I want to welcome Marilyn
Meredith. First I’d love you to introduce yourself.
Tell us about your
latest release.
Seldom Traveled
is the latest in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series. Back from her
vacation, Tempe is immediately confronted with the murder of a vacationing
woman with tangled ties to Bear Creek, a fugitive on the run, and a monstrous
forest fire.
Now I have a few
questions for you – I have found readers do like to know fun things about us
writers.
1.) Who is your favorite author?
Do you feel you write like them?
I have many favorites with William Kent
Krueger probably heading the pack. And no, I don’t write like him, but I do try
to do as well as he does with setting. There are so many others, the
old-favorites and lots of the new authors, male and female, though I must
confess, I read far more women authors than men.
2.) What was your favorite book
growing up?
The only title I remember right off is The Angry Planet and I must confess I
don’t remember much about it except I loved the characters. Of course I read
Nancy Drew and the Little House on the Prairie series. I always checked out 10
books at the time from the library and I read all my mother’s Book of the Month
Club selections—including Gone with the
Wind many times.
3.)
Are you a plotter or a pantser and why did you choose that method?
I’m a bit of both—probably leaning more
town pantser, though I always start with a premise and the names and
description of the new characters like the victim and the suspects, and the
murder method.
4.) Do you consider writing a career or
a hobby? Why?
A career—though if you have to make a
lot of money to call it a career, then maybe not. However, if it’s based more
on time spent writing and promoting, then it’s definitely a career.
5.) What are you working on now?
Because I write two books a year, while
I’m promoting the latest book in one series, I’m writing the next in the other series.
So at the moment, I’m working on the as yet untitled next Rocky Bluff P.D.
mystery.
6.)
What one piece of advice would you like to pass on to an up and coming author?
Read the kind of books you want to
write—and write, write, write.
7.)
If you had the ability to time travel and your first visit was to see a younger
version of yourself what would you say to that younger self?
Learn more about the craft of writing
sooner.
8.)
You just got a million dollars, whether it’s from an inheritance, the lottery,
or a sweet book deal doesn’t matter. What would be the first thing you would
buy for yourself?
A different car with lots of room to
haul books and equipment to go to book fairs and other book related events.
9.)
If you could un-invent one thing in the world what would it be?
Hatred. This would be a different world
if people if people didn’t have the ability to hate. Loving one another is so
much easier. We don’t have to agree with each other, just respect the fact that
we are all different and be kind to one another.
10.)
What is your favorite movie/TV Show? Why?
I like any movie or TV series that is
well-written and acted. However, I am partial to mysteries in TV series and I
have many favorites including many British series.
Bio:
Marilyn Meredith is the author of over thirty books in several genres, but mainly mystery. She embraced electronic publishing before anyone knew much about it. She taught writing for Writer's Digest School for ten years and served as an instructor at the Maui Writers Retreat, has been a judge for several writing contest, was a founding member of the San Joaquin chapter of Sisters in Crime, serves on the board of directors of the Public Safety Writers Association, is also a member of EPIC and Mystery Writers of America.
Marilyn Meredith is the author of over thirty books in several genres, but mainly mystery. She embraced electronic publishing before anyone knew much about it. She taught writing for Writer's Digest School for ten years and served as an instructor at the Maui Writers Retreat, has been a judge for several writing contest, was a founding member of the San Joaquin chapter of Sisters in Crime, serves on the board of directors of the Public Safety Writers Association, is also a member of EPIC and Mystery Writers of America.
Marilyn lives in the foothills of the Southern Sierra
in California in a place much like Bear Creek where her heroine Tempe Crabtree
serves as a resident deputy. She is married to the "cute sailor" she
met on a blind date many years ago and is grateful for all the support he gives
her and her writing career every day. She is proud of the fact that she and her
husband raised five children and now are grandparents to eighteen and
great-grands to thirteen.
"What happens in my books is the only place in my
life where I have any control," Marilyn says, smiling.
Blurb:
The tranquility of the mountain community of Bear
Creek is disrupted by a runaway fugitive, a vicious murderer, and a raging
forest fire.
Deputy Tempe Crabtree is threatened by all three.
Excerpt:
The dispatcher reported an escaped fugitive had been
spotted headed for the small mountain community of Bear Creek. Deputy Tempe
Crabtree was ordered to cooperate with the federal and county authorities. It
was her first day back from a vacation which had included her son’s wedding.
She’d also received a report of a missing woman.
Welcome home.
It was late October and nearly dark. Tempe knew she
wouldn’t be spending time with her husband during the next few hours.
The fugitive, Morris Delano, escaped from deputies
while being transferred from the county jail to another county for trial.
Delano had originally been captured after a long and successful bank robbing
spree that covered several Southern California counties. Local deputies boasted
about their ability to catch the suspect while he attempted to rob a local bank
in Tulare County after he’d eluded capture by much larger cities’ law
enforcement. Their boasts didn’t amount to much now that they’d lost him.
