The Femmes are proud to welcome USA Today Bestselling Author Annette Dashofy as our guest today—Annette is celebrating the release of her new Zoe Chambers Mystery, FAIR GAME (there's a school bus demolition derby, y'all) and we're all thrilled for her! Take it away, Annette!
By Annette Dashofy
In the last month, I’ve attended two conferences. First, Malice Domestic, a convention for mystery fans. Second, the Pennwriters Conference, geared toward all genres of writers trying to learn and improve their craft. Different focus. Largely different attendees. And yet, both feel like annual family reunions to me. These people, be they mystery readers or writers of poetry, nonfiction, romance, fantasy, or yes, mystery, are my tribe.
One of the recurring topics at most Pennwriters Conferences is theme. Newby writers learn they needed to know the theme of their story either before they start or once they begin revising. Experienced writers were encouraged to keep their theme in mind throughout.
Theme. The elusive subject that many readers don’t even think about as they enjoy their favorite work of fiction…unless they belong to a book club and delve into the exploration of the book’s deeper meaning.
As an author of murder mysteries, I once thought my theme was simply justice. Balancing the scales. Finding justice in my fictional world when so often it’s lacking in the real one.
Eventually however, I decided my theme had more to do with family. Relationships between parents and children, both loving and contemptuous. I’ve explored Zoe’s attempts to fill the void left from losing her father decades earlier while dealing with a mother who moved away to rebuild her life when Zoe was a teen. I’ve explored loss and grief and finding one’s way through both. I’ve mined my personal experiences with losing parents in dribs and drabs to Alzheimer’s Disease.
In my latest, Fair Game (#8 in the Zoe Chambers Mystery Series), I finally solidified the true theme of my writing. It goes beyond justice and even beyond mere “family.” In the background of this story about a deceased woman’s final hours on this earth, various family issues must be worked out. Zoe takes a teenager, whose mother is a piece of work and whose father is MIA, under her wing, understanding what she believes he’s going through. Another father struggles to deal with a child who was severely injured months earlier in a tragic accident.
And Zoe and Pete’s dear friend, Sylvia Bassi, is overjoyed that her late son’s widow has once again found love and has become engaged to a wonderful man. Alas, he lives hundreds of miles away. Zoe recognizes that while Sylvia rejoices in the impending union, she’s also terrified. Her daughter-in-law and grandchildren are moving away to form a new life in the Southwest. Where does that leave Sylvia? Zoe assures her she will always be a part of that family and tells Sylvia, “Family isn’t about blood. It’s about heart.”
As soon as I wrote the line, I got a chill. Unintentionally, Zoe’s quote hit on the true theme of my entire series.
Family isn’t about blood. It’s about heart.
So dear readers, do you give any thought to a story’s “theme” as you enjoy a book? Writers, what types of themes do you like to explore in your fiction? And for everyone, do you have family in your life who are tied to you by heart rather than blood?
About Annette:
Annette Dashofy is the USA Today best-selling author of the Zoe Chambers mystery series about a paramedic and deputy coroner in rural Pennsylvania’s tight-knit Vance Township. A lifelong resident of Washington County (PA), Annette has garnered four Agatha Award nominations including Best Contemporary Novel of 2018 for CRY WOLF. She’s a member of International Thriller Writers, the Pittsburgh Chapter of Sisters in Crime, and is on the board of directors of Pennwriters. FAIR GAME (May 2019) is the eighth in her series.
About FAIR GAME:
Paramedic Zoe Chambers hoped a week at the Monongahela County Fair, showing her horse and manning the ambulance, would provide a much-needed diversion from recent events that continue to haunt her. An old friend, a bossy nemesis, and a teenage crush from her 4-H days fail to offer the distraction she had in mind. But ever the caregiver, she soon bonds with a troubled teen and a grieving father.
Back in Vance Township, a missing woman turns up dead, leading Police Chief Pete Adams into a journey through her mysterious final hours. With each new clue, the tragic circumstances of her death grow increasingly muddied.
A cryptic phone call leads Pete to join Zoe for an evening at the fairgrounds where the annual school bus demolition derby concludes with a gruesome discovery and a new case that may or may not be connected to the first. Pete’s quest for the motive behind two homicides—and Zoe’s stubborn determination to reunite a family—thrust them both onto a collision course with a violent and desperate felon.
I must admit, I don't usually pick up on themes. Sometimes, I do, but quite often I don't. I should start thinking about it more often.
Posted by: Mark | May 27, 2019 at 09:17 AM
To be honest, Mark, there's nothing wrong with that. I'd rather a reader NOT pick up on it rather than feel they've been slammed over the head with it.
Posted by: Annette Dashofy | May 27, 2019 at 12:10 PM
That family of heart is why I return to a series, reconnecting with characters I love.
Posted by: Storyteller Mary | May 27, 2019 at 03:49 PM
Thanks, Mary!
Posted by: Annette Dashofy | May 28, 2019 at 02:52 AM