AN INTERVIEW WITH DETECTIVE DOUGLAS MILLIGAN FROM F.M. MEREDITH'S ROCKY BLUFF P.D. MYSTERY SERIES

Today we sit down for a chat with Detective Douglas Milligan from author F.M. Meredith’’s Rocky Bluff P.D. mystery series.

What was your life like before your author started pulling your strings?

Being a police officer is the most important thing in my life. I lost my first wife because she wanted me to give up my job—something I don’t ever want to do.

What’s the one trait you like most about yourself?

I never give up. When I’m trying to find the bad guy, I’ll do whatever it takes to track him or her down.

What do you like least about yourself?

Lately, I’ve allowed family problems to distract me. But I’m not convinced that’s such a bad thing.

What is the strangest thing your author has had you do or had happen to you?

In this book, it has to do with what I mentioned about a family matter distracting me. Never before while in the midst of a murder investigation, have I let something happening in my family take my mind off an investigation. However, in this case, I believe it was justified.

Do you argue with your author? If so, what do you argue about?

I wouldn’t call it arguing, but I do let her know what I will and won’t do. After all, I’ve dedicated my life to protecting the citizens of Rocky Bluff, and I’m not going to let her forget that.

What is your greatest fear?

Losing one of my family members and not being the best husband and dad possible.

What makes you happy?

#1 has always been solving a case. However, with what happened recently, I have to say knowing my family is safe.

If you could rewrite a part of your story, what would it be? Why?

Years ago, when I first started out, I would have liked to been able to save my best friend from dying.

Of the other characters in your book, which one bugs you the most? Why?

In the past, I would have said Officer Gordon Butler. He was such a dufus at times. However, he’s matured, and a lot of the credit goes to his wife Lizette. In this particular book, a change in my daughter Beth bugs me the most.

Of the other characters in your book, which one would you love to trade places with? Why?

No one at the moment. In most ways, life is good. I love my family and my job.

Tell us a little something about your author. Where can readers find her website/blog?

Marilyn writers this series as F. M. Meredith. She once lived in a beach town much like Rocky Bluff. She has relatives and friends in law enforcement. She’s a member of MWA, three chapters of Sisters in Crime and serves on the PSWA Board. The number of books she’s published is pushing 40. You can find more about her at her website and blog.

This is the final blog stop on Marilyn’s tour for Tangled Webs. She hopes you enjoyed following along.

What's next for you?

I plan on continuing my career in law enforcement. I can’t imagine doing anything else. My family and I have no plans to leave Rocky Bluff. When the next murder comes along, I’ll do my best to find out who did it. With two children in my home, one a teen, I can’t even guess what might happen next. Whatever comes along, I’ll take care of it the best I know how.

Tangled Webs

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

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#COOKING WITH CLORIS--APPLE CRANBERRY MUFFINS

Apples and cranberries—perfect together! If your house will be filled with out-of-town guests for Thanksgiving, besides the feast on Thursday, you’re going to need to provide breakfast the next day. And even if there are plenty of leftovers, no one wants turkey and stuffing for breakfast. So why not whip up a batch of these Apple Cranberry Muffins? Set them out on the counter with a pot of coffee and let guests help themselves whenever they wake up Friday morning.

Apple Cranberry Muffins

Yield: 18

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

2-1/2 teas. baking powder

1/2 teas. salt

1/4 teas. baking soda

1-1/4 teas. ground cinnamon

1/4 teas. nutmeg

1/8 teas. allspice

1/8 teas. cloves

2 lg. eggs

6 oz. plain Greek yogurt

6 oz. sour cream

1 teas. vanilla extract

6 T. unsalted butter, melted

1-1/2 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped

1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In large bowl, combine dry ingredients.

In second bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, sour cream, vanilla, and butter.

Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients, mixing together just until all ingredients are combined. Fold in apples and cranberries.

Spray muffin pans with nonstick baking spray. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of muffins comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes on wire rack before removing muffins from pans.

#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--AUTHOR VICKI BATMAN AND NECKTIE QUILTS

Award-winning and bestselling author Vicki Batman recently stopped by to share her grandmother's recipe for fruitcake made with tomato soup. Today she’s here to talk about the quilts made from her husband’s tie collection.

