Guest Blogger - Marilyn Meredith

Today my dear friend and favorite mystery writer, Marilyn Meredith, is my guest. We met at EPICon in San Antonio, Texas in 2006 when our first book, 31 Months in Japan: The Building of a Theme Park was one of two nonfiction finalists. We arrived a day early. The gal who was supposed to be in charge of the book room had emergency surgery, so they asked for volunteers. This was where Larry and I met Marilyn and her husband, Hap. We hit it off right away and spent several hours getting to know them. We attended other EPICons in Portland, OR, Las Vegas, NV, and a couple of others in San Antonio in addition to the ones Marilyn mentions below. When our mutual publisher died, Larry and I re-edited an republished twelve of Marilyn's books--including a couple she had forgotten about (like her cookbook). When the publisher of her Deputy Tempe Crabtree series closed its doors this summer, we again re-edited and re-published all new editions. She now owns them all and will never lose her rights again. She and Hap are very dear friends, and I am pleased to have her here as my guest.

FRIENDSHIPS

Today is my 68^th wedding anniversary. If you find that hard to believe, so do I. My husband has not only been the love of my life, he’s also been my best friend. We’ve been through all sorts of problems and wonderful experiences. The secret to the longevity of our marriage? Never giving up.

Today, I want to expound on another friendship, the one I have with the hostess of this blog, Lorna Collins. I have no idea how long we’ve been friends but I have some great memories shared with her and her husband.

An early one was at an EPICon in Virginia Beach in the dead of winter. We were in a great resort hotel with no one there but the members of our group.

Many of our times together were spent at EPICons, and I remember two special ones in San Antonio Texas, as well as in Oklahoma and other places. We had a wonderful time in Monterey for a Left Coast Crime.

However, my favorite memory is when my husband and I traveled to visit Lorna and her husband, Larry, at their home in Dana Point. It was a most special time.

Lorna and her husband are the ones who rescued my Deputy Tempe Crabtree series when the publishing house closed its doors. Lorna re-edited each one and put them up on Amazon, and her husband redid the covers.  I can’t thank them enough.

One other big link between Lorna and me is the fact that we celebrate our birthdays on the same day. Over the years, we’ve discovered we share many traits. Often I’ve called her my daughter from a different mother. Not everyone is as fortunate as I am to have a friend like Lorna.

In my latest book, Bones in the Attic, which Lorna edited for me, there are many important friendships—those between the police officers who work together, and the ongoing friendship of two teens, who both have seen trauma in their lives.

I bet Lorna can remember other places we’ve been together.

Marilyn

The discovery of a skeleton, a welfare check on a senior citizen, and a wildfire challenge the Rocky Bluff P.D.

Buy link: https://tinyurl.com/yxpd8mxy

Marilyn Meredith, who writes the RBPD mystery series as F.M. Meredith, is the author of over 40 published books. She once lived in a small beach town much like Rocky Bluff, and has many relatives and friends in law enforcement.

Webpage: http://fictionforyou.com/

Blog: https://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marilyn.meredith

Twitter: https://twitter.com/marilynmeredith/

And she’s a regular on these blogs:

2^nd and 4^th Tuesday: https://makeminemystery.blogspot.com/

4^th Monday of the month: https://ladiesofmystery.com/

Seldom Traveled

My dear friend and one of my favorite authors, Marilyn Meredith, is launching the next book in her Detective Tempe Crabtree mystery series, Seldom Traveled. Detective Crabtree is one of my favorite characters, and I love this series. Tempe is a Native American. This is one of the reasons I’m fascinated by her. For this post, I asked Marilyn to tell us a bit about the real reservation and the Tule River Indians who live near her. Marilyn and I met at a conference ten years ago and have remained friends since then.

What Eagle Mountain Casino has done for the Tule River Indians

Lorna asked me to write about how the casino on the reservation has changed the lives of the Indians who live there. For those of you who might not know, the Yokut Indians and others who live on the reservation have been the models for the Indians in my Deputy Tempe Crabtree books.

