Wendy Dingwall

Author Wendy Dingwall

  

Welcome to my website! I am excited about the release of my first mystery novel on April 1, 2011. Hera's Revenge: An Yvonne Suarez Travel Mystery is the result of many years work and learning about the craft of writing mysteries. I hope you will want to read it and enjoy traveling with my protagonist, Yvonne Suarez, to Greece and the Greek Islands as she reluctantly solves her first puzzle mystery. In my second novel, she will travel to Scotland and later novels will take her to other exotic destinations. Enjoy the trip!

Author Bio:

In July of 2001, Wendy Dingwall moved from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Boone, North Carolina bringing along her travel business of twelve years, Canterbury Cruises & Tours, which she blended with a new business, The Book Rack, a used bookstore serving the local community.  When the bookstore closed in 2003, Dingwall overcame the adversity of the national economy and urban and regional planning and development challenges that had plagued her store, she phased-out her travel business, and gained employment with a regional book publisher finding the perfect fit for her sales and organizational skills.  In July 2009, Dingwall launched her own publishing company, Canterbury House Publishing, Ltd.

Dingwall is a past president and strong supporter of the High Country Writers Association that meets twice monthly in Boone, North Carolina.  A member of the High Country Writers Association since 2002, in early 2005 she helped to form a small critique group known as the Fellowship of the Rose.  When she is not devoting herself to publish and promote fellow authors, Dingwall has since fulfilled a lifelong dream by finishing her first mystery novel, Hera's Revenge, a travel mystery.  Hera's Revenge is the first in a series where Dingwall's love of travel, mystery, and story-telling melds and resonates.

Since starting in the publishing business, Dingwall has created an Author's Handbook for Marketing, has been a guest speaker on Marketing Authors and Their Books at High Country Writers, was a guest on two publishing industry panels at Cape Fear Crime Festival in 2006, and gave a dialogue workshop at the May We Write Conference in 2007.

She is currently working on the second novel in her Yvonne Suarez Travel Mystery series, and she continues to work on a family story about her mother.

Check back here often for fun and interesting information about Wendy Dingwall and her future Yvonne Suarez travel mysteries.

Story within A Story - "Celtic Curse: An Yvonne Suarez Travel Mystery"

While waiting anxiously for Galley copies of my latest travel mystery to arrive, thought I'd relay a short story of love and loyalty that I encountered in my research and travels to Edinburgh. The story is a popular one and if you have small children, you may recognize it as one told by Walt Disney in a cartoon movie many years ago. It's the true story about a Skye terrier named Greyfriars Bobby who became famous in the 1800s for sleeping every night for fourteen years on the grave of his master who had died of tuberculosis, destitute except for the money to be buried in the Church yard near Edinburgh Castle.

During the day Bobby made friends of children from a local orphanage and the local restaurant owners who fed him scraps of food, but every night, no matter how cold, snowy or rainy, he’d return to sleep on his master’s grave. In 1867 he was at risk of being destroyed because he didn’t have an owner so the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, who also happened to be the director of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, bought Bobby a license and made him the responsibility of the town council. Bobby died in 1872 but couldn’t be buried inside the cemetery because it was consecrated ground, so he was buried just inside the Greyfriars Kirkyard, the nearest he could get to his master John Gray’s grave. A year later, Lady Burdett-Coutts commemorated Greyfriar’s Bobby by endowing a statue atop a fountain at the southern edge of George IV Bridge. To this day tourists and locals alike honor his memory by visiting his statue. In "Celtic Curse," protagonist Yvonne Suarez buys a book about Bobby for her daughter as a souvenir. Upon reading the story, she is touched and wishes that humans were as loving and loyal as that little skye terrier.

Ft. Lauderdale Setting for Wendy Dingwall's Travel Mystery Sleuth, Yvonne Suarez

As a former travel agent who lived and worked in South Florida, I saw first hand the many diverse travel clients from around the world likely to stop into an agency located on A-1-A in Ft. Lauderdale. I met people from Africa, Asia, Australia, Britain, Europe, South America, and including islanders from around the world. What a super experience! 

Situated between the popular cities of Miami and Hollywood to the south and Boca Raton and Palm Beach to the north, this exciting location seemed the perfect place to set the travel agency for protagonist, Yvonne Suarez, in my travel mystery series.