Vicki has written numerous romantic comedies and two humorous romantic mysteries. She describes herself as an avid Jazzerciser, handbag lover, Mahjong player, Yoga practitioner, movie fan, book devourer, chocaholic, and Best Mom ever. Most days begin with her hands set to the keyboard and thinking, "What if?" Learn more about her and her stories at her website/blog. 

A lot of you know I call my husband Handsome. When we first married, he gave me a card signed with Handsome Husband. I shortened it. (And Handsome is a pretty nice looking guy.)

I grew up when working men wore suits to their job and to church, to shows, etc. I like the look. Handsome’s career began at a large accounting firm and he wore the “uniform”, too. He especially liked ties and for a long time, never threw any away.

An employee at his company makes quilts. After a chat, he decided to have some of his ties made into a quilt. (featured above)

He had her put on the back his philosophy about ties: 

 

The good news is he culled through his ties again and had a second quilt made,

 and a third. 

Creativity abounds in the holiday anthology, the Whispers of Winter, featuring my romantic comedy short story, “The Great Fruitcake Bake-off”. 

The Great Fruitcake Bake-off

When five-time champion Samantha Greene teams up with her new neighbor, Dixon Roberts, for The Great Fruitcake Bake-off, they discover baking a prize-winning entry is complicated, bad guys are plotting to take the crown, and first prize isn't just about a ribbon.

Other authors in the Whispers of Winter anthology are: Nicole Morgan, Stephanie Morris, Caitlyn Lynch, Maya Bailey, Krista Ames, Sharon Coady, Donna R. Mercer, Jan Springer, Carma Haley Shoemaker, Livia Quinn, Amber Skyze, Rebecca Fairfax, Jane Blythe, Suzanne Jenkins, Stacy Eaton, Rene Webb, Marie Mason, Joann Baker & Patricia Mason, Karen Cino

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--KICKING OFF THE HOLIDAYS WITH AUTHOR CHRISTINE DESMET

Blink, and the holidays will be upon us. Hard to believe, isn’t it? From now through the end of the year we’ll be periodically featuring authors of holiday mysteries who will talk about their favorite holiday memories and traditions and even a favorite holiday ornament or two.

First up is Christine Desmet, author of the Fudge Shop Mystery Series and the Mischief in Moonstone Novella Series, to talk about a wonderful childhood tradition from her days growing up on a farm in the Midwest. Christine is also a screenwriter, as well as a writing instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Continuing Studies program. Learn more about her and her books at her website.  

A Homemade Ice Cream Headache

When I was growing up, the holiday season meant an odd array of tastes and smells mashed together.

There was always homemade vanilla ice cream made with ice chipped from the cow’s watering tank, pickled herring for Dad, oyster stew for Mom (which she made herself), and when I got old enough (around age 14)—a “hot toddy.” The latter was made of hot eggnog with a splash of brandy from a small bottle my parents kept hidden.

I grew up on a southern Wisconsin dairy farm in a family of five kids. My siblings were all younger than I was but close enough in age that we could play and work together. We didn’t have much in the way of fancy food or fancy anything. It was a thrill on the last Saturday catechism before the Christmas holiday to get a small sack with an orange in it. Sometimes Santa would leave an orange in our stockings at home, too. Stockings were pinned to the arms of our red sofa because we didn’t have a fireplace.

One of our best holiday traditions was making homemade ice cream. We loved it, but boy was it work. My mom expected us to work for it, too. If we wanted ice cream, we had to take an axe and chip away at the ice that had formed in the watering tank for our herd of Holsteins.

We lived six miles from our small town, and even if we wanted to buy ice back then you wouldn’t have found it in the little grocery’s freezers. Besides, what farmer would be silly enough to waste money on ice when you had it just outside the door in the cow tank!

My brothers are all younger than I am, but by the ages of 10 or 12, they were strong and had been driving tractors and stacking bales and such for about four years. They’d get the axe or hatchet and away they’d go to the frozen tank and chip away for a half hour or more to get a couple of buckets of ice. I would sometimes help collect the chips and put them in pails. We never thought about the danger of a kid wailing away with an axe. We were taught early how to be careful on the farm (though accidents did happen).

For Mom, this activity of making ice cream was a great way to get us five kids out of her hair, as she’d say.

