Marilyn's Musings

This one had its beginnings in my memories as a pre-school teacher. It was fun to build on what I remembered, though the story and the characters are strictly from my imagination. There is a lot of fabrications going on in this tale. And yes, Officer Gordon Butler, now married, is back and he's the training officer for a new hire. Detective Doug Milligan's teen daughter, Beth, has a big secret, and when she goes missing, finding her is Doug's priority.   And of course it is available through Amazon on Kindle and in paper. https://www.amazon.com/Tangled-Webs-Rocky-Bluff-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B08C32TZ15/ref=sr_1_1?crid=126KFUS2L9JIA&keywords=Tangled+Webs+by+F.+M.+Meredith&qid=1655834664&s=books&sprefix=tangled+webs+by+f.+m.+meredith%2Cstripbooks%2C199&sr=1-1 F. M. Meredith aka Marilyn

The title, TANGLED WEBS , of course refers to "Oh, what tangled webs we weave when we practice to deceive." This should tell you that some of the plot is about lies.  I didn't need to do a whole lot of research for this one. The main plot is about the murder of a day-care center teachers. I worked in several pre-schools and day cares and have plenty of knowledge about what goes on behind the scenes with those who work in them.  Officer Gordon Butler has a new-hire for a partner who has eyes for Gordon's wife. And of course, family problems loom up when Detective Milligan's daughter isn't acting like herself. This was another one I enjoyed writing. It's always interesting to be able to draw from my past experiences for parts of a mystery. https://www.amazon.com/Tangled-Webs-Rocky-Bluff-Mysteries/dp/B08C475W13/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Tangled+Webs+by+F.+M.+Meredith&qid=1623944241&s=books&sr=1-1

Yes, Tangled Webs is about lies, but also not revealing important information to those you love. When I wrote this one, I knew I wanted to complicate the budding romance between Chief Chandra Taylor and the mayor, Devon Duvall. The perfect idea popped into my head. I also wanted to write more about Detective Milligan's daughter Beth--how she is developing as a person. What's one of the worst things that can happen to a parent? A missing child. Yep, that's there too. Those of you who have read other books in this series know that Milligan's ex-wife, Kerrie, is a shrew. Well, the shrew is back. It is so much fun to write about disagreeable characters. Yes, there is a murder in Tangled Webs , a popular teacher at a day care center is stabbed on her own front porch. Much of the business about the day care center did come from my experience working in various day cares--however no one was murdered during the years I did this. (I loved working wit...

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...

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...

Yep, I'm off on another blog tour, this time for a Rocky Bluff P.D. mystery, Tangled Webs. I'm so grateful the series has been picked up by a new publisher. October 26   http://jlgregerblog.blogspot.com/   Character Development October 27  https://lornacollins-author.blogspot.com A Sane Person Would Have Given Up October 28    https://www.susantuttlewriters.com   Why I Love Speaking Engagements October 29    https://amymbennetbooks.blogspot.com   Where Some of the Ideas Came From October 30  https.//www.jtzortman.wordpress.com/    Rocky Bluff the Setting for Tangled Webs November 1 https://mmgornell.wordpress.com/   The Big Question—How Do You Plot? November 2 http://evelyncullet.com/blog/ An Excerpt from Tangled Webs November 3 http://gloriagetman.blogspot.com/   Is a Critique Group for You? November 4 http://www.lindathorne.com/blog/   Why Do I Keep on Writin...

Always when a new book comes out, it's time to do a lot of promotion. I'm never quite sure what works the best. At this point as I've written previously, I've scheduled some in-person events--though as yet, not a formal launch, which I still hope to do. My biggest problem has been being too busy. When you go out of town for an event, it throws all the other have-to-do projects off.  So far, besides Facebook, I've a blog tour planned to later this month, and I'm offering Final Respects , the first book in the series free for five days the first week in November. Of course, the reason for this is to get new readers interested in the series. I've done a lot of promoting for this event that will happen when the book is actually free.  I've done a few other things too, we'll see how it works. Blurb: Too many people are telling lies: The husband of the murder victim and his secretary, the victim’s boss and co-workers in the day care ce...

Whenever a new book comes out, there is so much to do--plus life keeps moving on. The book, of course, is Tangled Webs , # 15 in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series. I can assure you when I wrote Final Respects  eons ago I had no idea that I'd have 15 books in the series! That first book was inspired by my late police officer son-in-law who stopped by in the morning after his graveyard shift ended for coffee and to chat about his night. He's the first officer who took me on a ride-along. And yes, I was greatly influenced by all the things he told me. He even let me look at his written reports.  We lived in Oxnard California at the time, but that first book wasn't published until we'ld been in Springville for several years. It underwent many rewrites and several publishers. Tangled Webs, though a part of the series can be read as a stand-alone though many of the characters who appeared in the first book are in this one too. In fact, the characters are wha...

Yes, I now have the cover for Tangled Webs, the latest in the Rocky Bluff P. D. series. As you'll note on the cover, it's #15. (I find this hard to believe, and I write them all.) Don't have the publication date yet, but it will be soon.  Of course this is a murder mystery--a beloved day care center teacher is stabbed on her own front porch. Perhaps she wasn't as beloved as people said. Too many are not telling all the truth. And life moves on for those who inhabit Rocky Bluff including the police officers. Family situations cause problems for Detective Milligan, Sergeant Navarro and Ryan Strickland. Officer Gordon Butler has a rookie to train--maybe one who is a tad too eager.  As usual, I enjoyed myself spending time with these characters. I hope you will too. Marilyn who writes this series as F. M. Meredith.