An Interview with Nancy Glass West

By Dr. Anil Aggrawal, The Internet Journal of Book Reviews

Nancy Glass West writes mysteries. Her suspense novel, NINE DAYS TO EVIL, received excellent reviews and won The Blether Gold Award. The story features Meredith Laughlin, a graduate student who finds herself in a deadly trap. From studying Shakespeare's tragedies, she conceives a way to escape sociopathic villains who want her dead.

According to Blether, the Book Review Site, "NINE DAYS TO EVIL is a truly exceptional read, the finest example of a genre, a book with which the reviewer can find no fault, and which will usually have universal appeal."

When West was age seven, she and her mother wrote poems to each other on special occasions. In high school, she won a Pegasus Award in the San Antonio Library contest. In college, however, she saw journalists who were underpaid and English majors who couldn't find jobs in writing and publishing. Being practical, she studied General Business at the University of Texas and University of Houston and earned a BBA.

After marrying and having two daughters, she realized she had to write. She earned an MA/English Literature at the University of Incarnate Word and attended the Rice University Publishing Program. After reading numerous books on writing, she wrote magazine articles, poetry, and the biography, JOSE VIVES-ATSARA: HIS LIFE AND HIS ART (Shoal Creek Publishers, Austin). Vives-Atsara, a nationally acclaimed artist who immigrated to the United States from Spain during the Spanish Civil War, garnered praise for his artistic ability and for his patriotism for his adopted country.

West founded Book Publishers of Texas and edited their trade journal for seven years. Her poem, TIME TO LIE, featured by "Theme and Variations," debuted on America's National Public Radio. She recently completed an aging-can-be-murder mystery romp, FOREVER FATAL, featuring a female amateur sleuth who fears nothing but middle age. The novel, laced with humor and romance, should be published in 2009. West plans to write a series of books featuring this inimitable protagonist, Aggie Mundeen. Although these books are lighter in tone, characters from NINE DAYS TO EVIL reappear in these novels in supporting roles.

Since her suspense novel, NINE DAYS TO EVIL (Booklocker 2004) won rave reviews, we couldn't contain our desire to know more about her. We at Anil Aggrawal's Internet Journal of Book Reviews approached her for an online interview and she graciously agreed. The interview was conducted for well over a month by Editor-in-Chief Dr. Anil Aggrawal. Some excerpts...

Nancy Glass West Nancy Glass West writes mysteries. Her suspense novel, NINE DAYS TO EVIL, received excellent reviews and won The Blether Gold Award. The story features winsome heroine Meredith Laughlin, who discovers, from studying Shakespeare’s tragedies, a potential escape route from the sociopathic villains who want her dead. According to Blether, The Book Review Site, "NINE DAYS TO EVIL is a truly exceptional read, the finest example of a genre, a book with which the reviewer can find no fault, and which will usually have universal appeal.” Featured in the Internet Journal of Book Reviews, the novel is available through BookSense.com, Barnes&Noble.com, and Amazon.com. To read reviews of West’s novels, more of her thoughts about writing, her annotated list of excellent books for writers, or to contact the author, visit her website: www.nancygwest.com. We at the "Anil Aggrawal's Internet Journal of Book Reviews" approached her for an online interview and she graciously agreed. The interview was conducted for well over a month by the Editor-in-Chief Dr. Anil Aggrawal. Some excerpts.. ..

Q1. Why do you write mysteries?

Ans. I write mysteries for the same reason people read them. In mystery stories, evil invades someone's ordinary world and hurls everyone into chaos; but as the story progresses, the author reveals evil for what it is and, at least partially, explains it. Unlike what can happen in the real world, authors of mystery fiction expose evil to the light and restore order. We seek structure and fairness in our lives, so although we like stories with conflict, we want goodness and justice to triumph.

I love creating the suspense in mysteries-thinking about ordinary people thrust into extraordinary situations. How will they deal with it? In NINE DAYS TO EVIL, Meredith Laughlin, propelled into an untenable situation that gets worse and worse, finds herself trapped in an evil snare. To save her life, she has to dredge up courage she doesn't realize she has.

The story begins as graduate student Meredith Laughlin awakens to a call from her physician husband. Driving to clinics in the Texas Hill Country, he is caught by an August thunderstorm.

Meredith Laughlin, the elegant graduate student, has been married to Dr. Conrad Laughlin for two years.

Dr. Conrad Laughlin, her husband, is the handsome obstetrician whose charm and knowledge might elevate him to department chair at the San Antonio hospital.

