Marilyn Meredith (aka F.M. Meredith) claims she’s has had so many books
published, she’s lost track of the count, but it’s getting near 40. She lives
in a community similar to the fictional mountain town of Bear Creek, the big
difference being that Bear Creek is a thousand feet higher in the mountains. Learn
more about Marilyn and her books at her website and blog.
When
Fiction Comes too Close to Reality
That’s what happened to me with my latest Deputy
Tempe Crabtree mystery, Seldom Traveled.
I’m a combination of a plotter and a “pantser”. When
I begin writing I’ve already decided who the murder victim will be and why, along
with a few ideas who might have done it, where and how it happened. An actual murder in a mountain
community that I read about in a news clip is what got me started, however not
much about that murder ended up in my story.
As I wrote, more and more ideas about who might have
killed this person and why began to bounce around in my head. As I’m writing
the story on the computer, I always have a notebook and pencil at hand to jot
down all the new ideas so I don’t forget. This is an exciting process for me
and part of why I enjoy writing so much—even after all these years.
Something else real that I included was a fugitive
who managed to get away from the law and fled to the foothills where I live.
Despite using dogs, law enforcement was unable to find this man. (I don’t know
if he ever was apprehended because nothing more was ever mentioned in our local
news.) For me, though, this was a great starting point for Seldom Traveled, and my
fugitive plays a major part in the plot.
As I continued with the writing, I knew that a forest
fire would play a major part in the plot. To make things accurate, I spent a
lot of time asking a friend who is a firefighter many, many questions. He
supplied me with the answers and made suggestions.
Remember, that a book is written long before it comes
out. You probably all know that forest fires have plagued California this
summer and into fall. When the book came out, several forest fires
were burning around the state. Though I knew I had nothing to do with the
fires, I couldn’t help feeling a bit of guilt.
When I sent the book to the publisher and answered
the questionnaire about what I wanted the cover to look like, I mentioned the
forest fire and a bald eagle that also plays a big part in the ending. My
heroine is an Indian (she prefers that to Native American) so there is always a
bit of Indian mysticism in the series. The artist did a perfect job. Take a
look and see what you think.
Seldom Traveled
The
tranquility of the mountain community of Bear Creek is disrupted by a runaway
fugitive, a vicious murderer, and a raging forest fire. Deputy Tempe Crabtree
is threatened by all three.
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6 comments:
Thank you so much for hosting me today. I enjoyed writing this little piece about my latest Tempe Crabtree mystery.
Enjoyed your column, Marilyn. Your books seems like an awesome, intriguing mystery.
I just have one question. Are you a little nervous about choosing a disaster or murder or some other dreadful event in the next book after writing about these fires before they happened? The happened about the time you published, which is not when your wrote about them. Coincidence or something more? I thought it was uncanny how it played out. I know you would not have wished the true fire on anyone.
First, Angela, thank you for commenting!
Linda, it was a bit unnerving, but at least it hasn't happened every time I've written about a disaster. I did write about a huge earthquake in one of my Rocky Bluff books and there haven't been any on the coast for a long time. I did write about a bear invasion in an other Tempe book, and we did have one, but years later. I supposed if you write about things that are possible, there's always a chance that something like that might happen.
Thanks, Marilyn. I love the setting and the cultural aspects of your Tempe Crabtree stories. Thanks for posting.
Maggie, I love writing about Tempe--and we have one more fire up in the mountains. This time their staging area is at the campgrounds at Lake Success.
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