Marilyn Meredith

F.M. Meredith, also known as Marilyn Meredith, is the author of nearly thirty published novels. Her latest in the Rocky Bluff P.D. crime series, from Oak Tree Press, is Angel Lost. She’s also been an instructor at many writers conferences including the Central Coast Writers Conference and the Maui Writers Retreat. Marilyn is a member of EPIC, Four chapters of Sisters in Crime, including the Internet chapter, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com and her blog at http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com

Marilyn Meredith has stopped by for cookies and milk. Welcome, Marilyn.

Tell us something about yourself that readers might be surprised to learn.

Thanks! I write two series—which means writing two books a year. Besides the time it takes, I have to adjust my thinking depending upon which book I’m writing.

How many books have you written?

I haven’t bothered to count the exactly number, I only know over thirty have been published, and there are a few that will never see the light of day.

Tell us about your latest release, Angel Lost, from Oak Tree Press.

As plans for her perfect wedding fill her mind, Officer Stacey Wilbur is sent out to trap a flasher, the new hire realizes Rocky Bluff P.D. is not the answer to his problems, Abel Navarro can’t concentrate on the job because of worry about his mother, Officer Gordon Butler has his usual upsets, the sudden appearance of an angel in the window of a furniture store captures everyone’s imagination and causes problems for RBPD, and then the worst possible happens—will Stacey and Doug’s wedding take place?

Is it available in print, ebook, and Kindle formats?

Yes. And I might add, though this is a series and many characters continue through each book, I write them so they can stand-alone. The crime is solved, whatever has been going on will be taken care of by the end.

What are some of the problems you faced while plotting a series with ongoing characters?

It is really important for me to keep track of names of new characters (I tend to change them in mid-book) and their characteristics. I have more trouble with the names then what they look like, I am able to “see’ the characters in my mind and usually can describe them without a problem. See the word usually? That means that I do make mistakes sometimes and I’m glad I have editors who are good at catching the mistakes. The worst one I did early in my career was in the middle of a book, changing the type of car a main character drove.

How do you choose your setting?                                                  

For my Rocky Bluff P.D. series, the setting is a small beach community between Ventura and Santa Barbara, California. This is a fictional town and I did this because I wanted to write about a small town police force without much money. The detectives solve most of their crimes by old-fashioned police work; studying the crime scenes, questioning suspects and witnesses, following up on clues. However, in this particular series, much attention is placed on what is happening with the officers’ families and how that affects them, and how what happens on the job affects the family. This is particularly prevalent in Angel Lost.

How does your environment color your writing?

For over twenty years we lived in a beach community and knew and interacted with many police officers and their families who lived in our neighborhood. I was friends with the wives, their kids played at our house and my kids played and in some cases babysat for theirs. I got to see first hand how the job affected the families. My son-in-law was a police officer in this particular town and he shared a lot of insight with me. The weather in Southern California is always interesting, there’s a lot of fog and fog adds a lot to a mystery.

We all know how important promoting our work has become. How do you get the word out both off and online?

Promoting takes a lot of my time because I know how important it is to let people know about your books. I do a lot of interviews like this, thank you, Susan, blog tours, promote on Facebook and Twitter and other social sites. I have a monthly newsletter that I send out to anyone who’d like to subscribe. All someone has to do is email me at mmeredith@ocsnet.net and ask to subscribe.

As for in-person events, I love to give presentations at libraries, for writing groups, bookstores, social and service organizations. Book and craft fairs are also something I enjoy.

Can you tell us about current or future projects?

Next up in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series is No Bells. In this book, the spotlight is placed on Officer Gordon Butler. He’s been a favorite of my readers through the series. Things never go easy for Gordon, if something can go wrong, it will.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

My website is http://fictionforyou.com/ and my blog is http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com