Please welcome prolific author Marilyn Meredith, who will discuss writing her newest Tempe Crabtree mystery, Seldom Traveled.
Fiction Too Close to Fact
by Marilyn Meredith
This is not the first time this has happened to me—writing a book and then having a similar thing happen in real life after the book is finished.
When I began writing Seldom Traveled I didn’t know I’d be including a raging forest fire. But as happens so often, as the characters became defined and the mystery developed, I knew that a huge fire had to happen.
After I’d finished the book and sent it off, the first big fire of the season broke out in the rugged canyons and hillsides above Santa Barbara. Next came the horrendous fire at Lake Isabella that consumed 100 homes and took two lives.
In the foothills and the mountains where I live conditions are prime for a fire—a drought followed by enough rain to produce lots of growth that dried quickly when the weather turned hot. Many of the trees in the mountains are dying because of the several years of drought, creating plenty more fuel for a fire.
As I’m writing this, so far, we’ve been spared.
My heroine, Tempe Crabtree, in her role as deputy, is assigned to make sure all the residents of remote homes and cabin have left the area. The job itself is dangerous as she avoids the fast moving flames—but that’s not the only threat she must face.
Other stories I’ve written have had scenes and parts in them that ended up being repeated in part in real life—either something that was reported in the news, or happened to someone I knew.
I like it much better when something I write doesn’t end up happening later. . .
Marilyn Meredith
Seldom Traveled Blurb:
The tranquility 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.
Marilyn Meredith’s Bio:
Marilyn 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. She is a member Mystery Writers of American, three chapters of Sisters in Crime, and is a board member of Public Safety Writers of America.
http://fictionforyou.com
http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/
She’s also on Facebook and Twitter as MarilynMeredith.
New Contest: Winners will be randomly picked from those leaving the most comments on the blog posts. Each winner can choose one of the earlier books in the series as either a print book or e-book.
Tomorrow I’ll be with Maggie King at http://maggingking.com/
I’m confused as to whether I’m supposed to leave a comment here or on Marilyn’s blog to win one of her books. Either way, her character and setting sound interesting. Not everyone lives in a city, and it’s nice to see that reflected in a book.
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Right here is where you are to comment. Hi, Gail, I’ve got your name.
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Thank you for hosting me today. I always enjoy my visits here. For an update, we did have a fire in our area about a week ago, fortunately it was put out quickly.
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That’s very interesting, Marilyn. Can’t wait to read this book. It sounds wonderful. May I suggest that, in the future, you be very careful what you write about. 🙂 Our little Colorado mountain town is in the same situation with lots of beetle killed trees surrounding our town.
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I never plan for what I write to happen. Fortunately no one’s been murdered around here or they might com looking for me.
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Hmph, wonder if you might be psychic, Marilyn? Glad those terrifying fires have spared you. Good wishes for many readers and all good reviews.
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Not psychic, I’m sure. We are very lucky so far this year.
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I don’t know if you read it or not, but there is a bear invasion in Bears with Us and last fall we had a really bad bear invasion here in Springville.
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Read Seldom Traveled in one sitting. That is the sign of a very good book! That you had the fire in there just made it so much more real because I could visualize what you described.
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Thank you, Dee, glad you liked it.
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Finished Seldom Traveled in one setting. That is the sign of a very good book. The forest fire helped set the tone and made the book feel very real time. Best one yet, I think.
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It’s almost as if some writers are subconsciously in tune to what going to happen.
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Maybe it’s something to do with the writing muse.
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Those fires are horrific. When your book touches on subjects that are possible in certain areas, coincidences can happen. It’s happened in my limited writing career. You write so much in comparison. I took a look at your website and saw your many books are showing there. It’s hard for many to grasp anyone having produced all that. Enjoyed your post.
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Linda, I’ve been at this for a long time–that’s why so many books.
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Very interesting about having similar things happen after the book is written. That’s got to happen at times when you write as many books as you do. Looks very interesting.
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Like I told Nancy, maybe it has to do with writing muse.
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We have had the same experience where reality duplicates our books. Very eerie!
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Hi, Lorna, it is a strange phenomena.
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