Marilyn Meredith talks about her mystery series: Tempe Crabtree and Rocky Bluff P.D.

MARILYN MEREDITH - F.M. MEREDITH

Q:  You have an impressive list of published books. When did you first start writing and was it with the intentions of writing novels and publishing them?
I began writing when I was in grammar school. Mostly stories similar to the ones I was reading. When I was in junior high, I wrote a story about fairies, complete with illustrations, and sent it off to a publishers. Received a nice handwritten letter—and no, I don’t have a copy of either anymore. As a married mother, I wrote at least two full length novels that I sent off to publishers and were rejected—and I never did anything else with them. Along the way I began learning more and more about writing and publishing. I researched and wrote a historical family saga based on my mother’s genealogy which I rewrote several times. It was my first published book. I did another based on my father’s genealogy which was also published, and then I started writing mysteries.
Q: Have you entered any of your work into contests?
I’ve entered several contests and won an Epic for Lingering Spirit which was kind-of a romance with touches of the supernatural. I’ve also placed in other contests.
Q: You have two ongoing series right now: Tempe Crabtree and Rocky Bluff P.D. with most recently published, River Spirits. How many books have you written in the two series?
There are 10 books in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series. If you count the prequel, there are now 14 books in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series. (The publisher says there are 13.)
Q:  Do you have two separate publishers for those?
The Tempe Crabtree series is published by Mundania Press and the Rocky Bluff P.D. series is published by Oak Tree Press.
Q: You write under the name, Marilyn Meredith, and also the pen name, F.M. Meredith. Do you write under any other pen names or genres?
No other pen names, but I’ve written in other genres: psychological horror, Christian horror, and historical.
Q: Do you have plans for any other series?
Not at this time. I’m still writing the two series and don’t have time for anything else. What takes a lot of time these days is the amount of promoting needed to let people know about your books.
Q:  Where do you get your ideas for the various mysteries?
Some ideas come from things that have happened to me or people I know. I’m fortunate to be friends with several law enforcement officers and they love to share tales. Also, an intriguing crime written about in the newspaper may trigger an idea that ends up being quite different from the one I wrote. With the Tempe series, I often use incidents that happen in the mountain community where I live as a basis for a mystery. When I start writing, more ideas pop into my head.
Q: How many books do you typically publish in a year?
Just two and for me that’s enough.
Q:  Authors typically use various methods to keep their characters straight and in true form. What is your method?
I have cards where I write the basic things like descriptions, cars they drive, etc. But as far as how they’ll act, I know most of these folks so well (after all they’ve been living in my head for years now) I know how they’ll act in any given situation.
Q: Do you belong to any writers’ groups, critiques, etc?
I’ve belonged to the same critique group since 1981. Members have changed over the year, but every book I write has been read and critiqued by them. I also belong to three chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and Public Safety Writers Association.
Q: Sometimes new authors get anxious and publish before their books are really “ready” to publish, meaning with little or no editing by a professional. What can you recommend they do to prevent this from happening ? (ie: some authors begin their next book while the previous book is going thru edits)
Every book needs to be edited before it is published—and that means someone who knows how to actually edit. I do hire an editor from my Rocky Bluff P.D. series, and Mundania Press has editors. But I try to make each book the best it can be before I send it to the publisher.
Q: Where are your books for sale and can a reader purchase a signed copy from you?
All my Deputy Tempe books are for sale by the publisher in every format: http://mundania.com/ a Q: Have you ever gotten writer’s block and if so, what did you do to overcome that?
I’ve seldom had writer’s block. If I’m stuck in a place in my work in progress, I just work on something else for a while, like a blog post, and then the ideas start flowing on the other project.
Q: Some authors & other professionals have a “muse”, or someone/something that inspires them. Do you and if so, who or what inspires you to keep writing?
I don’t have a “muse” I can identify. I just know that when I’m writing new unexpected idea and plot twists happen.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to let readers knows that I may not have covered in this interview?
For anyone who is interested in writing, be sure to learn the craft. Yes, there are rules, rules you can break once you know what they are and have learned to use them. Read the kind of books you’d like to write. Then write, write, write. Once you’re done it is time to rewrite until you’ve got it as perfect as you can get it. Then it’s time to have an editor go over it checking for readability, typos, continuity, etc.
Thank you for this great interview. I think you covered everything! She lives in the foothills of the Sierra. Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com and her blog at http://marilymeredith.blogspot.com/.