Mystery We Write Blog Tour presents Marilyn Meredith

             I'm honored to host Marilyn Meredith, also known as F.M. Meredity,  on the Mystery We Write Blog Tour for this week. Marilyn first interviews her character Detective Mulligan, and then she allows me to throw some questions at him. 

           Come join us as we sit on the patio with tall glasses of iced tea in front of us. Help yourself. The glasses, ice, and pitcher of tea sit on the table by the sliding doors.

          First, let me introduce F. M. Meredith and Detective Doug Milligan of the Rocky Bluff Police Department. Take it away, Merilyn.

F.M. Meredith: What’s going on in your police department these days?

Detective Milligan: As you know, we’re a small department in a beach community located between Ventura and Santa Barbara. We don’t have a lot of major crimes and as yet, haven’t been invaded by gangs. Our biggest case at the moment is a flasher who is accosting women jogging on the beach.

F.M. Meredith: So what’s the plan to catch this pervert?

Detective Milligan: I might as well tell you since our Public Service Officer is going to put a warning out to women to not jog on the beach by themselves and I think that might make our suspect disappear for awhile. The plan is to send our only female officer, Stacey Wilbur, out jogging as a decoy.

F.M. Meredith: You don’t sound too happy about that.

Detective Milligan: No, I’m not. Stacey and are getting married this Saturday and her mind is filled with wedding plans. I don’t think her mind is focused on what she’s supposed to be doing and I’m afraid she’ll get hurt.

F.M. Meredith: Surely she won’t be sent out alone.

Detective Milligan: We have a new hire who comes to us from L.A.P.D. whose going to be her back-up. I’m just not sure about this fellow and how good he’s going to be. One of the other officers has voiced some doubts about this guy. And another problem is the weather. Fog is always an issue on the coast and of course the worst is in the early hours. I’m not sure he’ll even be able to see Stacey while she’s jogging.

F.M Meredith.: That’s definitely a worry. Would you mind telling me a bit about your relationship with Stacey Wilbur and how that came about?

Detective Milligan: In her capacity as an officer, she helped me on several cases. First I was impressed with her intelligence and her ability to notice and figure out clues. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I thought she was pretty cute too. She is a single mom. I asked her out several times and we included her little boy often. It wasn’t long before I loved them both.

F. M. Meredith: Are you looking forward to the wedding?

Detective Milligan: I’m looking forward to having Stacey be my wife, not so sure about all the folderol that Stacey’s planned though she’s assured me it’s going to be a simple wedding.

F.M. Meredith: Where are you two planning to live?

Detective Milligan: I own a small, old Victorian that I fixed up. Lately, I’ve been renting a room to a friend, Officer Gordon Butler. Hopefully, he’ll be all moved out before it’s time for Stacey and her son to move in.

F. M. Meredith: I hope everything goes off as planned. Congratulations.

          And the hostess of this blog had a few more questions for you, too.

Vivian: What do you consider your greatest weakness? Your greatest strength?

Detective Milligan: Wow, that’s a biggie. To be perfectly honest, my greatest weakness may be loving Stacey too much and fearing for her. As for my greatest strength, I’m a good detective. In our department we don’t have a lot of the fancy equipment the big city detectives have at their disposal, so we use a lot of old fashioned policing skills. I’m darn good at figuring out people and know when they’re lying or keeping something back. I’ll dig until I find out what I need to know.

Vivian: Where, in the book, do you face your greatest challenge? How well do you do?

Detective Milligan: My biggest challenge comes on the day of my wedding. I have a difficult time with what happens. You’ll have to read the book to find out what that is.

Vivian:  Makes sense. I'm curious enough now to want to read it. Why should readers like you or dislike you?

Detective Milligan: I sure hope readers like me, I’ve been a major character in almost all of the Rocky Bluff P.D. crime series.

Vivian: What do you add to the book?

Detective Milligan: I think I add a lot, after all I’m one of only two detectives in the Rocky Bluff P.D. and I’m Stacey Wilbur’s love interest—that should count for a lot.

   

          Thank you, Detective Milligan. Now let's learn a little more about your author.

          Author Bio: F.M. Meredith, also known as Marilyn Meredith, is the author of nearly thirty published novels. Her latest in the Rocky Bluff P.D. crime series, from Oak Tree Press, is Angel Lost. Marilyn is a member of EPIC, Four chapters of Sisters in Crime, including the Internet chapter, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com and her blog at http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com

Angel Lost 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?

          Angel Lost is available as a trade paperback from Amazon.com, or if you’d like an autographed copy, order from the author’s website http://fictionforyou.com

 Sharon Ervin hosts me this week of the tour. Please stop by and say hello.