Welcome Sara, we’re excited to have you on Reader’s Entertainment today. First, tell our readers a bit about yourself.
Hi All! I’m a true-crime writer and lifelong mystery-lover. I love to cook (and EAT!), sew, knit, and take my beloved 14# rescue dog for leisurely walks with my husband. I’m also an urban gardener—I grow strawberries, herbs, lettuce, peppers, sugar peas, and greenbeans.
Is writing your full-time job?
I consider myself a writer first and foremost, but it’s not my only source of income. I also work as the director of social media strategy for International Thriller Writers Association and I teach yoga.
How long have you been writing?
Honestly, since I could write! But this is only my second published book. It took me nine years to research and write Broadway Butterfly, in large part because the case is so complicated and I was also learning how to write a mystery—craft, pacing, red herrings, how to build tension, etc.
What does your typical writing day look like?
I’ve always been a night owl. The moon comes up and I come alive. I do my best work (writing and editing!) at night. But I still research, draft, write, and edit during the day.
Where the did the idea for Broadway Butterfly come from? Perhaps some fun moments, or not so fun moments?
Broadway Butterfly is the true story of the murder of Dot King, a scandalous flapper in 1923 Manhattan, and the ramifications from the investigation that ripple from the gangster underworld all the way up to the White House. It’s told through four real-life characters: Julia Harpman, a lead crime reporter who covered the case; John D. Coughlin, the head of the NYPD Detective’s Unit, who was in charge of the investigation; Ella Bradford, the murder victim’s closest friend and confidant; And Frances Stotesbury, one of the most powerful female members of Society, and the daughter of the richest man in Pennsylvania.
My research took me to some pretty far-flung and fascinating places, and I even hired a psychic who works with law enforcement on cold cases. She gave me a clue that meant I had to rewrite a huge portion of the book, but it was worth it! The most important thing is to get the story right.
Could you share one detail from your current release with readers that they might not find in the book?
Dot King’s roommate Hilda Ferguson was a showgirl who went on to become Zigfield Follies girl. She was known as “The Body,” and had a relationship with Nucky Johnson, who ran all things illegal in Atlantic City—bootlegging, gambling, prostitution. He was the main character in the hit HBO show Boardwalk Empire.
If you could be one of your characters for a day which character would it be?
Definitely Julia Harpman!
If you could spend the day with your character, what would you do? What would that day look like?
Julia Harpman, my new best friend, would let me be her partner in crime for the day. We would take the subway or a taxi (maybe a Model T with one of those ahhhooogah horns) to the New York Daily News office. We’d sit at her battered desk in the newsroom and start making calls on candlestick telephones to chase down leads. This would, of course, make us hungry. So we’d head out to a lunch counter where we’d get coffee and a full lunch for the bargain price of $0.25. Then we’d get back to work. Suspects would try to give us the runaround but fortunately I’m prepared to say things like, “Don’t give me any guff, ya hear?”
Unfortunately, because women have to wear skirts and dress shoes, I wouldn’t be very fast if I had to chase down a source, but hopefully, they’d be charmed by inquiring nature and wouldn’t run away.
We’d chase around Manhattan interviewing persons of interest and then it’s back to the news desk to type up our notes. There is no backspace key on a typewriter so I type extra slowly and carefully, but Julia’s fingers practically fly over the keys.
Philip, the editor, partially deaf, near-sighted, wild-haired, and legendary in his ability to sniff out a story, shouts motivational things like, “Get me a lead or get out of town!”
We submit our story with minutes to spare and a copyboy runs it up to be typeset. Julia and I head out to dinner and then to catch a Broadway show. It’s the greatest day of my life.
What’s your take on research and how do you do it?
My take on research is that it’s necessary and also incredibly fun for this history-loving, research-loving, nerdy-girl at heart! I spent many hours in the microfilm rooms in both the Boston Public Library and the New York Public Library. I also applied for research passes to the JP Morgan Library and Museum, Columbia University, and University of Pennsylvania Rare Books Collection. I also utilized online collections at various presidential libraries, universities, and the Library of Congress. My approach is to run it to ground, obsessively. Then run it to ground again.
Do you have a secret talent readers would be surprised by?
I love to cook, sew, and knit. I sew my own Halloween costumes, pillow cases, and curtains, and I cook elaborate dinners for friends and family. My sister Hanna and I make a Feast of the Seven Fishes every holiday season, which is an Italian tradition, but we’ve upped it to nine fishes, with printed menus, matched wine pairings, and a bite-size dessert cookie bar.
Your favorite go to drink or food when the world goes crazy!
Honestly, I just love to eat. I love popcorn as a late-night snack. I love to make fish tacos with fresh guacamole. I love the gluten-free egg noodle fettucine at Trader Joe’s. I love cheese and crackers. I love it all!
What is your writing kryptonite?
I can be a bit wordy, verbose, long-winded, rambling…I could go on, but then I’d just be proving my point. 😉
Why do you thank your dog in your acknowledgements?
I absolutely love dogs (and all animals). Pelu, our 12 and a half year old rescue dog from Texas has patiently sat and snoozed by my side throughout the long journey of writing and publishing this book. Her sweet expressions melt my heart and listening to her rhythmic breathing while she takes her 17th nap of the day is very meditative. I’m passionate about animal rescue and look for any chance to raise awareness or money for this important cause.
Thank you so much for joining us today, Sara! And, I want to spend a day in that newsroom!!!
Here’s a look at BROADWAY BUTTERFLY
New York in the Roaring Twenties—a riveting true-crime novel, based on one of the most notorious unsolved murders of the era, where power, politics, and secrets conspire to bury the truth.
Manhattan, 1923. Scandalous flapper Dot King is found dead in her Midtown apartment, a bottle of chloroform beside her and a fortune in jewels missing. Dot’s headline-making murder grips the city. It also draws a clutch of lovers, parasites, and justice seekers into one of the city’s most mesmerizing mysteries.
Among them: Daily News crime reporter Julia Harpman, chasing the story while navigating a male-dominated industry; righteous NYPD detective John D. Coughlin, struggling against city corruption; and Ella Bradford, the victim’s Harlem maid, closest confidante, and keeper of secrets. Adding fuel to the already volatile crime: a politically connected Philadelphia socialite, an Atlantic City bootlegger, Dot’s dicey gigolo lover, a sultry Broadway dancer, and a cagey sugar daddy guarding secrets of his own.
From Broadway’s glittering lights to its sordid underbelly to the machinations of the country’s most powerful men, Julia embarks on a quest for justice. What she discovers, twist after breathtaking twist, might be even more nefarious than murder.
Buy Links
Hardcover: https://www.murderbooks.com/book/9781662510137
Paperback: https://www.murderbooks.com/book/9781662510151
Social Media Links
https://www.instagram.com/saradivello/
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSaraDiVello/
https://www.tiktok.com/@saradivello
