Tag Archive for: Marilyn Meredith

My Christmas Traditions

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We’re talking about our Christmas or holiday traditions this week.

I’ve had so many over the years (remember, I’m the ancient one of this gang) starting with my childhood tradition of waiting until Santa came and then not being able to get into the living room and our gifts until our folks woke. Believe me, we did everything to wake them up.

I better back up a bit, we also went to family friends to go Christmas caroling and have homemade clam chowder and mulled apple cider.

On Christmas morning, after we opened all our gifts, we headed over to my Grandparents for dinner and more gifts.

When our kids were little we did much of the same, heading down to my parents the night before Christmas, and the same routine. We veered off course a bit the year I was expecting my third child at any time–then everyone came to my house for Christmas dinner. Not sure if I was the one who cooked. Baby arrived on the 28th.

One year I had to work a split shift and the kids opened their gifts before I got home. I was really unhappy. We ate dinner out. The only Christmas dinner we ever had in a restaurant.

When most of my family moved up here, grandparents had passed away, we had Christmas Eve at our house complete with Santa and a gift for everyone, including the ladies I was caring for by that time.

We soon out grew even my big old house and held Christmas Eve in the rec room where one of my nephews and family lived in a mobile home park. I think we were probably up to about 60 people by then.

My sis and her entire family moved to Las Vegas and that ended our Christmas Eve get-together.

The adults at our church always have a Christmas party where everyone brings one ornament and we kind of fight over them and of course we have goodies to eat.

Another tradition that’s been going on probably about 20 years is the writing critique group I belong to will have dinner together in one of the nicer restaurants, spouses invited.

Hap and I retired from the care business, but we still have family around. So this is what happens now: Son and his wife and his two grown sons and another grandson who lives with us will have a nice dinner Christmas Eve and open gifts.

On Christmas Day I’ll cook a big turkey and some big containers with dressing, candied yams and green bean casserole and take it all over to the church. This is our second year to invite anyone who has no place to go for Christmas dinner–no charge. We had a great time last year and are expecting an even bigger crowd this year. Posters have been put up all around town. My son and his wife, granddaughter and her fiance have already volunteered to help.

So Merry Christmas to you all, and be sure and enter our contest.

Happy Holiday $$$ Giveaway

Win a $70 Amazon gift certificate from the Stiletto Gang! Just leave a comment on weekday posts starting on Friday, December 17 and ending Friday, December 31, 2010. Each comment earns you one entry per day. Following the blog and Tweeting about the contest can earn you another two! So that’s up to 12 chances to win! Winner will be drawn randomly on January 2, 2011, and announced on the blog on January 3, 2011. So happy reading! And good luck

Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com

What Do You Do When You Have a New Book Out?

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My latest book in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series came out a bit later than expected due to something wrong with the way the bar code was printed on the back of the cover. It made things a bit crazy for awhile. My book launch had to be put off and because I had a blog tour planned and some of the stops needed reviews, those had to be put near the end of the tour to make sure the blog hosts had time to read the books.

Fortunately the reviews have all been terrific and I just found a new one on Amazon.

Speaking of Amazon, do any of the rest of you authors check the numbers on your Amazon page? During my tour the numbers went way down (a good thing, though not sure it means people are buying books or just peeking at the page) on both the trade paperback and on the Kindle version. Now that the tour is over, the numbers have risen on the regular book, but have continued to go down a bit on the Kindle version. Whether this really means much I won’t know until I get my royalty report.

In the meantime, I’ve sent off the next book in this series to the publisher which meant I had to come up with a short synopsis and a blurb for the back of the book. Leads to a bit of confusion since both books have the same main characters just different crimes to solve. I have to think a bit, “No, it’s Invisible Path that has the murder on the Indian reservation and the para-military group in the mountains, this new one is all about bears and dementia.”

Oh, and it’s Christmas time. I’ve been squeezing in shopping, wrapping presents, and putting up some decorations so that people know I really am celebrating a holiday I love.

And back to the writing. I’ve just finished the next one in my Rocky Bluff P.D. series, and it’s time to seriously do some rewriting. This can all get a bit overwhelming at times. I love writing–but when ordinary life is busy too, it’s sometimes hard to fit in all the things needed to do when your latest book is out.

