Marilyn's Musings

First book pulbished When I began on this journey there were no computer nor an Internet. I typed my first books on a what was called a portable typewriter. The first book I wrote though wasn't this one, Two Ways West was first, but the publishing history on it comes next. i used Wrtiers Digest big book on publishers and what they were looking for, plus how to submit a book.  I used carbon paper to make copies of the manuscript. To submit the book, I had to have two manuscript boxes--on to submit the manuscript, and one with postage on it for it to be sent back in case it was rejected, plus a submission letter with a synopsis. Amazingly, I sent this off to a New York publisher who wanted family sagas--the amazing part being it was accepted right off. It was the first place I'd sent it to. You have to realize I knew nothing about the publising business and even less about what I was expected to do to promote the book. I must say the book, whihc first camoutin mass market paperba...

The first time I did any amount of research was for my historical family sage, Two Ways West. The story was woven around my father's family's genealogy. Once I began writing, I knew there were many questions and I needed to find the answers before I started writing. The most important items were the history of the man different places where my ancestors, the Crabtrees,  lived, especially at the times they lived there.  Once I learned the facts, I could imagine what it was like while they were there and what might have made them move so often. One most important location was Brownsville Texas. I knew nothing about it, and this book was written long before the Internet. I wrote to the Brownsville Historical Society and told them what I was doing. Amazingly, they lent me a huge book of the history of Brownsville. It proved to be the most important piece of research I had because the Crabtree family lived in Brownsville at two different times.  Because the family traveled ...

This was another question I was asked on Facebook. I made up stories before I could write. My mother listened to a soap opera on the radio called "My Gal Sunday.' Since I was a pre-schooler, I listened along with her. I drew my own version of the story, making up new adventures. When I could read, I read almost anything I could get my hands on, including some very old books of my mother's. I found the "Little House on the Prairie" series, loved it, and wrote my own version of it. I know I wrote a lot of stories, don't remember any of them, but I do remember writing plays for the neighborhood kids to star in--we put them on in the summer. (This was while I was in grammar school.) In junior high I put out a magazine and wrote all the stories in it and did the illustrations. This was long before copying machine or the Internet, and I used a contraption called a jelly pad to make copies. About 5 copies was all that came out looking good, then the substance had to...

For Trail to Glory I went through the same process to find a publisher as I did for Two Ways West.  Though I still gor rejections, I finally got a self-addressed envelope back rather than the manuscript. Yep, a major publisher wanted Trail to Glory. This one was based on the genealogy of my mother's side of the family. I went through a lot of the same process for research as I did for Two Ways West.   I must admit the earliest part of the book is more fiction than fact, although much of the information about the Menominee people came from a wonderfully informative article in a copy of National Geographic.  Exuberant, of course I signed the contract for the book to be published. I went though the editing process and after what seemed like a long time, the book was a reality. Remember, this was before the Internet. I had no idea how to promote.  I sent out letters to everyone I knew about the availability of the book. I also arranged a book signin...

Since the event was held on the grounds of the Springville Museum, it seems logical that people would be interested in the two historical family sagas I had to offer. This one, also based on family genealogy, is about my mother's side of the family. What was most interesting to learn as I did research for this book, is that so many of the women in the family lost their husbands and had to find a way to make a living for themselves and their families. Early on, there is a mystery about a twin who goes missing and is never found. Family legends abounded--one being that she had been stolen by gypsies. However, as I researched the history of the area, I came upon something else that might have happened. That part of the story is fiction. Most of the rest of the book is based on historical fact as related to the characters in the story, based on fact, but fictionalized. The closer the book gets to this time period, the more close it is to what really happened--or what relat...

Have relatives who like historical family sagas? Trail to Glory  is based on the genealogy of my mother's family. Some have compared it to books in the Little House on the Prairie series. Great compliment, but probably because it truly depicts ho difficult life was back in the early days. One thing different about this book, is how the women faced horrendous hardships. Some had to find a way to support themselves after the death of a spouse.--so resourceful and strong.  Though the story is based on the truth, I must admit that there is plenty of fiction. The closer it get to our time period, the truer it is. This was my first published book--but since then it has been re-edited. I hope you'll try it or gift it to a friend. Available in trade paperback and for Kindle. https://www.amazon.com/Trail-Glory-Familys-Journey-West-ebook/dp/B076B51DG9/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510340917&sr=8-1&keywords=trail+to+glory+by+marilyn+meredith&dpID=61O...

