R. g. BELSKY

Thank you for chatting with us about your work. 

I liked the way you started this novel, “Opening Credits.” It gives the reader more than a prologue for the subject and character. Do you start all your work in this way?  

I do start every one of the Clare Carlson books with the “Opening Credits.” Yes, it’s a quick introduction to Clare and the story and sets the tone for the rest of the book. In BROADCAST BLUES, for instance, I have Clare talking about her insecurities about approaching her 50th birthday - and the impact that might have on her career and on her life.
There’s also a quick setup for the crime story that will follow. Every author likes to have a unique way to introduce his book to the reader, I guess - and this is mine.

Voice: not that a man cannot write from a female perspective, however many male writers cannot capture a female’s essence and persaonlity. You have no trouble with that. In fact, it’s the voice of Clare that pulls me from one page to the next, wanting to know more about her and her “big story.” Why a female protagonist? And how do you get into the female mind-set so brilliantly?              
   
 Clare is a female protagonist because she needed to be a woman for the first book in the series. No spoilers here, but the plot of that one involved very personal things - traumas only a woman could experience - from Clare’s own past. So I had no choice on the gender. Having said that, I’ve used female protagonists in the vast majority of the 21 novels I’ve published so far. I somehow find them more interesting to write about than traditional male heroes. How do I get into the female state of mind? I’ve known - and I’ve worked with - a lot of terrific, talented women in my own journalistic career. Clare is a composite in some ways of many of them. 

Funny, your female characters in this novel were pretty much “all business,” while the male characters are more sexual-based. Are you making a statement here? To your male readers or female?

I’ve never really thought about that. It may well be true. But Clare herself is certainly “sexual based” in terms of pursuing her romantic relationships even though she’s “all business” on the job. I just try to create all my characters - men as well as women - to be the most interesting I can. That’s because I believe the characters are the most important part of any book. Sometimes that involves making them “sex-based” or “all business” or maybe even both. But I don’t do it as any kind of a gender thing. 
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This duality “sex-business” also worked well to emphasize your theme of abusive relationships. Do you begin writing by deciding what themes you want to discuss? Or find a plot that has prominent themes?

I don’t really have any kind of political or issues agenda when I write my books. I just go where the story takes me. In this book, that idea of a private investigator who spied on cheating lovers led to “abusive sexual relationships” in some cases. Previous books of mine have dealt with the #metoo movement and the homeless and even the treatment of military veterans. But all of this is done simply to tell the story, not out of any political push on my part.​

With an extensive career as a journalist, what motivated you to write mystery and thrillers over non-fiction?

Ha! I’ve always done both so there was really no decision to make. I began writing crime fiction very early on in my journalistic career and published numerous novels at the same time I was working as a top editor at the New York Post, New York Daily News, Star magazine and NBC News. Non-fiction and fiction have always been a fun combination for me. I’ve gotten the opportunity to chase facts as a journalist, then also just make stuff up for my novels! You can’t beat that…

“Newcasters—don’t have to be cute, perky, young talking heads to succeed in the media world…” This quote from the novel accentuates the fine line you provide with Clare. She is defined as being personable and witty, while also very serious about her intent and career. Do you plot in order to keep this witty/professional tone level in the story?

Yes, it’s a balance. But you can be a serious journalist and still be fun too. Believe me, I’ve known a lot of journalists like that. I’ve tried to create Clare as a colorful character - the kind of person you’d love to work with or just hang out around - but someone who is also very serious and dedicated about her job in journalism. Hopefully I’ve accomplished that.

Clare’s female boss and Clare are very competitive. More competitive in personality and tone than any of the other characters. What are you saying here? The owner of the news station is male, why make Clare’s immediate boss female?

The horrible female boss, Susan Endicott, is a new addition to the series. Up until the last book, Clare had an older male boss that she respected and liked. But I wanted to shake things up in her career a bit, so I replaced him with Susan Endicott. She is what I think of as “The Boss From Hell” - totally cold-blooded and ambitious and verbally abusive to Clare and others at the station. She’s someone I want the reader to hate. And I like the fact that she presents a whole new challenge for Clare to deal with in her job. 

I like the subplot of the novel, Clare turning 50. It definitely helps lighten the more serious tones of the mystery. Do you think subplots should be used to lift the story as well as to create deeper themes for the overall plot?

Every novel - especially a crime novel - needs a subplot. It might be an alcohol problem or a divorce or a medical issue or any of the other things people deal with in everyday life. Clare has had a LOT of problems in her personal life. But I did focus on the age issue in this book because of the emphasis on youth and sexiness for TV newscasters, especially the women. I also was able to work in an added subplot (related to turning 50) about her relationship as she grows older with her own daughter and granddaughter. 

Readers should be aware Broadcast Blues is the recent Clare Carlson mystery, it is the 6th in the series. However, there is no problem reading them as stand-alone. What are you working on now?

I have three new thrillers coming out in April, but not under my name of R.G. Belsky. These are written under the pen name of Dana Perry. (There are four earlier Dana Perry books too). The ones coming out in 2024 feature a new protagonist, 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! 

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