I can remember when I got a contract for a book and hubby and I went out to celebrate. We haven’t done that for a long time, maybe we ought to start doing that again. Would certainly be a lot more fun than checking Amazon ratings.

Marilyn
http://fictiionforyou.com

Thanksgiving is Just over and Now Everyone’s Talking Christmas

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This year is flying by way too fast.

For the Thanksgiving holiday we went over the hill (Interstate 5 which connects the Central Valley where we live to Southern California) and through the orange groves (Fillmore, Santa Paula, Oxnard) to Camarillo and my youngest daughter’s home. We went on Thanksgiving morning as she was having dinner at 5 p.m. to accomodate my eldest daughter and hubby and a granddaughter and her family who were coming in from San Francisco on their way home. A lot of people were traveling the same way we were.

We stopped for lunch at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants in Fillmore, El Pescador, which was only going to be open until 2 p.m. so all the employees could celebrate Thanksgiving.

After our arrival at daughter’s home we got to spend some time with grandson who was visiting from Aspen where he’s a police officer and his girlfriend and we also met our youngest granddaughter’s boyfriend. Before dinner people began pouring over the ad papers deciding which Christmas sale they wanted to hit.

Dinner was scrumptious and most of us played Estimation afterwards. At midnight, two of our group headed off to the Outlet Mall. (I was in bed by this time–but ever so often I’d hear the garage door open and close because people had different time and store destinations.)

At 8:30 a.m. I went along with a group to another mall to see what we could find in the way of bargains. I did find a present for one of my granddaughters.

We came back to daughter’s to eat leftovers–yum. Spent one more night, then headed home along with thousands of others.

Everyone I know has been sending me emails or posting on Facebook that they’ve already put up all their Christmas decorations. Not me. I wish I could wiggle my nose and have it happen. I find that every year I put up less and less knowing that whatever I put out will have to be put away.

I love Christmas and all it stands for–but the older I get the harder it is to do all the things connected with the celebration. I just wish it didn’t start before Thanksgiving is even over with.

I must confess I have done some Christmas shopping–but now I have to wrap the gifts.

Sounds like I’m complaining and I guess I am. Back in the olden days (my olden days) I always had big kids around to help me wrap. All those kids have grown up and are now doing their own wrapping.

In any case, you might as well tell me what you’ve done toward Christmas and whatever holiday you may be celebrating.

Marilyn

Nearing the End of My Latest Book and…

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The small publisher I’m with for my Rocky Bluff P.D. series doesn’t give me deadlines. Because I always manage to finish and send a completed manuscript off to her in a timely manner she’s never asked me to have it completed by a certain date.

The one I’m working on now I’m having trouble finishing. I’m only pages from the end, but I don’t want to write what I know has to happen.

This is kind of a departure from my other Rocky Bluff P.D. novels, usually they’ve focused on the lead detectives and their families. The one that is coming out at the beginning of the year is really Stacey Wilbur’s story as her wedding day draws near.

But this book is all about Officer Gordon Butler. He’s kind of been the buffoon through several books with nothing working out for him from his wife running off with another police officer to wrecking a brand new police car. Readers really like Gordon, and feel sorry for him, and I thought it would be fun to put him in the spotlight for a change.

What I wasn’t counting on was the fact that he is still the same Gordon Butler. Maybe because I’m the writer I thought I was in control, but as so many of us learn as we write that the characters tend to take charge and do their own thing.

I’m determined to finish this book before the end of the year. By giving myself a deadline, I hope it will happen.

Another problem with this book is I almost always have a title right from the beginning–this time I haven’t a clue what I’ll call it. Since my critique group is hearing this one now, chapter by chapter, I’m hoping they’ll help me come up with the perfect title. I know that often the big publishers will change an author’s title for a book–but I’ve never had that happen with any of the small publishers I’ve been with.

So, wish me luck as I run out of things I think I have to do before I work on the last chapter of this book.

Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com/

Dr. Eric Hickey Visits SJ Sisters in Crime

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I belong to the San Joaquin Chapter of Sisters in Crime which meets in Fresno. In fact, I am one of the founding members of this chapter.

