Yikes, It's December!

Though I've always loved Christmas, I don't do near what I used to do in preparation.

For one thing, Christmas gift giving had to be cut way back for two big reasons:

1. Our family got too big (though I love every one of them.)
2. Our income was cut drastically when the VA decided hubby was no longer 100% disabled, and the 40% disability they agreed upon they are now deducting from his retirement, so in reality, he's not getting any disability.

And no, as a writer, I don't make enough money to supplement. We're doing okay, but because we wisely saved, but spending it on gifts wouldn't be smart.

Enough of that. No tree either, but I did decorate with the help of my great-granddaughters, 3 and 5. That was fun.

I attended the San Joaquin Sisters in Crime chapter's Christmas party, and that was enjoyable and I got to see friends I hadn't seen for awhile. I also volunteered to do a program in May--I have a great topic.

Oh, and I brought a book to show and sold it.

I have yet to address Christmas cards--except one, because I received one. I know many authors send cards to their fans, but I've never done that.

We plan to host Christmas Eve dinner like we usually do--I've ordered the honey baked ham. Only a small portion of our family lives close enough to attend, but they will fill our house.

Another thing I didn't do is participate in any holiday events. My favorite one didn't happen, and the others were outside and I don't put up a tent and haul a table around anymore. There is always next year.

So how am I going to turn this around to focus on mystery? I am still working on my Rocky Bluff P.D. mystery, though it's going well, I haven't had much writing time.

In the meantime, I did a giveaway of one of my Deputy Tempe Crabtree mysteries, Seldom Traveled. It's one of my favorites for several reasons.

Marilyn

Priorities

Radine Trees Nehring recently wrote about not having enough time to read what with all the necessary tasks of being a writer. I'm going to expand on that theme a bit.

Over the years I've found that there are far too many tasks both as a wife, mother/grandmother and writer that demand my time.

Years ago, I wrote, painted and knitted. When I became the owner/administrator of a 6 bed facility for developmentally disabled women--the demands on my time multiplies. The women, their needs and all that came with running the facility (which was also our home) left me little free time for much. I knew I had to make the decision between writing and art projects. I decided writing was what I liked to do best and gave the other two pursuits up. At that time social media was just beginning to blossom.

After twenty-plus years, hubby and I retired from the care business--it truly had to be number one because it entailed the health and well-being of others. At the time, hubby and my eldest adult son both had cancer, my focus had to be on them. After treatment, hubby was cured, son passed on to be with the Lord.

Years have gone by. Hubby and I are both slowing down and have lots more doctor visits. I'm still writing, of course because I love it. Because I write I must do a lot of promotion in order for people to know about my latest book(s). Every author know that takes a lot of time.

My family has grown so much! I love seeing and spending time with each and everyone, and of course that takes time away from other pursuits, but to me that is a most important priority.

Of course I love to read--I always have books on my Kindle, and usually a paper book too. If someone I know and like asks me to read a book and give them a blurb I almost always do that too.

And then there are the writing contests--there are two that I always agree to help judge--more reading that is not necessarily of my choosing and takes time to do it fairly.

So what do I do? How do I choose my priorities? This is one of those one day at a time judgment calls--what is most important to get done today? I make a list and get to work--crossing each item off when I'm done.

And yes, I leave time to do some fun things with my husband, though not nearly as much as we used to do.

So tell me, what are your priorities?

Marilyn

The latest Tempe book--I'm still working on the next one.

A Bit More on Where Ideas Come From

I wrote a post recently about how different my life was from those of my characters, but I have a bit more to say on the subject.

A writer friend, who truly helped me along the way, recently wrote to another writer friend that most fiction writers based their stories on what happened in their own lives. She is not a mystery writer and that holds true for the fiction books she's written. I know her well enough that when I read her fiction I knew she had drawn much from her own life.

In my case, though I have used incidents at times that really happened, once I've written it into a story and rearranged and changed it, no one would ever recognize it.

