BIO

Carol Higgins Clark is the author of nine previous bestselling Regan Reilly mysteries. She is coauthor, along with her mother, Mary Higgins Clark, of a bestselling holiday mystery series. Also an actress, Carol Higgins Clark studied at the Beverly Hills Playhouse and has recorded several of her mother's works as well as her own novels. She received AudioFile's Earphones Award of Excellence for her reading of JINXED. She lives in New York City.

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PAST INTERVIEW

March 16, 1998

Author of seven bestselling, critically acclaimed novels, Toni On the eve of St. Patrick's Day, mystery writer Carol Higgins Clark spoke with us about her new novel, TWANGED, which is set in Ireland and the Hamptons. Filled with the humor that is evident in her Regan Reilly mysteries (ICED, DECKED, and SNAGGED), Clark spoke about her work, her famous mother, Mary Higgins Clark, and Irish superstitions. Jennifer Levitsky (BookpgJL) was the interviewer. MarleneT was our always unflappable host.

CHCLARK: Good evening everyone.

BookpgJL: We're on the eve of St. Patrick's Day and your book is set partly in Ireland. How will you be celebrating the day

CHCLARK: I'm going to be on a radio show with Frank McCourt who wrote ANGELA'S ASHES. Tomorrow night, I'm having dinner with some friends. It's especially fun this year because TWANGED is partially set in Ireland and it deals with Irish superstitions.

BookpgJL: What would you imagine Regan Reilly would be up to?

CHCLARK: She's probably somewhere drinking a green beer! And looking for trouble...

BookpgJL: TWANGED centers on a country music singer. Do you harbor secret singing dreams?

CHCLARK: I might harbor them, but they're impossible because whenever I get near a mike, people stare. I'm not a singer, and never could be, but I like to sing in the shower.

BookpgJL: But you are an actress. Tell us a little about that.

CHCLARK: Right now I am working more on the books, but I still will pursue the acting. I like to pursue comedic roles.

Question: Carol, I love your books and your mothers, have all of them. Have you ever thought of writing a book with your mother

CHCLARK: We probably won't do that, but we might do a play sometime together. We both have contracts with different Scribners, so writing a book could not happen for a long time, but a play could work.

BookpgJL: Why is the comedy in your books so important to you?

CHCLARK: In my family, humor was always very important. Everyone told stories at the dinner table. My mother is very funny, too. She just writes novels that have more suspense in them. It's something that came out naturally when I started writing. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

BookpgJL: Speaking of your parents, how autobiographical are Regan's parents in your books? Was your fathe really a funeral director?

CHCLARK: My father died when I was very young. He had a great sense of humor, too. When he died, the funeral director thanked my mother because after he died, the funeral home's business went up. It became a family story.

BookpgJL: Let's get to TWANGED. Do you believe in any superstitions like the cursed fiddle?

CHCLARK: It's funny. After I wrote this book and started talking to friends of my mothers of Irish descent, I was surprised to find out how many people do believe in these superstitions --- like if you cut down trees where the fairies live, you'll have an accident or face death. I think I'm naturally a little superstitious. Last Friday was Friday the 13th, and I was glad when my plane landed at the airport.

Question: Can you explain why the book is named TWANGED

CHCLARK: All of my book titles are one word and end in "ed." My first book was about a murder on a cruise ship, and I called it DECKED. When I wrote my second book about a murderer at a panty hose convention, I said, this had to be SNAGGED. When I wrote about a fiddle and country music, I thought TWANGED had to be a good title. Now I get a lot of suggestions for future titles. Some of them I can't repeat!

BookpgJL: Does the next book have a name yet?

CHCLARK: No. It's set in NYC, and it has to do with a television series, but I'm still trying to think of a good name for it.

BookpgJL: The Internet ends up playing a major role in TWANGED. Do you enjoy going online?

