Interview Dorothy Bodoin

by

S. E. Schenkel

1) Dorothy, you have had quite a few books published. Do you still get excited when another book is about to present itself to the reading public?

Oh yes, and I hope I always do! Long before the release date of a book, I start counting the days and watching for the mailman. An ARC for Treasure At Trail’s End has already joined my previous books on the bookcase where they’re immediately visible to anyone coming into the house.

2) How long did it take you to write Treasure at Trail’s End? Is this book part of a series?

Treasure At Trail’s End is a stand alone Gothic romance novel. I wrote it one summer when I was still teaching. I started it around the end of June and was finished when school started again in September. However, before selling it to Wings, I revised it several times, had it professionally critiqued, and revised it again.

3) Many writers talk about their characters “visiting” them, and even taking over the story. Is that an experience you share?

I haven’t had the experience of my characters “visiting” me, but I’ve had something similar. The setting for my Foxglove Corners series is Metamora, Michigan. I renamed it Foxglove Corners and created my own roads and houses and restaurants. My fictitious place is more real to me than the actual one. When I drive through Metamora, I find myself looking for the Mill House where Jennet and Crane have breakfast on Sunday morning and for the houses that appear in the books.

The only character who ever took over a story is Garth McKay, the hero of my stand alone novel of romantic suspense, The Cameo Clue. I created an all-American, true blue policeman for the story, intending for him to be the hero. Garth was a secretive man, rumored to be a member of the Michigan Militia. But from the beginning he was more interesting to me than the policeman. I found myself giving all the best scenes to him, and midway through the story, my heroine decided that he was her hero.

Usually, though, my characters do what I want them to.

4) What in your past has influenced the type or genre of stories you like to write?

I’ve been influenced by my life-long love of mysteries and Gothic novels. I remember my mother taking me to see Jane Eyre when I was a little girl. Maybe that was when my fascination with the genres began. Anyway, as soon as I could choose my own books, I began to immerse myself in mysteries. When I wrote my first book, seriously, for publication, it was only natural that I started it with a mysterious inheritance.

5) On your website, you mentioned a plot notebook. That intrigues me. Can you tell us a little more about this notebook?

When I was growing up, I knew that I wanted to write, and I read articles and books by Phyllis A. Whitney over and over. They were crammed with helpful ideas, but the chapter on the plot notebook really fired my imagination, and I quickly adapted her plotting method to suit my own writing. It’s a simple 3-ring binder with dividers. I have sections for one-sentence opening situations, plots--boiled down to a single sentence--themes, lines of poetry, intriguing titles, and occasionally longer entries that resemble a synopsis. They may never be written into stories (although some have been) but they're there. Sort of like money in the bank.

6) How dependent are you on this plot notebook when starting a new story?

Sometimes I’ll browse through it looking for inspiration, but usually I have some ideas already in place before I begin planning a new book. I’ve already started to make notes for my next Foxglove Corners book, none of which came from the plot notebook, but at present I’m immersed in my current WIP.

7) Your hometown is Royal Oak, Michigan. Have you used the Royal Oak setting in any of your stories?

I used pieces of Royal Oak such as interesting houses and our train track, the viaduct, and the wonderful woodsy park beneath the tracks.

8) I know you have traveled in Europe and worked for two years in Italy. Do you plan on taking any of your “sleuths” to that part of the world? Or have you already?

I’ve never set a book in another country and at present don’t plan to do so. I have pictures, postcards, and memories of the places I visited, but they’re old. I imagine, like all places, the countries I once knew changed over the years, and I’m not fond of traveling--to put it mildly.

9) How much of you desire to write comes from a need to share your love of the written word?

I have always loved words. I can amuse myself for hours by browsing through a thesaurus, Bartlett’s Quotations, or books of poetry. Well, maybe not hours. But I love creating something that has a life of its own--a book--with words, and I love to study the way poets use the language.

10) If you were facing a crowd of book lovers and asked to say a few words, what would you say?

Books take us to the farthest corners of the world, to other planets, or even back and forward in time. Getting lost in a good story is one of the greatest pleasures in life.