Ft. Lauderdale has so much to offer both visitors and residents. From one of the world's most beautiful beaches to a bustling cruise-ship port, to some of the best restaurants in the country. Besides the superior fishing and water-sports, the shopping on Las Olas Boulevard rivals that of Worth Avenue in Palm Beach. The Performing Arts Center, the Museum of Discovery and Science, and the Museum of Art are just a few of the cultural activities one can enjoy.

Ft. Lauderdale weather is tropical, never too hot or too cold. The city is clean and beautifully landscaped with the lush tropical foliage one expects to see in Gold Coast cities, and the picturesque downtown skyline is a sight to behold.

In the Yvonne Suarez travel mystery series, the fictional Pinkerton Travel Agency is located on A-1-A across from the Galt Ocean Mile.

Hera's Revenge is the first in the Yvonne Suarez travel mystery series set in Greece and the Greek Islands and was touted as "a welcome distraction for armchair travelers and a series to watch" by Library Journal

In Celtic Curse, the second novel in the series, readers will travel with Yvonne on a familiarization trip to Edinburgh, Scotland where she becomes embroiled in a cold-case mystery in the small tourist town of Peebles, a half-hour's drive from Edinburgh, straddling both sides of the River Tweed. Celtic Curse will have a Spring/Summer release date: May 1, 2013

Coming next May! "Celtic Curse"

In my second travel mystery, "Celtic Curse," Yvonne Suarez (travel agent protagonist) arrives to tour Edinburgh Castle from Peebles a nearby town along the River Tweed. At the Castle entry Scottish bagpipers greet them playing "Scotland the Brave."  Enjoy this YouTube video version!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSH0eRKq1lE

 

You may not know, but....

I have been a Yoga enthusiast since I was very young and many years before it became trendy. I have always felt that it was the only all encompassing form of exercise, both physical and mental, available to everyone. It heartens me to see that it is even being taught in prisons to help calm minds and teach prisoners self-control, as well as  teaching violent offenders to de-stress and find better ways to deal with anger and aggression.

It was only natural that I would allow my travel agent protagonist, Yvonne Suarez, a hobby, and that hobby is yoga. As her character develops, I fully expect that her stretching and muscle building exercises will come in handy as she fends off murderers while becoming a more proactive sleuth.

"Hera's Revenge" Set in 2003 Pre Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Weaving reality into my mystery and how the reality plays out today:

While riding on a tour bus, my character tour participants could see the early stages of construction of certain stadiums, and the upfitting and enlargement of other buildings in what would eventually accommodate massive amounts of people who would attend the Olympics in 2004. Comments were made as to whether they would possibly finish in time. I had actually been in Athens at that time and seen the construction and heard similar comments. It was a wonderful time to be in Greece as there was no civil unrest and the friendly atmosphere perfect for vacationers.

In September 2004, BBC News reported that most of the building was completed at the very last minute. And, that the cost for this Olympics, due partly to 911, was the most expensive in history, particularly due to the extensive security required. It was also disclosed that the cost of the Olympics ($8.6bn, 7bn euro)  along with other social expenses were never included in Greece's national budget and blamed on previous governments lack of disclosure of the extent of Greece's debt at the time. All this contributed greatly to today's Greek debt tragedy.

This is a perfect example of a socialist country with no checks and balances, having the opportunity to pull the wool over the eyes of it's citizens. I'm so happy to be a citizen of the USA, and though we have our own debt crisis, at least we know about it and have the opportunity to turn it around and solve the problem by learning from our past mistakes and the mistakes of other countries.

What I've Been Up To Lately

Well, it's been a while since I've had the opportunity to check in with my fans. Things have been hectic here in the Carolina mountains, especially with the warmer than normal winter that we had. Spring definitely came early along with some early tourists.

For starters, I am on the Author Committee for the High Country Festival of the Book which will be held in Blowing Rock this August 3rd and 4th.

Finally got the 3rd of the 3 books that Canterbury House Publishing has launched this spring to the distributor. Check out the Announcements page for all the latest news releases.

I've been working slowly on my next travel mystery which is set in modern day Peebles, Scotland and finalizing a short story for the High Country Writers group first Anthology.

