Marilyn's Musings

This is another one of the many books that was re-edited and re-published, thanks to Lorna and Larry Collins. Loran did the editing and all the work that goes into publishing. Larry redid all the covers. The covers are similar except each one is a different color.  When all together they look great. The setting, Rocky Bluff, a small beach community, is not a real place--though it has a strong resemblance to other beach towns before they to popular and big. I once lived in one of those towns, and have visited many other similar ones. In reality, because of where the town is situated, if real it probably would have grown and had different kinds of problems. I've enjoyed keepint it small--with a police department that is underfunced and understaffed.  As for the officers and their families, I've had so many firends who were police officers and knew them and their families so well, it's been a joy to show what goes on in the family as well as with the police department. Downloa...

Since it is Sunday, I'd like to tell you that my series is mostly free of bad language, and some of my characters go to church--Protestant and Catholic. However in the first few books of the series, the plots are darker than later ones. Don't really have an explanation for that except I may have been reading darker books at the time. Or because real events do trigger ideas for books, and I kept up on the news, which I don't so much anymore.  I have always written about the family life of the Rocky Bluff police force and BONES IN THE ATTIC is no exception. The plot not only encompasses Detective Milligan's family, but also other families and what happens to them. Hope you'll take this opportunity to read BONES IN THE ATTIC. https://www.amazon.com/Bones-Attic-Rocky-Bluff-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B08CBM56JF/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2YSIDMUUW0MFG&keywords=Bones+in+the+Attic+by+F.+M.+Meredith&qid=1662124622&s=digital-text&sprefix=bones+in+the+attic+by+f.+m.+meredith%2Cd...

Just in time for Halloween!  Yes, it is free for Kindle.  One of the first reviews: Detective Doug Milligan’s daughter, along with her high school art group, just started to decorate an old abandoned house for Halloween, when one of the students finds a large chest in the attic with a skeleton inside. In this continuing glimpse into the lives of the Rocky Bluff Police force, this is just the first incident in a hectic week. A missing neighbor, thieves disguised as police officers, and a wild fire threatening to wipe out the town, not only keep these law enforcement individuals hustling, they also keep the reader turning pages. This is a fast-paced police procedural that kept me up well into the night. The Rocky Bluff P.D. mysteries are all written under my F. M. Meredith name. https://www.amazon.com/Bones-Attic-Rocky-Bluff-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B08CBM56JF/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2YSIDMUUW0MFG&keywords=Bones+in+the+Attic+by+F.+M.+Meredith&qid=1662124622&s=digital-text&spre...

I have relatives who love Halloween. A niece is already visiting the Halloween store. And I have a grandson-in-law and great grandson who always participate in a community haunted house.  Bones in theAttic which I wrote as F. M. Meredith is the perfect Halloween story.  Whether you've read it or not, you may be surpised to learn it was inspired by something that really happened. A confession by a friend shared with me many years ago worked perfectly for this story.  A lot of what I write comes from real places and happenings. Though Rocky Bluff is a fictional town it has resemblances to other small beach communities. Some of the places in Rocky Bluff are inspired by places in other towns. Because there is so much about Detective Milligan's teenaged daughter Beth and her friends in this tale, it's a great book for young adults. Available in print or for Kindle, to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Bones-Attic-Rocky-Bluff-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B08CBM56JF/ref=sr_1_1?crid=S3CDOG2BIIRE...

But I'm not going to tell you what is was. Besides the one I'm not going to tell,  the missing senior is based on something that happened to one of our neighbors, and as for the wild fire--unfortunately they pop up around here from time to time. I had fun involving the art students including Detective Milligan's daughter Beth and her best friend, Kayla, the mayor's daughter.  And the main plot thread is about a family secret that was kept for a very long time. The book came our near Halloween and was it ever fun to promote online and in person. If you go on Amazon, you'll see they have a deal for Bones in the Attic  and a couple of other books in the series on Kindle. https://www.amazon.com/Bones-Attic-Rocky-Bluff-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B08CBM56JF/ref=sr_1_1?crid=G7417P7NBQ1B&keywords=Bones+in+the+Attic+by+F.+M.+Meredith&qid=1656253360&s=books&sprefix=bones+in+the+attic+by+f.+m.+meredith%2Cstripbooks%2C960&sr=1-1 And of course you can always get any ...

Yes, this one took some research. Never having encountered an old skeleton in a trunk, I had to ask for help. I needed to find out what the skeleton would look like after the length of time it had been hidden away. Thankfully, belonging to PSWA I had several people who gave me the information I needed. I also had to  find out how cadaver dogs worked for another plot thread. A PSWA member came through for me there too, putting me in touch with someone who works with cadaver dogs. There's another fire in this one, and any questions I had were answered by my fire-fighting friend, Brent Gill.  And about the main plot in the story, someone shared her experience with me and because it was so bizarre, I never forgot it. If you haven't read it yet, it's available for Kindle and in paper. https://www.amazon.com/Bones-Attic-Rocky-Bluff-Mysteries/dp/B08C8XFCCF Marilyn, who writes this series as F. M. Meredith

Readers often ask me how much is true that I put in my books.  To be perfectly honest, a lot that has happened in my life or to people I know turns up in one book or another but significantly changed. The true event is often what trigger the idea for the plot. For instance, in Bones in the Attic  the main plot is about bones found in a trunk in an attic and the question is was the person the skeleton belongs to murdered? I can't tell you much about the skeleton as too much of the plot is based on something that happened to a friend of mine, and when she told me, believe me, I was surprised and a bit shocked by her revelation. Another body in the story is based on a true happening where I live, in fact only two doors away. We live out in the country so our homes are separated much more than they would be in the city.  Also where we live we has a definite fire season which extends from summer far into fall and the first rains, and it's the same over on ...

