Why My Rocky Bluff Characters Won’t Let Me Go

I'm pleased to have Marilyn Meredith (aka F.M. Meredith) with us today as she makes the rounds on her blog tour to promote the most recent novel in her Rocky Bluff P.D. series. I've asked her to tell us why her Rocky Bluff characters won't let her go.

Believe me when I wrote Final Respects I had no idea that it would turn into a series. But here I am now promoting #10, Murder in the Worst Degree.

The more I wrote about the men and women who are part of the Rocky Bluff P.D. and their loved ones, the more I wanted to learn about them. And the more I learned about them, the more real they became to me.

And as their creator, I know more about them than I do my own family and friends. That may sound crazy to you, but think about it, I know how each of these people think. With my family and friends I can only guess—sometimes I’m right, but often I’m not even close.

I really want to know how Detective Milligan and his wife, Officer Stacey Milligan, and their son, Davey, are doing. And of course there are her parents who are renting a room to Officer Gordon Butler.

And will Gordon ever find a woman to love who loves him back?

What about Officer Felix Zachary? Is anything new happening with him and his wife Wendy? And how is she doing with their baby, little Ruby?

When Officer Ryan Strickland and his wife’s infant is born—how is he going to handle the fact that the baby has Down Syndrome? And what about her three sons?

Will there be any changes in the Rocky Bluff Police Department itself?

And of course, there is a murder to be solved or else why would I have called the book, Murder in the Worst Degree?

I hope that answers your question, Patricia, and thank you so much for hosting me today.

Marilyn aka F. M. Meredith

Blurb for the latest RBPD mystery, Murder in the Worst Degree: 
The body that washes up on the beach leads Detectives Milligan and Zachary on a murder investigation that includes the victim’s family members, his housekeeper, three long-time friends, and a mystery woman.
Buy link:
http://tinyurl.com/n94hmju/ 

Bio: F. M. Meredith aka Marilyn Meredith is the author of over 35 published books. She enjoys writing about police officers and their families and how what happens on the job affects the family and vice versa. Having several members of her own family involved in law enforcement, as well as many friends, she’s witnessed some of this first-hand.

Webpage: http://fictionforyou.com/

Blog: http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/

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

Contest:

Once again I am offering the opportunity to have your name used as a character in a book if you comment on the most blogs during this tour for Murder in the Worst Degree.

Tomorrow you can find me here: http://judys-stew.blogspot.com/

Chris Swinney talks about Social Media

Chris Swinney, author of Gray Ghost

I thought everyone could benefit from a little pep talk concerning social media. So, that’s what I’m going to write about today.

I know the whole business of promoting (mostly ourselves which is tough) is daunting, tiresome, boring, and most of us loathe it. I’m with you, certainly, but I feel until we “make it,” we must do it. I’m from a younger generation of writers and remember just a few years ago the buzz word was “platform.” The concept relied heavily on social media and one’s presence on the World Wide Web (some people call it the Internet). Nowadays, talking about platform is a thing of the past, and people smack you in the face about promoting a thousand different ways several times a day. It stinks, but I believe we writers must do this or we will struggle to sell our work.

So, a few things to think about. First, I created a social media group (called Social Media 101) on Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/104837-social-media-101 where I break down the biggies in the social media realm so you can understand how to get started, what the lingo means, and how each one can benefit you. I was frustrated and consulted numerous experts in the field before compiling the work. Now, 204 people are in the group. You can participate in great discussions or add to them and ask questions. I or others will respond fairly quickly and help you out. It’s TOTALLY FREE!

And second. How would you feel if I told you there was a way, free for the most part, in which you could write one message and get it out to at least seven of your social media sites with one click? Sound pretty cool? I think so. The software is called Hootsuite (www.hootsuite.com). There’s a lot more you can do with the software, but for the most part, you can link your social media sites to one account, write a message, and with the click of the button, send it out to the social media sites linked to your Hootsuite account. It significantly lessens the amount of time you spend on social media promotion. Again, it’s TOTALLY FREE! If you choose to link more sites to it (more than seven), it will cost you a monthly fee. One thing I really like about it is I can set or pre-schedule messages AHEAD of time.

For example, I know that posting on social media sites at 9 am, 12 noon, 6 pm, and 9 pm are the best times to have the most people see my posts. So, with Hootsuite, I can set these messages up AHEAD of time and it does the rest. You need a little knowledge of spreadsheets or excel, but it’s really not that hard. And, Hootsuite will help you out with their great customer service. I use this site and service all the time and have been very happy with it. Think about this, you go off to a signing or a conference or even a vacation and while you are gone, Hootsuite sends out messages to readers, fans, and potential buyers for you. You just can’t beat that!

Anyway, I hope some of you will be a little less stressed out with the social media aspect of promotions. I’m available anytime to answer questions or try to give you some pointers.

To read Chris’ biography and/or to order a copy of Gray Ghost, click on the link below.

http://www.amazon.com/C.-L.-Swinney/e/B00DSWIANQ

The Big Day Arrived Early

Well, I was all set to announce that today is the Big Day but it came two days earlier than I expected! Desperate Deeds, the third novel in my Malone mystery series (which can be read as a standalone), was just released. 
          As every author knows, the publication of a new book comes with a lot of mixed emotions. Excitement! My book is out! Relief! All the work, blood, sweat and tears have finally produced a book I can actually hold in my hands! And, apprehension. Will my book sell well? Will people like it? Will they write good reviews? Will they recommend it to their friends? So many emotions!

The first step is to get the word out about my book. If nobody knows about it, how can they order it? To do that, I’ll be posting on various online sites, I’ll tell everyone I know (hope you will too), I’ve set up a local book launch event in April where I’ll be selling and signing copies of my book and I’ve scheduled a one week long blog tour. Here’s the list with links to the blogs of the six authors who have so kindly agreed to help me promote my book.

Monday, March 31 – Marja McGraw

http://blog.marjamcgraw.com

“Writing a Mystery Series”

Tuesday, April 1 - Marilyn Meredith

marilynmeredith.blogspot.com

“Why I Write What I Write”

Wednesday, April 2 – Anne K. Albert

www.anne-k-albert.com

“Hooking Readers”

Thursday, April 3 - Evelyn Cullet

evelyncullet.com/blog

       “Using the Weather to Create Suspense”

Friday, April 4 – Madeline Gornell

http://wp.me/pyLFm-xh
       “The Easiest Part of Being a Writer”

Saturday, April 5 – Marilyn Levinson

       www.marilynlevinson.com/blog
       “When a Child Goes Missing”

I hope you'll stop by to visit with me.

My publisher has temporarily reduced the ebook price of all three Malone mysteries to $2.99 each.

Links to purchase:  

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=la_B007VDDUPQ_B007VDDUPQ_sr?rh=i%3Abooks&field-author=Patricia+Gligor&sort=relevance&ie=UTF8&qid=1396017920

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/patricia-gligor?keyword=patricia+gligor&store=ebook

Happy Reading!