The Write Way Café welcomes Nancy Hughes, whose love of mysteries has produced an unexpected trilogy.When did you first have the thought you'd like to write a book?
About age fifteen. As an adult, I said I wouldn’t write a book until I had something to say. I was thinking nonfiction—perhaps humor. Years later, I compiled anecdotes from my one-person PR business. If making that list bored me silly, imagine what it would do to readers? And I learned that memoirs (usually) don’t sell unless one is famous or outrageously interesting. I was neither.
What was your path to getting Vanished written and published? What type of research did you do?
OMG! Vanished wasn’t intended to be third in a trilogy—but a sequel to A Matter of Trust. Trust started life as a 450 page behemoth that didn’t know when to shut up. While a former agent was supposed to be selling Trust, I wrote Vanished. That agent sent neither anywhere in two years, so I fired her and restarted agent-questing as the Great Recession hit. Nobody was buying. I wrote The Dying Hour, while collecting 80 agent rejections. Then I found Black Opal Books by myself. They published The Dying Hour first, then offered me contracts for the others. From initial keystroke to publication to over ten years. Whew!
Where did the idea for Vanished come from?
I awoke one Saturday morning with the entire story in my head, like a ten-point outline. At that time, The Dying Hour was in my publisher’s hands, and I’d reorganized A Matter of Trust into two books. I’d learned from my Trust experience to be an outliner, not a pantser—by the seat of my pants.
Why did you pick the setting you did?
I live and love rural south central Pennsylvania, famous for its Pennsylvania Dutch culture, work ethic, and historic architecture. The 1800s limestone farmhouse my characters inhabit in the Trust series is typical of those built by early settlers from stone they unearthed clearing their farmland. The setting for The Dying Hour stems from my volunteering experience at a VA hospital, which makes the novel technically accurate. Except for the serial murderer, of course.
Are your main characters completely imaginary or do they have some basis in real people? Do they reflect aspects of yourself?
First comes my plot, then the characters jump in to drive it. Some resemble people I’ve known. The bad guys? I’ve been known to anonymously vilify a few whom I’ve seen do bad things to good people. My good guys can’t help reflecting my values.
Did you face any blocks while writing the Vanished, and if so, how did you handle them?
No blocks! I couldn’t wait to dig in again. I pick up where I left off by rereading the previous pages. I do not write and edit at the same time. And I don’t stop to do research, but leave messages that spellcheck can’t miss, such as NEED UNDETECTABLE POISON HERE or ASK PATHOLOGIST WHICH PROFESSIONALS WOULD BE IN THE MORGUE SCENE. In addition to Draft One, I play with practice scenes in a document called “inserts” and keep a “cuts” document for scenes I might reconsider. That way, I can keep my pace flowing without making major plot decisions.
What have been surprises you've encountered while writing Vanished and after?
People aren’t kidding when they say, “keep your day job.” Royalties are tiny. Even Sue Grafton, with her amazing talent and experience, said she got to “G” (Is For Gumshoe) before she could afford to write full time. James Patterson says his first novel was rejected by 30 publishers—that he’s kept a list. Keep writing while being persistent.
What did you learn? For instance, what did you learn about yourself, your process, the writing world; about kidnappings and novice detectives?
I LOVE to do research. Guess it’s the journalist in me to learn as if I were the victim. After draft one is written and scrutinized for its content, I fact check. In fiction, one cannot just make it all up! I met an author who vilified a VA without even stepping into one! In Vanished, one-way streets had to go the right way, and which jet could fly cross-country without refueling. What had changed in ten years, from hotel and restaurant names, even the detectives’ vehicles and genders. That’s so much fun. Technical experts were delighted to share information.
Tell us about your writing space and how or why it works for you.
Most writers, I’m told, are introverts. Not me! I need to be sequestered, least I find someone to talk to. It’s tiny—11’ by 9’—that would make a great walk-in closet. I thought we’d wrecked the resale value, taking space off a bedroom. Who’d want a home office?
Located in the top left corner of a two-story colonial, an oak surface spans the outside wall, supported by 2 filing cabinets. My piles should be files—alas! Seated on my Celle chair at my MacBook Pro, my view is my beloved shade gardens, back dropped by hundred-foot trees. Benner Deer Fencing prevents the herd from destroying my azaleas. In summer, I commandeer a small potting shed as my office.
