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Bestselling Author Carol Higgins Clark READERSROOM: Carol Higgins Clark, welcome to ReadersRoom.com. Thanks for taking this time with us this morning! CHC: Thank you! It's great to be with you. READERSROOM: I'd like to start this chat discussing the month of September with you -- a very busy month ... CHC: Yes and I can't believe it's now October!

READERSROOM: ...with the release of Jinxed in paperback on the first and the hardcover release of Popped on the 23rd.

CHC: That's right. And now my book tour is really getting under way.

READERSROOM: Popped is the seventh in your Regan Reilly mystery series. Perhaps you could tell us a little about it.

CHC: My character Regan Reilly gets a call from an old school mate who is producing a reality show in Las Vegas. But someone is trying to sabotage the show. Danny asks Regan to come to Vegas and keep an eye out for trouble.

READERSROOM: Popped takes us into the worlds of both hot air ballooning and reality television. I am wondering how you became interested in those subjects?

CHC: I was interviewed by a woman who writes for Audiofile Magazine. She asked what I was working on next. I told her I wasn't sure. She suggested I try hot air ballooning. I met her down at the Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Fiesta and she got me a ride in a hot air balloon. It was fun and I decided to use it in a book. Every time I picked up the paper I was reading about reality shows. There are so many interesting characters who go on those shows. I thought that I had to use that background in a book!

READERSROOM: One of the things that I found fascinating about Popped -- and it is something you have done in a few of your other novels as well -- is the fact that you present ideas that could not be (such as a hot air balloon network) and make them so believable. Do you research the various things you take on in your novels as they are, and then tailor them to fit your stories?

CHC: You don't think it's possible to have a Hot Air Balloon network?!!!!!!

READERSROOM: I'm guessing not!

CHC: I do my research and then let my imagination take over. Everything about hot air ballooning itself that is in Popped makes sense. It's just the characters who are a little eccentric!

READERSROOM: Speaking of eccentric characters, I would like to ask about Aunt Agony and Uncle Heartburn -- my two favorite characters in Popped.

CHC: I'm glad you like them!

READERSROOM: Where did they come from?

CHC: Well, when I was coming up with the premise of the reality show -- three couples competing for a one million dollar prize -- I thought it would be fun to have a couple of advice columnists be the judges. Of course they had to have their own hidden problems that they don't want anyone to find out about. Each competing couple on the show has had marital problems, but now they're trying to prove to Aunt Agony and Uncle Heartburn that they're madly in love again and deserve to win the million dollars. Aunt Agony and Uncle Heart burn have to decide which couple has the best chance of making it together in the long run. As characters Agony and Heartburn just started to come to life in my imagination.

READERSROOM: Just as an aside, how do you feel about reality TV? Do you enjoy it, or do you think it has gone too far?

CHC: I think some of the shows have been fun but some have definitely gone over the edge!

READERSROOM: I'd like to back track a bit now to Jinxed, which came out in paperback on September 1. Can you tell us a bit about it?

CHC: In Jinxed, Regan gets a call from a woman who owns a winery with her two brothers. They've been invited to the wedding of a ninety-three-year-old woman who used to be married to their uncle. If this woman Lilac shows up at the wedding with her two brothers and her daughter, they'll all get two million dollars each. But only if they all show up. Naturally Lilac's daughter has taken off for the weekend and can't be found. The wedding is Sunday. It's Regan's job to find her.

READERSROOM: I was particularly impressed with your descriptions of California's wine country and the smaller wineries. Did you spend much time there researching that? You really had the "feel" down perfectly.

CHC: Thanks! I drove north of Los Angeles up through wine country and did my research. I bought lots of books on all the different wineries and had a great time reading them. A lot of wineries that were closed because of Prohibition never reopened so there are lots of "ghost" wineries in California. I found the research to be so interesting.

READERSROOM: The Regan Reilly series is quite unique in the "Female PI sub-genre". We have done chats with Janet Evanovich, Martha Lawrence and Gillian Roberts, and one of the things that stands out about your series is the fact that you choose to write it in the third person. Was there a specific reason for taking that approach and breaking with the "norm"?

CHC: It was what I was used to from reading my mother's (Mary Higgins Clark) books. She had always used the third person. She doesn't write a series but it was the way she told her story. I used to retype her books for her and I learned so much from that.

READERSROOM: Well, it certainly works! And that is a perfect segue to my next question.

