Inspiration for Book 2, The Doll from Dunedin

This doll was my inspiration in book 2, The Doll from Dunedin (Dunedin, NZ). As I researched Dorothy Arnold, I came across a photo of Dorothy’s sister, Majorie, sitting in a room embroidering. A small child stood in front of her and was presenting her with a bouquet of wildflowers. The little girl held a Patsy doll under her right arm.

As I stared at the photo, my mind wandered back to my plot. I knew at that moment the doll would become an important part of the story that I was about to tell. I found an antique Patsy doll online and ordered it that same day. She sat with me through my entire writing process.

I began to bring Patsy to my book signing. She attracted a good deal of attention, but not always with positive reactions. Most of my signings have been in Key West where the notorious “Robert the Doll” resides at the Fort East Martello Museum on South Roosevelt Street. He’s 40 inches tall and was stuffed with straw. He was originally owned by painter, Robert Eugene “Gene” Otto in the early 1900s. Apparently, the Robert was gifted to Gene by a servant skilled in voodoo.

And then, of course, there’s the 1988 movie, Child’s Play” by Don Mancini. Chucky, a notorious serial killer, frequently escapes death by performing a voodoo ritual to transfer his soul into a “Good Guy” doll.

Some potential book enthusiasts, shy away from my book because they’re afraid of the doll.

Honestly, Patsy is not a voodoo doll. She was one of the original, 1928 versions of Effanbee’s Patsy Ann dolls. The company of Fleischaker & Baum (F&B) was founded in NYC around 1910. Bernard E. Fleischaker was a furniture maker from Kentucky and Hugo Baum made puppets and had emigrated from Germany.