What are some of your favorite books and why?
Behind my chair, a bookshelf holds hundreds. Research favorites, like The Book of Poisons: A Guide for Writers (for a killer salad!) and Forensics: A Guide for Writers, and all manner of editing. All-time favorites: Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier and Gone With The Wind. And writer friends’ newest books! A Pocket Guide to the US Constitution by Andrew Arnold; and by MWA buddies—For Good Reason by James Robertson; Daniella Bernette’s latest, Beyond the Grave; Don Helin’s Long Walk Home; and P.D. Halt’s When Death Imitates Art. I literally climb over books to get into bed.
What are you working on now?
The Innocent Hour, a sequel to The Dying Hour. Black Opal Books will release it in 2019. It’s nuts, having two series with 1 and 5 separated by 3 others. That timing wasn’t planned. The Dying Hour was meant to be a stand-alone. Until readers kept pestering.
Would you like to try your hand at writing a different genre? Which one and why?
No! I’ve loved mysteries since my first Nancy Drew, although I was a business writer by education and experience. I love murdering people—tastefully, of course.
If you were not a writer, what would your dream job be?
An investigative reporter for a network affiliate. Author Hank Phillippi Ryan uses her experiences as an Emmy Award winning reporter at a Boston station in writing her novels. This isn’t a possibility, since one needs a big city for that career. If I could go all the way back to college, I’d study life sciences, my goal to be an ophthalmologist. Writing appeals to me because each novel is new. My Myers-Briggs type does not do repetitive work well.
What aspect of writing gives you the most trouble?
Naming characters. And spelling! Spell and Grammar check will not save me from confusing similar words—like scared v. scarred. And antonyms.
Who is your favorite hero/heroine, either in your own books or in books you’ve read?
I love Charlie Alderfer, my protagonist in The Dying Hour. He’s a composite of the great veterans I’ve met at the VA, who protected our country and our freedom. In spite of old age and fragile health, they’ll still do whatever it takes to help others in need.
It was supposed to be the kidnappers’ last job, snatching the infant of a poor single mother for an unsuspecting wealthy client. But the kidnappers grab the wrong baby—Billy, the son of high-profile bankers, Kingsley and Todd Henning—from their employer’s secure daycare. Realizing their mistake, the kidnappers plant evidence to implicate the parents and dismantle their operation. No ransom call comes. Detectives, convinced the parents are guilty, interrogate relentlessly as they uncover planted evidence.
The parents can’t face the mosaic of guilt, blame, and despair or help each other. On day ten, they are called to the morgue. The deceased is not Billy—this time. Shaken, they recommit to each other and vow to find him themselves. They scrutinize the bank’s security footage for incongruities only insiders might spot and follow the flimsiest clues into the murderous underworld of illegal adoptions. As novice detectives, they are exposed to extreme danger, skirting the law while keeping one step ahead of the villains and the police.
But is it too late? Will the kidnappers eliminate all trace of the baby? Or are they no match for two angry, determined parents?
The parents can’t face the mosaic of guilt, blame, and despair or help each other. On day ten, they are called to the morgue. The deceased is not Billy—this time. Shaken, they recommit to each other and vow to find him themselves. They scrutinize the bank’s security footage for incongruities only insiders might spot and follow the flimsiest clues into the murderous underworld of illegal adoptions. As novice detectives, they are exposed to extreme danger, skirting the law while keeping one step ahead of the villains and the police.
But is it too late? Will the kidnappers eliminate all trace of the baby? Or are they no match for two angry, determined parents?
Nancy A. Hughes, a native of Key West who grew up in Pittsburgh, lives with her husband in south central Pennsylvania. Following graduation from Penn State where she studied journalism, she spent most of her career in business writing, specializing in media, community, and public relations for small to midsize businesses.
In recent years, Nancy turned her attention to murdering people—on paper, that is. Her debut mystery novel, The Dying Hour, was released on October 15, 2016, by Black Opal Books. A Matter of Trust, the first of the Trust trilogy, followed on May 6, 2017, Redeeming Trust on December 9, 2017, and Vanished on October 27, 2018. Her focus is character-driven crime-solving mysteries; her sub-genre amateur sleuths.
When she isn’t writing, Hughes is devoted to shade gardening, volunteering at the VA, and spending time with family and friends. Visit her on her website at hughescribe.com.
