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Showing posts from 2007

2008 Almost Here!

Hard to believe, it’s nearly 2008! Now the challenge will be to remember that and put it on my communications and checks. What are you looking forward to in this coming year? For myself, I’m hoping the year includes continued good health–always something to think about when you get to be my age. However, I’m always optimistic and this year’s calendar is already filling up. I’ve even sent in money for a mystery con in 2009. The end of January we’re flying to Chicago for the Love is Murder conference. All my friends in California feel that is being truly optimistic if not a bit foolhardy. I remind them that I went to Alaska to a mystery con in February and had a great time. I’m planning a book launch for Smell of Death, the next in my Rocky Bluff PD series in February. In March, hubby and I will fly to Portland OR for Epicon. My latest Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery is a finalist in the mystery category for an Eppie. Whether it wins or not, Epicon is a great conference and I have many aut

Feeling Really Old or Aftermath of Attending Daughter's Retirement Party and some exciting news!

How on earth could I possibly have a daughter who is old enough to retire? I don't have the answer to that question--what I do know is hubby and I traveled to Oxnard yesterday to attend daughter Dana's retirement celebration from her job as an administrative assistant of the Oxnard School District. The party was given by her boss and held in her boss' home--a gorgeous home beautifully decorated for Christmas. Besides about 50 of Dana's fellow employees, of course her husband attended, along with her daughter (my granddaughter, Genie) and her two kids (my great-grands--Peyton and Garrett), and my youngest daughter, Lori, and her hubby. The food was abundant and delicious. Everyone was friendly and spoke so highly of Dana--it really made me proud. One of the highlights of the evening was when Peyton who is four, donned her dance costume and performed her Irish dance. She did wonderfully. I met the current superintendent of schools and it certainly brought back lots of mem

Merry Christmas

The house is decorated and I'm exhausted. We don't have nearly as many decorations as we used to because we gave a lot of them away--still it seemed to take forever to put baubles and balls on the already lighted tree. Of course it was extra fun this year because it was the first thee for our three cats and they think it's a giant play toy just for them. Yesterday I took one of my daughter's Christmas shopping. Shopping is not my favorite thing to do--but we had a great time together. Hubby decided this was a good time to transfer closets--to put the decorations in the closet where we keep the luggage and vice versa. Since it's his idea he can do it. Last night we were invited to dinner by my good friend, Saralee. She also invited a friend she used to work with--a delightful young woman. Why anyone would want to spend an evening with two old folks like us, I'm not sure--but I'm glad they did. We had a wonderful time and a great meal. Had a bit of good news t

It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas

I've received a few Christmas cards and I'm thinking about putting up the tree. My Christmas shopping is under control--well what I mean is I've purchased the majority of gifts. The weather is cooperating too--we finally are getting some rain. I know, in parts of the country it's flooding--but we haven't had measurable rain for ages. Yesterday, we had a grand surprise. Lee Emory (one of my publishers--Treble Heart Books) called to say she and her husband were heading home from Oregon and would be passing near out place and could they come visit. Of course I said yes. Lee and I met at Epicon in Seattle WA years ago. Over the years she republished Guilt by Association and two of my Christian horror novels--Deeds of Darkness and Cup of Demons. Every year we met and visited at Epicon--in Tampa, Long Beach, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio. We enjoyed catching up on one another's news, enjoying the sights and having dinner together. They arrived and we learned it was L

Christmas Offer

I barely survived Thanksgiving--not the food and company part--but I was struck down by the flu bug. Yes, I had the flu shot. My nurse friend assures me it could have been a lot worse if I hadn't had the shot. Because of being sick, I haven't been able to tend to my writing business like I should have. My work in progress (the next Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery) has been put aside for a bit, I had two large projects that had to be done, and I have more to do on the ghost writing project I'm contracted for. As any writer knows, another important part of this profession is promotion. I try to do at least one promotion idea a day--hasn't happened. To make up for this, I've decided that I will give away the first book in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series-- Deadly Omen --to anyone who buys any other book from my website. I'll also pay the postage. Autographed books make great Christmas gifts, especially for people have a clue what you should give them. The Rocky Blu

"Legitimate" Authors and Bouchercon

http://www.bouchercon.info:80/minutes_anchorage.html Take a look at this, and go near the bottom and you'll see that the committee (consisting of Mayhem people) is going to come up with rules to exclude more authors. I can't believe this. They had lots of big name authors in Anchorage--but it was really expensive. I guess author's like me don't count, not even my money. Despite belong to MWA, Sisters in Crime, and other writers organizations, serving as an instructor for Writers Digest for 10 years and being invited to be an instructor at the Maui Writers retreat, having 20 published books, doesn't make me a "legitimate" author. Marilyn

An Award and Another Good Review, Etc.

