Sexual Harassment in Novels

Today, fellow author and friend, Janet Greger (J.L. Greger), talks about writing sexual harassment in novels.

 

Sexual harassment is common in the workplace. #MeToo moments are a way to build empathy in readers for characters and to show, not tell, about what motivates these characters.

The following is an excerpt from the mystery Games for Couples. It’s closely based on a real incident. The character is describing “her longest moment” more than twenty years later to her current partner:

 

“I seldom speak of it. I was an assistant professor at Michigan State and up for tenure. My department head called me at five and ordered me to come to his office at five-thirty. When I arrived, the main office was empty and dark. There was only a desk light on in his attached office.”

 

I closed my eyes and remembered. “My department head was standing in front of the big arched window in his office watering his fig tree, which was at least five feet tall. He turned to me and said, ‘The campus tenure committee doesn’t think you are ready for tenure unless I provide more details. I don’t want to bow to their whims.’”

 

Sanders (the character’s partner) was silent but he put his hand on my shoulder.

 

“I remember I was angry. I blurted out, ‘I have twenty publications in scientific journals—more than enough to win tenure.’ My department head said, ‘They agreed but doubted your teaching credentials.’ I was even angrier as I pointed out that I’d received a small teaching award and had favorable reviews from my classes. He said, ‘Yes, but I didn’t include that info in your file because I didn’t think those details were necessary. Now I’m too busy to bother.’”

 

Sanders grip tightened on my shoulder.

 

“My department head stepped toward me and said, ‘There’s an easy way... to gain my cooperation.’ His brown eyes stared expectantly at me as his right hand reached toward me. The next minute was my longest one. Each second felt like an hour.”

 

You’ll have to read the novel to learn the character’s response, but her comment below gives insight into the long-term effect of the incident.

 

“I forgave that department head years ago. What I couldn’t forget was what I learned about myself… That minute changed me.”

 

Advice for writers: Dramatic moments, like the above #MeToo moment, should not be overly long or overpower the pIot. They are simply tools for developing multi-dimensional characters. As an author you want to build empathy, not sympathy, for the character.

Games for Couples has interesting characters and a strong plot. Here’s a thumbnail sketch:

 

A biotechnology company is desperately racing to develop cultured meat products—meat made from cells in a test tube—-before their competitors. Disaster strikes. A subject in a clinical trial testing one of their new cultured meat product dies. Was his death caused by sloppy mistakes made by the biotechnology company, sabotage by a competitor, or hidden past incidents?

 

In this mystery, four women react differently to sexual harassment but all are changed by their #MeToo moments. The book is available on www.Amazon.com.

J. L. Greger writes is a biologist from the University of Wisconsin-Madison who consulted internationally. The pet therapy dog Bug (shown in the picture) in her novels is exactly like her own stoical Japanese Chin. https://www.jlgreger.com

Left Coast Crime

 Are you going to Left Coast Crime in Albuquerque on April 7-10, 2022?

It’s a conference for mystery writers and readers.

You can help support Great Little Libraries in New Mexico.

 

Background on Great Little Libraries Program. In 2019, the State of New Mexico identified its fifty smallest public libraries in rural areas. These libraries are on pueblos, in unincorporated towns, or in towns with small commercial sectors. Thus, municipal tax support is usually non-existent, and the New Mexico Rural Library Endowment Fund provides a maximum of $2,500 a year to individual libraries. Most of these libraries were created by grass-root efforts of citizens in the community and function with no paid employees.

Community public libraries are a valuable resource in any state. However, they are particularly important in New Mexico because the state ranked 50^th in K-12 education programs in 2018.

Croak and Dagger, the New Mexico chapter of Sisters in Crime, created the Great Little Libraries Adventure to help these fifty smallest public libraries several years ago. We try to supply these libraries with books by our authors and offer to do programs and displays for them to encourage reading and writing. The board for Left Coast Crime agreed to adopt our Croak and Dagger Program in 2021. Thus, all funds raised at the charity auction and all books left over from the Left Coast Crime conference in Albuquerque on April 7-10 will be distributed to New Mexico’s fifty smallest libraries. So, be sure to donate books and bid on items if you attend the conference. For more details on Left Coast Crime see: https://www.leftcoastcrime.org/2022.