After sending us outside on a blustery, freezing and snowy day, she might use the time to roll out bread dough on the big kitchen table and knead a half dozen loaves. She made fresh bread almost every day in all the years I was growing up. The holiday season required more bread for the turkey stuffing, but Mom also needed mega amounts of bread for toast and sandwiches for us kids because we were home from school for two weeks. My oldest brother was constantly saying, “Mom, what’s to eat?”

The house smelled heavenly of bread baking by the time we hauled in the ice and got the ice cream maker up from the basement. One of us would go out through the cold and snow and retrieve a gallon or two of fresh creamy milk from our bulk tank in the milk house connected to the barn. Mom dumped the milk, sugar, several egg yolks and vanilla extract into the stainless steel cylinder.

Then it was time to turn the crank by hand. (There was no such thing as an electric churn in those days.) This was torture because it felt like the cranking went on for an hour (which it may have) and our arms would fall off.

As the ingredients turned into ice cream, the cranking became harder and harder. We would switch off regularly. And sometimes argue about whose turn it was.

We also had to keep adding ice chips and sprinkle salt on top of them to keep the scientific process of ice cream moving forward. It always amazed us that “melting” the ice created “frozen ice cream.” Mom would take the lid off the top of the steel drum now and then and declare, “Too soupy. Keep cranking!” We groaned.

After our “arms fell off,” we had ice cream.

We were so eager for the tasty reward that when it was dished out in cereal bowls we’d eat it too fast. Talk about a headache!

We never learned. Every time we made homemade vanilla ice cream, we knew we were in for a headache. But it was worth it.

Ice cream made that way during a holiday time is something special, a wonderful way for a family to enjoy being together.

When Rudolph Was Kidnapped

Mischief in Moonstone Series, Novella 1

This delightful series focuses on the humorous mystery and romantic adventures of the kind folks who live in the environs of a small village nestled on Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin. Along the way in the series, silkie chickens, a giant prehistoric beaver skeleton, a kidnapped reindeer, and other flora and fauna contribute to the amusing mischief and mayhem.

When her pet reindeer, Rudolph, is stolen from the live animal holiday display, first-grade teacher Crystal Hagan has a big problem on her hands. Her students fear that Christmas will be canceled. Ironically, the prime suspect is a man who lives in a mansion known as the "North Pole". And to her shock, Peter LeBarron admits to kidnapping Rudolph and he won’t give him back without some romantic "negotiations".

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#TRAVEL TO PORTLAND, MAINE WITH MYSTERY AUTHOR DALE T. PHILLIPS

Dale T. Phillips has published novels, story collections, nonfiction, and over 70 short stories. Stephen King was Dale's college writing teacher, and since that time, Dale has found time to appear on stage, television, in an independent feature film, a short political satire film, and compete on Jeopardy (losing in a spectacular fashion). Learn more about Dale and his books at his website.

The setting for my Zack Taylor mystery series is the great little city of Portland, Maine, a jewel by the sea. The people are terrific, there are a number of vibrant cultures, it’s a four-season vacationland alive with music, art, and literature, and it’s a foodie and craft-beer-lover paradise. I spent a lot of time there in years past, and wanted to set a mystery there. Why let the big cities of New York, L.A., and Chicago have all the sleuths and fun?

So when I wrote my first mystery, A Memory of Grief, I created a protagonist who comes to Portland in the 1990’s as an outsider, a complete fish-out-of-water. Zack Taylor has a troubled past and arrives on a mission to find the truth. He finds so much more and decides to stay in Portland for further adventures.

Although I use many real settings that those familiar with the area will readily recognize, I freely change things around. It sounds so attractive that some have asked if I work for the Maine tourism bureau. I always tell people that if they haven’t yet been to Portland, my series will make them want to go there. Still, I frequently show the dark side of Maine as well: the poverty, the widespread and chronic unemployment, the backwoods close-minded mentality, the small-town bigotry.

But I show Portland as a healing place, an environment so completely different from what Zack has known in glittery cityscapes like Las Vegas and Miami, that he turns his life around. He finds a love that has heretofore eluded him, although it is a difficult and complicated relationship, due to the violence that surrounds him. He finds a friend and mentor in Joshua Chamberlain (J.C.) Reed, a long-time reporter for The Maine Times. He also finds a host of enemies and has to deal with violent people, despite the fact that he doesn’t like or use guns, which puts him at a decided disadvantage.