Judgment Fire received the Golden Quill Award for Mystery from the American Authors Association. Needless to say, I am thrilled. In this morning's email I was tickled to find the following review: Judgment Fire Tempe Crabtree mystery series By Marilyn Meredith PUB: Mundania Press ISBN: 978-1594264849 Can Tempe Crabtree’s heritage and forgotten past help her find who killed a battered wife? Fighting the prejudices of hundreds of years against Native Americans and women in “men’s jobs”, Tempe works as a Sheriff’s Deputy in the Sierra Mountains. She tries to ease the misgivings of her minister husband and her firefighter teenaged son while she tries to balance work and family. Marilyn Meredith takes us into the spiritual world of the American Indian while she weaves Tempe’s story of arson and murder to a surprising conclusion in a well written book that’s over before you would like. Review by Wanda C. Keesey (author of Lost In The Mist, release date May 2008) www.wandakeesey.com La

Family Reunion

We just returned from a family reunion held in Barstow. Yep, Barstow CA. As it turned out it was the ideal place, an in-between place for the relatives who live in Vegas, southern, central and coastal CA. We did have one grandson who drove all the way from Sacramento. One of our granddaughters-- a busy one at that--planned it all. She's an amazing young woman with a husband, three kids of their own and two teens they've opened their home two. She helps her husband with their pool-cleaning business, and the youth at our church, and the Wednesday night Awana program, plus does all sorts of things for the school. The hotel was wonderful. It was a Holiday Inn Express with a free breakfast everyday, cookies, fruit and coffee and tea the rest of the time. We all began to gather after lunch on Friday. When everyone had arrived, there were 42 in all. My sis and my cousin were the matriarchs. What a weird feeling! We had offspring, grandkids, great grands and even a wonderful golden re

Romantic Time Reviews

Someone just sent me congratulations for a four star review in Romantic Times for Judgment Fire. I hadn't heard about it so did a Google search and sure enough, there it was, four stars for Judgment Fire. The review is in the magazine but won't be on the website for two months so have no idea what was said. While there, I noticed Calling the Dead received three stars. What was most interesting to me was the reviewer said that the Indian legends in the book detracted from the story. H'mm. Other reviewers made comments about how much the liked the legends. Another proof how different everyone's opinions are. The reviewer did mention that she liked the way Tempe called back the dead in the story. One sure way to get a review in Romantic Times is to pay for an ad for your book. Ads are very expensive, but I went in with some other mystery authors for a joint ad which made it more affordable. RT has a large readership. It will be interesting to see if having the ads and the

Giving Talks to Libraries and Service Clubs

One of the facets of being an author is having to promote in order to sell your books, especially when your with a smaller press (and in the case of a mystery author, a press that isn't recognized by Mystery Writers of America). Independent bookstores are usually willing to have booksignings by authors who aren't so well known--but those bookstores are an endangered species. I will be having a signing at one of my favorite independents, Russo's Book Store in the Marketplace, Ming Ave., Bakersfield, Saturday, November 10th from 1 to 5. Book fairs are great fun. This weekend I'll be in Springville with a booth at the Apple Festival both days. This is a fun event but exhausting. My favorite thing to do is giving talks to writers, libraries and service clubs. With writers clubs, I love to give workshops on many different subjects, from craft to getting published--and sometimes I do that at libraries too. Often with libraries and service groups I'll talk about my writing

Tough Week

Writing is something I love to do--especially spending time with Deputy Tempe Crabtree and her family. Lately there's been no time for Tempe. Last week, I was busy everyday with a class for administrators of adult residential facilities. I'm in charge of the training programs for an organization for administrators of licensed facilities and we do this particular class twice a year. Because I have to get up at 5 and don't get home until nearly 6 each day, all I had time and energy for was the required paperwork, snail and email. On the weekend, I did some catch-up work and watched Netflix. Hubby and I love movies and when we can't get to a theatre, Netflix is second best. Saturday night I slept oddly and pinched a nerve or something in my neck and was in horrible pain all day Sunday. Still taught Sunday School, had three boys, two of them are ADD or something similar, another boy who used to be a problem but has really shaped up, and two girls. Church followed, then we t

