An Interview with Wendy Boynton

Born in the south of England, Wendy trained as a nurse and midwife before moving into teaching after the birth of her two children. After a variety of jobs and houses, she moved to France to open a B&B and teach English as a Foreign Language. When the COVID pandemic started, she used the unexpected time on her hands to start writing the novel she’d always wanted to write.

Four years later—and a house move to the north east of England—she eventually self-published that novel! The Mystery of the Missing Brooch is a cozy murder-mystery set in a care home in Salisbury (Wiltshire)—a city she knows and loves.

The Mystery of the Missing Wallet is book two in her Salisbury Murders series. Books three and four are written and she’s just about to start the research for book five.

She lives near Newcastle upon Tyne with her husband and two cats and is now retired—and spending a lot of time writing.

What inspired you to start writing this book?

When I had finished writing book one, I sent it to several traditional publishers. One of them expressed some interest but eventually decided not to offer me a contract because they couldn’t see how the book I’d written would extend into a series. I wrote the second book, partly to prove them wrong, and partly because I knew it could become a series. According to my proofreader, book two is still his favourite of the four I’ve written so far!

Tell us the story of your book’s current title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

Book one was initially going to be called Mystery at The Cedars—the care home where the story is set. Book two would therefore have been Mystery at Britford Lodge—the new care home that one of my main characters moves to at the end of book one. But that posed a problem: what to call book three? As soon as I came up with the idea of the format of The Mystery of the Missing…, the titles became easy. Missing Brooch, Missing Wallet, Missing Child, Missing Bequest, Missing Chalice, Missing Artist…and so on!

Describe your dream book cover.

I already have it! I wanted something truly original. So I asked an artist friend of mine to do some sketches for me. There’s Salisbury Cathedral in the background of every cover—signifying the location of the books. There’s a magnifying glass on the front of book one—signifying the genre. And a brooch on book one to represent the title. The magnifier and brooch are replaced with a wallet for book two.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

During the time I lived in France, I joined an English-speaking Am Dram group where I wrote and directed the annual pantomime!

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

I read a lot as a child, but my heroes are authors like Agatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayers.

Where is your favorite place to write?

Anywhere quiet and free from interruptions!

Do you have any writing rituals?

I usually start by reading through and editing anything I wrote the previous day. That gets my head back into the right place to pick up writing from.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

I want readers to feel that they were entertained…and kept guessing. There’s no point in a whodunnit if the reader can guess the guilty person at the start!

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.