The #MysteryNovember Book Tour Day 16 @MarciaMeara

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Welcome to Day 16 of the #MysteryNovember Book tour.

Mystery Book Tour Bus copyright

Today our guest is Marcia Meara and her book Swamp Ghosts.

Swamp Ghosts by Marcia Meara

Swamp Ghosts by Marcia Meara

Wildlife photographer Gunnar Wolfe looked like the kind of guy every man wanted to be and every woman just plain wanted, and the St. Johns River of central Florida drew him like a magnet. EcoTour boat owner Maggie Devlin knew all the river’s secrets, including the deadliest ones found in the swamps. But neither Maggie nor Gunn was prepared for the danger that would come after them on two legs.

On a quest to make history photographing the rarest birds of them all, Gunnar hires the fiery, no-nonsense Maggie to canoe him into the most remote wetland areas in the state. He was unprepared for how much he would enjoy both the trips and Maggie’s company. He soon realizes he wants more than she’s prepared to give, but before he can win her over, they make a grisly discovery that changes everything, and turns the quiet little town of Riverbend upside down. A serial killer is on the prowl among them.

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Where is your home town?

I live in Sanford, Florida, a little town on the shores of Lake Monroe, part of the St. Johns River basin, which is the setting for Swamp Ghosts.

What do you like about writing in the mystery genre?

It’s fun to keep people guessing. There are a lot of ways to do that, but knowing readers are trying to figure out who the bad guy is…in this case, who the deranged serial killer is…adds a whole new element to the plot.

What sub-genre of mystery does your book fit?

Swamp Ghosts is a romantic suspense. (At the heart of all my books is a love story of one kind or another.)

Where is your book set?

Along the shores of the beautiful and wild St. Johns River, in and around a little town called Riverbend, which exists purely in my imagination. Riverbend is a combination of several real small towns in the area, though probably more like DeBary, Florida, than any of the others.

Can you introduce us to the main characters?

Fiery, red-headed Maggie Devlin has inherited her father’s floundering eco tour cruise business. She’s a disillusioned, 33-year old divorcee, and she’s desperately trying to rebuild the business into something that will actually support her. Maggie knows her birds and wildlife, and loves taking people on tours of the St. Johns River, but she’s got to pay the bills, and that’s becoming more and more difficult. Though she hates Gunnar Wolfe on sight (hard to imagine as that might be), his offer to pay top dollar for her help is impossible to turn down.

Gunnar Wolfe is a handsome, 6’5” Viking of a man, who looks remarkably like actor Chris Hemsworth, a/k/a Thor. In spite of his good looks, he’s an affable, outgoing, uncomplicated kind of guy, who’s friends with everyone, including all his ex-girlfriends. Gunn has a secret dream, though. He’s an accomplished wildlife photographer, and he wants to see one of his photos on the cover of National Geographic. This sets him on a quest to find the rarest bird of them all, a photo of which would be impossible for NatGeo to ignore, and he needs someone knowledgeable to canoe him into the remotest streams and wetlands Florida has to offer. On the advice of a friend, he hires Maggie to be his guide, even though she makes it abundantly clear she thinks he’s crazy, and that it’s a work-only situation, and always will be.

Where can readers find out more about you and your writing?

Social Media Links: (Email me any time! Love meeting new readers.)

Email: mmeara@cfl.rr.com

Bookin’ It: http://marciameara.wordpress.com/

The Write Stuff (Writers Helping Writers): http://marciamearawrites.com/

Twitter: @marciameara

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/marcia.meara or http://www.facebook.com/marcia.meara.writer

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/marciameara/

Newsletter Sign Up Link:

http://wordpress.us8.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=aab68cfc854e6c6a7da6ea831&id=b6c23fcd59

 

Where can readers find your book?

BUY MY BOOKS ON AMAZON

Riverbend Series

Swamp Ghosts (Riverbend Book 1): http://bit.ly/SwampGhosts

Finding Hunter (Riverbend Book 2): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B014Q8F1UU

Swamp Ghosts on Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00K0QXLCS?keywords=Swamp%20Ghosts&qid=1445437989&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

Wake-Robin Ridge Series

Wake-Robin Ridge: (Wake-Robin Ridge Book 1): http://bit.ly/Wake-RobinRidge

A Boy Named Rabbit (Wake-Robin Ridge Book 2): http://bit.ly/ABoyNamedRabbit

My Poetry: Summer Magic – Poems of Life & Love: http://bit.ly/SummerMagicPoems

35 thoughts on “The #MysteryNovember Book Tour Day 16 @MarciaMeara”

    • Thank you so much, Cathy! I’m so glad you liked it. It was a fun book to write, and let me use my personal knowledge of the river and wildlife. (Hope you’ll consider leaving a review?) And if you ever get to Florida, be sure to stop by Gatorland to see my inspiration for Big Blue. 🙂

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      • That’s super, Cathy! I really appreciate it. And I hope you’ll enjoy Finding Hunter. I fell in love with Hunter Painter’s quirkiness in Swamp Ghosts, and knew he had a story to tell. It’s a very different type of story than Gunn & Maggie’s though. (Riverbend is a town of only 6,000 souls, and you can only have so many deranged serial killers on the loose, there. 🙂 ) Hunter’s tale is more romantic, but at the same time, there’s great personal tragedy involved, and a healthy dose of the healing power of love. I’ll be looking forward to seeing what you think when you get to that one. Have a great week!!

