tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77329183964186566182024-02-07T17:32:17.295-08:00Will Kill for a StoryThe Mystery Blog of San Joaquin Sisters in CrimeMarilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.comBlogger115125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-6660326153975047252017-01-25T01:30:00.000-08:002017-01-25T01:30:17.383-08:00Writing Female Heroes, by Simon Wood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "garamond" , serif;">For our next meeting, Saturday, February 4, 10 a.m. we are delighted to once again welcome one of our favorites, Simon Wood.</span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "garamond" , serif;">He has just released a third stand alone novel with a
female protagonist. <span class="contextualextensionhighlight">He will
speak on writing for female 'heroes', changes in the publishing industry and
the excitement of having a movie option!</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "garamond" , serif;"><span class="contextualextensionhighlight">Described as “a dark demented angel” by author Ken Bruen, Simon Wood has built a reputation for concocting wild and dangerous thrillers that would have given Hitchcock nightmares. His writing takes an even darker and stranger turn as Simon Janus, his horror fiction identity. Having been a petrochemical engineer, race car driver, pilot and private investigator, it’s not surprising he sees the world a little differently. Originally from England, he lives in Northern California with his wife, Julie, and a menagerie of rescued animals. Poke around to learn more about Simon.</span></span></div>
Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-39987650803748728452017-01-15T13:24:00.002-08:002017-01-23T11:36:10.718-08:00A Big Change<div class="MsoNormal">
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It will be left up for awhile so people have access to prior posts, but from now on, all new blog posts will be on the new San Joaquin Sisters in Crime webpage.</div>
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Be sure and visit for all the latess news from the San Joaquin chapter of Sisters in Crime!</div>
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Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-55454613913384142942017-01-14T01:30:00.000-08:002017-01-14T01:30:28.017-08:00National Sisters in CrimeWhat is the national Sisters in Crime organization about – what does it<br />
do?<br />
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The national Sisters in Crime organization sets the mission and vision and articulates<br />
five-year strategic plans to determine priorities for spending, sponsoring, supporting the<br />
membership. The web site is a great place to check out what is happening, and see how<br />
you might fit in. Members of chapters are required to be members of national, too, so<br />
they get the full benefit of networking, industry alerts, and special opportunities such as<br />
the recent call for authors who are interested to submit published books for the<br />
Smashwords thumb drive giveaway at Bouchercon.<br />
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Every year, all the members vote on a slate of officers. We meet, mostly by phone, during<br />
the year, and vote on a number of chapter proposals for grant funds and other issues<br />
affecting the members.<br />
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Here’s some background taken off the web site (www.sistersincrime.org).<br />
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SinC was founded in 1986 and is now 3600 members strong in 48 chapters world-wide,<br />
offering networking, advice and support to mystery authors. We are authors, readers,<br />
publishers, agents, booksellers and librarians bound by our passion for the mystery<br />
genre and our support of women who write mysteries.<br />
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Mission: Promote the ongoing advancement, recognition and professional<br />
development of women crime writers.<br />
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Vision: Serve as the voice for excellence & diversity in crime writing.<br />
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Values: Values are the guiding principles embraced by the SinC team.<br />
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• Promote respect and embrace diversity<br />
• Continue our non-hierarchical tradition<br />
• Support members along the publishing continuum<br />
• Advocate for women crime writers<br />
• Cultivate a positive presence within the crime writing community<br />
• Educate and inspire<br />
• Foster integrity and ethics<br />
• Celebrate writing excellence<br />
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Goals: Some organizations consider goals as their core competencies. After input to the<br />
facilitator and extensive first day discussions, the board set four goal areas or core<br />
competencies.<br />
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Membership Growth, Retention & Value Creation<br />
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Chapter Relations<br />
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The Voice of the Industry & Promotion of the Profession<br />
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Educational ExcellenceMarilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-23124305713500371402017-01-09T01:30:00.000-08:002017-01-09T01:30:17.324-08:00California's Deadliest Women by David Kulczyk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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David Kulczyk regaled us before lunch with tales of the most horrible women murdered in California history. He was worried about telling gory details before we ate--he had no idea how many gory tales we've heard at our meetings over the years.<br />
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He said that some of these women had no choice--others had everything and were just downright evil.<br />
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He told us that four doctors' wive killed their husband, and about a twin who killer her sister and had no remorse afterwards.<br />
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None of these tales have happy endings. And for most of these people, he feels that it's almost better to let them rot in prison.<br />
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Some of his stories were familiar, some not.<br />
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You can get his book from Amazon.<br />
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Blurb: We like to think of women as nurturers, not murderers, but women do kill. <b><i>California’s Deadliest Women</i></b> is the definitive guide to the murderesses of the Golden State, a horrifying compendium of women driven to kill by jealousy, greed, desperation, or their own inner demons. From Brynn Hartman, who killed her husband, comedian Phil Hartman, to chemist Larissa Shuster, who dissolved her husband in acid, to dominatrix Omaima Aree Nelson, who cooked and ate her husband, the 28 women profiled in <b><i>California’s Deadliest Women</i></b> show that the fairer sex can be as evil―and as deadly―as any man.Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-65821580756625547882017-01-08T01:30:00.000-08:002017-01-08T01:30:06.362-08:00A Conversion to Mystery Reading by Chris Paige<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">People
are converted to many things, things like: faith, dietary decisions, exercise
routines, and PBS guru’s. People convert for many reasons, and all converts
have a story to share of being impacted by something that opened their minds
and made them think differently about the world around them. I, myself, was
converted to reading mystery novels as a sixth-grader who found solace from the
“latch-key kid” scenario by snuggling up in a bean-bag chair in the corner of
my public library with a book by John Bellairs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">John
Bellairs, <span style="background: white; color: #181818;">was an American mystery
and thriller writer best-known for the children’s classic </span><i><span style="color: #181818;">The House with a Clock in its Walls (1973). </span></i><span style="color: #181818;">It’s a story about an orphan boy, Lewis, who is sent
to live with his mysterious uncle in a fantastic house that has a
perplexing dilemma. The story has a kind of <i>Lion, Witch, and the
Wardrobe</i> meets Flavia deLuce feel to it, and is suspenseful to
the last page. <i>The House with a Clock in its Walls</i> starts off a Lewis
Barnavelt series of twelve books, and although the books are categorized
as children’s book, they are contenders to some of the best adult mystery
novels I’ve come across. </span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sometimes it’s nice (especially as a new year begins) to reflect
on why we enjoy the things we do and when we were converted to them. Looking
back for me as a young girl (who, as an adult, is an avid reader of bakery,
coffee house, knitting, cat, and private-eye mystery novels), I fell in love
with the adventure perpetuated from characters who were making sense of the
world around them one clue at a time. So, if you’re looking for
a good mystery read to cozy up to this winter, add <i>The House with
a Clock in its Walls</i> to your list. PS- If possible find and early edition
as the illustrations are delightfully Masterpiece Theatre like.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-76138827773775043412017-01-02T01:30:00.000-08:002017-01-02T01:30:16.172-08:00A Review by Terrell Byrd<b><i>California’s Deadliest Women: Dangerous Dames and Murderous Moms</i></b><br />
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By David Kulczyk<br />
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During the holiday season I watch uplifting shows and read books with group hugs and happily ever after. Well usually I do, but this year is different. I picked up Kulczyk’s (pronounced Coal-check) latest edgy history of killers and victims in California. There are no happy endings in the twenty-eight tales in this volume. There is a lot of blood, senseless death and truly crazed females, but no heroines, true love or redemption.<br />
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This book is the closest thing to a bag of potato chips for the mind I have come across in a long time. I told myself, I would just read one. Or two. And there I was half an hour later cooking dinner while I read just one more. And then eating with the paperback in one hand and a fork in the other. After a while I was at the bibliography and couldn’t believe I had wolfed the whole thing. But I did!<br />
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Perhaps the most powerful takeaway from this book is that murderesses, if I may use an old-fashioned word, are still relatively uncommon (although there are more in this generation than before). Kulczyk states that he started with under a hundred really proven cases of hands on murder by women in our state. He used various factors to sort through and picked out the stories that showed real intention to take the life of another with no remorse for the deed.<br />
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An interesting nonfiction read containing more real evil than a Stephen King novel. Recommended.<br />
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<i>Saturday, Jan 7, 2017. 10AMou will get the opportunity to meet David Kulczek and purchase his book if you attend San Joaquin Sisters in Crime January 7, 2017 meeting at 10 a.m. </i><br />
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<i>Yosemite Falls Restaurant, on Ashlan, Westside of 99.</i>Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-35550427604255280092016-12-22T01:30:00.000-08:002016-12-28T05:25:05.216-08:00January's Speaker: David Kulczyk: California's Deadliest Women<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk1sdaJVuE8ZDUS_JlsDsCVfg5GVpmMPuXTcyz71oEKDM8oDKgO-nBmvp_8T5JX1WU_z3mYcWFuLcRXlFOZlO_qtpSOddpG3FYfECAulOuNJMKaTdFBb-5dXWzWus2mz8Hx-pQTJuY35u_/s1600/David+Kulezyk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk1sdaJVuE8ZDUS_JlsDsCVfg5GVpmMPuXTcyz71oEKDM8oDKgO-nBmvp_8T5JX1WU_z3mYcWFuLcRXlFOZlO_qtpSOddpG3FYfECAulOuNJMKaTdFBb-5dXWzWus2mz8Hx-pQTJuY35u_/s1600/David+Kulezyk.jpg" /></a></div>
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Join us on January 7, 2016 when our speaker will be David
Kulczyk, a fringe history maven. </div>
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His
topic? <i>California’s Deadliest</i> <i>Women:
Dangerous Dames and Murderous Moms</i>, which also happens to be the
title of his newest nonfiction book. </div>
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Think true stories from the National Enquirer that retain respect for
the victims. Included is our local claim
to infamy: Clovis’ Larissa Schuster who
killed her husband with acid sold by her own chemical company.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Bio:<br />
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Born to first-generation Americans in Bay City, Michigan, David Kulczyk