Some of my writing ideas pop into my head unbidden--especially right before I go to sleep. Some I remember, some I don't.

Like many, I read about something that really happened and then think about it and ask, "What if it happened this way instead?" And off I go from there.

I've had people tell me about a crime that happened in their family and though I used it, as I wrote, to fit it into the plot I envisioned, everything changed.

And I can tell you with all honesty, my life is not as exciting as Tempe Crabtree's. I've never been in law enforcement, or solved an actual mystery, I've never seen a murder victim--thank God--though I have seen people who have passed on. (Certainly not the same thing.)

As I often tell people who ask me how I know about certain things--I've lived a long time and had enough experiences to know how people react when things happen. And, you can find out anything on the Internet.

And yes, despite it being holiday season, I am getting some writing done.

Marilyn

Ins and Outs of Promoting Seldom Traveled by Marilyn Meredith

This is the last day of my blog tour and I'm at B.K. Stevens blog:
 http://http://www.bkstevensmysteries.com/category/the-first-two-pages/

For the most part, the tour has gone well. There have been a couple of glitches--I never get as many comments when they have to be moderated--people like instant gratification. And since I collect the names for a contest, I want to see the comments right away too. There is so much work to a tour that the more I can do right away, the better.

One host didn't put the post up until the afternoon of the day I appeared--that fouls up my schedule too because I like to do the promoting first things in the morning before things get crazy around here.

And of course, there was one who didn't put it up on the day we agreed on--that seems to happen at least once on a tour.

Of course that's  not all I've been doing for this book. I've sent out review copies--I'd love to see more reviews on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

I've busily set up places to go and sell books--gave a talk about creating memorable characters for a writers group, will be headed to the mountain community of Oakhurst to participate this Saturday at an author and book festival and giving a talk about keeping series characters fresh, And on Thursday, September 20, heading over to the coast to participate in a book fair from 3 to 8 at the Mission Plaza in San Luis Obispo.

I'm also working on a Kindle book give-away for an earlier book in the Tempe series--more about that later. The book will fit the Hallowe'en season.

It's a good thing I'm an early-riser because that's when I get most of my work done.

Yes, I've had a tad bit of Bouchercon envy--but it's truly a good thing I didn't go.

And I've even managed to squeeze in a bit of writing now and then.

Tell me what you've been up to.

Marilyn

How Different My Life is from the Lives I Write About

My favorite topics to write about are murders and the mysteries surrounding them. I also love writing about people who do terrible things and those who put themselves in danger to solve the crimes.

Only once was my life touched by murder and that was back when I was a kid, and one of my mother's church ladies killed her husband with an ax to the head while he slept. I don't remember either of them. What I do remember, is another of my mom's friends saying, "He was so boring, if I'd been married to him I'd probably have done the same."

Because in both my mystery series my main characters are in law enforcement, I'm often asked if that is my background. The answer is a simple, "No." However, growing up my uncle was an L.A. police officer as was a neighbor--I babysat his kids. I had a son-in-law who was a cop and then a deputy, who shared his stories with me, and now I have a grandson who is a police officer and a grandson-in-law who is a deputy.

I belong to the Public Safety Writers of America and I'm friends with many men and women who are or were in all different kinds of law enforcement, so I have many people to ask questions.

As for people who do terrible things--I've known a few--no murderers, but those who haven't made the right choices in far too many ways. However, I've never totally based a villain totally on a real person, but rather drawn on bits and pieces from this one and that one, molding a fictional character into someone who will, under the right circumstances, do something horribly wrong. And the most fun is to create someone who is just down right evil.

My own life, though certainly not boring, is more what you'd expect a grandmother (and now a great-great) to live. Hubby and I are surrounded by family of all ages, and we truly enjoy it. We don't do much traveling anymore--but once we did. I still do book festivals and attend Sisters in Crime meetings in Fresno and over on the Central Coast. Love to give talks to writers and service groups.

