In my novel Beneath the Rings, a political thriller set against the 2040 Doha Olympics, Nova Mendelsohn stands as a fierce, unyielding force—a 53-year-old independent journalist with red hair and hazel eyes hiding scars and relentless drive. She’s not just chasing stories; she’s exposing the Olympic world’s underbelly, from IOC corruption to the human cost of global spectacles. Nova’s character weaves personal echoes, real-world colleagues, and legacies of trailblazing women who’ve redefined journalism. Drawing from my roots, industry friendships, and historical figures who turned adversity into ammunition, here’s what fueled her creation.
Nova’s foundation is deeply personal, honoring my Newark, New Jersey upbringing. While I grew up in the North Ward of the Brick City, Nova hails from the Weequahic neighborhood—a vibrant, middle-class Jewish enclave where family and community resilience shaped her. Running Newark’s streets became her ritual, mirroring my own experiences in that gritty city,
instilling quiet fortitude. Her solitary runs defy an unmoored world. Her parents—Judith, a sharp-witted public-school teacher, and David, a steady accountant—echo my nurturing yet expectation-filled home. My mother, Fran, was also a teacher; my father, Ted, an entrepreneur. They raised me and my sister, Jessica, with education as key. Nova attends Solomon Schechter Day School near Seton Hall Prep, which I attended. She heads to Syracuse—where my father grew up after emigrating from Italy—for journalism, but detours to law at Seton Hall, like my sister’s JD.
This pivot reflects practical pressures, but for Nova, it’s a cage. Her return to journalism after
Manhattan practice draws from my friend Alan Abrahamson, who graduated from
Northwestern’s Medill School before earning his law degree at UC Hastings. He spent 17 years
at the Los Angeles Times. Alan sparked Nova as an independent Olympic journalist. As founder
of 3 Wire Sports, he’s a beacon in Olympic coverage, blending analysis with honesty. We
collaborated at NBC Olympics from 2008-2014, where I saw him peel back the Games’
layers—politics, ethics, human stories. Nova’s platform, OlymPulse, mirrors Alan’s independent
voice: probing storylines mainstream outlets overlook. His influence makes her a veteran of 14
Olympics by 2040, her reporting a rebellion against gloss.
Nova’s grit—navigating harassment in Beirut or personal loss—draws from Lara Logan, the former CBS correspondent known for fearless war reporting. Logan’s 2011 assault in Egypt embodies resilience that refuses silence. Nova channels this: surviving the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, shifting from runner to reporter amid chaos, and enduring the 2017 crash
that kills her parents. Logan’s confrontation of danger sharpens Nova’s hyper-vigilance, turning trauma into journalistic fuel.
Historical figures add tenacity. Nellie Bly, the 19th-century pioneer who feigned insanity to expose asylums and circled the globe in 72 days, lends Nova audacious truth-seeking. Bly’s undercover work mirrors Nova’s infiltration of Olympic shadows, risking all for revelation. Ida Tarbell’s muckraking exposés on Standard Oil—methodical takedowns of corruption—inspire Nova’s IOC probes, showing one woman’s research can topple empires.
In sports, Helene Elliott, the veteran LA Times writer who covered Olympics for decades, layers
Nova’s ethos. Elliott’s trailblazing—including the “Miracle on Ice” plus being the first female
Hockey Hall of Fame honoree—fuels Nova’s focus on the voiceless. Her moral clarity cuts
through hype.
Lesley Visser, the broadcasting pioneer first to cover Super Bowl sidelines and Olympics,
embodies barrier-breaking. Visser’s poise and elevation of women’s voices shape Nova’s solitary
ascent in a male-dominated field, turning isolation into superpower.
Blending these created Nova and forged her into a truth sentinel. In Beneath the Rings, she navigates terrorism and conspiracy, a testament to how personal and historical forces birth unbreakable resolve.
If Nova resonates, it’s from real warriors who’ve shaped our world—and my path.
Readers, who have shaped your paths?
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This sports story sounds fascinating – now I can’t wait to read your new thriller. Thanks for being or guest blogger here on RWW. — Karna Small Bodman
This sounds like a fabulous story in a world I know nothing (not being a big sports person) about. Super cool!