(pronounced Coal-check) is a Sacramento-based historian, freelance writer and
award-winning author of short fiction. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">He entered college at the age of 40
after working as a factory worker, sous chef, musician, warehouseman, fish
butcher, process server, barista and bike messenger. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Kulczyk’s work has
appeared in the SF Guardian, the East Bay Express, the Chico News and Review,
Maximum Ink Music Magazine, The Isthmus, Madison Magazine, the Seattle Times,
Pop Culture Press, Strange Magazine and the Sacramento News and Review. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">He is
the author of "California Justice: Shootouts, Lynchings and Assassinations
in the Golden State" (2008); "Death in California: The Bizarre,
Freakish, and Just Curious Ways People Die in the Golden State" (2009);
and "California Fruits, Flakes, and Nuts: True Tales of California
Crazies, Crackpots, and Creeps" (2013), all available from Craven Street
Books. Kulczyk lived in Seattle for most of his adult life, with stays in
Austin, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Madison, Wisconsin; and Amsterdam, Uitgeest and
Limmen in The Netherlands. He has lived in Sacramento since 2002.<br />
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NEW LUNCH PROCEDURE<br />
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1. No need to reserve, you will have the whole Yosemite Falls lunch menu to choose from.<br />
2. Please arrive by 9:45 and sit at your table until a server takes your lunch order. Then if you wish you can mingle and visit.<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
<!--[endif]--></span>
3. Each member will be given their own bill to pay at end oflunch. Food & drinks will be itemized separately so drinks are optional. Water will still be provided at the tables. Tip will be automatically added to the bill.<br />
4. Note: there is good selection of senior lunches which are smaller portions and cheaper in cost. And most salads come in two sizes.<br />
5. Visitors will be charged a $10 fee at the door.<br />
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Yosemite Falls Restaurant<br />
On Ashlan, West side of 99<br />
Saturday, Jan 7, 2017. 10AM<br />
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Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-17467566657405101612016-12-11T07:19:00.001-08:002016-12-11T07:19:06.790-08:00Wishing you All the Best of the Holiday Season!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg0kY9G57z45kD0ZIPoARAGFWbS4vGIcInhOMkA3rkPxkTo0s-b9Ef1otxNuHxrmPm66CRgSO9d_5XSMQh0tG08CGPfze_Ix8vQupE8CKFpQJa3MLZEhPFdjJ1QZkVCFighM-gtGk4rVW9/s1600/Seasons+Greetings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg0kY9G57z45kD0ZIPoARAGFWbS4vGIcInhOMkA3rkPxkTo0s-b9Ef1otxNuHxrmPm66CRgSO9d_5XSMQh0tG08CGPfze_Ix8vQupE8CKFpQJa3MLZEhPFdjJ1QZkVCFighM-gtGk4rVW9/s400/Seasons+Greetings.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-92197785308698769782016-12-06T12:42:00.003-08:002016-12-06T12:42:43.665-08:00San Joaquin Sisters in Crime Christmas PartyIf you didn't come, you missed a fun time.<br />
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It was great to see our president, Terrell Byrd, so fit looking after her big health scare and operation that followed.<br />
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Also, Sunny Frazer came, just home from her kidney transplant. She looking and feeling spectacular.<br />
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We played several mystery-connected games, and then we participated in the great and wild gift stealing game. Only this time not too many stole, but seemed content with the gift they chose.<br />
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We ordered off the menu--something new, and it seems to work. And we had lots of delicious desserts to try.<br />
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Enjoy the holiday season one and all! And I hope you receive lots of mysteries for gifts!<br />
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<br />Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-12290279080656967942016-11-28T07:18:00.000-08:002016-11-28T07:18:01.153-08:00A Holiday Offer<span style="color: #010101; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Most of you know that I write the Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series. To introduce more folks to the series, I've put together this deal:</span><br />
<span style="color: #010101; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #010101; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #010101; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">For the
price of postage, $6.50, I'll send you the first three books in my Deputy Tempe
Crabtree series at no cost: Deadly Omen, Intervention and Wing Beat. (The
actual 2nd one, Unequally Yoked, is only available from the publisher: Mundania
Press and regular outlets. </span><br />
<span style="color: #010101; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #010101; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Send a check to me, at PO Box 526, Springville CA
93265. (USA addresses only, please.) Or you can use Pay Pal. If you don't have my email address, leave a comment below and ask for it.</span><br />
<span style="color: #010101; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #010101; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">For those of you who don't know, Tempe is a Native American deputy who works in and around the fictional town of Bear Creek in the southern Sierra. (It has an uncanny resemblance to Springville though it's 1000 feet higher in altitude.)</span><br />
<span style="color: #010101; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #010101; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Tempe is married to the local pastor who is often concerned when she uses Indian mysticism to help solve a crime. </span><br />
<span style="color: #010101; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #010101; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The three books I'm offering are:</span><br />
<span style="color: #010101; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A murder at a Pow Wow tests Tempe's investigative skills.</span></div>
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<br />
<span style="color: #010101; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Tempe and Hutch plan a romantic getaway at a mountain lodge. Among the guests are several washed-up movie people. During a blizzard one of them is missing.</span><br />
<span style="color: #010101; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZRqr_Ztih7HgfQ2NEvVG1-pAumIa7jTL6E_1vOzman7M_XXSCpfpqVIFjv1HLnPeouKYGmy2p1QbCbCyeXWx0qiPrJL0DBUtLMGk8hO70TCC3LxJm9BsOwAobdBIhL7xO5HwmYNTJgnUx/s1600/Wing_Beat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZRqr_Ztih7HgfQ2NEvVG1-pAumIa7jTL6E_1vOzman7M_XXSCpfpqVIFjv1HLnPeouKYGmy2p1QbCbCyeXWx0qiPrJL0DBUtLMGk8hO70TCC3LxJm9BsOwAobdBIhL7xO5HwmYNTJgnUx/s320/Wing_Beat.jpg" width="201" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #010101; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #010101; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">A hidden marijuana farm and a grandfather with troubles keep Tempe busy.</span><br />
<span style="color: #010101; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #010101; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Marilyn</span>Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-85769024645293225422016-11-20T06:41:00.001-08:002016-11-20T06:41:14.675-08:00LOOKING FOR STRANGE by Simon Wood<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
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<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">“Once you eliminate the
impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.”
~Sherlock Holmes<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #404041; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">I’m totally
with Sherlock on this one…especially when it comes to the improbable. I’m
drawn to the weird, odd and bizarre. I’m fascinated by the oddities in
life that shouldn’t happen. They appeal to my imaginative
sensibilities. Blame Roald Dahl and Rod Serling for making me believe in
the crazy. It’s the reason why I’m a rabid fan of the show <b>BANSHEE</b>
but not <b>LAW AND ORDER</b>. <b>BANSHEE</b> is crazy, intense and over
the top and only works when the universe’s cosmic tumblers are off, whereas <b>LAW
AND ORDER</b> is rooted in the now and the real, which makes it totally mundane
to me (sorry Dick Wolf). If I want mundane, I can pick up a newspaper or
watch the evening news. I want it weird. I’m an escapist!
What can I say?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #404041; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">That’s why
one criticism of my stories is that they push the limits of believability—and
that’s true. They do. But for all that limit pushing, they don’t go
outside the realm of the possible. I go out of my way to pay attention to
the strange happenings in the real world. I think I have a fascination
with the strange because I possess a small talent for calamity myself. I
have many firsthand accounts of how my life went off the rails. One
example was when I had a near fender bender on a roundabout which then
developed into someone filing a fraudulent insurance claim against me.
That led to me being charged with half a dozen driving offenses and was topped
off by the police handing me a confession they’d written for me to sign.
Seems unlikely, but it happened to me so things like this must happen to others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #404041; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">I’ve
discovered some tragic and cruel twists of fate such as a Sacramento motorcycle
cop who responded to a fender bender caused by an elderly man who pulled
out of a turn and tee-boned a car. The cop felt bad for the elderly man
and let him off with a warning instead of citing him. The following week,
the same elderly man did the exact same thing at the same intersection.
This time he struck and killed the motorcycle cop who’d let him off. The
weird what-if game that plays out in your head after that is what inspires my
stories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #404041; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Things like
this have been the inspiration for several of my books. The trading of
life insurance on the living that is the backbone for </span><a href="http://simonwood.net/book/accidents-waiting-happen/"><b><span style="color: #1e73be; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">ACCIDENTS
WAITING TO HAPPEN</span></b></a><span style="color: #404041; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"> is a real thing. Private security firms being
involved with workplace violence claims, which is the foundation for </span><a href="http://simonwood.net/book/terminated/"><b><span style="color: #1e73be; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">TERMINATED</span></b></a><span style="color: #404041; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">, came from
something that was happening with one of my wife’s employers. The
disturbing series of suicides in </span><a href="http://simonwood.net/book/fall/"><b><span style="color: #1e73be; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">WE ALL FALL DOWN</span></b></a><span style="color: #404041; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"> were
inspired by similar ones that happened between coworkers in the UK in the 80’s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">With my current book, </span><a href="http://simonwood.net/book/deceptive-practices/"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">DECEPTIVE
PRACTICES</span></b></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">, things are a little different. The events in this novel don’t have a
direct link to an actual event. Instead,
they are inspired by a way of thinking. Namely, how can a seemingly
mundane event get its strange on? In </span><a href="http://simonwood.net/book/deceptive-practices/"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">DECEPTIVE
PRACTICES</span></b></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">, there is a company called Infidelity Limited. They are the last ditch effort when it comes
to marriage guidance counselors, especially when their pitch is: <i>Do you have
a cheating spouse? Has counseling failed? Want to get even with
them? Then hire Infidelity Limited to teach them a lesson…</i> They're a shadowy company that operates on a
speakeasy premise and offers a bespoke service.
Tell them who’s done you wrong and they will beat some sense into them. Olivia Shaw buys into their promises and
hires them to even up the score with her husband when she discovers he’s
cheating on her, but when he's killed, she discovers Infidelity Limited is far
more dangerous than its advertising pitch. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">It sounds a little wild
but how many times have we read about spouses caught in police stings hiring
hit men to kill their nearest and dearest?
