Mystery author R.G. Belsky is back for a new interview about his latest mystery, Beyond the Headlines.
Bio:
R.G. Belsky is an award-winning author of crime fiction and a journalist in New York City. His newest mystery, Beyond the Headlines, is being published in May by Oceanview. It is the fourth in a series featuring Clare Carlson, the news director for a New York City TV station. The first book, Yesterday’s News, was named Best Mystery of 2018 at Deadly Ink. The second, Below the Fold, won the Foreward INDIES award for Best Mystery of 2019. The third Clare Carlson mystery, The Last Scoop, came out in May 2020. Belsky has published 14 novels—all set in the New York city media world where he has had a long career as a top editor at the New York Post, New York Daily News, Star magazine and NBC News. He also writes thrillers under the name Dana Perry. And he is a contributing editor for The Big Thrill magazine.
Welcome back to Reviews and Interviews, R.G. Please tell us about your newest release.
She was a mega-celebrity – he was a billionaire businessman.
Now he’s dead, and she’s in jail.
Laurie Bateman was living the American dream. Since her arrival as an infant in the U.S. after the fall of Saigon, the pretty Vietnamese girl had gone on to become a supermodel, a successful actress, and, finally, the wife of one of the country’s top corporate dealmakers. That dream has now turned into a nightmare when she is arrested for the murder of her wealthy husband.
New York City TV journalist Clare Carlson does an emotional jailhouse interview in which Bateman proclaims her innocence—and becomes a cause celebre for women’s rights groups around the country.
At first sympathetic, then increasingly suspicious of Laurie Bateman and her story, Clare delves into a baffling mystery which has roots extending back nearly fifty years to the height of the Vietnam War.
Soon, there are more murders, more victims, and more questions as Clare struggles against dire evil forces to break the biggest story of her life.
What inspired you to write this book?
Two things:
- I covered a lot of celebrity stories and celebrity crime too during my years as a journalist at the New York Post, New York Daily News, Star magazine and NBC News. One of the biggest celebrity crimes stories ever, of course, was the O.J. case in the 90s. I decided I wanted to write a mystery like that about a famous celebrity on trial for murder – and how the public becomes divided over their guilt or innocence. In the O.J. case, race played a big role. In my book, it’s the domestic abuse issue and the #metoo movement. But, in the end, Clare has to put all that aside and follow the trail of evidence to find the truth about this murder.
- The other element to this book is Vietnam. A long time ago, I served in Vietnam with the Army and always thought about writing a Vietnam novel. This is not it, but I do draw on my own Vietnam War experiences for the background of the murder victim in the book. Some of his Vietnam experiences from the past – which turn out to be crucial to solving his murder – are similar to mine!
Excerpt from Beyond the Headlines:
From Chapter 1:
“Do you know who Laurie Bateman is?” my friend Janet Wood asked me.
“I do,” I said. “I also know who Lady Gaga is. And Angelina Jolie. And Ivanka Trump. I’m in the media, remember? That’s what we do in the media, we cover famous people. It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it.”
“Laurie Bateman hired me.”
“As an attorney?”
“Yes, as an attorney. That’s what I do, Clare.”
We were sitting in my office at Channel 10 News, the TV station where I work as news director in New York City. I should have known something was going on as soon as Janet showed up there. We usually met at Janet’s law office which is big, with panoramic views of midtown Manhattan and a lot nicer than mine.
Janet never comes to see me there unless she has a reason.
I figured I was about to find out that reason.
It was early December and outside it was snowing, the first real storm of the winter. It had begun during the night, and by now it was covering the city with a powdery white blanket. Pretty soon the car exhausts and trucks would turn it into brown slush, but for now it was nice. From the window next to my desk, the city had an eerie, almost unreal quality. Like something from a Norman Rockwell painting.
My outfit for the day was perfect for the snowy weather too. I’d walked in wearing a turtleneck sweater, heavy corduroy slacks, a blue down jacket with a parka hood and white earmuffs, scarf and mittens. The ski bunny look. I felt like I should have a cup of hot chocolate in my hand.
“What does Laurie Bateman need you as an attorney for?” I asked Janet.
She hesitated for what seemed to be an inordinately long amount of time before answering.
“Are we talking off the record here?”
“Whatever you want, Janet.”
“I need your word on that.”
“C’mon, it’s me. Clare Carlson, your best friend in the world.”
She nodded.
“Laurie Bateman wants me to represent her in divorce proceedings.”
“Wow!”
“I thought you’d like that.”
“Is it too late to take back my “best friend in the world/ off-the-record” promise?”
Janet smiled. Sort of.
“How much do you know about Laurie Bateman?” she asked me now.
