1--What is the title of your latest release?
BROADCAST BLUES - A Clare Carlson Mystery
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Wendy Kyle is a controversial PI who investigates cheating husbands for their wives. But she when she’s murdered, it seems like adultery may not be their only sin. Now TV journalist Clare Carlson has to uncover long-buried secrets about the rich and famous before more people die – including Clare herself.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
My book is set in New York City. I have lived in New York City most of my life. I’ve worked in New York City for years during my journalistic career. My character has a job in a New York City media newsroom just like I did. Are you starting to see a pattern here? I write what I know. I know about New York City more than any other location, so that’s where I have this book take place.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
I would, but I think Clare’s too cool for me. Clare Carlson is attractive, smart and seems to go for good-looking, macho guys. Just the kind of woman who would never go out with me on a date. But, if I had the chance to hang out with someone like Clare in real life, I sure would! And I guess I get to do that when I’m writing about her.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
“Kick-Ass woman.” Is that three words or 2 1/2, depending on how you count the hyphen? Oh well, either way, that describes my Clare Carlson character the best.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I learned a lot about the whole business of hiring people to spy on someone to see if they’re cheating or committing adultery. It started when I read an article about a woman private investigator who specialized in that sort of thing in real life. I soon found out there were more people offering that kind of service. And I watched the TV show Cheaters which does the same thing. It doesn’t have to be husband and wife, of course – a man can hire someone to spy his wife or girlfriend the same way. And I assume it happens with same sex couples too. But in my book I liked the idea of a woman PI who investigates cheating husbands – with deadly results.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I never edit while I’m writing a book. That’s a pretty hard and fast rule for me that I’ve always followed. If I did, I’d be revising over and over again instead of actually writing, and never get past the first chapter or two. Instead, I pretty much race through until the end of the book, not worrying at that point about specific edits or whether things hang together or about the loose ends in the story or anything else. Then I go back and do all that once I have a finished manuscript. Believe it or not, the book is generally a lot easier to edit than I thought it might be. Sometimes an author’s first instincts are the best ones!
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Wait a minute, I can only pick one? Okay, there’s popcorn, pizza, hot dogs, fast food burgers, chicken wings dipped in blue cheese, anything with chocolate in it ….and then on and on with all the usual favorites.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I’m kind of unique in that I don’t do much of my writing in an office or any other traditional writing space – l like to work outside in public settings. I write in coffee shops, libraries, on the beach, in a park or even sometimes on buses or subways. I guess this is because during all my years as a journalist I worked in loud busy newsrooms. I’m more comfortable – and get more inspiration – from writing in places with lots of people around than I do in a private office of any kind. I do have a traditional writer’s office – with book covers and bulletin boards and the like – but I’m usually only working there on book business after I have finished the actual writing part of it.
10--Who is an author you admire?
Michael Connelly. He’s been writing great mystery fiction for 30 years now. My favorites are The Last Coyote, The Poet and Blood Work – but everything he does is great. Plus, of course, his stuff is now on screen with the Bosch and Lincoln Lawyer streaming series. I have a special affection for Connelly because he’s a former newspaper journalist like me, and we also shared the same agent for a number of years. I believe Michael Connelly is the best mystery fiction writer of our time.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
That would be the first Raymond Chandler book I ever read. My favorite Chandler is The Long Goodbye, but his first one for me was The Big Sleep. I picked it up in a used bookstore one day a long time ago. Until then, I had never thought about writing mysteries. But it inspired me to do just that – and I’ve been writing mysteries ever since. I’m sure this isn’t an unusual answer, most mystery authors will cite Chandler as one of their main inspirations – he set the bar for everyone. Including me.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
N/A
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Mystery and/or suspense and/or thriller. I’m never really sure about the differences between these genres. I’m not really a “cozy” kind of reader – but not totally hard-boiled either. Somewhere in between, I guess.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
It’s not a mystery, believe it or not. I have three all-time favorite movies that have always been special to me: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Apocalypse Now and Annie Hall. As far as mystery goes, Chinatown has to be right there at the top. And The Maltese Falcon is a favorite classic of mine too.