Looking Back on My Trip

My visit in Alaska was a great adventure. Katina topped it off by taking me to the Anchorage Museum. From there we drove around a bit in search of a moose we never found, but I was able to see the wonderful Native Medical Center and the campus of Alaska University. The two of us had a fabulous dinner of reindeer sausage, shrimp and steak, and I finally had to tell Katina goodbye when she dropped me off at a hotel near the airport. My plane left at 6 a.m. and I didn't want anyone having to get up so early to take me. My flights home were tedious--Anchorage to Seattle, Seattle to Portland, Portland to Fresno, arriving home at 5 p.m. I was so happy to see hubby waiting for me. When we finally got back to Springville, I did nothing but go upstairs and jump in bed. The next day I had all sorts of messages to return, emails to answer, and bills to pay. It's great to be home! Marilyn http://fictionforyou.com

Here I am in Wasilla AK

Bouchercon was absolutely wonderful! I met the most interesting people and visited with old friends. After my panel about Ethnic Detectives which I was on with Victoria Heckman, also my roommate, I did an Author Special with one person who was a good friend from the midwest, Boobye Johnson. Great catching up with her. Most of the other panels I attended were on Forensics of one sort or another. My favorite was a Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard who was a real "Guardian" rescue swimmer out of Fairbanks, AK. For some unknown reason, the person who was supposed to arrange my visit to the schools didn't do it. She also wanted me to drive a rental car which I didn't want to do. One day on the sidewalk, I met a woman who was attending the con. I told her my dilemma and she offered not only to drive me to the home where I was staying in Wasila, but also to the schools if I ever had one to go to. What a God send! After the closing ceremonies, Pat, my new friend drove m

Off to Alaska

After trying to figure out what to pack for Alaska, I'm finally ready to go. We were told to bring layers--so that's what I've packed. I'll be there for 8 days, so I packed things I could wear a second time. Because I'm taking books too, my big suitcase is heavy. Since I'm going alone, I'm the one who will have to haul them around. Hubby doesn't like Alaska. He was there once during his Navy career. Hubby and I are driving to Fresno where we'll stay in a hotel close to the airport overnight. Otherwise we'd have to get up soon after we went to bed in order to get there in time. The plane leaves at 6 a.m. It leaves at 6 a.m. when I'm coming home too--no telling how I'll get to the airport on time then. I guess I'd better not cross that bridge until I come to it. My travel home is taking much longer than getting there. Not exactly sure why. There is an hour time difference between Alaska and California but I don't know which way. I&#

Despite the Error a Wonderful Review

Last time I wrote about the error a reviewer found--this is a review from another person and it's so wonderful, I have to share: Cheryl Malandrinos, The Book Connection "Mystery, murder, and mayhem--you'll find it all in Marilyn Meredith's latest installment in the Tempe Crabtree mystery series, Judgment Fire . "Deputy Tempe Crabtree continues to watch over the residents of Bear Creek and expand her knowledge of her Yanduchi Indian heritage. The warning of a shaman leaves Tempe with more questions than answers. Used to the dangerous situations her job constantly puts her in, Tempe pushes aside Dorothea's warning. But when a battered wife is murdered, and Tempe begins to receive threatening phone messages as she tries to uncover the killer, Tempe is drawn once again to the shaman and her Yanduchi heritage to try and make sense of the flashes of her past which keep appearing in her mind. "Tempe feverishly works to eliminate suspects, but the list of possibl

On Finding a Mistake in Newly Published Book

Nothing like having a reviewer burst your euphoria about having a new book out by letting you know about an error on one of the pages. Actually I appreciated her doing that. Ironically, I got the message on my Blackberry while I was in Tampa at the WOW conference. My editor was there too and I told him. What he's decided to do is correct the error and issue a second edition. By the way, the conference was terrific. I have copies of the "first edition" of Judgment Fire with the mistake and I am offering them to anyone who would like a copy for the $10 price and $2.50 for shipping along with a copy of the first book in the series, Deadly Omen , both autographed of course. Who knows, it may become a collector's copy. Anyway, if your interested, email me at mmeredith@ocsnet.net and tell me you'd like to order the book and I'll send you my address. Next week I'm leaving for Anchorage to attend Bouchercon. I'm staying over a few days to participate in the

Does Anyone Ever Read These Blogs?

