Mérida Innkeeper Dave O. Dodge is embarking on a New England book tour to celebrate his two biographical novels set in that region.
Dodge, originally from New Hampshire, has lived in Mérida for the past decade. He and his husband run the Ochenta y Dos bed and breakfast. As they celebrate the start of their 10th season, they anticipate another record-breaking year.
“It’s all about planning,” Dave says when asked how he balances writing and running a guesthouse. “I’m not a list-maker or a Post-it note user. I’m more of a visual artist. I picture myself in every possible scenario, from setting the table to organizing my research notebooks.”
Organizational skills are clearly vital in Dodge’s life. A glance at his office or the inn’s kitchen reveals everything has its designated place and purpose. “The key is to put things back where they belong so you can easily move from one project to another,” he added.
His latest novel, Betty: A Life Interrupted, revisits another story from his childhood. Dodge enjoys writing about historical events or people who impacted his life in New England. The book explores the first investigated and documented case of an alleged alien abduction, known as the Betty and Barney Hill incident, which occurred in 1961 in New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest.
“I grew up fascinated by the night sky,” Dave explains. “The stars and the activity in the darkness captured my imagination. Then I found The Interrupted Journey in the town library, and everything changed.”
He is referring to John G. Fuller’s 1966 nonfiction account of the incident that fueled his UFO intrigue.
Betty and Barney Hill were groundbreaking in many ways — an interracial couple, active churchgoers, and professionals involved in the civil rights movement and the Democratic party. They were respected in their community and even invited to President Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1963 inauguration. It took a few years for their story to come to light, and it continues to generate debate.
Dodge brings his subjects to life through extensive research, aiming to evoke emotion, empathy, and understanding. While his subjects have been written about extensively, he offers a unique perspective.
“I don’t write textbooks; I read them,” he said. “My hope is that my books put the reader in the driver’s seat of the story, right next to my protagonists.”
His first novel, The Seasons of Grace, released in 2022, explores the life of writer Grace Metalious, whose 1956 novel Peyton Place challenged societal norms.
“I found a used copy of The Girl from Peyton Place at a church bazaar in 1981,” Dodge recalls. “Who knew the entire story happened in my own backyard?”
That book inspired his own writing aspirations, though career and life experiences had to come first.
Dodge said he is excited to return to his roots with two books published. New England provides the foundation for his life, humor, and writing.
“I write about things I know,” he says. “There are so many real-life events that happened within a stone’s throw of my childhood. Why look anywhere else?”
His book tour will take him to independent bookstores in New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Locally, his novels are available at the Mérida English Library and Punto MID Cultural Center.
An experienced travel writer and tour guide, Dodge’s wanderlust brought him and his husband to Mérida. Guests online give them high marks as excellent hosts. But he still finds time to write novels.
“I’m not stopping there,” he declares. His next story focuses on another New Hampshire figure, Hannah Duston, and explores a story of heroism and tragedy in colonial New Hampshire. The working title is The Mist on the Merrimac.
For more information and book-tour dates, visit www.daveododge.com.
Commentaires