Setting is vital to the events of the mysteries. In the first book, A Memory of Grief, Zack takes on a cadre of killers out at Fort Williams, the park that contains the iconic, oft-painted/photographed Portland Head Lighthouse. A Fall From Grace details Zack taking on a small Maine burg, which has turned against a single mother after the murder of the Town Manager. Later in the series we see Zack involved in the movie business, the coastal art scene, and a world where politics and crooked outside-money interests collide.

People know Stephen King writes about Maine, but Portland is also a rich ground for great mystery and crime writers, including: Kate Flora, Bruce Robert Coffin, Gerry Boyle, James Hayman, and Chris Holm. You can meet many of them at the Maine Crime Wave, an annual mini-con gathering of writers, fans, and special guests. Between this handful of writers, we’ve upped the annual murder body count of Maine by hundreds. They often paint Portland as a dark place of intrigue, although I like to show off the good points in my protagonists’ desire to set things right.

So when you’re in the mood for a trip to Maine, or a touch of murder and personal struggle, you can pick up the Zack Taylor series in many places, including, of course, the many Portland area bookshops: Letterpress Books, Sherman’s, Longfellow Books, or Nonesuch Books.

A Memory of Grief

Troubled ex-con Zack Taylor is haunted by the accidental death of his brother years before. Zack's guilt and anger have pushed him into a shadowy, wandering life, with little purpose and few attachments. When he hears of the death of his close friend Ben Sterling, a supposed gunshot suicide, Zack finds he now has a purpose—to find out what happened. Then his purpose becomes an obsession.

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AUTHOR D.J. ADAMSON ON MUSES AND IMAGINARY FRIENDS

D. J. Adamson is an Award-winning author D.J. Adamson writes mystery and science fiction novels. She is the editor of the book review newsletter Le Coeur de l’Artiste. Her L’Artiste blog offers authors a venue to write on craft, marketing, and the creative mind. D.J. also teaches writing and literature and serves on various writing organization boards.  Learn more about her, her books, her newsletter, and her blog at her website. 

A Muse? An Imaginary Friend? Or someone real recreated?

Why can’t an adult have an imaginary friend?  I started writing tonight about my muse and realized that I don’t have a MUSE. No one muses my head. I have visitations. Okay, I said it. Visitations. The main character comes and tells me what has happened lately. Lillian Dove complains to me about her mother, her desire for Detective Leveque but that Chief Charles Kaefring might be a better choice on the boyfriend carousel. When she came upon Dr. Conrad out on the street with blood on his clothes telling her his family was inside the house, hurt, she came and told me. Does that sound strange? Why is it I totally understood the movie HARVEY? Anyone else have “ visitations”?

Lillian Dove came to me through my aunt. My sister said my personality was very much like my Aunt Lillian, someone I had never met because she’d been estranged from my family due to her over-indulgence with alcohol (although, I generally don’t imbibe more than a glass of wine.) At the time, this over indulgence was not understood as an illness and possibly a genetic trait. Thinking of writing a series, Lillian Dove came to me and said, why not give your aunt recovery? After all, the Mormons save people after they have passed. However, I didn’t want to write another “alcoholic detective.” There are already so many in past history and current mystery books.

I wanted to follow my character’s recovery as she took on life without taking a drink. All of us have addictions (quilters, you know you have loads of fabric in your closets; readers, stacks of books; collectors, statues and photos of cats, dogs, angels, etc; chocoholics, candy stuffed everywhere). 

Lillian has more addictions and compulsions than Absolut vodka. All of her bad habits are also who makes up who she is as a person. What is difficult for Lillian is taking on life as it is; getting her nose into trouble with murder cases; and her self-discovery without any expectation she is perfect.

I think that has been what is so likeable about Lillian and why she has become a great friend of mine. She is honest in her journey, and while some of it is not overly cozy—is murder ever truly a cozy subject?—she takes on crime and life with humor and a reckless energy of never giving up. In a word, she is “everywoman.”

Let Her Go

A Lillian Dove Mystery, Book 3

Murder. Betrayal. Love Gone Wrong.

