Mystery tour of a senior gated community with Marilyn Meredith

My friend Marilyn Meredith takes you on a mystery tour of a senior gated community in her new novel THE TRASH HAREM. I live in such a community and this story rings true. I'l let Marilyn tell you about Moon Glow Village.

The main setting for The Trash Harem is a fictional gated community for folks fifty-five and older. No, I don’t live in one but I have two daughters who do. Their homes and neighborhoods are quite different from one another, as are the houses themselves.I borrowed the outsides of the homes from one community, and the insides a combination of both.

In this tale, the fictional Moon Glow Village is located in the city of Temecula. I’m fond of Temecula and have visited there many times as I have lots of relatives who live in the general area. I’ve also given classes on mystery writing there.

Temecula has a great Old Town with many great shops and restaurants and a wonderful museum. 

I do want to assure everyone that the characters in The Trash Harem are not based on any real people, though the main character who is the main suspect in a murder investigation does have some similarities to my son-in-law. And these similarities are what gave me the idea for the story. The tale has many interesting characters including other suspects who may have vague resemblances to people I know, but none are from the place where my daughter and son-in-law live. One thing I might mention is most of my daughter’s and her husband’s neighbors are closer to my age than theirs. To my knowledge, none of them has died under suspicious circumstances.

On a personal note, my home is much different than theirs. My husband and I share our home with my granddaughter and husband and their three young girls. It’s pretty lively around here. 

I had a great time writing this story; I hope you’ll enjoy reading it.

Marilyn

Blurb: Deputy Tempe Crabtree has retired from her job in Bear Creek when friends, who once lived in Bear Creek and attended Pastor Hutch’s church, ask her to visit them in Temecula. The husband, Jonathan, is a suspect in what might be a murder case. The retirement community includes many interesting characters, any of whom might have had a better motive than Jonathan. There is also a connection to Earle Stanley Gardner as well as the Pechanga Old Oak. What is a trash harem? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

To purchase The Trash Harem

https://www.amazon.com/Trash-Harem-Tempe-Crabtree-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B096KZDPH8/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=The+Trash+Harem+by+Marilyn+Meredith&qid=1622899167&s=books&sr=1-1

Marilyn Meredith’s Bio: She is the author of over 40 published books including the Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, and writing as F. M. Meredith, the Rocky Bluff P.D. series. She’s a member of two chapters of Sisters in Crime and the Public Safety Writers Association.

Webpage: http://fictionforyou.com/

Blog: https://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com

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

 

A DIFFERENT TIME

I'm starting June with a guest blogger. Marilyn Meredith is a prolific #mystery author.  If you haven't read one of her books, read her new one, End of the Trail, after you read her blog below.  This is a #police procedural with heart. Let's hope this novel isn't the end of the trail for Marilyn's writing.

Right now, we are all experiencing something new. I’m not going to discuss the pandemic as such—I’ll leave the current event to Janet, my host, who is far more knowledgeable about such diseases. 

Any author knows that what is going on now has changed what we can do to promote our books. We can’t go to bookstores to do talks and signings, and book fairs and conferences have been cancelled. What is left? Mainly social media and visiting blogs like this one.

There wasn’t even a hint of what was to come while I was writing End of the Trail, the latest in my Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series. My main ideas for this book came from family—one from a distant relative living in a most unusual lifestyle, and another from a much closer member who is preparing for any coming huge disaster whether it be a biblical Armageddon or a war of some sort. (I have a huge family, and believe me, they are all different. You should hear their varied and controversial views on the pandemic!)

When I began writing I was able to attend the weekly meetings of my critique group and hear their suggestions and feelings about each chapter. Because they also write their corrections on the copies of the chapter I brought, I can use or not use what I want when I get home. And, of course, these in-person meetings have been cancelled. 

Though I had plenty of time to write, it was hard to get motivated to do so. I really did want to finish, but as I was writing, I began to wonder if this might be the last book in the series. Was that really what I wanted to do?

Even now, with the book done and available on Amazon, I am not sure. In fact, I have a new idea bouncing around in my brain.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087SFTC6K/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1588514254&sr=1-1

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

You're in for a treat. Marilyn Meredith, author more than thirty mystery novels, is giving tips on how to develop interesting characters today. Her newest mystery is Tangled Webs. Enjoy.

Marilyn Meredith's comments: How do I develop my characters? I’ll describe my process, which I admit has changed through the years. At one time, I kept a notebook with pages about each character, I no longer do that.

Because I’m writing a series, the main characters are pretty much set at least in the way they look and often act. However, because this is a long ongoing series, of course each one has matured, and in some cases made some drastic changes.

Probably the one who has changed the most is Ryan Strickland. His marriage and the birth of a daughter with Down syndrome truly affected him.  And then there’s Gordon Butler, popular with readers, whose life has become far less traumatic. 

