Cohen, Nancy J. 1948–

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Cohen, Nancy J. 1948–

(Nancy Cane)

PERSONAL:

Born November 25, 1948, in NJ; daughter of Harry and Minnie Heller; married O. Richard Cohen (a physician), December 18, 1976; children: Paul, Sara. Ethnicity: "White." Education: University of Rochester, B.S., 1970; University of California, San Francisco, M.S., 1975. Religion: Jewish. Hobbies and other interests: Dining at local restaurants, regional travel, outlet shopping.

ADDRESSES:

Office—P.O. Box 17756, Plantation, FL 33318. Agent—Evan Marshall, Evan Marshall Agency, 6 Tristam Pl., Pine Brook, NJ 07058. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Mystery writer. Worked as a registered clinical nurse specialist, 1970-79.

MEMBER:

Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Novelists, Inc., Authors Guild, Florida Romance Writers (past president).

AWARDS, HONORS:

Holt Medallion Award, paranormal category, 1995, for Circle of Light.

WRITINGS:

"BAD HAIR DAY" MYSTERY SERIES

Permed to Death, Kensington Books (New York, NY), 1999.

Hair Raiser, Kensington Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Murder by Manicure, Kensington Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Body Wave, Kensington Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Highlights to Heaven, Kensington Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Died Blonde, Kensington Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Dead Roots, Kensington Books (New York, NY), 2005.

Perish by Pedicure, Kensington Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Killer Knots, Kensington Books (New York, NY), 2007.

ROMANCE NOVELS; UNDER PSEUDONYM NANCY CANE

Circle of Light, Dorchester Publishing (New York, NY), 1994.

Moonlight Rhapsody, Dorchester Publishing (New York, NY), 1994.

Starlight Child, Dorchester Publishing (New York, NY), 1995.

Keeper of the Rings, Dorchester Publishing (New York, NY), 1996.

OTHER

Three Men and a Body (novella), Kensington Books (New York, NY), 2005.

Contributor to periodicals, including Mystery Scene, 3rd Degree, Kiss of Death, Romance Writers' Report, Literary Times, Mystery Readers Journal, and Romantic Times.

Several of Cohen's romance novels are reprinted online by iuniverse.com. Author of the blog Nancy J. Cohen's Notes from Florida, http://mysterygal.bravejournal.com.

SIDELIGHTS:

In her "Bad Hair Day" mystery series, Nancy J. Cohen shares the story of beauty salon owner and hairdresser Marla Shore. Based in a fictionalized version of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Shore is "a likeable amateur sleuth who can handle a curling iron and murder clues with aplomb," noted Oline H. Cogdill in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The first book in the series, Permed to Death, is "fast-paced and jaunty," according to a Publishers Weekly reviewer. In it, Marla herself becomes a suspect when her most disagreeable client dies of poisoning while in the chair receiving a perm. Because Marla's now ex-client had been blackmailing her stylist over a secret Marla does not want the authorities to find, she undertakes her own investigation to find the killer. Meanwhile, the police are so intent on finding Marla guilty that they overlook clues left to Marla to uncover.

"An engaging, busy plot drives saucy beautician Marla Shore's second outing," commented a Publishers Weekly contributor of Hair Raiser. In this mystery, Marla agrees to coordinate a benefit for Ocean Guard, a coastal preservation group with good intentions but caustic internal politics. She engages ten local chefs to prepare an elegant benefit dinner to help save an unspoiled beachfront from commercial development, but one by one the chefs have unpleasant accidents that cause them to withdraw from the benefit. Even Marla herself isn't safe from attempts on her life. Suspicion falls on members of Ocean Guard, and Marla travels to the Bahamas to search for answers, taking the problems and risks "in stride with all the panache of a grown-up Nancy Drew," wrote the Publishers Weekly reviewer.

Mystery and mayhem abound in Marla's hometown of Palm Haven. She can't even visit the local fitness center without becoming involved in murder. That is the crime scene in Murder by Manicure, where one of Marla's clients turns up dead and it is up to the hairdresser to determine who, among the several suspicious characters in the club at the time, had a hand in the crime. In Highlights to Heaven Marla identifies a murder victim by the color highlights in his hair. In Perish by Pedicure Marla investigates a murder at a local beauty show in order to exonerate the chief suspect, who happens to be a friend, only to find herself in mortal peril.

