Tag Archive for: Rocky Bluff P.D. series

Planning Ahead for a New Rocky Bluff P. D. Mystery Debut

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I don’t have a cover yet, but the the title is Dangerous Impulses. This follows No Bells which centered on Officer Gordon Butler, whose romantic interest is the major suspect in murder case. He risks his life and his job to prove her innocent.

For those who might be interested in catching up on the series, my whole idea when I wrote the first one, was to show how the job of being a police officer affected the family and what was going on in the family affected the job.

When I wrote, Final Respects, I had no idea it would be the beginning of an on-going series.

When I’d finished writing, I realized that I wanted to know more about these people who lived and worked in the small southern California beach community of Rocky Bluff.

Though the characters continue, different ones have starring roles. In Bad Tidings, Lt. Gilbreath often has to be the bearer of bad tidings and receives one of his own.

Fringe Benefits is about a very bad cop. It is also the introduction of Officer Gordon Butler, who has become the favorite of fans of the series.

Officer Stacey Wilbur plays an important role in Smell of Death and it is the beginning of the romance between her and Detective Milligan.

No Sanctuary is about two churches, two ministers, two wives and one murder. Officer Stacey Wilbur, Detective Milligan and Gordon Butler play interesting parts, and Stacey begins her extra job in vice.

An Axe to Grind is about the death of a stalker. For those following Stacey and Doug Milligan’s romance, things are definitely heating up.

Stacey is so busy planning her wedding she isn’t paying enough attention to the job–and there almost isn’t a wedding in Angel Lost.

And of course, No Bells, where Officer Gordon Butler puts his job on the line in his efforts to prove his lady love innocent.

Of course all these books are available in the usual places in paper and ebooks.

Just remember, I wrote them as F. M. Meredith, which is a whole other story.

Marilyn aka F. M. Meredith

Is It Really Worth It?

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My latest Rocky Bluff P.D. mystery, No Bells, (sort of a cozy police procedural) has been out since February and I’ve been promoting it like crazy. In fact, half of my time has been taken up with promotion of it and the next book coming in my Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series.

This one features Officer Gordon Butler. Poor guy, nothing seems to go right for him. He’s the butt of jokes. In No Bells he finally falls in love with the “girl of his dreams” but she turns out to be the prime suspect in a murder case. He is willing to risk his job and his life to prove her innocent.

Gordon has many fans. When he was looking for a room to rent, one of the fans of this series for a moment considered offering him her extra bedroom.

I promoted the heck out of this book, arranged a fun month-long blog tour, received glowing reviews, promoted on Facebook and Twitter and of course my own blog, attended conference and had in-person events but when my publisher posted the best selling books for the quarter, No Bells wasn’t on the list.

This series has been published by two other publishers. Oak Tree Press is now the publisher and she has republished all the previous books in the series. I know there are some readers out there who like to start at the beginning of a series–so I’m hoping this is a good thing.

This is the order of the series:


Final Respects
When I wrote this I didn’t plan to continue the series, but I fell in love with the characters and wondered what would happen to them next.
Bad Tidings
This offering focuses on Lt. Gilbreath and the bad news he has to deliver to families of victims and some bad news of his own.
Fringe Benefits
The story of a very bad cop and how he nearly gets away with murder.
Smell of Death
Officer Stacey Wilbur and Detective Milligan work together on three murder cases and this is where their romance begins.
No Sanctuary
A tale of two churches, two ministers, two wives and one murder–and the romance continues.
An Axe to Grind
A decapitation of a stalker leads to Detective Milligan’s disappearance. Though the subject is grim, one reader said despite that, it was humorous.
Angel Lost
Stacey plans her wedding, captures a pervert–and disappears on her wedding day. An angel appears in a downtown window.
No Bells (description is above.)


Though this is an on going series, each book is written as a stand-alone. They do not need to be read in order, though most of the characters continue on.

My intention all along has been to show how the job affects the family and what goes on in the family affects the job. Years ago I lived in a neighborhood filled with police officers and their families, I had lots of coffee and conversations with the wives, and as couples we partied together. Later my son-in-law became a cop and told me his stories after his shift. The tradition has continued and I have a grandson who is a police officer and a grandson-in-law who is a deputy sheriff.

Rocky Bluff, where the stories take place, is a fictional beach town in California between Ventura and Santa Barbara.

These books are written under the name F. M. Meredith and are available in all the usual places as trade paperback and ebooks.

Now I’m working on the next one in the series–untitled as yet.

Marilyn aka F. M. Meredith


New Photo and New Book

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by Marilyn Meredith
http://fictionforyou.com/

This photo was taken at my grandaughter’s wedding. We all had such a great time. And she having so much fun writing on Facebook that she’s going here and there with her husband.

Now it’s time for me to buckle down to work. I’ll soon have a new Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel coming out called Angel Lost and I just received the cover for it last night and I love it.

Here’s the official blurb:

As plans for her perfect wedding fill her mind, Officer Stacey Wilbur is sent out to trap a flasher, the new hire realizes Rocky Bluff P.D. is not the answer to his problems, Abel Navarro’s can’t concentrate on the job because of worry about his mother, Officer Gordon Butler has his usual upsets, the sudden appearance of an angel in the window of a furniture store captures everyone’s imagination and causes problems for RBPD, and then the worst possible happens—will Stacey and Doug’s wedding take place?

While I’m planning the promo for this book, I’m also writing a new Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery and I’m on Chapter 6. Though I know where I’m going, more or less, it’s been hard to concentrate with all the wedding excitement going on around me.

I’m also in the process of reading the Rocky Bluff P.D. novel that comes after Angel Lost to my critique group, chapter by chapter. The group is always my first editor.

The Rocky Bluff P.D. series is different in that it’s always about the officers and their families as well as whatever crimes are going on the small beach community. A book may focus more on one character than another and new characters are introduced, but the main group of people who inhabit the Rocky Bluff P.D. and their families are always going to have their lives chronicled in one way or another.

Of course, because Angel Lost will be available in March, I must get busy with my promotion plans.

I do have a blog tour planned, and several in-person events, but there’s always more to do, so I’m signing off and getting busy.

Nearing the End of My Latest Book and…

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The small publisher I’m with for my Rocky Bluff P.D. series doesn’t give me deadlines. Because I always manage to finish and send a completed manuscript off to her in a timely manner she’s never asked me to have it completed by a certain date.

The one I’m working on now I’m having trouble finishing. I’m only pages from the end, but I don’t want to write what I know has to happen.

This is kind of a departure from my other Rocky Bluff P.D. novels, usually they’ve focused on the lead detectives and their families. The one that is coming out at the beginning of the year is really Stacey Wilbur’s story as her wedding day draws near.

But this book is all about Officer Gordon Butler. He’s kind of been the buffoon through several books with nothing working out for him from his wife running off with another police officer to wrecking a brand new police car. Readers really like Gordon, and feel sorry for him, and I thought it would be fun to put him in the spotlight for a change.

What I wasn’t counting on was the fact that he is still the same Gordon Butler. Maybe because I’m the writer I thought I was in control, but as so many of us learn as we write that the characters tend to take charge and do their own thing.

I’m determined to finish this book before the end of the year. By giving myself a deadline, I hope it will happen.

Another problem with this book is I almost always have a title right from the beginning–this time I haven’t a clue what I’ll call it. Since my critique group is hearing this one now, chapter by chapter, I’m hoping they’ll help me come up with the perfect title. I know that often the big publishers will change an author’s title for a book–but I’ve never had that happen with any of the small publishers I’ve been with.

So, wish me luck as I run out of things I think I have to do before I work on the last chapter of this book.

Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com/