I do these blogs, not as faithfully as I should, but sometimes wonder if I'm wasting my time. I am on Chapter 5 of my as yet untitled next Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery. I've been doing a pretty good job of sticking to it, but Thursday I leave for Tampa FL and the WOW conference and will be gone until Monday and no writing will get done there. I know some people take their laptops on trips and continue to write, but I have enough stuff to lug and find when I'm busy at a conference or convention, when I get back to my room I'm ready to rest--or go to sleep. This month is far too full. I've already been to a Sisters in Crime meeting in Fresno, and to San Luis Obispo to a Book Festival--great fun. I'll be home for one weekend, then I'm heading off to Alaska and Bouchercon. Will report when I get back. October won't be much better. I have a class to teach one whole week--then an online class on mystery writing. I'm giving a talk on POV to a local write

On Starting a New Book

Yep, that's what I'm doing, beginning another Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery. I have the plot idea--not all of it, of course, but pretty much know where I'm going. It's the getting there that's going to be difficult. For one thing, I'm still putting a lot of effort into promoting Judgment Fire. I'm going to a Sisters in Crime meeting Saturday with books, another book festival the following weekend. Then I'm off to Tampa FL for the WOW conference. I no sooner get home, then I have to pack a whole different bunch of clothes because I'll be a week in Alaska at Bouchercon. Do you think I'll be able to squeeze in much writing? Nope, neither do I. Other things crop up too--like writing jobs that pay money. When they come along I have to take them because they pay for the expenses of the trips. And really, I do have a life. I cook meals for my family which I like to do, most of the time--unless I'm really under pressure. Fortunately, my daughter-in-l

My Interesting Week

I suppose the most challenging event to arise is Mystery Writers of American's decision to approve and disapprove publishers based on the number of books printed on a print run, advance, author not spending anything to be published. Because a lot of publishers are now using print-on-demand technology to print books (including some New York publishers) they wait to print books when orders come in. This is ecologically sound, but something MWA doesn't approve of. MWA certainly can make up whatever rules they so desire--but as a member of MWA I sure didn't have any input into these new rules. My publisher is not approved, though Mundania has been trying hard to convince MWA they should be approved. They don't charge authors anything--they don't give an advance, but they do have a sound royalty system. I'm a MWA member and have been for years and that won't change as long as I pay my dues. The problem is now some of the mystery cons have decided that only those

A Visit with Karina Fabian, Author of Infinite Space, Infinite God

I was honored to spend a little time with Karina to talk about her latest book and a little bit about her and her writing habits. Here is what she had to say. Marilyn: Tell me all about your book and how you came to write it. Karina: Infinite Space, Infinite God is thought-provoking sci-fi with a Catholic twist. The 15 stories cover the gamut of future science, from genetic engineering to asteroid mining to interstellar travel. They span the topics of sci-fi: time travel, space opera, dystopia, psychological thrillers and sci-fi mystery. Finally, they examine the Catholic world view in the challenges of the future, from evangelizing to aliens to determining the soul-status of artificially created humanoids, to religious orders and even saintly miracles. It won the EPPIE award for best electronically published science fiction of 2006 and is coming out in print August 15 from Twilight Times Books. www.twilighttimesbooks.com . My husband, Rob, and I are long-time science fiction fans and

Judgment Fire/My Own Virtual Book Tour

Judgment Fire is now available. If you go to my website: http://fictionforyou and purchase through the Buy Now button you'll receive a 10% discount from the publisher. I've been hosting authors on my blog and I'm also on a Virtual Book Tour. Here's where I'll be in the next few days: August 14, 2007Boomer Chick www.overthehillchick.blogspot.com August 16, 2007Plug Your Book! www.plugyourbook.blogspot.com August 20, 2007 The Story Behind the Books www.thestorybehindthebooks.blogspot.com August 21, 2007 Virtual Book Tour de Net (featured author) www.virtualbooktourdenet.blogspot.com August 22, 2007 Virtual Book Tour de Net (interview) www.virtualbooktourdenet.blogspot.com August 23, 2007 Straight from the Author's Mouthv www.straightfromtheauthorsmouth.blogspot.com August 27, 2007 Storycraftersv www.storycrafters.blogspot.com August 28, 2007 Author Talksv www.authortalks.blogspot.com August 29, 2007 The Book Connection www.thebookconnectioinccm.blogspot.com Au

