Nicola Solvinic talked to 12News about her second novel, ‘Sister’s Curse,’ which follows cop Anna Koray as she investigates mysterious drownings in her county.<\/p>\n
PHOENIX \u2014 Her father is a serial killer. She’s a cop. What could possibly go wrong?<\/p>\n
RELATED: ‘What if Meredith Blake wasn’t the villain?’ That’s what inspired Maggie Gates’ latest book, ‘Dust Storm’<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Readers are returning to the world of Anna Koray in Nicola Solvinic’s second novel, The Sister’s Curse. The story follows Sheriff’s Lieutenant Anna Koray, who is the daughter of a notorious serial killer, as she investigates mysterious drownings in her county. Are they revenge killings? Or is something darker to blame?<\/p>\n Solvinic sat down with 12News to answer some questions about her debut, The Hunter’s Daughter, and her latest novel, as well as her background in criminology and what is next for her.<\/p>\n This interview has been edited for clarity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Answer:\u00a0<\/strong>“Thank you so very much!<\/p>\n I\u2019m a voracious reader, and I always wanted to try to write a story myself. I had a summer with some free time, and spent some months sitting in the sunshine, writing. Since I was writing for myself, I got to play with some ideas that had been churning around in my head for a long time. And that was how I pretty much approached it\u2013as an experiment.”<\/p>\n
“I think that we often write about what we know, and I\u2019ve absorbed a lot of little details over time: how radio traffic sounds, the way people talk, the atmospheres of prisons and jails. I try to work those bits of reality into an entirely fictional story to make the story seem more believable.<\/p>\n So it felt pretty natural to write about those details\u2013I didn\u2019t have to stop and go on deep research dives. I could just stay in the flow state, which was wonderful for me.”<\/p>\n
“When a crime is committed, it has far-reaching effects. I wanted to explore that idea of how a crime, or series of crimes, unfolds forward and backward in time, the future and the history of it. So I came up with Anna Koray, the daughter of an infamous serial killer, a woman who works in law enforcement.\u00a0<\/p>\n She becomes aware of her identity as the daughter of the Forest Strangler, and it causes her to question her identity and motivations. She\u2019s chasing a killer who\u2019s copying her father, and as the case unravels, her past does the same.”<\/p>\n
“I wasn\u2019t quite done with Anna as a character. I thought she had more to say, and more about her past to discover. When I left Anna at the end of The Hunter\u2019s Daughter, she had excavated her past and learned what had become of her father, an infamous serial killer.<\/p>\n But Anna is more than her father\u2019s legacy. She has her mother\u2019s influence to contend with. In some ways, her mother is more subtle in her machinations, but they are just as chilling.<\/p>\n More than that, Anna has to figure out who she is, independent of the infamous and secret crimes her parents committed. She really needed to grasp her own destiny, and I wanted to watch her do that.”<\/p>\n
“It definitely was a more difficult book to write. I\u2019d established a seemingly bucolic landscape and sinister characters in the previous one\u2026and I had to be mindful to decide when to work within those parameters, and when to move beyond them.<\/p>\n So\u2026with the first book, there were no rules! With this book, there are rules, but I decide when to break them. It requires some more thinking and structure, rather than stream-of-consciousness writing. At least, that was what it felt like!”<\/p>\n
“I think the hardest part is creating the chain of evidence for the crime\u2013figuring out how the killer committed the crime and how the investigator will catch them. Everything has to make sense, but not give away too much too early. I go into it knowing that a crime was committed\u2013but I don\u2019t know who did it, as strange as that sounds!<\/p>\n The best part is that I can create a world in which that \u201cwho done it\u201d is revealed. It doesn\u2019t always happen in the real world\u2013the solving and the closure. I think it\u2019s satisfying for me as a reader and writer to close the books. But! I do introduce the element of doubt, and it\u2019s ultimately up to the reader to decide whether the arrest reflects the true nature of the crime.”<\/p>\n
“I\u2019m very excited! I hope that readers will enjoy the story as much as the first. I want to add familiar elements from the first book but also surprise readers with something new.”<\/p>\n
“Hmm. I hope they are surprised at the end by who they think committed the crimes. When I read a mystery, that\u2019s my favorite part. I also love a touch of ambiguity, so that I have something to think about after the book is closed.<\/p>\n I got to dive into some mythological waters in creating the conflicts and characters for this story, and I feel like they\u2019re meaningful archetypes: witches, drowned women, powerful men. I think these are eternal archetypes that will always be valid, and I think they\u2019ll strike a chord.”<\/p>\n
“I\u2019m still thinking about murder, of course! I\u2019ve got a couple of projects that I\u2019m playing with, crime stories with a touch of the supernatural.”<\/p>\n
“I just picked up Lauren Nossett\u2019s THE PROFESSOR. I really loved her previous thriller, THE RESEMBLANCE, and have been looking forward to this one! Lauren has a really beautiful way of handling power and academia in her writing that\u2019s so authentic and engrossing.”<\/p>\n For more book and literacy stories, check out “Reading Arizona” on YouTube and 12News.com. If you have a story pitch for Reading Arizona, email koconnor@12news.com or reach out via Instagram, @thatjournalistwhoreads<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nQuestion: First of all, congratulations on The Sister\u2019s Curse! It\u2019s such a great story, thank you for taking the time to chat with me about it. Can you tell me a little bit about how you first got started writing? <\/p>\n
\nI love that your background in criminology and criminal justice really comes out in your books, but I also wondered if it is hard to write about something you have so much knowledge about\/work with every day. Why did you decide to write in the crime thriller genre? <\/p>\n
\nTalk to me a little bit about your debut, Hunter\u2019s Daughter. What was the inspiration for the story? How did you come up with it? <\/p>\n
\nWhy did you decide to stay in Anna\u2019s world for your second book? How did that decision impact your writing process, if at all? <\/p>\n
\nThis is your second novel, which many authors say is the hardest book to write. Did you find that sentiment to be true of your own experience? Why or why not? <\/p>\n
\nThere are so many pieces of media connected to criminal justice, from podcasts to movies and, of course, books like yours! What would you say is the hardest part about writing crime thrillers, especially as it is a genre so many people are drawn to? What\u2019s the best part? <\/p>\n
\nSister\u2019s Curse is about to hit shelves! How are you feeling? What are you most looking forward to once it is out in the world? <\/p>\n
\nWhat do you hope readers take away from your story? <\/p>\n
\nI know Sister\u2019s Curse isn\u2019t even out yet, but I have to ask: What\u2019s next for you? What can readers look forward to? <\/p>\n
\nWhat books are you reading right now, or what\u2019s a book you\u2019ve been recommending to folks? <\/p>\n