| Muses Review Writer Interviews Winter 2006 - Jan Feb Mar |
| Featured Writer for March 2006 Marilyn Meredith: Mystery Fiction For You Interview Conducted by Andrew Angus |
| Marilyn Meredith Writer from California |
| Muses Review Winter 2006 (Jan Feb Mar) Table of Contents Editor's Message Editor's Poem Poems Poem Reviews Book Reviews Interviews Book Ads |
| The long interview is cut short. The whole interview will be published in the printed edition of Muses Review. |
| Interview is Copyright 2006 by Muses Review. All rights reserved. |
| Buy this fiction book: Wing Beat by Marilyn Meredith |
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| Featured Writer for March 2006. I. Your opinion 1. Muses Review: Tell the readers something about your latest novel - Wing Beat. Marilyn: In Wingbeat, Deputy Tempe Crabtree has run-ins with newcomers to the mountain community of Bear Creek. When she visits them in their run-down and well-hidden home, she suspects they are up to no good. The granddaughter of an old friend turns up dead and Tempe is quickly drawn into the investigation. Meanwhile, her minister husband is suspected of being the man exposing himself to school children because the description is so similar to Hutch's. The false accusation challenges his faith. 2. Muses Review: Who chose the design of your book cover? Why the design? Marilyn: The cover was designed by graphic artist, Ron Odom, who was hired by the publisher. The design is of an owl with its wings spread. In all of the Tempe books there are Native American supernatural elements. An owl making a sudden appearance is a warning of danger ahead. 3. Muses Review: Do you have a pen name when you write novels? Marilyn: I use a pen name for my Rocky Bluff P.D. series. It's just my initials and last name: F.M. Meredith. 4. Muses Review: Where can people buy your books aside from your website? Marilyn: Most of my books can be purchased from Amazon.com. Some can be ordered through bookstores and/or directly from the publisher. 5. Muses Review: Do you like to travel? If yes, what countries have you been so far? Marilyn: I love to travel but must admit that I've done all my traveling in the states which includes Hawaii and Alaska. I went to Alaska to attend Left Coast Crime and was fortunate to be one of the 50 authors they sent out to the bus to speak with school children. I stayed in Bethel and from there, I traveled by a Suburban van... on the frozen river (scary experience) to the village of Kwithlik. All the children were native Alaskans and I was fascinated by the fact that they were taught in their native language except for one hour a day. That made it difficult to talk to them about writing, which was my charge. I probably learned far more from them than they from me. Because of attending mystery conventions, I've had the opportunity to visit many states I would never have seen otherwise. 6. Muses Review: Is the novel pure fiction or based on someone you know or based on your life or a combination of fiction and true events? Marilyn: In all of my novels there is some basis of truth. I may take an actual event and change it to fit the story I'm writing. The house hidden in the mountains is based on the home of someone I interviewed once for the newspaper. That house and the surrounding grounds, though in a similar location, was well-kept. I took great liberties with my description to make it fit the story. Tempe is a combination of two female law enforcement officers that I got to know during interesting circumstances. Her preacher husband is a combination of several pastors that I've known over the years. The experience he has is one that someone actually had but of course, fictionalized for the purposes of the book. 7. Muses Review: Why do you like to write novels? Marilyn: In a novel, I'm able to explore character growth and development that occurs because of the incidents that happen to my characters. I've come to know the characters in both my series books as well, and perhaps even better, than I know my friends and the members of my family. I've written personality pieces for the newspaper and magazine articles, and tried my hand at short stories, but I like being able to spend time with my characters. 8. Muses Review: Can people make a living out of writing novels when he is new in the literary scene ? Marilyn: Of course, if someone writes a best-seller they can make a living from writing novels. However, though I do make money with my writing I'm fortunate to have a husband with a good retirement. 9. Muses Review: What are your favorite themes in writing novels? Marilyn: In everything I write, good overcomes evil. In mysteries, the bad guy is always discovered. In my mysteries, the murderer is only caught, I don't go beyond that. I also write Christian horror which is a clearer example of good overcoming evil. 10. Muses Review: Why should people read your novel ? Marilyn: Anyone who enjoys a good mystery will probably like Wingbeat. Also, if you like elements of the supernatural and a bit of Native American lore, you'll find both in all of my Deputy Tempe Crabtree novels. 11. Muses Review: What is so good about being a novelist? Marilyn: I always tell people I like writing novels because it's the only world I have any control over. However, this isn't quite true since often my characters take off in ways I never expected. To me, it's enjoyable to see something happening in my mind that I translate into words that I hope will create the same vision in the readers' mind. 12. Muses Review: What event/s triggered you to go into writing? Marilyn: I've written all my life in one way or another. I started writing stories and plays as a child. I published my own magazine when I was in middle school. As a young mother, I edited and wrote PTA newsletters and plays for my Camp Fire Girls to act in. When my sister did our family's genealogy I was intrigued by all the unanswered questions in our family tree. I wrote two historical family sagas based on both sides of my family that were my first published books. Once I was finished with them, I decided to write mysteries since that's what I liked to read. 13. Muses Review: How do you see yourself in five years time as a writer? Marilyn: I hope I'm still writing about Tempe and Hutch and the Rocky Bluff Police Department- and whatever else I'm inspired to write. 