📖Authors To Watch: Marilyn Meredith Author of A FINAL FAREWELL #authorstowatch #interview @marilynmeredith

 

 

Marilyn Meredith is the author of over forty published novels, including the award-winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and on the board of the Public Safety Writers Association. She’s taught writing in many venues and appeared on numerous panels at mystery cons. Her home is in the foothills of the Southern Sierra, a place much like the fictional Bear Creek of the Tempe Crabtree mysteries. When not writing, Marilyn enjoys spending time with her large family.

Website | http://fictionforyou.com 

Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/marilynmeredith 

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/marilynmeredith

Can you tell us how you got started writing mysteries?

I’ve been reading mysteries all my life from Nancy Drew and onto Agatha Christie, Erle Stanley Gardner, and Mary Higgins Clark and onto all the other famous mystery writers. It just seemed natural for me to write mysteries too. (I love watching good movies that are mysteries, but they are few and far between.)

Do you find writing mysteries comes natural to you or do you struggle sometimes?

I love writing of all kinds—but of course there are struggles. Coming up with a good plot, characters reader will connect with, creating exciting scenes, and making sure everything works are only part of the struggles.

Do you think someone could be a writer if they don't feel emotions strongly?

It certainly helps to be aware of what kind of emotions people will face in all kinds of situations. A writer needs to understand people, and how different people will react to the same situations. When writing, I try to immerse myself in what is happening to each character.

Do you view writing as a kind of spiritual practice?

No, that is not the way I view writing. When I’m writing, I’m in the world my characters inhabit and I want to make sure I’ve written about it in the way the reader will be able to see it through their imaginations by the way I’ve described it.

How hard is it to establish and maintain a career in fiction writing?

If you mean making a living by fiction writing, only the most popular writers are able to do that. However, over the years, I’ve had a great fan-base, readers who have kept in touch, some I’ve met and have become my friends. I’ve had wonderful career writing about Tempe Crabtree and the mysteries she’s been faced with.

In A Final Farewell, what was the hardest scene to write?

The last scene was definitely the most difficult.  I wrote it one way, and my editor wanted changes. Once I made the changed, I knew she was right.

I have a dedication page fetish. I love how each author makes their dedication page special. Who did you dedicate your book to?

My husband of nearly 72 years was ill and passed away while I was writing this book. I dedicated every book in the series to him, and of course this one too.

I also dedicated it to Tempe herself as I’m going to miss her nudging me to create a new adventure for her.

Will there be a follow up book to A Final Farewell or other books in the future?

This was #20 in the series, and the final one. Of course I’ll continue to write—that’s what I do. What will be next, I’m not sure.

 

 

 

Title: A Final Farewell
Author: Marilyn Meredith
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 227
Genre: Mystery

A woman’s body found in a neighbor’s pond piques Tempe’s curiosity. It isn’t long before she is enmeshed in the intrigue and gossip surrounding the mystery.

Miqui Sherwood has two handsome suitors both wanting to marry her. Does either one have any ties to the murder victim?

Tempe’s life is threatened, and the health of Tempe’s friend and mentor, Nick Two John, is failing.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/40YLA5V