Now the idea of a specialist firm that deals in cheating spouses doesn’t
sound all that farfetched. ;) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">I know this outlook might
not be to everyone’s liking but if you’re willing to go off-piste and embrace
the improbable, then I think you’ll enjoy the ride.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Simon Wood is a California
transplant from England. He's a former competitive racecar driver, a licensed
pilot, an endurance cyclist, an animal rescuer and an occasional PI. He shares
his world with his American wife, Julie. Their lives are dominated by a
longhaired dachshund and four cats. He's the Anthony Award winning author of
Working Stiffs, Accidents Waiting to Happen, Paying the Piper, Terminated,
Asking For Trouble, We All Fall Down and the Aidy Westlake series. His current
thriller THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY has been optioned for a movie adaptation. He
also writes horror under the pen name of Simon Janus. Curious people can learn
more at http://www.simonwood.net.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-62732962656564220812016-11-06T06:02:00.000-08:002016-11-06T06:02:00.924-08:00Sue McGinty's appearance at SJ SinC Meeting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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At 5 a.m. in the morning, or late in the afternoon when the
sun is at ‘just the right angle’ for that certain glow conducive for writing,
you will find Sue McGinty in her office or deck overlooking the ocean, writing
her Bella Kowalski cozy mystery series. Sue left the corporate world of
McGraw-Hill in LA and escaped 200 miles north to the Central Coast hamlet of
Los Osos where she is now a writer. Not the Cabot Cove of "Murder She
Wrote," but close.</div>
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Sue came to speak Saturday at San Joaquin Sisters in Crime
and we loved having her. She was engaging and answered all the questions flung
her way.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Her character Bella, a former nun turned sleuth, gets
entangled in all sorts of situations—always having to do with a dead body
discovered usually somewhere on the California Central Coast. <o:p></o:p></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->Asked where she gets her
ideas, Sue mentioned standing on one of the cliffs on the coast, looking down
and wondering, <i>what if a body were found
down there on the beach below</i>? And so as any good mystery writer, she began
the ‘what if’ questioning: <i>what if</i> the
person had not just fallen but were pushed, or dumped, or? Then, after the <i>where</i> is decided, the other mystery
questions follow: <i>who, why, when, how</i>
of the murder. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Though most of Sue’s mysteries are set at the fictional small
town of Los Lobos, it’s based on the real Los Osos, but she doesn’t limit where
Bella can do her sleuthing (you may find her following the clues of a drug
death to the doors of Detroit’s crime families). <o:p></o:p></div>
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Sue has recently started working on another series, but
whether Bella has any more adventures and sleuthing to do is still undecided.
She might get herself mixed up in sussing out yet another murder. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Sue’s Books can be found on Amazon: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sue-McGinty/e/B001JS1XRQ">https://www.amazon.com/Sue-McGinty/e/B001JS1XRQ</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Book 1: "Murder in Los Lobos:" Introduces readers
to former Detroit nun, Bella Kowalski, now a Central Coast obituary writer who
can't help getting involved in murder investigations. <br />
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Book 2: "Murder at Cuyamaca Beach:" Bella volunteers for the homeless
program at her church and people start dying on her. <br />
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Book 3: "Murder in Mariposa Bay:" Bella takes on the Mafia when they
try to muscle in on a controversial Los Lobos public works project.<br />
<br />
Book 4: "Murder in a Safe Haven:" On a quick trip to Detroit, after
Bella witnesses a murder at the airport, she is stalked by a mysterious woman
with a raven on her shoulder.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sue’s website: <a href="http://suemcginty.com/">http://suemcginty.com/</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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--reported by Cora Ramos</div>
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Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-87705127270873750842016-10-28T01:30:00.000-07:002016-10-28T01:30:27.447-07:00Questions Readers ask Writers, by Sue McGinty<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Thanks for asking me to contribute to your SJC blog. I will
be the speaker at your monthly meeting on November 5</span><sup style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">. As many of
you know I write the Bella Kowalski Central Coast mystery series.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What
kinds of questions do you get as a writer?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As a mystery writer I get all sorts of questions about my
books, my characters, even my personal life. Concerning the latter, sometimes I
am forced to answer, “None of your business.” I mean, <i>really</i>…<i>Are the love scenes
based on real life?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Do you
welcome questions from your readers?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Absolutely, it shows that the reader is connected with me
and with my protagonist, Bella Kowalski, obituary writer, former nun, former
cop’s wife, now single woman on her own. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Do
readers ever give you advice about Bella?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">All the time. A reader told me I should have Bella color her
hair because all that gray makes her look old. Don’t know how she knew that
because there’s never been a photo of Bella, per se, anywhere, but obviously
the reader sees her in her mind’s eye. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Do you
get questions from men?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Rarely. But mostly they critique the writing, saying they
love it or they hate it, that this character is underdeveloped, or
overdeveloped. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Do you
ever create characters of add plot details base on readers’ questions or
comments?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sometimes, though mainly I depend on my beta readers for
these. For example, in “Murder in a Safe Haven,” my newest, all three of the
beta readers said if I mentioned the old slave tunnel under the convent, I had
to put Bella there. I didn’t want to, but I did, though I thought her being in
a tunnel violated the norm of a cozy mystery. However, I kept it short, readers
like it and it turned out well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What is
your preferred way to ask and answer the questions of readers?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Definitely via social media like Facebook, because then
others can chime in as well. It’s amazing the number of opinions I get about
even simple things. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">(To find out more about the meeting and Sue, scroll down.)</span></div>
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Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-68086535701017096132016-10-27T07:25:00.001-07:002016-10-27T07:25:05.163-07:00November Meeting, Sue McGinty Speaks!NEW LUNCH PROCEDURE AT THE NOVEMBER MEETING<br />
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1. We are trying out a new order/serving system lunch.<br />
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2. No need to reserve, you will have the whole Yosemite Falls lunch menu to choose from.<br />
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3. Please arrive by 9:45 and sit at your table until a server takes your lunch order. Then if you wish you can mingle and visit.<br />
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4. Each member will be given their own bill to pay at end of lunch. Food & drinks will be itemized separately so drinks are optional. Water will still be provided at the tables.<br />
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Tip will be automatically added to the bill.<br />
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5. Note: there is good selection of senior lunches which are smaller portions and cheaper in cost. And<br />
most salads come in two sizes.<br />
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6.<b> Visitors will be charged </b><b>a $5 fee at the door.</b><br />
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SUE McGINTY'S BIO:<br />
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With little more than an urge to hang out at the beach, write mystery novels and calm a cat experiencing his first car ride, Sue McGinty left Los Angeles June 17, 1994, the same day OJ Simpson took his infamous ride. Unlike OJ, Sue had a destination in mind: the Central Coast hamlet of Los Osos. Not the Cabot Cove of “Murder She Wrote,” but close.<br />
<br />
Her California Central Coast mysteries include:<br />
“Murder in Los Lobos,”<br />
“Murder at Cuyamaca Beach,” and<br />
“Murder in Mariposa Bay.”<br />
<br />
Her new release, “Murder in a Safe Haven,” takes Bella back to Detroit, her hometown, for new<br />
misadventures.<br />
<br />
Sue’s short fiction has also been featured in four Sisters in Crime Central Coast chapter anthologies.<br />
<br />Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-42724579084446070042016-10-22T10:07:00.002-07:002016-10-22T10:07:32.729-07:00Chilled to the Bones by Linda L. Kane<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I began writing Chilled to the Bones on the idea I
wanted to teach kids about the American Revolution. Somehow, Chilled morphed
into a book with ghosts, vampires, and yes, information about the brave men and
women of the American Revolution, including the spy Agent 355 who brought down
Benedict Arnold.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Linda Kane takes her readers on an
adventurous thriller and chilling ride through the small town of Setauket,
New York where four high school friends find themselves embroiled in a
historical mystery more than a century old. Secret codes, murder, and lurking
evil lead them to the point of almost no return. This page turner is just the
beginning of a great series!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"What's up, man? Joe hollered. "Something
in your way?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Yeah, there's something in my way all right.
I've unearthed a piled of bones."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Bones? What kind of bones?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Bones, human bones with a skull."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Oh, my god!" the workers yelled in unison
as they scrambled off their paint buckets and slid down the embankment of the
hole Warren was peering into.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Trevor picked up a long tree root and nudged the
skull. It rolled over, and empty sockets stared back, vacant and weathered by
time. The backhoe had cst the rest of the bones adrift in the dirt. They were a
strange dirty tan color, and the hinges of the arms and legs were bulbous. He
leaned down to investigate them more closely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Several hundred years and the right soil
conditions for the fungus that had settled in the buried bones propagated a
walking terror. Trevor was the one chosen as the host for that terror. What was
left ot the other workers' bodies was disposed of, and darkness
fell. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.lindaleekane8.com/">www.lindaleekane8.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Amazon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Krullstone Publishing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Linda
L. Kane</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> MA in Education, PPS, School Psychologist, and
Learning Disability Specialist, is the author of The Black Madonna, Doogledums
in Dystopia, Icelandia, Katterina Ballerina, Cowboy Jack and Buddy Save Santa,
and Chilled to the Bones. The Daisy Murphy Mysteries. She lives with her
husband and three dogs and six horses in California. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-72678777791495451022016-10-16T01:30:00.000-07:002016-10-16T01:30:18.891-07:00SPIRIT SHAPES is only .99 cents on Kindle Oct 16-22<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
SPIRIT SHAPES Though this was supposed to be free, Amazon changed their requirements and it can only have the price lowered, so--the price iw only .99 cents on Kindle from October 16, through the 22nd.<br />
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Ghost hunters stumble upon a murdered teen in a haunted house. Deputy Tempe Crabtree's investigation pulls her into a whirlwind of restless spirits, good and evil, intertwined with the past and the present, and demons and angels at war.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Shapes-Tempe-Crabtree-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00FEJDA04/ref=sr_1_1_twi_kin_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473949324&sr=1-1&keywords=Spirit+Shapes+by+Marilyn+Meredith#nav-subnav">https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Shapes-Tempe-Crabtree-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00FEJDA04/ref=sr_1_1_twi_kin_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473949324&sr=1-1&keywords=Spirit+Shapes+by+Marilyn+Meredith#nav-subnav</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">ASIN:</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> B00FEJDA04<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">This is one of my favorite books in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series and certainly a painless way to get acquainted with the series.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">As with all the books--the mystery itself is complete. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">One of the main plots is loosely based on something real that happened in the past and was related to me by the person it happened to. However, most of what goes on in the story is strictly fictional. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">I hope you'll give it a try--and pass on the information.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">Marilyn</span></span></div>
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Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-4252021827905735462016-10-10T06:36:00.001-07:002016-10-10T06:36:34.220-07:00Sue McGinty, Author Guest for November Sisters in Crime<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A Little About Sue McGinty:<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
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With little more than an urge to hang out at the
beach, write mystery novels and calm a cat experiencing his first car ride, Sue
McGinty left Los Angeles June 17, 1994, the same day OJ Simpson took his
infamous ride. Unlike OJ, Sue had a destination in mind: the Central Coast
hamlet of Los Osos. Not the Cabot Cove of “Murder She Wrote,” but close.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Her California Central Coast mysteries include
“Murder in Los Lobos,” “Murder at Cuyamaca Beach,” and “Murder in Mariposa Bay.”