In each novel, the reader learns more about Marla's boyfriend, homicide detective and widower Dalton Vail. In Dead Roots Marla takes him to the Sugar Crest plantation-turned-hotel to meet her family, and murder follows. Marla attempts to avenge the death of her elderly Aunt Polly by discovering which one of the greedy suspects, all of whom could profit from acquiring Aunt Polly's historic and reputedly haunted hotel, actually committed the crime. In Killer Knots, Marla and Vail, now her fiancé, go on a cruise, this time to meet with Dalton's family, and find themselves in the midst of mystery on the high seas. Both vacation mysteries were recommended in Publishers Weekly reviews.

"I began writing as far back as I can remember," Cohen once told CA. "It is a drive that compels me. I view the world through a writer's eye; observing, taking notes, mentally converting what I see into word pictures. It's part of my nature. Writing is a tension release, and finding the right words to express what I want is a particularly exquisite joy. So is working on the next novel, when I'm halfway into the story and the characters take over. It's a wonderful feeling, and I can't wait to get up each morning to begin writing. I'm grateful that through my published works, readers can share my dreams."

Cohen explained that "My aim is to entertain, to coax people away from their troubles for a few hours. If they learn something new by reading one of my novels, that's an added bonus." Among the things her readers learn in her "Bad Hair Day" mysteries—apart from points of the hairdresser's trade—are facts about Samoan fire knives, pet fur products, tropical vegetation, and more. Cohen's research has taken her on breathtaking rides across the Florida Everglades in an airboat, to the Bahamas, into and out of the best restaurants in Fort Lauderdale, inside funeral parlors, through citizen's police academy of Plantation, Florida, and inside a genuine Turkish bath.

"For each book, I like to pursue topics that intrigue me," Cohen explained. "I've done research on widely varied subjects, including volcanoes, amphibians, biomedical waste disposal, tilapia aquaculture, immigrant labor, and much more. Newspaper and magazine articles fill my file cabinets. As for a favorite slant, science draws my attention more than other subjects. My reading habits include genre books in romance, mystery, and science fiction. I've blended these genres in my work. I started out writing futuristic romance novels, then switched to mysteries because I enjoy plotting complex stories. For the Bad Hair Day Mysteries, I am able to enhance my books further by using a South Florida setting. I hope to get across to readers the pleasure of living in the semi-tropics. Thus, I emphasize the positive attractions of this locale. Research gives me an excuse to visit some unique Florida towns and write them into my books, as well as to deal with important local issues, such as child drowning prevention and melanoma detection.

"Before I begin writing the actual story, I'll do preliminary research and write a synopsis," Cohen continued. "This acts as a guideline for my writing. Brief character sketches come next. Then I'll put myself on a writing schedule, one chapter a week, twenty chapters total. I'm pretty strict about this, otherwise I'd find myself going out to lunch or shopping every day. You have to make sacrifices to be a writer. You have to persist in the face of continued rejection. You have to believe in yourself."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Boca Raton Observer, March, 2007, review of Perish by Pedicure, p. 36.

Ghost!, summer, 2006, review of Dead Roots, p. 25.

GO Riverwalk, July, 2006, review of Permed to Death, p. 110.

Gulf Coast Times, February 8, 2007, "Hairy Situation," p. 22.

Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 2001, review of Murder by Manicure, p. 1393; October 15, 2005, review of Dead Roots, 2005.

Library Journal, December, 1999, Rex E. Klett, review of Permed to Death, p. 191; December, 2001, Rex E. Klett, review of Murder by Manicure, p. 178; December, 2002, Rex E. Klett, review of Body Wave, p. 183; December, 2003, Rex E. Klett, review of Highlights to Heaven, p. 172; October 1, 2004, Rex E. Klett, review of Died Blonde, p. 64.

Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion, June-July, 2006, "Power of Love," pp. 28-31.

Mystery Scene, winter, 2006, "Ghost Hunters," p. 66.

Parklander, August, 2006, "Passion in Paradise: Our Local Romance Writers," p. 86.

Plantation Forum, November 14, 2006, "Plantation Mystery Writer Plans Book-Signing Tour."

Publishers Weekly, December 6, 1999, review of Permed to Death, p. 57; October 30, 2000, review of Hair Raiser, p. 50; November 12, 2001, review of Murder by Manicure, p. 39; December 1, 2003, review of Highlights to Heaven, p. 44; October 24, 2005, review of Dead Roots, p. 43; October 9, 2006, review of Perish by Pedicure, p. 39; September 10, 2007, review of Killer Knots, p. 43.

Rochester Review, spring, 2006, "15 Clues to a Writer's Life," p. 34.

Southern Living, September, 2005, "Bad Hair, Good Read," p. 22.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel, December 27, 2000, Oline H. Cogdill, review of Hair Raiser.