Getting to know Tempe Crabtree

Welcome to the second post in my "Getting to know your character" series. We have with us today Deputy Tempe Crabtree, the main character in  Marilyn Meredith's fantastic mystery series and another one of my favorite "people." Let's get to know her.

Patricia: Tell us, Tempe, where did you grow up and where do you live now? 
Tempe: I’ve grew up in Bear Creek with my parents and Native American grandmother. After I married, I moved away for a few years, had a son, lost my husband, and moved back to Bear Creek.
Patricia: What’s your occupation and how did you come to choose it? (If you’re not a police officer, detective or private investigator, how do you manage to become involved in so many crimes? Same question, if you’re retired.)
Tempe: I’m the resident Deputy Sheriff of Bear Creek. After I lost my husband, I knew I had to do something to support myself and my son. I went to the police academy, graduated and was hired by the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department. As a deputy, it isn’t up to me to solve major crimes, however, I’m often called upon to help when the crime happens in the mountain area of Bear Creek, or on the reservation since I’m Native American. Once in a while I’ve done some investigating on my own because deep in my heart I knew the wrong person had been accused of a crime.
Patricia: Tell us about one of your most memorable “adventures.” What drew you into the mystery?
Tempe: Probably this last one, where the dead body of a missing teen was found in a haunted house.  I was the first one called to investigate, and upon entering the house I was rushed by a torrent of spirits, good and evil. Because of the ghosts, I did a lot of research into the history of the house and what went on in it over the years.
Patricia: What are your favorite things to do when you’re not working?
Tempe: Ha, ha. Though I have hours and days I’m assigned to work, because I am so accessible, it seems I’m always being called to work. When I do have time off I like to spend it with my husband, Hutch. We enjoy going to movies, eating out,  and just hanging out together.
Patricia: What are your favorite TV shows and/or movies? What kind of music do you enjoy listening to?
Tempe: Oh, my, I must confess I seldom watch any TV. As for movies, I prefer the lighter ones, romances, comedies. When I watch a movie with a mystery, my mind starts trying to solve the case. I’m sure I’d do that too if I watched any of the mystery or crime shows on TV. That’s too much like work.
Patricia: Are you married or involved in a serious relationship? Tell us about that.
Tempe: My husband is Hutch Hutchinson, the pastor of the local church. We’ve been married a long while. He came into my life when my son was a teenager. (My son is now a firefighter, something he always wanted to do.) Hutch and I love each other, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have rough spots at times. One of our biggest problem is when I use a Native American ritual to help solve a crime. For instance, calling back the dead. To be fair to Hutch, being a Christian minister, he fears for my soul.
Patricia: How would you describe yourself, physically and personality wise? How do you think others see you?
Tempe: I’m an Indian, taller than most, have long nearly black hair that I often wear in a single braid, My husband’s thinks I’m beautiful, bless him. I keep up my physical strength mainly by jogging. I’m loyal to my friends and never judge anyone unfairly. I’ll fight for anyone I think has been accused unfairly. I suspect everyone sees me differently. When I’m working, those who aren’t always law-abiding see me as law enforcement, and probably don’t like me all that well. The majority of the citizens in Bear Creek think of me as someone to turn to in time of trouble, no matter how big or small. The Indians on the reservation aren’t nearly as accepting of me as I wish they were. Because I’ve never lived on the reservation, I am considered an outside despite the fact I’m an Indian too. One detective I work with has finally accepted me as an equal, and calls on me often for help with murder investigations. His partner still has some doubts about me because I’m a woman and an Indian.
Patricia: What’s your favorite color and why?
Tempe: Blue, any shade, because it reminds me of the sky that changes all the time.
Patricia: Do you like to travel? If so, what are some of your favorite places to go and/or what was your favorite vacation? Have any of your travels involved solving a mystery?
Tempe: Hutch and I would love to travel more. I’ve done a bit while investigating. Once I traveled to Crescent City in order to interview family and friends of a murder victim. After that, Hutch and I continued the investigation in Santa Barbara.  We did a little bit of sightseeing, but not much, as we were on the trail of a murderer. We live in one of the most beautiful places in California, the mountains of the Southern Sierra. There is a growth of Giant Sequoias we can easily visit. Maybe someday, after I retire, both Hutch and I can take a real vacation and see more of this world we live in.

