Unplugged: An Interview with Mary Jane Clark
Mary Jane Clark, an author and former CBS News producer, dishes about her new book "Dying For Mercy" with "The Early Show's" White House Producer BJ D'Elia on Wednesday's "Washington Unplugged."
After working in television for nearly three decades, Clark decided to write about what she knows best. Her novels' characters are always employees of KEY News, a fictional television network. D'Elia, who used to work with Clark, is now a featured character in many of her novels -- recurring protagonist Eliza Blake's savvy cameraman is based on him.
"One of the things about working at CBS for all those years is that it is never boring," Clark said in the interrview. "I think that television news world is great for suspense writing because the characters can go out and cover their stories and get involved in all sorts of situations."
In "Dying For Mercy," Clark's 12th novel, Eliza Blake's seven year-old daughter is kidnapped. Eliza and her trusted news team are in a race against the clock to solve this latest mystery.
So why is there interest in the world of TV journalism?
"I think people are fascinated with television, in general and television news brings you to where something's happening; it brings the event into your living room. There's emotion involved," she said.
Watch Mary Jane Clark's full interview above. "Washington Unplugged" appears live on CBSNews.com each weekday at 12:30 p.m. ET. Click here to check out previous episodes.
