1--What is the title of your latest release?
HALL OF MIRRORS
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
In 1954, mystery novelist Lionel Kane witnesses his DC apartment engulfed in flames with his lover and writing partner, Roger Raymond, inside. Police declare it a suicide, but he refuses to believe Roger was suicidal. Weeks earlier, Judy Nightingale and Philippa Watson—the tenacious heroines from The Savage Kind—attend a lecture by Roger and, being eager fans, befriend him. He has just been fired from the State Department, another victim of the government-sanctioned anti-gay crusade spearheaded by Senator Joseph McCarthy. Little do the women know, but their pursuit of their old enemy, Adrian Bogdan, a serial killer protected by powerful governmental forces, has led to Roger’s dismissal. Has their persistence brought deadly forces to the team behind their beloved books?
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
The Savage Kind, the first in the trilogy, was set in DC post-WWII. I love that period and wanted to continue exploring it. The early 1950s was a particularly paranoid and oppressive time, so it’s fertile terrain for a tense and twisty story. I also wanted to mingle personal experience and the national concerns, the struggle of queer people against a cultural and political landscape of the time; DC as a place gathers all those elements together.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Haha, which one? So, I would hang with Lionel. He’s witty, talented, and finds strength in his vulnerability. He’s the kind of gay man I aspire to be. As for Judy, also, yes. But I’d be careful not to get on her bad side. Judy doesn’t suffer fools; she makes fools suffer. She’s an avenging angel of a sort!
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Lionel is intelligent, courageous, and wounded. Judy is whip-smart, daring, and vengeful.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Although I knew about the persecution of gays and lesbians during the Lavender Scare, I didn’t realize the degree of it. Over 5000 federal employees lost their jobs, and 1700 applicants were denied positions because they were suspected. It ruined many lives, and quite a few victims committed suicide, having been rejected by their families and having no means to make money. What was equally disturbing about it was that our government sanctioned it. They justified this persecution claiming gays and lesbians could be blackmailed and therefore were security risks. While this happened a few times, the “security” measures were more about political posturing and fearmongering than any genuine attempt to keep America’s state secrets safe.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I edit all the time! I wish I were one of those writers who could force out a messy rough draft and edit it later, but I can’t. I’m fussy about sentences and rhythm, so every word matters, even when drafting, even if I end up not using a section.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
I love a beautifully prepared cocktail, my favorites are the prohibition cocktails The Aviation and, of course, The Last Word. They have the perfect blend of booze, citrus, sweet, and herby complexity.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I have two desks and two bookshelves in my office. One of my desks can be raised and lowered so I can write standing up. This is a total indulgence, but it helps with my slouching and tight back. My bookshelves are full of crime novels and queer novels, and my favorite novels of all time, like Wuthering Heights and To the Lighthouse. Lots of art on the walls, too. I love my Thomas Allen print of cut-out and posed pulp novel covers.
10--Who is an author you admire?
Margaret Atwood. She’s one of the world’s great writers. She isn’t afraid to venture into crime fiction or speculative fiction or whatever it calling to her.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
There are many books. I don’t book necessary change people, but books have change me. To the Lighthouse, while challenging to read, helped me understand my grief over losing my father at age eight. It’s a book that explores the absence of a parent who moved beyond sadness to something like awe.
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.
For all my novels, it’s always been thrilling to learn that you will be published—or are still worthy of publication. I sold Hall of Mirrors on a partial manuscript, so I celebrated and then I got to work!
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Well, of course, I love mysteries and noir, but I also love narrative nonfiction. I love anything with a strong voice and a clear point of view.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
I’m a huge movie buff, so this is impossible to answer, so I’m going to list several: The Sweet Hereafter, Heathers, Far From Heaven, The House of Yes, In a Lonely Place, The Killers (1946), Out of the Past, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Okay, I should stop!
15--What is your favorite season?
Fall! I could never live in a place where the leaves never change.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Eating delicious food.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I absolutely loved the new season Fargo! Love, love Jennifer Jason Leigh’s character, Lorraine Lyon.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Greek food. Everything’s betta with Feta!
19--What do you do when you have free time?
Watch movies and build Lego sets. It’s so soothing.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
Right now, I’m focusing on spreading the word about Hall of Mirrors, but I’ve written a contemporary ghost story, and, of course, I want to write the final book in the Nightingale Trilogy!
A Judy Nightingale and Philippa Watson Mystery #2
When a popular mystery novelist dies suspiciously, his writing partner must untangle the author’s connection to a serial killer in award-winning John Copenhaver’s new novel set in 1950s McCarthy-era Washington, DC.
In May 1954, Lionel Kane witnesses his apartment engulfed in flames with his lover and writing partner, Roger Raymond, inside. Police declare it a suicide due to gas ignition, but Lionel refuses to believe Roger was suicidal.
A month earlier, Judy Nightingale and Philippa Watson—the tenacious and troubled heroines from The Savage Kind—attend a lecture by Roger and, being eager fans, befriend him. He has just been fired from his day job at the State Department, another victim of the Lavender Scare, an anti-gay crusade led by figures like Senator Joseph McCarthy and J. Edgar Hoover, claiming homosexuals are security risks. Little do Judy and Philippa know, but their obsessive manhunt of the past several years has fueled the flames of his dismissal.
They have been tracking their old enemy Adrian Bogdan, a spy and vicious serial killer protected by powerful forces in the government. He’s on the rampage again, and the police are ignoring his crimes. Frustrated, they send their research to the media and their favorite mystery writer anonymously, hoping to inspire someone, somehow, to publish on the crimes—anything to draw Bogdan out. But has their persistence brought deadly forces to the writing team behind their most beloved books?
In the wake of Roger’s death, Lionel searches for clues, but Judy and Philippa threaten his quest, concealing dark secrets of their own. As the crimes of the past and present converge, danger mounts, and the characters race to uncover the truth, even if it means bending their moral boundaries to stop a killer.
Thriller [Pegasus Crime, On Sale: June 4, 2024, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9781639366507 / ]
John Copenhaver’s historical crime novel, Dodging and Burning, won the 2019 Macavity Award for Best First Mystery, and his second novel, The Savage Kind, won the 2021 Lambda Literary Award for Best LGBTQ Mystery. He is a founding member of Queer Crime Writers and an at-large board member of Mystery Writers of America. He currently cohosts on the House of Mystery radio show. He’s a faculty mentor in the University of Nebraska’s low-residency MFA program and teaches at VCU in Richmond, VA, where he lives with his husband, artist Jeffery Paul.
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