I’m not weird - Mar Preston

I haven’t had to sell myself to strangers in a long time.  Sure, you have to sell yourself to readers but that’s a different ball game entirely.

I live in the mountains in central California and the cold here in winter is becoming unbearable. But then spring and summer come and I’m in love with my house and my friends and my life here. So this year, instead of making a vow I would sell my house and move before winter came again, I thought of an interim plan.

When the Central Coast chapter of Sisters in Crime invited me to speak about my latest novel, I looked around and thought what a wonderful place the coast would be to spend the winter. 

Sue McGinty, a fellow mystery writer who lives in Los Osos, asked me to house sit over the holidays. She writes good books about the central coast around Morro Bay. I breezed around San Luis Obispo and Pismo Beach looking for a place. 

Craiglist turned up a great opportunity and the dance between me and a potential landlord has begun. What do I say about myself? I’m not weird? But dark scenarios of decapitation, GSWs, blood spatter and poisons fill my mind and make me feel all jolly. To anyone but fellow mystery writers, this is weird. 

They are a young couple with a room to rent in their home and I want to live there too. I write to them: “No Drama. No boyfriend. No girlfriend. No aging parents, no children. One arthritic, ancient dog. The rent will be paid. I’m neat.  I will respect your property because I am a homeowner too.”

And I wait. I write again. They called finally and invited me to meet them next weekend. This week we are promised blizzards, cold, rain, and snow. Sigh. I will get through it hoping it’s my last bout of real winter.

I want so much to make this happen. When I meet them I will be all smiles, certified check in hand, and not one single mention of decomposition.   

Wish me luck.

 http://www.amazon.com/Private-School-Detective-Mason-Mystery/dp/0984495258/

Nerve-Wracking Time by Marilyn Meredith

What I"m going to write about is something many, if not most writers, fear.

We are told over and over to plan our promotion early. We get a date when the book supposed to be out--and if wr'e smart, we'll start the marketing dates far enough after that in case there are some problems.

This is where I am at the moment.

My next Rocky Bluff P.D. mystery, Violent Departures, is due out this month. But, at this moment, I've not seen a cover nor the galley proof.

At the end of the month, I have a great opportunity to see this book becasue I'm going to be the speaker for the Cental Coast Sisters in Crime monthly meeting. One of the members won a contest to have a character named after him.

I planned a 20 day blog tour beginning April 1, sure that would be time enough--now I wonder. I don't have a cover or buy link to send on to my host bloggers.

My official book launch will be April 16th, surely I'll have books by then.

So, have any of you gone through these anxiety building problems?

I know my publisher has the best of intentions, but I also know this has been a busy and anxiety building time for her too. I don't want to bug her since the more time it takes for her to read and answer emails, the more time is taken away from doing what's needed for my book.

(And to be fair, I know there are other books lined up in the to-be-published queue.)

So that's my problem at the moment. In case I don't get copies, I'll take last year's RBPD, Murder in the Worst Degree.

Marilyn aka F.M. Meredith

So--What Do You Do for Fun?

As writers we get so wrapped up in the writing, editing and promoting that sometimes we forget to take a breath and live.

My latest, Dangerous Impulses, available from Amazon in paper or e-book.

 One thing I've found, many of the things that I consider fun are writing related. For instance, I consider going to a conference fun. But the reason it is fun is because I know I'll be seeing writing friends and making new ones.

I went to a Central Coast Sisters in Crime meeting in San Luis Obispo--which meant a nearly three hour drive and two nights in a hotel. I have lots of friend in that chapter I haven't seen for awhile. Besides the meeting which featured a crime scene investigator, we all had lunch together--and that evening dinner with two other couples. (Both the females are mystery writers and good friends.)

CC SinC after lunch. The red head is me. Love these guys.

But what else is there that I do for fun? Hubby and I love movies and we try to go at least two times a month. We're picky though and try to only pay for movies that will be more fun to see on the big screen. We usually combine our movie going with a restaurant meal and have our favorite places. Because we live in a rural area we don't have a lot of choices and tend to favor the Thai and Japanese restaurants.

We also subscribe to Netflix and watch a lot of the series that way--a year later than everyone else, but doesn't make any difference to us.

We have two big weddings coming up--both are for grandsons and their chosen ones. The first will be the end of May. It's our youngest son's eldest boy, Nathan. The wedding is being held up in the mountains at a lodge right in the middle of an old growth forest--giant Sequoias. Most of the wedding party and guests will be staying at the lodge or in cabins. (I feel a setting for a mystery coming on. I'll be taking notes and photos.)

The following weekend is our youngest daughter's middle son's wedding. Gregg is an Aspen police officer. Since both he and his wife came from California and have many friends here, the wedding is in Montecito in Gregg's uncle's backyard.

Besides loving weddings, both will be like family reunions with plenty of relatives to enjoy. And yes, I know that will be fun.

Of course I read for fun too, though not nearly as much as I used to, all this writing and promoting take up a lot of time. I tend to stick to books written by my friends or ones someone has asked me to review.

What do you do for fun?

Marilyn