book police officer, nothing ever turns out well for him and he ends up being the butt of many jokes. In No Bells, the love of his life turns out to be the main suspect in a murder case. He’s become a favorite among my female readers.

Abel Navarro has a big family and I’ve used his family’s dynamics in many side plots in various stories. When it came time for a new Sergeant to be chosen, he knew Felix Zachary would probably be the one—though it doesn’t work out that way. Both these men have personality components and family problems that I’ve witnessed in one way or another among my relatives (yep, I borrow from them too).

Though in most cases, the characters are not based on people I know, I’ve taken a bit here and there from the different officers and their families that I’ve known from the time we had many police families in our neighborhood. The police officers that I’ve met through my association with the Public Safety Writers Association have given me ideas too. (I met Robert Knightly at a PSWA conference—and no, none of the characters in my books are based on him.)

Once I’ve decided upon a character and started writing about him or her—no matter what inspired me, the character will morph into a different being who takes on a life of his or her own.

A bit about the latest in the series, Dangerous Impulses:

An attractive new-hire captivates Officer Gordon Butler, Officer Felix Zachary’s wife is befuddled by her new baby, Ryan and Barbara Strickland receive unsettling news, while the bloody murder of a mother and her son and an unidentified drug that sickens teenaged partiers jolts the Rocky Bluff P.D.

Contest:

The person who comments on the most blog posts on this tour may have a character named after him or her in the next Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel or choose a book from the previous titles in the series.

Rocky Bluff P.D. Series:

Though each book in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series is written as a stand-alone, I know there are people who like to read a series in order. From the beginning to the end:

Final Respects
Bad Tidings
Fringe Benefits
Smell of Death
No Sanctuary
An Axe to Grind
Angel Lost
No Bells
Dangerous Impulses

Marilyn Meredith
http://fictionforyou.com/
http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/
On Facebook and Twitter as MarilynMeredith

Two Untimely Deaths

Marilyn Meredith has guested for us before. The occasion is the release of Raging Water, to be reviewed next month, her 12th mystery featuring Tempe Crabtree, Deputy Sheriff in the mountain community of Bear Creek. Marilyn is a fellow police procedural author of the cozy persuasion, never shortchanging on suspense or surprise.

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One Sunday morning while we were getting ready for Sunday School our pastor received a call from a deputy asking for information about one of the members because she’d died. This woman was a bit odd, eccentric, lived on social security disability and hypochondriac, but was only in her late forties.

Even though she faithfully attended the church services, none of us knew any family members to contact though she had spoken about having a daughter. The pastor suggested the deputy visit her best friend who lived in a nearby low-income housing complex. When he went there, he found that woman dead too. She had no family at all.
Because the deputies in our county are also deputy coroners, they can pronounce someone dead without a doctor or autopsy.

What those of us who knew these women found unusual was the fact that both died the same night. Both were found sitting up. Pain medication was missing from the first woman’s house. None of this was investigated mainly because no one cared. Some family did turn up to claim the few possessions but didn’t ask any questions about the woman’s death.

When I started thinking about what I would write for my next Deputy Tempe Crabtree, I decided to write a different version and outcome in honor of these two women’s mysterious deaths.

Marilyn Meredith

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Deputy Tempe Crabtree’s investigation of the murder of two close friends is complicated when relentless rain turns Bear Creek into a raging river. Homes are inundated and a mud slide blocks the only road out of Bear Creek stranding many—including the murderer.

The book can be found in all the usual places and also on the publisher’s website.

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Contest: The person who leaves comments on the most blogs will have his/her name used for a character in my next book—can choose if you want it in a Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery or a Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel.

Bio: Marilyn Meredith is the author of over thirty published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, the latest Raging Water from Mundania Press. Writing as F. M. Meredith, her latest Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel us No Bells, the forth from Oak Tree Press. Marilyn is a member of EPIC, three chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com and follow her blog at http://marilymeredith.blogspot.com/

I know there are some people who like to read a series in order, but let me reassure you that every book is complete. Though the characters grow through each book, the crime is always solved. Here is the order of the books for anyone who wants to know: Deadly Trail, Deadly Omen, Unequally Yoked, Intervention, Wing Beat, Calling the Dead, Judgment Fire, Kindred Spirits, Dispel the Mist, Invisible Path, Bears With Us, Raging Water.

