Posts

Showing posts from April, 2015

Calling Dr. Watson by Chris Karlsen

Image
  After a satisfying twenty-five-year career in law enforcement, nineteen of which were as a detective, I retired. When the job was exciting, it was very exciting. I'd met many interesting people, had a lot of laughs, and ended it happy and healthy. I looked forward to the free time retirement would give me and the opportunity to take writing lessons. I'd had a story in my head for a long, long time and couldn't wait to tell it. My story was a historical romance.  The one thing I didn't want to write was a contemporary cop story. I love to read them, especially Joe Wambaugh, Mike Connelly, and John Sandford. Writing one myself held no interest for me. I never, ever thought I'd need to think about police work again, other than to watch NCIS and Castle. That belief held true until book 2 in my historical romance series, Journey in Time. In that story, the heroine, a modern London attorney caught in a time warp and now in Medieval England must present

May 1 - 5 Final Respects is Free on Kindle

Image
Yep, it'll be free on Kindle beginning May 1 through May 5. (At least that's what's supposed to happen--we've had some problems, but I think the publisher has managed to solve them.) Final Respects on Kindle The  AISN number was changed, and that link should work. If you are one of those readers who insist on reading the first book in the series--now's the time to start the Rocky Bluff P.D. mysery series.  The latest in the series, is #11 and called Violent Departures. I pride myself that I write each book as a stand-alone, for those who don't care where they start in a series.  When I wrote Final Respects I had no idea that it would become a series. I had some ideas and began putting together a plot about a small police department in a beach community--a fictious place--but much like the beach community I lived in at the time. My son-in-law was a police officer at the time and he told me some great stories about what was going

5 More Things you can do for an Author

Image
Day 11:  Send them a photo of their books!   See your favorite author’s book in a library or bookstore?  Pull out that smart phone and send them a picture.  Believe me, nothing makes a writer’s heart sing like seeing their work out in the world.  And don’t forget to post that same photo on your social media pages! Day 12: Attend their events, virtual or in person.   There is nothing worse than hosting an event that no one except your mother attends.  And sometimes even your mother is busy!  Make your favorite author’s day by coming to their signings, asking questions, and sharing your enthusiasm.  While you’re at it, bring a friend! I promise, we don’t bite, and many of us give out bribes. (Oops, I mean prizes!) Day 13:  Preorder their book!   Does your favorite author have a book coming out in a few months?  Don’t wait until launch day to get it, preorder it! Bookstores LOVE preorders.  They are more likely to order extra copies of a book that they know already has fans waiti

And the Winner Is...

Image
Anyone who has been following my blog, or is a friend on Facebook, belongs to any of the same groups as I do, or is a member of the same listserves, knows that I've had a contest on my blog tour for Violent Departures . The idea was that the person who commented on the most posts during my tour-- a possibility of 22 times-- would get to have a character in the next Rocky Bluff P.D. mystery named after the winner. Now that doesn't mean the character will be anything like the winner except for having the same name. It wasn't long before I could see who really wanted to be the winner. Though there were several faithful followers of the tour, only one managed to hit nearly all of the blogs. One she couldn't find a place to comment, and sent the comment via email. So, without further ado (as they say), let me annonce the winner: JACKIE TAYLOR ZORTMAN Jackie is a fellow author and I've read two of her books: We are Different Now and Footprints

Five More Things You Can Do for an Author

Image
Enter a Goodreads giveaway for their books!   Many authors create Goodreads giveaways to help build the brand awareness and generate some reviews for their books.  Entering the giveaway does a number of things:  Gets the book on your shelves (which gives it exposure); makes the book more popular in the giveaway (which gives it exposure); perhaps scores you a free book that you can keep for yourself or give to a friend(which gives it exposure)! A triple win, all with a few simple mouse clicks! Leave a comment on one of their blog posts!   Comments help the post show up higher in search engines and let your favorite author know that that people are reading their posts.  Blogging can feel like shouting out in a canyon.  Let your voice echo back! Buy their books!  (I wrote about this one before, but it is really important!) This may seem obvious, and I know not everyone can buy all of the books that they read.  However, if you really like an author, purchase their books rather

