Marilyn's Musings

Not only did I have a good time researching Dispel the Mist , it was a fun book to write. How could I miss when one of the characters is a cousin to Big Foot. Yes, indeed, the Hairy Man is the legendary, or maybe not so legendary, fellow who roams the mountains above the Tule River Indian Reservation. I can see the backside of those mountains from the windows of my house. When I was talking to the Tolowa women who gave me ideas for Kindred Spirits they shared many stories about Big Foot. While researching for Dispel the Mist I learned and heard about Hairy Man sightings. Anytime I write about Tempe and Hutch I feel like I'm visiting with old friends. Friends I know far better than any of my flesh and blood friends--because I can get right inside their heads. I hope a lot of people will want to read what happens when Tempe encounters the Hairy Man. Marilyn http://fictionforyou.com

Oh boy, I did a good job of it yesterday. I did accomplish a few things, like toting up my writing expenditures for a month. Unfortunately they are always more than what I brought in from my writing. I spent way too much time on Facebook--but isn't it fun? I found out my niece made tacos and baked cookies for the neighborhood kids--and her own two, of course. My grandson, the Aspen CO cop, posted a photo of two bears up a tree, a mom and cub. These you could see quite plainly. I hope he keeps his guard up since he has bear encounters every night while he on duty. I learned his little sister loves school--she's a sophomore in high school. And of course I found out all sorts of interesting things from the many friends (some I know and some I don't) on Facebook. I tried to make postcards for Dispel the Mist and failed. So, I order some from VistaPrint. Much easier to do. Received two books I ordered from Amazon, one the latest Wm. Kent Krueger mystery and I already read a few ...

Well, I'm not really sure that I've become such a prude as TV shows and movies have just gotten far worse than they used to be. I was all set to watch the first and second episodes of an HBO show created from a book series written by someone I know. The books are clever, unusual and funny. I could only watch about fifteen minutes of the TV show which had unnecessary bad language, nudity, people having sex and not much about the main character or the story that I suspect was still to come. At this stage in my life I don't really like to hear bad language, nor do I enjoy seeing people without their clothes, and I already know how to have sex, thank you very much, I don't need to watch people doing it. And that's what they are doing is just having sex, there certainly isn't any love making in the way most TV shows and movies depict it. Frankly I yearn for the old movies filled with romance and when couples went to the bedroom to make love, they shut the door and yo...

Today I sent an email to the Eagle Mountain Casino on the Tule River Indian Reservation. This is the reservation that I've patterned the fictional Bear Creek Indian Reservation after. I also want people to realize I'm writing fiction and though the Bear Creek Indian Reservation bears some resemblance to the Tule River Indian Reservation it is not an exact replica--nor is anything on the reservation including the characters who appear in my Deputy Tempe Crabtree mysteries. I've often been asked if I'm Indian--and the answer is no, I'm not. One of my great-grandchildren is 1/4 Tule River Indian with ties to the reservation. I have much respect for our local Indians and what they've managed to do to improve their lives on the reservation. Not only do they have their casino they also have other enterprises which have given their citizens more opportunities for work as well as others in the surrounding communities. With my latest book, Dispel the Mist , I borrowed on...

Once again we've had two famous people die--Senator Kennedy and Dominick Dunne. Though I'm sure Senator Kennedy did many good things in his long career of politics--unfortunately what I remember about him most was his wrong-doing. I so vividly remember when he let that young woman drown and didn't bother telling anyone when it was too late because he was afraid of what being with her would do to his reputation. I have no doubt that he would have run for president and probably succeeded if he hadn't had that in his past. He was unfaithful to his first wife enough to make the news--and poor woman became an alcoholic. Dominick Dunne was a famous writer--and the murder of his daughter certainly caused him to write about people who got away with or almost got away with murder. I'm sure the fact that his daughter's killer only served a short sentence had a lot to do with it. I remember seeing him at the O.J. Simpson trial day after day. He later wrote about that trial...

What does the phrase really mean? I have no idea. Plotting a book means to figure out what you are going to write and how you'll get there. I have my own manner of plotting and I've written about it before. Some people plot their entire lives--risky since things seldom turn out the way we expect them to. Lately I've been plotting the course for the promotion of Dispel the Mist. and I have some great events lined up, but would really like some more--especially during the week. Because I don't have the books yet I can't start the process of sending out books to reviewers, an essential part of the promotion. I'll be having a blog tour in October--waited until then to make sure I had books by then. Since my in person promotion officially begins with my talk at the Porterville Library I'm hoping I have books by then. I've also been plotting the course as far as writing and mystery conferences go. I passed on Bouchercon in Indiana this year because it is the ...

After spending the weekend with the Collins' and all their wonderful plans for introducing and selling their new book at two occasions with no books arriving, it made me take a second look at my calendar. Of course I don't have any copies of Dispel the Mist yet either. Once they are printed they don't just fly through the air, they have to ordered, the number of copies paid for have to be printed, the books are boxed and then sent on their way via truck from somewhere in the Midwest, all the way out here to California. Next week I head out to Ridgecrest to speak to the Ridgewriters. I did not expect to have books for that engagement. It's been two years since I've spoken to them so I have plenty of books to take that no one has seen before. On the 12th of September, I'm headed to Nipomo Library for an all day event. Though it would be nice to have copies of Dispel the Mist for that event, again, I have plenty of books to display and sell. But then we get to Sept...