I knew as much as the rest of the world, I suppose. Laurie Bateman seemed to have the American Dream going for her. Since coming to the U.S. as a baby with her family after the fall of Saigon in 1975, the pretty Vietnamese girl had grown up to become a top model, then a successful actress and finally the wife of one of the country’s top corporate deal makers. She had a fancy Manhattan townhouse, a limousine at her beck and call and her face had graced the covers of magazines like Vogue and People.
Her husband was Charles Hollister, who had become incredibly wealthy back in the ‘70s as one of the pioneers of the burgeoning computer age. He was a kind of Steve Jobs of those early days, and he later expanded into all sorts of other industries – from media to pharmaceuticals to oil drilling and a lot more. He was listed as one of the 10 wealthiest businessmen in America.
When Hollister married Laurie Bateman a few years ago, there were a lot of jokes about the big difference in age between the two – she was so much younger and so beautiful. Like the jokes people made about Rupert Murdoch with Wendy Deng and then Jerry Hall, his last two wives. People always assume that a younger and pretty woman like that is marrying for the money. But Laurie Bateman and Charles Hollister insisted they were in love, and they had consistently projected the public persona of a happily married couple in the media since their wedding.
Except it now appeared they weren’t so happily married.
“Is she trying to divorce him to get her hands on his money?” I asked.
“Actually, he’s trying to divorce her and stop her from getting her hands on any of his money.”
“So the bottom line here is this divorce is about money.”
“Always is.”
“Isn’t there a pre-nuptial agreement that would settle all this?”
“Yes and no.”
“Spoken like a true lawyer.”
What’s the next writing project?
Clare Carlson Book #5. It’s called It’s News to Me. Will be published in 2022.
What is your biggest challenge when writing a new book? (or the biggest challenge with this book)
The biggest challenge for me on this book – and with every book I write – is the middle.
I start out with with an idea for the beginning, and I generally have an idea too for the ending. (Although that may change.)
It’s getting from that beginning to the end that’s the challenge. All the developing of the story, the setup for the ending, the twists and turns and red herrings along the way – it ain’t easy for me. I don’t outline either. I just keep writing and see where the story takes me. So far, it’s taken me to some pretty interesting places that I never imagined when I started the book. That’s what happened with Beyond The Headlines too. Hope readers feel the same way.
If your novels require research – please talk about the process. Do you do the research first and then write, while you’re writing, after the novel is complete and you need to fill in the gaps?
I’ve spent a career as a journalist doing research on stories. As a journalist, I had to deal with facts, as a mystery author I get to make stuff up. That’s a lot more fun! But obviously there has to be facts and research even in a piece of fiction. I prefer first-hand research as opposed to looking stuff up in books or on line. I set my books in New York City, where I’ve lived and worked for many years. They usually take place in a newsroom so I’m very familiar with that setting too. And, when my character does have to travel, I generally take her to a place that I have already visited and have knowledge of. For instance, when I went to New Orleans a few years ago for the Bouchercon mystery conference, I wrote a scene about New Orleans in one of my books. If Clare goes to a beach town, I make it a place like Cape Cod or the Jersey Shore where I’ve spent time. So I don’t do a lot of actual research for the book, I draw on all my past research/experiences when I’m writing fiction.
What’s your writing space like? Do you have a particular spot to write where the muse is more active? Please tell us about it.
I have a terrific office, but I rarely use it when I’m actually writing a book. I prefer to work outdoors or places with people around. Maybe that’s because I spent so much time working in noisy newsrooms. All I know is the noise and conversation helps inspire me to write. So I work in coffee shops, bars, restaurants, sitting on park benches, at the beach and even on a New York City subway.
I also never write on a computer. I do it long hand on a legal pad, then put it on the computer afterward. I’m not sure why. But that’s how I’ve always written my mystery fiction, and it seems to work for me.
What authors do you enjoy reading within or outside of your genre?
I read mostly in the mystery genre these days. And my list of favorite authors is a pretty unsurprising one – the same names as a lot of people love. They are (in no particular order):
Michael Connelly, Sue Grafton, Raymond Chandler, Agatha Christie, Ross Macdonald, Lawrence Block and Robert B. Parker. There are many, many more, of course – but there are the superstars on my list. I’ve read all of their books, many of them numerous times.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers today?
This comes up a lot when I attend book events, so I thought I’d share it with you here. I spent a lot of years as a journalist and covered a lot of stories, but the thing I’m most remembered for is the famous New York Post headline of “HEADLESS BODY IN TOPLESS BAR.” If you google “Dick Belsky,” you’ll see a lot of references to that. And I didn’t even write the headline! But I was in the Post city room the day it happened back in the 1980s.and helped put the story together for the headline to be written. Here’s a story I wrote about that day when I was at NBC.
Thank you for coming back to Reviews and Interviews!