F.M. Meredith, Guest Author

This week I'm pleased to have F.M. (aka Marilyn) Meredith as my guest. One of my favorite authors, Marilyn is a prolific writer and a good friend. Her books will keep you on your toes and entertain you. Welcome, Marilyn!

 

Why a Blog Tour?

Blog tours are a lot of work, especially if you plan them yourselves, which I’ve been doing for a long time. The first thing is to find hosts willing to have you as a guest, next comes juggling the schedule—what dates will you appear where. Then a unique post must be written for each blog. Sometimes the host wants a particular topic, other times you have to come up with something on your own.

Of course, you have to send the post along with all the important information, a jpg of the cover and one of you to each person in plenty of time for the host to schedule it.

When the time comes that the post is going to appear, it’s necessary to promote it everywhere you can think of so people will visit the host’s site and read what you have to say. Yes, it’s a time consuming process.

The main reason I arrange blog tours myself is because I want to have hosts who like mysteries with followers who do too.

What is the benefit of a blog tour? For me, it’s getting information about my latest book out to as many different people as I can. Often, I can see the results in the fact that people have actually bought the book on Amazon by watching the numbers and of course, when reviews appear.

Another reason I do blog tours is I really like to write. For me it’s fun to think up new things to say about my writing and the latest book.

I love having visitors on my own blog too. It’s a great way to showcase authors and their new books.

F. M.  aka Marilyn Meredith

#13 in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series, Unresolved Blurb:

Rocky Bluff P.D. is underpaid and understaffed and when two dead bodies turn up, the department is stretched to the limit. The mayor is the first body discovered, the second an older woman whose death is caused in a bizarre manner. Because no one liked the mayor, including his estranged wife and the members of the city council, the suspects are many, but each one has an alibi.

Copies may be purchased from Book and Table by emailing bookandtablevaldosta@gmail.com with a 10% discount and free shipping as well as all the usual places.

Bio: F. M. Meredith lived for many years in a small beach community much like Rocky Bluff. She has many relatives and friends who are in law enforcement and share their experiences and expertise with her. She taught writing for Writers Digest Schools for 10 years, and was an instructor at the prestigious Maui Writers Retreat, and has taught at many writers’ conferences. Marilyn is a member of three chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and serves on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. She lives in the foothills of the Sierra. Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com and her blog at http://marilymeredith.blogspot.com/

Webpage: http://fictionforyou.com

Blog: https://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://facebook.com/marilynmeredith

And tomorrow, May 5, I wrote about Putting a Blog Host in your Mystery.

http://susantuttlewrites.com/

This week my guest is Jean Henry Mead, author of the Logan & Cafferty mysteries. Her latest book, Mystery of the Black Cross, took me in directions I hadn’t expected. She explains these directions in her post, and I think you’ll find it quite interesting.

Note: Jean has decided to give a copy of her new book, Mystery of the Black Cross, to one of the commenters for her post. Yea!

Thank you for being here this week, Jean!

 

Mystery of the Black Cross

By Jean Henry Mead

Terrorism has headlined the news all too often and is the underlying theme of my latest novel, Mystery of the Black Cross, released this month. Book seven of my Logan & Cafferty mystery/suspense series features two feisty, 61-year old amateur women sleuths who find a black cross painted on their front door, which they discover marks them for arson and murder as well as local terrorism.

I had originally planned to focus on laser surgery mishaps when Sarah’s face is badly burned, but I encountered historical research concerning the Teutonic Knights as well as the Heart Mountain internment camp of World War II, and decided to work both events into the book when Dana researches the origin of the black cross.

The Teutonic Knights, whose insignia was a cross embedded on a white chest shield, had been formed in the year 1190 to establish hospitals and escort pilgrimages to the Baltics and the Holy Land. The organization evolved, however, into anarchist splinter groups, abbreviated ABC, which still support political prisoners worldwide, including legal representation and clothing for those imprisoned in Siberia.

The novel’s police chief and a rogue detective, who considers himself a latter day Don Juan, figure prominently in the plot, which led me to Wyoming's Heart Mountain internment camp for than more than 14,000 Japanese civilian prisoners during World War II.

I traveled to northwestern Wyoming to witness the former internment camp, which I consider a concentration camp. Four of the barracks where the internees lived are still standing along with a guard tower. The living conditions were deplorable, and I read interviews with some of the people who had lived there, which I included in the book.

