The latest guest author to take some "Author R&R" (Reference and Research) here on In Reference to Murder is Mignon Ballard. A native of Calhoun, Ga., Mignon Ballard received her degree in journalism from the University of Georgia.
Mignon has published 19 novels, including three in a series set during WWII featuring Miss Dimple Kilpatrick, a small-town teacher who's an astute judge of character, quick-thinking and loyal to a fault. The Miss Dimple series captures a difficult but pivotal point in American history—the time women set out to work while their men are overseas—and they navigate how to survive while they support one another and their fighting men abroad. While that was a different era, there are elements of what these stories capture that transcend time and resonate for families today dealing with their loved ones deployed overseas.
Just released today, Miss Dimple Suspects is the third installment in the series and finds a worried Miss Dimple helping to look for Peggy, a first-grade student who has gone missing. During the search, Miss Dimple meets two kind women, Mae Martha and Suzy, who lend much-needed assistance. A few days later, Miss Dimple receives a distraught phone call from Suzy that is suddenly cut short, and she realizes that something is most definitely wrong. When Miss Dimple arrives, she finds that Mae Martha has been murdered. Suzy is nowhere to be found, and she becomes the prime suspect, but Miss Dimple knows Suzy wouldn't kill her friend and makes it her mission to identify the real killer.
Mignon talks about how her own life experiences helped in researching the series and Miss Dimple Suspects:
Step back in time with me to a small town in Georgia during the war years of the 1940’s where the courthouse clock whirs just before striking; the town library sits between magnolia trees in a picturesque park, and almost everybody has credit accounts at both Lewellyn’s Drug Store and Harris Cooper’s Grocery. The library is built of logs with parquet floors and a stone fireplace at one end. The Woman’s Club, presided over by bossy Emmaline Brumlow, is responsible for paying the librarian’s salary, and there’s a piano in the corner where readers can sit and pound out a tune if and when they are so inspired.
I’m familiar with these places because they were a part of my growing up years in a town very much like Elderberry during the 1930’s, 40’s,and 50’s, but my hometown was on the northern side of Atlanta. Because several of my characters volunteered at an actual ordnance plant in Milledgeville, Georgia, where explosives were made, I found it necessary to relocate Elderberry south of the capital. I did, however, retain the Cherokee names of some of the waterways as I found them too lovely and meaningful to try to replace.
The town is warm and welcoming in this place where friendships feature prominently. But murder is no stranger. I like for my readers to become acquainted with the characters and setting; to warm their hands by the fireside; hear the town clock whir and strike, smell the popcorn from the Jewel Theater and read the hometown news in the Elderberry Eagle. I want them to feel comfortable before they feel the need to look over their shoulder. Who in this kind place could possibly be responsible for the dark things happening here?
Several years ago I wrote a coming of age novel, THE WAR IN SALLIE’S STATION, set during that same period, and while writing it, did a lot of pre-Google research on that time in our history. I was a child when the war began and remember vividly the day Pearl Harbor was bombed. (I’d never heard of Pearl Harbor.) The war consumed our childhood, and shortages, rationing, and blackouts became an accepted part of our growing-up years. Of course the grammar school played a major role during that time and that is why I chose my title character, Miss Dimple Kilpatrick, as my lead investigator. The old brick building with the clanging, summoning bell is gone now but I still remember it keenly along with the smells of the schoolroom: the oily compound they used to clean the floors; chalk dust, muddy galoshes, and…ugh…forgotten banana sandwiches. The rooming house where many teachers lived still stands a few blocks away.
Because most of my memories are from a child’s perspective (no bubblegum or balloons, no new skates or bikes, making tin foil balls, etc.) I do have to rely on research, especially for dates and battles. The internet has been a great source of information on that subject. I also interviewed veterans; did a lot of library research; collected data from newspapers on microfilm; devoured old letters, and even obituaries. I can recall much of the music, movies, and entertainers from those days but it’s good to have the internet to refresh my memory. I doubt if many readers can remember when cars had no heaters, air conditioners, or turn indicators. Drivers signaled by sticking an arm out the window. And did you know that up until that time we stretched out our right arms to salute the flag until President Roosevelt deemed it too much like a salute to Hitler?
I recall those war years as a nobler time. But of course there’s always room for murder. --Mignon F. Ballard
RT Book Reviews said of Miss Dimple Suspects that "A cozy should make you feel good, and this one does. Characters who are good friends, a strong sense of community and a satisfying outcome make this a winner." Miss Dimple Suspects and other books in the series are available via independent bookstores (check out these member stores of IndieBound and the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association) and in eBook form from Amazon.
