Friday, October 09, 2009
Andrew Lewis grad sees New York successes
Highly accomplished former Salemite Charles Kipps is working on another mystery novel in his "Conor Bard" series. — Courtesy of Charles Kipps
Emily Paine Carter is columnist So Salem. You can contact her at 981-3430 or via e-mail.
Emily Paine Carter
Recent columns from Salem, Glenvar and western Roanoke County
Putting on my "big girl clothes," I braved phoning the big-name screenwriter, producer and author in his New York home.
Sure, I'd interviewed Charles Kipps before (Sept. 16, 2004). But maybe five more years of accomplishments had gone to his head? "Oh, 'screw your courage to the sticking-point' of your pen," I thought; "readers deserve his success story."
Again, I'd wasted my quality worry-time. Charles remains the down-to-earth, witty guy that his Andrew Lewis High School pals and basketball teammates remember.
He even generously allowed me to give you dear "SoSalemites" early notice of his just-published mystery novel, "Hell's Kitchen Homicide," before his fans from Los Angeles to New York are formally alerted. Kinda like those movie trailers with which he's very familiar.
Among the achievements Charles has racked up: An Emmy, a Peabody and an Edgar (mystery) award. Seven gold records (he wrote and produced songs for Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight and David Ruffin). Many periodical, TV and movie credits, including "Law and Order," projects with Bill Cosby and Nickelodeon shows. Two nonfiction novels: "Out of Focus" and "Cop without a Badge." (He was even a Cosmopolitan magazine Bachelor-of-the-Month.)
It was a reference to "Cop" that prompted ALHS '66 classmate Lelia Coleman Reece to Google our talent-formerly-known-as-"Goose," then to email class-news-distributor extraordinaire Lorain St. Clair Myer. Lelia said she doesn't watch TV but when husband Dan was away, she admitted tuning in to Bravo's "Real Housewives of New Jersey," which mentioned "Cop without a Badge." So she checked the Web and noted "all kinds of stuff -- YouTube even has some guy reading excerpts from the book!"
Lorain requested a few autographed books for class reunion door-prizes in 2011. "Of course," Charles replied. By then he expects completion of another title or two for Scribner's: "The second book in the Conor Bard series, entitled 'Crystal Death,' will be published by then -- in 2010. And the third in the series should be hitting the stores in 2011."
He said he's "very happy" with his first novel, and hopes that his Conor Bard character will attract fans to the typical one-book-a-year schedule. Thanks to his background in music, Charles particularly enjoyed creating "a cop who thinks of lyrics; they're his internal soundtrack."
Then Charles asked about us: Has Salem changed much since he was last here in the 1970s? Is "that little pharmacy" (Brooks-Byrd) still here? We talked about Main Street and housing prices and orangeades, and could have gone on about his Salem Times-Register days, or guitar lessons with Elmer Ridenhour -- but I didn't want to keep a busy man from working.
He said he'll look to see when he could come back to visit the old hometown. Hmm, maybe to hand out those door prizes?
If so, ol' Wolverines have much to recall with him. Say, how one classmate sold him his '54 Chevy, and was fascinated by the way Charles signed his yearbook: he wrote backwards, so it had to be read in a mirror -- perhaps a clue to his future mystery-writing career?
For more, visit www.charleskipps.com.