Over the years we’ve had police officer, police detectives, the county coroner, private detectives, CSI folks, fire investigators, and of course lots and lots of authors. One of our favorite speakers though is Dr. Eric Hickey.

Here’s his bio:

ERIC W. HICKEY, Ph.D.
Criminologist–Consultant
Cell 559-676-0711
Office: 559-253-2226
Fax: 559-253-2267
http://forensics.alliant.edu
Dr. Eric W. Hickey

Dr. Hickey is the Director of the Center for Forensic Studies at Alliant International University. He also teaches criminal psychology at California State University, Fresno, CA. Dr. Hickey has taught many courses in criminal personalities, sex crimes, homicide and psychopathology in universities, colleges, jails and prisons and supervises theses and dissertations involving forensic and criminal psychology. Dr. Hickey has considerable field experience working with the criminally insane, psychopaths, sex offenders and other habitual criminals. He has also served as an adjunct instructor for the American Prosecutor’s Research Institute at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina profiling stalkers, cyber-stalkers, criminal personalities and sexual predators.

He publishes books, articles and lectures extensively on the etiology of violence and serial crime. His book, Serial Murderers and Their Victims, 4th ed., Thomson/Wadsworth Publishers, is used as a teaching tool in universities and by law enforcement in studying the nature of violence, criminal personalities and victim-offender relationships. Another of his books, The Encyclopedia of Murder and Violent Crime, Sage Publishers, explores the phenomenon of murder and violence through the eyes of some of the world’s most noted experts. In 2006 he published Sex Crimes and Paraphilia (Prentice-Hall Publishers), a comprehensive examination of sexual perversions, sex offending and sexual predators. His latest coauthored book, The Myth of a Psychiatric Crime Wave, (Carolina Academic Press) examines the misperceptions and reality of the mentally ill and mentally disordered as criminals. He is currently writing another text examining criminal minds and criminal personalities. He is also writing his first novel, In Sane, a disturbing journey into the minds of psychotics, psychopaths and the criminally insane. Dr. Hickey is co-founder of Gambaru Productions and is developing a new television series, Predators, to assist crime survivors (See predators.tv).

His expertise is regularly sought by the media including appearances on CNN, Catherine Crier Live, NPR, Larry King Live, 20/20, A&E Biography, Good Morning America, Court TV, Discovery and TLC. He consults with private agencies and testifies as an expert witness in both criminal and civil cases. A former consultant to the FBI’s UNABOM Task Force, Dr. Hickey currently assists local, state, and federal law enforcement in training and investigations. This includes assisting Peace Officer Service Training (POST) in developing course material and job aids for investigators. He also conducts seminars for agencies involving the profiling and investigating of sex crimes, arson, robbery, homicide, stalking, workplace violence and terrorism as well as workshops for mental health practitioners. Internationally recognized for his research on multiple homicide offenders, Dr. Hickey has conducted seminars in several countries including Canada, England, France, and Japan. He has also trained VIP protection specialists in Israel in profiling stalkers. His research involving hundreds of victims of stalking examines the psychology and classification of stalkers, victim-offender relationships, intervention, and threat assessment.

He’s spoken to us about nearly all of the above topics and this time he focused on serial killers complete with photos and in some cases the killer and photos of their victims (when they were alive in most cases.)

He’s absolutely fascinating and such a gentle man, it’s hard to believe that he dwells on such sordid subjects and teaches about them. I was so glad I got to hear him speak again.

Getting there was an adventure in itself. I knew how to get to the college where he was speaking, but the woman who rode with me said she knew a better way–so I followed her directions. As we got farther and farther into Fresno I began to recognize neighborhoods that were in the opposite direction from where we should be driving. I pulled over and whipped out my handy Magellan, programmed it for the address of our destination. It took us to a quicker way to get to where we needed to be–we’d gone about 9 miles the wrong direction. Sure glad my own inner Magellan was alerting me that we were not on the right track.

It was all worth it, Dr. Hickey is a fascinating speaker.

Marilyn

Do I Really Write Cozies?

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When I was first invited to be on this list, I think it was because it was assumed I was writing cozies. Every time I read the definition of a cozy, I don’t think my books quite fit that category.

