A Snowy New Year's and a Murder

The house that inspired the book

Kate Morgan loves a good mystery. She’s an avid reader and she recently finished writing a murder mystery. Her novel takes place at the fictionalized version of Maple Ridge, the real life home of Chad Hollingsworth, the man Kate has been dating for the past year.

Chad has invited Kate to his parents’ annual New Year’s Eve party where Kate will meet the other members of his family. On the drive to Maple Ridge, he tells her, “I have to warn you. When the Hollingsworth family gets together, there’s always a lot of drinking and drama.” He has no way of knowing there will be a murder. 

In a strange twist of fate, there are numerous similarities between Kate’s manuscript and what actually happens. Kate is determined to separate fact from fiction by figuring out the identity of the killer. But she soon discovers that solving a murder in real life is a lot harder than figuring out whodunit in a mystery novel. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XC8WC2D/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i1 photos

Christmas Memories

We all have lots of Christmas memories, some happy, some sad. Some we remember more than others. And, some teach us a lesson.

There’s a scene in my mystery novel, Unfinished Business, where Ann and her older sister, Marnie, are remembering a Christmas from their childhoods: the year they decided to search their parents’ house, looking for their presents. 

More than anything, Ann wanted a Cabbage Patch doll for Christmas that year and, in a hidden compartment in the closet of the master bedroom, she found it. At first, she was thrilled but, as you can imagine, finding the doll put quite a damper on her Christmas. She ruined her own surprise.

That scene was a fictionalized version of what happened to me when I was a child. I wanted a Patty Play Pal doll so badly and, like Ann, I searched our house and found the doll hidden in my parents’ closet. On Christmas Day, I had to pretend to be surprised when I unwrapped the doll but I’m pretty sure my mom and dad knew the truth. 

Needless to say, that was the first and last time I ever went looking to see what Santa or my parents had gotten me for Christmas. (By the way, since my name is Patricia, I named the doll Cathy.) 

My parents, my brother, me (with Cathy) and my maternal grandfather

I hope each of you has a very Merry Christmas and that you make some wonderful Christmas memories this year!

Unfinished Business

The Westwood Strangler is dead. Or so everyone believes.

Ann Malone Kern is busy preparing for her favorite holiday. She’s especially looking forward to her sister’s annual Christmas visit. But, several things threaten to ruin her festive mood.

The National Weather Service issues a severe winter storm warning for the Cincinnati area, predicting blizzard conditions, and Ann worries that her sister and her new boyfriend won’t be able to make the drive from South Carolina.

Then, a woman is found strangled in Ann’s neighborhood and everyone, including the police, assumes it’s the work of a copycat killer. However, when two more women are murdered in their homes, the police announce their conviction that the Westwood Strangler is responsible.

When Ann hears the news, the sense of safety and security she’s worked so hard to recapture since her attack on Halloween night, shatters. If the intruder who died in her apartment wasn’t the Westwood Strangler, who is? 

https://tinyurl.com/ycqahvl6

Word of Mouth

Everyone knows the best promotion is word of mouth. One person tells another person who tells another person who tells someone else and the word is out. 

Although I’m sure the BIG NAME authors rely on word of mouth too, it’s crucial to those of us who are lesser known authors. You see, we don’t have a staff of promoters and an unlimited advertising budget. For many of us, it’s just us. We do what we can to get the word out about our books but without readers to help us do that, we’re not going to sell many books. 

And, let’s face it, that’s why we write. We spend long hours at our computers telling our stories in order to get our books in the hands of as many readers as possible. Because we believe that what we write will help other people. That, through our books, they can escape into another world where they'll be entertained and possibly enlightened.

In addition to being a mystery writer, I’m an avid mystery reader and many of my friends are too. They’re very supportive of my books, which I greatly appreciate, and they frequently ask me for suggestions on other books to read. I love to pass along the names of authors whose books I’ve enjoyed and I encourage my friends to spread the word to their friends.

I hope you’ll do the same.

Picture this

It's a beautiful day in October. The sun is shining and the air is cool and crisp, a welcome relief after summer's heat and humidity. You're walking down the tree-lined street where you live, admiring the changing colors of the leaves. Calm. Peaceful. Serene.

You smile as you walk past the Halloween displays in your neighbors' yards.

What you don't know is that there's a serial killer lurking in the shadows.

"Mixed Messages"

https://tinyurl.com/y73ueljt 

Bones in the Attic

I'm thrilled to have author Marilyn Meredith (aka F.M. Meredith) as my guest today as part of her blog tour to promote her new book, "Bones in the Attic." I've been in awe of Marilyn for many years, amazed at all that she's done and all that she continues to do. She's truly an inspiration to all writers!

WHAT DRIVES WRITERS TO KEEP ON WRITING?

 by Marilyn Meredith

If you’re a best-selling author, the answer is evident. But what about all of those writers out there whose royalty checks might only be enough to buy a nice dinner?

And there are those like me who wrote for years for a publisher who went out of business, and despite all the promotion done for the latest books, the last years’ royalties were never paid? Unfortunately, there are many sad stories like that out there.

With the Rocky Bluff P.D. series, my publisher passed away—and no royalties had been paid for nearly two years. Fortunately, I have a new publisher, Aakenbaaken and Kent, who has taken on all the books in the series, including the latest, Bones in the Attic.

But the question is, after all this adversity, and there’s been more, why do I keep writing? I have several answers:

1.     I am a writer.

2.     I love to write—always have and I suspect, always will.

3.     In the case of my Rocky Bluff P.D. mysteries, I’ve had these characters living in my head for years. I want to know what’s going to happen to them next, and there’s only one way to find out, write another book.

Writing gives a certain satisfaction that I don’t get with any other activity. There are other factors that keep me going and here are some of them:

1.     When someone tells you or emails you to let you know he or she loved one of your books.

2.     Finding a new positive review on Amazon about one of your books.

3.     Being able to give talks to interested people about writing and why I wrote a particular book. (Writing conferences, libraries, writing and service clubs.)

4.     Meeting other writers and readers and sharing the love of books in person and on the Internet.

5.     Being a member of two chapters of Sisters in Crime and the Public Safety Writers Association.

I’m sure there are many more that I can’t think of at the moment. I hope other writers will add their reasons in the comments.

 

Blurb: The discovery of a skeleton, a welfare check on a senior citizen, and a wildfire challenge the Rocky Bluff P.D.

Buy link: https://tinyurl.com/yxpd8mxy

Bio: Marilyn Meredith, who writes the RBPD mystery series as F.M. Meredith, is the author of over 40 published books. She once lived in a small beach town much like Rocky Bluff, and has many relatives and friends in law enforcement.

Webpage: http://fictionforyou.com/

Blog: https://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marilyn.meredith

Twitter: https://twitter.com/marilynmeredith/

And she’s a regular on these blogs:

2^nd and 4^th Tuesday: https://makeminemystery.blogspot.com/

4^th Monday of the month: https://ladiesofmystery.com/