Meet Connie Shelton

In this online interview, Connie talks about her writing, her series, and a little about herself.

How did you develop the character of Charlie?

Charlie sort of evolved. In the beginning drafts of the first book, she was a lot tougher, more smart-aleky than she is now. The longer we worked together, the more she became what she is today—a regular gal. (some people say she’s a lot like me) I’d done a lot of accounting work over the years, so I gave her that profession. I’m married to a helicopter pilot, so Charlie got one, too. Her experiences flying helicopters are mainly fictional. I’ve ridden along on a lot of flights, but never learned to pilot a rotorcraft. Of course, taking the liberty of writing fiction, Charlie is prettier, braver, and younger than I am.

What about your other characters? Are they based on real people?

Not really. I think all writers use human characteristics based on that which they’ve observed or experienced. But my characters are really not based on anyone I’ve known. With one exception—the character of Elsa Higgins, Charlie’s surrogate grandmother, is very much based on my own grandmother.

Your stories are set in and around Albuquerque, New Mexico. How did you choose that location, and are all the locales within Albuquerque accurate in the books?

Yes and no—to your second question. Although I do use actual street names and the geography is basically all true, there are some locales that are completely fictitious. One notable example, that I am constantly asked about is Pedro’s restaurant. Sorry folks, it doesn’t exist—I made it up. I chose Albuquerque because it’s where I grew up and lived much of my life, although I don’t live there anymore. That presents its own set of problems, writing a series in a place that I don’t spend much time and trying to keep it accurate. Every time I visit, they’ve changed the name of a street, or businesses have come and gone.

This is really a cliché question, but where do you get your ideas?

Ideas are everywhere. I think writers are just more attuned to taking an idea to the next step. The idea for my fourth book, Small Towns Can Be Murder, came from chance comments from two friends who’d both experienced miscarriages. My mind just kicked into gear and I thought, yeah, but what if . . . Competition Can Be Murder came to me during a trip to the Scottish Highlands. My newest book, Obsessions Can Be Murder, got its origins when I heard about a large house that exploded the day after its owner left town. Although I believe the original case was solved without a whole lot of intrigue, again, I took the basics from a true story and began to think, what if . . .

We hear that you’re also a hot air balloon pilot and hold a world record. Do you plan to use ballooning as a background for any future books?

I used to say “maybe.” Now I’ve done it! Balloons Can Be Murder combines a completely fictional murder plot with many of my own experiences during the early years of the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. The character of Rachael in this book is a compilation of many female pilots I’ve known over the years, adventurous women who love to fly and to strive for new goals. The details of her altitude record flight closely mirror my own. It was fun to develop the plot for this one.