Her new release, “Murder in a Safe Haven,” takes Bella back to Detroit, her
hometown, for new misadventures. Sue’s short fiction has also been featured in
four Sisters in Crime Central Coast chapter mysteries.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In her “real” life, Sue worked as a technical writer
for McGraw-Hill. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Summary of presentation: <o:p></o:p></div>
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“So, Have You Ever Been in Jail?” 12 Questions of a
Writer <o:p></o:p></div>
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Readers often feel a writer’s life is fair game for
all kinds of questions: often thoughtful, sometimes rude, a few way too
personal. Sue will ruminate on the questions she’s been asked in the eight
years since her first Bella Kowalski mystery was released. On the table will be
small cards where audience members can write their own questions. The one
deemed the best or funniest by a show of hands will receive a free copy of her
latest, “Murder in a Safe Heaven,” which has been nominated as a Michigan
Notable Book for 2017. </div>
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This will be a most special presentation, do come and meet Sue. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-62933107904737533662016-10-04T12:56:00.001-07:002016-10-04T12:56:36.609-07:00Plotting Murder at the Reunion by Terrance V. Mc Arthur<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Writers think. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">That’s how they come up
with things to write, and they can think anywhere, one of the perks of having a
portable brain that goes where your body goes. There I was, with Marilyn (my
wife) at her Fresno High class reunion…thinking.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On Friday night, about 300 grads and
significant others gathered in the open-air courtyard of the Piccadilly Inn
(where out-of-towners were staying) <span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1475560536241_2528"> </span>in Fresno for a happy-hour
meet-and-greet. Tall and short, heavy and thin, and the only people I knew
were…my wife, and local TV personality Kopi Sotiropolous. What was I going to
do with my time? Think. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I noticed a swimming pool at the side of
the courtyard, and I thought, <i id="yui_3_16_0_1_1475560536241_2533">What a great place to dump a body! </i>I
went over to investigate while Marilyn talked to new old friends (and old new
friends), following the iron fence to the gate, which was locked. The latch had
a key-card-reader installed, so it could only be opened by hotel guests and
staff. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Looking at the key-reader put a question in my mind. What does a writer
do with questions? Answer them!</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I presented myself at the hotel front desk
and explained, “I need your help in planning a murder…mystery story. Since the
pool gate requires a key card to open it, does it store the numbers so you
could check which cards were used?”</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The two desk clerks looked at each other
in confusion, and the blonde one answered, “No.”</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I thanked them and started for the door,
but I paused and said, “That was probably the strangest question you’ve had all
day, wasn’t it?”</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“It sure was,” the brunette said.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Okay, so I’d ruled out one way to limit
the suspects. I returned to Marilyn and her conversations, and started talking
to another alumnus-spouse. This kind gentleman from South Carolina had met a
pretty young Fresno High grad at the old Castle Air Base during his Air Force
days and married her. I mentioned that I was spending my evening planning how
to kill someone for a story, and pointed out that the lock on the gate required
a room card.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">He said, “Well, that gate was open when we
came by at five.”</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">AHA! Of course! People don’t always follow
the rules. Someone could leave that gate wide open, just waiting for a killer
carting a carcass!</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Saturday morning, we did not join the tour
of Fresno High, because Marilyn and I were at Sisters in Crime. Listening to
our guest speaker, Michele Drier, one of her guides to crafting dialogue stood
out—eavesdropping. Listen to conversations and get ideas. I could use that at
the reunion dinner.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">At Pardini’s for the banquet attended
by700 or so, I found the snag in that advice—my hearing loss. Even with my
hearing aids, it’s hard to eavesdrop when you can’t hear anything clearly.
Michele had suggested reading relationships by watching body language, but the
lighting was on the “intimate dining” level, and I couldn’t see that well. What
was a writer to do? Think.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">AHA! I’ll make up relationships.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This couple got divorced, and she married
her husband’s best friend. That couple got divorced, and he married…another
man. The young guy at that table, heavyish with over-the-shoulder hair, looks
like the singer Meat Loaf; he seems suspicious. <span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1475560536241_2578"> </span>There
is a trophy wife being dragged around, and there’s a….. It was fun. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">To get a
younger sleuth, I imagined a graduate who brought his little sister as his
plus-one to his 50-year reunion (which is what Marilyn’s brother did; she
enjoyed their “date”). Better yet, the sleuth is the daughter of someone at the
reunion, back in town to help him for a while.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This was the first reunion Marilyn went to,
because she didn’t think she was well known, but she reconnected with people
she didn’t know were still alive. A month ago, at the Greek Food Festival, Kopi
told her, “Come to the reunion. They’re a lot nicer, now,” and talked her into
going. Now, she says everybody should go to reunions. She had a great time.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I really enjoyed that FHS reunion, too…and
I got the bones of a story out of it. What shall I call it...? <i id="yui_3_16_0_1_1475560536241_2587">A
Reunion for Killers</i>.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-60235321203810820312016-10-01T17:54:00.001-07:002016-10-01T17:54:13.703-07:00MAKE IT REAL, Authors!<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br />
By Krista Lynn<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">On
October 1<sup>st</sup>, Michele Drier made it clear. Draw your readers
in by making the “story real enough to connect with them.” Do your research and
give just enough real-world information to engage your readers. And what is the
best way to pull them in with interesting information? Write good dialogue!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> “Dialogue is emotion,” she said. She
emphasized that books are about people and what they say in the story shows their
true character. In a good mystery, dialogue develops the characters, shows how
they feel about each other, while their discourse helps define the plot, and
unveil the clues. Through well-crafted conversations, the reader may discover
the very solution to the mystery. For Drier, it’s all about the interaction
between the people in the story - and that interaction is forged in dialogue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“Words
hold emotion,” she said, and explained that it’s important to choose words
carefully. Being a former newspaper reporter and editor in the time of the old-style
typewriter with triple-carbon copies where every typo meant a major re-do, she
admits that technology has made this is a great time for writers. Computers and
word processing is a blessing, but also allows writers to be sloppy about word
choice – it’s so easy to type quickly, hit the backspace or delete and keep
going at a fast pace. The downside is that authors are not always so careful
about what their words are. She cautioned that frequent review of their work
with a critical eye is essential to understand “what the reader is getting out
of it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In
response to questions about her books, Drier described her popular Vampire
series and her Amy Hobbes mysteries. It was clear that Drier practices what she
preaches. In each of these books, she infused a real-world topic, i.e.
Chernobyl in a story about nuclear weapons in one book of the Vampire series,
and the challenge of the drought in California in the Amy Hobbes mystery, <i>Delta for Death</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">All
in all, the “Dialogue” at today’s meeting was engaging and edifying and…REAL!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-86041231776705646092016-09-26T06:36:00.000-07:002016-09-28T11:56:12.069-07:00Next SJ Sinc Meeting<div class="MsoNormal">
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">NEXT SAN JOAQUIN <o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">SISTERS IN CRIME
MEETING<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5cA-n_DaDRiKLeN6SB4QTtSBbU3IYPP9EF2SgySu1fUnmEpzHLjmQ__B5OHOwBTWqjVQieqT6t45jxxfGU-1SoX42QphKU6PevscXQfNFKS0JFPoBSpzXpER2EWI4LctcYFOuqZ2hYCKF/s1600/Michelle+Drier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5cA-n_DaDRiKLeN6SB4QTtSBbU3IYPP9EF2SgySu1fUnmEpzHLjmQ__B5OHOwBTWqjVQieqT6t45jxxfGU-1SoX42QphKU6PevscXQfNFKS0JFPoBSpzXpER2EWI4LctcYFOuqZ2hYCKF/s320/Michelle+Drier.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7732918396418656618" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7732918396418656618" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /></div>
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Michele Drier is our speaker--going to talk about dialogue.</div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Scene of the Crime<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Yosemite
Falls Restaurant On Ashlan, West
side of 99 </span><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">EARLY
START at 10:00 am</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">SATURDAY</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> Oct. 1, 2016. –
Please come early by 9:45 so we can start on time and you can look at books <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Members - $16.50 Visitors - $21.5</span></u></b><b><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">0<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="Default">
<b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">**NOTE:</span></b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"> We will be served a choice of California Burger, Soup & Salad Combo, or <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">
Spaghetti & Meatballs with bread.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">RESERVATION
PROCEDURE<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">RSVP by Wednesday
before the meeting<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">If you can, we
highly encourage you email your reservation instead of phoning it in, Thanks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Please</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">EMAIL TO</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><a href="mailto:reservationsforsisters@outlook.com" target="_blank"><span class="yshortcuts"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">reservationsforsisters@outlook.com</span></span></a>.<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">NOTE: please put your lunch choice on subject line<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Do not log on to
the website, simply send email to the above address.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">IF YOU
CAN NOT EMAIL Please call 559-431-0360 </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">AND LEAVE
VOICEMAIL<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">with your name
& choice of lunch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Dial carefully,
there is no greeting announcing SJ SinC.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Program<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<div align="center" class="Default" style="text-align: center;">
AUTHOR MICHELE DRIER<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">In October we will
hear Michele Drier. Her topic is, <b>"Can we talk?" </b>She is going
to talk about dialogue, one of the most important experiences of life, in
reality or fiction. Michele is the author of the <b>Amy Hobbes Mysteries </b>and
the <b>Kandesky Vampire Chronicles</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> <b>Michele Drier</b>, a fifth generation
Californian, was born in Santa Cruz, California to a family that migrated west
to San Francisco in 1849. Unfortunately, they never found gold, nor did they
buy (and hang onto) any California land, but books and writing are in her blood.
Her mother named her Michael, after author and actress Blanche Oelrichs, who
wrote under the name of Michael Strange. Her maternal grandmother belonged to a
writing club in San Francisco in the early part of the 20th century and wrote
poems and jingles— one of which won her a travel trailer during the Depression.
Before she began her third career as a genre novelist, she had a two-decade
stint as a reporter and editor for daily newspapers, and also spent about 20
years as a non-profit CEO. She’s a member of the Society of California Pioneers
and Sisters in Crime and lives in California’s Central Valley with a cat,
skunks, wild turkeys and an opossum (only the cat gets to come in the house,
although the others have tried!).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">San
Joaquin chapter of Sisters in Crime meets the first Saturday of the month at
Yosemite Falls Restaurant (which is located at Ashlan & Freeway 99.)</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">10:00 AM.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Price includes lecture & lunch.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">AN OPENED BOOK BY TERELL
BYRD <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">I have been reading a lot of
big city mysteries lately. I do like hanging out with guys like Harry Bosch,
Martin Beck and Sean Duffy. I decided it would be good to take a break and
visit some gal pals who know about small town crime. My next three reads are
Amy Hobbes, Tempe Crabtree and Bella Kowolski. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Edited For Death<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">by Michele Drier<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Amelia Louise "Amy"
Hobbes was a big city journalist. A policeman's widow, she married a cad the
second time around. At the time of this story the cad has departed and she is
the managing editor for The Monroe Press, a California foothill town newspaper.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Robert Calvert, a US Senator
and native of nearby Marshalltown, has just died. Amy sees a chance to get out
of the newspaper business by writing a book about the beloved war hero's life.