Because I've lived through a lot of these kinds of disasters, I've used different ones in my books. Fires have been used the most. Everywhere I've lived in California, there have been big fires all through the years. Fires have played a big part in several of my books. My favorite is probably Seldom Traveled where Tempe is trapped in forest fire with a fugitive from justice. I'm particular fond of the Native American touch in this one. My friend, Brent Gill, who has a lot of experience as a fire fighter helped me a lot on this one. Early in the series, house fires become a major part of the mystery and the answer to a big question that has been in Tempe's life for years, in Judgment Fire . There is also a fire that is part of a murder in Kindred Spirits. A brush fire heightens the suspense in the latest Rocky Bluff P.D. mystery, Bones in the Attic. A devastating earthquake is a major factor in another Rocky Bluff P.D. mystery,...

To be perfectly honest, I really enjoy the creation of a new mystery for the police officers of the Rocky Bluff P.D. and their loved ones. And the mystery itself is less important to me than what is happening in the characters' lives. When I wrote the first book, Final Respects , I had no idea it would become a series, and certainly not one that has lasted as long as this has. Final Respects Blurb: Being a cop is something Doug Milligan wanted since childhood, but his wife hates his profession. He’ll have to make a difficult choice. Publicity hound, Ryan Strickland, will do anything to further his career, but his secret affair could cause him major problems. Mortician Stuart Honich dreams about sinking his teeth into the flesh of his tormentors—his boss’s daughters. The murder of the Milligan’s baby sitter begins a series of events that could lead to the destruction of the entire Rocky Bluff Police Department. https://www.amazon.com/Final-Respects-Rocky-Police-...

This one was truly scary. Living in the foothills, we've experienced several fires, but the last one was by far the scariest. It started from a stolen car that was pushed down a hill up in the mountains above us. In a short time it covered a lot of acres. We could see the flames on Black Mountains at night, and a bright red glow north-east of the town itself. The smoke made it hard to breathe. Our family decided to stay and keep everything watered down--and our grandson joined them. They had too many animals to transport. However, they did have vehicles ready to go if necessary. A friend offered us a room at her place in Porterville. We packed up a few important things and headed down the hill. Though we slept for three nights at my friend's, we kept going back up the hill to check things out. We finally returned home before the fire was completely out. It took days, and they let it continue to burn in some areas until the snow came. And...

This is about another hurricane. Actually, we had experienced another while living in Little Creek. It was so violent it took the front door of our apartment building right off. However, being young we weren't the lease bit scared and even went out to the beach to watch the waves crash onto the parking lot. A freighter was actually washed aground during this storm. The biggest hurricane (Isabel) we experienced was in Cambridge MD. We'd flown there for hubby's high school reunion (the last flight to land because of the coming hurricane) and rented a car, a brand new station wagon. Hubby chose to get flood insurance on the car. We just made it over the Chesapeake Bay bridge before it was closed because of high winds. We made it to our destination, my husband's cousins' home right on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay.  The house sat back from the narrow street that ran along the shore line. They had a nice little beach and a dock. We enjoyed a nic...

I've thought of these at odd times, so they really aren't in the correct order. Besides being scary, this is funny too. This one was when we lived in Oxnard and we had five kids. Hubby was out of the Navy by this time, I think. He wasn't one to wear p.j.s or anything else to bed. (Important to the story.) Sometime in the night, Lisa, who was a teenager, came into our room and said, "Mom, Dad, there's someone on the roof! (Sure enough, we could hear someone walking around up there.) Hubby jumped out of bed and ran through the house and into the screened porch and grabbed an ax on his way--this is what he told us afterwards. He'd  left a ladder on the patio propped against the outside wall and used it to climb on the roof. Yes, there was a guy up there. Hubby chased him waving the ax and shouting. (We could hear this.) The intruder ran away and leaped off the roof and dashed down the street. Lisa and I couldn't help laughing at ...