From Page 8 of the novel: Meredith heard brakes screech and gripped the phone, straining to hear over thundering detonating on the roof.

"Conrad! What is it? What's happening? Can you hear me?"

The sky exploded with thunder and lightning. The crash of glass and metal bombarded her like a slap. She dropped the phone. Recapturing the receiver, she drew it to her ear with a quivering hand, afraid of the clatter that would assault her. "Conrad," she shouted, "say something. Are you all right? Conrad!" She held her breath, straining to hear over the storm.

Nothing. The line was dead, their link severed.

Q 2. Which comes first, character or plot?

Ans. Either can generate a story. My husband mused about unusual occurrences at the San Antonio medical center. Then I read a newspaper account of a bizarre incident in California and combined the two events to create the plot for NINE DAYS TO EVIL.

Another mystery writer, Marilyn Wallace, describes it this way: "Something gnaws at you and refuses to go away. It's like a grain that serves as an irritant….As a writer, you are compelled to probe it, consider it, and expand it."

If you begin with plot, your main characters evolve from the story. What type of person, I thought, will be most affected by this series of events? An intelligent, trusting girl? One accustomed to the support of her family? That's when Meredith Laughlin, age twenty-four, elegant, and blonde, took shape in my mind as protagonist.

From Page 16: Meredith had slipped into depending on Conrad's schedule, his patterns, and his preferences. But her acquiescence made her restless. She became desperate to seek new direction. Graduate school beckoned.

Conrad's frantic call obliterated her self-absorption. She could be his only chance for survival. Her throbbing head made it difficult to concentrate. She had to combat the tempest raging in her skull. As the analgesic took hold, darkness oozed in from the sides of her mind. She would quiet her own fears and find her husband.

Q 3. How do you create the other characters?

Ans. I tried to create people who contrast with Meredith-who, because of their different backgrounds and problems, have varied responses to her dilemma.

Dr. Key Walker is Dr. Conrad Laughlin's colleague, and Conrad and Meredith's friend. He is also Conrad's competitor for department chair. Here, as he studies Conrad's files, a nurse calls him.

From Page 48: "Dr. Walker, this is Katharine in the OR. Our 7 a.m. case ran fast, but we have a slew of cases to follow you. Can you come to OR 3 and start a little early?"

"I'll be there in five minutes." He locked Conrad's files in the lower left drawer. Too many of Conrad's patients were emotionally unstable and had an affinity for drugs. There were notations about the 'Clinica' he'd never heard of. Were these facts related to Conrad's crash? Key had a lot of digging to do and no time to do it. Jaw set, he strode toward the elevators to descend to OR 3.

Detective Sam Vanderhoven is the San Antonio Police Department detective who helps Meredith search for Dr. Conrad Laughlin, despite the pain it causes him.

From Page 55: Sam Vanderhoven couldn't believe he was accompanying the blonde beauty [Meredith], even on business ….He hadn't been so drawn to a woman since before he lost Katy. He could be twenty years older than Meredith Laughlin, but she was a knockout….He knew he was vulnerable to Southern women. Their soft exteriors hid remarkable resilience.

Agatha (Aggie) Mundeen, Meredith's middle-aged classmate at University of the Holy Trinity, displays wry humor that belies her tragic past. Meredith notices her in class:

From Page 116: The woman who sat in Meredith's row near the window did not match the other students. Meredith guessed she [Aggie] was approaching forty. Her blackish hair, parted in the middle, puffed downward and covered her ears, immobile, like a Brillo pad. Her turquoise, crocodile eyes, heavy-lidded and puffy underneath, darted stealthily around the room….She wore a nylon turquoise warm-up, trimmed with a shade of wine that screamed at her lips and nails. She sat with a sneaker-clad foot crossed over her knee, evaluating the professor. "Okay," said her body language, "show me something."

Later, Aggie tries to study, but her thoughts return to Meredith.

From Page 160: I met her [Meredith] only four days after Conrad disappeared, but here she is, going to graduate school, of all things….Maybe what happened didn't sink in.

Is it possible Meredith doesn't want Conrad to show up? Maybe she knows he won't show up. Maybe the phone call story is a lie. Isn't Meredith the only one who knows anything about it? The phone company has a record of the call, but nobody really knows why Conrad called her or what they said….

Q 4. What about villains? You seem to have a fascination with sociopaths.

