I grew up in a newsroom. By that, I mean that by the time I was in high school, my safe place became the newspaper office. The room dedicated to putting out the weekly paper, the school’s annual, and the hangout for what today would probably be called the uncool nerds. It wasn’t just my safe place; it was my happy place.

Soon, right after I graduated high school, my safe place became the newsrooms on my college campus, and eventually, after college and I got out into the world, I discovered news and talk radio stations. I was where I needed to be–hooked on the energy and the excitement of a breaking story. The rush of reporters dashing in from the field as they raced to their desks to file a story. The nonstop ringing phones. The bark of the assignment editor as he–yes, in those days, it was usually a man–ripped a story from the wire service, shoved it in my direction, and demanded I rewrite the lead. It was exciting. No two days were the same. It was addictive. And I loved it.

What I didn’t love, and what I needed to understand, was that I couldn’t fix those unhappy stories that came across my desk. The kidnappings. The traffic accidents. The murders. And in a sense, they scarred me. Left me with a feeling of hollowness and ineptness. Like many who have worked in a newsroom, I developed a gallows humor. It was the only way to deal with the tragedy that made headlines every day.

People have asked me why the news can’t report on happy events. Things that make people feel good? After all, there are so many good things happening all around us. But unfortunately, good news doesn’t sell. It’s just not that unusual, and because of the tightness of the news cycle—most thirty-minute news cycles are no more than 22 minutes—the more remarkable the happenings, the more likely the event is to make headlines. Editors know if it bleeds, it leads. And it’s sad but true that most good news gets pushed aside and maybe makes the last 20 to 30 seconds of a news cycle, if that.

Flash forward, and after twenty-five years in news and talk radio, I’ve retired. And while I still depend on ripping story ideas from the headlines or historical crimes, today, I enjoy knowing that I can write stories with happy endings. I like to think that the only difference in what I do today is that rather than following where the story may take me, I can take my character where I want them to go. And I’ve had great fun tying my Kat Lawson Mysteries into some of the most significant historical crimes of our lifetimes.

In my first book in the series, The Navigator’s Daughter, my protagonist, Kat Lawson, promises her father she will go to Hungary in hopes of finding her father’s World War 2 rescuers. It’s a story of a daughter’s relationship with her father and of uncovering untold mysteries of the past that will forever change her future. In Passport to Spy, book 2 in the series, Kat’s future has changed. As a result of her trip to Hungary, Kat finds herself working undercover for a travel publication. Her first assignment? Germany, with instruction to learn the whereabouts of a long-buried stash of stolen art. The story is loosely based on the life of Hildebrand Gurlitt, who aided the Nazis in what is considered to be the world’s biggest art heist, the theft of stolen art from museums and homes during the 2^nd World War. It was Kat’s first experience as an undercover operative and won’t be her last. But the third and most recent book in the series, Murder on the Med, takes a slightly different twist. Kat is offered a much-needed break from the world of espionage and is awarded a little R&R when she is asked to write a travel feature about a world-class yacht designed for seniors at sea. What could possibly go wrong?

The Kat Lawson Mysteries has been a fun romp through history, a chance for this author to pull from yesteryear’s headline news while creating a modern, if not sometimes humorous, story of intrigue. I like to think of my books as soft-boiled cozies. You see, I want my murder light, or at least off the page. My characters eccentric, sometimes with a grain of humor, and my endings—well, after twenty-five years in news and talk radio—I like to think that when a reader finishes one of my books, they have a better understanding of history and a smile on their face for the future.

Murder on the Med

A travel feature turns into a deadly investigation for Kat Lawson when she discovers a missing passenger, presumed overboard, may have been used as a mule to smuggle ancient artifacts aboard Athena, a luxury cruise ship designed for retired seniors at sea. Kat Lawson has got a plumb assignment, or so she thinks. Travel International has rewarded her with a vacation cruise along the Amalfi Coast to report on a new floating senior retirement center. After working undercover as a travel reporter for the FBI and barely escaping her last assignment with her life, Kat’s job is to relax, take notes, shoot pictures, and report back on an extravagant cruise from Napes to Positano. What could go wrong? But once aboard, Kat quickly learns it’s not all smooth sailing. Kat finds a handbag for Dede Drummerhausen, the woman who owns the suite where Kat is staying, and hidden inside is a gold coin. Rumors abound. Passengers and some of their possessions have gone missing. The residents are restless, and some on board are suspicious of a travel reporter who might uncover their secret mission. When Athena’s captain discovers Kat snooping below deck, she soon realizes, like the antiquities hidden onboard, that she’s been kidnapped and that her job and her life are in danger.

Amazon Buy Link for Murder on the Med

More about the Author:

Nancy Cole Silverman spent nearly twenty-five years in news and talk radio before retiring to write fiction. Silverman’s award-winning short stories and crime-focused novels, the Carol Childs and Misty Dawn Mysteries (Henry Press), are based in Los Angeles, while her newest series, the Kat Lawson Mysteries (Level Best Books), takes a more international approach. Kat Lawson, a former investigative reporter has gone undercover for the FBI as a feature writer for a travel publication. Expect lots of international intrigue, vivid descriptions of small European villages, great food, lost archives, and non-stop action. Silverman lives in Los Angeles with her husband and thoroughly pampered standard poodle, Paris.

Her Website is at NancyColeSilverman.com