Her best reporter, Clarice Stamm, is helping her with some research. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">At this point the story takes a
turn into the past. We see through letters, illegal diaries and other sources
the actions of Robert Calvert during World War II. People start dying in
Marshalltown from unnatural causes. The old Calvert family hotel is being
renovated. The residents of the building are troubled by deeds from the past in
the shape of villains in the present. What is going on? Will Amy and Clarice
survive to finish the book? You will have to read it to find out! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">This book is in the first
person and the present tense. As a writer I can tell you that present tense is
not easy to sustain. It took me about a chapter to adjust to living in the
moment with Amy, but it soon faded and the story flows very well. Because of
the passage of time, a story where people were involved in WWII is hard to
write without making it a period piece. It was nice to read one more novel
about people from the 'Greatest Generation' before they are all gone. Enjoy!</span><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-67460806288578793222016-09-23T01:30:00.000-07:002016-09-23T01:30:11.426-07:00Michele Drier Reports on Bouchercon<div class="MsoNormal">
Our speaker for October, Michele Drier, shared this report on Bouchercon, the world mystery convention.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHUeIzxT0ISrjG5XsQVXUoWXeHtrKXGklSp8gS_lOK_De0sfi1DYucDjCh5nWYIrrBN5gi-BQa9jGrUxgdl9ObGxP5vnpmCtmmXWBmxWFNyMvWGfROnVwGAmWb39UHyvGwyqVPf9gal_Eq/s1600/Lee+Child.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHUeIzxT0ISrjG5XsQVXUoWXeHtrKXGklSp8gS_lOK_De0sfi1DYucDjCh5nWYIrrBN5gi-BQa9jGrUxgdl9ObGxP5vnpmCtmmXWBmxWFNyMvWGfROnVwGAmWb39UHyvGwyqVPf9gal_Eq/s400/Lee+Child.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lee Child on the right.</td></tr>
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Lee Child, Sara Paretsky, Harlan Coben.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Aching feet, lack of sleep, erratic meals.<o:p></o:p></div>
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David Morrell, Michael Connelly, Catherine Coulter,
Catrinona McPherson, C.J Box, Charlaine Harris.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfLXsc4JL5OAxVjbMOE4Tz3e6VWmsrRVtwLl9MI9KgReycEx2LWSC16xwgjk4aoA1KBKZEopDyLVDxYeejKMUsf9qQ4edsaM5A2L1UFqG1LoLGAX-RQKGepObsAP6sc7GL3MuM0ukAwxps/s1600/Michael+Connelly.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfLXsc4JL5OAxVjbMOE4Tz3e6VWmsrRVtwLl9MI9KgReycEx2LWSC16xwgjk4aoA1KBKZEopDyLVDxYeejKMUsf9qQ4edsaM5A2L1UFqG1LoLGAX-RQKGepObsAP6sc7GL3MuM0ukAwxps/s400/Michael+Connelly.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michael Connelly on the left.</td></tr>
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Trying to talk to 2,000 people.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sisters in Crime breakfast when Leslie Budewitz passes the
Seal of Office to Diane Vallere for a new presidential term.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bouchercon, The World Mystery Convention, was last week in
New Orleans and 1,967 mystery and crime writers, fans, publishers, agents,
fans…did I say fans?...spent five days talking, meeting, listening, drinking
with each other.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mystery conventions are a lot of fun. Where else can you
meet a range of authors—your favorites, prepublished, struggling newbies, stars—in
an up-close-and-personal way?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bouchercon is the biggest convention and can be
overwhelming. But if you’re a first-time convention attendee, there are many
others you can cut your teeth on before you tackle 2,000 people.<o:p></o:p></div>
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One of the ones I like best—about half the people and closer
to home—is Left Coast Crime. In 2017 it’s
in Honolulu and 2018 in Reno.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And if you’re a cozy mystery fan, there’s the venerable
Malice Domestic in Bethesda, MD. They cut off registration at about 500, so it
smaller, more intimate but packed with authors such as Margaret Maron, Hank
Phillipi Ryan and Rhys Bowen. <o:p></o:p></div>
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If you’ve always wanted to visit Boston, there’s the New
England Crime Bake. Florida? Try Sleuthfest and Killer Nashville. Some of these are self-developed and some are Mystery
Writers of America sponsored. Places, costs and authors change, but each offers
writers and fans unequaled opportunities to spend time with like-minded people.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Before I threw in the towel and became a full-time writer, I
put together (and attended) probably 20 conventions and conferences across the
country in the arts, criminal justice, housing and health delivery. Held onto my program book or panel list and
trudged from room to room. I once walked out of a lunch in Monterey where 250
arts administrators were collectively trying to write a telegram to the
National Endowment for the Arts.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But mystery conventions? Hearing top-notch writers tell
stories of starting out with 50, 100 or more rejections. Driving around with a
trunk full of books. Going to signings where the audience consisted of your
partner and two people who came in to get out of the rain. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I recommend going to at least one mystery convention.
They’re gatherings of folks who love writing, reading, mysteries, whether
hard-boiled noir, serial killers or cozy poisonings by the neighborhood baker. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And Bouchercon? Well, it’s coming to you (almost!). It will
be in Sacramento in 2020. Guests of honor are Scott Turow, Walter Mosley, Anne
Perry and Cara Black, with Catriona McPherson as toastmistress. And I’m pretty
sure Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Sara Paretsky, Harlan Coben and new rising
authors we don’t know yet will be there.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Catch a conference. Your feet will ache, you’ll lose sleep,
you may even have sensory overload. But it will be exciting, fulfilling,
stimulating and just plain fun!<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
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.The guests of honor rode Mardi Gras floats into the
opening ceremonies. A second line formed to walk to the theater where the
Anthony Awards were held. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Despite 88 degrees, 90% humidity and rain, several
hundred attendees followed the Preservation Hall Band, twirling umbrellas and
waving bandannas, down closed streets at 5:30 p.m. on Friday night. Band
members, stilt walkers and krewe members welcomed people to the Orpheum
Theater. </div>
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Diane Vallere accepts the Seal of Office from Leslie Budewitz during
the Sisters of Crime annual breakfast and meeting.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHtrFfrf_3v2uy_u8VCxE-yCcqIQSvUJbtQ4wa3_6XfoNr3AKpThFmJVSvlHKAURAUXrDMLbjZUGpPJ1q7HPkgVqh6NORPQjZWjemw01vkdCzIpsee6cL_8IhhxCd_izyhYb3cknJ08krG/s1600/p-assing+the+seal.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHtrFfrf_3v2uy_u8VCxE-yCcqIQSvUJbtQ4wa3_6XfoNr3AKpThFmJVSvlHKAURAUXrDMLbjZUGpPJ1q7HPkgVqh6NORPQjZWjemw01vkdCzIpsee6cL_8IhhxCd_izyhYb3cknJ08krG/s400/p-assing+the+seal.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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--Michele Drier<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> Editor's Note: Bouchercon can be overwhelming, but it's the place to see the super stars of the mystery world. And Michele really caught the flavor of what it's like.</o:p></div>
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Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-54958255821991284992016-09-22T16:51:00.000-07:002016-09-22T16:51:00.052-07:00PROMOTION COMMOTION by Cora Ramos<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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What can an author do for promotion? With so much commotion
of advice vying for my attention, I felt burned out and decided to go back to
the basics—the old methods—put ads in the newspaper, present talks at local
venues, find speaker opportunities at conferences and make announcements where
we can. I began exploring options for authors in local venues. And an idea
began forming.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the spring, I talked to some romance writer friends who
were having their first romance novels coming out in 2016 and asked them to
join me for a panel talk at a local bookstore, the <b>Book Barn in Clovis</b>. I wanted to share the publicity to help
ourselves and our writer organizations (all of us being members of <b>Yosemite Romance Writers</b> and two of us
being members of <b>San Joaquin Sisters in
Crime</b>). If I had known all the work it would take, I might not have
started, but I found that when you set your mind to a goal, help comes along
the way to make it possible.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIfujsk-4gLkYygQFTMdzwvV5vDzqnRfOHnPpybUlvIm2-Fjc-g3TnE8XYnY0DXzqsRbGn1bEUdMr94VmFzr62RF9KJ9R1YAf3JU7CB5rcjhkIaiOEtGpbeWxhJDLhiL7ua7A2xEEVU7P2/s1600/Ramos+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIfujsk-4gLkYygQFTMdzwvV5vDzqnRfOHnPpybUlvIm2-Fjc-g3TnE8XYnY0DXzqsRbGn1bEUdMr94VmFzr62RF9KJ9R1YAf3JU7CB5rcjhkIaiOEtGpbeWxhJDLhiL7ua7A2xEEVU7P2/s400/Ramos+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Opportunities opened up, and I flowed with the ideas and
inspiration as they came. It started with an ad I saw on Facebook. The local <b>Central Valley Internet Talk Radio</b> was
asking for local artists and writers who might want to be interviewed about Art
Hop, an event that happens once a month for people in the community to come out
and visit local artists where they work and display (I only just learned they were
adding authors to the mix and I would be the first author interviewed at CVTR).
