Blog Tour Stop: River Spirits

While filming a movie on the Bear Creek Indian Reservation, the film crew trespasses on sacred ground, threats are made against the female stars, a missing woman is found by the Hairy Man, an actor is murdered and Deputy Tempe Crabtree has no idea who is guilty. Once again, the elusive and legendary Hairy Man plays an important role in this newest Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery.

 How Tempe Crabtree got her Name

When I realized that I wanted a character who was part Indian, I wanted a name that sounded Indian, but unique.

Years ago, my sister did our family genealogy and when I read about my great-grandmother on my father's side and all that she went through, I was amazed by her strength and independence. Of course I'd heard about her from my father, but I never met her.

Her parents named her Temperance and she was called Tempe from the time she was a little girl. She met and married Newt Crabtree in what was called Globe at the time--now Springville where I live. She gave birth to several children who died soon after birth. When a girl was born she called her Hope because she hoped she’d live. (She did, and several more children were born after that, including my grandmother.) Just living back in that time period was tough. She was a true pioneer. When her husband died, she lived on her own for many years.

The resident deputy that I had pictured in my mind had many of the same attributes and personality traits that I'd learned about my great-grandmother. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Tempe Crabtree was the perfect name for my heroine.

Marilyn Meredith

Marilyn Meredith is the author of over thirty-five published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, the latest River Spirits from Mundania Press. Marilyn is a member of three chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. She lives in the foothills of the Sierra. Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com and her blog at http://marilymeredith.blogspot.com/

Contest: The winner will be the person who comments on the most blog posts during the tour.

He or she can either have a character in my next book named after them, or choose an earlier book in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series—either a paper book or e-book.

You can find me tomorrow visiting with my good friend Lorna Collins who wanted to know where I get my inspiration after writing so many books. http://lornacollins-author.blogspot.com/

From the publisher, all formats:

http://mundania.com/book.php?title=River+Spirits

For Kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/River-Spirits-Tempe-Crabtree-Book-ebook/dp/B00O3R83TQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412345856&sr=1-1&keywords=River+Spirits+by+Marilyn+Meredith

Amazon paperback:

http://www.amazon.com/River-Spirits-Marilyn-Meredith/dp/1606594117/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_pap?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412900595&sr=1-1&keywords=river+spirits+by+marilyn+meredith

For Nook

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/river-spirits-marilyn-meredith/1120425385?ean=2940150347090

What's next?

I love writing my Malone mystery series and working on a new book for the series is always exciting. Plotting the story line, choosing the setting and showing how my characters change and grow from one book to the next is a welcome challenge.  My characters aren’t the only ones who grow with each book though. As a writer, I learn new things about writing every day and I constantly work to improve my craft. My goal is to make each book better than the one before it.

My current WIP (work in progress) will be the fourth novel in my series. In it, Ann Malone Kern, the main character, and her two young children, Danielle and Davey, leave Cincinnati and fly to South Carolina for a much needed vacation. Ann’s older sister, Marnie, who lives in Mt. Pleasant, has rented a condo on Fripp Island for the four of them. 

I chose Fripp Island because, having visited there, I felt it had the “atmosphere” for the story I’m telling.  It's very important to me to "know" a place if I'm going to write about it. So, in addition to spending time on Fripp and taking lots of pictures, I’ve supplemented my knowledge of the island with research. Yes, my books are fiction but I want them to be accurate too. 

In this fourth book, Ann wants nothing more than to gaze at the ocean and to relax. I plan to give her a little time to do that but I’m also placing her in the middle of solving a murder. Sorry, Ann, maybe next time. Or, maybe not. After all, I do write mysteries.

A Whole New World

I love to read and I read every single day. Well, actually, I read every night before I go to sleep. For years, I practically lived at the library where I got the majority of the books I read. I was totally in the dark when it came to small press authors whose books are usually not in my library unless they happen to be local writers.