Newly resurrected, Trail to Glory , is based on the maternal side of my family's genealogy. When my sister did our family genealogy many questions came to mind. Though we'd heard plenty of  family legends, some of them seemed a bit improbable or didn't fit with the history of the place during the particular time period. What was particularly amazing to me was the strength these women had during great adversity, and often having to support themselves and their family at a time when not many jobs were available to women. To write this family saga, I had to do plenty of research, but the research gave me some great ideas to add to the plot.   This is the first book I ever had published--and it happened in 1982. The acceptance letter came after nearly thirty rejections and many rewrites. If you like historical family sagas I hope you'll try this one. It's available for Kindle and trade paperback--and the print is large and easy to read. ht...

If possible, I'll have a new release of an old book ready in time for Halloween! It'll be tough, because it's been edited and I must approve the changes. It's a fairly long book--and I have a lot on my plate right now.  Back to the book, it's called Cup of Demons  and it falls into the horror category, but it also has Christian elements. This is a great scary book for the season. And yes, good friend Lorna is doing the heavy work getting it ready for publication, and her husband has come up with a great idea for a cover. I can't thank they enough. All this is happening because I got my rights back for several of my books--now we'll see how well they do the second and sometimes third time around. Don't forget that my historical family sage, Trail to Glory is available on Amazon now for Kindle and also as a print book. The Astral Gift is back again too, freshly edited. This one is a mystery with some interesting supernatural overto...

Trail to Glory   was my first published book. Though I am known for writing mysteries, this is an historical family saga based on the genealogy of my mother's ancestors. My sister did all the genealogy research and presented everyone in the family with a booklet with all the data she'd discovered. Back then, there was no Ancestor.com or any other such Internet resources--in fact, not Internet at all. While reading her research, so many questions popped up. I wondered why people moved from one place to another, what happened to those who seemed to disappear. Of course, over the years, we'd heard lots of family stories: about a twin girl who disappeared in her teens, never to be found, her brother who in his grown-up years became a gambler, though nothing more was shared. I decided to try and figure out what actually happened to all these people. To do this I researched the places and time periods these people lived. Of course, I didn't find out the ans...

Trail to Glory was my first published book. It was/is an historical family saga based on my own family genealogy. When it was published I really didn't know a whole lot about writing or getting published. It was rejected close to 30 times before Leisure books picked it up and published it as mass market paper back. I also knew nothing about promoting. I did send out flyers to announce the book to friends and family and arranged one book signing. And that was it. I did get a nice advance and one royalty check. The book faded into obscurity and truthfully, I forgot about it as I continued to write and eventually get other books published. With all the excitement about Kindle books, since I had my rights back, I decided to publish the book on Kindle. I no longer had a copy on my computer due to many changes of computers and word processing programs. I sent the book off to a company that scans the pages and puts them into Word. I got busy with other stuff and kind of forgot al...

People often wonder how I get so much done. Frankly, I never do as much as I hope to do. I make lists, not formal lists, just lists on post-its and tablets that are sent to me in the mail or I've picked up at hotels or conferences. I love checking off tasks I've completed. And yes, I write down almost everything I plan for the day--though sometimes I just do it without making a list. Woke up on Sunday to an order for Deadly Omen from Amazon Advantage. Once I was up and at the computer, I just went ahead and fulfilled the order and got it ready to be mailed on Monday. I didn't put it on a list. However, from yesterday, I had a note to send Trail to Glory , my first book published, off to a place to be scanned in PDF and Word format. I no longer had it on my computer and I only had one copy left--except for the copy I autographed to my hubby. I'd like to see this one have a new life. I also want to send Bad Tidings there too for the same reason, though I have about ...