The Making of Silenced Cry

Marilyn is asking author Marta Stephens about her newest book. Tell me about your latest book. Silenced Cry is the story of a young narcotics detective, Sam Harper. He and his partner, Gillies, are on surveillance of a drug supplier who had eluded capture. It quickly becomes evident that Gillies is intentionally muddying up the facts. Key points don’t add up and makes Harper believe Gillies is involved in illegal activities. His partner is shot and killed during the surveillance. When questions surrounding his partner’s death go unanswered, Harper suspects a cover up. Harper is transferred into homicide and given a new partner, Dave Mann. Their first case takes them to the Harbor View Apartments, a building marked for demolition, where workers discover the skeletal remains of an infant entombed in one of the walls. The investigation into the infant’s murder opens the floodgates of questions when the suspects in the Baby Doe case all tie back to Gillies. Evidence mounds as quickly as t

My Virtual Book Tour

I'll be hosting more authors on their virtual book tours this month. While I'm doing that I'll also be on my own tour. Here's the schedule: JUDGMENT FIRE TOUR SCHEDULE August 1, 2007 The Writer’s Life www.thewriterslife.blogspot.com August 6, 2007 Pump Up Your Online Book Promotion www.pumpupyouronlinebookpromotion.blogspot.com August 7, 2007 As the Page Turns www.asthepageturns.blogspot.com August 9, 2007 Be My Guest! www.bloggingauthors.blogspot.com August 10, 2007 W.O.W.-Women on Writing http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/blog.html August 14, 2007 Boomer Chick www.overthehillchick.blogspot.com August 16, 2007 Plug Your Book! www.plugyourbook.blogspot.com August 20, 2007 The Story Behind the Books www.thestorybehindthebooks.blogspot.com August 21, 2007 Virtual Book Tour de Net (featured author) www.virtualbooktourdenet.blogspot.com August 22, 2007 Virtual Book Tour de Net (interview) www.virtualbooktourdenet.blogspot.com August 23, 2007 Straight from the Author’s Mout

Christine Norris' Visit to My Blog

Hi, how’s it going? I know, right now you’re asking yourself if you’ve clicked the right link, or if you perhaps mis-typed the blog url. Nope, this is Marilyn Meredith’s blog, but I’m not Marilyn. My name is Christine Norris, and I’m a YA fantasy author. Marilyn has been kind enough to allow me to mooch her blog for today and pimp my new book to all of you. When she agreed to this, I asked what I should write about. She said, ‘why don’t you write about the inspiration for the book?’ ‘Good idea!’ said I. ‘Sounds like a plan.’ Wait, I guess I should tell you the title of the book first, huh. Return to Zandria . So, you’ve probably guessed there is another book, since this one is about Returning. You’d be right. The first one is called Talisman of Zandria . That’s really where I should start, because the two are interconnected, inspiration-wise. The first book came about really as a bit of a lark. I had finished reading the first three or four Harry Potter books. I came late to the game o

Gearing Up for A New Book Promotion

The galleys arrived for Judgment Fire. I made the corrections and sent the pages back the fastest way possible. I'm on a panel about publishing at the San Joaquin chapter of Sisters in Crime on August 4th in Fresno--it'll be a miracle if I have books for that. I have been promised books by August 11th when my book launch is scheduled at the Springville Visitor's Center (my hometown). I'm publicizing it, so all I can do is pray. Speaking of praying, since Monday I've been one of the helpers at Vacation Bible School at our church. I've been herding around 6 12 year-olds, 3 boys --2 act like they are about 6, and 3 girls, one who acts or thinks she's does anyway, 18. We have lots of older teen helpers and the girls flirt with the males outrageously. My job is making sure they all behave as we go from Missions, Music, Recreation (wild and involves getting wet), Bible Study and Crafts. I'm not sure this is such a wonderful job for a 73 year old great-grandma

Animals in Life and Books

We've always had animals. We raised three kids and lots of animals: cats, dogs, chickens, ducks, snakes, guinea pigs, and that was when we lived in the city. We have plenty of animals in our life these days. Three inside cats, Sundance (looks Siamese), Butch (gray and white tuxedo), and Shirley, multi-colored and mother of the boys. Outside are a bunch of feral cats, where they come from we don't have a clue. Hubby feeds them along with a gangling mixed breed dog named Beau who loves the cats. In my Deputy Tempe Crabtree series I have yet to include an animal. Why, I don't know. Perhaps it's because I haven't taken much from my own life experiences for these books. It's a different story in my Rocky Bluff P.D. series. The idea for that series came directly from my friendships and acquaintances with the police officers who lived in our neighborhood though not at the time we were living there. When my daughter married a police officer, his story telling added to w

Promotion Etc.

