TV host, author Tamron Hall talks her writing process, new book and how she starts her day

It's no mystery that Tamron Hall has a lot going on.

Hall's self-titled ABC daytime TV talk show is in its fifth season, she's a mom and she continues her work with true crime series.

And the longtime journalist is also an author: her second mystery/thriller novel, "Watch Where They Hide," is out now.

Her new book and her debut novel, "As The Wicked Watch" (2021), both follow Chicago TV reporter Jordan Manning as she investigates – and helps solve – criminal cases she's covering.

"Writing a crime series is not only was something that I was passionate about, it was something that was cathartic for me, Hall says in an interview with USA TODAY.

"My writing process has been very different for both books," Hall says. "The first book, I started writing during the pandemic in 2020. I pitched the series prior to that, but really started to flesh out Jordan and who I saw her as. We were having different beat to our lives. We were in this malaise, we were in this dark uncertainty for so many months."

More:Issa Rae says Hollywood needs to be accountable. Here's why diverse shows are so important

But working on the second book was different for Hall.

"I was back in the city, and there's an energy to it," she says. She also wanted the book to feel like a TV show you might binge.

While her books were partly sparked by the Nancy Drew series she loved growing up, Hall also has another inspiration: life.

"I mean, it's the ultimate motivator, right?" Hall says. "It's the common thread, right? It's the uncertainty of how it turns out, the complexities of how it turns out. It's the unexpected joy. It's the unknown variable. It's the book that you can't write the ending to."

And Hall's life is also woven into her novels.

"They're both inspired by cases that I covered while on 'Deadline: Crime,'" she said of the series she hosted for six seasons on Investigation Discovery.

Hall tries to be as strategic as possible with her time.

"I'm an early riser. I've probably awakened before 5 a.m. since I've been in the business," she says. "My body is very much regimented that way. So I wake up, I make my coffee. That's my ritual. I have a corner in my house. Nothing elaborate, nothing really complex, but just a cozy spot. And I'm able to write during the hiatus of my show."

Hall also likes trying out tech and tries to make use of it when she can.

"I voice dictate everything, Hall says. "I have terrible insomnia, and I've learned to live with it. I keep my phone or recording device on the side of my bed."

Hall will record ideas, character beats and storylines as they strike, even if they come in the middle of her sleep. She will then send her recordings to her collaborator, T. Shawn Taylor, who writes them out for her and sends them back, so Hall can tweak the story.

If the stylish and ambitious main character of Jordan Manning sounds familiar, she's also drawn from Hall herself and other real-life reporters.

In Hall's novels, Jordan sometimes goes rogue on the job, getting herself in dangerous situations in her pursuit of truth and justice. But it's intentional.

"I want you to root with for her, and I want you to question her decisions," Hall says. "Here she is, on the cusp of becoming an anchor, this coveted position, and she's compromising it to find out what's happened to a woman that she's never met."

And names are a big deal to Hall, too.

"Names matter in my house," Hall says. "My son is Moses, his dog is Exodus."

And the name of her bird that interjected chirps during the interview? "Josephine Birder" (after singer and actress Josephine Baker).

So when it came to the character for her book series, Hall turned to a couple of sports icons.

"With Jordan Manning: I have a secret collection of Jordan sneakers, probably a lot more than I have high heels. And so Jordan Manning is Michael Jordan and Peyton Manning."

And what's next for Hall?

"I have a cookbook coming out in September," she says. "It's a love letter to my father, who I lost in 2008. He was a phenomenal cook and loved just doting on his family with beautiful meals. Not elaborate meals, but just delicious, heartfelt, hearty meals that I missed so dearly."