When the war ended, each former prisoner was offered a train ticket back to the West Coast and $25 to begin a new life. And Congress finally allocated funds in 1988 and 1992 to compensate the survivors for the loss of their homes and livelihoods. The state of Wyoming also erected a monument to commemorate those who enlisted from within the camp to serve in the army during the war.

Working both histories into the novel was easier than I had anticipated. I included humor and a bit of romance to hopefully balance the seriousness and relevancy to the history we're producing today.

Mystery of the Black Cross is available at http://amzn.to/1X63EHE in digital and print editions.

Bio: Jean Henry Mead is the author of 22 books, more than half of them novels, which include mystery/suspense novels, children’s mysteries, Wyoming historicals and nonfiction books. One of them was used as a college textbook. She began her writing career as a news reporter in California, later serving as a staff writer/photographer for the Wyoming statewide newspaper while freelancing for The Denver Post. Jean also served as a magazine, news and small press editor. Her magazine articles have been published domestically as well as abroad.

Her web site: www.JeanHenryMead.com

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw's website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

Call to Action

Writing an action scene can be kind of tricky for some of us. Our first inclination is to write it just like the rest of a book, commas and all, but such is not the case. If you want your reader to feel the action along with your characters, you need to let go of some of those commas and long sentences and start clipping and chipping away at your words.

Let’s say you’re writing a chase scene. Put yourself in the driver’s seat. If you were chasing someone, or heaven forbid, being chased by someone, how likely is it you’d be carrying on a conversation with your passenger? Not likely at all.

Your passenger, on the other hand, might have plenty to say – or not. Grace and her mother were out for a quiet Sunday drive when she looked in her rearview mirror. An ax murderer had threatened her life and he was in the car behind her. He had one hand on the wheel and held up an ax with the other.

Does Grace say, “Mother, check your seatbelt and make sure it’s securely fastened. I’ll be driving rather fast and I don’t know what the outcome will be. We’re being chased by a man with an ax, who just happened to threaten my life.”

More likely, the action scene would be something like the following:

“Hang on!” Grace yelled. Her foot pressed metal to the pedal.

“What? What are you doing? Why are you driving so fast? What’s the matter with you, Grace?”

“Behind us,” she said. Her eyes traveled between the rearview mirror and the road. “Ax.”

Her mother looked over her shoulder. “Hit it!” she screamed.

There was no more conversation. Grace slipped in and out of traffic. On to the freeway. Check the speedometer. Eighty. Ninety.

He followed closely.

Tires squealed.

Horns honked.

Mother hyperventilated.

Lights flashed behind Grace. She breathed a sigh of relief, pulling over.

The ax murderer waved his weapon at her while he slowed and passed her.

Notice that in most of this chase scene, sentences are short and clipped. That denotes action. Asking her mother about her seatbelt and explaining the situation doesn’t. Keep it short, keep it clipped and keep it simple for the best action. Sometimes a one word sentence can tell most of the story.

Let’s say Grace and her friend, Thelma, are being chased and they’re on foot. Is it likely they’re going to be able to talk while they’re running? No. It’s more likely they’d be out of breath and panting, and maybe pointing at a place to hide, or a shortcut to lose the ax murderer. When they do stop running, they’re going to continue panting and try to catch their breath, not discussing the madman who’s chasing them.

Grace finally catches her breath. “Did you see where he went?”

            Thelma shakes her head, panting.

            “Right behind you, lady,” the madman says breathlessly. His shaky, ax-wielding hand drops to his side.

The point to all of this is that when you’re writing action, write so it feels like action. Let the reader (mentally) run right behind the chase and feel they’re a part of it. Keep it short. Keep it brisk. Keep it lively. Keep it real. Let yourself imagine what it would feel like if you were in your character’s shoes.

Actually, since we’re talking about an ax murderer, I’d rather not be in Grace’s shoes. But, really, he’d sure make people move to action.

Also, remember that for the most part this same thing would apply to a fight scene, whether it’s verbal or physical. (Yes, people can become winded if they’re yelling.)

One more thought. Sometimes when things are becoming dicey in a story, but it’s not an action scene, commas can slow down a sentence just as well as they can in the action scene. “I think we’re in real trouble. Let’s get out of here.” vs. “I think we’re in real trouble, so we’d better be moving and get out of here.” It’s subtle, but there is a difference.

Until next time, I sincerely hope you don’t find yourself mixed up in a real life action scene unless you’re running in a foot race for charity. Have a great week, and enjoy a chocolate bar, my cure-all for everything.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website (Recently rebuilt and updated)

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

Choosing One Moment – A Time Travel Mystery is available in both ebook and paperback format. Looking for a different life? Try time traveling.