Interview Dorothy Bodoin
by
Linda LaRoque
Hi Dorothy. It’s nice to meet another Nancy Drew, Phyllis Whitney, and Victoria Holt book lover. Your book Darkness at Foxglove Corners sounds intriguing.
1) How did you get the idea for this story? Do you have old journals in your family that inspired you?
I set out to write a contemporary mystery about a female sleuth and her dog. I planned to move them from their previous home to an exciting new locale. The tornado allowed me to do that. The rest of the elements--a neighbor with a secret, a handsome new love interest, and a journal unearthed by the tornado--dropped into place, and the plot practically developed itself.
I’ve always kept journals, but the only journal in my family is a day book dating from the early years of the last century. A journal allows me to write about two time periods in the same book. Darkness At Foxglove Corners takes place in the present; the journal entries reflect events that happened in the early l970’s.
2) Do I understand correctly that the heroine for all your Foxglove Corners mysteries is the same person? Does she have a love interest in these stories? If so, is it the deputy that has grabbed your female reader’s attention?
Jennet Greenway is the heroine of all six of my Foxglove Corners cozy mysteries. Her love interest is Deputy Sheriff Crane Ferguson whom she meets in Chapter 3 of Darkness At Foxglove Corners. I developed their relationship slowly throughout the series. As The Snow Dogs Of Lost Lake (#6) ends, Jennet is looking forward to their spring wedding.
4) What makes Foxglove Corners unique? Why would I love to live there?
If you like country living, you’d love Foxglove Corners, AKA Metamora, Michigan. It’s a beautiful rural area. There’s an enormous mall within driving distance--but it’s a half hour away. Foxglove Corners has ponds and lakes, woods, gorgeous old Victorian houses, and unpaved roads. It’s horse country and fox hunting country. Deer run freely across yards and through gardens, and if you’re lucky, you might see a fox or a coyote. It’s quiet and at night, without streetlights, it’s very dark, a perfect place for mysterious happenings.
5) What is your heroine’s name? Describe her and tell us what makes her a unique character?
In Darkness At Foxglove Corners, Jennet tells us that she’s twenty-nine years old. She has dark brown hair and a slender frame, although all the fancy desserts her creator makes her eat have added a few pounds. She teaches English at Marston High School, which is an hour’s drive away from her home. Most of her adventures take place outside of school, however. She loves all animals, especially dogs, and has taken part in animal protection activities. She believes in shades of gray, which places her in opposition to Crane to whom the law is sacred. Like a real person, she makes an occasional error in judgment and is inclined to extricate herself from dangerous situation by using words. She considers her life quiet and can’t imagine how she made so many enemies--one in each book.
6) You mention on your website that you used Phyllis Whitney’s book on writing. Is their one particular concept she imparted that made a big impact on your writing career?
Two concepts helped me make the transition from wanting to write and becoming a writer. I was still in my teens when I read Phyllis Whitney’s chapter on developing a plot by jotting down ideas in a notebook with tabs for plot, character, theme, setting--whatever divisions you wanted. I wrote my first book using her notebook method. To this day, I still use it.
Also, her concept of Three Necessary Ingredients made sense to me. They are emotion, significance, and immediacy. I always try to make sure that they’re in my books. If one of them is missing, the story falls flat.
7) Wow! You’ve visited some interesting places--Italy, France, Germany, England, Switzerland, and Austria. If you had an opportunity to live in one of those countries, which one would you choose? Why?
I can’t see myself living in any country but America or in any state other than Michigan, which is my home, but to answer the question, if I had to choose one foreign country, it would be Germany. I loved the scenery, the castles, the music, the sound of the language, the food--everything. Like Jennet, I have a cuckoo clock from the Black Forest. It has survived many an upheaval over the years, but never a tornado.
8) Of the books you’ve written, do you have a favorite? If so, what makes it special to you?
I have two favorites. First, Treasure At Trail’s End. It’s special to me because it was my first book and the adventure I gave my heroine is one I’d like to have myself. It’s a western Gothic romance, my favorite genre.
Second, there’s A Shadow On The Snow, a novel of romantic suspense. For the setting I used a little town in Michigan, rechristened Huron Station, and a log cabin that used to belong to my aunt. It still exists, and the eighty acres are still intact. I have happy memories of my vacations there and my aunt. Whenever I reread this book, it’s like taking a trip back in time to my own past.
9) Do you have a set writing schedule? Describe it for us.
I don’t have a set writing schedule, but I try to write one chapter a week. This will be thoroughly revised so that by the time I move on to the next chapter, I’m satisfied with it. When I finish the book, I have very little revision to do. Mornings and evenings are my best times to work, but I also try to write during the day when possible.
When I’m planning a book, I try to spend a couple of hours each day jotting down notes in my Phyllis Whitney-inspired notebook, and I spend a great deal of time thinking about my story.
10) Do you plot out every aspect of your story before you begin writing? If so, usually how long does this take you?
I turn my planning notes into a detailed synopsis of about 50-60 pages and, using this synopsis, I write summaries for each chapter before I start the book, but I always veer off in different directions, especially around the middle. Sometimes the ending changes. This is an especially exciting part of the writing process for me. The planning period takes from one to two months.
11) Have you started another Foxglove Corners mystery? If so, when will it be out?
The Snow Dogs Of Lost Lake (#6) came out in November of 2006. The story winds up after Christmas. I made a few notes for Foxglove Corners #7, which will be a wedding mystery, but I wasn’t satisfied with them, so I began writing a stand alone novel of romantic suspense. When that is finished, I’ll go home to Foxglove Corners.
With luck, there’ll be a new Jennet Greenway book out at the end of 2007 or early 2008. But I hate to jinx it by looking too far into the future, so maybe you’d better omit this last paragraph. J