Q&A: Jennifer Graeser Dornbush, Author of ‘Frozen Lives’

We chat with author Jennifer Graeser Dornbush about Frozen Lives, which is the next thrilling mystery in the Coroner’s Daughter series.

Hi, Jennifer! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

The television or movie screen is the closest most people will ever come to witnessing the forensic world, but I was raised in it. I’m the daughter of a small-town medical examiner whose office was in our home. There were body parts in our basement freezer and I investigated my first fatality, an airplane crash, when I was 8 years old, picking up pieces of skull with my father who simply saw it as an anatomy lesson. This was the first of many coroner lessons I experienced over two decades.

After exploring journalism and high school teaching, I turned seriously to screenwriting where I began to connect my coroner world to my writing. I sought out a degree at the Forensic Science Academy in Los Angeles to gain more forensic training and earned a unique kinship with LA’s top CSIs, fingerprint specialists, DNA scientists, and detectives.

Today, I work as a screenwriter, author, speaker, and forensic specialist. I developed film and TV projects, author a growing list of mystery and suspense fiction and true criem. I frequently speaks around the world on crime fiction and forensics. I divide my time between my two loves, Michigan and Arizona.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

My parents always read books to me and my sisters since we were very small. I’m sure this is where my love of stories developed. I knew by the time I was in third grade that I was going to be storyteller!

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: The Holy Bible – kid’s edition. Even to this day, The Bible is the book that I have read and re-read the most.  It’s treasure trove of timeless stories in every genre imaginable… yes, even horror, war, poetry, and soft core porn. Don’t believe me? Read it.
• The one that made you want to become an author: TOOOOO many to count. Since I knew from an early age that I wanted to write, the books that stand out in my memory are children’s book. I particularly fell in love with The Secret Garden.
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Anything by Willa Cather. Her stories live in my soul. I also love the writing styles of Hemingway and Steinbeck and Kerouac.

Frozen Lives is the fourth installment in The Coroner’s Daughter series and it’s out October 29^th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Chilling. High stakes. Tense. Emotional. Cathartic.

What can readers expect?

Frozen Lives is a story deeply rooted in place. I’ve been told by readers that they feel themselves in this place with these characters. This story also brings up really emotional issues because it’s dealing with mothers and fathers trying to protect their kids. And failing. And I’m not talking about just the victims… the killer has a deeply seeded, personal, empathetic motivation that you’ll struggle with… meanwhile his actions will rattle your core. So, grab a sweater and a hot beverage, because Frozen Lives ices to the marrow.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring further?

I love writing Delia’s character. With each book she unravels something new about herself to me. She has lived this alternative life (pre-Freeport) that I secretly envy. After reading book 3, Last One Alive, one of my close friends suggested that Delia needs her own series. Yeah, maybe?!

With Emily returning to her hometown we see more characters and sidestories occurring. How do you approach giving enough “page time” to storylines and characters?

Every time I plot out a new novel in the series, I have to remember that Emily is my hero and this series is hers! However, in Frozen Lives, I really wanted to put her best friend in danger and give her a major series turning point to decide to come home for good. So I found that she is playing primarily role of the best friend, then secondarily, role of Medical Examiner/ investigator. But I do like that get to know Jo and her family better in this book.

What are some of the key lessons you’ve learned as an author since your debut?

Before I even stepped onto the author stage with my debut novel in 2017, I had been writing professionally as a journalist and screenwriter since 1991. There are so many lessons I’ve learned, but there are three things I know now that I wish I knew when I first started writing:

1. How long things take!!! I wish I had started out with more patience. I still get impatient and anxious at time. I want things to happen sooner, faster, better!
2. Not to be so hard on myself, but I guess that’s human nature and my stubborn work ethic. It’s okay to push. But you also have to play. Trust in the process and the journey.
3. Focus on Being Thankful! Have daily gratefulness sessions with yourself. It keeps you sane and it helps you to see how blessed you really are.

There are three best practices that keep me going on this journey.

1. I remind myself just how far I’ve come in this journey. I take stock in my successes and celebrate the big and small ones. A day well written… or a contract well earned.
2. I reward myself often. Trips to France are the biggies. Most of the time, it’s just with a good coffee, yoga session or wine time!
3. I try to always remember to thank and celebrate the people who champion me. And I try to pay it forward whenever I can champion someone else.

What’s next for you?

So much great stuff! Book 5 in The Coroner’s Daughter series is process, to be released in 2025. I’m also scribing the TV scripts for the first season of The Coroner’s Daughter TV show. And I’m penning the true life story of a former drug dealer/pro-wrestler who now runs a successful drug and alcohol rehab center.

Lastly, what books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?

So many good reads this year. I really love music and one of my favs this year was Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb. As for what I can’t wait to get my hands on? I have stacks of novels three columns deep on my shelves – some new releases, some older, some are purely for research-sake. You’ll find a lot of books on science and history. You’d be unlikely to find romance, horror, or cozies on my nightstand reading. I’ve never been a very frivolous reader. Not that I begrudge those who are.

Will you be picking up Frozen Lives? Tell us in the comments below!