Ask the Author: Marilyn Meredith
Answered Questions (7)
Marilyn Meredith
One I've used for a book--a neighbor 2 doors down (we live in the country, each place about an acre) seemed to have disappeared--old mother of 3 also old children. Sheriff deputies stopped by to ask if we'd seen her--earlier I'd joked with my son that perhaps the grown kids had buried her in the back yard which son told the deputies. A cadaver dog was brought in and sure enough, mom's corpse was wrapped in a rug and buried in the back yard. The 3 adult children didn't kill her, she died of natural causes (old age), but they didn't want to give up the retirement checks she received. All 3 went to jail for a year and the Fresno Bee interviewed me about the case.
Marilyn Meredith
Murder in the Worst Degree is the latest. A friend gave me the title and I started writing. Because that series is set in beach town, in this book, the ocean played a big part in the beginning. I also decided to include the old guys who hang out at McDonald's (you'll find them at every McD's), and I thought about things that happened while I lived at the beach and the plot started coming together. However, I didn't know how the title was going to tie into the story until I was nearly done.
Marilyn Meredith
I write two series and what inspires me is wanting to know what is going on with the characters now. The only way for me to find that out is to write the next book.
Marilyn Meredith
I just sent my latest Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery, River Spirits, off to the publisher, now I'm working on the next Rocky Bluff P.D. as yet unnamed.
Marilyn Meredith
Read the kind of books you want to write. Go to writer's conferences, and if possible, get into a critique group. Write, write, write. And never give up. I was rejected nearly 30 times before that first book was published--and got many more rejections after that with other books.
Marilyn Meredith
Putting into words all the stories that are zinging around in my head. Second best, hearing from readers who enjoyed my books.
Marilyn Meredith
I just sit down at the computer and write. Once I get going, the block is gone.
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