Deputy
Tempe Crabtree and her husband answer the call for help with unruly guests
visiting a closed summer camp during a huge snow storm are trapped there
along with the others. One is a murderer—another a ghost.
How Tempe Has Changed
by Marilyn Meredith
When
the series began Tempe Crabtree knew little about her Indian heritage. She
didn’t grow up on the reservation and all she knew about being a Native
American came from stories her grandmother told her. These stories play an
important part in a couple of the mysteries.
When
she went to high school she was made fun of for being an Indian by some of the
other students, and shunned by the Indian kids who lived on the reservation.
Her
friend, Nick Two John, is the one who gradually teaches her about what it means
to be an Indian and some of the Bear Creek Indian legends. Many of these
legends are also a basis for plots. Her feelings about her heritage and all it
means change throughout the series.
As time
goes on, she has reached out more and more to Indian mysticism and spirituality
to help her solve the mysteries that confront her, despite her pastor husband’s
objections.
What
hasn’t changed is her willingness to risk her life to help others. Her strength
has remained consistent throughout.
While
writing this, I realize that I probably should have had her appearance change a
bit—but hopefully the reader will use his or her own imagination to see Tempe
with natural changes as she’s aged. To be honest, I see her in my mind’s eyes
as the more mature woman that she is today.
What is
your opinion about how much a series character should change?
Marilyn
Anyone who orders any of my books from the publisher‘s website: http://mundania.com
can get 10% off by entering MP20 coupon code in the shopping cart. This is good all the time for all my books, E-books and print books.
On Kindle:
Marilyn
Meredith’s published book count is nearing 40. She is one of the founding
members of the San Joaquin chapter of Sister in Crime. She taught writing for
Writers Digest Schools for 10 years, and was an instructor at the prestigious
Maui Writers Retreat, and has taught at many writers’ conferences. Marilyn is a
member of three chapters of Sisters in Crime ,
Mystery Writers of America, and serves on the board of the Public Safety
Writers of America. She lives in the foothills of the Sierra, a place with many
similarities to Tempe Crabtree’s patrol area. Webpage: http://fictionforyou.com Blog: http://marilymeredith.blogspot.com/
and you can follow her on Facebook.
Contest: Once again I’m going to use
the name of the person who comments on the most blogs on my tour for the next
Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery—which may be the last in the series.
Tomorrow I’ll be here:
My Journey as an Author
Posts
4 comments:
Thank you, Cheryl for hosting me today.
Yes, I think you've hit it--aging isn't changing of physical description, but changes in a character's perspectives etc. Maturing. Hopefully, like us all? Sometimes I wonder...(smile) Good post, got me thinking about some things that should be changing with my current protagonist.
Thanks Madeline--there are lots of things I didn't think about when I started this series.
Always happy to have you, Marilyn.
Post a Comment