Interview with Nina Simon

The Gloss Book Club: How did you get into writing and what inspired you to write your first book?

Nina Simon: I love to write, but for decades I saw it as a sideline to my “real” career. As a college student, I studied electrical engineering by day and performed slam poetry at night. Later, when I worked as a exhibit designer and museum director, I spent my evenings writing blog posts and nonfiction about cultural organizations and nonprofits.

I never expected to write a novel. But when my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in 2020, it upended my life. I quit my job to support her. We were lucky to be together, but it was a stressful, scary time. We desperately needed something to talk about that wasn’t cancer. We’ve both always loved murder mysteries, so I decided to try to write one with a main character inspired by my own mom. Every morning, while she slept, I’d write a chapter. When she woke up, I’d pass her the laptop and go make her breakfast. Then we’d talk about the characters, what she did and didn’t like, and what should happen next. I wasn’t writing to publish or share this story with the world. I was just writing that first draft for the two of us. It was an escape and a source of joy. And then it grew to be something more.

TGBC: What can you tell our members about your book Mother-Daughter Murder Night?

NS: This book is about a family of strong women—a grandma, single mom, and teenage girl—who come together to solve a murder on the banks of a California marine preserve. It’s part twisty mystery, part family drama, with touches of humor along the way.

I wrote Mother-Daughter Murder Night as a love letter to my own mother, to bring us comfort and joy during a tough time. I hope it will bring joy to all the mothers and daughters in your life, too.

TGBC: Where did the inspiration for Mother-Daughter Murder Night come from?

NS: Mother-Daughter Murder Night was my attempt to write my mom as a superhero during a time when she was particularly, and precariously, powerless.

The book started with “what ifs” about the people and places I know best. What if my mom and I had been estranged when she got sick? What if she moved in with me against her will? What if the marine preserve that brought us solace and beauty brought dead bodies and violence instead? And, most of all: what if my mom (or a pushier version of her) decided to solve the mystery?

TGBC: What did you edit out of this book?

NS: From the first draft, Mother-Daughter Murder Night was both a story of family reconciliation AND a murder mystery. But I wasn’t always sure how to balance these two parts. Much of the editing process focused on making the mystery twistier and the family dynamic more layered. The crime stayed the same in each draft, but I kept rewriting the motives, the clues that lead the Rubicons to the truth, and the dramatic final confrontation. Along the way, I edited out a half-baked romance, an environmental scandal, and many inadvisable uses of kayak paddles.

TGBC: What appeals to you most about writing mystery books?

NS: If the theory is to “write what you know,” what I know best as a reader is crime novels. While writing Mother-Daughter Murder Night, I often pulled favorite mysteries off the shelf to help me learn how to cast suspicion, ramp up tension, drive action, and even incorporate humor into deadly business.

The more I read, and write, the more I appreciate that a mystery is a story that drives towards justice. Someone breaks the social code and commits a crime, and a detective makes things whole again. Of course, the real world isn’t nearly that simple. But that seed can grow all kinds of complicated, interesting stories. If there’s an injustice you care about–misogyny, racism, environmental exploitation, anything–you can externalize it as a crime to be solved and, in doing so, invite readers to care about pursuing a more just world alongside the detectives.

TGBC: Did you use any real life scenarios as inspiration for your novel or include any aspects of true events in your writing?

NS: Several of the settings and main characters in Mother-Daughter Murder Night are inspired by places and people I love. I spent many misty mornings paddleboarding in Elkhorn Slough, often with my young daughter perched on the front, scouting key locations in the novel. There’s nothing quite as eerie as a five-year-old pointing at a decrepit shack by the water and saying, “Mommy, you should kill someone there!”

On a deeper level, writing about the three women at the center of the story gave me the opportunity to explore the changes my own family went through with my mom’s cancer journey. Our family is very different from that of the fictitious Rubicons, but the challenges are similar: independent women learning to embrace interdepedence in a time of crisis. Writing the Rubicons, and the ways they navigated their changing relationships, gave meaning to my lived experience as well.

TGBC: What does your writing process look like? Do you map each story out from start to finish or do you begin with an idea and see where it takes you?

NS: When I have a spark of an idea for a story or a character, I start by writing a scene or two. It helps me dip my toe in the story’s world, to see if it’s a place I’d like to explore further. If there’s depth and energy there, I start identifying some “tent poles” of the story–main characters, turning points–in a rough outline. Then I go back and forth between writing and outlining as I proceed. I like to keep the plan flexible, and I’m not afraid to change things. I often discover new angles in the writing that shift the outline, and vice versa.

TGBC: What makes a book great, in your opinion? What elements does a great story possess?

NS: In my opinion, a great story possesses two things: heart and surprise.

First, heart. There’s something beating at the center of the book–something true and fierce and alive. I believe it’s that heart that generates genuine emotional connection on the part of the reader. It makes me feel like the book is more than an intellectual exercise. It’s a living thing that brings new ideas and energy into the world.

Second, surprise. Real life is full of surprises that shock us into learning new things. I want that from books, too. When a story goes somewhere I couldn’t imagine, or gets there in ways I couldn’t have guessed, it expands my understanding of the world.

TGBC: Any advice you can share with the aspiring writers within our community?

NS: Write your first draft for the most adoring, eager reader you can imagine. There is someone out there who WANTS your book. Maybe it’s your mom. Maybe it’s your dog. Write your first draft for them. There will be plenty of time later to seek critical feedback on your completed draft. But to get to that point, listen to the voice in your head that believes in you, roots for you, and is hungry to see that finished story.

And while you’re writing, try to inject surprise into your story wherever you can. When you get stuck on what a character should do next, write down five things that would make sense for them to do… and then choose the sixth. Surprises keep readers awake, hungry, and curious about what will happen next. And as a writer, I’ve often found valuable new avenues to explore about characterization or plot when I push myself beyond my initial impulse.

TGBC: What was the last book you read that you loved?

NS: Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead. It’s a gorgeous dual-timeline epic about a female pilot. If you’ve ever wanted a woman’s take on a great American explorer novel, check out this one.