Marilyn Meredith's Nick Two John

Day 8 of the Murder We Write Blog Tour and I’m pleased to host an enigma. For those of you who are scratching your head, I’ll clarify. I’m crime-beat reporter Mitch Malone and I make my living using words. An enigma is something puzzling or contradictory. Nick Two John has been featured in Marilyn Meredith’s Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series. He makes people nervous in RAGING WATERS, her latest book. He always seems to have the answers but seems to pull them out of the air. I’m on the case and plan to get the answers to this mysterious character for a great story. Nick, let’s start with your name. Is Two your middle name? Or is Two John your last name? How did you get your name and what does it mean?

Nick: Two John is all one name and it reflects the fact that both my grandfathers have the first name of John. At the naming ceremony, this was the solution to whether to name me after my mother’s father, John Flaming Arrow or my father’s father, John Swift Deer.

I’m a facts kind of guy. I don’t speculate or guess in the stories I write for the Grand River Journal. You mentioned a Native American heritage. My sources tell me you give them good advice and point them in directions they might not have otherwise pursued. How do you do that?

Nick: Probably what I do isn’t something you’d understand. I merely guide the person to the answers that are within themselves.

 Now I understand that you live in a hotel or something and in fact are living in sin. If you are spiritual, when are you going to get hitched?

Nick: Have you been speaking with my friend, Pastor Hutch? Though he’s never mentioned the fact that I am not married to my partner in life as well as business, I know he has made the same judgment. Frankly, I believe in the heart and mind of the Great Spirit that Claudia and I are one, a ceremony sanctioned by the world isn’t necessary.

How did you get in the lodging business? Rumor has it you are quite the cook. What are some of your favorite recipes?

Nick: Claudia is the true owner of the Bear Creek Inn. I am her partner in all phases of our life together. I’ve been able to cook since I was a child on the reservation. I learned to make fry bread and Indian tacos first. My mother taught me how to gather wild herbs to flavor meats and vegetables. In my mind, I imagine how something will taste when I combine it with something else. I don’t share my recipes. You might try what my friend Pastor Hutch does. He comes to the Inn to eat quite often, then he goes home and tries to imitate my dishes. According to his wife, my friend Tempe, he does a good job of it. You might too.

Now that I’ve softened you up with some easy questions, I’m going in for the tough ones. Nick, you know Deputy Tempe Crabtree really well, some might say intimately. Doesn’t that make it a little awkward with her husband? How did your relationship get so close?

Nick: I don’t think intimate is the best choice of words. I’d say we have a deep and lasting friendship. At one time I was an alcoholic, a weakness suffered by many Indians. During that period, I was reckless and foolish. Working as deputy, Tempe arrested me when she caught me slashing the tires of logging trucks. I recognized the fact that she knew little or nothing about her Indian roots. When I was falsely accused of murder, Tempe took on the task of finding the true murderer and proving my innocence. From that time on, I’ve worked at teaching her about the spiritual side of her heritage.

I must admit that Tempe’s husband, Hutch, has had some problems with Tempe’s and my friendship over the year, but it was based in the difference in our spiritual beliefs which he now realizes have many similarities.

Thank you Nick for getting on the hot seat with an ace reporter like me. I hope to hear more about your “gift” in other books with Tempe. To get your hands on RAGING WATERS or other books in the series, please go here: Amazon

Marilyn's also offering you a chance to win free books. To enter my giveaway contest for a copy of the previous Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery, BEARS WITH US. Leave a comment and you're automatically entered. Include your email addy so I can get in touch with you should your name be selected at random. The winner will be announced on my blog (http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com) on December 12, 2012. Good luck!

Raging Water Blurb: Deputy Tempe Crabtree’s investigation of the murder of two close friends is complicated when relentless rain turns Bear Creek into a raging river. Homes are inundated and a mud slide blocks the only road out of Bear Creek stranding many—including the murderer.

I know there are some people who like to read a series in order, but let me reassure you that every book is complete. Though the characters grow through each book, the crime is always solved. Here is the order of the books for anyone who wants to know: Deadly Trail, Deadly Omen, Unequally Yoked, Intervention, Wing Beat, Calling the Dead, Judgment Fire, Kindred Spirits, Dispel the Mist, Invisible Path, Bears With Us, Raging Water.

Bio: Marilyn Meredith is the author of over thirty published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, the latest Raging Water from Mundania Press. Writing as F. M. Meredith, her latest Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel us No Bells, the forth from Oak Tree Press. Marilyn is a member of EPIC, three chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com and follow her blog at http://marilymeredith.blogspot.com/

Marilyn borrows a lot from where she lives in the Southern Sierra for the town of Bear Creek and the surrounding area.

