Mystery author Marilyn Meredith is here today. She has a new novel out, Raging Water, and is running a contest for a lucky commentor's name to be used in one of her upcoming books. It's winner's choice on which series to be included in.
Read on!
Bio: Marilyn
Meredith is the author of over thirty published novels, including the award
winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, the latest Raging Water from
Mundania Press. Writing as F. M. Meredith, her latest Rocky Bluff P.D. crime
novelm No Bells, is the fourth from Oak Tree Press.
Marilyn is a member of
EPIC, three chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and on
the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. Marilyn borrows a lot from
where she lives in the Southern Sierra for the town of Bear Creek and the
surrounding area.
Welcome, Marilyn. Please
tell us about your current release, Raging Water.
Deputy Tempe
Crabtree’s investigation of the murder of two close friends is complicated when
relentless rain turns Bear Creek into a raging river. Homes are inundated and a
mud slide blocks the only road out of Bear Creek stranding many—including the
murderer.
What
inspired you to write this book?
Two
women who attended our church were found dead on the same morning in their own homes.
The deputy (in our county a deputy sheriff is also a deputy coroner and can
pronounce someone dead) who discovered the bodies did not do any investigation.
No autopsy was done. There were some suspicious elements such as both women’s
pain medications were missing. I decided to write their story. Of course
there’s much more involved and it what I wrote has little basis in fact.
One
of my friends, who is also a fan of Tempe, asked to be a character in the book.
Not her name, just who she is. So I gave her an important part and used the
essence of her personality. No, she’s not the murderer. Her dogs, with their
names, are also in the story.
What
exciting story are you working on next?
I’m
finishing the edits of the next Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel, and about half
way through the next Tempe which centers around ghosts, a haunted house, and
young devil worshipers.
When
did you first consider yourself a writer?
I’ve
always known I could write, but the title was validated when I sold my first
book in 1981.
Do
you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and
how do you find time to write?
I
try to write something every day—but it isn’t always on a book. When I’m doing
a blog tour like this, a lot of my writing time is involved in answering
interviews and thinking up topics for interesting blogs. When I’m working on a
book, I do that first thing in the morning.
What
would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I
have no problem being interrupted. I’m interrupted a lot. Family just walks in
and knows where to find me. Hubby sits in the chair near my desk and stares
until I ask what he wants. Once whoever has come in leaves, I go right back to
what I was doing.
As
a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
An
artist and live in an attic and I planned to remain single. (This from someone
who has been married 61 years and has 5 children,18 grands, and 13 great-grands.)
Anything
additional you want to share with the readers?
Yes, I'm running a contest. The person who leaves comments on the most blogs will have his/her name used for a character in my next book—the winner can choose if you
want it in a Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery or a Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel.
Awesome, thanks, Marilyn. It's been a pleasure having you here. I hope you'll come back again when your next novel comes out!
