Author: Tom Carter
Website: www.authortomcarter.com
INTERVIEW:
1) Please tell us
about Nashville: Music and Murder, and what
compelled you to
write it.
I’d collaborated
with many Nashville celebrities to write their autobiographies. After seeing their lives up front and
personal, I decided I’d
retained an arsenal of real events that could be adapted into
compelling fiction. Also, no significant
novel had ever been set on
Nashville, Tennessee’s "Music Row," a quaint neighborhood
where music is written, recorded, and sent throughout the
free world. "Music Row," an
internationally known community is rife
with creativity and occasional crime. It seemed like a
wonderful setting to birth fiction, including high drama.
2) What is your
book about?
Maci Willis, the
protagonist, is a beloved entertainer who was performing at a
sold-out show in Nashville. The bright
lights prevented her
seeing a shadowy and obsessive fan pull himself onto her
stage. He brandished a pistol, and shot
her before an astonished
crowd. As Maci fell into her own blood,
the assailant was apprehended
by astonished policemen who injured him during the arrest. The shooter was taken to the same hospital
emergency room where Maci
was taken. A rookie policeman failed to correctly fasten
the handcuffs behind the suspect's back.
Slowly, the
shooter later unfastened himself, eased off of his bed and snatched
the officer's gun from its holster. The
suspect shot and missed
at Maci, and was preparing his second round when he was killed by
another policeman. Everyone thought the
dead villain had been
deranged, and Maci could go back to her celebrated life
after an isolated incident. But everyone
was wrong. Soon, another unidentified man in another
town tried to kill Maci. And there were more fatal attempts. Why were these attempts levied
against America’s sweetheart who'd never been harmful or even controversial? Local police and
eventually the FBI tried to stop
the attempted murder sprees against Maci, but to no avail. Maci fell into a nervous breakdown followed
by bipolar
depression. The reader watches her
systematic undoing, and ultimate
return to her safe and glorious perch in the spotlight. But not until the solving of the mystery
behind the attempted
murders levied against the iconic and resilient singer.
3) What themes do
you explore in Nashville: Music and Murder?
The troubled rise
of the human spirit after falling from unsuspected
tragedies. The power of force
persistently applied against seemingly
immovable obstacles. That people can be
helped by others but
only to a point where they must help themselves. That no life, no
matter how secure, is immune from traumatic fate. That the
constant threat of death will rob the joy from any psyche.
4) Why do you
write?
I enjoy it. And, it’s my livelihood.
5) When do you
feel the most creative?
When I’m rested.
6) How picky are
you with language.
A mere quest to
impart thoughts should take priority over a showy and expansive
vocabulary.
7) When you
write, do you sometimes feel as though you're being
manipulated from
afar?
If I’m lucky -
that's when I reach the "zone."
8) What is your
worst time as a writer?
When I’m
physically and mentally tired.
9) Your best?
When I’m rested.
10) Is there
anything that would stop you from writing?
Death.
11) What's the
happiest moment you've lived as an author?
A telephone call in
1992 from my former literary agent who told me my book was entering the New York Times best sellers list. It was my first listing on
the esteemed survey.
12) Is writing an
obsession to you?
Yes.
13) Are the
stories you create connected with you in some way?
Yes, indirectly.
14) Ray Bradbury
once said, "You must stay drunk on writing so
reality cannot
destroy you."
I concur.
15) Do you have a
website or blog where readers can find out more
about you and
your work?
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