Author interview no.575 with crime thriller writer Rick Reed

Welcome to the five hundred and seventy-fifth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, biographers, agents, publishers and more. Today’s is with crime thriller author Rick Reed. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further.

Morgen: Hello, Rick. Please tell us something about yourself, where you’re based, and how you came to be a writer.

Rick: I didn’t start out to be a writer like most authors that I know, but I have always been a voracious reader.  In 1999, while living in a cramped apartment, working third shift as a police detective, newly divorced and trying to find ways to burn off the stress, I discovered that I enjoyed making up police stories.

Since I never expected to find an agent, much less a publisher, I started an underground police department newspaper.  It was short and crude and was written as a celebrity roast.  The celebrities were whatever unlucky police officer, or politician, I had in my sights for some mischievous—not malicious—fun. The paper was called The Monkey Boy Gazette, and there was an issue every month for ten years before my identity was discovered.  My first amendment right to free speech was honoured, but there are subtle ways to punish transgressors and I was finally unable to continue the paper.

Before that happened though, I had a circulation of about one thousand readers, including the entire police department, city government, and local FBI.  After I was put out of the underground press business, I was told that my stories were being mailed all over the country to other law enforcement agencies, including the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. My paper had become a collector’s item, and the victims of the stories were framing them and hanging them in their offices and homes.

Morgen: It’s great having the experience so you really can write what you know because it’s writers like myself who love writing crime but are never sure if the ‘facts’ are right. You could become a crime writers’ consultant. What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

 

Guest post: Creative Travel Journaling by Karen Robbins

Tonight’s guest blog post, on the topic of journaling, is brought to you by multi-genre author Karen Robbins.

Creative Travel Journaling

Travel is a passion with me. Journaling helps me to remember where we’ve been and what we’ve seen. Here are some tips for journaling creatively.

The Tools. When a computer has a problem with memory, you can install another chip. Unfortunately that’s not the case with the human brain. Therefore do take some type of recording tool with you as you tour and explore.

For me, recording on the go requires pen, paper, and camera. I tote a small notebook in which to record interesting tidbits. Background stuff. Things to spark more thought later. I pick up free leaflets or brochures and jot notes on them as well.

My camera is used as much to record written information as to take pictures. I snap a picture of written descriptions on plaques, etc. I can enlarge it with my pictorial software or even on my camera by pushing the zoom button when it’s in view mode. (Digital cameras are a dream). I glean the information I want and delete it later. The advantage: I don’t have to read it all standing there instead of enjoying the views around me–especially in the hot sun or, perish the thought, the rain.

My husband owns an iPad but we rarely use it to take pictures or keep notes. It’s a bit cumbersome to tote along on a tour but if you don’t have a travel computer and want to use a computerized device to journal on, that could be the way to go.

Our iPhones work well when we don’t want to carry the big camera. If you are adept at typing on the touch screen, it’s also a good place to keep notes.

While on the go, you want tools that will help you later to fully record your travel adventure. As my husband always says, a job well done requires the right tool. But then he’s usually off to the hardware store.

The Five Senses. What do the five senses have to do with journaling? Actually a whole lot! A picture may be worth a thousand words but it only goes so far in recording your travel experience. It won’t show what you smelled, tasted, felt, or heard (unless it’s video with sound).

Too often we only use our eyes and forget the other senses. On our river cruise through France, we awoke to find ourselves docked by the little town of Ville des Andelys. The view resembled a Monet painting. Slightly foggy air muted greens, reds, and blues around us like an Impressionist’s painting. What I heard as we walked into town was the morning quiet broken by a single bird calling. What I felt was the fresh dew on my feet.

The memory that lingers though comes from a Y in the road where suddenly the smell of fresh bread surrounded me. The baker was already at work making her baguettes for the day. Nothing tastes better than a fresh baked baguette in the morning. Absolutely heavenly.