Once I discovered the novels by small press authors, it felt like a whole new world of reading had opened up for me. Because it had. I still read novels by my favorite Big Name authors (I'll always love the library!) and I read books that are self-published too but I find that most of the books I buy and read these days are published by small presses.

About a year and a half ago, I started a list on Shelfari of the mystery/suspense novels published by small presses that I had read and enjoyed and I’ve been adding to the list ever since. There are now over eighty books by more than forty different authors on the list.

I hope you'll join me in promoting small press authors by buying, reading and reviewing their books. I promise you that you’re sure to find several books on the list you’ll love. Oh, and while you're there, please click on the site's "Recommend" button. Thanks and Happy Reading!

http://www.shelfari.com/Best-Of/10560/Best-of-Mystery-Suspense-novels-published-by-small-presses

A Mother's Love

 A mother's love can come from our own mother or, as in this excerpt from Desperate Deeds, it can come from someone who may not be our natural mother but who is always there for us.

     

          Olivia felt so helpless. It wasn’t often that she was at a loss for words but this was one of those rare times. She didn’t know what she could say to Ann to help to ease her pain. What could you say to a woman whose child was missing? That was a parent’s worst nightmare! She hoped her being there would be enough to comfort the woman she’d come to think of as her daughter. Ann’s been through so much. Why did this have to happen?

     “Ann, would you like a cup of tea? It might help you to relax.” The second the words were out of Olivia’s mouth, she realized how ridiculous they sounded. Relax? There was no way Ann would relax until she held her little boy in her arms again.

     Ann looked at her through red-rimmed eyes. “No, Liv. Thank you. I . . . . I can’t right now.”

     “Well, tell me if you change your mind or if there’s anything else I can get you.”

     “I will.”

     Olivia saw that Ann was shivering. She reached behind Ann and pulled the afghan from the back of the sofa. “Here, Ann, put this around your shoulders.”

     Ann gave her a weak smile as she wrapped the afghan around herself and pulled it up to her chin. “I love this afghan. Nana gave this to me when I was a little girl. She said it was for my hope chest. I remember I had to ask her what a ‘hope chest’ was.”

     “Well, it’s beautiful.” Olivia ran her fingers along the edge of the afghan. “It’s so soft and I love the color. Sage green, isn’t it?”

     “It is. Actually, I used this color as the inspiration for decorating the whole room.”

     Olivia smiled. “Well, you did a great job. It matches the green in your sofa perfectly. Did your grandmother make it herself?”

     “Yes. She could knit, crochet, sew and she taught me how to do all of that.”

     “She must have been a great teacher because I’ve seen some of the things you’ve made and they’re incredible. All your own curtains and bedding, the kids’ Halloween costumes. Amazing!”

     Ann nodded. “I owe all of that to Nana.”

     An idea suddenly occurred to Olivia. What if she could get Ann to keep talking about her grandmother? That might help to take her mind off of the immediate situation. “From what you’ve told me, I gather your grandmother was quite a woman. I mean, besides her sewing skills.”

     “Oh, she was! She was a strong and determined woman. I don’t know what would’ve happened to Marnie and me after our parents died if it hadn’t been for Nana. We didn’t have any other family. I guess we would’ve had to go into foster care and we might even have been separated. That would’ve been awful.”

     “Sounds like you were lucky to have her.”

     “Oh, we were. I don’t know if I ever told you this but, after my mother and father were killed in the car crash, Nana sold her house in Dayton and moved in with us. She gave up her friends, all of her church and social activities, everything, to take care of us. She made a wonderful home for Marnie and me. She always put us first. That’s the kind of person she was.” She cleared her throat. “I still miss her every day.”

     Ann began to sob. “Oh, Olivia, I didn’t think it was possible to miss anyone more than I miss Nana. But I miss my little boy more!”

      Happy Mother's Day to my Mom, my stepmother, Helen, and my ex mother-in-law, Marion!