Rob McDonald is the author of the award-winning The Nancys series, set in rural New Zealand and featuring characters you’ll struggle to forget! Atmospheric, laugh-out-loud funny, but full of poignant and often dark themes, The Nancys and the Case of the Missing Necklace and The Nancys and the Secret of Tulip Farm are perfect for anyone who loves their crime fiction bright, fresh and original – in fact, bursting with glitter! – and has a soft spot (or obsession) with Nancy Drew. Let’s meet him!
- Tell us about yourself!
I’m a dad to two wonderful young women, Queer, Kiwi, grew up on a farm, travelled the world and ended up living in Melbourne, Australia. I’ve always loved writing and reading but for years only ever wrote for myself – until 2016, when I finally took the plunge and joined Faber Writing Academy, Writing a Novel: First Draft. The first time ever sharing my work was one of the scariest things I had ever done. I wanted to burst into flames as my tutor read my work out loud in the group workshop. It also was one of the best things I have ever done. I would not be here answering these questions with Orenda Books without it.
- What inspired The Nancys, and how did you come up with the fabulous trio of Tippy Chan, Uncle Pike and Devon?
The spark for The Nancys and the Case of the Missing Necklace came from a line of dialogue from a kid investigating a murder. I wanted to know who that child was, and why she was investigating a murder. From there came Tippy Chan, and then her irresponsible babysitters, Uncle Pike and Devon. Together they formed a secret detective club, The Nancys, that owes its name to Nancy Drew’s fearless energy – and a gay reclamation of the word nancy.
I love group dynamics, and for The Nancys it was important for me that Tippy wasn’t on her own. Part of the trio reason is Uncle Pike is using the investigation as a way to help Tippy process the grief around the loss of her father – using it as a bonding tool (to be clear I am not advocating for this as a parent myself, I think maybe taking your kid on a drive and talking first!).
- Tell us about the books!
The Nancys is an adult crime fiction series in the tradition of a whodunnit murder mystery, except all the characters are completely out of control and pay no attention to any rules.
The Nancys and the Case of the Missing Necklace is the first book in the series. It introduces the reader to Tippy, who is eleven and lives in Riverstone, a two-pub town in South Otago, New Zealand – the same town her Uncle Pike escaped from when he was a teenager. Tippy loves her uncle’s old Nancy Drew books, especially the early versions where Nancy was sixteen and did whatever she wanted. She wants to be Nancy and is desperate to solve a real mystery.
Tippy’s chance comes when her mum goes on holiday, leaving Uncle Pike and his new boyfriend, Devon, in charge. When her teacher turns up dead beside the small town’s only traffic light Tippy teams up with her babysitters to form The Nancys, a secret amateur detective club.
The Nancys and the Secret of Tulip Farm picks up four months after the first book. Uncle Pike and Devon are back visiting again when an explosion rocks Riverstone. Again, the Nancys find themselves questioning the truth of what happened that night, and, if they are correct, then a bomber is still on the loose.
The Nancys series is for anyone who’s ever felt outside looking in. At its heart it is about the family we make and the courage required to tell the truth, no matter what the cost.
- Nancy Drew is a huge influence on the series. Were you a fan growing up?
I was! And in love with the Hardy Boys. When I was writing the Nancys I delved back into the books and my appreciation for her as a character only grew – brave, glamorous and utterly determined to solve her cases no matter what. A huge shout out and thank you to Jennifer Fisher for her Nancy Drew research and website: nancydrewsleuth.com. A must-visit for any Nancy Drew fans.
- The books are hilarious, but they also tackle some very serious subjects. How do you strike that balance?
I think you can’t have one without the other, all dark is miserable and not my experience of life. Even in the most difficult circumstances, people find reasons to laugh, sometimes at entirely inappropriate moments. Humour can also be a really useful tool in crime fiction, helping to release tension, give readers a breather and make the darker moments hit even harder. That being said, I never want to make light of murder or a victim’s death. They are all mourned by someone, even if they were awful in life.
- You updated the books for the UK and US/Canadian markets. What kinds of changes did you make, and are they very different from the originals?
They follow the same plot and characters but I have worked with the Orenda team on tightening, creating some shorter chapters. They also have funky new covers and titles, as well as prologues and chapter titles, which were fun to write. The titles and chapter titles have been great as an additional homage to Nancy Drew.
- Do you laugh when you are writing?
Yes, but always from what my characters have done or said, and not in a maniacal, or I’m so clever way. Lol. It does help me know I’m on the right track (the same if I’m wanting to cry in a sad scene). But my laughing is probably annoying when I’m writing in the library…
- What are you reading now and what would you recommend?
Recently read a couple of Australian debuts which I loved, Luke Johnson, King Tide, and Nicholas Timms, The Lineup.
I always recommend Australian and New Zealand crime authors, there are so many fantastic new and established voices to discover. Shout out to J.P. Pomare, my kiwi friend and neighbour in Melbourne. His book 17 Years Later is excellent, and he has a great series set in the US featuring P.I. Vince Reid, a gay ex-cop. J.P. and I recently did a Waterstones Gower Street event together, which was amazing and surreal to be doing an event with him on the other side of the world.
- A fun fact about YOU!
I’ve recently become a cat-grandparent to my daughter’s little white cat, Skoochi. Skoochi and my HarryCat do not get on (yet). Being a cat-grandparent means negotiating a lot of time-sharing, boundaries and cupboard extractions…
R.W.R. McDonald is the author of The Nancys and the Case of the Missing Necklace and The Nancys and the Secret of Tulip Farm, published by Orenda Books.
