🏰 Author Interview Featuring Marilyn Meredith, Author of A Final Farewell

 I have a very talented lady here today to tell us all about her new mystery, A Final Farewell. Her name is Marilyn Meredith. Marilyn is the author of over forty published novels, including the award-winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and on the board of the Public Safety Writers Association. She's taught writing in many venues and appeared on numerous panels at mystery cons. Her home is in the foothills of the Southern Sierra, a place much like the fictional Bear Creek of the Tempe Crabtree mysteries. When not writing, Marilyn enjoys spending time with her large family. Visit her website at http://fictionforyou.com . Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.

Thank you for this interview!  I’d like to know more about you as a person first.  What do you do when you’re not writing?

I have a huge family, from five children we now have many grand children, great grands, and as of this writing, nine great-greats, with one more on the way. I love spending time with any of these off spring whether in person or using Facetime. 

I’m an avid reader too. I’ve always loved to read. 

And of course, there are my friends. I have my church friends, my writing friends, and all my Facebook friends. I love keeping in touch with all of them. I’m still in touch with a few of the women I went to high school with, and some of the girls (now women) who were in the Camp Fire Girls group I led for nearly ten years. 

I recently lost my husband of 71 years, and of course, I miss him, but love remembering all the things we did together. 

When did you start writing?

I began way back even before I was in grammar school, and I kept on writing. Besides stories, I wrote plays and articles, and I served as editor for several years for the PTA newsletter.  However, I didn’t get published until I was a grandmother.

As a published author, what would you say was the most pivotal point of your writing life?

Joining a writers’ critique group taught me so much about writing. The first one educated me about point-of-view, something I really didn’t understand. I learned how to accept helpful criticism, most important for any writer. 

The second group I belonged to for many, many years. In this one I learned more about getting published, grammar rules and when you could break them, writing good openings, and natural sounding dialogue. They helped me polish many manuscripts and served as a first editor. 

If you could go anywhere in the world to start writing your next book, where would that be and why?

I do my best writing here at home. However, if I’m writing about a place I’ve never been before, or one I haven’t visited for several years, I’d go where I needed to do necessary research.

If you had 4 hours of extra time today, what would you do?

Relax and maybe take a nap. I get up around 4 a.m. First I take care of any necessary chores, and then I sit down at my computer and work.

Where would you like to set a story that you haven’t done yet?

What I’m doing now is stepping back in time and writing a memoir about when I was a child during World War II. It’s amazing what memories are popping up. I’m also having to do a lot of research about things I can’t remember, or don’t know enough about.

Why was writing A Final Farewell so important to you?

It was time to end the series. Though A Final Farewell is listed as #20 on Amazon, it’s really the 21^st in the series, as the first one, A Deadly Trail is listed as #0. The reason is because it was published after the first four books in the series. I knew I needed to put together a satisfying ending to the Tempe Crabtree mystery series, and I hope I’ve done that with A Final Farewell.

Any final words?

I’ve had a wonderful writing career. I’ve written two mystery series; besides the Tempe Crabtree series, I wrote the Rocky Bluff P.D. series using the name F. M. Meredith. I’ve written eleven stand-alones, and two cookbooks. 

Along the way, I’ve met many wonderful writers and readers, and attended mystery and writing conferences all over the country. 

It’s been great.

 

About A Final Farewell...

 

A woman’s body found in a neighbor’s pond piques Tempe’s curiosity. It isn’t long before she is enmeshed in the intrigue and gossip surrounding the mystery.

Miqui Sherwood has two handsome suitors both wanting to marry her. Does either one have any ties to the murder victim?

Tempe’s life is threatened, and the health of Tempe’s friend and mentor, Nick Two John, is failing.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/40YLA5V