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Showing posts from September, 2009

Me and My Electronic Toys

It's become obvious to me--and my husband--that I'm greatly influenced by what people say about their electronic toys. My first cellphone was a Blackberry. I used it mostly to receive my emails when I was out of town. While at a mystery con, Mayhem in the Midlands to be exact, I was with one of my good mystery friends, Sara Weiss, and she showed me her new, updated Blackberry. As soon as I got home I got myself one just like hers. Of course I still mostly used it to get my emails, though it was easier to get on the Internet. It had its limits though. When I was out of town, I always looked for a hotel computer so I could post to my blog, of course that cost money in most places. People began talking/writing about their mini computers online and I thought that would be great, a mini computer I could take with me on trips. How convenient. Of course I got one and it's really cute--but it's so sensitive that at times it drove me crazy trying to type on it, or go to the onli

Who Is Your Favorite Author and Why?

Often when I'm being interviewed I'm asked that question. I have many favorite authors--some of them are also friends. I know if I asked my sister that question she'd say Mary Higgins Clark. She's bought and read every single one of Ms. Clark's novels. I've met Ms. Clark twice and she's one of the most gracious and lovely women as well as being a famous author. I've read many of her books, she is an excellent writer, but the stories are always about a woman in jeopardy, not one of my favorite themes. Others of my favorites are J.A. Jance and Jan Burke though I haven't read every one of their books, but I like both of their writing styles--and they are both super nice women too. I love the way James Lee Burke describes places and some of his books I like better than others--and no, I don't personally know him though I have seen and heard him speak at a convention. Wm. Kent Krueger does a fantastic job with description too and I've loved all of

Family Reunion 2009

Wow! Did that weekend ever speed by. We had over 70 people who came, some for only Saturday. Most arrived Friday afternoon and stayed until Sunday morning, giving us two nights for hilarity. After I got there and unpacked, I sat in the lobby of the Holiday Inn Express and acted as official greeter. Daughter Lori brought dinner--a wonderful taco salad and lots of it. Others brought fruit, veggie plates, home made cakes and cookies and drinks and goodies galore. We ate, visited and granddaughter Melissa, organizer extraordinaire, had games planned for everyone including a bowling tournament by bringing her Wii. Hubby loved that. The little kids, and there were a passel of them, had crafts to make and other fun stuff. Bigger kids and the oldsters played Estimation--we used four decks and for one of the games had fifteen players. Some just sat around and talked. Saturday was filled with activity, relay races for everyone by the pool involving lots of water, a triathalon for the kids, a tre

Another Great Review for Dispel the Mist

This review is posted on the Book Connection: In this latest installment of Marilyn Meredith's award-winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree series, a Tulare County supervisor dies under suspicious circumstances. With her Mexican and Native American roots, Lilia Quintera was certainly a person to have on your side. Because of Tempe's ties to the Bear Creek Indian Reservation, she is called in to investigate Lilia's death. Tempe soon discovers that several people, including Lilia's husband, might have wanted her dead. Tempe's unsettling dreams bring back memories of her grandmother's stories about the legend of the Hairy Man. Wishing she had thought to ask her grandmother more about the Hairy Man, Tempe wonders if these dreams predict the future. Once again, Tempe finds herself in danger. Only now, she fears no one will come to her rescue in time! Dispel the Mist is an excellent new addition to the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series. I have been a fan of this series since Judgme

Nine Things Nathan Noticed At Night

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Nine Things Nathan Noticed at Night by Christy Baldwin is a children's book that should be added to church libraries and pre-schools that are run by Christian churches. Each of the nine things that Nathan notices has a delightful illustration, an explanation and an accompanying Bible verse. This is a charming book for a parent to read to his or her child and should bring some ideas for further conversation about the things Nathan noticed at night. Maybe the child could add some of the things he or she noticed at night. Nine Things Nathan Noticed at Night was published by Tribute Books and is available from Amazon.com I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Marilyn http://fictionforyou.com

Second Chance by Sandra J.Gerencher

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Second Chance tells how adoption saved both a boy with autism and the dog from the shelter. The story is told from the POV of Chance, the dog who is rescued from the animal shelter. Because the story is all from Chance, there are some things not fully explained at first, but once the dog begins a relationship with P.J., the boy with autism, what has gone on before is revealed. This is a heart-tugging story for anyone who loves dogs and knows what a dog can do for a child--even one with autism. It lifts one's spirits to read a story like this with such a good outcome. Second Chance was published by Tribute Books and is available from Amazon.com

What Am I Going to Write About Today?