Using all your senses will add depth to your journaling. Some smells (dirty barn) and tastes (mate-tea of Argentina) are pungent, revolting, or unappealing but are still a part of your journey. Others like fresh bread, salty sea air, and the scent of pine (ah, Canada) are important elements to include in your journal entries. Soft-needled pine trees in Australia or the skin of a muddy catfish as it wiggles in your hand stimulate the imagination. The cry of a howler monkey in the jungle of Belize sounded like an amplifier gone wild but what an awesome sound. Touch, smell, hear, taste as well as see your world.

Descriptive Language. A picture is worth a thousand words but a few well-chosen words can paint the best pictures.

Sometimes I find it difficult to describe what I see because of the colors. One way to enhance your description is to think of colors in terms of food. It’s something everyone knows. A cherry red door. Ice blue water. Pink cotton candy sunset. Whipped cream clouds. Burnt toast bark.

Like and as are great ways to give reference for better description. The thunder came and went like a noisy car booming the bass from the radio. The catfish felt as slippery as a wet slicker coated in mud.

Use action verbs in your journaling. Avoid was, is and are. The wind howled is a stronger description than there was a strong wind. Mosquitoes feasted on my arms paints a better picture than there were a lot of mosquitoes. Remember my fresh-baked baguette? Fresh bread aroma floated around me, engulfing me in its enticement. Okay maybe a little over the top but a lot better than there was the smell of bread. Rub out adjectives and adverbs with a good action verb.

The Journal. Once you have collected your notes, your pictures, all the things you want to keep as memories you need–the journal!

If you only want a written version, use a nice journal with blank pages and a good pen. If you’d rather use a computer (I do, my handwriting is atrocious) create a file in your word processing program for your travel entries. Find some fancier online journals that allow you to create and write to an online site that can be public or private. Journaling software is available too.

Blog a journal! Blogger.com is free and easy to set up and use. Use privacy settings to make it public or private. My public blog evolved into a travel journal. . . well, one of my travel journals.

I love to make books. I write but I also dabble in photography. My favorite way to document our trips is in a photo book. The photo books are fun to assemble online and allow you to add text for that descriptive language.

And of course if you are a lover of scrapbooking, there is always that option.

Happy journaling!

That makes me want to travel more (except planes and I don’t get on… anyone got a flying carpet they could lend me?). Thank you, Karen! I also recommend WordPress but then I could be biased.

Known as the Wandering Writer, Karen Robbins and her husband of forty-four years have stepped foot on all seven continents and have almost circumnavigated the globe. The love of travel was realized fully after their five children were grown and out of the nest and having children of their own. Karen’s travel adventures enrich her writing and her characters often travel in her stories.

Most of her life, Karen has lived in Northeastern Ohio in the U.S. She graduated from Ohio State University with a degree in art education and taught school until her twins arrived. Along life’s path in addition to being a writer and speaker, Karen has been a florist, a candle sales representative, and a paralegal student as well as wife, mother and grandmother.

Karen’s writing career started out with adult take-home papers for Sunday school. In a short time she was writing a column for a local newspaper and eventually for regional magazines. With five other writing moms she met online, she coauthored two books, A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts and A Scrapbook of Motherhood Firsts. The Chicken Soup For The Soul books have included several of her stories. Her first love though is writing fiction. She has written women’s fiction and cozy mysteries. Her most recent releases are Murder Among The Orchids and In A Pickle.

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If you would like to write a writing-related guest post for my blog then feel free to email me with an outline of what you would like to write about. If it’s writing-related then it’s highly likely I’d email back and say “yes please”.

The blog interviews return as normal tomorrow morning with non-fiction author and poet Estelle P Shrum – the five hundred and sixtieth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further. And I enjoy hearing from readers of my blog; do either leave a comment on the relevant interview (the interviewees love to hear from you too!) and / or email me.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E88JN0 for outside the UK **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers.

Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I have a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 words. Alternatively if you have a short story or self-contained novel extract / short chapter (ideally up to 1000 words) that you’d like critiqued and don’t mind me reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them)  on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are fortnightly episodes, usually released on Sundays, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry.