Ans. I do. I'm fascinated by these charming, smart, believable, people who appear to have it all, but who suffer from bizarre personality disorders. Although I wrote NINE DAYS TO EVIL primarily to entertain people, I wanted the book to give readers a bonus of learning to recognize people with sociopathic personalities. As Dr. George Paul points out in his review on Dr. Aggrawal's site, "the novel slips into more of a demonstrative - casebook." Movie actress, Mary Astor, accomplished a similar result with her novel, The Incredible Charlie Carewe.

Q 5. How do you distinguish between sociopaths and psychopaths? Aren't serial killers and rapists psychopaths?

Ans. Usually, yes. Let's eavesdrop as Meredith and Aggie listen to Professor Sammis's lecture.

Page 123: "We are going to start our study of abnormal psychology by looking at people who exhibit the most enigmatic of psychiatric disorders. They are referred to as psychopaths, sociopaths, or as having antisocial personalities. As Dr. Hervey Cleckley points out in The Mask of Sanity, sociopaths vary in the type and severity of their disorder…. While the large majority of sociopaths suffer from a disability greater than many institutionalized psychotic patients, many are able to stay outside legal and institutional systems…. The most severely disabled patients, frequently referred to as psychopaths, frequently exhibit violent behavior…."

As Cleckley points out, it's a matter of degree. Sociopaths and psychopaths are frequently lumped together as having Antisocial Personality Disorder because they exhibit similar behavior patterns. The most severely disabled can be more prone to violence. However, there is no sharp delineation between these two classifications; violence always looms as a possibility.

Dr. Cleckley's revealing book debuted in 1982. Patients who exhibit behavior patterns that Cleckley described are currently designated as sociopaths who have Antisocial Personality Disorder. Some are violent; some are not.

Q. 6. How did you learn about psychopaths and sociopaths?

Ans. After I studied Dr. Hervey Cleckley's classic book, The Mask of Sanity, I read Mary Astor's book. Then I researched the topic online. As of October 17, 2005, Google listed 12,300 references for "Sociopath Classification." After the debut of the popular film, Catch Me If You Can, a slew of new books appeared describing sociopathic personalities. However, from the time Cleckley wrote his book to the present, no treatments or cures have proven effective in permanently altering the characteristics of people who exhibit this disorder.

Another great source for my novel, NINE DAYS TO EVIL, was Shakespeare's tragedy, Othello. Shakespeare was incredibly perceptive about the human psyche. In Othello, the way he reveals evil through his villain, Iago, is fascinating. Meredith Laughlin is studying Othello in graduate school when evil interrupts her life. She sees her own dilemma mirrored in Shakespeare's play. What she learns helps her devise a plan she hopes will save her life.

Q 7. Was NINE DAYS TO EVIL your first book or have you written others?

Ans. I previously wrote nonfiction: JOSE VIVES-ATSARA: HIS LIFE AND HIS ART and BOOK PUBLISHING IN TEXAS. I wrote and edited articles for Book Publishers of Texas's quarterly journal. BPT was the trade association I founded for Texas book publishers.

My magazine articles appeared in Texas Libraries, Texas Business, Southwest Art, Resident Physician, San Antonio Magazine, and SA Scene. My poem, "Time to Lie," written for Theme and Variations, debuted on USA's National Public Radio. If you count poems I wrote to my mother from age seven and a poem published in high school, I've been writing forever.

When I decided to write fiction, after graduating with a business degree, I returned to school, earned an MA in English, and read every book I could find on the craft of writing fiction. I listed and described the books I found most helpful on my website under "Books for Writers." Every time I discovered one of those books, I wanted to revise my novel again.

Q 8. Are you pleased with the response to NINE DAYS TO EVIL?

Ans. In addition to reviews posted on Dr. Anil Aggrawal's fascinating site, I've been blessed with many great reviews [links to complete reviews are on the home page of her website].

Shelley Godowski, Senior Reviewer for Midwest Book Review wrote, "West intertwines good and evil in a ghostly dance, even as she clearly delineates her characters. The action is nonstop, and West is careful to peel the layers of evil with a practiced eye….Nancy Glass West is a wise woman with a knack for suspense."

G. Miki Hayden, Macavity Award Winner for Writing the Mystery, wrote, "Nancy Glass West spins out a chilling tale in an engrossing, compelling style."

I was thrilled when the novel won The Blether Gold Award.

Q 9. Do you have more mystery novels planned?