No brilliant ideas are coming to me--no new reviews to post either about books I've read or for my own book. Today I'm busy getting ready for our big family reunion which we hold in Barstow at the Holiday Inn Express on Lenwood. We have about 70 people coming of all ages--babies to us older folks, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandmas and grandpas, including greats and of course moms and lots and lots of kids. I always make my famous chili--which I'll cook all day on Saturday to eat that evening. I got everything ready for it today. We have to get a replacement for our windshield. When I left for my writing group last night, I noticed a crack--not a small one either. That'll take up most of hubby's day. It's always something. I'm nearly packed--but have a lot of other things that I need to take care of today. A bit of cleaning needs to be done. I should edit the chapter my critique group heard and suggested changes for last night while it's still fresh in my

Dispel the Mist

The reviews are starting to come in--three to be exact, all terrific. Only one is up on Amazon so I'm anxious to see if there will be more. My numbers are going down on Amazon which means my promotion is paying off. Oh, my numbers are nothing like the big name authors, but they are low for my books. An article about my talk at the library was on the front page of the local newspaper! And it also appeared on the online version. Exciting stuff! My signing at Kirby Farms was super--sold books, met some new people, had fun conversations, and my biggest fan, Sheri Smith, stopped by. Oh, and the cookies were delicious as was the lemonade. Besides produce, these folks sell homemade pies, cookies, muffins, delicious bread, and they have two rooms with boutique items. For anyone who reads this blog who lives in Springville, this is a wonderful new place. Next up is my family reunion in Barstow. I'll be having a signing at the Holiday Inn Express--the one by the outlets--at 2 p.m. on Sat

Red in the Flower Bed by Andrea Napa

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Red in the Flower Bed is a children's book with a simple message about embracing someone who is different. A rhyming book, this would be a good book to read to pre-schoolers and has beautiful illustrations. The author's intent is to explain about interracial adoption which she manages to do in the simplest manner. It's the kind of book that could be a good teaching tool not only about interracial adoptions but about anyone who is not exactly like everyone else. Having once been a pre-school teacher, I know this age group would enjoy having the book read over and over. Marilyn

Library Event

A lot of things were going on this past Saturday, a Jr. Rodeo in Springville, the Tulare County Fair, a Pow Wow on the reservation--and my library event. We came early, got everything set up and the librarian and I sat down to visit. Five of one, my good friend and leader of our critique group arrived. Then another good friend. A reporter and a photographer came next. I decided it was about time for me to get up and start talking. I love telling about Deputy Tempe Crabtree and how she came to be. And it's exciting to me to explain how I incorporated the Hairy Man in this latest book called Dispel the Mist . Five young girls arrived and listened intently. When I had spoken for about a half hour another couple arrived. Turned out they'd come all the way from Fresno and their Mapquest directions led them astray. Even more interesting, they came because the husband is a friend of mine on Twitter--someone I'd never met before and learned about the event through one of my tweets

A Different Kind of Hero by Leah Beth Evans

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A Different Kind of Hero is about a monkey named Tomagochi and his friends, Peshe, the tiger, and Mocho, the Tucan who live in the rain forest. Tomagochi feels his nothing but an ordinary money while his friends are special--the tiger with his strips and the Tucan with all his colorful feathers and the ability to fly. The story centers on a potential disaster when bulldozers arrive to cut down the trees in the rain forest. The only one brave enough to protect the animals' home is Tomagochi. The illustrations in this book are delightful. That author, Leah Beth Evans, was a fourth grader when she learned about the rain forest and wrote this book. Not only will youngsters enjoy reading about the monkey who becomes a hero, but this book could be a means to begin a discussion about the rain forest for teachers and parents. A Different Kind of Hero is published by http://www.tribute-books.com/ Marilyn I enjoyed reading this book and the lovely illustrations.

