Sally Carpenter is a native Hoosier living in Southern California. She has a master’s degree in theater from Indiana State University, a Master of Divinity, and a black belt in tae kwon do. The Notorious Noel Caper is the fifth book in her Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol series.
A Christmas junkie
Sally said, “I write cozy mysteries, so the primary goal is, of course, to solve a crime and to entertain. Beyond that, with my Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol series, I’m also showing Sandy’s development into a better human being.”
That development began in the first book of the series in which Sandy has just quit drinking and was attempting a career comeback after several years out of circulation. “At that point, he’s cranky and self-absorbed, but also scared at going back on stage. He dismisses the TV character he played years ago. He leaves town for what he thinks is an easy one-day gig, but when someone is murdered, the police pin the rap on Sandy. He must solve the crime so he can go home. As he does so, Sandy warms up to his fans and finds them to be good allies. He overcomes his stage fright.”
The idea for the Sandy Fairfax series came to Sally because she has a love of bubblegum music and the band, The Monkees. “I began reading up on teen idols and found similarities between their personalities and career paths, including the difficulty of reinventing themselves long after their pop heyday. Sandy had played a young detective on his TV show, so the concept of him as an amateur sleuth seemed ideal.”
Sally wrote The Notorious Noel Caper because she felt the series needed a Christmas story. Plus, she’s a self-professed Christmas junkie. “I love the music and decorating the house and getting cards and the religious message as well. Sandy likewise adores Christmas, partially because that’s his birthday, so we have an underlying theme of him getting older. He lives in Los Angeles, so there’s no snow or sleigh rides or frigid weather (fine with me. I hate the cold and ice).”
On a personal note
“My most interesting job, which I also used in writing The Sinister Sitcom Caper, was serving as a page for Paramount Studio in Hollywood. During the day, I gave tours of the grounds for guests from around the world. In the evenings, I ushered in people for the sitcom shoots. I learned a lot about movie history and film production. The other pages were great people. It was hard work, but also great fun.”
Sally added that this was her pandemic book. She started writing it in mid 2020 when her state was in lockdown. “That wasn’t an issue for me, because I was still working at my day job and then writing at night. By the end of the year, though, I realized I needed a new computer—the one I had was too old to do what I needed. In January I had quite a time shopping for a computer and getting it set up. Fortunately, one of my co-workers helped with the set up. Not only has the computer helped with many issues, including attending a writers group on Zoom, but now I can work my day job remotely from home and save a long commute to and from the office.”
Monkeying around
There are plenty of things authors do in the name of research, but attending Monkees’ concert is definitely unusual. Sally said that she attended a number of concerts featuring Peter Tork of the Monkees in Los Angeles for a few years. “At one event, other fans and I arrived early so we could get good seating. Peter saw us and said, ‘You guys are gluttons for punishment!’ His band, Shoe Suede Blues, played at dances in Santa Monica. One time the police came in to say the band was too loud and disturbing the neighbors! I also went on a cruise with special activities for a small group of Monkees fans (I wrote up that in The Cunning Cruise Ship Caper). Peter was along to meet and perform just for the fan group. The ship made a stop in the Bahamas. The fans also had a private Halloween costume party. Good times.”
Learn more about Sally Carpenter at sandyfairfaxauthor.com. Did you like this interview? If so, click here to read more Behind the Story interviews from your favorite authors.
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