Getting to know Bob White

My guest today is Bob White, the main character in Jan Dunlap’s Birder Mystery series. Let’s get to know him.

Patricia: Bob, what’s your occupation and how did you come to choose it?

Bob: I’m a counselor at Savage High School in Savage, Minnesota. At least, that’s what I put on my tax returns, since that’s my paying occupation. My REAL occupation, or maybe I should say pre-occupation, is birding. I live and breathe to go birding, to track down and see or hear every bird I can find. Unfortunately, in the last few years, I seem to be developing a bad habit of finding bodies when I’m birding – as in human dead bodies. I guess you could say that the ‘mystery’ of nature has taken on new meaning for me, because every time I find a body, I invariably end up having to solve a crime and find a murderer, when all I wanted was to find a new bird for my life list!

Patricia: What are your favorite things to do when you’re not working?

Bob: Bird. Bird. Ah…bird. Eat my wife’s cooking. She’s an excellent chef. Bird.

Patricia: Are you married or involved in a serious relationship? Tell us about that.

Bob: Yes, I am married now, and it’s a very serious relationship, although the first time I proposed to my wife, it was because I was thinking about ducks that mated for life more than about getting married myself. You can find that story in my first adventure The Boreal Owl Murder, by the way. Luce, my wife, is also a birder in her free time. In fact, we first met on a group birding trip in northwestern Minnesota, looking for a Northern Hawk Owl. We spent two days crammed into the back of the group leader’s little car, so we couldn’t exactly avoid each other.

Patricia: Tell us about one of your most memorable “adventures.” What drew you into the mystery?

Bob: The mother of one of my students was murdered, and it was my mother who found the body when I took her birding as a Mother’s Day surprise. The day didn’t quite turn out as I had planned. Then my student almost got me arrested and her brother punched me in the nose. I had my car tires shot out, and one of my 10^th grade girls’ softball players finally mastered her home-run swing to save her Prom date from getting killed. That was pretty memorable. That was my second adventure Murder on Warbler Weekend.

Patricia: Do you like to travel? If so, what are some of your favorite places to go and/or what was your favorite vacation? Have any of your travels involved solving a mystery?

Bob: I love traveling! Generally, my traveling is around Minnesota since I’m working on setting a record for seeing the most bird species in the state, but whenever I have a chance to go out-of-state and see more birds, I take off. In Falcon Finale, my fourth adventure, I headed to Flagstaff, Arizona, but my new habit followed me, and I ended up solving a cold murder case from twenty years back. Right now, I’m finishing off my seventh adventure, which took place along the Rio Grande Valley in Texas last winter, and I’ll tell you right now, it involved a lot more than just fresh grapefruit and sunshine! Birding is always a wild ride when I’m in town…

The Bob White Birder Murder Mysteries

Book 1 - The Boreal Owl Murder http://www.amazon.com/Boreal-Owl-Murder-Birder-Mystery/dp/0878392777/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1400707691&sr=1-1&keywords=the+boreal+owl+murder

Book 2 - Murder on Warbler Weekend http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Murder%20on%20Warbler%20Weekend

Book 3 - A Bobwhite Killing http://www.amazon.com/Bobwhite-Killing-Birder-Murder-Mystery/dp/0878393757/ref=pd_sim_b_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=05YVFDQTWZ73XHY2EHSA

Book 4 - Falcon Finale http://www.amazon.com/Falcon-Finale-Birder-Murder-Mystery/dp/0878394486/ref=pd_sim_b_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=15WX1J7GJS8QTY06YVQY

Book 5 - A Murder of Crows http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Crows-White-Birder-Mystery/dp/0878396160/ref=pd_sim_b_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0J0KGR64SEPVFE9TZBKJ

Book 6 - Swift Justice (release date of September, 2014 - no cover image available yet) http://www.amazon.com/Swift-Justice-Birder-Murder-Mystery/dp/0878397698/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1400707946&sr=1-1&keywords=Swift+Justice+by+Jan+dunlap

Jan Dunlap is a writer, speaker, birdwatcher, and mother of five children. A former Army brat, she currently makes her home in Minnesota while she devises plot twists in her humorous Bob White Birder Murder Mystery series. Jan holds a BA in English from Regis University in Denver, an MA in Theology from St. Catherine University in St. Paul, and an MA in English Studies from Minnesota State University-Mankato. Her humorous spiritual memoir titled "Saved by Gracie: How a rough-and-tumble rescue dog dragged me back to health, happiness, and God" recounts how her dog helped her overcome a growing anxiety disorder and explores current research into pet and nature therapy. Jan welcomes visitors to her website at jandunlap.com and hopes you’ll subscribe to her monthly newsletter for laughter and book news.

