Q and A with Judy Nichols

Judy Nichols is a Jeopardy! champ two times over. She played on Thursday April 12th, Friday April 13th, and Monday April 14th.
Q: I’d love to hear all about your new ebook. When and where is it available? Can you tell us what you’ve written in the past, too?
Judy: My latest is an ebook. It’s a mystery called Sportsman’s Bet, the first in a series about a prickly British detective (based on my prickly British husband) solving crime in rural southeast North Carolina. It’s available in Kindle format on Amazon, for Nook on Barnes & Noble, and other formats on Smashwords. I”ve also written Caviar Dreams, (that’s the book I got to talk about during the break of my second game–the book about sex, greed and murder in Cincinnati, Ohio). The Tree Huggers takes place in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Q: How did you meet your husband?
Judy: That’s my Slumdog Millionaire Moment from the Jeopardy! try-outs. We’ve all had them, when you know a game show question because of some major life event. During the audition, I had the category MJ, with the clue “He’s the lead singer for this rock group who had their Voodoo Lounge Tour in 1994.” I knew absolutely and for sure that it was Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones because I’d bought tickets for the Voodoo Lounge Tour. In 1994 I couldn’t find anyone to go with me, so I answered a personal ad that read “Be My Mate. SWM 35, sense of humor.” I figured even if he looked like a toad, I could at least listen to his accent and I only had to deal with him for a month. As it turned out, Nigel and I hit it off and have been together ever since. I occasionally tell my daughter Aly she owes her existence to the fact that the Rolling Stones decided to play Cincinnati in 1994.
Q: How did you get into writing to begin with?
Judy: I can’t really say when I got into writing, because it’s something I’ve always done. Writing journals, short stories, letters to the editor, that kind of thing. I love making up stories, especially mysteries. I studied journalism in college because it seemed like that was the only way to make a living as a writer. I started work on my first book when Aly was a baby. She was taking a nap and I was cleaning out the bathtub and thought “What’s the point? It will just get dirty again.” So I gave up on cleaning and started the book I always said I was going to write. And I just kept at it until it was done, which took almost five years. Writing really comes down to sitting down and doing it. Which is not as easy as it sounds.
Q: You played a woman on Jeopardy! (Cat Still) that I met the previous week at O’Brien’s Pub, the day I taped Jeopardy! Some former Jeopardy! champs were in the audience to support her. Did you know they were there?
Judy: Yes, I knew they were there. During one of the breaks, Alex introduced them. At the time, I felt a bit nervous about having Jeopardy! champions watching me play, but once the game started I didn’t have time to think about it.
Q: You told me you played “It’s Academic” in high school, and that it’s similar to quiz bowl. Can you tell us about the time your team won second place?
Judy: It was kind of like that movie “Hoosiers,” except for a quiz show. Batavia High School was a small public high school 20 miles east of Cincinnati. At that time (1973) it was one of the smallest public schools in Ohio, with only 300 students.And we were playing against the large public schools, private schools, and wealthy suburban schools. We were definitely the underdogs. In the end we were up against the team from Highland Heights Kentucky. They won all of their previous games with huge margins and their team captain was awesome–he knew everything. I’ve always wondered if he ever appeared on Jeopardy! (Anyone remember a Jeopardy! champion named Bob Smith from Kentucky?) But we gave them a run for their money, giving them the closest game they had and were very proud to come in second.

And for a while, the three of us–the nerdy kids who always had their hands up with the right answer–got to be sort of popular. At the very least, we gave our friends a reason to get out of school to watch the games being taped. I hadn’t thought about the experience in years until I got the call to be on Jeopardy! Then I remembered how much fun it was just to go out there and play the game. And especially to win–even when the prize was just a set of encyclopedias for the library. Money is better.

Judy and the “It’s Academic” moderator, WLW-TV news anchor Steve Douglas

Q: Is there anything else you want to say or talk about?
Judy: For anyone who’s received the call to be on the show, I hope you enjoy the experience of playing Jeopardy! for real. It’s something you never forget. From the time I met up with the other contestants in the lobby of the DoubleTree Inn, to taking the red-eye back to Wilmington, it was one of the best days ever. I had as much fun hanging out in the Green Room as I did playing the game. I could have done without the “Hometown Howdies.” I had the hardest time getting the “Hello I’m Judy Nichols, a mystery writer from Wilmington. Watch me uncover the clues on Jeopardy!”

I was also really surprised by all the support I received after losing the third game. When it was taped, I was so angry at myself for not crossing out my entire wrong answer. I was sure when the show aired the entire Jeopardy! viewing audience would say “How could you not notice something so obvious?” Instead, everyone I knew and lots of people I’d never met told me in essence, “You were robbed…you should have won.” Of course, that’s not what the rules say and I knew it from the time the Think Music stopped and my pen along with it. But it made losing a lot easier to take.

Thanks Judy, and good luck with the book!