Mindy Carlson
Her Dying Day
Perfect for fans of Shari Lapena and Hannah Mary McKinnon, a mystery writer’s sudden disappearance leads a budding filmmaker down a dark road to treachery, murder, and long-buried sins.
Mindy Carlson is Anthony Award Nominated for her story in Myopic Duplicity
DOSSIER: How did your life change after winning Killer Nashville’s Silver Falchion Award for your novel HER DYING DAY vs the day after it was either accepted by a publisher or the day it was published? It’s all been a whirlwind, yes?
CARLSON: Alas, I was but a bridesmaid and not The Bride on that. But it was wild to be one of the five nominees. I mean, who knew my funny, sassy heroine making epically bad choices would be beloved by so many? Except my publisher, of course. Crooked Lane made their offer only a week after my agent and I put it out on submission. It’s one of those scenarios every author dreams of. I was completely gobsmacked.
DOSSIER: I knew that.
The incredible audiobook
DOSSIER: For your audiobook, narrated by the amazingly talented Hillary Huber, did you notice anything about your characters that stood out even more vividly than when you first imagined them, based on her incredible portrayal of each one?
CARLSON: I feel so lucky to have Hillary bringing my words to life. I love how she captures June’s sharp, cynical tone and yet also brings out the deep hurt June feels from her childhood. She’s so expressive. And her portrayal of Greer’s mother Blanche? It’s insane. Snooty with the right amount of sneering disdain. Blanche always gets the best lines which makes hearing them outloud even more delicious than when they were just in my head.
Then there’s Greer’s excerpts. Because HER DYING DAY is about the disappearance of author Greer Larkin, I wrote excerpts from her different books and inserted them into the story in order to give Greer a chance to speak. These excerpts are a way different tone from the rest of the novel–very dark and Hillary absolutely blew me away. She modulated into serious and sinister so easily. The reader can tell this is a completely different point of view talking. Her talent is off the charts.
Semi-pro at curling?
DOSSIER: You’re both a fan of and participant in the sport of curling. When are we going to see a scene where you put curling into a book? Specifically, will it be in a sardonic retrospective memoir where the heroine, oddly named Cindy Marlson, explores the challenging world of bare midriffs (Clueless reference), or something more like Cindy saves the world in bare feet—fodder for a Diehard reboot?
CARLSON: Ha! I was thinking it would be more of a frozen Ocean’s 11 curling heist story. Diamonds hidden in the ice. A slick retrieval plan. Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and George Clooney by my side. Copious amounts of beer. Every sentence ending with the word “eh.” A curling broom fight scene.
In truth, there’s a lot of team dynamics that makes a nice murder possible, but everyone’s so darn pleasant all the time. Integrity and honesty are a big part of the curling ethos (two words that have never been seen next to each other in print before), and it makes plotting out treachery hard for me.
Fun fact! The first time I ever curled in a game I was interviewed by NPR. That’s how much *I personally* mean to the sport.
Crushing the coffee house vibe
DOSSIER: When and where do you write, and what kind of environment do you prefer? (Thrilling music/deadly silence/behind the wheel of a minivan in the carpool lane?)
CARLSON: If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram you’ll know my coffee house game is strong. I go to a coffee shop for a lavender honey latte every Wednesday to keep out of my housekeeper’s hair and get a ton of writing done. (My one indulgence is someone to clean my house for me.) But mostly I write in my office with my feet up listening to my earworm du jour on repeat. Or when it’s curling season I’m in the observation lounge writing with a beer next to my laptop.
But my quirk is that I have to have noise in the background. I am probably some variety of undiagnosed ADHD, because if it’s too quiet all I can focus on is the quiet. If I have music or a movie I know by heart playing I have a much easier time sinking into the story.
DOSSIER: I totally watch you on all social media channels. *Finds and follows Mindy Carlson on Facebook and Instagram.
Cold case
DOSSIER: In HER DYING DAY, June Masterson is a filmmaker trying to solve a two-decades old murder. In all of your research, how much time did you spend watching serial killer documentaries or true crime shows like 48 Hours until 1am?
CARLSON: Like, all the time. But I don’t watch them while running on the treadmill anymore. There was a jump scare in one of them that got me and I leaped like a startled gazelle, bashed into the safety bar, ricocheted into the other bar, fell to one knee, and then got shot off the belt onto the floor. I hit double my heart rate target while the others ignored me and kept running.
I still watch an unhealthy number of documentaries and true crime shows. Not to mention the podcasts I listen to. It should worry my husband, but then his dad was a prison psychologist so I guess he thinks a spouse with an interest in murder is par for the course. I appreciate these glimpses into the darkness of humanity because they also show how strong we can be. There are people out there–ordinary people–who have survived the worst thing one human can do to another. If they can survive that, then I can survive Starbucks getting my name wrong. Again.
Going to the extreme
DOSSIER: With all of your baking, knitting, reading, and writing, you’ve described yourself as a British Granny. What’s next for Dame Carlson? You going to take a left turn and take up base jumping in Dubai, or start offering free cookies with the purchase of every book (author-embroidered book included) … what’s the name of the next one we can look forward to again?
CARLSON: Don’t forget my insane love of tea. Who knows? Maybe I’ll take a pottery class to make my own cups?
But it’s not all yarn and Dateline. I actually went indoor skydiving last year with my family, which was terrifying and then exhilarating. It doesn’t feel like you’re falling, more like you’re being pushed up. And I do like a good road trip. I have a quick day trip to visit about ten different bookstores throughout Maryland planned for later in the summer. But overall, I’m pretty happy sitting in my favorite chair with my knitting and true crime, plotting how to kill my imaginary friends.
My next book, a Friends meets And Then There Were None comedic mystery, is currently under submission at a bunch of different publishers. I love, love, love this book, and I can’t wait for you to read it.
DOSSIER: *Buys pottery wheel, finds YouTube instructional videos, makes tea cups for Mindy to say thanks for doing The Dossier.
Discover more about Mindy at: Mindy Carlson | X | Instagram | Facebook | Amazon Author Page