On Writing Two Series a Year

Let me tell you, it ain’t easy.

My latest Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel is Dangerous Impulses. It came out at the beginning of this year and I spent a lot of time promoting it on the Internet and in person. Some have called this series a cozy police procedural and in some ways I suppose it is. In others, though it is quite different. It has an ensemble cast of characters who appear in each book, though different ones get starring roles. (Sounds like a TV series, doesn’t it? That’s sort of how I see it in my mind when I’m writing.)

In Dangerous Impulses Officer Stacey Milligan and new hire, Lizette Gibbs, are called out to a party where teenagers were sickened by a strange drug. In the meantime, Stacey’s husband, Detective Milligan, and his partner, Frank Marshall, investigate the grisly murder of a mother and her son. Officer Ryan Strickland receives some surprising news from his wife. Officer Felix Zachary’s wife isn’t adjusting well to being a new mother. And of course, Gordon Butler is attracted to Lizette Gibbs.

Over the years, Gordon has gathered many fans despite his bad luck with women and on the job. When I write a new, Rocky Bluff P.D. book I must be sure to include Gordon to let everyone know what’s going on with his life.

That’s what I’m doing right now, writing the next book in the series. I’m actually about ¾ of the way through having reached the most exciting part. I’ve had a lot of interruptions while writing this one: two grandson’s wedding, a week’s vacation, visits from relatives, and a writing conference where I was the program planner.

This fall the next in my Deputy Tempe Crabtree series will be appearing, Spirit Shapes. This series is different from the Rocky Bluff P.D. series in that the stories are primarily told through Tempe’s viewpoint. She is a Native American (she prefers Indian) resident deputy for the community of Bear Creek and its surroundings in the Southern Sierra.

In Spirit Shapes, ghost hunters discover a murder victim in a haunted house. While investigating, Tempe discovers the house harbors many ghosts and evil spirits. Tempe’s husband and her friend, Nick Two John, offer support as Tempe investigates the murder and attempts to find out the secrets harbored in the abandoned structure.

Since this book is already with the publisher, I must get busy planning the promotion for it.

And the cycle continues—finish the Rocky Bluff crime novel, and promote the Tempe mystery, begin plotting the next one and on and on.

Sounds like too much work, doesn’t it? At times it does to me too. But the only way I’m going to find out what happens to these characters that I’ve invested so much of my life in is to continue writing about them.

I love what J. Michael Orenduff said about Dangerous Impulses and the Rocky Bluff P.D.series:

“F. M. Meredith’s has done it again, produced another immensely satisfying episode in her Rocky Bluff Police Department murder mystery series. Think Ed McBain’s 87th precinct series mellowed out in a California beach town…” J. Michael Orenduff.

And Carol Crigger’s comments on the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series: “Meredith has created in this series, an intelligent investigator in Tempe Crabtree. But the protagonist isn’t the only great character here. Tempe is blessed with friends and supporters, not only her pastor husband Hutch, but Nick Two John, owner of the local inn and a Native American who is teaching Tempe about her own heritage.”

Bio: Marilyn Meredith is the author of over thirty published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, the latest Raging Water from Mundania Press. Writing as F. M. Meredith, her latest Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel is Dangerous Impulses from Oak Tree Press. Marilyn is a member of EPIC, Four chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and serves on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. She lived in a beach town much like Rocky Bluff for over 20 years and now resides in a town much like Bear Creek.

Webpage: http://fictionforyou.com
Blog http://marilymeredith.blogspot.com/
Facebook and Twitter as Marilyn Meredith