Patricia: What are your plans for the future? 

Tempe: Continuing on as the resident deputy here in Bear Creek. My major job is keeping the citizens safe from bad guys to domestic and wild animals, settling disputes, arresting drunk and other unsafe drivers, and when called upon, investigating major crimes. I’ve heard that a film company plans to come into the area to make a movie. I certainly hope that isn’t going to cause too many problems, but as the saying goes, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

 Bio: Marilyn Meredith is the author of over thirty published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series. She borrows a lot from where she lives in the Southern Sierra for the town of Bear Creek and the surrounding area, including the nearby Tule River Indian Reservation. She does like to remind everyone that she is writing fiction. Marilyn is a member of EPIC, three chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com and follow her blog at http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/

Links to purchase Marilyn’s books can be found at: http://fictionforyou.com/

The Winter Blahs

“What a gloomy day this has turned into,” David said aloud, flipping on the windshield wipers and turning on the headlights. The sky was gray and a light drizzle had begun to fall. The weather’s crappy and I feel crappy. I guess I am one of those people, he thought, recalling the television special he’d recently seen about Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD. The weather is definitely affecting my mood and not in a good way. Although it was only three o’clock in the afternoon, he decided to call it a day. I’ve got an appointment tonight. That’s good enough; it’ll have to be.

Clearly, David, the main character’s husband in my Malone mystery series, is feeling down in the dumps and lacks motivation. Do you feel like that when the weather is dreary? Recently, I’ve talked with a lot of people who do. They’re having a rough time of it this winter. Most refer to the way they’re feeling as having a case of the “winter blahs.” Some complain of physical ailments and almost everyone says that stress is taking a huge toll on their mental state and their physical health.

While it’s true that we all have problems and challenges in life and, of course, they’re not limited to the winter months, bad weather does make problems seem bigger than they are and it makes a lot of things more difficult to do. It’s hard to plan anything when you never know what news the weatherman will bring you. And, gazing out your window at a frozen, bleak landscape isn’t energizing or motivating. At least not for a lot of people.

I can't say I like winter. I don't like having to wear a coat, hat, gloves and boots. Nor do I like to shovel snow. And I detest (and get very nervous) driving on icy roads. Winter often frustrates and annoys me but it doesn't depress me. And, when I can stay in and spend my time writing, I actually enjoy it because, when it's nice outside, I want to be there, not at my computer. But I can’t help wondering how many people, like David, suffer from SAD. According to the Mayo Clinic, there’s a simple solution to their problem. Here’s what the experts have to say on the subject:

“Seasonal affective disorder (also called SAD) is a type of depression that occurs at the same time every year. If you're like most people with seasonal affective disorder, your symptoms start in the fall and may continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody.

“Treatment for seasonal affective disorder includes light therapy (phototherapy). Don't brush off that yearly feeling as simply a case of the "winter blues" or a seasonal funk that you have to tough out on your own. Take steps to keep your mood and motivation steady throughout the year.”

So, if you’re feeling like David, turn on lots of lights, snuggle up with a good book and take comfort in the fact that Spring is just around the corner.

Mystery of the Month: The Body in the Piazza

To celebrate their wedding anniversary, intrepid caterer and sometime sleuth Faith Fairchild and her husband, the Reverend Tom Fairchild, are off to Italy for a vacation filled with exquisite indulgences—the art, the Chianti, the food, the Ferragamos! The plan is to spend a romantic weekend in Rome, before heading to Tuscany for a stay at Cucina della Rossi, a cooking school founded by Faith’s back-in-the-day assistant Francesca Rossi.

Faith is certain that the only intrigue in store for her will be learning the secret recipe for Nona Rossi's ragu. But a thicker plot begins to simmer when the Fairchilds accidentally stumble upon a dying man in the Piazza Farnese. It's clear from the knife in the victim's chest that murder is on the menu.

Mysterious faces from Rome reappear in Tuscany. To Faith, this is no coincidence. And somebody is intent on sabotaging Francesca's new business by spoiling the cream and salting the flour. As Faith struggles to follow a trail more twisting than fusilli, she may be putting both herself and her husband in hot water.
  

