Hank Phillippi Ryan said she was a nerdy girl who grew up in Indianapolis devouring Nancy Drew novels.

These days, Ryan (nee Ann Sablosky) is an author and Emmy-winning investigative reporter at the NBC affiliate in Boston. Locally, she is an alum of WTHR.

During her day job, Ryan, 59, covers police detail and money fraud. At night, she pens the award-winning “Time” mystery series starring Charlotte “Charlie” McNally, who, like Ryan, is an investigative reporter.

On Sept. 12, Ryan will return to Indiana for a book signing and to speak to members of Romance Writers of America.

Question: Charlie McNally is similar to you. How much of her is autobiographical?

Answer: I’ve been a reporter for 30 years. It would be silly in writing a murder mystery about a television reporter and not draw on my experiences, conflicts and wonderful stories, and all the places I’ve been and people I’ve talked to. . . . When my husband talks about Charlie, he calls her ‘you.’ I smile and I say, ‘Honey, it’s fiction.’ But, of course, part of it is fact.

Q: What was the seed for your first novel, “Prime Time”?

A. I just never had a good idea for a plot, but one day at work I was deleting spam from my e-mail. Although the subject line said “help in refinancing,” I opened it, and it looked like lines from a play in Shakespeare. I stared at it and thought, “why would someone put lines from a play in a spam about refinancing?” I thought, “it’s probably a secret message.” Bells went off in my head. . . . Here was the plot I had been looking for the past 50 years.

Q. You won an Agatha for “Prime Time” and Emmys. How did getting these awards feel?

A. I love every one of my Emmys. It represents something that someone didn’t want us to know. When I was nominated for the Agatha, I got the message via voicemail . . . and I burst into tears. It was an indication of being welcomed into the world of mysteries.