Mitch Malone Mondays: F.M. Merdith's Miqui Sherwood

Welcome to a special edition of Mitch Malone Mondays on Saturday. Today I’m pleased to have F.M. Meredith or Marilyn as she is known to her friends stop by but she usually doesn’t say much. She visits regularly and always brings the most interesting people. Today is no exception. Miqui Sherwood is featured in the next Deputy Tempe Crabtree book called RAGING WATERS. Welcome Miqui. Tell me a little about the country where you live. It is a long way from West Michigan isn’t it?

Miqui: Yes, I live in a small mountain town called Bear Creek in the Southern Sierra, that’s in California, in case you didn’t know. The town is named after the river that runs through town. I don’t know what idiot named it Bear Creek since right now it’s full to overflowing.

I understand you have an interesting hobby and it has something to do with the U.S. Mail. Tell me how it got started and why you do it?

Miqui: I’m crazy about holidays and I love to decorate my home with all my collectibles. I have some priceless and antique Christmas figurines, everything from Santa and Mrs. Claus to groups of carolers I decorate inside and out to celebrate every new season. I even decorate my mailbox.

I’ve been real nice asking you easy questions but I am a reporter and wanted to soften you up before I got to the last couple of questions. You had a criminal element surprise you? What did they want? And what did you do?

Miqui: We’ve had a rash of burglaries in Bear Creek lately. The burglar creeps into people’s houses while they are sleeping and they don’t even know until they wake and find their possessions missing. I woke up when he was in my house and my two precious dogs chased him out. I called Deputy Crabtree and she and her husband came right away but not in time to catch him.

Now if I am in the area, would you open up your home so I could stay? You had any experience with that?

Micqui: I probably would though I had a recent bad experience. More rain than we usually have caused the river to rise and threaten all the homes built near the banks. I offered my two extra rooms to couples that I know on a social level. It was not a good experience.

Thank you Miqui for stopping by. I can’t wait to hear more about your adventures.

Micqui: In Raging Water Deputy Tempe Crabtree’s  investigation of the murder of two close friends is complicated when relentless rain turns Bear Creek into a raging river. Homes are inundated and a mud slide blocks the only road out of Bear Creek stranding many—including the murderer.

Please leave a comment and you could win. The person who leaves comments on the most blogs will have his/her name used for a character in my next book—can choose if you want it in a Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery or a Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel.

Marilyn Meredith is the author of over thirty published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, the latest Raging Water from Mundania Press. Writing as F. M. Meredith, her latest Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel us No Bells, the forth from Oak Tree Press. Marilyn is a member of EPIC, three chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com and follow her blog at http://marilymeredith.blogspot.com/

MWW Day 10 - Marilyn Meredith's Tempe Crabtree

It’s day 10 in the Mystery We Write Blog Tour. I must admit in the times of complete disclosure to have a soft spot for Marilyn Meredith or F.M. Meredith. She was one of the first to read my adventures and I’ve been forever grateful. However, I’m Mitch Malone, a crime beat reporter, and I do have to ask the tough questions. Luckily today, I’m interviewing Deputy Tempe Crabtree from Marilyn’s latest book, BEARS WITH US. Tempe lives and works in and around Bear Creek, a mountain community of the Southern Sierra. I thought it would be fun to learn more about Tempe’s duties as a deputy in a remote area like the one she patrols. Tell me first, where exactly are Bear Creek and the Southern Sierras?

Tempe: We’re in California. The Southern Sierra is the southern part of the Sierra Nevada mountain range located above the San Joaquin Valley. Or to pinpoint it even more, it’s 70 miles North and East of Bakersfield. The town of Bear Creek is small. We’re near part of the Giant Redwood forest and the Bear Creek Indian Reservation.

That gives me a better idea of where you’re located. It sounds like a beautiful place to live. Ever worry about earthquakes?

Tempe: This feels a bit weird to me, being interviewed by a reporter. Because I’m just a deputy and major cases are investigated by major crimes detectives, they are the ones who are usually interviewed.

I know that you are often called on to assist the detective on many cases because you know the area and the people in Bear Creek much better than they do. I hear you are often called to help out with crimes on the reservation too because of your Indian heritage.

Tempe: (Laughing) The detectives have the misconception that the rez Indians will trust me more than them because I’m an Indian too, but I’m afraid it doesn’t always work that way. I do have friends on the reservation, but I’m law enforcement and that right there makes me suspect to many. However, I have more patience than the detectives and because of that, I sometimes can learn more than they can.