Life would be so much easier if all an author had to do was write books. Instead, a great deal of time is spent on promotion. If you don't do promotion, it's possible no one would hear about your books or have the opportunity to read them. No longer is it the publishers' responsibility to make sure the word gets out about your book. Oh, sure, if your a big name author, money will be spent on promotion for his or her latest book, but it doesn't happen for the midlist author, or the author problished by a small press. Because I have a new book coming out, I'm spending a lot of my free time thinking up ways to promote. My contest is one--see detail below. Actually, I've received some very good entries and it will be hard choosing which is the best. Might even have to give a second prize. We'll see. If you haven't entered yet, please do. It's free--and you might win copies of the earliest books in my series. I hope all of you are managing to stay out o

New Contest--Win Books

Here's a contest that will make you put on your thinking cap and use your imagination: Submit an idea for a murder victim or villain to be used in my next mystery novel. It will be the one I start this summer. Prizes: The first five books in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series. The first one is trade paperback,the other four are mass market paperback. They are all mysteries. About the book series: Tempe Crabtree is a Native American female deputy in a small mountaincommunity in the Southern Sierra of California called Bear Creek. In eachbook, she learns more and more about her heritage. She’s married to a Christian minister who isn’t thrilled when she uses Indian spiritualismto help solve crimes. An Indian reservation is nearby–the closest small townabout 20 miles away. Please submit entries to editor@clarylopez.comThe winner will be selected by the author (me) and announced on the Book Den site http://booksden.wordpress.com/ on August 1, 2007 I'll be looking forward to some inno

AN INTERVIEW WITH NADENE CARTER

Marilyn: I understand that you've recently had a craft of writing workbook published. Nadene: Yes, The Sense-bile Writer was released for publication the first of June 2007 by ePress-online Inc. http://www.epress-online.com Marilyn: How long did it take you to write The Sense-ible Writer ? Nadene: I’ve edited other writers’ work since 1999. When I found an error in a manuscript, I made note of it to the author, along with what the author needed to do to correct that error. I also moved that entry to a folder I created especially for problems. As my editing work progressed, whenever I found an error, I checked that "problem folder" first. If I had already created verbiage about that error, I copied, pasted, and personalized it for this particular author. Soon, it became time-consuming to locate an entry, so I created subfolders and organized the topics within the subfolders. In 2005 I recognized that the information I had saved in those subfolders might be worked into a C

Interview with Kim Robinson

Kim Robinson is stopping by my blog on her virtual book tour. I almost participated in a booksigning with her in Los Angeles, but couldn’t find the restaurant where it was being held. On the Internet, I’ve known Kim for a long while. Here’s the questions I asked Kim. Marilyn: First, I feel like I already know you though we never actually connected. Kim: We have connected you were one of the first ebook authors who participated in my virtual cookbooks, Sweet Satisfaction and Food for the Soul. Someday I hope to actually meet you. I know we will one day, and I am looking forward to it. Marilyn: Your book, Roux in the Gumbo , is so rich with history and color of the time and place--and I know you wrote it with love. Did you have special feelings while writing it? Like were you were in touch with those you were writing about? Kim: My Grandmother mostly but I do feel that people came to me in my dreams and showed me their lives. I feel like I am helping people know how hard it wa

Vicki Taylor, author of "Trust in the Wind"

Author Vicki Taylor is visiting my blog today as one of the stops on her virtual book tour. She kindly agreed to let me interview her so I could get to know more about her and her latest book. Marilyn : When did you start writing? Vicki: I've always written in some format or other. As a career, I wrote technical computer user manuals for fifteen years. Through a set of unforeseen circumstances, I was able to fulfill my dream of writing fiction full time. That started around 1999. Marilyn: Do you have a particular schedule for writing? Vicki: I sort of do have a schedule. I like to write in the afternoons. I feel more alert and inspired at that time. I try to write for a couple of hours straight, then work on other things like editing, critiques - things like that. I also have to squeeze in some promotion every day as well. So that gets added to the schedule. Marilyn:What do you think is special about this particular book? Or you might tell us what you enjoyed most about writing thi