Had a nice signing event at Black Bear Books this past Saturday.

In addition to all that, Ive taken on some extra editing and social networking consulting to help make ends meet. With the rise in gas prices and everything else hurting the economy, we are all stepping up our work activities.

While I'm thinking about it, if you get a chance to like my author page, I'd very much appreciate it. Just click on the like button under my picture at the top of the home page.

Thanks for tuning in. I will check back with my signing events and activities coming in May. :-)

All About Women Magazine, Reviews "Hera's Revenge" Very Favorably!

All About Women Review
January/February 2012 Issue
By June Windle Bare

“The weather outside is frightful…” If that song strikes a note this time of year, perhaps an escape to sunny, warm Greece would be more palatable. Caution, however, might be in order if you go with Fort Lauderdale’s Pinkerton’s travel agent, Yvonne Suarez … unless you want murder and mayhem to accompany your vacation. READ MORE

Just in time for the Holidays: Hera's Revenge now Available as Ebook

Just in time for the winter Holidays. Sample 20% of Hera's Revenge: An Yvonne Suarez Travel Mystery free at Smashwords or Buy now from Amazon's Kindle store.

What the reviewers are saying:

Wendy's "Golden Donut Writing Contest" Entry

The Challenge was to write a mystery about a specific picture in exactly 200 words including the title. For the purposes of the contest, hyphenated words count individually. The mystery was to have a true beginning, middle and surprise ending. I will list the link to the picture and the winning stories at the end of this paragraph. I can't legally post the picture on my site, but as you will see it's a picture of a house overgrown with vegetation. Not sure how accurate this next statement is, but someone said there were 4,000 entries and that all stories were good...It seems impossible to judge something like that. I wouldn't have wanted that job. My entry, titled It Was Only Right, will follow the link:

Click here for the Top 3 Golden Donut winning stories and the picture.

 

It Was Only Right

Hiding behind a trellis of dead vines, gardenias dying of thirst, and rapacious weeds is justified for a house grown fat and complacent with age, much like the inhabitants who moved away leaving it to decay alone.

Though ashamed of its ugliness, its heart still held memories of children—parents—pets….

After the accident, with their parents dead, the twins inherited enough insurance money to pay for college. It was a dream they’d given up when their father lost his job, stayed home drinking and flying off the handle at any little thing. He’d cut away at their self-esteem. Losing friends because there was no money to spend on decent clothes and cars and good times was embarrassing enough, but watching him abuse their mother, broke their spirits. She always made excuses. “Dad has a sin he can’t forgive,” she would say, but never explained.

Yes, the house was ashamed. It hid away the secret sin Dad could never forget: The triplet sister had been mentally retarded. He’d locked her away in a secret basement room until she withered away from loneliness and died. It was only right that the house should do the same.

October Happenings

Here's a link to the first page of the ForeWord magazine article featuring mysteries released in 2011. A reviewer's brief synopsis of Hera's Revenge was featured on the first page with cover art. :-)

Wendy Dingwall's October signing schedule follows:

Saturday, October 8th    10a-5pm
Oktoberfest
Sugar Mountain Resort
Sugar Mountain, NC
Contact: Kim Jochl, Events Director
Ph: 828-898-4521

Tuesday October 11th    10:30am-noon
Western Watauga Branch Library
1085 Old US Hwy. 421
Sugar Grove, NC 28679
Contact: Jackie Cornette
Ph: 828-297-5515

Saturday, October 15th    10:00am-4:00pm
Valle Country Fair (Arts, Crafts, Music, Food, Local Authors)
Valle Crucis Fairgrounds
Off of Hwy 194 in Valle Crucis (follow the signs)

Saturday, October 22nd     1-4pm
Art Walk
611 W. King Street
Boone NC 28607
(828) 264-9998

Sunday, October 23rd    10am-noon
Mountain Grounds
3990 Hwy 105, Suite 10
Banner Elk, NC 28604
Contact: Dale McCorvey
Ph: 828-898-5878

Sunday, October 30th    1pm-4pm
Art Walk (Local Arts & Crafts)
611 W. King Street
Boone, NC 28607
Contact: Lee Cunningham
Ph: 828-264-9998