Marilyn's Musings

Anyone who reads my blog has already figured out that hubby and I love to travel over to the coast. Because I belong to the Central Coast Sisters in Crime, I have opportunities to join them in various events. We are traveling over to Santa Maria June 27th and staying overnight in the Santa Maria Inn. Also one of our favorites. Last time I went was with our daughter Lisa and we stayed in the newer part of the Inn. I'm hoping this time we'll get to be in the older and more historical part--the haunted part. On Saturday, June 28th, we'll drive down to the Lompoc Library where I'll be on a panel with other SinC members talking about different phases of publishing. My topic will be e-books. I'm sure I was chosen for this one because I've been published in e-books long before most anyone had a clue what that meant. Things have changed so much since I first started talking about e-books and how they would change the way people read. (I was right.) I've never...

This has been a busy, busy month. Besides the blog tour, which had a few more glitches than usual and I'll be giving some tips about what I will do differently next time, if there is a next time, I've done a lot of traveling. At least for me. The first weekend of the month, hubby and I headed over to Morro Bay--one of our most favorite places so I could join with my sisters and misters in the Central Coast chapter of Sisters in Crime. I wrote about it earlier, but the best part is always seeing my friends who live in the area. I didn't have to travel far to do a presentation in our local library, only 17 miles. I love the Porterville Library and their staff. Traveling with my daughter this time, we headed back to the coastal area and Santa Maria where I joined up with the CC chapter of Sisters in Crime again at the Santa Maria Library. This was a fast trip--but as usual, we both had a great time. It was fun to stay in the Santa Maria Inn once aga...

This is National Library Week and on Friday, April 18th, I'll be heading over to Santa Maria with my daughter at the wheel. She loves to drive and she'll be my helper this time. We're going to stay at the Santa Maria Inn overnight, one of my favorite places. Daughter will love it. On Saturday, April 19th, I'll once again be joining the Central Coast Sisters in Crime for an event, this time at the Santa Maria Library, 4215 W. McClelland at 10 a.m. We authors will be having a panel discussion about plotting your mystery. Should be interesting and enlightening because I'm sure we all go about it differently. We'll all have copies of our books and I'm bringing several from both mystery series. And yes, I'm looking forward to seeing my fellow Sisters and Misters again.  We won't be hanging around though once the event is over and everyone who wants to buy a book has, because we'll be heading back home that afternoon. The reason being th...

Once again we're headed off to Santa Maria Inn--our first stop before my appearance at the Nipomo Book and Craft Fair this Saturday, August 3rd, from 9 to 3. I'll be on the porch with my books. We always stay at the Santa Maria Inn and choose the older part which is still much like it was back in the days when this was the favorite stopping place for movie stars traveling north. The reason we like the older part, even though the rooms are small, is because they have stars on the doors with the names of the movie actors who stayed in the hotel back in the day. Last time we stayed in the room that had Frank Sinatra on the star. I doubt he stayed in that room because it was the smallest we'd stayed in--though all the rooms are small by today's standards. Plenty big enough for the two of us though. We will be having dinner in the hotel's beautiful dining room with friends from Nipomo. Something we look forward to every year. If you happen to be in the area, do s...

I'm glad this photo is so small, because I look a lot like I felt. I'd been ill the night before--all night--from eating wild mushrooms in a salad. That's what I get for wanting to try something new. The highlight of being in Nipomo at this book festival was seeing good friends, Barbara Hodges, Victoria Heckman and Sue McGinty. Besides all being authors, they are also members of the Central Coast chapter of Sisters in Crime--and I am too. Hubby and I stayed at the Santa Maria Inn, always a fun place, but our Saturday night dinner at the Inn wasn't so great for me either. The chef was heavy handed with the salt in both my Oysters Rockefeller (which I had last year and they were wonderful but not this year) and my Tortilla Soup. Breakfast is part of the hotel deal, and I will say the oatmeal was terrific. That's what I had both days. I'm glad to be home, even though we'll only be here for three days, then we're off again. Am determined to go ...

Isn't that a great name for a city? Never heard of it before? It's on the Central Coast, just south of Santa Maria. Truthfully, I don't know a whole lot about Nipomo except for their library and I have a good writer friend who lives there, Barbara Hodges. Because of Barbara, for the last two years, I've participated in a sale the library has had. In the front yard crafters and other vendors put up tents and sell their wares. Barbara and I set out tables up with our books on the covered porch. (My husband loves this one because he only has to haul a table and two chairs and help me with selling my books.) Inside, the library sells used books. This fun event is on Saturday, August 20th. Because we must set up quite early, we'll head over to the coast the day before. We love going to the coast, the weather is great and we know we'll get some great food. We're planning on staying at the historic Santa Maria Inn once again--in the old and possible haunte...

As I do so often, I forgot to take any pictures at the book fair. However, I did take these photos at the Santa Maria Inn where we stayed for two nights. What a great hotel, so full of history and ambiance. Of course this is where I managed to louse up my little computer and was no longer able to get on the Internet with it. We had a delicious dinner and breakfast in the dining room and thought about all the old movie stars who once visited and stayed in the hotel. Our day at the book fair was great. We saw so many people we knew and met others. On Sunday, we headed down the coast, looked for places that could be where Rocky Bluff is (though none are exactly geographically as I've described), enjoyed the scenic views of the Pacific Ocean and finally arrived at our daughter's home. That evening we attended Mass with them at Santa Clara church. It's beautiful and very old church. The days since have been very full. Marilyn http://fictionforyou.com

I bought an tiny Acer computer so I could keep up-to-date on my blogs--something happened to it Saturday night and I can't get oline. I'm using my daughter's laptop now. We went to Santa Maria and stayed in the historic Santa Maria Inn, beautiful place. First night we met Barbara Hodges and her husband Jeff for dinner. Had a great time visiting. Saturday a.m., we were in Nipomo at the library by 8 a.m. We set up on the porch alongside Barbara and another author. It was a good day, sold 11 books which was really good for such a small event. Back to the hotel where we had a lovely dinner. First thing in the a.m. we headed down the coast, what a beautiful drive, to Oxnard. Spent a relaxing evening with daughter and husband. Marilyn http://fictionforyou.com

Today is my eldest daughter's birthday! Besides being my first born, she's also turned into a best friend. We'll be spending time with her and her husband in a couple of weeks--in fact, we'll be with them on my birthday. I'm in the throes of getting a new computer. It's sitting here, but my old one is still being used (maybe by the time this appears it'll be functioning) but not everything has been transferred over. A computer tech is doing that after his regular business hours and he couldn't finish the first night. In the meantime I got the first edits for my next Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery. When the first edits come, that means that the book may actually come out close to the time it is supposed to. However, I've learned not to make too big of plans until I actually have books in hand. I've also been working on my next Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel which I struggled with at first, but now it's moving along nicely. I've also been work...