Interview with non-fiction true crime writer Connie L. Nelson

Writer Connie L. Nelson joins me today to chat about her true crime book, Cavalier – The Story of an Unsolved Murder in a Small Town.

Bio:
Connie Nelson’s educational background includes: a B.S. in Business Administration. She also completed a graduate program in Vocational Education and has an M.S. in Organizational Communications. Her thesis focused on women serving in state legislatures in the 1980’s, and their treatment by the media.

Her work experiences have included: advertising manager for a chain of seven men’s clothing stores; marketing/communications manager in several different health care organizations; and grant writer for a large school district. She also taught marketing in two different post-secondary schools as an adjunct professor. Connie has also been an avid community volunteer who enjoys local politics.

Connie Nelson wrote grants and proposals during her entire career and was also a writer and researcher for several published projects including:

• A monograph for the Institute of Regional Studies at North Dakota State University entitled “The Women Who Lead the Way – the YWCA of Cass Clay 1906-2006” where she captured the 100-year history of the local YWCA including oral histories with early founders.
• A monograph written and researched for the Legacy Press, North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies, about a city commissioner who served on the Fargo City Commission from 1970-2002. Term limits are now limited to 12 years.
• “The Road to Little Rock – One Judge. Nine Students, the Courage and Conviction of Judge Ronald Davies”. (Judge Davies decided the legal desegregation of Little Rock Schools in 1958.) Connie wrote the grant applications to fund a project designed to educate the public on the judge’s role, served as the primary researcher, and worked with a community task force to produce a video and school curriculum for the project. Along the way, she met and worked with three members of the “Little Rock Nine”.
• “The Mission of Herman Stern – the Rescue of Many, an Army of One”. This is a story of one man who rescued 125 Jewish people during World War II. Connie served as the primary researcher, raised the project funding, and worked with a community task force to write this story which was produced as a video and distributed throughout the State of North Dakota in 2017-2018 by the North Dakota Historical Society.

Connie Nelson moved to Santa Fe, NM when she retired in 2018. She joined the New Mexico Book Association (NMBA) with a goal of participating in workshops and training events, meeting people who are writers and authors, and learning about independent publishing. Connie says that she encourages beginning writers to surround themselves with local writers and authors. She says she is forever grateful for the support of these new friends and mentors in New Mexico.

Welcome, Connie. Please tell us about your current release.
My friend Jack, a physician in a small town, was murdered in his home on February 13, 1986. The case is still “open and inactive”. It remains unsolved after 36 years.

Most of the people who were involved in the investigation have died and the evidence has either been discarded or has deteriorated. The murder took place before DNA was utilized for investigations, so no evidence was saved with this in mind.

I felt that it would be therapeutic to write about this unsolved murder and hope that what I’ve said will eliminate the rumors and prompt someone to provide additional evidence or confess on their death bed.

What inspired you to write this book?
When I moved to New Mexico in 2018, I found the box that contained all the correspondence and newspaper reports from 1986. My first new friends in New Mexico were writers. They promised to help me and involved me in their writer’s group.

Excerpt from Cavalier:
One theory about the murder emerged quickly and was never dispelled: essentially, that Jack’s gay lifestyle was at the root of the crime. I rejected this on several fronts, first and foremost because it blamed the victim.

For the past thirty-five years, the most prominent unanswered questions have been “Was the murder a crime of passion?” In other words, was it related to Jack’s sexuality? Newspaper reports along with the investigators’ comments have implied that Jack had a questionable social life that put his life in jeopardy. I have always believed that this theory put the blame on Jack himself, and that’s just not fair! He was a victim!

Dr. Warren Jensen was the acting county coroner and signed off on the autopsy report, which revealed that Jack had a blood alcohol content of 0.10, and that he had cirrhosis of the liver, an enlarged spleen, mild hardening of the arteries around his heart, and a tumor on his left kidney. It also indicated that there were stab wounds to the liver, lungs, and pulmonary vein, plus two ribs had been fractured. “The victim was stabbed six times, once in the right upper chest, twice on the right side, and three times in the back with a knife-like object.” Jack was forty-three years old. The cause of death was homicide, one of ten murders in North Dakota in 1986. He died around 2:00 a.m., Thursday morning, February 13, 1986.

Local law enforcement officers surmised that whoever killed Jack was familiar with where the vital organs were located. The investigators speculated that perhaps the murderer was another physician or a veteran. (It was obviously someone who was trained to kill or knew human anatomy.) Jack was stabbed six times. The murder weapon was never found, and the only reference to the size of the blade in the investigation documents was that it was one-inch wide.

What exciting project are you working on next?
I haven’t thought about a second project – yet! I’ve been so busy launching “Cavalier” that I haven’t even thought about another book. I hope to add an audio book and a podcast eventually.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I graduated from college with a business degree, but each of my jobs involved writing (something I’ve always enjoyed). After working for 20 years in marketing and communications for a series of health care organizations, I went back to college and got an M.S. in Organizational Communications. I spent the last 15 years of my career as a grant writer for a large school district.

Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I’m retired so I get to write all day if I wish. I usually spend the mornings with correspondence and research and write in the afternoons and evenings. I have learned to walk away periodically if I’m stuck!

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I’ve written with a red flair pen, during my entire career. It’s become my trademark!

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I have always enjoyed organizing things and people. I always got good grades in English and had great teachers.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
When I’m not at my computer, I’m usually reading a book or knitting.

Thanks for being here today, Connie.