Authors' Virtual Book Tours and In Person Book Signing

Starting next Wednesday, I'll be hosting a couple of authors on their virtual book tours. The next one will be for Vicki Taylor. I do hope you'll stop by and learn about her and her books. I'll be having a virtual book tour myself in August to promote Judgment Fire , the next book in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series. I'll post the schedule as soon as I have it. On Saturday, June 23 from 1 to 2:30, I'll be Ventura CA at the Barnes and Noble Bookstore with a few other authors to sign books--I'll be signing Calling the Dead . Anyone who is in the area, please come and see me. I've been really busy. Spent last weekend in Reno with the Public Safety Writers Association Board--and yes, we did work. I didn't put one nickle in a slot machine--it isn't my thing. Besides getting a lot done, we did laugh a lot. There's nothing like hanging out with a trio of retired cops and listening to their wild tales. To learn more about PSWA, visit http://www.policewr

Home Again

What a vacation! We are usually only gone for a weekend with a day or two on either side. This time we were gone for about ten days. We had a great time. The down side was coming home to a stack of phone messages to return and a foot high stack of mail. Mayhem as usual was great fun! We had Thursday a.m. to visit the Heritage Museum. Chose that over the zoo because it was pouring rain. For lunch, we went to our favorite Ahmad’s Persian Restaurant and we weren’t disappointed. Ahmad remembered us and called us California as soon as spotted us. Speaking of restaurants we found another good in the Old Marketplace, M’s Pub. When we returned to our hotel, Pat Lang, our Omaha friend, came to visit us in our room. The opening buffet was that night. Mayhem is a bit like a family reunion because so many of the same people, writers and readers, attend year after year. So much fun to see and visit with everyone. I won’t name all the authors and fans that I’m particularly fond of–suffice it to say

Judgment Fire, Coming Soon

The latest in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series, Judgment Fire, is planned to debut in August. Besides investigating the murder of a battered wife, she'll be calling back memories of her painful high school years.

What's Been Going on With Me

Though I’ve managed to catch up on most of my work, and my latest manuscript in progress is now in the second go-round of editing by me, things will once again start moving at a fast pace. Here’s some of the fun stuff that I’ve managed to squeeze in. I spent a late afternoon visiting over appetizers with Becca Buckley, the organizer of WOW (Wizards of Words) and Heather Howard, the author of The Chore Whore. We were celebrating the fact that Heather’s book may be made into a TV series. The book is about a personal assistant to the stars. Very funny and would make a terrific series. We also laughed a lot. My weekend was great. My sis and her hubby, her daughter and two kids all came to visit. The event was to celebrate our little church’s 50th anniversary. We had a great turnout, wonderful food, and my good friend, mystery writer and gospel singer, Lorie Ham was our guest performer. Three of our teens also performed and did really well after one of them managed to get over the giggles.

Another Day, Another Post

I'd really like to do this once a week, but something I just get two darn busy. I've been doing lots of classes for the residential care business which is time consuming and requires a lot of paperwork--but it does pay my credit card bill (much needed.) Our church is planning it's 50th anniversary, and I've been involved writing articles for the newspaper about it. It was fun to tell everyone that our little church had its beginnings in a home, a gas station, and a chicken coop. I'm still working on my latest Deputy Tempe Crabtree book and hope to come up with some ideas for a Rocky Bluff P.D. book. The next one in both series is supposed to be out this fall. Tempe's book is called Judgement Fire and the Rocky Bluff one is Smell of Death. As far as trips, our next one is to Mayhem in the Midlands in Omaha. This is another favorite as we've made a lot of friends in Omaha. It will be in a different hotel this year, more modern and closer to all the wonderful r

Public Safety Writers Association Writers Conference

Probably the PSWA conference was the most fun of any conference I've ever been to. Mind you, I always have a good time at conferences and cons. It's an opportunity to see writing friends and fans I haven't seen for a while and catch up on their news--and a time to make new friends. What was different about the PSWA conference is there were less than twenty people there. Others might think it was a disaster--but believe me, it made for an intimate gathering. The presentations were exceptional and because the audience was small, people had an opportunity to ask questions. We were graced with the presence of the Clark County Coroner, Mike Murphy, who gave an outstanding talk. Everyone who presented was knowledgeable sharing their expertise on everything from querying a law enforcment magazine, promotion, electronic publishing, working with editors, what a publishing house is looking for, importance of research, and much, much more. We laughed a lot and enjoyed each other's