How I Manage My Time

I met Marilyn Meredith six or seven years ago in Vegas. Sounds like the opening line in a Fawcett Gold Medal paperback? She'd invited me to be on a short story panel at the PSWA (Public Service Writers Conference) held each year in the same Las Vegas hotel. The friendliest bunch of crime writers, and Marilyn – the Joyce Carol Oates of Police Procedurals – is the heart of the organization.

F. M. Meredith, also known as Marilyn Meredith, is the author of over thirty published novels — and a few that will never see print. Her latest in the Rocky Bluff P.D. crime series, from Oak Tree Press, is No Bells. Rocky Bluff P.D. is a fictional beach community between Ventura and Santa Barbara and F. M. once lived in a similar beach area.

F. M. (Marilyn) is a member of EPIC, four chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and serves as the program chair for the Public Safety Writers of America’s writing conference. She’s been an instructor at many writing conferences.

Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com and her blog at http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com.

– Robert Knightly

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I had a difficult time figuring out what to write for Robert’s blog. His mysteries are wonderful police procedurals, gritty and realistic. My Rocky Bluff P.D. mysteries are a form of police procedurals but I tend to focus more on the characters and what’s going on in their private lives, and they aren’t particularly gritty, and I suppose to be honest, they border on cozies — though no one knits or runs a bookstore. Another big difference between Robert’s mysteries and mine are his are centered around the NYPD and New York, mine are focused on a small police department located in the fictional town of Rocky Bluff on the California Coast.

By the way, I love Robert’s books.

So, I’ve updated my list of what I do to manage my time as a writer, beginning with what I don’t do.

• Stay up late and stay in bed late.
• Sit around in my p.j.'s all day.
• Watch TV in the day time with one exception.
• Visit on the telephone.
• Have people over for coffee--or go to others’ homes for coffee, except on rare occasions.
• Work on Sundays.
• Do my own housework, except for my bedroom and bath.
• Belong to any social clubs.
• Play Facebook games.
• Do craft projects, paint, knit, or sew.  I realized that if I wanted to be a writer, I ought to concentrate on writing.

(Sounds boring, but it works for me)

What I do:

I read at spare moments and in bed. I also check my email in bed at night.

I do watch DVD movies in the early evening because my brains turns to mush after putting in a certain number of hours writing and/or editing.

I go to bed early.

I get up between 4:30 a.m. and 5 and shower and dress--then I'm ready for whatever might happen during the day. (This is an old habit from when we owned and lived in a residential care home and we got surprise visits from licensing and the placement agency at any time.)

I start my day with whatever Bible study I happen to be doing, or just reading a chapter in the Bible.

I make a list of what I hope to accomplish.

I check my email and take care of it and do a quick peek at Facebook and tell the world what my plan for the day is because then I feel obligated to do what I wrote. Fix my Chai latte to drink while I'm working. When I get hungry I fix my breakfast. Once in awhile hubby fixes a big breakfast for both of us.

Sometime I glance through the paper while I'm eating, other times I'll read a book.

I write, either before breakfast or after, starting wherever I left off the night before. (A trick I learned long ago was to quit in the middle of a scene then it's easy to begin again the next day.) Fortunately, I can be interrupted and go right back to whatever I was doing. (That's from raising five kids and always having a houseful of my own and everyone else's.)

When I've written as much as I feel like for the day – or that time period – I'll move on to other things that need to be done, like writing blog posts, book reviews, some editing, whatever happens to be on my list.

I eat lunch and take care of other little jobs – or maybe big ones, depending upon what has popped up.

My daytime TV watching exception is General Hospital, sometimes I sleep through it, sometimes I fold clothes; in any case, it's a nice break. (It’s fun to see the outlandish plots they think up.)

Then I'll finish up whatever and move onto cooking dinner. Cooking is something I enjoy most of the time.

And that more or less brings me full circle.

When I was younger I had my finger in more pies than I do now. The hours and the days seem to have gotten shorter and I can't accomplish as much as I used to. Sometimes during the week, hubby and I will take time off and go out to lunch and to see a movie.

We also go to writers and mystery cons together. He doesn't write, but he enjoys the traveling and meeting new people.

I do belong to writing related organizations like Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Epic authors, and the Public Safety Writers Association.

This is what works for me. It might not for you, but if you really want to be a writer, you should be writing on a regular basis.

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No Bells – Officer Gordon Butler has finally found  the love he’s been seeking for a long time,  but there’s one big problem:  she’s the major suspect in a murder case.

CONTEST: The person who comments on the most blogs on my tour will win three books in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series: No Sanctuary, An Axe to Grind, and Angel Lost. Be sure and leave your email too, so I can contact you if you win.

Marilyn Meredith