Hello Mike, welcome to BrandEducation and The RV Book Fair! What inspired you to write The Deathbed Confessions, and how did you approach balancing factual accuracy with narrative tension?
In the past, I had heard of criminals who when they were on their deathbed confessed to other crimes in order to clear their conscience, or make a good last confession to their priest or rabbit. About a year and a half ago a group of independent publishers came together and created a fun little contest. Five authors would compete over the course of one month. Each week a different challenge was given and each week one author was eliminated. The first challenge was; in ten minutes come up with a theme for a totally new book and write the first three paragraphs. Out of the blue, it occurred to me, what if their was a situation where they needed the criminal to confess on his deathbed but he refused. The idea for The Deathbed Confessions came to me and I was able to write the first few paragraphs easily. It won the competition for that week. Eventually, I was the last author standing so to speak, but I didn’t really think about writing anything further on The Deathbed Confessions because I was in the middle of finishing another book, Annie Abbott and the Race to the Red Queen. It wasn’t until the next year during the winter that I picked up the idea and realized what a great premise for a book that it really was.
Balancing factual accuracy with narrative tension is the challenge isn’t it. I don’t know how other authors do it but my approach is to first paint the scenery. I want the reader to see the background, the paintings on the wall so to speak so that they are actually in the story themselves and seeing what I am seeing in my mind’s eye. In order to ‘paint the scenery’ I think it is important that I have witnessed it myself first hand. So I do the research, I visit the site and I see what I want the reader to see. Once the scenery is in place and the reader is engaged in it, it is up to the characters to create the dynamic for tension. Even the smallest interaction should produce some type of yin and yang.
Narrative tension is, in my opinion, the urge the reader feels to read the next page. It doesn’t have to be an earth-shattering revelation, although those are fun too. It is the little things, the character development with characters that are substantial – three dimensional. Then as life happens in the narrative, tension is the natural product as personalities and goals collide. That’s when its fun, when you can feel the tension build with each little nuance of character. Backing up good scenery and good characters with historical facts by doing good research is essential, but shouldn’t be restrictive. But knowing the facts, and the landscape is essential.
Starting out with good scene settings and substantial characters and armed with any historical or actual facts gives license to truly flesh out a great story, because I can be in the scenery myself and watch how it all unfolds into a dynamic and hopefully engaging story.
In your writing process how do you research and verify the most sensitive or controversial aspects of true crime stories?
My writing is purely fictional, any similarities to actual crimes is purely coincidental. That being said however, I have done an enormous amount of research of how the police and newspaper archives function, as well as good old Google for fact checking. I also have contacts in law enforcement that I am able to bounce ideas off of and ask questions about nuts and bolts issues that might influence the ‘believability’ of my writing.
In some cases, such as ‘The Deathbed Confessions’ there are several crimes committed that could have and even may have been committed, but are key to the narrative. Having some background of previous actual crimes helped me to create what I hope is a believable and dynamic reading experience.
How has your perspective on justice, truth or human nature changed as a result of writing such intense stories?
I have the unique perspective that comes as a result of growing up in the inner city. As a boy and a young man I witnessed first hand the different aspects and perspectives that justice and morality might take. Here is a quote from The Deathbed Confessions from a conversation in the book about that exact subject. “I know what it is that we’re showing you, but I want you to look at it from a slightly different angle. What you do, who you are, is governed by very black and white guidelines. They are what we call the law, at least when it is convenient for us. Most of us spend a good deal of our time trying to find ways around the law or a way to make the law work for us, but just us. Nobody else.”
“Down here in the street, there is a lot less of the law and a lot more personalities. Everyone has found their way around the particular law that influences their endeavors. No one absolutely adheres to the guidelines of the one true law. Everyone is just trying to get by; there’s no room or time for the law or the courts; everyone finds their own way. That’s how things get done, you get yours best you can and I get mine best I can, but sometimes we can get at crossed purposes with each other and then we sort it out ourselves. We don’t call the police, we don’t file a legal suit; we negotiate, we butt heads, but we resolve the issue. That’s what you’re are seeing Tom, how the real world goes around. Now have a drink, relax and see our other side of life.”
