Jenny McGill grew up in the Deep South in Mississippi. After schooling, she moved to Dallas, where she met her husband, Howard. Their love of Mexico brought them to an early semi-retirement in 1973 in Puerto Vallarta.
Jenny and Howard moved to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in 1973. She was appointed consular agent by the U.S. State Department in 1982 and spent fourteen years in that position.
Upon retirement, the McGills sought out the tranquility of the western Sierra Madres in the small village of Talpa de Allende, Jalisco. There she devotes her time to writing, promoting local artists, and gardening. She says, “My love of robin-egg blue skies, breathtaking sunsets that only God could paint, and music, which falls softly on my ear, is reason enough to be in Mexico.”
Jenny will be on virtual book tour in December 2008 to promote her memoir, Drama & Diplomacy: In Sultry Puerto Vallarta. We interviewed her to find out more about her wonderful new book.
Q. Thank you for this interview, Jenny. Can we begin by having you tell us why you decided to write about your experiences in Puerto Vallarta?
A. I realized many people had no idea what a consular agent actually does in a foreign country. We have a fair idea what an ambassador does, but he/she has hundreds of people under his supervision who are helping the American tourist with his problems. You immediately think of lost passports and tourist visas, but that is just the tiny tip of the iceberg. The State Department refers to consular agents’ work as dealing with the four Ds: Destitutes, Detentions, Dissappearances, and Death. In Drama & Diplomacy, I added a few of my own such as, Dope, Dames on my Path, and Dirty Old Men.
Q. Did you outline the book before you wrote it or did you just go with the flow? Did the words come easy or hard?
A. I just went with the flow and let the words come as they would. They came easy. Even after twelve years, the cases were still vivid in my memory.
Q. What part of the book was the most fun to write about?
A. Fourth of July parties! They were a lot of work, but I was so proud to be part of that.
Q. What part of the book was the hardest?
A. The hardest part was going through the emotions all over again when writing about deaths, prison accommodations, and some totally destitute Americans.
Q. Where were you when you said, “Oh! I’ve got to write about this!”
A. I was in the mountain village where we now live, Talpa de Allende. While I was still working, many people encouraged me write about my experiences and of course, I gave it some thought, but I always felt it would be unbelievable science fiction. Allen Drury, Pulitzer Prize winner for his Advise and Consent, and John Huston, who actually put Puerto Vallarta on the map with his movie, Night of the Iguana, were my friends and they encouraged me to “keep notes.” I actually did keep notes and moved them to Talpa with me. After a few years gathering dust, I burned them and that’s when I decided to see if I could write without crying. I cried and I wrote. I laughed and I wrote. I became angry and I wrote. Finally, I wrote the last page and called it a book.
Q. How is retirement? Are you writing more books since you stopped working 9 to 5?
A. You know, I never did work from 9 to 5. Office hours were from 9 to 1, Monday through Friday with twenty Mexican and U.S. Government holidays per year. However, the woman and her children who drowned in the river when an unexpected flash flood came in, or the man with the gunshot wound in his chest, had no respect whatsoever for the posted working hours or days.
