This
week my friend Dorothy Bodoin, mystery author, is visiting and she discusses
how her series came about. I’d love to visit her location, Foxglove Corners. It’s
an amazing place, and so are the books. Please welcome Dorothy.
I didn’t set out to
write a series. Darkness at Foxglove Corners was intended to be a stand-alone like my first book, Treasure at Trail’s End. When I was finished however, I missed my
characters.
While researching the
setting for Darkness at Foxglove Corners, I’d learned that the sport
of fox hunting was a major activity in Metamora, the real place in which all of
books in the series are set. There was
even a hunt club. I could easily see
Jennet tangling with the members as an amateur animal activist—and Cry for the Fox was born. The rest (as
they say) is history.
As I added to my
series, I developed a set of guidelines for myself. First, it’s crucial to choose a setting that
sparks your imagination. I live in Royal
Oak, Michigan, a city which is quite interesting, having changed dramatically since
my family bought their house after the end of World War II. They wouldn’t recognize the downtown with its
restaurants and multi-story buildings today.
I’ve always had an
affinity for the country, however, and when my brother built a house in Lapeer,
Michigan, I fell in love with the location.
The fictitious Foxglove Corners is more vivid in my mind than the actual
place. Details help the reader visualize
the scenes and feel as if they are there.
They certainly add color.
I’ve read this advice
before: Your characters should grow and change.
Readers have told me that Jennet has changed over the course of the
twenty-six books in the series. Her
marriage to Deputy Sheriff Crane Ferguson has brought her happiness and taken
the edge off her insecurities. She
struggles to maintain control in her high school English classes and has
occasional success. Like her creator,
she loves collies and was always saving them from unfortunate situations. Eventually I had her join a rescue league.
If a character
catches my imagination, he or she returns in future books. When I introduced Lucy Hazen in the first
book, I had in mind an unpleasant, witch-like woman. She accused Jennet of letting her collie
destroy her property. The guilty party
was another dog. Jennet didn’t like Lucy,
but Crane did. I brought Lucy back in Cry for the Fox in which she and Jennet bonded over cruelty to animals. Eventually Lucy and Jennet became close
friends.
When Brent appeared,
also in Cry for the Fox, I pictured an unscrupulous character
whose desire to attract a beautiful animal activist led him to proclaim that he,
too, was an advocate for the Cause, whereas in truth he was a fox hunter. Brent is now one of my most popular
characters and a good friend to both Jennet and her husband, Crane.
I always anchor my
books to a season to give the illusion of time passing, but I avoid dates. For the same reason, I avoid referring to
world events. There’s no quicker way to date
a book than to mention a year or refer to a real life disaster or world
happening.
On the other hand, I
like to let the reader know that my characters are living in the same world as
they are. When Jennet and Crane were
courting, they watched a movie on a VCR.
Now they watch movies on a DVD player and have a flat-screen television
set. Jennet’s life as an amateur
detective is much easier now that she has an iPhone.
Last,
it’s important to include what you love in your series. For me it’s old books in a series, antiques, collies
(of course), Gothic novels, music, poetry, and supernatural
manifestations. Jennet has discovered
that Foxglove Corners can be a hotbed of psychic activity.
These, then, are the
rules I follow automatically. In my May
release from Wings ePress, The Deadly Fields of Autumn, the season is fall. Jennet now has seven collies, her first,
Halley, and six rescues. Brent and Lucy
play prominent parts. Jennet has become
more adept at solving mysteries, more intuitive, more able to extricate herself
from perilous situations. The Deadly Fields of Autumn is available at
www.amazon.com or your favorite
retailer.
There’s a rule I wish I’d followed—to keep
track of what’s going on in characters’ lives: details such as where they live,
their pets, and any change in their status.
As it is, when I don’t remember a certain fact, I have to find the
relevant book and reread that passage.
When your series starts to grow, this record is essential. I’m going to start keeping track of these
details today. Better late than never.
Dorothy Bodoin's website: http://www.dorothybodoin.com/
~~~
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Newly released: Gin Mill Grill - A Sandi Webster Mystery