Well written characters, once again in my own opinion, should have enough depth of personality to give a glimpse of their human nature and how and why they will react in certain situations. Then the trick is to create situations that test the limits of their own sense of morality and justice. It is surprising how often our sense of justice is at direct odds with the assigned morays of society. As I have grown older and hopefully more mature, I have learned to see the gray areas of most life decisions. It is both easy and hard to make the right decision usually when tough situations arise.
What do you feel is most challenging when writing in the true crime genre, especially when dealing with real victims and families?
As in The Deathbed Confessions and the other three novels I’ve written in the ‘true’ crime genre, my novels are only semi-factual. The scenarios are real as are the landscapes and geography but the crimes themselves are primarily fictional. But my focus in all of my writing is to showcase the moral ambiguity of the crimes being committed, and the relative flexibility of justice depending on which side you. In a true crime, especially one that grips your attention, the ones that really gets our attention, there are no real heroes. There are bad guys that we want to root for, and good guys that we hope can stay good, but there are no black and white heroes or villains even when the choices should be clear.
Victims and the families of victims are and should be tragic. It is particularly incumbent to write them that way. I don’t think I can start soon enough when writing about victims in creating the scenario’s of their tragedy. There are rarely innocent victims in my books.
What do you hope readers feel or reflect on after finishing The Deathbed Confessions
Hopefully I’ve done my job and the reader will ponder the moral questions that each character creates. In this book, like my others, the main character is neither hero nor villain, rather he is an anti-hero and relatable. My hope is that we can identify with his struggle and difficulty in remaining moral in a world that tries its best to bend both he and us.
Are you working on any new projects now and can you share a glimpse of what readers might expect next?
Right now I am finishing the third book in my adult fantasy Annie Abbott series. The first two, Annie Abbott and the Druid Stones and Annie Abbott and the Race to the Red Queen will be joined by Annie Abbott and the Dungeon of Rognap Nar due out in July, 2026.
I’ve also begun working on the sequel to the The Deathbed Confessions, working title Criminal Resume’. Here is a small sample:
I had just finished eating breakfast, the sun hadn’t risen above the building sprawl outside my street windows yet. The streetlights still lit the sparse traffic below in the street. I was dressed and ready for the gym and had just finished a spartan breakfast. I was washing up the dishes from my last nights dinner when there was a sharp rap on the door.
Sometimes my mail got mixed up with some of the other residents. When that happened we had just sorted it out between ourselves. That is what I was expecting. That is not what I got.
My hands were still in the soapy sink water so I stepped over and raised the door latch with my knee and then went back to drip in the sink. The door was shoved in forcefully and swung all the way around and slammed into the wall behind it. With the headlong charge a small wiry guy burst into the room right behind it. He must have thrown his whole weight at the door because his impetus carried him completely across the narrow apartment and into the opposite wall where he bounced off and dropped into a crouch. He was facing the living area of the small studio apartment and brandishing a long filet knife. It took him a few seconds to realize that I was still behind him at the sink.
I hadn’t had the money to buy an expensive iron skillet at the time, all I had was a cheap aluminum number that I’d picked up at the local Walmart some time ago. I had just finished washing it and it was very handy as a result, it made a dull clang when it hit him on the right side of his head. Apparently, unfazed by the contact of the cheap-ass skillet, he spun to face me. I slammed the skillet back into his face on my backhand staggering him back a step or two. He came straight at me, charging knife first. This time I put my whole self into it. I came down on his head with the skillet with as much force as I could muster. The handle broke off the skillet and cut a bloody track down the side of his face but he went down and slid on his chest at my feet.
Hopping over him I looked for another weapon but opted for the obvious alternative instead and took the next option. The apartment door was still open, I jumped out into the hallway and pulled the door closed behind me. Instead of racing down the long staircase with whoever he was behind me, I turned and waited. Almost immediately the handle rattled and the door swung wildly inward. My assailant burst out on the landing and first looked down the staircase, expecting me to be running away apparently. Not seeing me, he did a complete one-eighty and spun to face me.
It took no pressure at all to tip him back off his feet and start him down the staircase—backward.
Visit: https://authormikenelson.com/ and https://www.relatable-media.com/relatable-voice-online to learn more about Mike Nelson.