One of the best things about being a writer is you can still write about everything, whether or not you can still do them.

In my latest book, there is intrigue, murder, a huge forest fire like California is experiencing in many places now (we had one right up the highway in the mountains only a few days ago)--and I have a friend who works on these fires who helped me. And as with all of my Deputy Tempe Crabtree books, there is a bit of Indian mysticism. (And that seems to just pop out of my imagination.)

From the publisher in all different formats:

http://mundania.com/book.php?title=Seldom+Traveled

And of course available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Slowing Down or Other Things Taking my Time by Marilyn Meredith

To be honest, it's a bit of both. I can't seem to accomplish as much in a day as I once could. Of the other things taking my time, I want to spend more of it with my family.

I became a great-great grandmother a few weeks ago. It was a big surprise as my great-granddaughter thought she was suffering from an infected spleen (she did have this but none of the docs she saw said one thing about the pregnancy). When she began having horrendous pains, she thought she was dying. Her folks made her go to the ER where they let her know that yes, she had a problem with her spleen but at the moment she was in labor and would soon be giving birth. What a surprise! And a good one.

My family is big, and some of them live right here in my house: my grand-daughter and her husband and two little girls, and a great-grandson and his wife. Yes, this is a big house. I love having them all close by. And right next door on the same property, my son and his wife live.

This is great for two old people (meaning me and my husband) as we have lots of support in many ways.

Recently, one of my publishers (who is also a friend) became very ill and she's in a rehab center 1 1/2 hour drive from me. My daughter-in-law drove me over to see her recently. Sadly, her relatives all live far away and she doesn't have much in the way of support. Seeing her, made me realize how blessed I am. 

I know I need to take the time to enjoy my family and let them know how much I appreciate them.

Oh, yes, I'm still writing, I do that early before everyone gets up (I've always done it that way.)

And because I have a new book coming out this month, I'm also planning the promotion. I think I have the ideal place to have my launch, a little different than last time. Haven't asked yet, but I'll do that this week. 

My blog tour will begin September 3rd so I'll certainly be busy then. 

Out this month: Seldom Traveled.

Yep, a New Book Coming Up!

Though it won't be out until August--there is much I need to do.

I've already planned, scheduled and written posts for yet another blog tour. This one is a bit shorter than others I've done and I have a new contest. Instead of offering someone who makes the most comments on the tour a chance to have a character named after them, the winner(s) will be chosen from those who make the most comments during the tour. The prize will be a choice of one of the earlier books in the series--a Kindle or paper variety.

I need to make business cards as I find that's the easiest to remember and hand out to people at book events or just about anywhere.

A book launch of some sort needs to be planned--and at this moment, I have no idea what that will be.

I already have some in-person activities scheduled and hope for more to come.

The cover is perfect for the book--a forest fire and an eagle. Don't you love the Native American interpretation?

Marilyn

More on Titles by Marilyn Meredith

Thought I'd piggy-back on Linda Thorne's post about titles.

When I first started my Deputy Tempe Crabtree mysteries, I thought I'd keep the titles to 2 words: Deadly Trail, Deadly Omen,Unequally Yoked, then I went to one word, Intervention, followed by Wingbeat.

I began to realize that it was more important to use a title that somehow fit the books. Sometimes I know what the title will be before I begin. At others, I don't have a clue until I'm all done.

Because the Tempe books often center on or have some native legend or mystique in them, I've used part of a quote from an American Indian for a title. That's where I got the title for the next on due out in August--Seldom Traveled.

A couple of books I've had to ask my critique group for suggestions for titles, and received just the perfect one.

Someone gave me the title, Murder in the Worst Degree. I thought it was great, wrote the next book in the Rocky Bluff series planning to use the title, but it wasn't until the last two chapters did I realize how it fit the story.

My latest in that series, A Crushing Death was easy because it is the way someone dies. And the idea for the murder came from a fellow mystery writer.

The book I'm working on now, I have no clue about what the title should be--yet.

Marilyn