We are delighted to welcome author Tom Carter back to Omnimystery News.
Earlier this week we featured an excerpt from Tom's new mystery Nashville: Music & Murder (Sing Before Dying; February 2017 trade paperback and ebook formats) and yesterday we had a chance to catch up with him to talk more about his book.
Today we have a real treat from the author: Tom talks to the lead character in his book, country music singer Maci Willis.
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Photo provided courtesy of
Tom Carter
1) Ms. Willis, music critics and fans alike have consistently noted the emotionally-charged soulfulness of your vocals.
Answer: A voice like mine can't be formally taught. It rings of reality because my sorrows are real and truth is the best teacher of all. Real country singers manifest the pain that scarred them from life on the front lines. You'll never meet a genuine country singer who was graduated from Julliard. If you knew anything about country music, you'd know that.
2) You were eye witness to more than one death of men who tried to kill you. Has that trauma blemished your soul that’s the catalyst for your signature sound?
Answer: No, seeing two men die violently before my very eyes lifted my spirits like ice cream on a Sunday walk through a city park. Why is your question so stupid? Of course I was forever shattered with what I saw first-hand, and still see through the eyes of my unwanted memories. Too bad those dead victims weren't interrogators like you.
3) Personally, I think that country music is the anthem of working class America. Someone called it "white man's blues." Ms. Willis, do you agree?
Answer: Did you prepare for this interview? Never mind, I'm sure you did. Let's see, your research revealed that Johnny Cash had a bass voice, that Dolly wears sparkling outfits, that Reba was a barrel racer, and Taylor lived on a Christmas Tree farm. Tell me, did your exhaustive research reveal that guitars have six strings and fiddles have four? Is there no end to your vast and stale knowledge?
4) Due to your vigorous touring schedule, what do you dislike most about your lifestyle?
Answer: The presence of pseudo-intellectual reporters who think "The Tennessee Waltz" is about Wisconsin.
5) Is there really such a thing as a musical 'diva,' and if so, might you know one, and if so, is she in your mirror?
Answer: What?! You insolent twerp! Let me tell you something. All "divas" are journalists, male or female, or so it seems to me. During my most recent interview, the interviewer had a formal education, as evidenced by the fact that he knew the law of gravity and how many beers were in a six-pack. I believe in the First Amendment, and freedom of speech. I just regret that freedom of speech is wasted on the mass media.
6) Tom Carter wrote a book about you. He talked about your personal conversions, and how gentle and benevolent you became. Was Carter's book accurate?
Answer: I don't know. I didn't read his book. Besides, I hear he's a hack.
7) Do you think you'll ever write your life story?
Answer: I won't write about my life as long as I'm living it. Want to know about my life? Take a piece of it. The fragments are available through the price of admission to my shows. Each night, I give my entire life to my audience when I walk on stage. I leave with less of my life whenever I exit. There will come a day when I stop giving myself because I'll have nothing left to give.
8) If you could have only one wish, what would it be?
Answer: To end this banal interview. Put an egg in your shoe and beat it.
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Author Tom Carter has collaborated to write the autobiographies of more country music stars than any other writer in the world. Carter co-wrote with Reba McEntire, Glen Campbell, Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette, George Jones, Ronnie Milsap, LeAnn Rimes, Jason Aldean and Ralph Emery. Including hard back and paperback editions, Carter's co-written memoirs have been listed seven times on The New York Times and twice on the USA Today best-sellers list. Now, for the first time, Carter has written a fictional murder mystery set on Nashville's Music Row, home to celebrities and their recorded music.
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Nashville: Music & Murder by Tom Carter
A Murder Mystery
Publisher: Sing Before Dying
As a teenager, Maci Willis fled the poverty and sexual abuse of her Louisiana childhood with the hope of finding a new life as a Nashville recording star or greasy spoon waitress. Despite the odds, the former fate unfolded, and Maci recorded hit songs for two decades while indulging a pampered lifestyle void of risks and regrets.
But all of that changed during one fateful performance.
While Maci sang a fourth encore to a crowd of 18,000, the music was shattered by a gunshot fired by an obsessed fan. She emerged triumphant from the attempt on her life — only to face another attempt shortly afterwards. Was it a coincidence? Or was something more sinister at work?
— Nashville: Music & Murder by Tom Carter