Libraries may use the funds for materials, services to support community literacy, or infrastructure challenges that inhibit the library’s literacy mission. Croak & Dagger will request a brief report from each library about how the donation has addressed literacy initiatives in that community.

Learn more about rural towns and pueblos in New Mexico. Although many of the pueblos of New Mexico are famous for their pottery and casinos, agriculture is still a major source of income on the pueblos. If you want to get in the mood for your visit to Left Coast Crime or just want to learn a little about rural life in New Mexico, read a book about the problems in New Mexico agriculture today.

Life is tough on the pueblos of the Southwest. Opportunities and water are always limited. In the thriller, A POUND OF FLESH, SORTA, life gets a lot tougher on the Acoma pueblo when the plague hits the livestock and one man is killed in mysterious accident in a nearby meat packing plant while another disappears. Scientist Sara Almquist thinks she has clues to solve the mysteries if she's not killed first.

Book at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0960028560

J. L. Greger was a faculty member in the College of Agriculture and Life Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for many years and was involved in a number of outreach program in rural areas. She is now an active member of Croak and Dagger, the New Mexico chapter of Sisters in Crime. https://www.jlgreger.com

PSWA CONFERENCE 2021 – PART I

 We attended the PSWA Conference in Las Vegas last month. Last year’s was cancelled, so we especially looked forward to this one.

It was our longest trip in our Tesla, and she performed wonderfully. (See previous blog: TRAVELS WITH ELSA.)

We drove up on Wednesday, even though the conference itself didn’t officially start until Friday. We like having a day to relax before the hustle and bustle of the conference. It gave us a chance to catch up with a few people.

As we were checking in, we spotted Marilyn Meredith, one of those we most wanted to see.

We went to our room and settled in. Just as is often the case, our room was near the end of a long hallway. My response was, “Well at least we’ll get some exercise.” Unfortunately, not long before, Larry injured his leg standup paddle boarding, so he was walking with a cane. Everywhere in the hotel was at a distance, so I had to slow down to stay at his pace. (Not the usual circumstance!)

We had eaten in Primm in the late afternoon before we arrived in Las Vegas, so neither of us was very hungry. I always try to travel with some protein bars. This time, we also brought along a couple of protein drinks. Instead of dinner, we split a protein bar, and it was fine.

THURSDAY, July 22

Although Friday was the first official day of the conference, they offered a Writers’ Workshop on Thursday. Marilyn spoke, along with Kelli Peacock and Michael Black. The workshop included questions and discussion. Very worthwhile.

We went to Fuddruckers in the hotel and ate lunch. Larry ordered a mushroom burger, and I had a turkey one. They were very good and satisfying.

Although there was a reception scheduled for six, we were ready for dinner earlier. We knew the reception would probably have appetizers, but I suspected I would be unable to eat some of them. Besides, I had noted a salad on the menu at lunch, and it sounded really good. (It was.) Larry also ordered one and a vanilla shake.

Registration began at 3:00, so we picked up our materials and went back to our room and got our things sorted for the remainder of the conference until the reception began.

Of course, Larry grazed his way through the reception! We had a chance to meet some folks we didn’t already know, and it was a good way to start the weekend.

FRIDAY, July 23

We went to the conference area and dropped off our books for sale.

At 9:00, the conference proper began with introductions and a welcome message from President John Schembra. We observed a moment of silence in remembrance of the PSWA members who had passed away during the previous year. Member Joe Haggerty read his moving poem, “Why Wasn’t I There?”

A special presentation was made to Marilyn Meredith for her longtime support for the organization.

The first speaker of the day was Michael Brandt speaking on “The Art of the interview.” He made a distinction between interrogation and interviewing. He gave good advice for writers on how to describe the process.

After a break, we were treated to a panel discussion called “Keeping Things Real,” featuring Dave Freeland, John Schembra, Darlene Record, and Al van de Steege. They discussed how to avoid writing scenes that don’t ring true while maintaining excitement.

Following another break was a panel called “Research; The Art of Mining Yourself and Your Experience for Writing Fiction.” Jim Guiligi, Thonie Hevron, Frank Hickey, and Bill Rapp discussed bringing our own experience and doing research to make our writing authoritative.

Lunch was delicious—as it was every day of the conference.

