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 10th
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
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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.