Have to Brag

I've been chosen Author of the Month at My Shelf.com http://www.myshelf.com/ Just click on my name to read the interview. Sometimes you just have to brag. I've been working so hard the last couple of weeks, I just haven't had time to work on my latest book, darn. I'm at an exciting point and I'm dying to get back to it. I've been teaching all over the place, then I have paperwork to do when I get home. I'm also working on the Public Safety Writers Conference which is next week in Las Vegas. Looking forward to that. While I'm there, I'll also visit my sister. I'm going to be moderating a panel at Mayhem in the Midlands and I'm trying to read each of the panelists books so I'll have some intelligent questions to ask them. We've had weird weather--several days of spring, then back to winter. I'm in Central California and we even had some snow in the mountains today. Sounds like winter just isn't going to give up easily. Marilyn
Keeping up with a Blog is time consuming–and I have trouble remember that I should do it. Okay, here’s what I’ve been up to since my last posting. Most of what I’ve been doing is taking care of the classes I’m in charge of for residential care. It is time consuming and exacting work–I also go to all the classes and do the registration. The best things about it is I get paid for doing it. For writing related activities, I presented another promotion presentation for the Writers of Kern, a small group but I’ve been there enough that I count many of their members as friends. I only managed to attend two of my own critique group meetings. This is something I thoroughly enjoy and it helps get my own manuscript in shape. It’s amazing how many errors they find even after I’ve gone over the chapter beforehand. The members of my group are not only friends, but good at critiquing. Our church had a free pancake breakfast and it’s amazing how many people will attend anything where there’s free foo

Fringe Benefits

The reviews for Fringe Benefits have been fantastic! Here are a few snippets: "F. M. Meredith keeps you guessing throughout the book. I am hoping that she will continue the Rocky Bluff P.D. mystery series. This is the third book in the series and my first so I have some catching up to do. Fringe Benefits is a fast, interesting read and I think the police officers in Rocky Bluff are typical of police officers everywhere with the same ambitions and stumbling blocks but I hope there aren't too many Cal Sylvester's out there." REVIEWED BY PATRICIA REID The third of Meredith’s Rocky Bluff P. D. series. Lets hope there are many more. 02/07 Jack Quick, Book Bitch Reviews Highly recommended reading for those looking for a good mystery, an entanglement of lives and the results of deadly provocation." Review by Bonti "In a way, Fringe Benefits is reminiscent of a Wambaugh novel...the plot takes a twist, which the reader (at least this one) doesn’t expect. It’s a fast

Fringe Benefits

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Thought you might like to see the cover for Fringe Benefits. I've been thrilled with the comments and reviews I've been receiving. The best way to order the book is from my website, http://fictionforyou.com It is also available from Amazon. com but if you order it from my website I'll autograph it. If you prefer it as an ebook, go to Fictionwise or the publisher's site: http://www.tigresspress.com Marilyn

Left Coast Crime

As usual LCC was a terrific exprience. I've been to the airport (SEATAC) in Seattle before but never the city. Despite all the press about rain, it only rained one day while we were there. The rest of the time the sky was cloudless and sunny--however it was cold!I'm not sure what day things happened, so I'll just give the highlights. First dinner we had at McCormick's which was two blocks down and three over from the hotel. The hills were daunting both going down and up. Second memorable dinner was at a Japanese restaurant with friends from Crime and Suspense--a couple I'd never met before. Dinner was scrumptious, conversation top notch. Hubby and I went to three hours of forensic information arranged by author Jan Burke that was absolutely fasincating. All the panels I went to were either entertaining or informative. I was on one that talked about true or made-up settings. All mine are made-up of course though the small town setting in my Tempe Crabtree mysteries a

Some BSP

When we started on our trip to Seattle and LCC, I discovered this on my Blackberry: "The WOW January book selection is CALLING THE DEAD by Marilyn MeredithOne of our judges commented that it was like reading a book that J.A. Jance and Tony Hillerman co-authored." Here’s part of my first review for Fringe Benefits: "Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true. Officer Cal Sylvester certainly found this statement to be true in Fringe Benefits. Not only did he wish for another police officer's wife but he put a plan in motion to make his wish come true. The death of Cal's wife so that she would be out of the picture and the proceeds of her insurance to keep Darcy Gordon happy went a long way towards making his wish come true, but the dream turned into a nightmare."Fringe Benefits take you into the lives and homes of several police officers of Rocky Bluff a small community in California. You learn their interactions with their wives and families as well as t