In my Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, of course Tempe is a resident deputy sheriff. Most deputies don’t solve murders, but she lives in a small town in the mountains–the Southern Sierra in California to be specific. She covers a much larger area than the town, including the local Indian reservation. Often times, just the fact that she is Native American is the reason she is involved in murder investigations.

The Rocky Bluff P.D. series, set in a small beach community, revolves around the lives and families of the members of the police department and how the job affects the families and what’s going on in the family affects the job. Of course, there is always a murder.

In neither is the sleuth a non-professional with a hobby or job that is what seems to constitute a cozy.

What might qualify my books as cozies is the fact that I don’t use any bad language and I shut the bedroom door.

In any case, I’ve been with the Stiletto Gang since the beginning, and I love hanging out with all these bright young women.

My latest Tempe Crabtree mystery is Invisible Path. Tempe is taken away from planning her family’s Christmas celebration by the murder on the reservation of a popular young Indian man which somehow seems connected to a para-military group with a compound hidden high in the mountains. Mundania http://www.mundania.com is the publisher.

Marilyn

My Bouchercon Report

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I took this photo while on a cable car tour of San Francisco, showing one of many steep, steep streets in this most beautiful city and the setting for this year’s Bouchercon.

Bouchercon is the largest mystery con there is and I’ve been to several in various cities: my first was in Monterey, CA, and hubby and I went together to Madison and Milwaukee, WI, Austin TX, and a couple of other places I can’t really remember right off. One of the pluses is visiting places you might never choose as a destination.

If you ever wanted to meet a particular famous mystery author Bouchercon is the place to do it. This year some of the greats in attendance were: Lee Child, Laurie R. King, David Baldacci, and someone spotted Sara Paretsky, and so many more.

However, that’s not the reason I went to Bouchercon. I also didn’t go to sell books as I knew the competition would be horrendous. There’s nothing worse than attending a signing with long lines heading to Michael Connelly (yes, he was there) and sitting alone and forlorn with no one waiting for you to sign a book. In order to have books in one of the bookstore displays, I would have had to bring mine. This year, I decided that I wasn’t going to worry about selling books, though I did hand out my card with my latest book cover on it to new people I met, my main purpose would be to have fun.

Having fun I did, from the 3 hour cable car tour all over San Francisco on cable cars that had been transformed into busses, to attending the Private Eye Associations award dinner where Marcia Muller was given an award. (Marcia Muller was the first author I ever met in person years and years ago.) She was in attendance with her husband, Bill Pronzini.

With my roommate, Gay Kinman, I walked all the way to the hotel from Chinatown at 10 p.m. at night. Fortunately, the road was downhill all the way. Also with my roommate, I toured the wharf area and all the shops and ate delectable meals in some upscale restaurants.

The Sisters in Crime, No-Cal MWA branches Hospitality Room was a great place to meet people–as was the bar. I was invited to eat breakfast with people I didn’t know-and soon became friends.

I participated in a Continuing Conversation titled Procedural Pros with DP Lyle, Robin Spano, Michael Black, Dennis Palumbo, Laura Caldwell and Michael Norman. Though I’ve never considered myself a pro, I think I held up my end pretty well.

Yes, I had a good time. One really big plus was meeting a fellow Stiletto Gang member, Rachel Brady. We had a short chat when the cable car made a brief stop.

Going to a Bouchercon is an experience. It is not necessarily a great place for a small press author to promote books, but it is a place to meet a lot of people, talk about mystery writing, and have a really fun time.

Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com/

How Not to Win Fans

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Last week I told about my time at the Valley Authors Event and mentioned that afterwards, several writer friends and I went to dinner together.

One of the conversations was about authors each of us would never buy another book from because of their actions. Everyone had a story.

One told about hearing an author at a conference, enjoying hearing, buying the book and taking it to her to sign. The woman was in the book room at a signing table talking to the author next to her. She took the book, signed it and handed it back without interrupting her conversation or even acknowledging the person who’d bought the book.

Another told about a rather well-known author who won’t even talk to people even those she’s met before.

And yet another, bad-mouthed authors from small presses and blamed them for a smaller turnout than anticipated at a large mystery conference. Hello, small press authors buy books too.

