Marilyn's Musings

If you've read any of the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series, you know Tempe often encounters ghosts. So it's no surprise to learn a ghost holds a major part in SPIRIT WIND.  The ghost hunter, Lorna Collins, has called Tempe to come help with a ghost haunting an old ranch home in Tehachapi. And of course, Tempe agrees. Her husband Hutch isn't happy because he had other plans, but Lorna is putting them up in a nice time-share in Stallion Springs, a small village next to Tehachapi. It isn't long before it becomes apparent, someone or maybe more than one, are unhappy with Tempe's investigation. Tempe and Hutch find themselves threatened in more than one way. My love of Tehachapi shines in this mystery. If you haven't read it already, give it a try. After all, it's only, .99 cents on Kindle--though this won't last much longer. https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Wind-Tempe-Crabtree-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B07Q4G1X25/ref=sr_1_1?crid=174LX7P1CE6P4&keywords=Spirit+Wind+by+M...

I I was almost 15 when the big earthquake struck Tehachapi on July 1952. It registered 7.7 on the Richter scale.  Eleven people were killed, many injured. All the buildings on the main street were damaged. All railroad operations were halted and the state highway closed because of damage to the roads. I remember watching some of the TV coverage of the devastation. A large women's prison was also destroyed. Amazingly, no one escaped, but they could have easily as the gate and fences came down along with the buildings. Ah ha! This fact gave me an idea for part of the plot for Spirit Wind. What if someone had escaped the big earthquake? Where would she go, what would she do? Much of the old part of Tehachapi was restored, some of the small homes look much like they did back then. I described the home of one of the older characters in the story, and on a later visit found one exactly like my fictional description. To see how the earthquake plays out in   Spirit Wind, pick up ...

    Spirit Wind  emerged from my love of the mountain town, Tehachapi. I’d been there several times years ago doing bookstore appearances. Plus, we drove by Tehachapi often when on our way to visit family in very southern California and trips to Las Vegas. Tehachapi has the biggest turbine wind farm in California. These huge machines cover the mountain side and our a definite fascination. And another big attraction is the railroad loop that goes around one of the mountains. We’ve gone to the lookout point often to watch this amazing engineering feat. Years ago, a huge earthquake devastated Tehachapi. Homes and businesses crumbled, railroad tracks twisted, and a women’s prison was destroyed. Ideas started popping up in my imagination of how I could incorporate all of this into a Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery and I started jotting ideas down, and a plot formed. To see how it turned out visit   https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Wind-Tempe-Crabtree-Mysteries...

Lately, I've been reading thrillers. They can be most exciting and they make you want to keep turning pages. Some authors  have called their books thrillers, when in fact they were mysteries. With a true thriller you see what's going on through the eyes of many, including the bad guys.  What I have found missing though, is true character development.  Often, I don't really care all that much for the main characters, be they male or female, mainly because I don't have enough details about them And sometimes, they don't seem like real people. I must confess, this flaw didn't keep me from wanting to find out what happened. So what do I think an author should do to make a character seem real? First, I want to at least have a clue about the age of the person and what they look like. (Male authors seem to focus on the physical attributes of the female characters.) If they describe clothes, often it's how they fit on the body. What has m...

I'm only going to write about the things I do or have done--hoping some of you readers will tell what catches you eye enough to buy a book, or writers will add something that really worked for them. I love to go to book and craft fairs--some are better than others, but you never know until you are there. Blog tours. I'm not sure how well they work, but I enjoy doing them. I like writing about why I wrote the book, the characters, and the setting. Frankly, I love to write. Appearing on other people's blogs. Every blog host has different people who follow them. It only makes sense to introduce yourself to other. I am a regular on two other blogs: Make Mine Mystery and Ladies of Mystery. https://makeminemystery.blogspot.com and https://ladiesofmystery.com /. Giving presentations to writers and social groups. This is something I love to do. Sisters in Crime is a favorite and I love to speak to libraries too. Offering a book in my series for free. This does work. Read...

