Let's get to know Jen Dodrill. Her Empty Nesters Cozy Mystery! Book #1 will hit the market early in 2024. I'm excited for her!

 Online  I met Jennifer (Jen) Dodrill. One of the reasons I wanted to become her friend is that she earned a graduate degree at the University of Southern Mississippi, which is the college I attended and earned my Bachelor of Arts.

 Since then, I have discovered that Jennifer has a way with words, a zest for living, and a kind heart. She graciously agreed to tell us about herself.

(I forgot to ask her if she likes collard greens.)

1. Tell me about yourself.  

My dad was in the Navy until I was two. We lived in Virginia and moved to Gulf Breeze, FL when I started 6^th grade. I went to college in Pensacola, earning a bachelor's degree in Speech Communication. It was a mistake! I thought I'd be helping kids who had speech problems. Lesson learned!

After college, I moved to Nashville and met my husband who was going into the Navy. We got engaged two months later and married five months after that! We didn't move a lot, but he was on sea duty for over 14 years and served a total of almost 23 years. We have 5 kids, all grown, plus 2 granddaughters and our first grandson is due in November. Eddie and I have been married almost 38 years and he is my best friend.

I homeschooled my youngest 3 kids and also blogged about homeschooling, wrote magazine articles and guest blog posts. I even spoke at a number of online homeschool conferences. I know that all of these experiences have been helpful as I've turned to writing.

It's the hard times that have increased my faith in God. I learned to rely on Him and allow Him to be my rock when I found out a family member was an addict. Then two years ago, my dad had terminal cancer. His wife decided she couldn't live without him and took her life. Unimaginable pain for all of us. I had the privilege of staying with Dad until he died. Life isn't easy, and these are just a few things I've dealt with, but God is faithful.

 2. Tell me what you have written. 

I just signed a 3-book series contract with Scrivenings Press for my cozy mystery series - The Empty Nesters Cozy Mystery! Book #1, Birds Alive!, is due out late Feb 2024. I'm working on book 2 now and just got back from seeing my mom in Pensacola and doing some research for this book out at Fort Pickens. 

I've also written a contemporary fiction novel that deals with addiction in the family. I'm still looking for a publisher for it. This novel is something I think will offer hope and joy to others who live with addiction in the family. It's fiction but is honest about the toll addiction takes on everyone involved.

I have another contemporary fiction novel in the works, and so many other ideas just waiting to be written!

3. Tell me about your writing habits.

This made me chuckle. I don't work so I get to write whenever I want! I do my best in the morning with coffee and my black cat, Tom, by my side. I will confess that I can do all kinds of things other than write. I even recently started a coffee mug shop on Redbubble - JDMugs!

I use Save the Cat Beat Sheets to plan my books, but I'm more of a pantser than an actual plotter. The Beat Sheets help me stay on track.

When I stayed with my dad I came up with the idea for my cozy series. Dad and his wife were big birders and I'm an empty nester. So, my series is about an empty nester who starts a birding group to meet people and then she starts finding dead people! 

 4. Share your goals

My goals for my writing - I want to inspire, encourage, and offer hope to people. I am a Christian and there is a thread of my faith in my books. I also love to make people laugh so there is always humor, even in the serious novel. I think my readers will be women 40s and up. Women who want to read about real life, sometimes the hard stuff, and find a way to walk in joy.

5. Mention some books you like to read.

I read for escape, and I read a lot. I'm stuck on psychological thrillers/suspense at the moment, but I also read cozies, mysteries, and historical fiction.

I use The Emotion Thesaurus almost daily. I also have read On Writing by Stephen King, Save the Cat Writes a Novel, Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell, and The Dance of Character & Plot by DiAnnMills. I have more books on my shelf in my study that I will use as needed.

The first thing I did when I got serious about writing was attend writing conferences. In 2022 I went to the Asheville Christian Writing Conference and met Larry Leech. He was incredibly encouraging and answered so many of my questions. I also went to the Scrivenings Press Writers Retreat that year and to the Florida Christian Writing Conference. I'm active in 2 critique groups - one with ACFW and one with Word Weavers. I still have so much to learn!

 6. Talk a little about your platform.

I started using social media when I blogged about homeschooling, so I understood how important that is for a writer. Now I blog at Jen Dodrill Writes and I'm actively working on building my newsletter email list! Because - publishers want writers to have social media and a newsletter! Plus, I like to talk/write so I get to share in many areas. 

You can also find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter (X), and Pinterest!

Jennifer and Her Daughter