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

SHE DIDN'T KNOW HER PLACE

One of the most universal themes in literature is alienation. How much of personal isolation is due to making unpopular moral decisions, to being an outsider, and to being stubborn? This is the theme in She Didn't Know Her Place. 

In this mystery, Dana Richardson faces two dilemmas in her new job as VP of Research at State U. The Natural Resource Center, which reports to her, is alleged to be "doctoring" data to help industrial clients meet federal pollution standards. Her boss Guy Beloit, the president of the university, doesn’t care. Really no one, but Dana, cares. That's not true. Sally Stein cared and she died under mysterious circumstances, and others are too scared to talk. 

This mystery can be viewed on several levels. Dana's attempt to uncover and eliminate the scientific  and financial fraud in the Natural Resource Center is an example of a different type of police procedural. You'll be surprised how complex the laws governing research are and how they can be used to ensnare the villains. You'll also wonder how much of Dana's efforts are driven by inner demons and the fear of meeting the same fate as Sally Stein. Thus She Didn't Know Her Place is a bit of a psychological thriller. Then too Dana faces the problem of being a woman administrator in a predominantly male world - the academic scientific community is not kind to feminists.

Ultimately, themes are what make reading so satisfying. They make us think. 

Here's how to get She Didn't Know Her Place. The kindle and paperback versions are available at  Amazon: https://www.amzn.com/ dp/1979733112

GoodReads is doing a free giveaway of three signed copies of this mystery. Enter before December 22 at: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/267677-she-didn-t-know-her-place.