Katherine Hall Page was born and grew up in New Jersey, graduating from Livingston High School. Her father was the Executive Director of The Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation and her mother was an artist. Page has an older brother and a younger sister. Early on the family developed a love of the Maine coast, spending summer vacations on Deer Isle. She received her BA from Wellesley College, majoring in English and went on to a Masters in Secondary Education from Tufts and a Doctorate in Administration, Public Planning, and Social Policy from Harvard. College had brought her to Massachusetts and she continues to reside there. Before her career as a full-time writer, Ms. Page taught at the high school level for many years. She developed a program for adolescents with special emotional needs, a school within a school model, that dealt with issues of truancy, substance abuse, and family relationships. Those five years in particular were rich ones for her. This interest in individuals and human behavior later informed her writing.

Married for thirty-seven years to Professor Alan Hein, an experimental psychologist at MIT, the couple have a twenty-nine-year-old son. It was during her husband's sabbatical year in France after the birth of their son that Ms. Page wrote her first mystery, The Body in the Belfry, 1991 Agatha Award winner for Best First Mystery Novel. The fifteenth in the series, The Body in the Snowdrift , won the 2006 Agatha Award for Best Mystery Novel. Ms. Page was also awarded the 2001 Agatha for Best Short Story for "The Would-Be Widower" in the Malice Domestic X collection (Avon Books). She was an Edgar nominee for her juvenile mystery, Christie & Company Down East. The Body in the Bonfire was an Agatha nominee in 2003. Page's short story, "The Two Mary's" was an Agatha nominee in 2004. The Body in the Lighthouse (2003) was one of three nominees for The Mary Higgins Clark Award. The Body in the Boudoir was a finalist in the 2013 Maine Literary Awards. The Body in the Piazza, the twenty-first in the series, is out now from William Morrow in hardcover, large print, E-book, and audio editions.

Descended from Norwegian-Americans on her mother's side and New Englanders on her father's, Ms. Page grew up listening to all sorts of stories. She remains an unabashed eavesdropper and will even watch your slides or home movies to hear your narration. Her books are the product of all the strands of her life and she plans to keep weaving.

Bookstores:

http://mysterybooksellers.com/

http://www.barharborbookshop.com/ (signed books, including backlist copies in HC)

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=stripbooks&field-keywords=Katherine+hall+page

A BIG NO-NO!

Imagine this. A close friend, one who knows how much you love a good mystery, has told you about a recently released movie. "It's so suspenseful," she tells you, "and you'll never guess the ending. You have GOT to see it!" You decide to go and you're really looking forward to it.

But, while you're standing in line to buy your ticket, you hear a woman who is leaving the theater say to her companion, "I never would've guessed the wife did it."

How do you feel? Did the woman just ruin the movie for you? After all, figuring out whodunnit in a mystery is a big part of its allure. Will you still buy that ticket?

The same situation can apply to buying a book. You go to Amazon, type in the name of the book your friend recommended and you read a few of the reviews. How would you feel if one of the reviewers told you who the killer was? I've seen this happen a couple of times recently and, in my opinion, it's a big no-no!

Thankfully, most readers who review books know better than to spoil the ending for potential readers by giving away the end of a mystery novel and/or revealing the identity of the killer. But, evidently, like the woman in the theater, some people don't stop to think before they talk - or type.

Writers work very hard to produce and promote their novels. We want people to buy our books, not just for monetary reasons (only a few top authors make “that kind” of money), but because we wouldn’t have written the book in the first place if we didn’t feel that we had something important to share.

And, of course, we want readers to review our books because reviews draw attention to them. As with anything else in life, some people will love our book, some will like our book and some will not do either. We’re going to get a wide variety of reviews and we have to learn to take the negative with the positive.

I personally don't believe in writing negative reviews; if I don’t like a book, I don’t review it. That doesn't mean it's not a good book, just that it's not for me. But everyone has their own opinion and they should be allowed to express it, if they choose. However, no one should have the right to give away the ending of a book, thus ruining it for some readers and discouraging others from buying it.

As an author, has this ever happened to you? 
As a reader, would you still buy the book if you already knew the ending?

Getting to know Sandi Webster

Welcome to the first post in my "Getting to know your character" series. We have with us today Sandi Webster, the main character in Marja McGraw's Sandi Webster Mystery series and one of my favorite "people." Let's get to know her.

