Sometimes the best way to know a person is by asking questions, where you can learn more about what makes them tick. Let’s see what Blanche has to say with her answers below.
What is your full name?
Blanche “Bang” Murninghan. I got the nickname, Bang, somewhat unfortunately, because I have a tendency to shoot from the lip.
How old are you?
That’s a good question. I wake up in the morning, and I’m 35 years old, but when I get into my long-gone Gran’s head for inspiration or advice, I’m 80. I guess age doesn’t matter that much.
What is your profession?
I’m a part-time writer at the Island Times, part-time sleuth, and full-time beach bum on Santa Maria Island, Florida—when I’m not off somewhere in the world caught up in a Caper of Trouble (with a capital “T”).
Do you have a significant other? His name and profession?
Oh, do I. I met the tall, handsome Emilio Del Sierra, a doctor and guitarist, at a fiesta near Mexico City. We connected immediately over music and romance, and he didn’t leave my side until I solved the mystery of that suspicious mummy at the Palacio Nacional. He was forgiving after I got him shot, but we made up significantly. There’s an account of this mix of fun and disaster in Trouble Down Mexico Way.
Do you have any children?
No, but maybe someday if Emilio and I can figure out this long- distance connection—Mexico or Florida?
Do you have any siblings?
No. But I grew up with my cousin, Jack. We were “pirates” on the island, climbing palms, swimming in the Gulf, hiding out in the dunes, getting into trouble. He’s now a mega-preneur in trucking up North, but he’s managed to make an occasional appearance, always complicating things. I don’t know how we made it to adulthood, but we learned from each other how to stay on our feet.
Are your parents nearby?
No, my mother was killed in a car crash when I was five; my father was killed in Vietnam months before I was born in 1970. My beloved Gran, Maeve Murninghan, raised me in a cabin on the beach. I still see her cloud of white hair and bright blue eyes in my mind’s eye and hear her giving me hell for getting into trouble or whispering lovely advice when I’m already deep into it.
Who is your best friend?
Haasi Hakla, part Miccosukee, part Irish. She runs a charter service from her boat in the bay. We are soul sisters, suffice it to say. Our connection is an interesting one, revealed in Saving Tuna Street, the first account of my many adventures.
Do you have cats, dogs, or other pets?
No, but I’m a bit of a cat whisperer. Some little feline friend always seems to end up purring in my lap – memorably in Ireland and Argentina – probably because she likes chicken as much as I do. I save a nip of chicken skin for treats…
What town do you live in?
I live on Santa Maria Island, Florida, a small key south of Tampa, in the Gulf of Mexico where the sand glimmers white and sunsets glow in differing shades of fluorescence every night. It’s my sanctuary, and I need one after the tribulations I’ve managed to get myself into—first at home, then Mexico, Vietnam, Ireland, and Argentina. Family and friends called me to faraway places, not knowing disaster would strike, and I needed every wit I could conjure to solve the mystery and get myself home to Florida.
What type of dwelling do you own or rent?
I own a log cabin on Tuna Street at the beach. I grew up there, hell and high water, and there’s been plenty of both.
What is your favorite spot in your home?
I love my porch, screened on three sides with a view of the Australian pines whistling in the breeze and the sun sparkling on the Gulf. I have white wicker armchairs at a glass-topped table and red geraniums. I write there sometimes or meet with Haasi or Liza or Emilio. Sometimes we go from coffee to Coronas just sitting there solving the woes of the day, or laughing.
What is your favorite meal and dessert?
Lately, sizzled meat on a sword with chimichurri on the side, finished with a large glob of dulce de leche on an apple—thanks to our trip to Buenos Aires. Emilio and I had our ups and a lot of downs in Argentina, but we always managed to find a great spot to eat salty grilled steak, chicken, and sausage at a parilla. (Read more in Hot Tango in Argentina, out April 22 from Torchflame Books.)
Do you have any hobbies?
Fishing at the Peel ‘n Eat Pier and writing that novel on the side when I’m not on the lazy police beat or council meeting for the Island Times. I’m pretty crafty at tuning up my Honda Dream – and at plumbing as my cabin and I have become closer friends, and the cabin tests me with her troublesome innards.
What music do you listen to?
My favorite is Emilio’s guitar and songs of Mexico. Some of them are so sad, sort of like my all-time favorite genre, country music, with little vignettes of how “my dog died at the county fair” to “I killed my girlfriend’s boyfriend.” It’s all there—life.