Dr. Conrad’s family is attacked. His wife is murdered. He and his son are seriously injured. Teenage daughter Peyton is missing. When Lillian Dove finds herself involved in the police investigation, she realizes Peyton Conrad holds the key to unravel who killed her mother.

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#COOKING WITH CLORIS--SUSPENSE AUTHOR DONNELL ANN BELL COOKS UP SALMON WITH LENTILS

Award-winning suspense author Donnell Ann Bell stops by today to share a dinner recipe and a super deal. Learn more about her and her books at her website.

Whenever our esteemed host invites me to blog, I’ll admit there’s an intimidation factor involved. You see, I have it on good authority Lois Winston, the author of the award-winning Anastasia Pollack series, is the MacGyver of crafting. She can take a shoelace and turn it into something ornamental or useful. At the end of every book, she provides some clever arts-and-craft project for readers. So, when she says write something crafty, I’ll pass.

However, I do like to cook, and today I’d like to talk about our diets, e.g. our meals, and how they have changed over the years. Side note: I’m still trying to figure out how Anastasia (whom the author describes as a pear-shaped woman in her forties) manages to consume all those delectable treats the food editor brings to the office daily. I asked Lois when Anastasia was going to start working out. Her reply? She doesn’t have time; she’s busy solving crime.

I should probably stop picking on Anastasia—and Lois. I admit in my debut book, which was the most home-and-hearth book I’ve written, my protagonist Melanie Norris did not cook the most low-calorie fares. A working mom, and widowed, her best friend was the crockpot. Typical meals were pot roasts or spare ribs. She was on a first-name basis with pizza and when she went out to dinner with the hero protagonist, they ate Chicken Parmigiana.

And, no, she didn’t work out, either. She was too busy trying to hide a secret from her son, avoid the cop next door, and the ex-con who swore revenge when her testimony sent him to prison. Priorities, you understand.

Let’s face it, diets have changed significantly in the last ten to fifteen years. We have gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, the Zone, Atkins, the Keto Diet—the list goes on.

If I were writing The Past Came Hunting today, chances are the meals I’d feature would be much healthier. I’d probably include more salads, less sugar and less bread. But through it all, the two consistencies I would insist on would be convenience and ease.  One such recipe would be Salmon with Lentils. Not only is it healthy, it’s affordable, filling, and delicious.

Salmon with Lentils

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/2 package of lentils

2 Tbs. olive oil 

1/4 cup chopped onions

Crushed garlic cloves (to taste)

1-1/2 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock

(many people add carrots or celery – I prefer mine simple)

Four 8-ounce center-cut salmon fillets. 

Bread crumbs (I use Italian style)

Brown onions and garlic in olive oil. Add stock and lentils. Bring lentils to a full boil. Cover and reduce heat. Lentils cook fast and generally are done in about 30 minutes.

Place sheet of aluminum foil on counter. Coat it evenly with olive oil and distribute salmon fillets. Season lightly with breadcrumbs. Wrap salmon in the foil. Depending on the weather, cook the fish on the grill or in the oven at 350 degrees.

Spoon the lentils onto a plate and place the salmon on top. (No one has to know how easy this is.)

Thankfully, my books aren’t all about cooking, there’s some suspense, romance, and always a happily-ever-after. The reason I mentioned The Past Came Hunting is because it’s on special today for .99 cents on all digital outlets. The Past Came Hunting is a book close to my heart as I wrote it when my son went off to college, leaving me an empty-nester. It’s won plenty of awards, and I think you’ll find emotion and a lot of love in this book. If you haven’t read it yet, I hope you’ll add it to your to-be-read pile.

Finally, here’s a question for you. Are you like me and pay attention to what the characters eat in books? Do you worry when Anastasia will start working out? What’s the healthiest meal you prepare or the most decadent?

The Past Came Hunting

Fifteen years ago a young Colorado Springs police officer arrested a teen runaway accused of aiding a convenience store robbery and attempted murder. She was innocent, but still served prison time briefly. Her testimony sent the real thief to jail for much longer. Now she’s a young widow raising a son, and the man she put in prison is free and seeking revenge. She moves to a home in a new neighborhood—then learns that her next-door neighbor is the by-the-book officer who arrested her. Now he’s a Colorado Springs P.D. Lieutenant. Like it or not, he may be the only one who can protect her and her son from the past he helped create.

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