 

Author interview no.374 with historical / romance writer Kristy K James

Welcome to the three hundred and seventy-fourth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, biographers, agents, publishers and more. Today’s is with historical / romance author Kristy K James. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further.

Morgen: Hello, Kristy. Please tell us something about yourself.

Kristy: Hello, Morgen. Hopefully this part won’t put your readers to sleep because I’m just an average person. A mom, a cook, a housekeeper and pet owner based out of Michigan.

Morgen: Not average at all, a multi-tasker. I’ve very ordinary, just run a house, one dog, no family. I did wonder when I started writing what I had to write about but then my imagination took over. How did you come to be a writer?

Kristy: I became interested in the whole storytelling process when I took Creative Writing in 9th grade. Technically I only did it because that’s where the school paper was produced-and my goal was to be one of the reporters. Why? Because I had a crush on the student teacher in my drama class… and I wanted to interview him. I did get to do the interview, but over the course of that year, fell in love with writing – and I just never stopped.

Morgen: A student / student teacher crush, now there’s a story. What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

Kristy: If I had to narrow it down to one genre, it would probably be romance. I’ve also written an historical romance, a Christian romance novel, and historical / literary fiction. I’m currently plotting a YA fantasy series that I hope to get started on within the next year.

Morgen: All very popular. What have you had published to-date?

Kristy: I have four books available on Amazon.com right now.

Morgen: Do you have an agent? Do you think they’re vital to an author’s success?

Kristy: I do not have an agent. Ten years ago they were a key to an author’s success, but with the way the publishing industry is going these days, I’m not sure they’re necessary. That’s not to say that I would never consider having one, but for now… I’m not looking.

Morgen: I’m sure if we were approached we’d be tempted. Are your books available as eBooks? Were you involved in that process at all? Do you read eBooks or is it paper all the way?

Kristy: All of my novels are available as paperbacks and eBooks. And yes, I’ve been involved in every step of that process. Do I read eBooks? Since purchasing a Kindle last year, I do. I still prefer paperbacks, but am slowly accumulating a digital library. I especially like the fact that I can download a heavy, hardcover book from Amazon to my digital, lightweight eReader.

Morgen: Ditto. My house would be far emptier if I switched to Kindle only but I love having the option. How much of the marketing do you do for your published works or indeed for yourself as a ‘brand’?

Kristy: While I’m not a good salesperson, I am learning. Mostly I try to brand myself because I don’t like hard sells, and constantly pushing my novels would fall into that category-at least in my opinion.

Morgen: I’d agree. I’m rubbish at marketing myself but I think the trick (which sounds devious but isn’t) is to get others to market you, which is part of the reason I blog… although really enjoying it has made it what it is, and all the guests of course. Do you have a favourite of your books or characters? If any of your books were made into films, who would you have as the leading actor/s?

Kristy: Enza is far and away my favorite book, with my favorite character being Elliot Owens. I had originally pictured him as a young Sam Waterston because he was such a good father in I’ll Fly Away (a short-lived series in the early 90’s). I’m kind of leaning toward Matt Damon now, after seeing him in We Bought a Zoo.

Morgen: I didn’t see that film but I do like him. He’s very versatile. Did you have any say in the title / covers of your book(s)? How important do you think they are?

Kristy: I worked very closely with the graphic artist who creates my covers. Sometimes I give her an idea of what my vision for a cover is, and sometimes she surprises me. I think covers are extremely important. So much so that I have probably missed out on reading some good stories because a cover turned me off the moment I saw it. Yes, it’s what’s in between that really matters, but if the first impression-the cover-isn’t appealing, I probably won’t even read the blurb.

Morgen: It’s hard these days with so many books on offer. It’s finding somewhere between dull and flashy… simple and classy I suppose, which yours is (and I’m not just saying that). What are you working on at the moment / next?

Kristy: I am currently working on two WIPs. One is the third in my Coach’s Boys series. The other is a romance born of the dream every little girl has – to be whisked away by her knight in shining armor.