Take a peek with Peek-a-Bear, a Review

Image
I only review children's books occasionally, but this is a perfect book for toddlers. Author Jill Mangel Weisfeld has written a cute story, perfect for little ones. Not only does it have delightful illustrations, but there is something to do on each page. At first an adult might have to guide the child, but it won't take long before most will want to do what needs to be done on his or her own. I passed this on to two great grands, who had a great time with it. Marilyn

Final Days of Violent Departures Blog Tour

Image
April 18 http://marjamcgraw.blogspot.com/             The Inspiration for Violent Departures April 19 http://evelyncullet.com/blog/             Who Do I Write For? April 20 https://bookbrowsing.wordpress.com/             What Makes the Rocky Bluff Mystery Series Unique? April 21 http://blog.jamesmjackson.com              Final Interview and April 21  http://kathleenkaskawrites.blogspot.com/               Who Inspired Me? WATCH THIS BLOG FOR THE NAME OF THE CONTEST WINNER!      Blurb for Violent Departures : College student, Veronica Randall, disappears from her car in her own driveway, everyone in the Rocky Bluff P.D. is looking for her. Detective Milligan and family move into a house that may be haunted. Officer Butler is assigned to train a new hire and faces several major challenges. Bio: F.M. Meredith, also known as Marilyn Meredith , is the author of over thirty published novels. Marilyn is a member of three chapters of Sisters in Cri

First Five Things a Reader can do for an Author

Image
I borrowed these ideas from Tracy Weber. She came up with a list of 50, but I decided to share only a few at a time, and pick the ones I liked best. So here goes: Add your favorite author’s books to your Goodreads bookshelves.   “Shelving” your favorite books gives them more visibility to other readers.  Goodreads even has a way to automatically add the books you purchased on Amazon! Write a short (1 – 2 sentences are great!) honest review of your favorite author’s book(s) and post it on Amazon.   Love Amazon or hate them, they are a key player in book sales, and reviews help your favorite authors rank higher in the search engines.  Some promotional opportunities are only available to authors if they have a certain number of reviews. Tell them you love them!   Most of the authors I know make essentially no money on their writing.  (Sad, but true!)  So why do we write?  For our readers!  Drop your favorite author a line and tell them you appreciate their work.  Facebook mes

The Giddy, Wind-in-Your-Hair Thrill of Writing By Kate Hannigan

Image
Eleven-year-old Nell Warne couldn’t have imagined what awaits her when she arrives on her long-lost aunt’s doorstep, lugging a heavy sack of sorrows. Much to Nell’s surprise, her aunt is a detective, working for the world-famous Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency! Nell quickly makes herself indispensable to Aunt Kate…and not just by helping out with household chores. As her aunt travels around the country solving mysteries, Nell must crack codes, wear disguises, and spy on nefarious criminals. With nation-changing events simmering in the background as Abraham Lincoln heads for the White House, Aunt Kate is working on the biggest case of her life. But Nell is quietly working on a case of her own: the mystery of what really happened the night her best friend left town. Based on the extraordinary true story of America’s first female detective, Kate Warne, The Detective’s Assistant is full of feats of daring and danger, bold action, and newfound courage. I write

Library Visit by Marilyn aka F. M. Meredith

Image
This coming Thursday, April 16th at 6 p.m. I'll be at the Porterville Library at 41 West Thurman. This is the official launch of my latest Rocky Bluff P.D. mystery, Violent Departure s.  I'm going to talk about what got me started writing police procedurals, where my ideas and characters come from, and whatever else happens to cross my mind. And yes, I'll answer any questions anyone may have. I'll have copies of this book and others in the series on hand and also the latest two books in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, for anyone who'd like to purchase one. To celebrate the occasions, I'm bringing cupcakes. No, I didn't make them--I have a good friend who is a wonderful baker who is creating her magic for this event. If you're in the area, do come and visit. Marilyn (aka F. M.) Meredith

What People Had to Say About Final Respects

Image
and the Rocky Bluff P.D. mystery series. One of my favorites is by Miqui Miller: "In the style of the best of Wambaugh, albeit with a gentler hand and less rugged language, F.M Meredith draws characters we wantto know better--brave men and women, who risk their lives for us on a daily basis. The members of the Rocky Bluff P.D. are definitely folks I want to visit again and look forward to riding along as they guarantee the triump of justive over evil." Radine Trees Nehring said: "Meredith has created a thrilling adventure that weaves together the lives of several point-of-view police officers. I truly, truly, truly loved every minute of this terrific story." Remember, Final  Respects will be free on Kindle starting May 1. F.M. aka  Marilyn Meredith

