InkyBlots

I’ve been asked to write about combining romance and the paranormal. Most people know me because of my mystery writing, and in my Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, I often include elements of the paranormal. So mixing genres isn’t new to me.

The paranormal is an integral part of the story in Lingering Spirit, and in fact, a most important part of the plot.

Lingering Spirit is about the wife of a law enforcement officer who learns her husband whom she loves passionately has been killed in the line of duty. Devastated, she must remain strong for her two little girls, deal with all the people who descend upon her, go through the motions of preparing for the funeral, and find time alone to mourn her loss.

With decisions concerning finances, where she and her daughters should live, and even whether or not she should begin dating, guidance comes from an unexpected source.

My first published books were historical family sagas with lots of romance. In fact, I think any book needs some kind of romance, after all almost everyone’s life is touched by romance at one time or another. When I moved onto mystery, the first one I wrote was as much a romance as it was a mystery—and it had a touch of the supernatural as well.

I’ve always enjoyed reading and writing about the paranormal or supernatural. Over the years, my husband and I have been touched by the supernatural. My husband’s mother died when he was five and after her death she visited him to say goodbye. He’s had several other such experiences of seeing people after they passed on. I’ve never experienced this, though I believe the house we live in now is haunted. Doors open and close, cupboards pop open, and I have grandchildren who won’t sleep over unless they can sleep in our room.

An actual event that happened to a member of my family inspired this book, and some of the supernatural elements I wrote about actually happened, some didn’t, but the readers will have to decide for themselves which are true and which are not.

So, you see, it isn’t much of a stretch for me to include paranormal elements in a romance—or any other tale I may be working on.

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Marilyn Meredith is the author of nearly thirty published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, the latest Dispel the Mist from Mundania Press. Under the name of F. M. Meredith she writes the Rocky Bluff P.D. crime series, An Axe to Grind is the latest from Oak Tree Press.

She 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://marilymeredith.blogspot.com

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