Merida creates art, writes books, and trains for crazy endurance events.
Fine art, "The Ninja Grandparent Placement Mysteries," children's books, "The Tapestry Tales" YA sci-fi series, plus more!
Book Two of The Ninja Grandparent Placement Mysteries
Available soon for pre-order!
A mysterious ninja kidnaps another lonely senior citizen and places her with a family in need of a grandparent.
Lovey Dearheart, a sixty-nine-year-old dance instructor and retired Las Vegas showgirl, has never been lucky in love. Has she escaped the unwanted attention of an obsessive fan only to be whisked away by a ninja?
When Lovey goes missing, her sultry dance class for senior citizens at the Happy Marmot Community Center becomes gym receptionist Brie Bramble’s responsibility. Twenty-five-year-old Brie tries to twerk her way into the role of the missing elderly woman, with disastrous results. To make matters more complicated, Brie has close encounters with a ninja her PI father never seems to see.
The seniors pay Thorne Bramble peanut brittle to find Lovey. His investigation takes him into the lair of a donut-loving mastermind who counsels incels in the art of seduction. Colorado Springs’s finest PI teams up with his daughter to crack the case.
Can Brie and Thorne locate Lovey Dearheart before she becomes the permanent Valentine for a family of musical theater fanatics?
Praise for The Ninja Grandparent Placement Mysteries
Forget fairy godmothers; everyone needs a ninja. Authors Catherine Dilts and Merida Bass are off to a terrific start . . . the duo is made up of a mother/daughter team. The combination of voices and life experiences is clear, as is their sense of humor and passion for grandparents "belonging."
—Donnell Ann Bell, bestselling author of Black Pearl: A Cold Case Suspense
Available wherever you purchase books in paperback and eBook! Or find it on Amazon and Kindle! Start reading today!
A mysterious ninja kidnaps a lonely senior citizen and places him with a family in need of a grandparent.
Barry Strong, a seventy-year-old bodybuilder and widower, isn’t ready for romance. When his New Year’s Eve dance partner leads him away from the party, he attempts to resist her charms. Until a bag drops over his head.
Thorne Bramble, self-proclaimed Best Private Investigator in Colorado Springs, is determined to find his missing friend. After all, Barry owes Thorne a free celery juice. Bodybuilder Barry promised to help Thorne fulfill his resolution to whip his dad bod into shape. Resolution number two is trickier. When Thorne tries to improve his awkward relationship with his adult daughter Brie, he learns being a PI is much easier than being a dad.
True crime podcast fan and gym receptionist Brie Bramble reluctantly joins forces with her bumbling PI father to look for Barry. Twenty-five-year-old Brie steps out of her boring existence to go deep undercover with the help of a senior burlesque dance instructor.
Can the sleuthing father-daughter duo work together to find the missing senior citizen? Or will Barry Strong’s heart be kidnapped by a family in desperate need of a grandparent?
Praise for Book One
Grandpa’s New Year’s Relocation, by mother–daughter duo Catherine Dilts and Merida Bass, is a quirky, big-hearted cozy that opens with a lonely seventy-year-old bodybuilder kidnapped by a ninja—and only gets funnier from there. As a bumbling PI and his true-crime-loving daughter team up to find their missing friend, the novel delivers fast-paced laughs, vivid characters, and unexpected tenderness about family, belonging, and second chances. Warm, witty, and surprisingly moving, this is the kind of cozy that leaves you smiling—and glad Barry Strong’s story is the beginning of a series.
—Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Drowning Game Barbara Nickless
A humorous romp through older age with a cast of quirky characters including a kidnapping ninja, a bumbling private investigator, and a family of bodybuilders who want to adopt a bodybuilding grandpa.
—Mike Befeler, author of the Paul Jacobson Geezer-lit Mystery Series, Death of a Scam Artist and Old Detectives Home
Novels co-authored by Merida Bass Published in 2025
A mysterious ninja kidnaps a lonely senior citizen and places him with a family in need of a grandparent.
Barry Strong, a seventy-year-old bodybuilder and widower, isn’t ready for romance. When his New Year’s Eve dance partner leads him away from the party, he attempts to resist her charms. Until a bag drops over his head.
In the year 2291, when everyone is connected remotely to each other’s brains, the world is not as perfect as it seems.
Fanatical Nia believes that Breaker, the world’s greatest superhero, is the only one who can fix the planet. Jag knows Nia is insane, and that Breaker is a dangerous eco-terrorist. When the two teens are abruptly disconnected from the Tapestry, can they get over their differences and work together to unravel Breaker’s identity?
The Earth is dying, and Nia Beckett is certain it's all her fault.
The Earth is dying, and Nia Beckett is certain it's all her fault.
Jag’s plan to find his mother by capturing superhero Breaker and turning her in for a big reward falls apart. Nia protects Breaker’s identity, but can she convince her hero to join her fight to preserve the jungle? Nia’s new recruits in her Teens For Earth activist group put their recently acquired Talents to the test, but everything they
Jag’s plan to find his mother by capturing superhero Breaker and turning her in for a big reward falls apart. Nia protects Breaker’s identity, but can she convince her hero to join her fight to preserve the jungle? Nia’s new recruits in her Teens For Earth activist group put their recently acquired Talents to the test, but everything they try just makes the situation worse. Can Ando the squirrel monkey’s powerful Talent stop the spreading decay?
Projects by merida-creates.com
The Apple of My Eye
The Apple of My Eye
The Apple of My Eye
Ronald Frank has done it all and failed. When he inherits an apple orchard, will he be successful? He has a horrible history with apples. This can't turn out good. Or can it?
Huge Drawing 2024
The Apple of My Eye
The Apple of My Eye
I'm currently working on my sixth huge pencil and ink drawing. I have taken video of the entire process, and plan to piece them all together when the picture is complete.
The Jelly Monster
The Apple of My Eye
The Jelly Monster was written by C.S. Gieck and illustrated by me! It's available in hardback and on Kindle.
Trail Love
I've been trail running in Colorado Springs for more than a dozen years. And I have lots of stories to share!
24 Hours of Palmer Lake
24 Hours of Palmer Lake
I love writing about my training adventures. Last year, I trained for the 24 Hours of Palmer Lake Endurance run. I kept going from 8:00 AM to 3:00 AM this time. Check out my blog and be sure to subscribe!
Biking Across Iowa
24 Hours of Palmer Lake
In 2023, I embarked on a crazy journey bicycling across Iowa with my husband and two of his coworkers. I wrote all about the experience and would love to share the story with you!
Drawing - Illustrating - Writing - Endurance
Merida's always working on something new!
I have a passion for creating massive pencil and ink drawings, and I film the entire process. I also write and illustrate children's books, co-author The Ninja Grandparent Placement Mysteries, and The Tapestry Tales YA novel series. When I'm not working hard, I'm training for long endurance events.