The afternoon began with Featured Speaker Rannah Gray. She told us about her true crime book, Familiar Evil, and turning it into a documentary. It was a compelling story—so much so I downloaded the Kindle version and read it the next week. It is fascinating!

The book has been turned into a documentary called The Lies That Bind. It is on YouTube.

Following a break, we enjoyed another panel, “Steps in Conducting an Investigation,” with Mike Brandt, Dave Cropp, Scott, Decker, and Bob Doerr. They described how actual investigations differ from TV depictions.

After another break, we heard a panel discussion of “Fiction Typecasting—Writing Novels, Short Stories, Flash Fiction, and Poetry,” with Joe Haggerty, Dave Cropp, Barbara Lloyd, and Darlene Record.

Yet another break, and then anther panel on “Dealing with Censorship,” with Barbara Hodges, Thonie Hevron, John Schembra, and George Cramer. Their agreed they all self-censored their work.

At the end of that session, we did some book signing.

We were free for dinner, so we met Marilyn Meredith and her daughter, Lisa at the Café in the hotel. After our fabulous lunch, none of us was interested in anything much for dinner. We enjoyed our time together. Seeing Marilyn was one of the main reasons we attended the conference, so this was a precious chance to be with her. We had also gotten to know Lisa on previous occasions, so we consider her a friend as well.

We returned to our room, prepared for the next day, watched some TV, and got some sleep.

Next: The rest of the conference.

What We Inherit

I have been interested in genealogy for many years. My grandfather’s Mormon family heritage is pretty well-documented with lots of stories about the Pioneers who helped settle Utah. (My grandfather was one of twenty-three children.)

My dad’s mother was Irish. I traced her side back a couple of generations, but like many Irish-Americans, the early records seem to have been lost.

Larry’s aunt did a great job of documenting his father’s family. She even wrote several articles for a publication in celebration of the centennial of her hometown. His mother’s mother was a Woolworth, but not the rich branch. Their family heritage has been traced back to Charlemagne. Larry laughed at all the European royalty in his tree. But when we had our DNA sequenced, the findings tended to support everything I had found. (He is descended from both leaders of the Battle of Hastings—William the Conqueror and King Harold—and many, many other kings, queens, and other royalty.)

I knew my maternal grandfather’s family was from Methven, Scotland. We visited the town when we were there in 1995. His branch moved to Clyde Bank, a famous shipbuilding city, before they emigrated to Canada and then to the US.

My maternal grandmother claimed that her family was 100% Scottish. I’m sure she didn’t know about her second great-grandmother. I received copies of the family records from her family’s Bible from a cousin on that side some years after my grandmother died. Her great-grandmother was listed as “Grace Smith from County Cork.” I was tickled when I found this, thinking how disturbed Grandma would have been to know this.

I knew her father was a school teacher and a member of the school board. I was proud to know that her family valued education.

I have had a membership in Ancestry.com for many, many years. I’ve uploaded all of the material I received from Larry’s aunt and my Mormon ancestors there, along with the family pictures and stories I have acquired. I have also been able to link to the work of others.

Last week, I got one of the best surprises ever. I discovered that my fifth-great-grandfather on my maternal grandmother’s line was William Blackwood, an editor and publisher. What a fascinating man.

In 1804, he opened a store where he sold old and curious books. From there, he moved into publishing. In 1817, he began to publish Edinburgh Monthly Magazine. It eventually became Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine. His magazine was the first to publish work by an American, an essay by John Neal.

It also published many famous English writers: Joseph Conrad, George Eliot, and E.M. Forster, among others. After William died, various other family members continued the business. It lasted until 1980, when it was amalgamated. (No members of my immediate family were involved.)

For the last twenty years or so, I have not only been an author, but I edited for several independent publishers. Throughout my career, I wrote policies and procedures for every job I ever had. One boss used to plop down in the chair in my office and say, “Make me sound good.” He’d then tell me what he wanted to say in a letter to a vendor. I’d produce a formal business letter to which he attached his signature.

Another company I worked for insisted that a copy of every piece of correspondence—including memos and documentation of phone conversations—be sent to a group called “Presentation.” If there were any errors, the group gave the author feedback. As usual, I created a lot of documentation. One day I had a call from the head of Presentation. “Don’t send me any more of your writing. It’s always right, and I don’t need to take the time to look at it.”