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    • I tried to make Gunn look like someone else, but Chris just kept popping up in my mind as I was writing, so…I gave in. And ended up with pictures of him all over my Inspiration Board. He was VERY inspirational!! 🙂

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    • Mary, somehow my comment to you ended up under the wrong post. I’m sorry for that. Must have pushed the wrong button. At any rate, I hope you’ll give Swamp Ghosts a try when you have time. 🙂

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    • Thanks, Georgia. I find that no matter what topic I’m wanting to cover, if there’s not a love story in there somewhere, I’m probably going to lose interest. Even with my favorite Urban Fantasy books, it’s the main couple that pull me back again and again. (Though Jim Butcher tormented me forever with Harry and Murphy, before finally giving me hope!) 😀

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    • Hahaha…poor Katherine Hepburn. She’d be so sad to lose her last name. 😀 The African Queen was a fantastic film, and one of my favorite classics, though, and while I’m not sure there’s any real comparison with my story, it’s still nice to be mentioned in the same sentence. 😀 Hope you’ll give it a try, Carol, and if you do, I hope you’ll enjoy it. Thanks!!

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  6. Hi Rosie and Marcia … this does sound a great mystery with a wee bit of romance as a suspense story … I too rather like the sound of the Viking … and the setting of the Florida Everglades … cheers Hilary

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    • Hi, Hilary. I’m not sure whether it’s more mystery or more romance. Probably equal parts of each. With a lot of scenes on the river, and some pretty eccentric secondary characters to round things out. And then, of course, there’s a totally deranged serial killer. However, it’s really nowhere near the Everglades, which are all the way down on the tip of Florida, and a VERY different habitat than the rivers in central Florida. Some similar wildlife…what with alligators and snakes and stunningly beautiful birds. But the Glades look and feel very different. (Now you have to come to Florida and see for yourself! 😀 Better start packing!) 😉

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  7. Thank you so much for letting me take part in #MysteryNovember, Rosie. I’ve enjoyed telling your readers about Swamp Ghosts, and meeting the other authors included, as I follow along every day. Your tours are SO much fun! Hope some folks will decide to give Swamp Ghosts a read, and that they’ll enjoy it, if they do. I sure had fun writing it. Thanks again for having me here, and have a GREAT week! 🙂

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  8. Pingback: The #MysteryNovember Book Tour Day 16 @MarciaMeara | The Write Stuff

    • I know exactly what you mean, Diane. My TBR pile (both real and virtual) grows daily, at a much faster rate than I can read. I hope when Swamp Ghosts finally gets to the top of yours, you enjoy it! It was so much fun to write, and I plan to have Book 3 in the series out next fall. Working on Book 3 of my Wake-Robin Ridge series right now. Thanks for taking the time to comment, and have a great week! 🙂

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    • Thanks, Evelyn! “Harbinger” is the 3rd book in the Wake-Robin Ridge series, and I hope to have it out by late spring, so I can get started on Book 3 of the Riverbend series. (That one will be about those “other” Painter Boys, and will have a mystery woven in, as well as the drama of everything that’s happened to that family.) Harbinger is about the Appalachian legend of the Black Dog, referred to in the mountains as Ol’ Shuck. When he shows up, someone’s going to die. And it will rely heavily on Rabbit and Mac’s new involvement with some of Raleigh Wardell’s closed case files. I hope it will give everyone a shiver or two when I’m done with it.

      And I haven’t forgotten YOU, either. I got to the halfway point in Love, Lies, and Murder, which I was enjoying thoroughly, when things went really crazy around here. I’m looking forward to finishing it soon! 🙂 Have a great week, Evelyn!

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  11. On my Kindle–can’t wait to read! And yes, I have a terrible crush on Chris Hemsworth, too. I’ll keep him in mind as I peruse the pages of your novel Best of luck on the tour, Marcia! 🙂

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    • I like to think of mine as a “wonderful crush on Chris Hemsworth!” It’s the kind of thing that reminds me I was young, once. 😀 And don’t worry about keeping him in mind as you read…I promise you’ll be reminded often enough that you won’t forget. 😀 Thanks, Linda! Always good to read your comments. Have a great week. 🙂

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    • Hi, Clampos! I sincerely hope it is both of those things. I tried! 🙂 And it was so much fun to write, as well. If you check it out, let me know if you ended up biting nails while turning pages. 😀

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