Please welcome prolific author Marilyn Meredith, who will discuss writing her newest Tempe Crabtree mystery, Seldom Traveled.

Seldom Traveled Front Cover

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.
Lake Isabella Forest Fire

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.

Me at A Crushing Death Book signing
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/