Morgen: Do you manage to write every day? Do you ever suffer from writer’s block?

Kristy: I try to write every day. But when you’re editing and getting a book ready for launch, it’s hard to concentrate on anything except that. You want to put out the best, most error-free story you can, and it can take a lot out of you.

I definitely suffer from writer’s block. There are times when scrubbing the bathtub, sweeping down cobwebs, or organizing the garage seems like easier-and more appealing-chores than writing.

Morgen: We’re good at that aren’t we – mine’s defrosting my freezer. Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Kristy: I’m a plotter. I need to know where I’m starting, where I want to finish and, most importantly, whether I can make the middle interesting enough to make it worth investing a few months of my life to write it.

Morgen: Can’t have a saggy middle. Do you have a method for creating your characters, their names and what do you think makes them believable?

Kristy: As a matter of fact, I do. I keep a baby names and telephone book handy for naming characters. And, in addition to compiling the usual background information for each of my main characters, I also ‘interview’ them. I felt a little silly doing that at first, but now I get into it so much you’d think I had a multiple personality disorder. One ‘interview’ helped me understand where the main female character was coming from, a good thing since I didn’t like her at all in the beginning. Now that I really know her, and what led her to where she is today, she’s one of my favorites.

Morgen: One of the exercises I set in my Monday night writing workshops is to pick a couple of magazine pictures when complete a character chart. It lists name, nickname, nationality, age, job, hair colour, height, weight, favourite music, favourite food, regular saying, relationship, children, siblings, religion, aspirations and quirks. That can be really fun. Do you write any non-fiction, poetry or short stories?

Kristy: I did write a book about my experience following an auto accident, a short story for a writing contest, and have dabbled in poetry. But I love writing novels so that’s what I spend the vast majority of my time doing.

Morgen: I write short stories in the main as I have snatches of time but have done NaNoWriMo four times (2008-2011) and find if I’m given a deadline (challenge) I can find the time… providing my freezer’s defrosted of course. Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

Kristy: Through the years I find that my first drafts are much closer to the final draft than they used to be. But I still do a good bit of editing. I want people to be glad they spent a few hours with my characters, so I make sure the stories are the best I can possibly write. That means plenty of editing.

Morgen: And presumably some more from your writing partner and beta readers. I do know a couple of authors (who shall of course remain nameless) who self-edit then self-publish (as eBooks). One has written a lot so their writing is good but the other is a newbie and although the writing’s pretty good, there are holes. As the saying goes, you only have one chance to make a good impression, and you don’t want to waste it. Do you have to do much research?

Kristy: It depends on the book. I spent many months researching for Enza, and I’m finding the YA series I want to do is requiring a great deal as well. Sometimes you just have to invest the time, if you want to write with any degree of expertise.

Morgen: And your readers will thank you for it. What point of view do you find most to your liking: first person or third person? Have you ever tried second person?

Kristy: I prefer reading-and writing-in the third person, though I have a few favorites written in the first. I’ve never tried anything in second person.

Morgen: Oh it’s great, I love it. Not everyone does but I’m a champion of it and it has its own page on this blog. Do you have pieces of work that you think will never see light of day?

Kristy: Oh of course. I have dozens of notebooks filled with what might be labeled today as fan fiction. When I was first getting started I liked to practice dialog by using characters from my favorite television shows and movies. The only light those ‘stories’ will ever see will come from a match.

Morgen: No! You can’t. You might want to either look back and see how far you’ve come or do something with them because fan fiction is incredibly popular. What’s your favourite / least favourite aspect of your writing life? Has anything surprised you?

Kristy: These days I’d have to say marketing. It’s a necessary step in getting the stories into the hands of readers, but it’s very time consuming and, frankly, I’d rather be writing new stories. Before that it was reading my books for the fourth or fifth time over the course of a few short weeks to make sure they were as perfect as I could make them.

