Author Yearbook

AY Talks Back

We were thrilled to have some time to chat with Marilyn Meredith, who is involved in the 2012 Author Yearbook.

Author Yearbook: When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?

Marilyn Meredith: I never consciously thought about it, I just always wrote. I wrote stories, plays and short books when I was a kid, produced and wrote everything for my own magazine when I was in junior high, I was newsletter editor for PTA when my kids were in school, and I wrote plays for my Camp Fire Girls to perform. Didn’t really settle down to write fiction until the kids were mostly grown—then I wrote like crazy.

Author Yearbook: Tell us a little about your work and how that ties in to your goal to get out your books…

Marilyn Meredith: Right now I’m writing two series, which means two books a year. The latest in my Deputy Tempe Crabtree series is Bears With Us and in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series, the new one is called No Bells. Sometimes it’s a bit overwhelming as I’m usually promoting a book in one series while writing one in the other. Though both books are about people in law enforcement, they are very different.

Author Yearbook: Do you have any special things you do when writing? For example, some authors listen to a certain type of music, others drink a glass of wine (some too many glasses), and still others exercise to release that creative spirit. What do you do, if anything?

Marilyn Meredith: I never listen to music while writing, but I always drink either Chai tea latte or regular Chai tea. I sip, so it takes me a long time, and sometimes I forget all about my full cup of Chai.

Author Yearbook: What is your greatest challenge as a writer?
Marilyn Meredith: Creating a new and different plot for the next book in each of my series. I write each book as a stand alone, but I must have continuity about some things that have happened in previous books. For my Deputy Tempe Crabtree mysteries, I always want to include some Native American folklore or mysticism. In the Rocky Bluff P.D. series, I try to choose a different character to spotlight in each book while still letting the reader know what is happening with all the others.

Author Yearbook: What is your greatest reward as a writer?

Marilyn Meredith: I’ve had lots of personal rewards over the years, but the greatest is when someone tells me that he or she loved my book.

Author Yearbook: What do you do when you aren’t writing? Any hobbies or special interests?

Marilyn Meredith: I have a huge family, five kids, 18 grandkids, and 12 great-grands. I love spending time with any of them. I also love to read and usually am reading two books at a time (one in my bedroom and one on the dining room table.) Hubby and I both love movies and try to go to the theater to see one at least twice a month, and we watch movies on DVDs too.

Author Yearbook: In keeping with our theme for the 2012 Yearbook of “Then and Now”, what is your favorite childhood memory?

Marilyn Meredith: When I was in grammar school, I had lots of freedom. It wasn’t like it is today. I grew up in L.A. and the neighborhood I lived in had no parks. I used to pack up all my stuff (the book I was reading and a notebook and pencil so I could write my own stories) in my bicycle’s basket and I’d ride around until I found a lovely front lawn with a weeping willow tree and I’d settle down right there and spend the afternoon. Looking back, I wonder why none one ever came out and said, “Little girl, what do you think you’re doing?”

Author Yearbook: That’s hilarious, Marilyn. I love that story. What are you working on right now? What can we expect to see from you in the future?

Marilyn Meredith: I just sent my next Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery in to the publisher.  I’m working on the promotion for No Bells. I have another Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel finished, but am busy editing it.

Author Yearbook: Anything you’d like to add?

Marilyn Meredith: I love writing. I’ve always written, if no one had ever published one of my novels, I’d still be writing. When stories fill you’re head, you must get them out.

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