Merle Temple

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Merle Temple

Goodreads Author


Born
in Tupelo, Mississippi, The United States
Website

Genre

Influences

Member Since
December 2012


Merle Temple, a native of Tupelo, Mississippi, came of age in the South in the wake of Elvis, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Vietnam War. He worked for the FBI in Washington before returning to Mississippi to earn two degrees at the University of Mississippi where he would later receive the Distinguished Alumni award.

One of the first "New Centurions," as they dubbed the first wave of college criminal justice graduates, he signed on with a new agency, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics which was created to mirror the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) when Nixon declared his “War on Drugs.”

A graduate of the DEA academy and the New England Institute of Management as class president, he went deep undercover and infiltrated drug distr
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Merle Temple No author can please everyone. We all have our personal likes and dislikes. I focus on the generous notes we get from readers and the reaction from au…moreNo author can please everyone. We all have our personal likes and dislikes. I focus on the generous notes we get from readers and the reaction from audiences when I talk about my novels. When a college chooses your book as required reading for all English students, you are invited to sign books for the cast of Criminal Minds, and K-12 schools use your book in their English classes, you must be doing something right. Still, you engage those audiences to learn what worked and what didn't. I use negative reviews to try to understand how I might improve my writing, but those who leave a one star rating with no comments and then block their accounts, prevent authors from gleaning any idea about their reasoning or likes or dislikes, and do a disservice to all who love books. They act as spoilers, not adding anything constructive to the process or helping creative people who are trying to hone their craft. Goodreads should not allow one or even two star ratings without some rationale for the rating. It is a flaw in the system. There are so many fake accounts today, it is impossible to tell if the rater is even a real reader or someone with an agenda. By all means, rate a book as you see it, but don't just pick the low hanging fruit and spoil the orchard, leave a review to enrich the harvest for everyone. (less)
Merle Temple All of the mysteries of my life have been explored and laid out for all to see in my four novels, which are written as fiction but drawn from my life.…moreAll of the mysteries of my life have been explored and laid out for all to see in my four novels, which are written as fiction but drawn from my life. (less)
Average rating: 4.3 · 270 ratings · 55 reviews · 14 distinct works
A Ghostly Shade of Pale

4.11 avg rating — 141 ratings — published 2013 — 7 editions
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A Rented World (The Michael...

4.60 avg rating — 45 ratings — published 2014 — 4 editions
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Deputy: Once Upon A Time In...

4.36 avg rating — 39 ratings2 editions
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The Redeemed: A Leap of Fai...

4.73 avg rating — 22 ratings5 editions
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Blood On The Ground: Living...

4.36 avg rating — 11 ratings
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SIXTEEN COAL BLACK HORSES: ...

4.33 avg rating — 6 ratings3 editions
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Resurrection: Home Before D...

4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings3 editions
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The Redeemed: Book Three in...

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings
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Blood On The Ground: Living...

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
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Deputy: Once Upon A Time In...

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Reviews for A Rented World

"The next 'superstar author'...a remarkable talent...a must read!"-Susan Reichert, Editor-Southern Writers Magazine

"Merle Temple weaves another totally captivating tale of intrigue and treachery! The demons he faces are completely unexpected...truly A RENTED WORLD!"—Jim Clemente, Writer-Criminal Minds

"A barn-burner of a page-turner...readers would do well not to miss the phrasing treasures that li Read more of this blog post »
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Published on December 27, 2014 20:33 Tags: christian, fiction, political-intrigue, suspense, thriller

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Quotes by Merle Temple  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“And that line will always be shifting and moving on you. Lots of cops never figure it out. They think they do, but it catches up with them, and they cross into the forbidden zone, rationalizing that it’s the only way. Then it’s the bottle, the pills, or nyloned flesh to cloud their mocking and accusing minds and to numb their cowardly hearts. Some go quickly; others just cut their own throats slowly by the lives they live, and they just waste away. Don’t let any of that happen to you!” Charles pleaded one last time. “I”
Merle Temple, Deputy: Once Upon A Time In Mississippi (Prequel, The Michael Parker Series Book 1): Under contract with X-G Productions for TV Series

“Charles called out to him as he walked down the hall, “Oh, and one more thing! Remember that your partner will never let you down if your partner is Jesus! He’s the only one you can trust in a world where folks want to have their devil’s cake and eat it, too.” As”
Merle Temple, Deputy: Once Upon A Time In Mississippi (Prequel, The Michael Parker Series Book 1): Under contract with X-G Productions for TV Series

“Forgive folks, friends. That’s when we are most like Jesus, and it’s so much easier than trying to drag hate around with you all the time. Man will wipe out fifty years of good over one mistake, but the Lord keeps an account for those who repent. We are like the moon, and He is the sun. We have no light, but we can reflect His. Kindle a fire; love your neighbor. And if you have to ask, ‘Who is my neighbor?’…well, you aren’t there yet.” Then”
Merle Temple, Deputy: Once Upon A Time In Mississippi (Prequel, The Michael Parker Series Book 1): Under contract with X-G Productions for TV Series

Topics Mentioning This Author

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Christian Fiction...: Team Three - Reviews 247 59 Jun 10, 2021 04:34PM  
Christian Fiction...: Team Afternoon | Score/Posting Thread 298 30 Aug 28, 2023 12:57PM  
“The earth was overwhelmed with beauty and indifferent to it, and I went with a heart ready to crack for its unbearable loveliness.”
Josephine Winslow Johnson, Now in November

“I came to Him because I did not know which way to turn. I remained with Him because there is no other way I wish to turn. I came to Him longing for something I did not have. I remain with Him because I have something I will not trade. I came to Him as a stranger. I remain with Him in the most intimate of friendships. I came to Him unsure about the future. I remain with Him certain about my destiny. I came amid the thunderous cries of a culture that has 330 million deities. I remain with Him knowing that truth cannot be all-inclusive.”
Ravi Zacharias, Jesus Among Other Gods: The Absolute Claims of the Christian Message

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