Deputy Marshals had been called in to organize the
search.
Besides his booking photo, what the authorities
thought they knew was the man made his getaway in a stolen white, late model
Chevy truck and headed up the highway toward the mountains of the Southern
Sierra and the small community of Bear Creek.
Tempe received a call from a resident who’d noticed an
abandoned Chevy truck a couple of miles above town on one of the bridges that
crossed Bear Creek, the river the town was named after. Wearing her tan deputy
uniform, she shrugged into her official jacket. As usual, she wore her long
black hair in a single braid.
She called in the information and proceeded to the
scene in her own white truck with the official Tulare County Sheriff’s logo on
the sides.
Because the deputies and the marshals weren’t far
behind, they arrived before she’d had much time to examine the abandoned
vehicle. The driver’s door stood open and she’d only had time to glance inside.
Uniformed men poured out of official cars and trucks
they parked on the main highway.
One of the marshals, wearing a bulletproof vest over a
gray shirt, a fully-equipped belt, and black pants, stepped up to her. The man
towered over her. Unusual.
“Deputy Crabtree, I’m Marshal Gallegos. Did you spot
the driver of this vehicle?”
“No, sir. I arrived only a few minutes ago. The key is
still in the ignition. It appears he ran out of gas.”
“Do you have any idea where he might have gone?”
Gallegos asked.
“Not really. The highway heads east toward isolated
private residences, campgrounds, Tapper Lodge and eventually dead ends in the
forest. There are many side streets and lanes, but none of them go anywhere.
There’s only one other rough road that heads back toward town, eventually going
through the Indian reservation. Only a few cabins and no year-round residents
are there.”
“And back the other way?”
“The town you just came through with homes on both
sides of the river all the way back to Dennison.”
“We’ve got our work cut out for us, then. If you get
any reports of a stranger trying to break in anywhere, let us know.”
She waited for him to give her other instructions, but
he ignored her. Since she was an Indian she was surprised he didn’t want her to
help track the suspect. She guessed he didn’t want her on the search, perhaps
because of her ethnic background, or maybe he didn’t like women in law
enforcement. It certainly wasn’t the first time she’d run into such prejudices.
“Anything else you’d like me to do?”
“We have it covered.” He didn’t bother looking at her.
A deputy with a dog arrived.
“Might be a good idea if you searched along the
river,” Tempe said. “The water is low right now. Your suspect could have easily
crossed over in several places.”
“We’ll handle it.” Marshal Gallegos sounded annoyed.
Tempe shrugged.
Marshal Gallegos barked orders to the men gathered. He
sent the deputy with the dog down the side of the river bank. The other men
fanned out in both directions.
Since she wasn’t needed, Tempe decided to check on the
whereabouts of the missing woman. She’d been given an address of a large
vacation home farther up in the mountains. It belonged to the wealthy
Konstanzer family. During the thirties, they’d bought many acres in the
mountains, with the idea of building a ski resort. When the plan hadn’t been received
with enthusiasm by the county planning commission, they found another area for
their resort. They kept their vacation home, though as far as Tempe knew, their
descendants didn’t use it more than one or two times a year.
According to the report she’d received, it was the
granddaughter, Mariah Konstanzer, who was missing.
Tempe knew little about Mariah except that at times
her photo turned up in magazines like “People” on the arm of a movie star or
famous businessman. The only time Tempe had seen Mariah in person was when
Tempe had investigated a burglary at the vacation house. Mariah arrived to
spend a few days and found the front door unlocked, the back door lock broken,
and several items missing. She didn’t seem upset, and stated what was taken could
easily be replaced.
Tempe remembered her as a willowy type, with long dark
hair. Her rather plain looks were enhanced by makeup.
It was impossible to know when the burglary happened,
and no fingerprints could be identified. Burglaries in remote areas without
nearby neighbors often went unsolved.
Tempe vaguely remembered Mariah Konstanzer saying
she’d tell her parents to hire someone willing to serve as a caretaker. Tempe
didn’t know whether or not that had happened. After letting the dispatcher know
she was no longer needed on the search for the fugitive and planned to check
the house of the missing woman, she called her husband, Hutch. “I’m going to be
late.” She explained what was going on.
“Don’t they have a backup deputy to take your place?”
“Doubt there’s anyone left. Everyone’s looking for the
bank robber. Be sure to keep our house locked up. No telling where that guy is
by now, but I have a feeling he’s following the river. If he’s smart, he’ll
head back to town. Anyplace higher is rugged with no place to escape.”
“I’ll put your dinner in the refrigerator.”
“I’ll come home as soon as I can. Love you.”
“Love you too, be careful.”
Links:
Visit me at http://fictionforyou.com/
