Victoria Treadwell is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about In the Dead of Winter, the first novel in the Blue Water mystery series.
Welcome, Victoria. Let’s get started, shall we?
Tell us about the novel that you live inside. Is it part of a series? If so, please tell us about the series too.
- My name is Victoria Treadwell and I’m the Dispatcher for the sheriff’s office in Charlevoix County, Michigan.
- “In the Dead of Winter” is the first book in the Blue Water Mysteries series
Does the writer control what happens in the story or do you get a say too?
- I definitely get my say. Sometimes, in fact, I even surprise the writer.
How did you evolve as the main character?
- In this book, I’ve got my first chance to prove myself in the sheriff’s office.
- I’m a woman in an all male, macho environment, plus I get dismissed because I’m not a police officer.
- Nonetheless, in our first major case in 15 years, I find a piece of evidence that eventually helps convict the killer.
Do you have any other characters you like sharing the story with? If so, why are you partial to them?
- In this book, I particularly identify with the victim, Carly Yellowwood.
- When Carly dies, leaving behind a toddler, I want to adopt the poor motherless mite.
- Unfortunately, it takes a lot to convince my husband, Matt.
- He’s a guide for fishermen and hunters and we have two sons. He’s the stay at home parent and we just got the youngest into school full-time.
- Since little Chenoa is half Native, the court intervenes in her custody.
- I struggle to decide the right thing to do.
What’s the place like where you find yourself in this story?
- Since there is so little crime in the County, there are only 5 members of the sheriff’s office: the sheriff, a jailer, two deputies and me.
- The County is vast, and we have one deputy based on Beaver Island out in Lake Michigan.
- The other deputy is based on Boyne City.
- I live in Ellsworth with my husband and two sons.
- Charlevoix County is a gorgeous natural setting that encompasses not only Lake Charlevoix, but a segment of Lake Michigan as well.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about you and the book?
- I’m an experienced mystery author, having written 14 cozy mysteries.
- My first series was called “The Mae December Mysteries”
- The second series was “The Rosedale Investigations”
- “In the Dead of Winter” is the first book in the 3rd series.
- The second is called, “The Silent Solstice,” and is already written
- I’m just completing the third, “The Equinox Enigma”
Thank you for answering my questions, Victoria, and good luck to you and your author, Lyn Farrell, with In the Dead of Winter, the first book in the Blue Water mystery series.
Readers can learn more about Victoria and her author, Lyn Farrell by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook page.
The novel is available at the following online retailers:
About Lyn Farrell: Lyn Farquhar—pen name Lyn Farrell—holds a Ph.D. from Michigan State University and is an experienced author, having published the seven-book series (the Mae December mysteries) with Epicenter Press and four books in the Rosedale Investigations series. She has also published one women’s fiction book. To date, eight of her books have been picked up by a secondary publisher, Harlequin. Sales to date from both primary and secondary publishers are approaching 50,000. Lyn worked for Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine for 35 years before retiring to pursue her dream of becoming a published fiction author. Lyn is the mother of two, has six stepchildren, and twelve grandchildren. She loves gardening, playing with her Cavalier King Charles spaniels, and is always on the lookout for paintings by her famous artist grandfather, Eugene Iverd.
dianneascroft.com 