Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Christmas, Greenhouses and Life

by Janis Patterson

Am I the only one losing it this Christmas? We’re doing less, but everything takes more time - and a lot more money. Of course, The Husband’s Physical Therapy for his injured shoulder takes a lot of my time, since he isn’t supposed to drive, so I have to take him and wait. There is truth to the old saw that every cloud has a silver lining. His sessions aren’t long enough to justify taking my travel computer and working (besides it would be terribly inconvenient, as the waiting room is small and not well equipped) so I take my phone and read, something I never have time to do. I’ve read more in the last eight weeks than I have the entire rest of the year.

We still have no refrigerator - 100+ days from ordering and nothing. I still can’t get over the fact a simple white refrigerator is a special order, especially when they seem determined that you should be happy with a stainless or black one! You’ll forgive my glee when I heard a couple of days ago that style maven Martha Stewart has declared both stainless and black kitchen appliances to be horribly dated and no stylish kitchen will have them. It probably shows the smallness of my soul that in my secret I heartily wish both Lowes and GE be stuck with hundreds of them!

We have a small greenhouse-type thing I constructed in sheer desperation one freezing night years ago from PVC pipe, sheet plastic, spring clamps and a heat lamp, and it has kept plants alive through the winter for years. However, this summer The Husband has started raising hot pepper plants in big pots and now that the cold weather is on the way our little greenhouse is woefully inadequate. So we simply got more pipe, more plastic, and have been trying to adapt the design. It’s almost finished (REALLY cold weather is coming in tomorrow) and I think it’s going to work. I hope so... I’m also hoping the plants keep producing, because I’m accustomed to having a continual supply of yummy fresh hot peppers!

Now I know this blog is to be about things writerly, but let’s face it - life is writerly. Life is where we get our ideas. Life is where we do our research. Life is everything... especially this wonderful, crazy, overstressed time of year! 

And life is what gets in the way of us writing. I’m not proud of it, as I’m a hard-working professional writer, but I’ll admit I haven’t written a word for three weeks. Life - and the holidays - just got in the way. So - I’m just going to do what I have to, and enjoy my family and the season, and get back to writing after the first of the new year. 

I hope that each and every one of you has the happiest holiday season and the best of New Years... and I’ll see you in January, with a talk about something writerly!


Tuesday, December 20, 2022

The First Book in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series


The aftermath of giving away free Kindle copies of RAGING WATER, is readers bought what they thought was number one in the sries, DEADLY OMEN. But that book was not the first in the series.

The first book is DEADLY TRAIL, but it's listed as #0.

The reason is, it didn't get published until long after the first four book in the series came out.

Anyone who knows me and my publishing history are aware I've had many publishers along the way. The wonderful woman who published the first four books and became a friend, passed away unexpectedly. DEADLY TRAIL was picked up by a populare independent publsiher. Unfortunately, this publiher had a death in the family and closed the doors to her business. 

The series was picked up by another quite renound small press, but after a few years, they shut down too.

My friend suggested I go the self-publishing route. Frankly, at my age I didn't want to learn how to do what had to be done.  My friend said she'd help--and help she did. I got the rights back for the books that had been published as well as the covers--and she and her husband did the hard work of getting this series published again. Needless to say, they've been a great blessing to me and my publishing life.

I guess Amazon didn't want to make changes as to the number of the books and DEADLY TRAIL became  #0.

This first book introduces Tempe, her son, Blair, the man she's engaged to, Pastor Hutch, and Nick Two John. I got the idea for the wonderful garden in the book from an Indian and his wife I met at a friend's home. They described their garden and I knew it belonged in a book. 

Here is the link to DEADLY TRAIL 

https://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Trail-Tempe-Crabtree-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B07R7XF4L9/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2S4R8NLW4YNCE&keywords=deadly+trail+by+marilyn+meredith&qid=1671119743&s=digital-text&sprefix=%2Cdigital-text%2C657&sr=1-1

Available on Kindle and in print.

Marilyn

Monday, December 5, 2022

Another Freebie

 

Once again I'm offering a free book on Kindle.

This time it's RAGING WATER, a Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery.

https://www.amazon.com/Raging-Water-Tempe-Crabtree-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B07S31JQRT/ref=sr_1_1?crid=C54I49AJ0K5J&keywords=Raging+Water+by+Marilyn+Meredith&qid=1670251993&s=books&sprefix=raging+water+by+marilyn+meredith%2Cstripbooks%2C435&sr=1-1T

The mountain town of Bear Creek is cut off frome town because of a massive mud slide during a monstrous rain storm. Bear Creek is flooded and many homes are threatened. And to complicate matters, a murderer is trapped along with everyone else.

Tempe has her hands full--and she has a target on her back.

Do try it.


Marilyn