And then there are those who can’t stop talking about their own books and greatness when on a panel, never giving anyone else an opportunity. This is really bad when that person is the moderator.

I’m sure we’ve all had those experiences.

On the other side of the coin, some of the most famous and well-known authors are friendly to everyone.

Years ago I met Mary Higgins Clark at a small mystery conference. Nearly twenty years later I saw her at a cocktail party in New York during Edgar week. I spoke to her and told her where we’d met, she insisted she remembered me and introduced me to her at the time new husband. She also asked how my writing was coming.

Any time I run into Jan Burke she’s as friendly as can be. We once spent a long afternoon in an airport together with our husbands waiting for weather to clear and had a great discussion.

William Kent Krueger is another author who always remembers everyone he’s met, or at least acts like it, and if he really does know you, you’ll probably get a big hug.

Our own Susan McBride is another one who is always friendly–a joy to see at any time.

I’ve also met 1/2 of Evelyn David who is sweet as can be.

I’m heading to San Francisco for Bouchercon tomorrow, I hope I mostly run into friendly authors.

I could name lots more authors who are always charming whenever you have the opportunity to meet them.

Of course I’m not a famous author, but I do hope people perceive me as a friendly one. I honestly love to meet new people and I’m thrilled when they buy one of my books and even more so when they let me know they enjoyed reading it.

Have you got any stories about authors whose books you won’t buy any more because of how they acted? Or how about the other side, authors who make you feel like they are your friend.

Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com

Big Valley Authors’ Festival

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Last Saturday the Big Valley Authors Festival sponsored by the Hanford Branch of the King County Library was held in the Hanford Mall. Hanford is only an hour and half drive from where I live and many of the authors who came are really good friends.

We were in a great place, tables and chairs all set up for us, but at first the foot traffic was slow. When it picked up I did quite well selling books, talking to people and handing out lots and lots of cards.

One thing I noticed with some of the authors, they didn’t stay with their books, instead they were up and off talking with other authors even when people paused at their table. Afterwards, I heard some say sales were slow.

I’ve written blogs about this on my own site: http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com if you want to sell your books at a book or craft festival you have to be available to do so. You need to engage people as they pass by and certainly if they are actually looking at your books.

One author came to talk to me and stayed and stayed–I finally told her someone might want to talk to her, she should go back to her table. She left mine, but moved on to the next author. I don’t really understand this behavior.

Before the event began and I was all set up, I made the rounds and talked to each author. I even bought two books. Once the mall opened I stayed behind my table (except for potty breaks and when I was gone my husband was there and he’s very good at talking about my books and handing out my cards–usually keeps people entertained until I return.)

I know I sold a lot more books than most people there–and not because my books are better, but because I was available to talk about them. I even sold a book to a Japanese family who could hardly speak English. They were charming and were excited to meet a “real” author.

I hope they repeat the event next year. The first one, last year, was held in a Veteran’s Memorial Building and it was good too. The difference there was the people who visited came explicitly to see the authors as nothing else was going on that day.

After the event, a few of us went out to eat together–always fun. We had an interesting conversation about author behavior and those we probably will never buy another book from because of rudeness. That will be another blog post.

All in all, it was a great day.

Marilyn

H’mmm, Does It Matter What the Author Looks Like?

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On another blog I participate on, the question was about the author’s looks and went on to whether or not people judged the book by the author’s photo on the book.

The gals on this blog are not only much younger than I am but definitely much better looking, I hope no one holds that against me.

For one of my first books I had a glamor shot done–no feathers or tiaras–but someone did my make-up and I looked pretty good–not too much like the real me though. That same shot appeared on about three books–it didn’t age, but I did.

I knew I had to quit using it when at a book event, someone would look at me, look at that picture and then back at me and ask, “Is this you?”

Now, when someone takes a casual photo of me that turns out pretty well, that might be the one I use for the book. One of my publishers puts my picture on a page on the inside of the back–do you suppose that’s a message of some sort?

Not even a super photographer and air-brushing is going to change the fact that I’m a plump great-grandma who’s been around for awhile.

Now if only someone could take a shot of my imagination and use that as my author photo, I know that would be far more interesting.

What’s your opinion about authors’ photographs? Would one ever make you change your mind about buying a book?

Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com/