Tell me about your job. I cover crime in the big city of Grand River, Michigan. It must be different being a resident deputy in a mountain area than in law enforcement in larger cities.

Tempe: I am the resident deputy, though my usual patrol hours are four to eleven, I’m often called on to take care of problems that come up at other times during the day or night and my days off. The residents tend to call me rather than 911. Other deputies are sent up from the sheriff’s sub-station in Dennison to patrol when I’m not on duty. The CHP sends cars up to patrol regularly too. Many of my calls are different than a city deputy or police officer would get—I often have to shoo cows off the highway and tend to other animal problems.

Being an award-winning reporter I get around.  I hear you’ve had quite a troublesome animal lately.

Tempe: I’ll say. We’ve had numerous visits from bears. I’ve chased bears out off the school yard, out of people’s houses and an apple orchard.

We have bears in Michigan but it is rare that you see them. Is that usual?

Tempe: Because we’re in the mountains, we do have bear sightings, but this year has been unusual because the bears have discovered people food and they like it, especially ice cream.

Don’t you have Animal Control or anything like that to help you out?

Tempe: We have a Fish and Game man, but he has a huge area to cover. He helps me when possible, but sometimes he’s just too far away and I have to do what I can until he can get there.

Sounds dangerous. What about your private life? Do you have time to have one?

Tempe: Sometimes it’s hard. I’m married to a patient man, which certainly helps. Hutch is the pastor of the local church and fortunately he’s willing to assist me when I need him. Because he’s a pastor, he gets nearly as many calls for assistance as I do—and sometimes I help him out.

I’m not big on marriage. Not the marrying kind. Sounds like an ideal marriage and I rarely see any of those.

Tempe: It is most of the time.

Hmmm, my reporter extinct tells me I may be missing something here. Is there anything more you’d like to say about that?

Tempe: A few times I’ve used Native American spiritualism to help me find out the truth about a crime and my husband really doesn’t like me to do that, he fears for my soul. Frankly, I think the Great Spirit my people believe in and the God my husband worships are one and the same.

Oh. I’m not much on religion. Makes me nervous, so let’s stop the interview there. Thank you for answering my questions, Tempe, and if people want to learn more about what happened with the bears they should read the book, BEARS WITH US.

About Bears With Us: Deputy Tempe Crabtree has her hands full when bears turn up in and around Bear Creek, a young teen commits suicide and his parents’ actions are suspicious, a prominent woman files a complaint against Tempe and her preacher husband Hutch, a love affair from long ago comes to light, and a woman suffering from dementia disappears. Purchase the book at http://mundania.com/book.php?title=Bears+With+Us/

Marilyn Meredith is the author of over thirty published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, the latest Bears With Us from Mundania Press. Writing as F. M. Meredith, her latest Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel is Angel Lost, the third from Oak Tree Press. Marilyn is a member of EPIC, Four chapters of Sisters in Crime, including the Central Coast chapter, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com and her blog at http://marilymeredith.blogspot.com/


Make a comment and be registered to win a Mitch Malone Mystery. Drawing to be held after the tour is over next Friday. 

Mitch Malone Mondays - Marilyn Meredith

Mitch Malone here and I'm going to try and clean up my act a bit. I don't have a lot of soft spots but I do for today's featured author, Marilyn Meredith, also known as F.M. Meredith. Marilyn gave a great cover quote for my first adventure, "A Case of Infatuation". Marilyn just released another Rocky Bluff PD Mystery. Marilyn, you accomplish so much with at least two books every year and you are kinda up there in years. To what do you attribute your stamina too?

Marilyn: This question made me laugh. Yep, I am in my late seventies (eek, that sounds old) but inside I feel the same as I always have. I’ve always liked to accomplish things, you even say that’s what drives me. I’m an early riser and that’s a good thing because that’s when my brain functions the best. By late afternoon I’m busy cooking dinner and once everyone’s eaten, I’m done with anything that takes a brain power.

You have some great characters in your books. Tell me how you came up with idea for Rocky Bluff PD?

Marilyn: My police officer son-in-law (who was killed in the line of duty 20 years ago) is the one who got me interested in writing about people in law enforcement and their families. The town of Rocky Bluff is partially based on the beach community we lived in for over 20 years though I moved it farther up the coast between Ventura and Santa Barbara. I wanted it to be a small town with a police department that doesn’t have much money and mostly relies on old-fashioned police work to solve crimes. And of course a lot of the focus in the books is on the personal lives of the police officers and what goes on in their family life.

I interview a lot of police officers and fraternizing between officers is often frowned upon. How do you handle the relationship between Stacey Wilbur and Doug when they work together?


