Contents of this page: Press Releases, Author Biography, Media Photos, Works of Fiction with Cover Photos: GATOR BAIT-A Tennis Team Mystery; RIM TO RIM, Wolf Pack, Eternally Yours, Robert, and Home Run
CONTACT:
Jeannie200@aol.com or JeanneMeeks777@gmail.com
Press Release
Helotes, TX | 8/22/2014 – For Immediate Release
The Twig Hosts Visiting Author
“A woman is like a tea bag . . .” Jeanne Meeks, visiting author and backpacker, explains the Eleanor Roosevelt quote and how it relates to the strong, female characters in her mystery adventure series. The author will read from “Rim To Rim-Death in the Grand Canyon” and “Wolf Pack-Mystery on Isle Royale” and will discuss the novels, her writing career, and how you can publish your own stories. The Twig Book Shop, 306 Pearl Pkwy, Ste.#106, (on Museum Reach, Riverwalk) San Antonio on Wed, Sept. 10th; 5:00-7:00.
Press Release
New Lenox, IL | 6/9/2014 For Immediate Release
Local Author Featured at Printers’ Row Lit Fest
Jeanne Meeks introduced her new novel, published in May, 2014, at the Printers’ Row Lit Fest in downtown Chicago June 7-8 at the Mystery Writers of America tent. She read passages from “Wolf Pack-Mystery on Isle Royale”, discussed novel writing, and signed copies of “Wolf Pack” and her first novel, “Rim To Rim” for fans.
Jeanne and her novels will be featured on News & Views, a cable TV show hosted by Lydia Ponzcak. She also co-hosted the production which airs on Comcast channel 19 on Tuesdays, 9:00 PM, during the month of July. News & Views will also stream on the internet after July 1st at www.ACVariety.com
Read more about RIM TO RIM, Wolf Pack, Jeanne’s outdoor adventures, and the craft of writing at http://www.jeannemeeks.com.
New Lenox, IL | 12/23/2013
Grand Canyon Tragedy Inspires Local Author to Write Mystery Novel
Jeanne Meeks, long-time New Lenox resident, penned RIM TO RIM-Death in the Grand Canyon after a five-day backpacking trek across the canyon in 2007. While on the trail, the canyon grapevine buzzed with rumors about a child falling from the South Rim. Heart sick about the tragedy, Ms Meeks felt the need to write, but couldn’t steal from that family’s grief. Instead, she wrote a fictional mystery/adventure about the stunning beauty and the dangers of the Grand Canyon, and killed off a only few bad guys along the way.
Grady Harp, an LA reviewer, wrote: “ A Dandy Chick Lit Work: Empowering Women, Dispensing Adventure. Ladies take note: Jeanne Meeks has created a first novel that puts her up in the company of fine adventure/mystery writers . . .”
“The reader is drawn into her every emotion and will celebrate her triumph at the end. A truly glorious read…pick it up and you will not stop until its done.” – Jacksonville, FL reader
Second in the Backcountry Mystery series, is Wolf Pack-Mystery on Isle Royale, published in May, 2014. Amy Warren once again laces up her hiking boots and joins volunteer park ranger, Sarah Rochon, on a remote island in Lake Superior. She hopes that backpacking with her daughter will mend their estranged relationship. Will they become closer or will murder and betrayal bury them on Isle Royale?
A reader posted this review of Wolf Pack: “Very well written. Descriptions so real I felt I was there. Characters believable and intriguing. It held my interest from page one to the very end. A lot of twist and turns which made it very difficult to put the book down!”
Jeanne Meeks wrote mostly poetry in the 80s and 90s, but put “write a book” on her bucket list. She had little time to write while running Video Master, Inc., a video surveillance business which she owned with her husband, Bob. Located for twenty-eight years in New Lenox, the company was sold in 2005 to a British corporation. Jeanne then began writing full-time and has won several short-story awards and had one short story published in an anthology. RIM TO RIM has been nominated for a Lovey Award-Best First Novel which will be presented at the Love is Murder convention in Chicago in February, 2014.
“A woman is like a tea bag,” said Jeanne, quoting Eleanor Roosevelt. “You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water.” This is a theme that runs through both her novels and the several short stories she has written, all of which are available on Amazon and in Kindle format. RIM TO RIM and Wolf Pack are also available at Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore in Forest Park.
Read more about RIM TO RIM, Wolf Pack, Jeanne’s outdoor adventures, and the craft of writing at www.jeannemeeks.com.