A few years later, I began to ghost write corporate procedures for other company leaders. My phone rang. A laugh was followed by: “I thought I told you not to send me any more of your writing. Even though _____’s name is on this, I recognize your writing.” By this time, we were using word processing. The documents were produced in a separate group from my originals. “I don’t have a choice. They distribute everything.”

Periodically, I’d hear from him whenever I started creating documents from someone new. He just wanted to let me know he still recognized my writing, and we’d laugh.

As an editor, I have been privileged to work on some wonderful books. I’m known as a tough editor because I do both content and line editing. I love doing it, even though I rarely charge enough. The satisfaction of helping someone fulfill their lifelong dream is worth it.

Finding William Blackwood pleased me. I had a sense of connection to him. My love of words, editing, and publishing didn’t come to me from nowhere. Somehow, I had a sense of inheritance—intangible, but nevertheless real.

Do you have any characteristics inherited from your ancestors? What are they, and how do they impact your life today?

My Love Affair with Poetry

 

My first book was a cloth book of Mother Goose Rhymes. I literally wore it out. Of course, by then I had memorized all of them, so the fact that the words were obliterated made no difference. Even though it was worn out, Mom saved it. (My mother was not a saver. She threw out or gave away a LOT of our childhood items.)

Another favorite was The Little Golden Book of Poetry. My aunt and uncle gave it to me for Christmas the year I was one.

This one had wonderful, colorful illustrations. I memorized it as well. One of my favorites was Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Swing.” Whenever I went high on one, I thought of this poem. Another was “Hiding” by Dorothy Aldis. Of course, mine is much worse for the wear.

Some of the damage to this one was caused by my younger brother. I was always careful with my books, but Ron was not. Still, Mom kept this one, too.

As I got older, some of my favorite poets were Robert Frost, e.e. cummings, and Maya Angelou. I discovered I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in high school, and it became another favorite.

We were required to memorize the prologue to The Canterbury Tales in old English for my freshman English class. I can still recite it. (At a critique group meeting, another gal—who was probably in her eighties at the time—and I recited it together! Kindred souls.)

When I compiled our anthology, Seasons of Love, I decided to write an introductory poem for each of the four novellas.

Here they are.

Spring’s Fling

by Sherry Derr-Wille

Spring

 

Sing in the spring:

The song of new life,

The song of hope,

The song of new love;

Raise your voice and celebrate

The wonder of renewal

 

Summer’s Challenge
by Luanna Rugh

Summer

 

Dance through the summer;

Frolic in the meadow;

Twirl in the sunshine;

Caper among the wildflowers;

Gambol in childlike freedom;

Whirl in nature’s glory.

 

Autumn’s Blessing
by Christie Shary

Autumn

 

Let go in autumn

Of the past,

Of things which weigh you down,

Of hurts and burdens

Leave behind all sadness

To embrace the new.

 

Winter’s Song
by Lorna Collins

Winter

 

Linger in winter;

Await the rainbow behind the cloud;

Hope for what is to come;

Anticipate the green shoots beneath the snow;

Remain still in the knowledge

That life, ’though hidden, is stirring.

 

These are just simple verses, but they set the stage for each novella. If they have made you curious about the actual stories in the book, it’s available in ebook and paperback on Amazon (https://tinyurl.com/3e2j8w3k) and through our website (www.lornalarry.com).

Do you love poetry, too? Tell me about it.

Writing About Pandemic

Today my friend and one of my favorite authors, Marilyn Meredith, and I talk about writing about the pandemic.

 

Lorna: My latest book, Romance in the Time of Social Distancing: A COVID-19 Short Story, began as most of my books do with a question: How can single people meet during a pandemic? What made you decide to include the coronavirus in your latest book, Not As We Knew It (Rocky Bluff P.D. Mysteries Book 16)?

 

Marilyn: I could not write the next Rocky Bluff P.D. story without including the virus and what is going on in their community because of it since the books are more-or-less in real time.

 

Lorna: There are lots of different approaches to working during the virus. My single characters work from home. How do your characters deal with work? Do they have to make accommodations? Many are police officers, so most of them can’t work from home can they?