Marilyn: In earlier books, Stacey vowed never to date a police officer. When she began working with Detective Doug Milligan her resolve melted away. In "Angel Lost" the coming wedding between Stacey and Doug is primary to the story. Because it is a small department, and Stacey being the only female officer for awhile, the issue of fraternization between officers has never come up. And as I like to remind people, Rocky Bluff P.D. is my department and I can do it anyway I want. (Smile.)

Gordon Butler is a character that I can relate to. Sometimes I have strings of incredibly bad luck. Is there any relief for me, err him?

Marilyn: Gordon Butler is one of my favorite people. Poor guy, he can’t seem to do much of anything right and adds a bit of comic relief to the more serious stuff that’s going on in Rocky Bluff. He’s a by-the-book officer which sometimes adds to his problems. He ends up being a bit of a hero in "Angel Lost." In 2012, the next book in the series will feature Gordon.

Do you have actual angels? Do the angels help the police solve crime?

The title, "Angel Lost", has two meanings which I can’t really tell you because it would give away too much. But there is only one angel who appears in a store window at night and though it’s important, whether or not it’s real is not for me to decide. After you read about the angel, let me know what you think. And no, the angel doesn’t help solve any crimes—but it is important.

Why do you say the book is written by F.M. Meredith instead of Marilyn since everyone knows you by that name?

Marilyn: When I wrote the first book in the series I thought that if I used my initials people wouldn’t know I was female. The majority of the first books were written from male point-of-view. When the first book came out the publisher put my picture on the back cover, so I might as well have just used my regular name.

Thank you, Mitch for taking the time to interview me, this has been fun.

I think my author had the same thought when doing her book, but I don’t want to say anything. Glad you could take the time from your busy blog schedule to be interviewed by yours truly. If you want to see more information about "Angel Lost" or the other books penned by Marilyn, check out her website at: http://fictionforyou.com

Day 2 of Twelve Days of Great Reads and Great Friends: Marilyn Meredith, aka F.M Meredith

Marilyn’s name became very familiar to me when I got the proof of my first cover. She had graciously given me a cover quote and I had never met her before. That changed when I attended the Public Safety Writers Association Conference two years ago and saw in person how special she is. Marilyn has so much energy. She recruits all the speakers for the conference (which I highly recommend) as well as writing three to four books a year and I can’t tell you how much publicity and events she does. It is exhausting to talk about.

She writes a variety of genres from romance to mystery and some with paranormal elements. She has two mystery series currently. One through our publisher, Oak Tree Press, is the Rocky Bluff PD series, the latest book called An Axe to Grind. I haven’t read this one yet but did read her previous release, No Sanctuary. It was a great read with Stacy as a police officer in a small rural department and her investigation into the death of a minister’s wife. It kept me guessing until the end and that made perfect sense. You can’t go wrong with her Rocky Bluff PD books. Her second series through another publisher is the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series which revolves around Indian legends and real crime. I haven’t read these yet but they are on my to-be-read pile as soon as I get my Kindle for Christmas. Marilyn, if I am still going half as strong as you are now, my life will be full and satisfying.

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences, your contacts and your time with so many writers.

Check out Marilyn’s many books at: http://fictionforyou.com/

Getting Motivated, Please Help!

How come when you finish a big project you give yourself permission for a little down time and before you know it, you don’t know how to get started again. That’s how this past week has been for me. On Sunday, I sent A Case of the Accidental Intersection, my second book in the Mitch Malone Mystery Series to the publisher, Oak Tree Press. That was a huge relief and I did a major happy danced and beamed for the rest of the day. I also gave myself permission to not really do anything on Monday. Well, here it is Wednesday and I’m trying to get motivated and well, it just isn’t working.

The good news is that I had two really good guest blogs. One on Tuesday at Creatures and Crooks Books at (http://www.cncbooks.com/blog/2010/02/09/crime-reporter-mitch-malone-checks-in/ and another one today by fellow Oak Tree Press author F.M. aka Marilyn Meredith’s blog, Marilyn’s Musings. (http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/) Marilyn is in charge of getting the speakers for the Public Safety Writer’s Conference in June in sunny Las Vegas. She has some great ones lines up. Check out the line up at http://www.policewriter.com/ Conference/conference.htm . I went last year and it was great! I walked away with some great writing tips, great contacts and some really good friends. I highly recommend it. I’m looking for a cheap flight for this year.

Now I have those shameless plugs out of the way, I have to get back to my topic of getting back to work. I am truly wrung out though. I have no idea what I want to work on. Do you ever feel like that? So many things you want to do and no idea where to start? Tell me how you motivated yourself. I really need some ideas!