The reservation was established in 1873 and covers 85 square miles of rugged foothill and mountains of the Sierra. Where the residents live, work and play is in a narrow valley. Though picturesque, for many years, life was hard. There was no electricity until the 1960s, and no jobs. The only employment available was in nearby Porterville which had to be accessed by a vehicle—and not many jobs were available to Indians.

In 1996, Eagle Mountain Casino was established. Along with the casino came many jobs, not only for Indians but also for people from the nearby area. Revenue from the casino made it possible for many new developments like a Health Center, Child Care Center, Education Department, a new Fire and Police Department, and more.

Eagle Feather, a gas station and large convenience store was built on Highway 190, along with a large automotive shop to maintain the casino buses. Eagle Feather 2 is located halfway between Porterville and the Pacific Coast.

The Tule River Aero Industries is located at the Porterville Airport and does major engine and airframe repair and has a sales department. The tribe also has a print shop, and owns and operates the Oak Pit Steakhouse in Porterville.

The tribe generously contributes to many different local charities and youth groups.

Though life may still not be perfect on the reservation, the casino has definitely made major improvements not only for the Indians but also for all of us who live nearby.

Marilyn

Seldom Traveled

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.

Buy directly from the publisher in all different formats:

http://mundania.com/book.php?title=Seldom+Traveled

Or on Amazon.com: https://t.co/fOF1zf8MGU 

Marilyn Meredith has had so many books published, she’s lost track of the count, but it’s getting near 40. She lives in a community similar to the fictional mountain town of Bear Creek, the big difference being that Bear Creek is a thousand feet higher in the mountains. She is a member of Mystery Writers of American, three chapters of Sisters in Crime, and is a board member of Public Safety Writers of America.

http://fictionforyou.com

http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com

New Contest:

Winners will be randomly picked from those leaving the most comments on the blog posts. Each winner can choose one of the earlier books in the series as either a print book or e-book.

My last stop is tomorrow at http://www.bkstevensmysteries.com/category/the-first-two-pages.

A New Book by Marilyn Meredith

My guest today is my prolific friend, mystery writer Marilyn Meredith. She produces two books every year, one each for two different series. I don’t know how she does it. And they are all TERRIFIC!

After Writing So Many Books, Where Do I Get My Inspiration?

That is the question Lorna asked me to answer. What first popped into mind was this: I haven't got a clue.

Usually when I finish a book in my other series, I'm already thinking about what I might write about in the new one for the next series.

With River Spirits, I had no idea what I was going to write at first. I remembered once when a movie was being made in the mountains and the crew and stars were staying in and around town. The major stars were housed at the Springville Inn. When we had dinner at the local Mexican Inn, it wasn't hard to pick out the folks who were working on the movie—besides being strangers, they had on new clothes that they thought people wore in the mountains. Brand new outdoors outfits from places like Lands’ End and J. Crew, instead of normal clothes like all the rest of us wore.

That gave me the idea to write about a movie being made on the Bear Creek Indian Reservation. Once I started writing notes (my version of brainstorming) I knew that I wanted to revisit the legend of the Hairy Man, the local Indians' version of Big Foot.

Because I write mysteries, I began to figure out which of the new characters I should kill off and why. What could this person be guilty of that would be enough of a motive for someone to want him or her dead?

One idea just builds on another until a plot begins to develop.

Marilyn

Blurb for River Spirits:

While filming a movie on the Bear Creek Indian Reservation, the film crew trespasses on sacred ground, threats are made against the female stars, a missing woman is found by the Hairy Man, an actor is murdered and Deputy Tempe Crabtree has no idea who is guilty. Once again, the elusive and legendary Hairy Man plays an important role in this newest Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery.

Marilyn Meredith is the author of over thirty-five published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, the latest River Spirits from Mundania Press. Marilyn is a member of three chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. She lives in the foothills of the Sierra. Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com and her blog at http://marilymeredith.blogspot.com/

  

Contest: The winner will be the person who comments on the most blog posts during the tour.

He or she can either have a character in my next book named after them, or choose an earlier book in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series—either a paper book or e-book.

Tomorrow you can find me hanging out at Mason Canyon’s place, http://masoncanyon.blogspot.com/