First Review for Dispel the Mist

It's always a bit scary when that first review comes in for your book. While I was out yesterday I received this review via email. Needless to say I was absolutely thrilled. REVIEW: I found Marilyn Meredith's "Dispel the Mist" to be a wonderfully engaging story filled with suspense and intrigue. The plot was rich with characters and a story line that pulled at the detective in me. Just when I thought I had the solution, a new suspect would spring forth and throw me off balance. I especially loved the inclusion of Native American folklore, which added even more mystery to the story. This story was like being on a roller coaster that only went uphill. It filled me with the same breath-holding anticipation of what was to come when I finally reached the top. This is a very good 5 star book and I will be recommending it to all of my friends and family. ***** 5 Stars Marilyn Thompson, Author /Reviewer Mind Fog Reviews Can't ask for any better. I'm celebrating with

Exciting Times When We Lived in a Neighborhood

It's been awhile since we lived in a city or a real neighborhood--but I was thinking back about some of the excitement I remember from back then. One night, while I was asleep in our back bedroom--with the drapes open, after all we had a six foot high fence all around the yard--a police chase ended right outside the sliding glass door. I never woke despite the fact our dog, a German Shepherd, cornered the suspect right there. The police, one of whom was my son-in-law, arrested and hauled the guy away. My dear son-in-law told me that my nightgown had hiked up and I mooned the whole bunch. Dear hubby affirmed this. (Why on earth didn't he come inside and cover me up?) Another time, our whole family was sleeping and my middle daughter ( a teenager at the time) came in to tell us someone was on the roof. Once we were good and awake, we could actually hear someone clomping around up there. At the time hubby slept in the all together. He leapt out of bed, dasjed out the back door, gr

Terrific Cook Book: Stir, Laugh, Repeat

Stir, Laugh, Repeat is my kind of cookbook. Martha A. Cheves has compiled recipes that are easy to cook, with a minimum number of ingredients--many of which you probably already have in your pantry--and best of all, each one comes out tasting great. I'm not fond of baking and I get tired of cooking dinner since I've done it nearly every night for 58 years, one in awhile for two or three, sometimes for seven and often more. I'm always looking for something different, easy, inexpensive and delicious to fix--Stir, Laugh, Repeat does all this and more. And, as a bonus, great cooking tips are scattered throughout. Stir, Laugh, Repeat would be the perfect shower gift for a bride-to-be. Marilyn Meredith

Widow's Walk by Ken Weene

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Review: Widow's Walk by Ken Weene This is the story of a woman, Mary Flanagan, a widow whose Catholic faith plays a predominant role her her life. When her son returns home from the war as a quadriplegic, he becomes her whole world, and in so doing she takes away his independence. When her son goes off to a rehab center, Mary's life begins to take-off in a new direction, a direction she'd never have expected in her wildest dreams. This is a love story, a tales about religion and faith, marriage, life and death. It's not a particularly happy story, but it is a a true slice of life, wonderful at times and heart-wrenching at others. Author Weene's characters are realistic and multi-layered. This is the kind of book that will make you think while the people who fill the pages are working out what life has brought them. It's the kind of book that keeps you turning pages as you follow along in these people's lives.--Marilyn Meredith Giveaways for those who visit

Busy, busy, busy!

Promoting is really time consuming. Monday morning I went to town to deliver copies of Dispel the Mist to the Porterville Recorder newspaper and to the weekly newspaper, the Southern Sierra Messenger. I also took a copy to the librarian. They have a nice little display up with the poster I made for them about my appearance on Saturday on a bookshelf right as you enter. They also have a huge poster up by the front desk. In the afternoon I wrote a recipe for a blog where my book will be reviewed and I will be doing another recipe for another blog. That blog owner wants a photo of my favorite recipe. If one comes out looking good, I'll take a picture and that'll be the one. For the next few weeks I'm going to be busy. This Saturday at 2 is my Porterville Library appearance, then on Sunday, from 1 to 4:30 I'm having a signing up here in Springville at Kirby Farms. The following weekend is our Mitchell Family reunion (so far no Mitchells have ever shown up, but we all sprou

Nipomo Book Event

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This is the first photo (that came out half way decent) taken with my new iPhone. On our way we stopped at Jack Ranch for lunch in Cholame--famous for the fact that's where James Dean died on the highway. There are photos of James Dean on the walls of the little cafe--which has wonderful fish and chips, by the way. We had a great time in Nipomo. Actually we stayed Friday night in Arroyo Grande and had dinner in Pismo at Steamers with Barbara and Jeff Hodges. I've known Barbara since Win Win Writers Conference Days--and thought we've done a couple of booksignings together in the pasts it's been awhile seen we've seen one another. Food was excellent and we had an ocean view window and we sat and gabbed for a couple of hours. The next day we drove to the Nipomo Library, once again thanks goodness for Mrs. Magellan because she took us right there. It was a smallish event with mostly craft booths. Barbara and I were on the porch and good friend and mystery writer Sue McG