CHC: Which is.....

READERSROOM: Regan Reilly's mother -- Nora Regan Reilly is a best selling suspense writer. How closely is she based on your own mother Mary Higgins Clark?

CHC: I'd say that they're a lot alike. Both have a great sense of humor and want the best for their daughters! The funny thing is that when I started writing the series, my mother had not yet met my stepfather. Now people who know my stepfather think he is a lot like Regan's father Luke.

READERSROOM: The undertaker?

CHC: The undertaker.

READERSROOM: You have, I believe co-authored two novels -- Deck the Halls and He Sees You When Your Sleeping -- with your mother. What was that like?

CHC: It was a lot of fun. We sat side by side at the computer and wrote every word together. Everyone thinks that you must have fights when you work with your mother but we had a lot of fun!

READERSROOM: That certainly comes through in the writing! Carol, we've had a number of questions from our readers since we announced this chat. Would you answer a few of them for us?

CHC: Of course.

READERSROOM: From Shelly in Idaho: Do you ever have any intention of writing a stand alone novel that does not feature Regan Reilly?

CHC: Not in the immediate future. I'm under contract to write the Regan Reilly series. But I would never say never.

READERSROOM: From Pamela James in Kansas: Carol, when can we expect your next book to be released? Will you be coauthoring in the near future with your mother?

CHC: Popped just came out. The next one which will be set in Hawaii will be released next September. We're still trying to figure out a title. My mother and I plan to write another holiday book for Christmas 2004.

READERSROOM: From James in Washington: I read that you used to type in your mother's manuscripts. Is that true, and did reading her work inspire you to write? Is your mother a big part of the reason you decided to pursue writing as a career?

CHC: I did retype my mother's manuscripts. I did that for a number of her books while I was studying acting. Someone suggested to me that I try writing -- and write a part I could possibly play. I would definitely say that the work I did for my mother was what led me into a writing career.

READERSROOM: From Ansel in Utah: Humor is a big part of your series, and you have very colorful characters. Lots of things happen, but there's not a lot of blood and gore. Is there a reason for your lighthearted approach to mystery, as opposed to novelists who kill someone off on every page?

CHC: As an actor I always enjoyed playing humorous characters. When I started to write, that humor came out of me naturally. But it's hard to keep the humor going when you start killing a lot of your characters. So I decided the lighthearted approach worked best for me. I'm glad that I've found my voice as a writer. As one reviewer put it, "Mary Higgins Clark goes for the jugular, while Carol Higgins Clark goes for the funny bone."

READERSROOM: Thank you for answering those Carol. One of the things we like to do in these chats for our readers who are also writers is find out a bit about our guests' writing process.

CHC: Sure.

READERSROOM: Do you have a set writing schedule -- or do you allow the "muse" to dictate your pace?

CHC: That muse is too unreliable! I get up in the morning and start working. Just to get something down is important because we can be our own worst critics. At the end of the day, all will not be lost!

READERSROOM: Each of your novels appears to be extensively researched. Do you do your research prior to starting a new novel, or as you are writing it?

CHC: I start my research before, usually by visiting the location of wherever I'm setting it. Then I buy the local newspapers. I also cut articles out of magazines that relate to the topic. It's funny but when you start researching a topic, all of a sudden you see references to that topic everywhere.

READERSROOM: Excellent. You are currently on tour for Popped. Is there somewhere your fans can find a schedule of where you will be, and when?

CHC: On my Web site, which is www.carolhigginsclark.com, I have my schedule posted. I love to meet my readers at the book signings, so if anyone can make it, that would be great!

READERSROOM: Last question: What is next for Carol Higgins Clark?

CHC: Hawaii! I can't wait to do that research. I gave a talk recently and a woman whose family is from Hawaii came up to me with all sorts of great information. Hawaii's not a bad place to do research, don't you think?

READERSROOM: Not at all! Finally, before we go, is there anything you would like to say to your many fans who may read this chat?

CHC: I just really want to thank you for reading my books. Nothing gives an author greater pleasure than hearing that people have been entertained and have been able to get away from their problems for a few hours while they read your books. If you keep reading them, I'll keep writing them!

READERSROOM: Carol Higgins Clark, this has been a real pleasure. Thank you for spending this time with us!

CHC: Thank you for inviting me into the Reader's Room. I really enjoyed it!


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