A Conversation with Mystery Author Nancy Cole Silverman

We are delighted to welcome author Nancy Cole Silverman to Omnimystery News today.

Nancy's second mystery to feature radio reporter Carol Childs is Beyond a Doubt (Henery Press; July 2015 trade paperback and ebook formats) and we recently had the chance to catch up with her to talk more about the book and series.

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Omnimystery News: Tell us a little more about the Carol Childs mystery series.

Photo provided courtesy of
Nancy Cole Silverman

Nancy Cole Silverman: I grew up in a newsroom. From high school on I was either hanging out in the theater arts department or working on my school newspaper. I was a story-hound and once I got to college, I couldn't wait to get into a real live TV studio. I started working at a local PBS station on campus almost right away. It became my home away from home. The musical stingers for news were like my theme music. I loved it. For me, the inner working of a newsroom was a magical world, a place that told stories, and was rich with opportunity. For someone as curious about people and inner working of things as I was, I couldn't have found a better place. Counting college and my years in broadcast — which included everything from writing news to commercial copywriting and sales — I spent nearly a total of twenty-five years working in and out newsrooms, and around talk radio stations.

Writers write about what they know, so I suppose it wasn't a surprise when I retired I had to write about the workings of a newsroom and a talk radio station. It may be possible to take the girl out of the radio, but it wasn't possible to take the radio out of the girl. Hence, my protagonist, Carol Childs, was born. Carol offers a unique perspective, not only about the stories she covers, but the behind the mic stories going on inside the radio station that make up the day to day of her workplace.

OMN: How do you see Carol developing as she gets involved with new mysteries in later books?

NCS: One of the things I like about Carol Childs is that she's gutsy. We first meet her in Shadow of Doubt, book one of the series, where she's a single mom, in the midst of a career change. She is transitioning from the sales side of the business to that of a reporter for a female based talk station. Her boss, a young whiz kid, half her age, and height, isn't wild about her coming to work for him and refers to her as the world's oldest cub reporter. The built-in conflict allows for growth and opportunity on both their parts. As the series advances Carol's growth not only allows the reader to better understand Carol's role as a reporter, but also offers insights into the nuances of the news business.

OMN: You and Carol share a common background, presumably making it easier to find the right voice for her. But what about the other characters?

NCS: While my principal character is female, I also have a number of male characters in my books. I like to think because of my years of writing for commercial radio, particularly the years I spent as the General Manager of a sports radio station, that I've got the male patter down pretty good. If not, I better fahgettaboudit!

OMN: Into which genre would you place this series?

NCS: That's a tough one. My publisher Henery Press publishes mostly cozies and I'm a little harder edged than that. I think the Carol Childs series gets around a lot of the restrictions of cozies because, much like the radio news copy I used to write, four letter words were banned. And the awfulness, those vivid pictures of crime scene, were never seen on radio. We could only report the who, what, when and where. The violence happens off the page. Hence, I've been able to treat a lot of serious, darker subjects with broader strokes. And the fact that so much of the what happens inside a news room is gallows humor, adds a little comic relief to what I write. I like to think of the Carol Childs series as more of a cross-over of suspenseful-cozy, or even black comedy. I think anytime a writer takes a serious subject and ads levity to it, that it can become both entertaining and educational.

OMN: How would you tweet a summary of Beyond a Doubt?

NCS: #Murder Mystery. Hollywood has its secrets, but only one reporter has the answers!

OMN: How much of your stories are based on real events, or characters based on real people?

NCS: I suppose one could say my work is ripped from the headlines. While none of the characters in my books are those of actual people, they are a compilation of delightful character traits of those I've met along the way.

OMN: Describe your writing process.

NCS: I'm a firm believer the story picks the writer. Something catches my attention and the process takes over from there. I generally begin by writing an opening scene, or something that just won't let go of me until I've written it. From there I may write another scene, but eventually, I'll start jotting down notes on little scraps of paper for future scenes. I find them all over the house, like mouse dropping. Eventually I transcribe them into my WIP, under chapter headings. I wouldn't call it outlining. It's much too rudimentary. Later, as I start to go back and flush out scenes, I find the characters start to lead the action. It's then that I frequently have my ah-hah moment and get a definite idea or surprising twist in the story I didn't expect. While I may have had an idea when I started writing the story, it is seldom as clear to me as when I've finished the first draft, and see it in black and white.

OMN: How do you go about researching the plot points of your stories?

