I know it sounds grim but how often do you wonder about what happened to Natalie Holloway, JonBenet Ramsey, or other cold case victims? If you’re a Crime Junkie and spend a lot time watching true crime documentaries, it’s probably often. Now imagine that your job involved talking to detectives and the loved ones of missing and murdered people… You would probably lose sleep at night wondering where they are and why someone wanted to harm them after developing connections with their family members.
Me on the job (photo credit: FOX19 Now’s marketing team)
From Newsroom to Novel
I’m Courtney, a former News Anchor/Reporter who spent almost 15 years talking on televisions in Indiana, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Ohio, and Kentucky. I’ve covered bowl games, national championships, murder trials, and dozens of cold cases. I’m in the middle of my next chapter as a Pilates Instructor and Adjust Professor of Communication at DePaul University but there’s one book I’m struggling to close, probably because it’s never been opened, my novel. I spent more than two years writing it. It’s based off some personal experiences as a reporter and several cold cases/missing persons case I’ve covered.
As a crime reporter, I struggled with not having a resolution to the stories I reported on so I made some cases up in my head, inspired by real cases, so I could finally have some answers.
When I say, loosely based, I mean it. I changed as much as I could out of respect for the families who are still suffering to this day. If your reading this and know something about an unsolved case I’ve covered, please contact your local CrimeStoppers.
This is a case I covered after finishing my novel. The murder of Lamon Wiggins is still unsolved. Please help his family if you have answers.
As someone who used to directly speak with grieving people, true crime entertainment sometimes feels “pretty cringe” because I’ve noticed the audience’s empathy and respect for people’s privacy evaporates. The people you see crying on your TV while you eat popcorn and drink wine are very real. Their suffering shouldn’t be reduced to post work binge watching. Please keep that in mind next time you click on that new Ted Bundy docu.
One of the goals in completing my novel was to bridge that gap and show people the toll horrendous crimes and tragedies take on a victim’s loved ones.
While I tend to focus on the crime aspects of my novel, it also based on personal dating experiences. I feel that sharing that part of my story can maybe help someone struggling in the future. It would also be highly hypocritical of me to not share something personal when I’m telling stories based off other people’s lives.
The Manuscript in Limbo
Dusty and unopened on my computer…
I poured my heart and soul into it, as well as some of my savings, but the manuscript is just a file on my hard drive right now. I’ve had a literary agent for almost a year now but publishing leads have since gone cold, excluding one nice rejection from Simon & Schuster.
So, here I am 37, still with a big dream… publish my novel someday! I’m going to use this website to put some of my story out there and hopefully someone will connect with my characters or maybe it’ll inspire someone with information on an unsolved crime to come forward.
Oh, by the way, my novel is called Delia in the Dark.
Cheryl Thompson’s case is one of the few cases I’ve covered to get solved. Her story inspired parts of my novel.
Meet Delia In the Dark
Trigger warning: Violence against women and dating violence
Delia Daniels is a TV News reporter who, on camera, looks like she has the perfect life. But while she’s been writing her news reports, she’s been plotting on how to escape her abusive boyfriend, Cal. With help from a new friend, she develops the perfect plan, but Cal is always one step ahead. She botches her attempt to get away when Cal murders her by throwing her into the Ohio River. Delia wakes up in the depths of the river completely conscious without having to come up for air. As she snoops around her weird form of purgatory she finds the bodies of several of the missing persons cases she’s covered. One by one, she learns what really happened to them and brings them to the surface so they can be found. But what will happen to Delia? Where does she go from here and how does she get out? Can she get out or will she be stuck as the Ohio River’s Dark Mermaid forever?
The infamous Ohio River tries hard to compete with Delia’s Main Character Energy. As you can see from a story, it often causes damage in the Cincinnati area.
Courtney King: Journalist, Author, Adjunct Professor 
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