Two of the newer characters in the series are the RBPD Police Chief, Chandra Butler, and the mayor, Devon Duvall. They’ve begun a romance, a romance that might not happen thanks to some surprising news. Though I know a lot about these two, there is much more to be explored.

Two teens play an important part in this latest Rocky Bluff P.D. mystery, one is Detective Milligan’s daughter, Beth, and the other, her new friend, Kayla. Fortunately, I have a good memory of what it’s like during those teen years and I have enough friends and relatives who are still in that age group if I need to ask any questions. 

No matter what character I’m writing about, I try to get inside their head, see what they are seeing and how they see it, how any new events affect them considering what has gone in their lives. 

What new characters arrive on the scene, I jot down important information about them in a notebook I keep beside my computer where I keep other notes about the book I’m writing. 

In the case of all my characters, I see them as real persons. I know what they think, how they will react in certain situations, and how they view their world.  And that’s the way I develop my characters.

 

Marilyn who writes this series as F. M. Meredith

Blurb for Tangled Webs: Too many people are telling lies: The husband of the murder victim and his secretary, the victim’s co-workers in the day care center, her stalker, and Detective Milligan’s daughter. 

Available at: https://tinyurl.com/yabj9z9f

Links:

http://fictionforyou.com

https://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com

I apologize to Marilyn and the readers but I can't get the comments section to work.

A Guest - Marilyn Meredith - Explains Her Compulsion to Write

Marilyn Meredith is the successful author of two series of mysteries. The newest book in her Rocky Bluff P.D. series is Unresolved. It's number 13. Does that make it lucky?

After the blurb, Marilyn will explain why she continues to write even though she is over eighty (I think, but she's never admitted her age to me.)

Blurb for Unresolved: 
Rocky Bluff P.D. is underpaid and understaffed and when two dead bodies turn up, the department is stretched to the limit. The mayor is the first body discovered, the second an older woman whose death is caused in a bizarre manner. Because no one liked the mayor, including his estranged wife and the members of the city council, the suspects are many, but each one has an alibi.

Marilyn talks: 

Though I’ve never been a best seller or made much money from my writing, I have never entertained the thought to quit writing.

I’ve always written—something. As a kid I wrote stories that had a great resemblance to whatever book I just read. I wrote plays for the neighborhood kids to perform. In middle school I wrote and published my own small magazine.

After I was married, I wrote and edited PTA newsletters, plays for my Camp Fire Girls to put on, a couple of books I did nothing with, the writing I had to do while going to college, and then after my kids were grown, I wrote an historical family saga based on my genealogy. After many rejections and rewrites, the book found a publisher. I wrote another, and it also found a home.

Because I mainly read mysteries, I decided to try my hand at those. And yes, I did find a publisher for that first one too. I continued writing mysteries, the Rocky Bluff P.D. series and the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series and I’m still writing both.

When blogs became popular I started one of my own. Today I have many guests on my blog and I’m a regular on two others. On http://ladiesofmystery.com  I have to write a new post once a month, on http://makeminemystery.blogspot.com/ I submit a post twice a month. And no, it’s not a chore, I’m a writer and I love to write.

Doing a blog tour as I’m doing now, means coming up with a new and fresh topic for each blog that I’m visiting. To me, it means writing, something that I truly love to do.

Besides, if I didn’t write, what would I do?

Tomorrow I'm visiting http://katsclues.wordpress.com and I’m giving some Dialogue Tips.

F.M. aka Marilyn Meredith

Battle of Good and Evil at Halloween

Marilyn Meredith's Spirit Shapes was just released. It's the perfect book for Halloween.

In Spirit Shapes, Deputy Tempe tries to solve three crimes that have occurred in the eerie Wilkinson House over the last eighty years. As Tempe is drawn into a battle of good evil, she is confronted with a problem faced by many with cross-cultural backgrounds. What is the best way to recognize the truth? Is it her Indian traditions as represented by Nick Two Johns or Christianity as represented by her husband Hutch or some combination of the two?

Spirit Shapes is a good snapshot of modern America with three-dimensional characters; some of whom just happen to be elderly, homeless, Goths, or kids that fall between the crack in the school system. The plot and conclusion will surprise you.

 Contest: The person who comments on the most blogs on this blog tour will have the opportunity to have a character named after him or her in the next Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery. Note Lorna Collins in Spirit Shapes is the winner of Marilyn's contest last year.

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/

Tomorrow (October 31) she'll be visiting : http://www.jinxschwartz.blogspot.com/

You can buy Spirit Shapes (in all formats) form Amazon or directly from the publisher: http://mundania.com/book.php?title=Spirit+Shapes