Me and Technology

My first computer was purchased from a catalog. When it arrived, I opened it up, followed all the directions, but couldn't figure out anything. (Of course this was in the beginning days of personal computers. No one else had one, but I knew it could make my writing life easier.) Two a.m. I woke up and told my husband we were sending it back. We had a church friend who was selling Kaypro computers. I told him I'd buy one if he helped me learn how to use it. The first one had two floppy disks and I mean floppy, one for what you were writing, the other for the program you were using. The poor man suffered through many a phone call. I bought two more computers from him along with new word processing programs: Word Star then Word Perfect which I still use a lot. Because my publishers all want Word, I have it too--though I don't like it nearly as well as Word Perfect despite the extra features. I've hired computer whiz's to help me switch from one computer to the ne

An Extra Hour Every Day

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Wouldn’t everyone like an extra hour a day? Author Soergel has a plan to actually make that happen in his new book, Happy About An Extra HOur Every Day. Some of his tips aren’t surprising, like cutting down on mindless TV viewing and computer games. Beginning each day with a list of what you hope to accomplish is something most of us do, but he’s come up with ways to refine the list and be more apt to accomplish your goals for the day. There are tips on how to most efficiently use your phone–some really good ones. What I enjoyed most because I hadn’t heard some of these tips were the ones on traveling, booking hotels and airplane travel. Everyone who is still working an eight-to-five job should read this book. Even if you only find one or two tips you can incorporate into your daily life, it will be worth it. And if you work at home, like I do, there are plenty of ideas to make your life run more smoothly. An Extra Hour Evey Day will benefit: * stay at home moms * working moms

Gearing Up for A New Blog Tour

Oh yes, I will be off on a new blog tour in October. It's not as easy and just visiting one blog after another, all these tours are set up in advance. Because I wasn't sure when my copies of Dispel the Mist would arrive, I decided to have the tour the month after the publishing date. That was a good thing because some of the blog hosts want copies of the book to review. All of them want new content for my visit. When someone sends an interview, that's the easiest because it's merely a matter of answering questions about myself and my book. The trick is to make it interesting and different from other things I might say for other blogs. The more difficult blog posts are where they say you can write whatever you want. It's a matter of trying to figure out what might be interesting to the regular readers of that blog. Sometimes the blogs are geared toward new writers who want helpful information. Other times the readers are looking for something fresh and witty.

My Views on Camping

Yesterday I eluded a bit to what I think about camping. Believe me, I've done plenty of it over the years. Thursday when we were driving home through the mountains, we saw people camping so close to one another along the shores of Lake Isabella and the Kern River I don't think that could possibly be fun or relaxing. When I was a kid our family went camping every summer. I don't remember every camping trip, but I do remember camping at Yosemite when the deer and bears were plentiful and wandered around all over. Later we went to Bass Lake for three weeks where we camped, swam and went water skiing. With my own family, we tent camped first. And I took my Camp Fire Girls camping a lot. We went to primitive camps and state parks and we camped at the beach. I could cook just about anything anywhere. We back packed into the Sespe where we did find primitive campsites--and brought everything in we needed. Same when we camped on Anacapa Island--we even brought all our water wit

Labor Day

My plans for labor day are to do just that--labor. Time to do the laundry, put it off far too long. It's so strange only doing laundry for two people. I raised five kids and until the fifth one arrived I didn't have a dryer, so all that washing was hung up on the line--though it was actually lines, I think I had five. I washed nearly every day. Things were much easier when I got the dryer. When we were down to two kids (one of ours and one we'd taken in) we became the owner/operators of our own licensed facility for six developmentally disabled women, so I was back to washing every day. After twenty-three years we retired from that but we've had different folks living with us off and on, grandsons and the like, so there was plenty of wash to do. Now it is just the two of us and I can go for a longer period of time before I feel the need to do the laundry. Friday, my grandson--another one--came and cleaned house and Saturday he was back to shampoo the carpets. What

Sunday's Plans

I'm writing this on Saturday, hubby's birthday, but he's off buying cat food for all of his cats, inside and out. I was the person who loved cats--but now not so much because we have way too many. Today, as usual, we'll get up and get ready for church. Hubby already informed me he'll be leaving early as he must set up communion--we always have communion the first Sunday of the month. I teach the 3rd - 5th grade boys and sometimes I have a girl when my granddaughter who teaches the girls' class skips a Sunday. (She fills in for me when I'm gone and I'm gone quite a bit, especially now while I'm doing promotion for Dispel the Mist .) After church we're having a spaghetti dinner. We now have a man in charge of fellowship and he used to own a restaurant so I suspect the spaghetti will be good. (My hubby doesn't like spaghetti so he's not particularly thrilled.) All we're supposed to bring is dessert. I bought a beautiful German c

Oh My Goodness, I Did it Again!

