If your mother was the Queen of Suspense, what sort of present would you expect to find in your Christmas stocking? Today's guest blogger, Carol Higgins Clark --- co-author of DASHING THROUGH THE SNOW with her mother, Mary --- answers this question, while revealing the connection between everyone's favorite teen sleuth, Nancy Drew, and her own protagonist, Regan Reilly.


It's always wonderful to give and receive books at Christmastime. One year, my mother gave me several copies of the Nancy Drew mysteries. I loved them! I thought Nancy Drew had the most exciting life. She was always in the middle of solving a mystery involving anything from a hidden staircase to twisted candles to an old estate. She had a red convertible, a great boyfriend, wonderful pals, and a terrific father. To open one of those books and become a part of her world was always such a pleasure for me.

Now I'm an author, and I write mysteries about a private investigator named Regan Reilly. Sometimes people tell me that they think Regan is a grown-up Nancy Drew. I'm always so pleased to hear it! Now I believe that Regan Reilly had her beginnings in a very special gift I found under the Christmas tree...all those years ago.


Tomorrow, crime writer Gregg Hurwitz shares a painful, yet equally hilarious memory of the Christmas he gave his sister a first edition of Michael Connelly's THE BLACK ECHO.

Labels: Carol Higgins Clark, Dashing Through the Snow, holiday-blogs-2008, Mary Higgins Clark