Giveaway – Win a Copy of the Mystery Novel Bears With Us

Our guest author is Marilyn Meredith, author of Bears With Us, a mystery novel . Hollywood Daze will be giving away a copy of her book at the end of the month. The winner will be picked on Oct 28. 

To become eligible to win, all you have to do is leave a comment between now and the end of the month.  One lucky reader who comments with their email address is put in a pot to win the book. 

To recap:

·     Leave a comment between today and Oct 28. 

·     Leave your email address 

·     Optional to subscribe for email updates

·     A winner will be picked on October 28, and be notified by email

·     The winner of the contest will be announced on this blog

·     You will receive a copy of Bears With Us 1-2 weeks after the winner is announced

·     Visit Bears With Us Tour Page at Pump Up Your Book

About Bears With Us 

A burglar turns out to be a bear and Deputy Tempe Crabtree and her pastor husband, Hutch, chase the bear out of the house. This is their first encounter with a bear and the occupants of the home, an elderly couple and their daughter—and it isn’t the last.

A bear turns up at the school, at a restaurant, an apple orchard and two more homes. That is only part of what Tempe is called to handle. A teenager’s suicide, a mother who doesn’t like her daughter’s boyfriend, a wandering senior with a strange form of Alzheimer’s, and a long ago love affair keep Tempe hopping.

Read an excerpt!

The highway twisted more and more the higher into the mountains they drove. Tempe slowed to turn onto one of the few roads that left the highway. Also two lane and much narrower, it wound around even more. “Watch for the mailbox with their name on it. I think it’s a shaped like a house with a shingle roof.”

“I will…”

Tempe switched off the emergency lights. No need in alerting a burglar of her approach.

“There it is,” Hutch said.

She pulled into the lane, pine trees bracketing either side. The lane climbed a bit before widening into a flat spot. A silver Scion sat off to the side of a three car garage. A wide porch ran around the front and sides of the two-story cedar structure. All the windows were dark.

Tempe grabbed the shotgun from its holder under the dash. “Don’t shut the doors. Be as quiet as possible.”

Chimney smoke scented the pine and cedar laden fall air. Holding her flashlight in her other hand, she kept the beam low as they climbed the three steps leading to the front door. It stood open. Unfortunately, many people living in the mountains didn’t think it necessary to lock doors.

The minute Tempe stepped inside, she knew what was happening.

The tell-tale snorts and slurping sounds told the tale. It was no longer necessary to be quiet. “Bear.” Bears had gotten smart over the years, learning how to open trash cans and open doors. Sometimes just leaning their heavy bodies on the barrier popped the latch. If a window was left open, a screen never stopped a bear.

Hutch grimaced and peered toward the area where the noise came from. “Are you sure?”

“Positive. Run upstairs and let the residents know what’s going on. Ask to use their phone and call Fish and Game. I know my cell won’t work up here. We might need some help. Then come back down and help me chase it or them out.”

Available directly from the publisher as a trade paperback and all forms of e-books

http://mundania.com/book.php?title=Bears+With+Us/

Also available from Amazon and all the usual places.

Hollywood Daze Welcomes Marilyn Meredith author of Bears With Us

Our visiting author today, Marilyn Meredith talks about growing up in Southern California. Her latest book is Bears With Us and Deputy Tempe Crabtree has her hands full when bears turn up in and around Bear Creek, a young teen commits suicide and his parents’ actions are suspicious, a prominent woman files a complaint against Tempe and her preacher husband Hutch, a love affair from long ago comes to light, and a woman suffering from dementia disappears.

Available directly from the publisher as a trade paperback and all forms of e-books

http://mundania.com/book.php?title=Bears+With+Us/

Also available from Amazon and all the usual places.

Marilyn:  I was born in Southern California, Glendale to be exact. I grew up in that bit of L.A. between Glendale and Pasadena. My father worked for Paramount Studios and we went to the movies every Friday.  Going to the movies back in those days was an event. First, the previews of coming attractions, the newsreel came next, then the main feature. Intermission had some sort of talent show, or a game similar to Bingo. The second film usually was a B-movie of some sort, quite often about gangsters. It didn’t matter, our family stayed through the whole thing.

I collected movie magazines and cut out the photos of my favorite stars, and taped them to my closet door. My dad wasn’t fond of most actors, though he did have some favorites he brought home. One in particular was Rod Redwing. He was in almost every Western, when Westerns were really popular, playing an Indian and often doing the trick shooting for the hero.

This brings me to what I really wanted to say about movies and my Deputy Tempe Crabtree series. I’ve had numerous people say, “Your books ought to be made into movies.” That would be great, but that’s not for me to decide. Don’t get me wrong, if someone wanted to option one of my books for a movie, I’d certainly sign on the dotted line.

Think about it though, how many movies have you seen with a female Indian as the star? I’m talking about the Native American variety. There aren’t many movies with a male Indian even as a supporting actor. I can’t tell you who I’d like to see play Deputy Tempe Crabtree because I don’t know any female Indian stars. The same goes for her friend, Nick Two John. (Rod Redwing would’ve made the perfect Nick Two John.) Though I know who the usual male Indian stars are, none of them look like the Indians I know and envision as Tempe and Nick Two John.

If you have any ideas about who’d make a good Deputy Tempe Crabtree, leave a comment. Same if you have a suggestion for Nick Two John.

In my latest Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery, Bears With Us, bears play an important part. Hollywood never has a problem finding animals to be in films—or even using special effects to get the right animal action, so I don’t think that would be a problem.

There are plenty of people who could play the other parts—Tempe’s husband for instance, just needs to be someone who looks kind and has auburn hair. Anyone envision a certain actor for Pastor Hutch?

What about Detective Morrison who looks like an old and battered full-back?

Anyone who is familiar with any of the other characters in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series and has suggestions for actors to play them, by all means, make the suggestion here in the comment section.

I’d love to see Bears With Us come to life on the silver screen. Anyone want to do it?

Bio: Marilyn Meredith is the author of over thirty published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, the latest Bears With Us from Mundania Press. Writing as F. M. Meredith, her latest Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel is Angel Lost, the third from Oak Tree Press. Marilyn is a member of EPIC, Four chapters of Sisters in Crime, including the Central Coast 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://marilymeredith.blogspot.com/

CONTEST DETAILS: Would you like to be immortalized in print? Marilyn Meredith is running a contest during her BEARS WITH US virtual book tour. Whoever leaves a comment on the most blog sites during the tour, will have his or her name used for a character in Marilyn’s next book. Please visit http://www.pumpupyourbook.com/2011/08/11/bears-with-us-virtual-book-tour-october-2011/ for her entire schedule. Good luck!