October 18, Innovative Ways to Market Books  https://jlgregerblog.blogspot.com/ October 19 Review of Bones in the Attic https://evelyncullett.com/blog October 20 Halloween Memories  https://jwillsbooks.com/blog-posts/ October 21 What Drives Writers to Keep on Writing? https://pat-writersforum.blogspot.com/ October 22  A Little Help From a Friend https://jrlindermuth.blogspot.com/ October 23 Real Life Events Inspired Bones in the Attic   http://www.lindathorne.com/blog/ October 24 Friendships  https://lornacollins-author.blogspot.com/ October 2 My Time as a Camp Fire Leader https://cncbooksblog.wordpress.com/ October 27 Writing Scary   https://jtzortman.worpress.com/ October 28 The Families in My Rocky Bluff P.D. Series http://amymbennettbooks.com October 29 https://anastasiapollack.blogspot.com/   Taco Salad Blurb: The discovery of a skeleton, a welfare check on a senior citizen, and a wildfire cha...

This is way back when I only had one child, our daughter, Dana. She was about two years old, and we lived with my parents because my husband was stationed elsewhere, don't remember where. I worked at the phone company, for Ma Bell, and my mom babysat. This was far scarier for my mom than me because I didn't know about what happened until it was all over. The garbage man had taken the trash. So mom put Dana on the front porch which had a little gate on it so she couldn't get out, while merely taking the trash can around the side of the house to the back door. Not far at all.  When she returned to the front porch, Dana was gone. The gate still latched. Mom looked around to see if Dana somehow had managed to get out on her own, but she was no where to be seen. Mom immediately went inside the house and called the police who arrived quickly. My mother was a devout Christian so I know she was praying for Dana's safety. The police found Dana several...

It was New Year's Eve and I had a living room full of kids in their pajamas.. My husband, a Sea Bee was in Vietnam so I offered to babysit all the neighborhood kids so their folks could go out and celebrate. It was like a giant slumber party. We played games and ate goodies, including root beer floats.  My youngest child, a toddler was asleep in his room, one that he shared. This was the biggest bedroom and it had a sliding glass door to the outside. Most of the kids were settling down to sleep, so it had to be long after midnight, when my little one came into the living room. "Mommy, there's a man in my room." Oh, boy, here I was without a weapon and a house full of kids to protect. I did have a baseball bat in my bedroom, grabbed that and went marching down the hall, shouting, "Here I come, you better get out fast if your know what's good for you!"  (Much braver sounding than I felt.) I got to the back bedroom just in time t...

This one happened while I was babysitting two little boys. I was probably around 12 at the time. I babysat for them often though I didn't like to at all.  They lived on the next street down from us and I got to and from on my own, no matter how late.  But the main reason I didn't like to go there was because of the room I had to be in as per the parents' instructions. The so-called family room wasn't a happy place to be, though it was the only room with a TV--black and white in those days. It had a built-in bed/sofa that was the only place to sit. Hanging above it was a collection of shrunken heads--yes, real shrunken heads. Where they got them I have no idea, but the father was extremely proud of them. On this particular night, after making sure the boys were sound asleep, I retreated to the room and watched TV. I must've dozed off. When I woke, I checked on the boys again and they were gone! The beds empty. Panicked, I called home and told my mom. ...

Because my latest book, Bones in the Attic , is aimed toward Halloween. I thought I'd write about some scary things that have happened to me. Today, I'm going to write about something that happened when I was a kid. 1. When I was a young teen, I went to evening youth group at church while my folks attended the main service. Our meeting got over early and someone dropped me off at home. I used my key to get in the front door and headed straight to the bathroom. No one was there (or so I thought) so I didn't shut the door.  After washing my hands, I looked in the mirror to comb my hair, and saw the reflection of someone running past the bathroom. My heart beating really fast, I started stomping my feet as I went after the intruder, and I yelled, "I'm coming for you!" Of course I had no weapon, but on I went as this person ran through the living room, dining room and kitchen. (Just like the dumb heroines in some books and horror movies.)  When I...

The first really scary thing that happened in my life was when I was 10 years old. In my growing up years, kids could pretty much go off and do whatever they wanted as long as they were home by dinner. I'm sure bad things happened to kids back then, as they do now, but parents were really busy--dad's worked and mom's didn't have all the wonderful appliances we do now. And they expected us to use our heads and stay out of trouble. One day I came home at dinner time and no one was home. Lights were on, and the front door unlocked. The car was gone. Neither my mom, dad nor my 5 year old sister were there. Steaks were cooking in the broiler.  And...there was blood on the floor and in the sink!  I ran outside and up the hill to a neighbor whose husband was a police officer, and told her what was happening. She ran with me back to the house and immediately turned off the oven. She took one look around and decided someone had been murdered. Imagine how I fe...

Yes, I actually have two chapters done in my next Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery. Always when I'm writing a new book I'm planning promotion for the new book in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series. It's due to come out soon and it's called Bones in the Attic.  Here's the cover, and the book is now on Amazon   Buy link: https://tinyurl.com/yxpd8mxy I do have some in-person events set up, but not as many as I'd like--but I need to know I'll have books before I do anything like a book launch in the area where I live. In October is the Great Valley Bookfest in Manteca, and the next weekend is Taste of the Arts in Visalia. I'm not doing Springville's Apple Festival because I can't do two days in a row anymore when you have to set up and be outside, and it's too expensive. It once was a wonderful venue for me, but no longer. The 1st and 2nd of November I'll be at the Porterville Art Museum for their Holiday Boutique--the difference he...