-ENDS-
Author Biography
Jeanne Meeks (born on the southside of Chicago) began backpacking in 2005 at the age of fifty-four and hiked across the Grand Canyon just to prove she could do it. The experience inspired her to cross “write a book” off her bucket list.
She restarted her writing career after retiring from Video Master, Inc. After twenty-eight years in business, Ms. Meeks and her husband sold their New Lenox-based video security surveillance company to a British corporation.
During her career, Jeanne was recognized by the Illinois governor as the Small-Business Person of the Year. She was also the Tax Collector for New Lenox Township and has been the President of the Chamber of Commerce, on the board of a local bank, and on Silver Cross Hospital’s Community Trustee Board.
Ms. Meeks also volunteered as an Outdoor Trainer for the Girl Scouts and was a leader for twelve years.
Ms. Meeks now writes full-time and belongs to Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and writers’ groups in Illinois and Florida. Jeanne also writes human-interest articles for Schoolhouse Life news magazine. She reads extensively, edits for other authors in her critique groups, and writes a blog at www.jeannemeeks.com about Learning to Write, Outdoor Adventures, and other things she loves.
When not writing, Jeanne backpacks, kayaks, entertains the grandchildren, volunteers with the local historical society, and plays tennis or golf. Married in 1969, she lives with her husband in New Lenox, IL and on Florida’s gulf coast.
Media photos
Please feel free to use these photos, but give appropriate credit to the photographer, Donna Hinshaw.
Other images with lower resolution for which I own the rights.
Dipping our tires into the Mississippi River after a 217 mile ride across Illinois.(left to right): Jeanne Meeks, Dot Kluzek, Nancy TerHaar, Nancy Sorci. Sept. 2016
Works of Fiction by Jeanne Meeks
Jeanne had a number of poems published in the 1990s and published a chapbook of poetry, but her first success with prose came in 2013. Her short story, Eternally Yours, was published by HK Books in the UK in The Other Side-An Anthology of Fiction Talent. Later that year she won first place in a Midlife Collage contest with a slice-of-life short story, A Kind Word. Her novels, GATOR BAIT-A Tennis Team Mystery, Rim to Rim-Death in the Grand Canyon, and Wolf Pack -Mystery on Isle Royale are available from local libraries, and from Amazon and other on-line retailers in paperback, Kindle and Nook. E-book versions of two short stories, Eternally Yours, Robert and Home Run are also available from Amazon.
Killer Serve – A Tennis Team Mystery
Retirement isn’t all tennis, golf, and Mahjong. After Packi Walsh finds a stranger stretched out on the tennis court with a hole in his chest, the ladies’ tennis team uncovers a seamy side to their tropical paradise.
Hidden in the woods near Paradise Palms and with nowhere else to go, a group of homeless men and sex offenders live in a secret tent viallge. Packie’s friend, Mark, once homeless himself, befriends the men and asks the tennis team to collect camping gear.
Packi and Curtis, a neighborhood teen, arrive with donations, but are ignored until the camp is trashed by a gang of thugs. In spite of Deputy Teig’s warnings, Packi and the team track down muggers and murderers. They discover the woods isn’t the only hiding place for sex offenders.
“Tennis, homicide, and a bit of romance in this whodunit from Jeanne Meeks. The author paints pictures with her descriptive writing, and entertains via the antics of her colorful central character, the inquisitive and irrepressible Packi Walsh. The book’s recipe is a little bit “Murder She Wrote” plus a dash of Agatha Christie and a pinch of “Mrs. Colombo” for good measure. With all of those ingredients, how can it not be a tasty broth of mystery and murder? I applaud the storyteller for not relying on the crutches of profanity and graphic intimacy to tell her story. She has crafted an entertaining book and a good read.”
— Merle Temple, (Tupelo, MS) author and FBI agent
Killer Serve – A Tennis Team Mystery is a fictional cozy mystery published by Charthouse Press, 2017. ISBN: 9781545560808. Available on Amazon.com: http://bit.ly/KillerServe
GATOR BAIT – A Tennis Team Mystery.
“Just when you think the suspense is over, it starts again. This story kept me turning pages well into the night.” – Evelyn Cullet, Author
“I couldn’t read it fast enough to see what happened.” – Valerie Witt, Reader
Synopsis of GATOR BAIT:
The Paradise Palms women’s tennis team jumps into action after they find the body of a flashy real estate developer floating in Gator Lake. Packi Walsh wheedles her way into the investigation by bribing a cranky deputy with homemade cookies. Her snooping uncovers real estate fraud, irate investors, an affair between a trophy wife and her tennis pro, and a connection between the friendly neighborhood pharmacist and the New Jersey mob. Now someone tries to silence Packi by making her gator bait.