CHCLARK: Well, I love turning on my computer, hooking up to AOL getting my email, checking out the news of the day and then exploring. It's easy to get hooked. I'm just learning a lot about it now. I didn't know how to use a computer for a long time, so I think it's good that I get as far as I did. I love the beeping noise when you hook up to AOL! And of course THE BOOK REPORT is a wonderful destination. I thought it was great to use the Internet as a plot point in the book. There is a character in the book who uses it and discovers something about one of the characters that becomes a crucial plot point. Writing today we can use technology as part of our plots. Like fax machines, answering machines, the Internet. They all help solve the mysteries that we write about --- or provide clues.

BookpgJL: Have you ever had to deal with the harsh side of fame like Brigid O'Neill? Or have you observed it with your mother

CHCLARK: Nothing bad has happened to us. Sometimes you'll get strange letters from people. We've never been stalked. People often write if they really like your book, or if they have some problem. Mostly it's been fun. I was at a book fair in Florida this weekend and ran into one of my high school teachers.

Question: So what advice do you have to offer for a writer-wanna-be? I've written nonfiction professionally, but fiction presents a challenge.

CHCLARK: Keep writing. Join a writer's group or writing class. If you have something that you can send out, try to get an agent. Go to the library and look up in Literary Market Place the list of agents, and send out letters to agents. The most important thing is to keep writing.

BookpgJL: Have you really met people like Chappy Tinka and Lousia on the Hamptons?

CHCLARK: Chappy I made up in my mind. I like to use eccentric characters. I think he's lovable, but he's not like anyone I know. I think he's a compilation of different people. Louisa is someone you can find in NYC. The type who's looking for someone's house to go to on the weekend. So many people in NYC like to go somewhere outside of the city on the weekends. The Hamptons is about a 2 hour drive, and it seems like in the summer, you see everyone you know in the Hamptons. Because the Hamptons attracts a lot of famous people, it gets written up a lot for the parties and the dinners. That's why I thought it would be interesting to use it in a book. I've spent a couple of summers in a group house. A bunch of my friends rented a house and everyone was free to go out there on weekends. It was a great way to do research!

BookpgJL: Did you travel to Ireland to research TWANGED

CHCLARK: Absolutely! My grandfather came over from Ireland, so I still have relatives there. I went Dublin and to the west of Ireland and soaked up the atmosphere. I decided that I definitely wanted to set a portion of the book there. I found out that country music has a lot of roots from the Irish immigrants who came over. They brought their fiddles with them and settled in Appalachia and that's where the term country music comes from. It's all tied together, Ireland, country music, and I just set it in the Hamptons for fun. I also used a Chinese superstition called feng shui which is the art of furniture placement to provide you with wealth and harmony in your home. I have a character who is always rearranging furniture. It is interesting to see how the Irish and the Chinese harbor these different beliefs.

Question: Do you have any real life country-western stars as characters in the novel?

CHCLARK: Well I mention LeAnn Rimes and Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks. Bridgid O'Neil's agent calls to say they congratulated her, so I do mention them in passing. It's always hard to use a real live person as a character in a novel of fiction.

Question: If you could be in one of your own novels what would the storyline be?

CHCLARK: I wouldn't mind playing Regan Reilly. I would take any of the four so far. Basically I write about places and things that interest me. My friends think Regan is a lot like me. As a writer, you always write about things you know and your experience in life. I think Regan is enough like me in background that our personalities are similar.

Question: What do you like to do when you have writers block, and what has been the longest duration?

CHCLARK: When I was writing ICED, I definitely went off on the wrong track. At first I get writer's block when the story isn't working.  I sit there and stare at the computer. I had given my agent a chunk of the novel, and she told me that it wasn't funny. I was making it too serious, so I threw it out. When I got on the right track it took off. Sometimes you have writer's block because the story just isn't working and you have to change something. So that's what I did.

BookpgJL: Your mother, Mary Higgins Clark, is the Queen of Suspense. What have you learned from watching her work?