15--What is your favorite season?
Spring. Well, actually it’s summer. But I love Spring because I know Summer is right around the corner. I don’t like Fall as much as some people because I know winter is coming next. I’ve spent my entire life living in northern parts of the country with these four seasons – wondering why I don’t move to a warm-weather place that’s nice all year round. I’m still working on the answer to that.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
By ignoring it. The numbers are really starting to pile up for me at this point in my life. But usually people won’t let me do that so I have a birthday dinner or whatever. I’m not really a big birthday guy though.
17--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I’m a steakhouse lover, first and foremost. There’s a lot of them in New York City, but I’ve found great ones all over the country. Any kind of beef is great with me – but filet mignon and prime rib are the favorites. After that, I love Italian cuisine a lot too. There’s very little Italian food I don’t love.
18--What do you do when you have free time?
Watch sports. I watch a lot of sports. Mostly football. But baseball too in the summer. Plus, I’m in a bunch of sports fantasy leagues and the like which consume a lot of my time for preparation and studying statistics and fun stuff like that. Other than watching sports, I guess I do the same things most people do in their free time: Read; watch movies; take long walks (both in the country and the city; and binge-watch series I like on TV.
19--What can readers expect from you next?
I have three new thrillers coming out in April - written under the pen name of Dana Perry. All three feature an FBI agent Nikki Cassidy – who returns to her hometown searching for a serial killer and uncovers shocking new secrets about the long -ago murder of her own sister. All three of these Nikki Cassidy thrillers will be released simultaneously by Bookouture publishers to produce a kind of “binge-reading” experience. In other words, you’ll be able to read all of them one right after the other. First time I’ve ever done anything like this, it should be interesting!
Clare Carlson
Wendy Kyle took secrets to her grave - now, Clare Carlson is digging them up
New York City has no shortage of crime, making for a busy schedule for TV newswoman Clare Carlson. But not all crimes are created equal, and when an explosive planted in a car detonates and kills a woman, Clare knows it' ll be a huge story for her.
But it' s not only about the story— Clare also wants justice for the victim, Wendy Kyle. Wendy had sparked controversy as an NYPD officer, ultimately getting kicked off the force after making sexual harassment allegations and getting into a physical altercation with her boss. Then, she started a private investigations business, catering to women who suspected their husbands of cheating. Undoubtedly, Wendy had angered many people with her work, so the list of her suspected murderers is seemingly endless.
Despite the daunting investigation, Clare dives in headfirst. As she digs deeper, she attracts the attention of many rich and powerful people who will stop at nothing to keep her from breaking the truth about the death of Wendy Kyle— and exposing their personal secrets that Wendy took to her grave.
Thriller | Mystery [Oceanview Publishing, On Sale: January 2, 2024, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9781608095315 / eISBN: 9781608095322]
Murder and duplicity, all covered by Channel 10 in NYC
R.G. Belsky is an award-winning author of crime fiction and a journalist in New York City. His newest mystery, Broadcast Blues, is being published on January 2 by Oceanview. It is the sixth in a series featuring Clare Carlson, the news director for a New York City TV station. The first book, Yesterday's News, was named Best Mystery of 2018 at Deadly Ink. The second, Below the Fold, won the Foreward INDIES award for Best Mystery of 2019. The third Clare Carlson mystery, The Last Scoop, came out in 2020. The fourth book Beyond the Headlines came out in 2021. A fifth Clare Carlson book It’s News to Me was published in 2022. Belsky has published 20 novels—all set in the New York city media world where he has had a long career as a top editor at the New York Post, New York Daily News, Star magazine and NBC News. He also writes thrillers under the name Dana Perry. And he is a contributing writer for The Big Thrill magazine.
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