Gator Bait-A Tennis Team Mystery is a fictional cozy mystery published by Chart House Press, 2015
ISBN-13 978-1511826198,
Wolf Pack-Mystery on Isle Royale
“Her fresh voice and captivating story will have you reading well into the night.” – Lydia Ponczak, author and TV personality.
“Descriptions so real I felt I was there. It held my interest from page one to the very end. A lot of twist and turns which made it very difficult to put the book down!” – A reader from Palos Hills, IL
Synopsis of Wolf Pack – Mystery on Isle Royale
Can a backpacking trip to an island famous for its wolves mend the relationship between Amy and her grown daughter? Will blackmail and betrayal bring them together––or bury them on Isle Royale?
Emboldened by her adventures in the Grand Canyon, Amy Warren again laces up her hiking boots. She ferries with her daughter, Meagan, to Isle Royal National Park. When volunteer ranger Sarah Rochon is accused by a co-worker of assault and theft, Amy is torn between spending precious time with Meagan and clearing her best friend’s name. When Amy rescues Remington, a pampered Havanese show dog, from the frigid waters of Lake Superior, he becomes her champion. Together they sniff out clues to the evil that threatens the natural tranquility of the magical island.
Wolf Pack-Mystery on Isle Royale is a fictional mystery adventure for women set in our least visited National Parks.
ISBN 978-1497443235, published by Chart House Press, 2014
RIM TO RIM – Death in the Grand Canyon
Empowering Women, Dispensing Adventure
Ladies take note: Jeanne Meeks has created a first novel that puts her up in the company of fine adventure/mystery writers, especially those for whom the novel seems intended – women standing on the brink of decision about taking control of their lives. – Grady Harp, LA reviewer
The reader is drawn in to her every emotion and will celebrate her triumph at the end. A truly glorious read…pick it up and you will not stop until its done. – a reader from Jacksonville, FL
Synopsis of RIM To RIM-Death in the Grand Canyon
When her husband serves her with divorce papers for her fiftieth birthday, Amy Warren plans to rebuild her self-esteem by backpacking across the Grand Canyon. She trains for a difficult hike: heat, rock slides, rattlesnakes; but when she finds a mangled body in a ravine and a series of suspicious events occur along the trail, the adventure takes a dangerous twist.
Amy’s new friendship with experienced backpacker, Sarah Rochon, encourages her to conquer the canyon’s natural dangers. Ranger Glen Hawk tries to safeguard the women from the unnatural dangers, but his protection and affection are rebuffed. Trapped on a narrow ledge, Amy discovers her inner strengths, faces her fears, and brings peace back to the Grand Canyon and into her life.
RIM TO RIM- Death in the Grand Canyon is women’s fiction with a twist of mystery. To find on Amazon, click here: http://amzn.to/1d66RR0 ISBN:9781492130246, Published by Chart House Press, 2013 Kindle version: http://amzn.com/B00EKOBR8Q
Also available at Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore, 7419 W. Madison Street, Forest Park IL, 708-771-7243, http://www.centuriesandsleuths.com
Eternally Yours, Robert
Rose Turner overhears her son-in-law threaten to put her in a nursing home and takes matters into her own hands.
Looking for the passion she had denied herself years ago, Rose runs away. She knows she’ll find Robert at the lovely old Empire Hotel in French Lick, Indiana. Under the scrutiny of the hotel staff, Rose awaits Robert’s arrival, lays out a red satin gown, and hopes she’ll recognize the man she left behind.
“An excellently written, fascinating story that you’ll want to read right to the end. -Lydia T. Ponczak, Author and TV Personality
“Eternally Yours, Robert was wonderful. Made me cry and that is a good thing to do sometimes.” – Patricia Walsh, Murietta, CA
Click here to find this story on Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00DYLF4K8
Home Run
Can deception lead to romance? Jim Szewiski, a softball player with the Southside Chuggers, borrows another man’s persona to improve his batting average and gets more than he bargained for.
The Chuggers know Jim as a dependable third baseman. His employer, Witzle and Franklin, knows him as a decent accountant. Jim is tired of striking out and decides to swing for the fences––Chicago’s night life and rich, single women.
Home Run is an ironic short story about love and lies. Available in e-book format on Amazon.com. Click here: http://amzn.com/B00E7SLOI8
Jeanne Meeks ~ Fiction Author 