 

Marilyn: My grandson is a police officer, and on a recent visit, I asked him what the rules were concerning his department (big city). He said everyone has to wear a mask. And of course, being in law enforcement, the cops are out in the community. He also told me since it was my department, I could do what I wanted. One of the officer’s wives is a teacher, and of course she is teaching from home, via Zoom.

 

Lorna: You have lots of characters in your books. I don’t have very many. I decided not to include the various views about the recommendations to remain isolated. My character’s sister has decided to have some fun while in isolation by having virtual cocktail parties. How did you decide to present the different attitudes about remaining separate and wearing masks?

 

Marilyn: While writing, I used all the many different feelings and attitudes I hear from my relatives and friends concerning masks and isolation. Believe me, they are all very different. I have one friend who has remained completely isolated except for family members who live on the same property. Another includes family members who wear masks when out in public but go about their business much the same as always.

 

Lorna: My characters remain separated and online, so none of them are exposed, but I know you decided to have one of your characters catch the virus. How did you decide which one and what the outcome would be?

 

Marilyn: Someone I know caught the virus, was hospitalized, and recovered. I contacted her, and she gave me the details. I used what she told me in the story. I chose the person who I thought might be most vulnerable to be a virus victim.

 

Lorna: Other than staying isolated, none of my characters is otherwise affected by the disease. You have one character who is a nurse, so she is well aware of the issues with it. How did you decide to deal with her extreme concern for her family and friends?

 

Marilyn: I have a lot of relatives. Two granddaughters are nurses. Of course, I talked to them and used what I learned in the story.

 

Lorna: My book is a romance, and it is short (actually, a long story or short novella). Yours is a full-length mystery. What do you think are the differences, advantages, disadvantages of the two genres when writing about something as impactful as a pandemic?

 

Marilyn: To be honest, I could have gotten even more detailed about the pandemic, but I didn’t want to depress my readers. I think I did a pretty good job of keeping things upbeat. I wanted people to enjoy reading what was going on with the folks who live in Rocky Bluff, the police officers, and their families.

 

Thanks for taking the time to share. As you know, I adore all your books and had the privilege of editing them—including Not As We Knew It (Rocky Bluff P.D. Mysteries Book 16).

Marilyn: And I want to thank you for all you’ve done for this series.

 

My latest book is Romance in the Time of Social Distancing: A COVID-19 Short Story.

How can two people meet when they are both stuck at home? How can romance bloom when folks are separated? Love always finds a way, but it isn't always easy.

 

Marilyn’s latest book is Not As We Knew It (Rocky Bluff P.D. Mysteries Book 16).

The challenges come one after another for the Rocky Bluff P.D. to handle―from a missing woman to a fatal house fire. Detective Doug Milligan is faced with new and unusual problems to solve, some on the job and others related to his family. Gordon Butler isn’t too happy that his wife was chosen to train the latest new-hire. With the department shorthanded, Chief Chandra Taylor must make some hard decisions in order to protect the town of Rocky Bluff. Her romance with the mayor, which had been put on hold, is refreshed when she seeks his help.

MARILYN MEREDITH is the author of the Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series and the Rocky Bluff P.D. crime series (under the name, F. M. Meredith). She has also written several stand-alone novels, and other books.

She and her husband live in the foothills of the Sierra, much like the place where her heroine, Tempe Crabtree, lives. She once lived in a beach community, which resembles Rocky Bluff.

She loves to hear from readers who have enjoyed her books.

Visit her webpage at http://fictionforyou.com, and follow her blog at https://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com

 

WHEN OUR BELIEFS ARE CHALLENGED

Today, my friend and fellow author, Janet Greger (J.L. Greger), will share with you some of the challenges of being a novelist. Sometimes our expectations for the characters or the plot don’t go as we plan. And sometimes our own expectations take an unexpected turn.  Lorna

 

In my latest novel Dirty Holy Water, I wanted to explore what happens when our basic beliefs are challenged. Specifically, what happens when we feel sorrier for villains than victims?

 Let me set the scene. Life is complicated for Sara Almquist. She's about to become engaged and leave for a vacation in India with her boyfriend when she becomes a suspect in the murder of a friend. Sara is used to being a trusted scientific consultant for the FBI and finds being a suspect unnerving, but not enough to prevent her from trying to help the police uncover evidence about the murder. The police and Sara quickly realize that the murder victim, Lurleen Jansen, was killed by a member of her own family. But which one and why?