NCS: I do a lot of online research. Enough so that if anyone ever checked my browsing history, I'm sure they'd be concerned. I also talk to a lot of people. If I can interview someone, it's even better than just reading and fact finding. For Beyond a Doubt, I needed to get a certain amount of information concerning the old historical buildings and clubs on Hollywood Boulevard. I found talking to the Chamber of Commerce and some of the actors that work the boulevard as impersonators to be delightfully entertaining. I also interviewed the head of LAPD's Missing Persons Unit so that I could better understand their role with regard to the number of missing girls in Los Angeles. I came away amazed at just how many people go missing in a big city and how difficult it is for the police to be effective in following up on each case.

OMN: How true are you to the settings in your books?

NCS: The Carol Childs series takes place in Los Angeles. It's a big city and so diverse I felt I didn't need to set it any other place. I have in some instances, however, blurred the lines between reality and fantasy when comes to the exact location of some scenes.

OMN: If we could send you anywhere in the world to research the setting for a book, where would it be?

NCS: I've toyed with the idea of going to Budapest and renting a villa for a month to study and drive the countryside. My father was shot down over Hungary during the Second World War, and I'd like to write a fictional account of his story.

OMN: What are some of your outsides interests? And have any of these found a way into your books?

NCS: I love horseback riding, and up until several years ago, I used to spend more time at the stable than I did writing. But fate stepped in and I was thrown — badly — for the last time. After a long recuperation, I reluctantly hung up my stirrups. But the experience and love of horses is forever with me. In the next Carol Childs book, Without a Doubt, horses play a big role, in a very surprising way.

OMN: What is the best advice you've received as an author?

NCS: Write. Read and write some more. Writing is like any talent, it requires constant practice. The more you write, the better you get.

OMN: Complete this sentence for us: "I am a mystery author and thus I am also …".

NCS: I am a mystery author and thus I am also … neurotically insecure. I think all talented people are extremely sensitive. It's both a blessing and a curse. Without being sensitive, I don't think it would be possible to bring forth the feeling and descriptive scenes necessary for the reader to ultimately bond with the page.

OMN: Have any specific authors influenced how and what you write today?

NCS: Sue Grafton, Stephen King, Sandra Brown, Jeffery Archer, Michael Connelly, John Grisham, Scott Turow, Janet Evanovich, Mary Higgins Clark, Andrea Sokoloff. The list goes on. I read constantly.

OMN: What kinds of films do you enjoy watching?

NCS: I love the old Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn movies. I also love a lot of Woody Allen movies. I'm a sucker for things like When Harry Met Sally, or any of the male-female romantic comedy movies. One of my favorite TV shows is Castle and Rizzoli & Isles.

OMN: What's next for you?

NCS: Immediately on my to-do list is to finish book four of the Carol Childs mystery series. My goal is to make this a successful, long-running series. In college, I used to tell my friends I want to grow up and be a paperback writer — just like the Beatles song. I'm a sixties chick and it while it wasn't a particularly a lofty ambition, it was my dream. Looking back on it, I think everything I did led to my writing novels. From the time I was a small child I enjoyed writing stories to entertain people. I like to think what I write offers a form of escapism to those caught up in the heavy workaday world. I'm hoping I'm on my way to doing that with the Carol Childs series. And after that? I'd enjoy doing more teaching and lecturing. I like sharing with others what I've learned.

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Nancy Cole Silverman credits her twenty-five years in radio for developing an ear for storytelling. After writing everything from commercial copy to news Silverman retired from radio in 2001 and founded The Equestrian News, a niche publication targeting southern California's active equestrian community. Working on a story about America's wild mustangs inspired Silverman to write her first novel, The Centaur's Promise. Her new mystery series takes place inside a busy Los Angeles radio station.

For more information about the author, please visit her website at NancyColeSilverman.com and her author page on Goodreads, or find her on Facebook and Twitter.

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Beyond a Doubt by Nancy Cole Silverman

A Carol Childs Mystery

Publisher: Henery Press

When reporter Carol Childs is called to the scene of a body dump she has no idea she's about to uncover a connection to a string of missing girls. Young, attractive women drawn to the glitz and glamour of Hollywood via an internet promise of stardom and romance have been disappearing. A judge's daughter leaves behind a clue and a trip down Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame reveals a connection to a high powered real estate mogul and to a cartel targeting girls for human trafficking.

Old Hollywood has its secrets, its impersonators and backdoor entrances to old speakeasies and clubs where only those with the proper credentials can go. And when Carol Childs gets too close, she finds herself politically at odds with powers that threaten to undo her career and like the very girls she's seeking, make her disappear.

— Beyond a Doubt by Nancy Cole Silverman