Morgen: This is where an agent, editor, publisher etc would come in handy. We’re writers, we want to be writing. What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Kristy: Read-and then read some more. The best way to write good books is to read good books. I think it’s also helpful to read lousy books so you learn how not to write.

Morgen: And there are plenty of those. If you could invite three people from any era to dinner, who would you choose and what would you cook (or hide the takeaway containers)?

Kristy: Mark Twain, Albert Einstein and Bruce Willis. Since I get the most compliments for my lasagne, that’s what I’d make for them.  And probably my white cake, layered with vanilla pudding, frosted with sweetened whipping cream, and topped with cherries.

Morgen: Can I stretch that to four people? Yum. Is there a word, phrase or quote you like?

Kristy: Mark Twain said it best- “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Morgen: Absolutely. Explore (find creative writing group / classes), dream (want to quit your day job), discover (I did quit two months ago!). Are you involved in anything else writing-related other than actual writing or marketing of your writing?

Kristy: Last year I started ‘beta reading’ for other authors. I like to think of it as a more productive way to get my reading in… and to learn more about my craft at the same time.

Morgen: And a great way to help others. What do you do when you’re not writing?

Kristy: Of course I read, and spend a lot of time with my family. I like to decorate cakes and put together flower arrangement. Lately I’ve been getting together with my aunts and uncles to video tape them talking about what life was like when they were growing up. In November and December I got to work with them on a flash mob dance. It was a lot of fun for me and for them. Especially when they surprised everyone with their performance at the big family Christmas party.

Morgen: And you could write a book about them. Are there any writing-related websites and/or books that you find useful?

Kristy: My favorite website, and the current love of my life (outside of Bruce Willis) is Google. Anything I need to find, I can find there. My favorite book for writing is ‘How to Write Fast While Writing Well,’ by David Fryxell (available from Amazon.com). Good writing means developing good organizational skills, and Mr. Fryxell can help with that.

Morgen: That’s a new one to me but it does sound good. Are you on any forums or networking sites? If so, how valuable do you find them?

Kristy: I find Facebook to be very valuable, and I’m trying to learn to love Twitter. And I will. It’s just a matter of trying to work it into my schedule.

Morgen: Without letting it take over. What do you think the future holds for a writer?

Kristy: I believe there are – and will be – more opportunities for writers than ever before. Places like Amazon and Smashwords make it easy to get your writing out there – but that’s both a good and a bad thing. Serious writers will have to focus on putting out quality work more than ever before if they want to stand out from the crowd.

Morgen: They will. A slow process sometimes but as the saying goes “good things come to those who wait”. Where can we find out about you and your work?

Kristy: Anyone interested can find out about me at http://kristykjames.wordpress.com. I have a link to my blog and books there.

Morgen: Is there anything you’d like to ask me?

Kristy: How do you get to be as organized as you are?

Morgen: <laughs> being a secretary for over 20 years, having too little sleep, although giving up the day job certainly helped! Thank you, Kristy.

Kristy K. James‘ first goal in life was to work in law enforcement, until the night she called the police to check out a scary noise in her yard. Realizing that she might someday have to check out scary noises in other dark yards if she continued on that path, she turned to her other favorite love… writing. Since then, her days have been filled with being a mom and reluctant zookeeper (7 pets), creating stories and looking for trouble in her kitchen.

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If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E88JN0 for outside the UK **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

Morgen’s Online Non-Fiction Writing Group

• http://nonfictionwritinggroup.wordpress.com
• http://www.facebook.com/groups/335526669896374

Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group

• http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com
• http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189

Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group

• http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com
• http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934

Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group

• http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com
• http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017

Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group

• http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com
• http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445

We look forward to reading your comments.

 

Author Spotlight no.79 – FM Meredith

Complementing my daily blog interviews, today’s Author Spotlight, the seventy-ninth, is of crime and mystery author and interviewee F M Meredith aka Marilyn Meredith.

Marilyn Meredith is the author of over thirty published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, the latest Bears With Us from Mundania Press. Writing as F. M. Meredith, her latest Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novels are No Bells and Angel Lost, the third and forth from Oak Tree Press. Marilyn is a member of EPIC, Four chapters of Sisters in Crime, including the Central Coast chapter, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America.