CHCLARK: I've learned about sticking to it, about the fact that it's a lot of hard work, but when the story gets going, it's fun. She taught me that everything in life is grist for the mill. No matter what happens to you, no matter how bad it is, you can use it in a book It's great therapy. As a mystery writer, I've used certain things, like when my answering machine broke, I bought a new one, brought it home and realized that it had messages on it already. I was so mad, but I ended up using it in a story about an aspiring actress in LA whose answering machine breaks. She buys a used one at a garage sale, but there are messages on it from a would-be murderer, and he realizes that he needs it back from who bought it. I called the story, "For Whom the Beep Tolls." I also learned from my mother the joy of writing. Seeing your story unfold and your characters develop. We sometimes read each other's works in progress and talk to each other about it.

BookpgJL: What did she say when you first wanted to write

CHCLARK: She thought it was great! She was thrilled. People ask if there's competition between us but there isn't. We actually have a great time when we do joint signings or appearances together on TV or radio.

Question: What age do you think is appropriate to start reading your books?

CHCLARK: I have 12 year olds reading my books. I get letters from kids in school. There's nothing objectionable in my books for kids.

Question: Will you be doing any signings in MA?

CHCLARK: Yes, in the summer, I'll probably be doing on in Boston and down on the Cape in June and July and possibly in Western Mass, at the end of the summer. It's my college reunion from Mt. Holyoke the weekend of May 29th, so they may be setting up a book signing then.

BookpgJL: Are you excited or nervous about your reunion

CHCLARK: I'm excited. A lot of my friends are going back, and it'll be fun to be together again, so I'm looking forward to it. Sleeping in those dorm rooms might not be as comfortable as I remembered.

BookpgJL: Will a book come out of that?

CHCLARK: Very possibly! In DECKED, I used my experience at a school in Oxford, England where I went for a part of junior year. I have Regan Reilly going back there for a tenth reunion. But a college reunion in the states is always a good setting. People have changed so much, a lot of the past comes back to you at reunions. I'll have to take notes this year!

Question: Do you travel a lot to research your books?

CHCLARK: Absolutely. My friends tease me that I only pick good locations. My third book, ICED, is set in Aspen Colorado, so naturally I had to go. For SNAGGED, I went to South Beach, and in DECKED, I went back to Oxford, England, and I took a cruise ship home to NY to do the research. I try to pick locations that I think will interest the reader. For ICED, I decided to use Aspen, because I had read so much about what goes on there at Christmas time. The Hamptons always get written up for the intrigue there, and of course Ireland always interested me, because of my background.

Question: Did you record the audio version of TWANGED?

CHCLARK: Yes I read SNAGGED, ICED and TWANGED. And my mother actually read the audio of DECKED. It's intense, because you have to make your voice interesting enough for the reader to listen, and have enough nuances, so you can differentiate among the characters. You have to really pretend that you're just telling a story. And keep it interesting.

Question: What is your favorite book of all time?

CHCLARK: As a kid I always loved GONE WITH THE WIND. It's a book that people of all ages can enjoy, and it's one that gets kids reading. Of course there are so many good books, but that's the one that leaps to mind. There are also some good ones by Mary Higgins Clark!

BookpgJL: Do you have a favorite of yours and hers?

CHCLARK: No. My mother says it's like asking which one of your children is your favorite. The one that you are working on at the time takes all of your attention, but each one is special in its own way.

Question: Do you ever cry when you read your books?

BookpgJL: Or laugh?

CHCLARK: I always say that if I can make myself laugh when I'm sitting at the computer, I know I'm on the right track. I also want to have a few times where I'm misting up --- usually towards the end. As a story teller, I want to make my reader feel something, so if it doesn't make me feel something, how can I expect someone else to be affected by it. A guy I know told me that a scene in ICED made him cry. I thought that was great. Because he didn't seem like the type of guy to ever cry. That's what makes you feel good as a writer. Also when someone says they laughed out loud when they were reading your book.

BookpgJL: We're just out of time now. Thanks to everyone for being here tonight!

CHCLARK: Thank you this was fun!

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