<o:p></o:p></div>
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So began the journey:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjieeoohuLltZsbKayDNVwKMCiLKYGHTIGRoSnurnhtuJD3TX7Rgg2mYo8LMEWEMf7KzQgYOoKp4Lbi-jKPqnikfFZI2KTAKCDFYIkYqPm3Zjt5I7fURmuClPhpu0dYNQ3XdbVr0m55HOIR/s1600/Ramos+2..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjieeoohuLltZsbKayDNVwKMCiLKYGHTIGRoSnurnhtuJD3TX7Rgg2mYo8LMEWEMf7KzQgYOoKp4Lbi-jKPqnikfFZI2KTAKCDFYIkYqPm3Zjt5I7fURmuClPhpu0dYNQ3XdbVr0m55HOIR/s400/Ramos+2..jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->I appeared on <b>Central Valley Talk Radio</b> to promote
Art Hop and my novels. As a result I was compelled to do what I’d been putting
off doing; approaching the one bookstore that would be in keeping with my
writing themes (past lives/reincarnation and the wisdom of indigenous people)—our
one metaphysical bookstore/gift shop in the Fresno area, <b>The Brass Unicorn</b>, so I could announce where interested readers might
find my novels during <b>Art Hop</b>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCRwz07E0rTJqXo_-Hl2TNtKyhTT_h6s7oot8xmy9QJLFSP7I6KirqlR1RK16mKpdOm2bsqNZIpxoV-DNnZdfWiGO0SsCJtw0T30PuHQ7ojFlcJ0V4YL1rRDU58H_E8cSmn27fCAUB_un0/s1600/Ramos+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCRwz07E0rTJqXo_-Hl2TNtKyhTT_h6s7oot8xmy9QJLFSP7I6KirqlR1RK16mKpdOm2bsqNZIpxoV-DNnZdfWiGO0SsCJtw0T30PuHQ7ojFlcJ0V4YL1rRDU58H_E8cSmn27fCAUB_un0/s400/Ramos+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->I was then contacted to talk ta a writer’s group
in Visalia which gave me some ideas for questions for the panel.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I I was asked back to Central Valley Internet Talk Radio and invited fellow author, Krista Lynn, to join me for promotion for the Book Barn event. Our host was charming and made it easy. I was nervous—but not as nervous as when I’d made my first appearance (it gets easier over time).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span>I made up a flyer and put copies around town and all the authors helped spread the word and the fliers. We announced it at our respective writer groups, on Facebook, Twitter and in every other venue we had access to.</div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]-->Then the Book Barn put me in contact with <b><a href="http://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/what-the-bleep-is-romance">KSEE 24
TV</a></b> where we all gathered for an afternoon chat with Alex Delgado and Stephanie
Bainum about the Saturday event and our books.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]-->Finally, The Book Barn event itself was play
time. We all learned something in the process of speaking and having some fun
with our audience while they munched on cookies we provided. I think we all gained
a few fans and feel more confident about our promotional speaking abilities
after that. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Long story short, it was a great success. I stopped
listening to all the promotion advice of everyone else, learned a few things
and lost some of my appearance fears. My admonition to authors who read this
and need to do promotion in a way that is right for them, to quote Steve Jobs, <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“<span style="color: #606060; letter-spacing: -.3pt;">Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.
Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s
thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner
voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and
intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything
else is secondary.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #606060; letter-spacing: -.3pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Share what you’ve done for promotion and
good luck on your writing journey. </span><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">#writerslife #TV #Radio</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1474524608149_157368"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Cora J. Ramos</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Courier New";"><a href="http://coraramos.com/" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1474524608149_158631" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Website </span></a></span></i><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <br />
</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Courier New";"><a href="http://coraramos-cora.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Blog</span></a></span></i><span style="font-family: "Courier New";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-69649153274037185732016-09-21T01:30:00.000-07:002016-09-21T01:30:21.778-07:00"Can We Talk?' Michele Drier's topic for the SJ SinC meeting<div style="background: white;">
<strong><span style="font-family: , serif;">In October we will hear Michele Drier. Her topic is, "Can we talk?"</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: , serif;"><br /></span></strong>
<span style="font-family: , serif;">She is going to discuss dialogue, one of the most important experiences of life, in reality or fiction. Michele is the author of the Amy Hobbes Mysteries and the Kandesky Vampire Chronicles. Her biography is in this newsletter as well as an Open Book on her first mystery Edited For Death.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: , serif;">Michele Drier Bio:</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">Michele Drier, a fifth generation Californian, was born in Santa
Cruz, California to a family that migrated west to San Francisco in 1849.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately, they never found gold, nor did they buy (and hang
onto) any California land, but books and writing are in her blood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">Her mother named her Michael, after author and actress Blanche
Oelrichs, who wrote under the name of Michael Strange. Her maternal grandmother
belonged to a writing club in San Francisco in the early part of the 20th
century and wrote poems and jingles—one of which won her a travel trailer
during the Depression.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">Before she began her third career as a genre novelist, she had a
two-decade stint as a reporter and editor for daily newspapers, and also spent
about 20 years as a non-profit CEO.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">She’s a member of the Society of California Pioneers and Sisters
in Crime and lives in California’s Central Valley with a cat, skunks, wild
turkeys and an opossum (only the cat gets to come in the house, although the
others have tried!).<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">Scene of the Crime:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">Yosemite Falls Restaurant On Ashlan, West side of 99 Starts at 10:00 am</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">SATURDAY October 1, 2016. – Please come early by 9:45 so we can start on time and you can check out the book table. LUNCH PRICES Members - $16.50 Visitors - $21.50</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">**NOTE: We will be served a choice of: California Burger, Soup & Salad Combo, or</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">Spaghetti & Meatballs with bread.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">RESERVATION PROCEDURE</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">RSVP by Wednesday before the meeting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">If you can, we highly encourage you email your reservation instead of phoning it in, Thanks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">Please EMAIL TO reservationsforsisters@outlook.com.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">NOTE: please put your lunch choice on subject line</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">Do not log on to the website, simply send email to the above address.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">IF YOU CAN NOT EMAIL Please call 559-431-0360</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">AND LEAVE VOICEMAIL</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">with your name & choice of lunch.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">Dial carefully, there is no greeting announcing SJ SinC</span></div>
Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-78388149916530064462016-09-18T01:30:00.000-07:002016-09-18T01:30:00.236-07:00Covers for the Deputy Tempe Crabtree Series<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The first four covers were designed by the first publisher, and some have been redesigned by Mundania Press. Fortunately, I’ve
been able to give input about the covers, and the artist has done a great job
putting my vision into reality.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m just going to write about some of the later
books and their covers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The research into <b><i>Kindred Spirits</i></b> rekindled
my interest in the Big Foot legend. I discovered that the Indian reservation
nearby had their own version called the Hairy Man.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In <b><i>Dispel the Mist, </i></b>the Hairy Man makes
his first appearance, and it seemed fitting that the pictograph of him found on
the reservation should go on the cover.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The cover of <b><i>Invisible Path</i> </b>is perfect for the
title—and there is reference to the Hairy Man in this one too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I absolutely love the cover for <b><i>Bears with Us</i></b>—it depicts
the theme of the story perfectly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Raging
Water</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">’s cover is a stylized design of exactly what the
book is about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDBwD3zNjurTqXniwVQykkjsgFdQzdKwKGb9oX1fc4b8OdGEjemcEYQGQFRPlMOvnAajhVxvNnjtA2sIV5rKwzfOymwPjD7Ch4WaG0oV_kpf7fd4pfcY7xsKDv5LfY4d1maW84N5hgTI4y/s1600/Raging+Water+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDBwD3zNjurTqXniwVQykkjsgFdQzdKwKGb9oX1fc4b8OdGEjemcEYQGQFRPlMOvnAajhVxvNnjtA2sIV5rKwzfOymwPjD7Ch4WaG0oV_kpf7fd4pfcY7xsKDv5LfY4d1maW84N5hgTI4y/s320/Raging+Water+Cover.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Because <b><i>Spirit Shapes </i></b>has the ghost of a
