(We all need a little help from time to time. I'm hosting my friend Marilyn (aka F.M.) Meredith, and she's talking about her new mystery and how friends help in the writing process. The floor is yours Marilyn:)
To be honest, I get
a lot of help from friends when I’m writing a book, from my critique group who
initially hear the whole story chapter by chapter, and my editor who is also a
friend.
Because I write
about law enforcement and crimes, and have no past experience of my own, I rely
on my police contacts to help me out with a lot of elements in a story. In this
particular book, I needed to learn about old skeletons, and also about cadaver
dogs.
About both topics,
I had help from Dr. Rao who is in my critique group, he shared a book by an
expert in identifying buried bones.
Two members of
Public Safety Writers of America, Gloria Casale and Ron Corbin gave me lots of
information about how dead bodies might look under the circumstances in the
story.
I put out a query
about cadaver dogs on Facebook and heard from a friend who is a former police
officer who put me in touch with a woman named Vynn Stuart who worked for a
sheriff’s office for 20 years as a Special Deputy K-9 Handler. We emailed back
and forth as she answered my many questions. Once I’d finished the section that
I needed her help with, I sent it to her and she made some corrections.
A fun part of all
this is she gave me the name for the character, part of her name, and wanted
the description to be as she looks. Of course, I did exactly what she asked.
She wants her grandkids to be able to recognize her in the book. I hope when
she receives a copy of Bones in the Attic she’s not disappointed.
Marilyn aka F.M.
Blurb: The
discovery of a skeleton, a welfare check on a senior citizen, and a wildfire
challenge the Rocky Bluff P.D.
Bio:
Marilyn Meredith, who writes the RBPD mystery series as F.M. Meredith, is the
author of over 40 published books. She once lived in a small beach town much
like Rocky Bluff and has many relatives and friends in law enforcement.
Webpage: http://fictionforyou.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/marilynmeredith/
And she’s a regular
on these blogs:
2nd and
4th Tuesday: https://makeminemystery.blogspot.com/
4th
Monday of the month: https://ladiesofmystery.com/
Thank you once again for hosting me, John. I had such a great time writing this book--the two main incidents came from real events, though fictionalized for the story.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome any time, Marilyn. Wishing you lots of sales and good reviews.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
DeleteThis was a nice post, talking about the people who help in the crafting of a story. It's great that you can use the K-9 handler in the book!
ReplyDeleteShe was extremely helpful!
DeleteI'm glad you've found so many helpful people. Sometimes research assistance comes from unexpected places. Excellent post, Marilyn!
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. I look forward to the read.
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