Taussig and Tiedemann Mortuary

Image
There is no such place as Taussig and Tiedemann Mortuary. I made it up. However, it is based on a real mortuary, one that was a couple of blocks from our house. Behind the mortuary was the family's home where the mom and dad lived with their three little girls. One of my own daughters was friends with these girls and often went there to spend the night.  I asked my daughter what she did when she went there, and she said, "We play hide 'n seek in the mortuary." My response was, "Not where the dead bodies are, I hope." "Yes, that's the most fun." Of course that triggered another idea for the plot--and I had a lot of fun writing that part. If you read the book, you'll see how it all fit in. And you know it'll be free starting May 1 on Kindle! Marilyn aka F.M.Meredith

Next 11 Days in Violent Departures Blog Tour

Image
April 7 http://cncbooksblog.wordpress.com/              Coming Up With New Ideas for an Ongoing Series April 8   www.paguthrie.blogspot.com Where Do My Characters Come From? April 9  www.stephenbrayton.wordpress.com /             What About the Dialogue? April 10  http://anastasiapollock.blogspot.com   Interview April 11   http://pat-writersforum.blogspot.com/             How I Keep Up With my Characters and What’s Happened April 12   http://lesleyadiehl.com/             After So Many Books, How Do You Get Fresh Ideas? April 13   http://www.lindathorne.com/blog/             When to Think About Promotion April 14  www.samwriteaway.blogspot.com The Good and Bad of Writing a Series April 15  http://lornacollins-author.blogspot.com             Ghosts and Why I Write About Them April 16    http://jlgregerblog.blogspot.com/             Reading Reviews of my Books April 17  http://drusbookmusing.blogspot.com/             Stac

Some Interesting Things About Final Respects

Image
Back when I wrote Final Respects almost every police officer I knew--and I knew many because we had many police families in our neighborhood--sported a mustache. Plus my son-in-law was a cop and yes, he had a mustache too. Today, there aren't many officers with mustaches. If I were to rewrite the book, I'd probably change many things--including one of the descriptions on the back cover. It begins: Publicity hound, Rick Strckland...but the character's name is Ryan. I must confess, I've called him Rick other times too. I started writing the book when my son-in-law would come over to my house for coffee after his shift and say, "Do you want to hear what happened last night?" Of course I did. He would often relate tales about his fellow officers that shaped some of the characters in this first Rocky Bluff mystery.  One horrendous event happened within the police department that triggered the plot for this story. Rocky Bluff is a fictitio

Final Respects, the first book in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series

Image
Final Respects was published for the first time in 2001 as an e-book only. I found the publisher in Writers Digest big book of publishers and really had no idea what an electronic book was. This was before there was any such thing as a reader or Amazon or a Kindle. No one could really figure out how to downloadthe book and if they did it was to their computer. Needless to say this was not a successful venture.  I'd written Final Respects several years before and attempted to find publishers to no avail. In 2004 it was republished by another publisher who did both an e-version and one in print. By this  time the Rocket E-Reader had come on the scene. (Sony bought the company out and didn't do anything with the reader for several years.)  The first print edition of Final Respects looked great and I was happy with it. Things didn't go well between me and the publisher and we parted company after they'd published the 2nd in the series, Bad Tidings. 

My Promotion Schedule for April by F.M. Meredith

Image
This will be a busy month. First because my blog tour begins today and that means promoting each blog I'm visiting on the day I visit--and responding to anyone who comments. And because there's a contest involved, I'll be keeping track of each person who comments. On April 2, I'll be joining four other mystery writers at 6:30 p.m. at the Fig Garden branch of the Fresno Library to talk about our mysteries. On the 16th of April, I'll be celebrating the official launch of Violent Departures at the Porterville Library at 6 p.m. There will be cupcakes. I'll discuss what got me started writing this series. Because I'm going to have Final Respects free on Kindle beginning May 1, I'm going to do a series of posts about the book right here. And of course there's more to come in the month of May. Stay tuned for details. Marilyn aka F. M. Meredith