Today my Blackberry quit working. I couldn't get the trackball to go up and down. So I took it to the AT &T store to have them fix it. Anyone who knows me knows I never go anywhere without my Blackberry. While there the young salesman (they were all young) talked me into getting an iPhone. Why on earth I succumbed I do not know. I hate learning how to use new things. It looked so easy while he was doing it. When I got it home, I couldn't even figure out how to turn it on. Oh, he put all my information in it, but left it up to me to configure the email. Of course I couldn't do that either. I emailed my Internet server and they emailed me back what to do. Tomorrow my grandson's friend who has an iPhone is coming to show me how to use mine. When all else fails with gizmos and gadgets always find a kid to help out. I'm sure once I play around with this for awhile I'll catch onto how this all works--but I don't need iTunes even though the salesman tol

Meeting with the Ridgecrest Writers

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  This was taken with my Blackberry through the car window on our way home. The trees were magnificent, the road was windy like a coiled snake and scary as can be. I put other photos on my Facebook page. We really enjoy meeting with the Ridgewriters in Ridgecrest. This was my third time to give a presentation to them.  Ridgecrest is way out on the high desert, right next to the China Lake Naval Air Station. Most of the people who live there have or have had something to do with the base. It was really hot--it's really hot where we live too, but it was hotter in Ridgecrest. We first went to the wonderful BevLen Haus Bed and Breakfast where the Ridgewriters were putting us up. We stayed with Bev previously and it was great to see  her again. Then we met the president and Donna, who is a great gal, for dinner beforehand. I won't say anything about the dinner because mine had a problem, but the conversation was great.  The meeting was held in the library of an assisted living facil

The Long Way Home

I wanted to show some photos that I took on the way home, but the photo gizmo has disappeared, so I'll tell you instead. We decided to come home a different way from Ridgecrest and put Shortest Way into our Magellan. We know we'd be going through the mountains, but I had no idea what that entailed. First we took off through a gorgeous but remote stetch of high dessert filled with green clumps of some sort of vegetation and huge Joshua trees (maybe--or at least some kind of desert looking cactus type plants). The hills were high and got higher the farther we drove. We passed tiny little communities--one named Onyx. There were ranches and ranchettes and some gorgeous homes here and there on the hillsides. On we drove and climbed until we reached Lake Isabella--which is a good-sized lake. Some mansion type houses overlooking the water--and lots of interesting campgrounds already crowded with tents and small campers because of the Labor Day weekend coming. We drove throug

Juggling Again

I'm working on the PSWA program--something that I'll be doing off an on until the conference itself arrives in 2010. Meanwhile I have to promote it. The cheapest rate to sign up is October 31 so I want to let everyone know about that. And of course I have to work on the promotion for Dispel the Mist . The copies I've ordered haven't arrived yet, but when they do, I have to up the promotion, send out review copies and find more places to give talks about it. While all this is going on I'm also working on my next Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel. Actually it's all written, but I still have to finish reading it to my critique group and there are other changes I need to make. I do have a title though, Angel Lost , at least I think that's what it's going to be. I've had a couple of others before this one. I'm spending time on Facebook and other sites like that because I need to keep reminding people about the PSWA conference and Dispel the Mist . Today I

PSWA Conference

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PSWA Writing Conference 2010 June 17 – 20 at the Orleans Hotel and Casino. This conference is for all writers who are interested in writing fiction for non-fiction about any of the public safety fields (law enforcement, fire fighting, ambulance, EMT, border patrol etc.) This is also the perfect place for mystery writers to ask questions first hand of those who are working in these fields. For more information and registration form, go to http://publicsafetywriter.com there is an early bird registration fee good until October 31. Simon Wood, our keynote speaker will tell us how to create suspense. Simon has had over 150 stores and articles published and is an Anthony Award winner. His next thriller, Disgruntled will be out in April. Sunny Frazier is going to let us know “How Much Sex is Too Much.” Sunny’s short mystery fiction has won over 30 awards. Where Angels Fear. “How to Plot Your Novel in an Hour” will be Michael A. Black’s topic. He’s had a thirty-year career as a police officer