As I reported earlier, I offered Deadly Omen  as a free download for Kindle and  1750 people took advantage of the deal. Some have ordered other books in the series, but it has only been a few and a slow process. Hoping sales will pick up. In the meantime, I was promoting the latest in the series, Spirit Wind , both on line and in person. I have other in-person events on the calendar. I finished the latest in my Rocky Bluff P.D. series, Bones in the Attic , and sent it off ot the publisher. Hoping for an early October release since the story centers around Halloween. Hubby, my daughter, Lisa, and I spent six days in Las Vegas, attending the Public Safety Writers Association's annual conference. Will write more about that later. We also spent some time with my sister and her family who live in Vegas. I am planning, mostly in my head, so far, the next Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery. Only thing I know at this point is that a lot of the action will happen in the mountai...

You make recognize two of the names of the characters in Spirit Wind.  Lorna Collins, the ghost hunter is back. She made her first appearance in Spirit Shapes.   In the real world, Lorna is a great friend, a marvelous editor, and an author in her own right. My hubby and I met Lorna and her husband at a writers conference and saw each other and several more. We spent a fun weekend with them at their home. Another name you might recognize is Madeline Gornell. Like Lorna, she won a contest to have a character named for her. I met Madeline for the first time at a book fair. We ran into each other at book conventions and conferences--and were roommates at one of them. Neither of these characters have any physical resemblance to their namesakes.  It's always fun to use a real name for a fictional character.  I do hope you'll read about Lorna Collins and Madeline Gornell in Spirit Wind. Available in paper and as an ebook! https://www.ama...

Because I'm expecting my new Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery to go live soon, and still have my latest Rocky Bluff P.D. mystery to promote, I've got several upcoming in-person events coming. I do hope to get to as many of the San Joaquin chapter of Sisters in Crime as I can this year. March 16th from 8-3, I'll be at the Writers of Kern's annual conference being held at Hodel's, 5917 Knudsen Dr., Bakersfield.  I'll be listening and learning, and I'll have a table with my books.  On April 6th, I'll be in San Luis Obispo from 9-4 at the Central Coast Sisters in Crime Writers in Action conference. I'm giving a presentation on Getting it Right--and yes, I'll have books. On April 13th, I'll be at the Visalia Book Festival from 9-4 in front of the big Visalia Library on Oak St, In July, from the 18th to the 21, I'll be a the big PSWA conference at the Orleans in Las Vegas. (This is my favorite writing conference.) Octob...

I thought last year zoomed by, but this one is moving along even faster. And because this is a short month, it will be gone before you know it. January was filled with family occasions and I'm blessed to have a very big family. I did have time to do a lot of writing on my next Rocky Bluff P.D. mystery, and I spent time promoting the latest one in the series, Tangled Webs, including four days of it being only .99cents for Kindle. I know that people bought it because the numbers on Amazon dipped very low. Because it's not self-published, I won't know exactly how the sale went until I hear from my publisher. As yet, I haven't heard when the next Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery will be available, though it has been edited and I've gone over and approved most of the edits. These things take time, and what I sent back was lost for a little bit. Don't you love modern technology when it doesn't work quite like it should? Of course I'm anxious to set up...

Titles are interesting. For some of my books I knew what the title would be almost immediately, others I had to ponder over after the books was completed. The word Spirit appears in five of my book titles, four are Deputy Tempe Crabtree mysteries, the other a standalone. Kindred Spirits came from the fact that Tempe forms a great friendship with two women from the Tolowa nations, and I became great friends with the Tolowa woman who inspired the book. I In River Spirits helpful spirits rise from the Bear Creek River. Deputy Tempe Crabtree is dealing with a group of movie people on the Bear Creek Indian Reservation who aren't following the rules given by the Indian Council as to where they can film.. Spirit Shapes is probably one of my favorites in this series. All about a haunted house, this book is filled with ghosts, spirits--good and evil--and angels. And coming soon, Spirit Wind.   This one is set in Tehachapi where the wind blows nearly all ...

For a while there I was concerned that maybe my publisher for the Deputy Crabtree series might have some problems. I'd sent the manuscript off--but heard nothing. I emailed and no answer. Because I was so busy promoting my last Rocky Bluff P.D. mystery and dealing with life itself, I didn't do anything else. Fortunately, I heard from the publisher--the problem was a computer crash. I resent my manuscript. Next step is whatever the editor finds that needs to be fixed. This is the first year I didn't have two of my series books out. But I certainly had plenty of other books re-published. (Which meant I did a lot of re-editing myself.) Once I learn when the book will be published, I'll be busy with promotion planning. Right now, I'm not going to even think about it, the holidays will keep me busy. Here's the cover: Set in Tehachapi, I hope to do an event or two in that area. Marilyn