 Read this excerpt from the first chapter and see if you can guess reasons why a family member killed Lurleen?

 Lurleen Jansen must have been a pretty woman once. Now Sara Almquist could see little attractive about Lurleen, except her expressive green eyes. Lurleen had called Monday and almost demanded that Sara drive her to El Santuario de Chimayó this week. Sara had hesitated but finally agreed to the field trip because Lurleen needed a friend.

 Although Sara had pushed the front passenger seat of her Subaru Forester back to the maximum, Lurleen looked like she was a piece of pimento stuffed in a green olive. Her face was red as she tried to close the clamp shut on the seat belt that strained around her green camouflage cargo pants and T-shirt. “Should have brought my seat belt extender along. Too much work to walk back inside for it.”

 Sara felt a twinge of guilt. She considered volunteering to get the seat belt extender but knew she wouldn’t. Lurleen had been her neighbor in the adults-only community of La Bendita until Lurleen and her husband Pete decided about five years ago that the two- and three-bedroom houses of the gated neighborhood were too small to meet their needs. It wasn’t jealousy that kept Sara from looking for the seat belt extender in Lurleen’s large house. Her reasons were simpler—she knew it would be difficult to locate something small, like a seat belt extender, among the stack of boxes and piles of junk in the house. She was also afraid what she might find. Lurleen didn’t waste time cleaning her house and only hired someone to clean it when a new infestation problem appeared. Some sort of pest, usually bigger than ants, appeared every year.

 Lurleen appeared to hold her breath and clicked the seat belt shut. “Pete’s being tight with me.” She smiled. “But I’ll get what I want.”

 Before Sara could make a catty comment, such as you must have asked for the moon this time, Lurleen changed the subject. “Thanks for agreeing to take me to Chimayó to get some holy dirt for Matt. He’s talking less these days.”

 Sara gave a soft sigh because Lurleen had reminded her why they were making this trip. Lurleen’s daughter Mitzi had become a foster parent for a one-year-old girl named Kayla almost twelve years ago. About that time, Kayla’s biological parents had another child, Matt. He was born addicted to cocaine and quickly displayed developmental delays. The New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department, better known as CYFD, had decided the two children must be kept together, and Mitzi had reluctantly agreed to become Matt’s foster care mother, too. When she was five, Kayla had been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. Eventually Mitzi had adopted both children. Lurleen had been supportive of Mitzi and her two adopted children during the long adoption process.

 Sara admired both women because it took guts to adopt special needs children. Although Sara doubted the holy dirt dispensed from a small pit at El Santuario de Chimayó had curative properties, she recognized faith was sometimes effective in helping patients. 

Buy Dirty Holy Water (paperback or ebook) at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0960028587   

 

The Kirkus Review for Dirty Holy Water is: "A thought-provoking, disturbing, and engaging mystery with a likable, strong-willed female lead."

The author incorporated her experiences in India into the novel

 

J.L. Greger is a biology professor and research administrator from the University of Wisconsin-Madison turned novelist. She has consulted on scientific issues worldwide and loves to travel. Thus, she likes to include both science and her travel experiences in her thriller/mystery novels in the Science Traveler series. Award-winning books in the series include: Murder: A Way to Lose Weight, The Flu Is Coming, Malignancy, Riddled with Clues, and A Pound of Flesh, Sorta. Learn more at: http://www.jlgreger.com

WITH A LOT OF HELP FROM A FRIEND

My guest this week is my favorite mystery writer and good friend Marilyn Meredith. She has a brand-new book in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series called End of the Trail. She’ll tell you all about it.

My latest Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery, End of the Trail, is now available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle. The friend who made it possible was none other than my host for today, Lorna Collins, who did the editing and publishing. A big thank you to her and her hubby, Larry, who designed the cover.

When I started writing this book, I had lots of ideas of how it should unfold. However, when the coronavirus struck, it became harder and harder for me to write. I had plenty of time but lacked motivation. Not because I was worried about getting the sickness, but because the venues where I had planned to promote this book and others started to cancel their events.

The best part of any writing conference, or other such gathering, is seeing old friends and making new ones. The first event canceled was writing conference put on by Writers of Kern. Bakersfield is an easy drive, they had some great speakers lined up, and I paid for a table to have my books on display. It was scheduled for March.

