. . . and a note from the Great Beyond, regarding Win Blevins.
Meredith Blevins has had nine books traditionally published and was a travel writer for twenty years, winning the Magellan gold five times. She also won a Writer’s Digest short story contest. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, was an active member of SABEW, and has taught at OU, Santa Rosa Community College, and the University of California.
She was married to her true love, Win, lives in the Southwest, and has a big, complicated family that she adores.
Meredith was lucky to grow up (also in a complicated family) that loved the feel of wheels rolling down the highway. They drove back roads around the country every summer, never using the air conditioner because the car would overheat.
She was the youngest, and no one had an internal editor. She laid on the floor in the backseat, writing stories and illustrating them, while the family gossiped. The family stew was hot, fertile material.
As a grown-up, Meredith kept making up stories while she worked a load of random jobs. Dental assistant, postal clerk, bank teller, ticket lady at concerts, etc. She usually quit just before she got fired. After kids, she went to college and then worked in hospitals as a music therapist.
Meredith believes that art – all the arts – is a cure and healing for everything.
Regarding Win Blevins . . .
“Experiences of the old, pristine West, the fascination of today’s West, records of how Westerners talk, travel books, fantasies, and spiritual journeys of drum and dance—I live them all, I read them all, and I write them all. My books and screenplays speak my love for these places and people.
“I have run her rivers and guided people along her currents and through her rapids. I have climbed her demanding mountains and was almost taken by one. I’ll keep hiking to ruins, smelling the desert and alpine air, wading the creeks, and listening to the wolves howl until I check out.”
Win (Winfred) passed away on July 2, 2023. To find out more about him, go to his Wikipedia page. His spirit is still very much alive. Meredith loves him deeply and continues to feel him in her life. And always in her heart.