Murder Backstage: A Joseph Haydn Mystery by Nupur Tustin | Author Interview

Thanks for taking the time to share a bit about yourself with my readers and me!

Thanks for hosting me, Christy! I’m delighted to be here.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m a homeschooling Mom, a Christian—a new believer—and of course, a mystery writer. I love writing and I especially love reading and writing mysteries. I enjoy painting and playing the piano as well, so it’s no surprise that my two series center around those hobbies. The Joseph Haydn Mystery series—Murder Backstage is the fourth book and the latest release—is set in the great composer’s Austria and the Celine Skye Psychic Mysteries are about a psychic taking on a real-life, still unsolved art heist—the most outrageous one of our times, in fact: the Gardner Museum theft.

How long have you been writing?

How long have I been writing mysteries? Well, since 2012. The year is easy to remember because that’s when the oldest of my three children—my daughter—was born. But with a background in journalism—I’ve worked for CNBC and Reuters—a Ph.D. in Communication and an M.A. in English, I’ve been writing for far longer than that. I still remember the twice-weekly impromptu writing periods we had at school. We were given a topic and in forty minutes had to come up with an essay or a short story. I wasn’t the only kid who loved those impromptu writing sessions. We all did!

When I was getting my graduate degree in English at the University of Connecticut, one of my professors—a writer himself—Scott Bradfield suggested I’d do better at writing novels. At the time, I just couldn’t see it. I considered myself a short story writer. But his words stuck with me, and I couldn’t help feeling—until I made the decision to just do it—that I was avoiding my destiny.

Did you always want to be an author? What made you choose the cozy mystery genre?

Yes, I did. I dreamed about it. But back when I was a child, I wanted to write literary novels—to be another Salman Rushdie or Arundhati Roy. I loved mysteries—Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle being my favorites—but they were a guilty pleasure; as was P.G. Wodehouse, by the way.

But in 2012 when I finally decided to step into my destiny, I remembered something that an adjunct Professor at UConn, Janice Trecker—she writes mysteries under the name Janice Law—had said. You write the books you love to read. And I loved mysteries. There was no denying it.

I wasn’t sure I could do it until my husband and I watched a couple of television series—Burn Notice and White Collar—that made me realize that I was uniquely qualified to write mysteries. Remember that Ph.D. degree in Communication? Life is all about preventing mis-communication. But mysteries, I realized, are all about amping it up.

There are questions that should be asked, but never are because the detective or sleuth makes an assumption. Things said are misinterpreted. Our perceptions and our outlook can shape the way we interpret both things said and done.

Do you prefer to read cozy mystery books, or do you have another favorite genre? What are you reading now?

I mostly read mysteries, but I do like a good romantic suspense as well. At this time, I’m reading Veronica Bond’s Death in Castle Dark—given the book I’ve just finished writing, the idea of murder backstage or even onstage is something I’m still interested in. There’s a Mary Higgins Clark waiting for me—I’ve come to love her books. She’s a wonderful storyteller.

I’m also reading three non-fiction books: David Jeremiah’s Overcomer, another book he’s written on understanding Biblical Prophecy, and a fantastic book by Joanna Weaver called Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. Before long, I’ll be researching the next novel—most likely another Joseph Haydn novel.

I also enjoy reading children’s fiction, especially picture books. (We’re reading Little House on the Prairie together.) I love helping my kids write their picture books. They’ve each written three so far, and I’ve illustrated each one of them.

Do you have a favorite place to write?

I usually write at the dinner table or at my desk. I prefer the dinner table because it’s a bigger space and I can spread out, put all my research, my books, my notes near my laptop and still have room for my coffee or tea. Sitting there, I can look out the kitchen window, keep an eye on our puppy, and I’m available to my children if they need a snack.

What’s on your desk (if you write at one!)?

Hmmm. . . I wish you hadn’t asked. There’s my laptop. Then a huge stack of books, one on either side of the laptop and a couple behind it. A barely visible pen holder, a huge box of Prismacolor color pencils, random sheets of paper with ideas and scenes worked out that I can’t bring myself to throw away. It’s a mess. It’s not the only place where there are books. The kids and I have books piled up on the coffee table, the island in the kitchen, the office. And there are shelves and bookcases piled high with books as well. When we learned about Thomas Jefferson’s enormous collection of books, I made a comment about it to my mother-in-law, and she remarked wryly, “Don’t worry, you’re not far behind!”