Patricia: Sandi, where did you grow up and where do you live now?
Sandi: I grew up in southern California, and currently live and work in Los Angeles. There are a lot of people and lots of stories in a city this large. I’ve seen more than my share of crimes and heartbreak, but there’s always an up-side, too. A guy we called The Bogey Man comes to mind (a dead ringer for Humphrey Bogart who wanted to learn the biz from me).
Patricia: What’s your occupation and how did you come to choose it?
Sandi: I’m a private investigator, and I’m almost embarrassed to tell you how that came about. I grew up watching old mystery movies with my mother on TV. I loved the private eyes that always got their man. I’d been working in a government job, in the court system, and I knew I needed a change. I wanted more excitement in my life, and I sure got it. I apprenticed with an agency and eventually quit my job and started my own investigative firm.
Patricia: Tell us about one of your most memorable “adventures.” What drew you into the mystery?
Sandi: There’ve been so many, and they’re all memorable, but I had the most fun when my partner, Pete, and I became stranded in an old ghost town where we discovered records of murders that took place around 1880. Being on vacation and stranded in a ghost town with the old sheriff’s records, what else would a P.I. do but try and figure out what happened? Oh, and there was a mysterious cowboy there who really caused problems for us. I realized then that Old Murders Never Die – not really.
Patricia: What are your favorite things to do when you’re not working?
Sandi: It seems like I’m usually working, but in my free time I enjoy reading and old movies. Pete and I take trips from time to time, too, as evidenced by Wolf Creek, the ghost town. We’ve developed more than just a working relationship. Can you tell? We also have friends, Felicity and Stanley, whom we enjoy spending time with when we can. Stanley also works for me.
Patricia: What are your favorite TV shows and/or movies? What kind of music do you enjoy listening to?
Sandi: I enjoy anything mysterious, and I particularly like mystery movies that include humor. Music? I enjoy oldies, big band, and easy listening. My menopausal mother tells me she sometimes thinks I was born into the wrong generation. But then, she says a lot of things, and they don’t always make sense.
Patricia: Are you married or involved in a serious relationship? Tell us about that.
Sandi: I mentioned my relationship with my partner, Pete, in an earlier question. We’ll be getting married one of these days. After the debacle in the ghost town, and circumstances we discovered there, he asked me to set a date. We realized that putting things off for too long can change your whole life. I’m thinking about it. I keep telling him I have some wild oats to sow. He just laughs. I’ve had to spend a long time making him realize I can take care of myself if I need to.
Patricia: How would you describe yourself, physically and personality wise? How do you think others see you?
Sandi: I asked my friend, Felicity, how she would describe me. I’m about five foot three with dark brown hair, and she says I’m as cute as a button. (Ha! Cute as a button doesn’t help my image.) I’m tenacious, according to her, and I have a strong sense of right and wrong. I love things that make me laugh, because I realize if you take life too seriously, it can drag you down. I frustrate easily, and I sigh a lot. I’m kind of a contradiction, if you really think about it.
Patricia: What’s your favorite color and why? 
Sandi: Yellow, definitely yellow. It’s so cheerful. I see crime and death more often than I’d like, and I need things around me to keep me upbeat. That includes my dog, Bubba, who’s kind of a yellow color, if you squint and don’t look too closely at him. He’s huge and hard to miss though. 
Patricia: Do you like to travel? If so, what are some of your favorite places to go and/or what was your favorite vacation? Have any of your travels involved solving a mystery?
Sandi: Most of my travels have included a mystery. Pete’s friend, homicide detective Rick Mason, calls me a dead body magnet. I can’t really deny his description. I love to travel, but work doesn’t allow me to do it very often. I’d love to see Australia one day, and of course, Hawaii and maybe Scotland. We’ll see how it goes. Pete and I haven’t made honeymoon plans yet.
Patricia: What are your plans for the future?
Sandi: My plans are to just keep on keepin’ on. I don’t have the kind of job which leaves room to make too many definite plans. I never know what’s going to happen next. Barring any problems, Pete and I will marry one day. Other than that, I’m keeping my options open.

Thank you so much for talking to me and letting me explain a little about myself. (My author thanks you, too. Now where did that come from? What author? Huh?)

Marja McGraw 

I almost forgot to include the buy link. It's http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_8?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=marja%20mcgraw&sprefix=marja+mc%2Cstripbooks%2C299&rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3Amarja%20mcgraw

Coming soon: "Death Comes in Threes."