The second event to go was a conference put on by the Central Coast chapter of Sisters in Crime. Because I’d already made hotel reservations, they offered me the opportunity to be their guest speaker at their regular meeting which they planned to hold the same day. When their meeting place, a library, closed, that was the end of that.

I’ve already received notice a book fair I’ve attended regularly scheduled in October will not be happening this year.

I’m still hoping other upcoming events written in on my calendar will go ahead as planned.

So, I guess disappointment was my biggest hurdle to finishing End of the Trail. Encouragement came from Lorna as I sent her the manuscript, which certainly helped.

Now that it’s published and available in paperback and for Kindle, I will find other ways to promote it.

Here’s a short blurb:

Deputy Tempe Crabtree joins the search for a missing hiker which results in a murder investigation, a near death experience, an unexpected rescue, and an unhappy ghost.

An important P.S.: Lorna Collins, the ghost hunter, makes an appearance in The End of the Trail.

Marilyn Meredith is the author of over forty published books. She lives in a mountain community, much like Bear Creek, the one where Deputy Tempe Crabtree is the resident deputy. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys being with her family.

A Long Time Coming

Sometimes books seem to write themselves quickly. At other times, they may take years. This is the story of one of those.

In 2009, our Aspen Grove Romance Anthology, Seasons of Love, was published. Four authors participated in this one, including Luanna Rugh. (She contributed to all six of the anthologies.)

She began to write a terrific story with one of my favorite openings. However, it became apparent this one had a much longer story to tell than the novella format of the anthologies. So, she set it aside to expand into a full-length novel at a later time.

She wrote “Summer’s Challenge,” a different story, which is included in the anthology. (Seasons of Love is currently being produced as an audiobook. It is available on Amazon in print and ebook forms.)

Also, in 2009, the memoir she wrote with her husband, Promises Kept: How One Couple's Love Survived Vietnam, was published to much acclaim. (It went on to win several awards and continues to sell well among veterans of the Vietnam War.)

Luanna continued to write the anthologies with us while her original story for Seasons of Love languished.

In 2016, while writing a series of short stories she intended to turn into a collection, she began writing a charming story about a puppy who brings two strangers together. This, too, grew beyond the original short story, but she kept on with it until the book was completed. Her first solo work, Love From the Sea was published in 2016. (The dog on the cover is the Rughs’ dog, Gina. She died not long after her big photo shoot, and they are delighted to have her as their cover model.)

Other projects occupied Luanna, but in about 2018, she decided to finish her aborted story, set in Aspen Grove, Colorado, our fictitious town in which the anthologies are set. She brought chapters for review by our critique group, and everyone agreed it was a good story.

However, she had a hard time writing the emotionally difficult middle of the book, so it went back on the shelf.

Finally, I told her she had to finish it. The story was too good not to do so!

I nagged and prodded until the manuscript was finally completed. This week, her book, Up in Flames, was published.

This one features a scarlet macaw, a dog, and a little boy. There’s also a grouchy fire captain. It is a charming story, just as it was when she started it eleven years ago. Here’s a taste:

“Nine—one—one. What is the nature of your emergency?”

“Our bird’s stuck in a tall tree.”

“Young man, this number is for human emergencies only.”

“It is. Honest, lady. My mom was trying to get our macaw down. Now her foot is caught and she’s stuck in the tree, too. I didn’t know what else to do.”

Find out for yourself!

About the Author of Up in Flames:

Luanna Rugh met the love of her life, Len Rugh, while working at a local restaurant in Southern California. A year and a half after their marriage, Len was drafted and sent to Vietnam, where he was critically wounded. Together they wrote their award-winning memoir, Promises Kept: How One Couple’s Love Survived Vietnam, a project which took over twenty years to complete.

She co-authored the Aspen Grove romance anthologies: Snowflake Secrets, Seasons of Love, Directions of Love, An Aspen Grove Christmas, The Art of Love, and …And a Silver Sixpence in Her Shoe.

Her solo works are Love From the Sea, where a dog plays a major role, and Up in Flames, set in Aspen Grove, where another dog and a scarlet macaw are lead characters.

She hopes you enjoy reading them as much as she loved writing them.