What is the first book you remember reading as a child? What was one of your favorite books you read as a child?

The earliest book I can remember reading was an Enid Blyton book. I love her stories. I’ve read several of them. Although I suppose even earlier than that I had the Dick and Jane books. I loved those as well, and I especially enjoyed Baby Sally. I used the Dick and Jane books with my youngest, and Sally was his favorite character, too. (He’s graduated to more sophisticated books about monster trucks and Aesop’s Fables now!)

I also had a lovely book of folk tales with the most gorgeous illustrations I’ve ever seen in a picture book. I wish I could remember the name of it. One of my favorite books was—and still is—Paddington. I’m delighted my children love Paddington as well. But I’ve come to enjoy Curious George, Biscuit, and the Magic Treehouse series, too. There are any number of wonderful books and series for children, and I’m glad about that. As a mystery writer, though, I especially like Ron Roy’s Capital Mysteries. It’s not easy writing a suspenseful mystery that’s still kid-friendly. And Ron Roy manages to do just that.

Do you like audiobooks, physical books, or e-books better? Why?

Definitely physical books. I love the feel of a book in my hands, and I have a tendency to read ahead. It’s something I’ve always done, and it never ruins the book for me. In fact, I enjoy it even more. That tendency is probably why I have an intuitive understanding of story. It’s hard to skip ahead with a digital version, and looking too long at any type of screen gives me a headache.

If you had the opportunity to live anywhere in the world for a year while writing a book that took place in that same setting, where would you choose?

If I could travel back in time, I’d go to eighteenth-century Austria. It would be wonderful to follow Haydn around, to walk from the presence of an Emperor or Prince into a palace kitchen or into a Viennese apartment. I do it in my imagination, but to see it all in person would be truly incredible. And, of course, I’d like to return to March 18, 1990—the day of the Gardner Museum theft in Boston. I’d love to get a good look at the thieves and to follow them back to wherever they went with the thirteen works they stole.

What or who has influenced you the most as a writer?

You know, I’m not entirely sure. I grew up reading the classics, and I read Shakespeare, Dickens, and Hardy at a fairly young age. Those are my earliest influences. I believe it was Horace who said that literature must edify as well as entertain, and I certainly think that shapes my writing. For the longest time I resisted writing contemporary mysteries because I felt there was nothing to research or learn. Of course, nothing could be farther from the truth, as fellow writer Susan Wittig Albert told me. The idea of writing a biographical mystery series came from her Beatrix Potter series and Stephanie Barron’s wonderful Jane Austen series. Oddly enough, the Beatrix Potter series were influenced by the Jane Austen series—both of which, as you can see, influenced my Haydn series. I liked the idea of researching and learning about a person and sharing what I’d learned through my stories.

And when I work on the Celine Skye series, I love learning about the art, the artists, and the Gardner Museum. Art theft is a pretty fascinating topic as well!

Do you have any author friends who support you while you’re writing? Do you belong to any writing groups?

I’ve met a number of people via Sisters in Crime, and most of them are Facebook friends as well. As a homeschooling mom with three children, I have limited time and what little I have needs to be spent writing, playing the piano, and working on my art projects. I’ve come to realize through my reading of the Bible that when God blesses us with gifts, He wants us to use them. That’s how we honor and glorify Him. You don’t have to be a professional writer or musician or artist. But if you have a talent, you do need to use it because in doing so you bless others with the gift you’ve been blessed with. That’s true of every ability or talent you have—whether it’s cooking, gardening, teaching, healing, or fixing things. And it also doesn’t matter how many people you’re blessing—it could be one person or it could be a million. But you need to do it. I used to feel guilty about spending time on my creative gifts. Not anymore.

Finally, what are you working on now? Can you tell us a bit about it?

I’ve been debating between another Haydn Mystery and another Celine Skye story, but I’m veering toward Haydn. It’ll be set in Eisenstadt just like the first novel. It’s been a while since we’ve been there—although I’ve revisited that locale and those characters in my short stories. (If any of your readers are interested, these are in a collection called Murder in Vienna and are available on my website). I might want Haydn’s wife arrested for murder—although since I’ve explored that idea in a short story, I might do something else. Sorry to be so vague, I’m still tossing ideas around.

Thank you again for taking the time to answer my questions!

It was a pleasure, Christy!

It was a pleasure reading your interview!