14. Muses Review: Do you have a literary agent? Marilyn: Not at this time. 15. Muses Review: Have you experienced making book-signing tours? How does it feel? Marilyn: I've never done tours like some of the big authors, but I've done plenty of book signings, book festivals, mystery conventions, library talks and writers' conferences. My least favorite of these is a straight booksigning. I prefer any venue where I can either talk about my books or some aspect of "how to write". Last fall I did a two-hour presentation on "How to Write a Mystery" at the Erle Stanley Gardner Festival. After telling what a mystery needed to have to work, the audience planned a mystery. It was great fun. 16. Muses Review: What company is helping you distribute your books? Marilyn: Each of my publishers uses different distributors. Sadly, the first publisher of my Tempe series died. I'm now responsible for those books, including Wingbeat. The series has been picked up by a new publisher who uses Ingram's. 17. Muses Review: What are your day-jobs in the past before you became a full-time novelist? Marilyn: I've been a telephone operator, I've been a teacher in a school for developmentally disabled pre-schoolers, a regular pre-school, and a day care center. For 23 years, my husband and I owned and lived in a licensed facility for developmentally disabled women. I did a lot of my writing during this time period. I'm still working with people who are in the residential care business teach state mandated classes and consulting. 18. Muses Review: Do you plan to write books for children? Marilyn: Probably not. Though most of my books are fine for young people to read. Someone sent me a newpaper clipping once where an eleven-year-old boy said his favorite book was Two Ways West which is the second book of mine published. My granddaughter has been reading my books since she was about the same age and has give book reports on them for school. 19. Muses Review: Do you have poetry in your bones? Marilyn: I am not a poet, unfortunately. I do enjoy reading good poetry though. 20. Muses Review: Do you want your children to be a writer like you? My children are all grown. I have one daughter who has done some writing, and a couple of grandkids I suspect may be writers one day. 21. Muses Review: Your official website address: Marilyn: http://fictionforyou.com 22. Muses Review: What makes a novel a bestseller? The easy answer is a book that sells many copies. However, today there are many variables around best sellers. A lot has to do with the push the publisher gives as well as the advertising dollar behind a book. Some books that aren't very good get to be best sellers because of this. 23. Muses Review: Name your favorite novels which you did not write? Marilyn: I love any book by Jan Burke or James Lee Burke (they aren't related nor are their writing styles.) I loved the Alienist too. I read lots of mysteries and there are many more authors that I really like. 24. Muses Review: What do you like about writing? Marilyn: There is a definite high that comes when you're working on a book and things are falling into place and you know that you are actually going to be able to finish it. When someone tells me that they enjoyed a book I've written, I know that I haven't been wasting my time. 25. Muses Review: Did you attend writing workshops? Marilyn: I've attended lots of writing workshops over the years. I always managed to learn something from each one. I've also taught at a lot of writing workshops- something I really enjoy doing. 26. Muses Review: Do you organize writing workshops? Marilyn: I organized a small four-hour workshop. Another author was supposed to share the teaching with me and at the last minute she got sick so I had to do the whole four hours myself. 27. Muses Review: Any plans to hit Hollywood with your novels? Marilyn: It doesn't work that way unfortunately. I'd love to have someone read one of my books and turn it into a movie. 28. Muses Review: Do you write short stories? Marilyn: I have two short stories coming out in anthologies probably this year sometime. However, I don't think of myself as a short story writer. 29. Muses Review: What are your next projects in the pipeline- books, booktours, etc.? Marilyn: I'm working on a Deputy Tempe novel at the moment. The next in the series, Calling the Dead, is due to be out sometime this fall. I also have another book, a stand alone coming out this spring from Hard Shell Word Factory. It's called Wishing Makes It So. It's a suspense novel and much darker than anything else I've done. A new publisher, Tigress Press, is picking up my Rocky Bluff P.D. series and the plan is for Fringe Benefits to be out this fall. 30. Muses Review: Do you teach part-time or full-time, writing in the past or at present? Marilyn: I teach and have been teaching a class in my home town for about seven years. I also taught for Writers Digest School for about the same length of time. 31. Muses Review: Any advice to aspiring novelists? Marilyn: Read the kind of books that you want to write. Read books about "How to Write". Go to available writing conferences. Learn the rules of the craft. Once you learn the rules then you can break them, but you need a good foundation first. No matter what kind of profession you go into, you must learn about it first. Find a good critique group. I learned more from my critique group (I've belonged to the same one for 24 years) than I learned from anything else I've done. 32. Muses Review: Who is your audience in your writings? Marilyn: I believe my audience for my mysteries is anyone who likes mysteries that aren't too dark and gritty. Though I wouldn't classify my novels as cozies, some reviewers have. 33. Muses Review:Have you tried writing for television? Marilyn: No, and I have no aspirations for that kind of writing. I believe that's a younger person's gig. 34. Muses Review: You are such a prolific writer. You published more than three novels within five years time. Is there any secret you want to share to our readers about your productivity? Marilyn: I've been cranking out books on a regular basis, about one a year. However, they didn't get published in the same order that they were written. If you are serious about writing, you set aside a part of nearly every day to write. You should set goals about how much writing you want to accomplish. Also, I think it's best of write your whole story, then go back and do the rewriting- and the rewriting- and the rewriting. |
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