little girl and a whirlwind of restless spirits, the cover design is perfect.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih-RWzEykp2-2Ro8Nv4NIvUMZZVuYMI49rK0_7I2ghHGzsEP07w9z9JB7qJpWrVjk-DLrSiojxfrLuPLILRa-z3m9p0yzojac0zQS6eieYWn1iggtXJGNKO6ofhox_MHOnzjMRwzYK4jod/s1600/Spirit+Shapes+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih-RWzEykp2-2Ro8Nv4NIvUMZZVuYMI49rK0_7I2ghHGzsEP07w9z9JB7qJpWrVjk-DLrSiojxfrLuPLILRa-z3m9p0yzojac0zQS6eieYWn1iggtXJGNKO6ofhox_MHOnzjMRwzYK4jod/s320/Spirit+Shapes+Cover.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Hairy Man
makes an appearance in </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>River Spirits</i></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> too as do spirits that
rise from the river.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGyixqEPrtq6VuphLv_ljp88J4-RlaAoke6pujpKDkhUNtrUxf3G12q55M2IOo09MekZckdVgn8XfedScmcjJg7qeVAFPio-gBP4kNdm8wLzumuHrtNHF2rA0ZxochQn00k-J7b0fdjBx/s1600/River+Spirits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGyixqEPrtq6VuphLv_ljp88J4-RlaAoke6pujpKDkhUNtrUxf3G12q55M2IOo09MekZckdVgn8XfedScmcjJg7qeVAFPio-gBP4kNdm8wLzumuHrtNHF2rA0ZxochQn00k-J7b0fdjBx/s320/River+Spirits.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Much of the story of <b><i>Not as it Seems</i></b> centers
around Morro Bay, and of course there are many Indian spirits involved—and you
can see how this is shown in the cover.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0qov6AHqtj7MdzkCivpeYQYTNfugHYETB3G93uetA1_8VLtzI685UcOIne3jTJYGAg89KP1-XX6nlMRQh62Y6ww2kxs2YK-efnhPrC5R7CEwqHp4ihOu4MCexG647N4xsnJLw85foDSBK/s1600/Not+as+it+Seems+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0qov6AHqtj7MdzkCivpeYQYTNfugHYETB3G93uetA1_8VLtzI685UcOIne3jTJYGAg89KP1-XX6nlMRQh62Y6ww2kxs2YK-efnhPrC5R7CEwqHp4ihOu4MCexG647N4xsnJLw85foDSBK/s320/Not+as+it+Seems+2.jpg" width="228" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is the latest entry into the series: <b><i>Seldom
Traveled</i></b>. Because a forest fire has much to do with the story, and an
eagle plays an important part, once again the artist did a fantastic job with
the cover.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDAmhWA1tdctQ3Z3ygZFpIcCwX2GuuJRKI3Cl5kxXonj_uVCt2Nrnb5qMdjaMBwuiC4epeyfud6N5KsX7cVa1ls6Jd8dCZCelh1NQiLB903vF734wvafmn88KmjLSury4X7__1wYrMGRb/s1600/Seldom+Traveled+Front+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDAmhWA1tdctQ3Z3ygZFpIcCwX2GuuJRKI3Cl5kxXonj_uVCt2Nrnb5qMdjaMBwuiC4epeyfud6N5KsX7cVa1ls6Jd8dCZCelh1NQiLB903vF734wvafmn88KmjLSury4X7__1wYrMGRb/s400/Seldom+Traveled+Front+Cover.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What do you think? Which one is your favorite?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Marilyn<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Seldom
Traveled</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Blurb:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The tranquility of the mountain community 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.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Buy
links:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Directly
from the publisher in all different formats:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://mundania.com/book.php?title=Seldom+Traveled">http://mundania.com/book.php?title=Seldom+Traveled</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Thank
you,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Marilyn<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Marilyn Meredith’s Bio:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">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 of Mystery
Writers of American, three chapters of Sisters in Crime, and is a board member
of Public Safety Writers of America.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://fictionforyou.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://fictionforyou.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/">http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com</a></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">New Contest: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Tomorrow look for me at </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/Covers%20for%20the%20Deputy%20Tempe%20Crabtree%20Series%20The%20first%20four%20covers%20were%20designed%20by%20the%20publisher,%20and%20some%20have%20been%20redesigned%20by%20Mundania%20Press.%20Fortunately,%20I%E2%80%99ve%20been%20able%20to%20give%20input%20about%20the%20covers,%20and%20the%20artist%20has%20done%20a%20great%20job%20putting%20my%20vision%20into%20reality.%20I%E2%80%99m%20just%20going%20to%20write%20about%20some%20of%20the%20later%20books%20and%20their%20covers.%20The%20research%20into%20Kindred%20Spirits%20rekindled%20my%20interest%20in%20the%20Big%20Foot%20legend.%20I%20discovered%20that%20the%20Indian%20reservation%20nearby%20had%20their%20own%20version%20called%20the%20Hairy%20Man.%20In%20Dispel%20the%20Mist,%20the%20Hairy%20Man%20makes%20his%20first%20appearance,%20and%20it%20seemed%20fitting%20that%20the%20pictograph%20of%20him%20found%20on%20the%20reservation%20should%20go%20on%20the%20cover.%20The%20cover%20of%20Invisible%20Path%20is%20perfect%20for%20the%20title%E2%80%94and%20there%20is%20reference%20to%20the%20Hairy%20Man%20in%20this%20one%20too.%20%20I%20absolutely%20love%20the%20cover%20for%20Bears%20with%20Us%E2%80%94it%20depicts%20the%20theme%20of%20the%20story%20perfectly.%20Raging%20Water%E2%80%99s%20cover%20is%20a%20stylized%20design%20of%20exactly%20what%20the%20book%20is%20about.%20Because%20Spirit%20Shapes%20has%20the%20ghost%20of%20a%20little%20girl%20and%20a%20whirlwind%20of%20restless%20spirits,%20the%20cover%20design%20is%20perfect.%20%20The%20Hairy%20Man%20makes%20an%20appearance%20in%20River%20Spirits%20too%20as%20do%20spirits%20that%20rise%20from%20the%20river.%20%20Much%20of%20the%20story%20of%20Not%20as%20it%20Seems%20centers%20around%20Morro%20Bay,%20and%20of%20course%20there%20are%20many%20Indian%20spirits%20involved%E2%80%94and%20you%20can%20see%20how%20this%20is%20shown%20in%20the%20cover.%20This%20is%20the%20latest%20entry%20into%20the%20series:%20Seldom%20Traveled.%20Because%20a%20forest%20fire%20has%20much%20to%20do%20with%20the%20story,%20and%20an%20eagle%20plays%20an%20important%20part,%20once%20again%20the%20artist%20did%20a%20fantastic%20job%20with%20the%20cover.%20What%20do%20you%20think?%20Which%20one%20is%20your%20favorite?%20Marilyn%20Seldom%20Traveled%20Blurb:%20The%20tranquility%20of%20the%20mountain%20community%20of%20Bear%20Creek%20is%20disrupted%20by%20a%20runaway%20fugitive,%20a%20vicious%20murderer,%20and%20a%20raging%20forest%20fire.%20Deputy%20Tempe%20Crabtree%20is%20threatened%20by%20all%20three.%20Marilyn%20Meredith%E2%80%99s%20Bio:%20Marilyn%20has%20had%20so%20many%20books%20published,%20she%E2%80%99s%20lost%20track%20of%20the%20count,%20but%20it%E2%80%99s%20getting%20near%2040.%20She%20lives%20in%20a%20community%20similar%20to%20the%20fictional%20mountain%20town%20of%20Bear%20Creek,%20the%20big%20difference%20being%20that%20Bear%20Creek%20is%20a%20thousand%20feet%20higher%20in%20the%20mountains.%20She%20is%20a%20member%20of%20Mystery%20Writers%20of%20American,%20three%20chapters%20of%20Sisters%20in%20Crime,%20and%20is%20a%20board%20member%20of%20Public%20Safety%20Writers%20of%20America.%20http://fictionforyou.com%20http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com%20New%20Contest:%20%20Winners%20will%20be%20randomly%20picked%20from%20those%20leaving%20the%20most%20comments%20on%20the%20blog%20posts.%20Each%20winner%20can%20choose%20one%20of%20the%20earlier%20books%20in%20the%20series%20as%20either%20a%20print%20book%20or%20e-book.">http://lornacollins-author.blogspot.com/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/Covers%20for%20the%20Deputy%20Tempe%20Crabtree%20Series%20The%20first%20four%20covers%20were%20designed%20by%20the%20publisher,%20and%20some%20have%20been%20redesigned%20by%20Mundania%20Press.%20Fortunately,%20I%E2%80%99ve%20been%20able%20to%20give%20input%20about%20the%20covers,%20and%20the%20artist%20has%20done%20a%20great%20job%20putting%20my%20vision%20into%20reality.%20I%E2%80%99m%20just%20going%20to%20write%20about%20some%20of%20the%20later%20books%20and%20their%20covers.%20The%20research%20into%20Kindred%20Spirits%20rekindled%20my%20interest%20in%20the%20Big%20Foot%20legend.%20I%20discovered%20that%20the%20Indian%20reservation%20nearby%20had%20their%20own%20version%20called%20the%20Hairy%20Man.%20In%20Dispel%20the%20Mist,%20the%20Hairy%20Man%20makes%20his%20first%20appearance,%20and%20it%20seemed%20fitting%20that%20the%20pictograph%20of%20him%20found%20on%20the%20reservation%20should%20go%20on%20the%20cover.%20The%20cover%20of%20Invisible%20Path%20is%20perfect%20for%20the%20title%E2%80%94and%20there%20is%20reference%20to%20the%20Hairy%20Man%20in%20this%20one%20too.%20%20I%20absolutely%20love%20the%20cover%20for%20Bears%20with%20Us%E2%80%94it%20depicts%20the%20theme%20of%20the%20story%20perfectly.%20Raging%20Water%E2%80%99s%20cover%20is%20a%20stylized%20design%20of%20exactly%20what%20the%20book%20is%20about.%20Because%20Spirit%20Shapes%20has%20the%20ghost%20of%20a%20little%20girl%20and%20a%20whirlwind%20of%20restless%20spirits,%20the%20cover%20design%20is%20perfect.%20%20The%20Hairy%20Man%20makes%20an%20appearance%20in%20River%20Spirits%20too%20as%20do%20spirits%20that%20rise%20from%20the%20river.%20%20Much%20of%20the%20story%20of%20Not%20as%20it%20Seems%20centers%20around%20Morro%20Bay,%20and%20of%20course%20there%20are%20many%20Indian%20spirits%20involved%E2%80%94and%20you%20can%20see%20how%20this%20is%20shown%20in%20the%20cover.%20This%20is%20the%20latest%20entry%20into%20the%20series:%20Seldom%20Traveled.%20Because%20a%20forest%20fire%20has%20much%20to%20do%20with%20the%20story,%20and%20an%20eagle%20plays%20an%20important%20part,%20once%20again%20the%20artist%20did%20a%20fantastic%20job%20with%20the%20cover.%20What%20do%20you%20think?%20Which%20one%20is%20your%20favorite?%20Marilyn%20Seldom%20Traveled%20Blurb:%20The%20tranquility%20of%20the%20mountain%20community%20of%20Bear%20Creek%20is%20disrupted%20by%20a%20runaway%20fugitive,%20a%20vicious%20murderer,%20and%20a%20raging%20forest%20fire.%20Deputy%20Tempe%20Crabtree%20is%20threatened%20by%20all%20three.%20Marilyn%20Meredith%E2%80%99s%20Bio:%20Marilyn%20has%20had%20so%20many%20books%20published,%20she%E2%80%99s%20lost%20track%20of%20the%20count,%20but%20it%E2%80%99s%20getting%20near%2040.%20She%20lives%20in%20a%20community%20similar%20to%20the%20fictional%20mountain%20town%20of%20Bear%20Creek,%20the%20big%20difference%20being%20that%20Bear%20Creek%20is%20a%20thousand%20feet%20higher%20in%20the%20mountains.%20She%20is%20a%20member%20of%20Mystery%20Writers%20of%20American,%20three%20chapters%20of%20Sisters%20in%20Crime,%20and%20is%20a%20board%20member%20of%20Public%20Safety%20Writers%20of%20America.