Using love of skiing in crime books

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in Vermont. “In my mind the location of the story is Chester, Vt., but I gave the town a different name. Chester is one of those perfect little Vermont towns. It’s gorgeous and there are so many stories and legends that have taken place in that town. People from Vermont take great pride in maintaining its history and culture, which probably explains why there aren’t many roads leading from New York into Vermont.”

As a journalist, Bayly mostly read nonfiction, but he’s enjoyed the challenge of writing mystery novels. “People who read mysteries are smart. They want to read something that will make them think. They want to be entertained, but there’s a game in a mystery and part of the fun is to try and figure it out. As an author, I need to throw in a few surprises to keep my readers stumbling along to the finish.”

From his 34 years as a journalist in radio and television Bayly covered many murder and crime stories, and he’s used some of those experiences in his books.

“Whenever I covered a crime story, I always wanted in some way to help people and perhaps provide some sort of lesson. In my experience many of the crimes I covered could have been avoided if one or two things had gone differently for either the victim or the criminal.”

It always bothered Bayly when covering a crime story to discover a victim had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, an unfortunate soul minding their own business.

Like his fictional protagonist J. C. Snow, Bayly had the advantage of being on television. “I also learned very early on when I was at a crime scene people would often talk to me who wouldn’t talk to the police. Many times onlookers were afraid to speak to the police out of fear they might be harmed if the bad guys heard about it, but they would talk to me. ... Viewers often form a daily connection with a television reporter and they trust you.”

As a journalist, Bayly knows the media not only reflects society, but it can help mold society. “Right from my first book I was determined to have characters of color who would play significant roles in all my books, and I know in the near future some of our top alpine skiers will be people of color.”

Bayly is much happier today living the life of a writer. “My years on TV were very demanding. It took a lot out of me. I’m more of a laidback person now that I’ve stepped back from that intense job. I jump out of bed at 5 or 5:30 every morning not because I’m stressed, I’m just excited to get up and do something fun.”