By Tiziano Thomas Dossena

Former Metropolitan Opera violinist ERICA MINER is now an award-winning author, screenwriter, journalist, and lecturer, who actively contributes to major arts websites (BroadwayWorld.com, us.Bachtrack.com, and LAOpus.com) and magazines (PNWA Magazine, Vision Magazine, WORD San Diego, Our City Istanbul).

She has lectured about writing and opera for groups from coast to coast and internationally and has been interviewed numerous times on radio and online podcasts.

OperaMyLove: Hello Erica. We spoke a while back and I believe we have to refresh the memory of our readers about your background. After a successful career as a violinist with New York’s Metropolitan Opera you transitioned into writing full-time. When did you first get interested in writing? What made you decide to take the leap?

Erica Miner: I actually started writing before I took up the violin. Back in grade school, when I was 7 or 8 years old, I was placed in a special afterschool program for Creative Writing. I’m not sure why, though I imagine one of my teachers saw that spark in me. I discovered I loved creating characters and plots and weaving them all together to tell stories. Shortly after that, I started studying violin. As those who have played that fiendishly difficult instrument know, it tends to be all-consuming, especially for a young kid. But I never stopped writing. Even when I was at the Met, I took writing classes whenever I could fit them into my schedule. When I retired from the Met, it seemed the obvious choice to go back to writing as my creative outlet. I’ve been writing ever since.

OperaMyLove: In 2022, Level Best Books published the first in your Opera Mystery series, “Aria for Murder,” a finalist in the 2023 Eric Hoffer Book Awards and Chanticleer Independent Book Awards. Could you tell us what inspired this story?

Erica Miner: While I was at the Met, I couldn’t help but notice all the nefarious goings-on backstage, not to mention the conflicts that took place between orchestra players and among most of the other people working there. For example, in a situation where 100 neurotic musicians are thrown together in a hole in the ground with no light and no air 7 days a week, eventually one of them is going to feel like killing someone! With my writer’s imagination at play, I couldn’t resist the idea of writing a murder mystery that took place in this milieu. That’s how “Aria for Murder” was born. Julia, the protagonist, was based on myself when I first started out at the Met. She’s a starry-eyed neophyte violinist who is thrilled to be making her debut in the orchestra of the world’s most prestigious opera house on opening night. Little does she know something terrible is about to happen: during the performance, her mentor, a famous conductor, is assassinated on the podium. That is the inciting incident that turns Julia’s world upside down. When her closest colleague in the orchestra is accused of the murder, Julia starts probing the dark hallways and back stairways of the Met to find out who is the real murderer. This makes her a target of the ruthless killer, and she must use every bit of her self-preserving instincts to save her own life.

OperaMyLove:The equally thrilling sequel, “Prelude to Murder,” a Distinguished Favorite in the 2024 NYC Big Book Awards, was released in 2023. Was this book following the same character as the first one? Was there a real-life inspiration for this story?

Erica Miner: “Prelude to Murder” follows Julia to Santa Fe, where she is hired as concertmaster for the Santa Fe Opera for the summer season, consisting of 4 of the most violent operas ever written. Being the first of the first violinists is a high-pressure situation for this young violinist, made even more so by an exceptionally demanding conductor. Then, with the background of these bloody opera stories onstage, grisly murders begin to take place onstage and off. Julia’s natural curiosity kicks in, and she starts asking questions of company members to investigate what and who is behind these murders. This places her in danger, and again she finds herself in life-threatening circumstances. The fact that Santa Fe is known as having more ghosts than any other city in the US heightens the frightening atmosphere.

OperaMyLove: You completed the trilogy with “Overture to Murder,” released in Oct. 2024. Can you tell us something about this latest book of yours? Are we expecting an Agatha Christie trend or was this just a parenthesis among your many writing projects?

Erica Miner: in “Overture to Murder,” Julia heads to San Francisco as concertmaster of the Opera, but this time it is under more difficult circumstances: replacing the regular concertmaster, who has been seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident, which Julia suspects wasn’t accidental. When an important company member becomes the victim of a shocking murder, Julia is determined to investigate. Her efforts escalate with a second murder, and again she finds herself in the sights of the killer. But this time, she is not the only one who is in danger: a vulnerable family member is also being targeted, and Julia must work against the clock to save that person’s life.

As far as another sequel: I think both Julia and I are going to take a break while I promote what is so far a 3-part series. What happens after that is a work in progress. Stay tuned!

OperaMyLove: You have previously published another trilogy of operatic mystery books. What is the main difference between this one and the other?

Erica Miner: The previous series was with a different publisher. My new publisher at Level Best Books stipulated numerous changes to make what was renamed the Julia Kogan Opera Mystery Series into something markedly different: new titles, new book covers, new plot points, and overall a distinctive difference in perspective. I enhanced Julia’s character and heightened the danger and stakes of her involvement, clearly showing her development into a savvy, keenly intuitive amateur sleuth who manages to solve murders the Police can’t unravel. Readers who have read both versions have commented on how much more compelling the new version is. My publisher is pleased with the changes as well.

OperaMyLove: When you write for magazines, do you write exclusively about opera?

Erica Miner: I write about opera and symphony pretty much equally now. I’m lucky to have good relationships with both the Seattle Opera and the Seattle Symphony. (You can see the breakdown of each type on the Articles page of my website, https://www.ericaminer.com/articles.php.) My love for these two genres is evenly balanced. I started out as a young violinist playing solo and orchestral repertoire, but of course, my 21 years as a violinist at the Met gives opera a bit of an edge for me. Now that I’ve been accepted as a member of the prestigious Music Critics Association of North America, I am beginning to branch out to new and fascinating publications. I will be making my “debut” with Classical Voice of North America (CNVA) in January 2025, reviewing the Seattle Opera premiere of Berlioz’s Les Troyens in Concert. I’m quite excited about it.

OperaMyLove: Are you already planning a new book?

Erica Miner: My writer’s imagination never quits, so of course I have a new Opera Mystery marinating in my mind. But as I mentioned above, I would like to make sure I get the word out for the 3 existing books, nurture these children as it were, before I plunge into a new sequel. People keep asking me about writing a memoir, but I think I would have to be more of a household name in order to make that something of broad interest.

OperaMyLove: A word for our readers…

Erica Miner: I just wanted OperaMyLove readers to know that I value their feedback, whether on my books or on any of the insights I’ve tried to provide in this interview.  They can send me a message anytime via my website (https://www.ericaminer.com/contact.php), and I will always respond. I hope that opera lovers and book lovers, especially of mysteries, will not only enjoy the stories and the characters in my Julia Kogan Opera Mystery Series but also will be intrigued by the operas that are woven into the mystery plots. Most of all, I want to emphasize that the art form we call opera is unique: the only thing better than a great story is a great story WITH MUSIC. Viva l’Opera!