%20http://fictionforyou.com%20http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com%20New%20Contest:%20%20Winners%20will%20be%20randomly%20picked%20from%20those%20leaving%20the%20most%20comments%20on%20the%20blog%20posts.%20Each%20winner%20can%20choose%20one%20of%20the%20earlier%20books%20in%20the%20series%20as%20either%20a%20print%20book%20or%20e-book."><br /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/Covers%20for%20the%20Deputy%20Tempe%20Crabtree%20Series%20The%20first%20four%20covers%20were%20designed%20by%20the%20publisher,%20and%20some%20have%20been%20redesigned%20by%20Mundania%20Press.%20Fortunately,%20I%E2%80%99ve%20been%20able%20to%20give%20input%20about%20the%20covers,%20and%20the%20artist%20has%20done%20a%20great%20job%20putting%20my%20vision%20into%20reality.%20I%E2%80%99m%20just%20going%20to%20write%20about%20some%20of%20the%20later%20books%20and%20their%20covers.%20The%20research%20into%20Kindred%20Spirits%20rekindled%20my%20interest%20in%20the%20Big%20Foot%20legend.%20I%20discovered%20that%20the%20Indian%20reservation%20nearby%20had%20their%20own%20version%20called%20the%20Hairy%20Man.%20In%20Dispel%20the%20Mist,%20the%20Hairy%20Man%20makes%20his%20first%20appearance,%20and%20it%20seemed%20fitting%20that%20the%20pictograph%20of%20him%20found%20on%20the%20reservation%20should%20go%20on%20the%20cover.%20The%20cover%20of%20Invisible%20Path%20is%20perfect%20for%20the%20title%E2%80%94and%20there%20is%20reference%20to%20the%20Hairy%20Man%20in%20this%20one%20too.%20%20I%20absolutely%20love%20the%20cover%20for%20Bears%20with%20Us%E2%80%94it%20depicts%20the%20theme%20of%20the%20story%20perfectly.%20Raging%20Water%E2%80%99s%20cover%20is%20a%20stylized%20design%20of%20exactly%20what%20the%20book%20is%20about.%20Because%20Spirit%20Shapes%20has%20the%20ghost%20of%20a%20little%20girl%20and%20a%20whirlwind%20of%20restless%20spirits,%20the%20cover%20design%20is%20perfect.%20%20The%20Hairy%20Man%20makes%20an%20appearance%20in%20River%20Spirits%20too%20as%20do%20spirits%20that%20rise%20from%20the%20river.%20%20Much%20of%20the%20story%20of%20Not%20as%20it%20Seems%20centers%20around%20Morro%20Bay,%20and%20of%20course%20there%20are%20many%20Indian%20spirits%20involved%E2%80%94and%20you%20can%20see%20how%20this%20is%20shown%20in%20the%20cover.%20This%20is%20the%20latest%20entry%20into%20the%20series:%20Seldom%20Traveled.%20Because%20a%20forest%20fire%20has%20much%20to%20do%20with%20the%20story,%20and%20an%20eagle%20plays%20an%20important%20part,%20once%20again%20the%20artist%20did%20a%20fantastic%20job%20with%20the%20cover.%20What%20do%20you%20think?%20Which%20one%20is%20your%20favorite?%20Marilyn%20Seldom%20Traveled%20Blurb:%20The%20tranquility%20of%20the%20mountain%20community%20of%20Bear%20Creek%20is%20disrupted%20by%20a%20runaway%20fugitive,%20a%20vicious%20murderer,%20and%20a%20raging%20forest%20fire.%20Deputy%20Tempe%20Crabtree%20is%20threatened%20by%20all%20three.%20Marilyn%20Meredith%E2%80%99s%20Bio:%20Marilyn%20has%20had%20so%20many%20books%20published,%20she%E2%80%99s%20lost%20track%20of%20the%20count,%20but%20it%E2%80%99s%20getting%20near%2040.%20She%20lives%20in%20a%20community%20similar%20to%20the%20fictional%20mountain%20town%20of%20Bear%20Creek,%20the%20big%20difference%20being%20that%20Bear%20Creek%20is%20a%20thousand%20feet%20higher%20in%20the%20mountains.%20She%20is%20a%20member%20of%20Mystery%20Writers%20of%20American,%20three%20chapters%20of%20Sisters%20in%20Crime,%20and%20is%20a%20board%20member%20of%20Public%20Safety%20Writers%20of%20America.%20http://fictionforyou.com%20http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com%20New%20Contest:%20%20Winners%20will%20be%20randomly%20picked%20from%20those%20leaving%20the%20most%20comments%20on%20the%20blog%20posts.%20Each%20winner%20can%20choose%20one%20of%20the%20earlier%20books%20in%20the%20series%20as%20either%20a%20print%20book%20or%20e-book."><br /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/Covers%20for%20the%20Deputy%20Tempe%20Crabtree%20Series%20The%20first%20four%20covers%20were%20designed%20by%20the%20publisher,%20and%20some%20have%20been%20redesigned%20by%20Mundania%20Press.%20Fortunately,%20I%E2%80%99ve%20been%20able%20to%20give%20input%20about%20the%20covers,%20and%20the%20artist%20has%20done%20a%20great%20job%20putting%20my%20vision%20into%20reality.%20I%E2%80%99m%20just%20going%20to%20write%20about%20some%20of%20the%20later%20books%20and%20their%20covers.%20The%20research%20into%20Kindred%20Spirits%20rekindled%20my%20interest%20in%20the%20Big%20Foot%20legend.%20I%20discovered%20that%20the%20Indian%20reservation%20nearby%20had%20their%20own%20version%20called%20the%20Hairy%20Man.%20In%20Dispel%20the%20Mist,%20the%20Hairy%20Man%20makes%20his%20first%20appearance,%20and%20it%20seemed%20fitting%20that%20the%20pictograph%20of%20him%20found%20on%20the%20reservation%20should%20go%20on%20the%20cover.%20The%20cover%20of%20Invisible%20Path%20is%20perfect%20for%20the%20title%E2%80%94and%20there%20is%20reference%20to%20the%20Hairy%20Man%20in%20this%20one%20too.%20%20I%20absolutely%20love%20the%20cover%20for%20Bears%20with%20Us%E2%80%94it%20depicts%20the%20theme%20of%20the%20story%20perfectly.%20Raging%20Water%E2%80%99s%20cover%20is%20a%20stylized%20design%20of%20exactly%20what%20the%20book%20is%20about.%20Because%20Spirit%20Shapes%20has%20the%20ghost%20of%20a%20little%20girl%20and%20a%20whirlwind%20of%20restless%20spirits,%20the%20cover%20design%20is%20perfect.%20%20The%20Hairy%20Man%20makes%20an%20appearance%20in%20River%20Spirits%20too%20as%20do%20spirits%20that%20rise%20from%20the%20river.%20%20Much%20of%20the%20story%20of%20Not%20as%20it%20Seems%20centers%20around%20Morro%20Bay,%20and%20of%20course%20there%20are%20many%20Indian%20spirits%20involved%E2%80%94and%20you%20can%20see%20how%20this%20is%20shown%20in%20the%20cover.%20This%20is%20the%20latest%20entry%20into%20the%20series:%20Seldom%20Traveled.%20Because%20a%20forest%20fire%20has%20much%20to%20do%20with%20the%20story,%20and%20an%20eagle%20plays%20an%20important%20part,%20once%20again%20the%20artist%20did%20a%20fantastic%20job%20with%20the%20cover.%20What%20do%20you%20think?%20Which%20one%20is%20your%20favorite?%20Marilyn%20Seldom%20Traveled%20Blurb:%20The%20tranquility%20of%20the%20mountain%20community%20of%20Bear%20Creek%20is%20disrupted%20by%20a%20runaway%20fugitive,%20a%20vicious%20murderer,%20and%20a%20raging%20forest%20fire.%20Deputy%20Tempe%20Crabtree%20is%20threatened%20by%20all%20three.%20Marilyn%20Meredith%E2%80%99s%20Bio:%20Marilyn%20has%20had%20so%20many%20books%20published,%20she%E2%80%99s%20lost%20track%20of%20the%20count,%20but%20it%E2%80%99s%20getting%20near%2040.%20She%20lives%20in%20a%20community%20similar%20to%20the%20fictional%20mountain%20town%20of%20Bear%20Creek,%20the%20big%20difference%20being%20that%20Bear%20Creek%20is%20a%20thousand%20feet%20higher%20in%20the%20mountains.%20She%20is%20a%20member%20of%20Mystery%20Writers%20of%20American,%20three%20chapters%20of%20Sisters%20in%20Crime,%20and%20is%20a%20board%20member%20of%20Public%20Safety%20Writers%20of%20America.%20http://fictionforyou.com%20http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com%20New%20Contest:%20%20Winners%20will%20be%20randomly%20picked%20from%20those%20leaving%20the%20most%20comments%20on%20the%20blog%20posts.%20Each%20winner%20can%20choose%20one%20of%20the%20earlier%20books%20in%20the%20series%20as%20either%20a%20print%20book%20or%20e-book."><br /></a></span></div>
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Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732918396418656618.post-34811660736971163182016-09-10T14:45:00.001-07:002016-09-10T14:45:09.842-07:00VOIR DIRE? OH DEAR<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfGGEmA3PYHbAZooYrOGFt2XxpD6wvVcEXVRNfRIYuIK0HPF1bJ9jLYaZwcC6ZPQBhyivB9VoO5zyCDm8GHlqy5O4xrnWHfeQF3832WNw7TJNSwkjr8ZDPg3v1xcRWN5KtvfxxBsQ7zCvU/s1600/jury.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfGGEmA3PYHbAZooYrOGFt2XxpD6wvVcEXVRNfRIYuIK0HPF1bJ9jLYaZwcC6ZPQBhyivB9VoO5zyCDm8GHlqy5O4xrnWHfeQF3832WNw7TJNSwkjr8ZDPg3v1xcRWN5KtvfxxBsQ7zCvU/s1600/jury.jpg" /></a></div>
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By Sunny Frazier<o:p></o:p></div>
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On Sept. 3, Criminalist Specialist David Mugridge spoke to
the San Joaquin Chapter of Sisters in Crime, Fresno. His topic was jury
selection and his tricks of the trade.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In Latin, Voir Dire translates to “To Tell the Truth.” Not
the TV game show, although there is gamesmanship involved. The first question
an attorney tells himself is “Who are these people?” Through an extensive
questionnaire both prosecuting and defense attorneys get a vague idea of the
people in the jury pool. Through questioning, they can use a certain number of
eliminations for cause in picking the jury.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mugridge said the attorney has to be a “quasi-psychologist,
quasi-Johnny Carson.” The idea is to entertain, make sure they don’t fall
asleep and give them a reason to like you. He even throws in a few lawyer jokes
to loosen them up. <o:p></o:p></div>
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He also watches potential jurors as they come through the
door. Are they carrying a book—what kind? Do they come in groups, indicating early
bonding, or alone? What kind of clothes are they wearing? Are they bald? While
asking questions, the attorney listens not only what is said, but what words
are used. “Words matter,” Mugridge emphasized. As readers and writers, we
agree.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As a defense attorney, he dresses the defendant much like
himself and lets the jurors try to guess which one is the lawyer and which is
the defendant. He seeks to personalize his client. He also seats a woman next
to a defendant who is perceived as violent to put in the mind of jurors that
she feels “safe” and not afraid.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“The weakest training for lawyers is jury selection,”
Mugridge concluded. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJIpxsAcpMDwJUxBpv40P2083mnrH-aXGhEbA-EYi9WbjO9KMlOXFBsBDSFVVvTNrG_8dND-0tHahUoo5FQxjhNb6JsKLEsz_nIcOaKYyrVH79VgCvNiy-pHVVHKhAoPMfCKeFm8PXRV7/s1600/SJ+SinC+meeting%252C+Sept.+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJIpxsAcpMDwJUxBpv40P2083mnrH-aXGhEbA-EYi9WbjO9KMlOXFBsBDSFVVvTNrG_8dND-0tHahUoo5FQxjhNb6JsKLEsz_nIcOaKYyrVH79VgCvNiy-pHVVHKhAoPMfCKeFm8PXRV7/s400/SJ+SinC+meeting%252C+Sept.+2.jpg" width="292" /></a></div>
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Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.com6