Ans. Definitely. As I wrote NINE DAYS TO EVIL, Meredith's older graduate school friend, Aggie Mundeen, popped into my head until she convinced me I had to tell her story. This is how an author becomes fascinated with a character's personality and has to devise a plot to highlight her foibles. The result is FOREVER FATAL.

Aggie, Meredith, and Detective Sam are the main characters in NINE DAYS TO EVIL. They reappear in FOREVER FATAL, which is told from Aggie's point of view. Because Aggie shares traits with "Miss Congeniality" and with Jessica Fletcher, the amateur sleuth in the TV series "Murder, She Wrote," Aggie's story is lighter and more humorous than Meredith's story.

In the next book after FOREVER FATAL, Aggie coerces Meredith and Sam into vacationing at a Texas dude ranch. Since none of them is proficient in outdoor Texas living, they embroil themselves in outlandish events. Then "home on the range" means murder.

In a future book, Aggie will entice Meredith and Detective Sam to accompany her on a cruise. The three will be like fish out of water, especially when the ship's celebrity becomes "man overboard."

Detective Sam will eventually have to deal with an old villain, while Meredith and Aggie continue to make their disruptive presence known. I like these people; it will be a long time before I let them go.

Q 10. How much writing success is due to luck, perseverance, or talent?

Ans. Luck is essential in getting the right piece of work to the right agent or editor. Perseverance is key. If a writer constantly works to improve his or her writing, she will succeed when she develops sufficient skill to draw readers into her fictional world and hold them to the end of a story. Talent may be simply a fascination with stories and language-fascination strong enough to keep a writer happily spending hours reworking plots, deepening characters, and re-crafting sentences. Perhaps talent is simply a sensitive inner ear that tells a writer when something works.

Q 11. What is your favorite dish, book, movie star, or person?

Ans. Three of my favorite books are To Kill a Mockingbird, made into a film starring Gregory Peck; Michael Connelly's Blood Work, a mystery novel made into a film starring Clint Eastwood; and Pat Conroy's The Prince of Tides, which also became a film.

Q 12. What do you dislike most?

Ans. People who fail to realize that their talents, family background, wealth -even their ability to succeed-are gifts from God, not circumstances entirely of their own making.

Q 13. What do you consider your biggest achievement in life? What has been your biggest failure/disappointment?

Ans. My biggest achievements are knowing my husband is glad he married me and that we raised independent children. My biggest failure/disappointment is that I didn't write fiction earlier.

Q 14. If you were marooned on a desert island, who/what would you like to be marooned with and why?

Ans. My husband. Together, we could figure a way to escape. If not, we could spend our last time together. It would be even better if the island had a library.

Q 15. If you were allowed a choice to live in one era of time (past, present or future), which one would you chose and why?

Ans. The near future, hopefully after peace comes to the Middle East. There are so many daily discoveries to marvel over, particularly in the medical field.

Q 16. What do you do in your spare time? Your hobbies, interests?

Ans. Family, friends, reading, enjoying music, playing piano and guitar, and tiling tabletops. I also exercise regularly, but I can't say I always enjoy it. Writing gives me the most pleasure.

Q 17. If a youngster of about 12-13 years wanted to take up writing novels as a career, how should he proceed?

Ans. Read one book after the other. Slip a classic novel in among contemporary books—expose yourself to their richer language—but read whatever interests you. If you love a book, reread it looking for techniques the author uses to construct the story: How does the author begin the book? Is each chapter told by a different person or is the story told by a single person? Decide which method you like and what advantages it has. Does action take place first, then reflection? Notice how the author creates scenes, builds suspense, writes dialogue, and demonstrates how characters change as the book develops. How does the author end the book?

Read the books on writing listed on my website. Search libraries and bookstores for others.

Keep a weekly journal of events, people and sights that INTRIGUE you. Do not include minutia that are routine to daily living.

Try to find a career that fascinates you and pursue it diligently. What you learn in any field will inform your writing. Writing, by itself, doesn't usually pay the rent, especially if you limit your writing to your personal ruminations.

Write because you love it more than anything else you do. Write because you have to.

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To read reviews of West's novels, more of her thoughts on writing, and her descriptions of inspiring books for writers, especially Christopher Vogler's The Writer's Journey, and Jack Bickham's Scene and Structure, or to contact the author, visit other pages of her website: www.nancygwest.com.

You can also read the first chapter of FOREVER FATAL and check for the publication date.

NINE DAYS TO EVIL is available at BookSense.com (lists a store near you), Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com .


Nancy loves hearing from readers. Email her at intrigue101@sbcglobal.net .