 

The Need to Disconnect

When someone asks for my cell phone number and I tell them I don’t have a cell phone, they almost always look at me as if I have two heads. It’s inconceivable to them that, in this day and age, a person would choose not to have a cell phone. Every time this happens, I’m smiling because, to me, it’s inconceivable that anyone would choose to be “on call” all of the time. I know. I know. You can always turn it off. But, how many people do?

This desire, this need, to be connected all of the time baffles me because that’s the last thing I want. Please don't misunderstand; I enjoy being around people and talking to my friends but I prefer to be where I am with the people who are there. If someone wants to contact me, they can reach me at home when I'm home or leave a message on my voice-mail if I'm not and I'll get back to them. Most of the time, it’s not all that urgent. If it would be a matter of life or death, since I'm not God, I probably couldn’t do anything about it anyway.

Several years ago, I went on vacation with a friend who was constantly either making or taking a call on her cell phone. First of all, I thought it was extremely rude but, more than anything, I felt sorry for her. She lacked the ability to disconnect, to leave problems and idle gossip behind and enjoy her time away from work and family obligations. And she wondered why she was always stressed and frazzled.

So much of our time is spent taking care of responsibilities (job, children, elderly parents, etc.) and dealing with reality that I think it’s important – make that crucial – to take time out to escape. Of course, we’re all different. Some people need more time to themselves than others but I think everyone needs to disconnect sometimes. To have uninterrupted time to themselves. I'm not talking about watching TV, listening to music or even reading a book. I'm talking about time to daydream. Time to recharge their batteries. Time to just be. Quiet time without anyone around and definitely without the sound of a phone announcing that someone is calling or texting.

Do you take the time to have “alone” time or do you prefer to be “connected” to other people all or most of the time? Just wondering.

Mystery of the Month: Hunter's Moon

The wealthiest family in the Canaan Valley has several problems, which its members handle using discretion—or maybe secrecy is a better word.  But when one of their members is murdered, their secrets are revealed as sisters Andrea and Kathleen help Sheriff Ward Sterling investigate the murder.

The sisters feel it’s especially important to figure out who the murderer is, since their friend, Deputy Willard Hill, is the prime suspect. They know Willard couldn’t possibly be guilty, but finding out who is turns out to be difficult. Several people will profit from the death, and there are a few more who had reasons to dislike the deceased.

In spite of a serious threat from the murderer, Andrea and Kathleen persist, hunting for hidden diaries, reviewing security camera records, and interviewing members of the family.  Their friend Willard is scheduled to marry one of the daughters of this wealthy family, but the wedding has been postponed until the murder is solved. The sisters want Willard to be cleared so the wedding can proceed as planned. More important, they must solve the case before the killer silences them.

Buy link:
http://amzn.com/B00CQMF6B8

Helen Haught Fanick grew up in West Virginia and now lives in Texas, and both states provide settings for her novels. Her interests are wide-ranging, and her work includes cozy mysteries, suspense novels, a World War II espionage novel, and short stories, all available through Amazon for Kindle. The novels are also available in paperback.

A short story impressed Helen’s fifth grade teacher, and she’s been writing ever since. She has won several local and state awards and two national awards in the Writer’s Digest Competition. Moon Signs was a quarter-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. She’s a graduate of The University of Texas at San Antonio and lives in San Antonio with her husband.

 

Three things to make you happy

I've heard it said that it takes three things to make a person happy: someone to love, something to do and something to look forward to. Makes perfect sense to me.

Of course, someone to love doesn't necessarily mean you have to be in a "relationship." It can be your spouse or significant other but it can also be your child, a close friend, a family member or a combination of any or all of them.

Although I'm divorced and not currently in a romantic relationship, I am blessed with so many wonderful people in my life, good friends and family, and I love them all.

Something to do can mean a job you enjoy, a cause you're committed to, a hobby or a passion. The important element is that it be something that gives you a reason to get out of bed in the morning and that it gives you a feeling of satisfaction and makes you feel you've been productive at the end of the day.

For me, that something is writing. Each morning, I look forward to some phase of my writing process. I'm either plotting, researching, writing, editing and/or promoting my Malone Mystery series. Writing is my passion and it's been my life-long dream to become a published author.

And now we've come to something to look forward to. That can be almost anything you're eagerly anticipating. A vacation, a visit from a friend, a promotion at work, anything.

Throughout the year, I try to schedule outings with friends, book signings and other events so that I almost always have something to look forward to. But, the highlight of the year is my annual vacation. I usually travel to the ocean but this year I'm doing something different. I just made my reservation for a trip to West Virginia in the Fall and I'm looking forward to a train ride through picturesque mountains, to meeting new people and, since a change of scenery tends to spark my imagination, to coming up with some ideas for future books.

I've shared the three things in my life that combine to make me happy and now I'd love to hear from you. If you leave a comment with your three things, you'll be automatically entered to win a signed paper copy of my most recent Malone Mystery, Desperate Deeds.