About Me
I was born and raised in South Bend, Indiana, and have lived here nearly all my life. I’ve read English mysteries since I was a teen-ager, though, and they bred in me a love of England that led to my first mystery series. I knew it was unlikely I could ever afford to live in a lovely little seventeenth-century cottage somewhere in Kent or Sussex—but if I created a character who did just that, I could live her life vicariously, and instead of costing me a fortune, that life would actually make me some money. Such a deal!
Thus was born Dorothy Martin, who is essentially my alter-ago, though she’s named after my favorite cousin. She appeared first in a short story I wrote many, many years ago. It has never been published, but Dorothy waited patiently in the wings, and when the idea for her first book came into my head, there she was, ready to take center stage.
That book, The Body in the Transept, won the Agatha award for Best First Novel of 1995, and Dorothy has gone on to eight more adventures since (and I’m working on another). In 1998 I began to hanker after a new character, a new setting, and—I’ll admit it—a little more income. So I came up with the series set in my home town, starring a strong-willed young Swedish housemaid. Housemaid? Yes, because that series is set about a hundred years ago, when the wealthy families in America still had servants. Hilda Johansson works for one of the wealthiest families in South Bend, the Studebakers. You may know them as automobile manufacturers, some years back, but in Hilda’s time their main products were wagons and carriages. I’ve enjoyed the research these books have required, and I’ve grown to love Hilda and her fellow immigrants to a South Bend very different from the one I live in now. A new Hilda, Indigo Christmas, will be out in the fall of 2008 from Perseverance Press.
What’s ahead? Hard to say. My first publisher, Walker, stopped doing mysteries several years ago, so my agent had to scramble to find me new houses. I don’t know if Forge intends to do more Dorothys. I think Perseverance wants more Hildas, but the trouble is finding the time. Like many authors, I have to hold down other jobs as well, and they leave me little time to write. (If anybody out there thinks most authors are rich, I hate to disillusion you—but until they let me change my name to Stephen King or J. K. Rowling, I have to watch my pennies!) What I need is to win the lottery, only since I never buy a ticket…
I do find time for some fun. I’ve sung for years in church choirs, and as long as they’re willing to put up with this aging soprano, I’ll keep on doing that. Of course I look after my house and garden and husband and four cats—not necessarily in that order. (The cats have a way of insisting that they come first.) I also love dollhouses and miniatures, and some day I hope to finish decorating my little Tudor mansion. It was coming along nicely until one of the cats—but that’s another story..
I’m also pining to write a stand-alone, a book about an ordinary guy who tries to fight Big Business in a small town, a sort of David-and-Goliath story. I think it would be a good book if I could just get it written. Maybe I could learn to do without sleep!
Incidentally, one of my part-time jobs is editing. I’ve become a free-lance editor, helping other writers polish their manuscripts. If you’re in search of an editor, or know someone who is, go to the Editing Services page, where you’ll find lots of information.
Meanwhile, stay tuned. Whatever lies ahead for me and Dorothy and Hilda, you’ll hear it here first.
