Authors Interviewing Characters: Court Stevens

Interview with a Character

Court: So…Foster, you’re a podcaster. Introduce me to your show and the story you’re working on right now. 

Foster: Well, it’s an expose piece that’s close to my heart. And if you’ve heard the show before you know how much I love to dig into hidden histories and dirty little secrets. Especially in small towns.

Court: Your show recently hit 100 thousand listeners so I’d say that you’re not the only one who likes to dig into dirty little secrets. What small town crime are you exposing for this new series?

Foster: Bent Tree, Kentucky.

Court: Oh… the Choir Girl Murders.

Foster: Don’t say it like that. I know everybody under the sun with a podcast has spent time on this one. An unsolved murder for more than twenty years is a goldmine for investigative reporters. 

Court: You’re a little more than an investigative reporter though, right? My sources say that you’re a former special agent for ATF. That’s bound to be helpful. 

Foster: That is not something most people know, Court. Please don’t give my secrets away to everyone. 

Court: Let’s go back to the dirty little secrets around the Choir Girl murders. What makes you the right person to look into this case? Why do you think you’ll succeed where every other investigative journalist else failed? What new could you possibly bring to the table?

Foster: Before I answer that, let me do a quick recap on the details of the murder that we know, in case anyone is reading this and isn’t familiar with the case. 

Court: Not likely, but go on. 

Foster: More than twenty years ago, on the banks of Mayfield Creek, a man named Winchester James discovered the bodies of nine women. They were bound to driftwood posts with decking rope and had been stripped naked and dressed in bedsheets. Each bedsheet had a single word–Sing–written in blood across their chests and they wore lipstick, all applied post mortem. The posts were arranged in a pyramid structure so when you were facing the women they looked like a choir. 

Court: Hence the media name Choir Girl Murders.

Foster: Yes, and to complicate the crime even more… an identical crime was committed in Texas on the Trinity River. Also unsolved. 

Court: Plot thickens.

Foster: Indeed. And none of the dead women were local to Bent Tree. 

Court: Tell me about the suspects. Surely there are suspects.

Foster: Oh, I definitely have suspects, but officially, this is a cold case and has been for a long time. People were interviewed. Mostly men tied to a local elite hunting club. But there’s no evidence. They don’t even know where the women were actually murdered. Where they were displayed is not the murder scene. 

Court: Why do you think the police thought the hunting club might be involved? 

Foster: Other than dudes with guns and too much money and privilege on their hands.

Court: Other than that. Not all dudes with guns are bad guys. I grew up in a hunting community and I know some great people who enjoy their amendment rights. . 

Foster: Sure. And I know some terrible dudes with guns who have abused those rights in elementary schools and gay nightclubs. Not a fan.

Court: You’re pretty passionate about this. 

Foster: Yeah. I think everyone should be passionate about this conversation. It’s sticky, sure, but I’m weary and its personal to me. 

Court: Oh I’d love to ask you why it’s personal–

Foster: You’ll have to get to know me a little better to dig into that, but back to this particular hunting club. There is some truly sus stuff going on behind the scenes there, but there’s so much old money that it’s wildly protected. The police weren’t able to tie anything to them, but those families…they’re involved somehow. They either did it or covered it up and I’m not going to stop until I find out who did this. 

Court: Aren’t you tied to one of those families?

Foster: I married in. 

Court: So what do your in-laws think about this story? 

Foster: Oh, they’ll hate it. 

Court: What will you do if your in-laws are involved in the murder? 

Foster: Divorce out? I don’t know honestly. I haven’t gotten that far. I just think I know some things about this case that other podcasters and investigators didn’t have access too. An inside track.

Court: Do tell. 

Foster: Never. You’ll just have to check out the podcast. 

Court: What’s it called? 

Foster: Tell Me Something Good.
—

Courtney “Court” Stevens grew up in the knockabout town of Bandana, Kentucky. She is a former adjunct professor, youth minister, Olympic torchbearer, and bookseller at Parnassus Books in Nashville, TN. These days she writes coming-of-truth fiction and is the Executive Director of Warren County Public Library in Bowling Green, KY. She has a pet whale named Herman, a bandsaw named Rex, and a tiny fleet of novels with her name on the spine.

TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD

“This is a writer that understands people down to the bones. Her characters are fallible and hopeful, flawed and loving, and so real they have stayed with me.” –Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times bestselling author

“A knockout.” —Booklist Starred Review

This is a story of the rich and the very poor. This is a story of an illegal auction with dire consequences. This is a story of murders past and present. This is a story of intertwined relationships and the silent ripples they leave behind, where love becomes a guiding force, revealing the lengths one will go to protect those they cherish.

Over twenty years ago, a young hunting guide in rural Kentucky was driving his boat in the early morning mist when his peaceful cruise was cut short by a scene so disturbing, he packed up and moved away. Nine women died early that morning, but it was linked to a similar crime in Texas, so the locals quickly wrote it off as having nothing to do with them.

Now, all these years later, when everyone has nearly forgotten about that grisly part of their past, one man’s accidental death will bring everything back up to the surface. The locals who knew better can no longer claim it had nothing to do with them, and one woman, desperate to do whatever it takes to save her mother’s life, will learn that nearly everyone in her life has been lying to her.

In Court Stevens’s adult debut, she delves deep into the heart of a community, where some will learn that we don’t always live to see the ripples we make, but we must make them all the same.

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Category: Interviews