What is your favorite color?
Bright turquoise, the color of the Gulf of Mexico on a bright day
What is your favorite vacation spot?
Any place with Emilio or Haasi—including Mexico City, Vietnam, Ireland, and Argentina—harrowing but thrilling.
Are you a morning or night person?
Definitely got some vampire blood in me. But I don’t sleep much—too much going on in my head as I count seagulls into the dawn.
What is your idea of a really fun time?
Walking with Emilio on the beach before sunset, or through a leafy cool park, or drinking wine at a café thousands of miles from home. And, wow, do I ever love a shot of Paddy and a Harp on the side at a pub in Ireland. I don’t like crowds, or lines. Won’t do them. I guess I’m more of a home body, and who wouldn’t be with a beach like Santa Maria Island’s?
If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
If I wrote a memoir, it would be similar to that of Nancy Nau Sullivan’s memoir, The Last Cadillac. At least in environmental theme, not the family dynamic. I look around and see what developers are doing to my beloved island. It brings me to the point of murder, and that is where Bang meets the anger that burns. Why can’t people respect the beauty of paradise? Why do they add to the destruction with ridiculous construction, over paving, cutting down vegetation and trees? The freaking traffic? I write a lot about the problems on the island for the Island Times, including that infamous murder. I’m working on something similar to Nancy’s Saving Tuna Street…
Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
Very amateur, and reluctant. But when friends are in trouble, or family calls, I have to go. I’m pretty quick on my feet, I’m small and fit into tight places, I’m curious as hell, and stubborn. I guess these are good attributes for a sleuth. I get angry easily, and I have to watch it, but the anger has also been a fuel for getting over the top and out of trouble. Strangely enough, to thinking desperately and clearly.
What is a typical day in your life like?
I’m on my porch with coffee, usually not until after nine, musing about the day, staring at the beach. I even like the gray days, a reprieve from the six months of ninety-degree weather, and the occasional hurricane when I have to leave the cabin, pray, and take cover at Cap’s rambling house off the beach. After a yogurt, I swim in the Gulf or walk, fast, around the north point of the island and then back to Tuna Street under the jacarandas and palms. Daily exercise is a must. I put some hours in at the Island Times. Liza, a realtor on the island, or Haasi, and I have dinner on the porch or go to Peach’s or Decoy Ducks, and I get in a call to Emilio who’s finishing residency in Mexico. We plan when we’ll meet up again. The last time he came up, he brought a letter from his aunt in trouble in Argentina. What a way to meet the family! (Read about it, coming soon April 22, in Hot Tango in Argentina.)
Hot Tango in Argentina: A Blanche Murninghan Mystery, Book 5
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: April 2025
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link
Part-time sleuth Blanche Murninghan and her love, Emilio Del Sierra, are enjoying a reunion on Santa Maria Island when Emilio gets news that his long-lost aunt and cousin need his help-in Argentina. Posing as tourists, Emilio and Blanche head out to the luxurious pink estancia, La Palma, on the pampa to unravel the plot endangering Emilio’s family.
Escapees from World War II are managing La Palma, and they have a lot to hide. Blanche is intent on exposing them. She has help: from Emilio and Tomás with his divina tango partner, Anna de Gamoure, the mysterious and handsome Guillermo de Losada Iglesias, and Lusita, the elusive kitchen maid who knows more than she’s letting on.
Blanche maintains her touristy cover to snare the schemers, but around every corner a new twist threatens to put a stranglehold on her efforts. Blanche must right the wrongs before time can tango away.
About the author
Nancy Nau Sullivan is author of memoir, mystery, and a novel. She wrote in high school and college for the newspapers and later worked at a decorating magazine in New York. Her first book, the award-winning The Last Cadillac, was about the years she cared for her father while her children were still at home on Anna Maria Island, Florida. The setting launched the Blanche Murninghan mysteries with Saving Tuna Street. It was a finalist for best mystery at Foreword Reviews. Fifth installment in the series, Hot Tango in Argentina, comes out in April. Nancy taught at a boys’ prison (The Boys of Alpha Block), in Argentina and Mexico, and traveled in Vietnam and Ireland where her mysteries (minus murders) take place. Find Nancy at nancynausullivan.com, on Facebook, and Twitter @NauSullivan.