And now from the author herself:

What you May or May Not Know about Marilyn Meredith aka F. M. Meredith

I’m a fourth generation Californian. (Not too many people can say that—though three of my kids are now fifth generation Californians.)  I’ve only lived in two other states (Maryland and Virginia) and that was only for a short while. I’ve traveled the 3000 miles across the United States once by train, three times by car. Two of those times happened when hubby and I drove a VW bus with three of our five kids in it and tent-camped all the way to the East coast and back again. (Not something I’d recommend.)

Over the years I’ve had all sorts of jobs beginning with baby sitting from the age of 10 (what were the parents thinking), as a teen working in a hot rod store, whenever I needed extra money I worked as a telephone operator back in the days of the old-fashioned switchboard, a teacher in a school for developmentally disabled pre-schoolers, a teacher in day care centers, a pre-school teacher in a ghetto, and for over twenty years I owned, lived-in and operated a licensed facility for six developmentally disabled women. During that time I developed and taught state-approved classes for administrators of homes like mine.

I’ve done all sorts of volunteer jobs: PTA president and newsletter editor, Camp Fire Girl leader for 10 years, Sunday School teacher for all ages (still doing that for third to six graders), also still newsletter editor and program chairperson for the Public Safety Writers Association conference.

I met my husband on a blind date and married him after only knowing him for six weeks. We’ve been married for 60 years now even though my mother said we’d never make it. We raised five children and now have eighteen grandkids (raised a couple of those too) and eleven great-grands.

Since I was a girl in grammar school (all those eons ago) I’ve written stories and plays. I didn’t get serious about getting anything published until I was a young grandmother. After writing and rewriting and receiving many rejections, my first published book was a historical family saga based on my own family’s genealogy. From there I moved onto mysteries because that’s what I liked to read. I also wrote a psychological horror, three Christian horror novels, and a romance with a touch of the supernatural.

Along the way I’ve had encounters with agents who did nothing for me except waste a lot of my time plus a couple who taught me a lot, three publishers who were dishonest, and two publishers who sadly died, and a couple who decided to quit the business. I am so fortunate that I now have two publishers, one for each of my series. Mundania Press publishes the Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series (Native American female deputy sheriff in the Southern Sierra of California), Bears With Us, is the latest and Oak Tree Press that publishes my Rocky Bluff P.D. crime series that’s about the members of a police department in a small beach community along the California coast that I write under the name F.M. Meredith. No Bells is available now.

I lived in a beach community for over 20 years and now make my home in the foothills of the Southern Sierra.

When I’m not writing, I love spend time with my family. I also enjoy reading and watching movies.

I do want to thank Morgen for hosting me again.

You’re so welcome, Marilyn – come back anytime.. ah yes you will be; a guest blog on the 3rd May.

You can find even more about Marilyn and her writing via… http://fictionforyou.com and her blog at http://marilymeredith.blogspot.com.

CONTEST: The person who comments on the most blogs on my tour will win three books in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series: No Sanctuary, An Axe to Grind, and Angel Lost. Be sure and leave your email too, so I can contact you.

The blog interviews will return as normal tomorrow with mystery author and poet Rebecka Vigus – the three hundred and fifty-first of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, biographers, agents, publishers and more. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further. And I enjoy hearing from readers of my blog; do either leave a comment on the relevant interview (the interviewees love to hear from you too!) and / or email me. You can also read / download my eBooks and free eShorts at Smashwords, Sony Reader Store, Barnes & Noble, iTunes Bookstore and Kobo. My eBooks are now on Amazon, with more to follow, and I also have a quirky second-person viewpoint story in charity anthology Telling Tales. I have a new forum and you can follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook, like me on Facebook, connect with me on LinkedIn, find me on Tumblr, complete my website’s Contact me page or plain and simple, email me. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for my Post-weekend Poetry page.