Cozy Mystery Week ~ Cynthia Hickey on The Love Of A Mystery

I've brought in some of the best cozy authors out there to share their secrets and their insights about the booming genre of Cozy Mysteries.

THE LOVE OF A MYSTERY
by Cynthia Hickey

Since I opened my first Nancy Drew mystery at the age of nine, I’ve been hooked. What is more fun than trying to figure out a clever crime along with a beloved character? Writing a mystery runs a very close second.

The challenge of laying subtle clues, depositing red herrings like bread crumbs in a forest, provides as much fun for a mystery author as it does for the reader. The challenge comes when the author is successful at keeping the culprit’s identity a secret at the very end, yet leaving the reader satisfied that they weren’t cheated when they think back and realize how the clues led them down a cleverly placed trail. Then, the reader closes the book, smiles, and feels satisfied.

Add a quirky character the reader can relate to, and you’ve got a successful cozy mystery. Not an easy task for the writer. Most mystery authors are not seat-of-the-pants writers. Instead, writing a cozy mystery involves days, if not weeks, of planning and note-taking. A lot of hard work and a lot of fun. Especially when the reader leaves positive feedback.

The items needed for a good mystery are:

*A quirky character

*Well-placed red herrings

*A supportive cast of secondary characters

*Humorous happenings

*A clever crook

*A satisfying ending

In my Summer Meadows mysteries, the main character Summer Meadows doesn’t start out with the intentions to take up sleuthing, but when she finds diamonds, a rusty can full of cash, and a bloody gardening glove, what’s a girl to do?

In my latest mystery series, Stormi Nelson is a reclusive author who is told by her agent to get out more. Her first night out as president of the local Neighborhood Watch program results in a murder and a mystery that changes her life.

Please check out the first book in my brand new series, Beware the Orchids, book one in the Shady Acres mysteries.

Blurb:

Ditched at the altar, Shelby Hart tosses down her bouquet, quits her job, and accepts a position as gardener and event coordinator at an upscale retirement community. Her first day on the job results with a dead body in the greenhouse under the orchids and with her as the prime suspect!

Toss in a handsome handyman, quirky characters, and a flirtatious grandma and the fun never stops.

Buy: 

Amazon

Bio:

Multi-published and Amazon and ECPA Best-Selling author Cynthia Hickey had three cozy mysteries and two novellas published through Barbour Publishing. Her first mystery, Fudge-Laced Felonies, won first place in the inspirational category of the Great Expectations contest in 2007. 

Her third cozy, Chocolate-Covered Crime, received a four-star review from Romantic Times. All three cozies have been re-released as ebooks through the MacGregor Literary Agency, along with a new cozy series, all of which stay in the top 50 of Amazon’s ebooks for their genre. She had several historical romances release through Harlequin’s Heartsong Presents, and has sold close to a million copies of her works since 2013. 

She has taught a Continuing Education class at the 2015 American Christian Fiction Writers conference, several small ACFW chapters and RWA chapters. She is a contributor to Cozy Mystery Magazine blog and Suspense Sisters blog. 

She and her husband run the small press, Forget Me Not Romances, which includes some of the CBA’s best well-known authors. She lives in Arizona with her husband, one of their seven children, two dogs, two cats, three box turtles, and two Sulcata tortoises. She has eight grandchildren who keep her busy and tell everyone they know that “Nana is a writer”.

Find Cynthia:

Facebook | Twitter | Website |Forget Me Not Romances | Take Me Away Books

Cozy Mystery Week ~ Kathleen Kaska on Cozy On Up

I've brought in some of the best cozy authors out there to share their secrets and their insights about the booming genre of Cozy Mysteries.

Cozy On Up
By Kathleen Kaska

I define a “cozy” as a mystery that makes me feel good; the characters make me laugh and put me in a good mood; and the story is lighthearted and humorous (think: Carl Hiaasen, Janet Evanovich, Elizabeth Peters, Spencer Quinn, or Martha Grimes’s Emma Graham mysteries).

What a cozy mystery does not do is scare the pants off me, keep me awake at night, or give me nightmares. I enjoy reading a frightening story every once in a while, but only when I know what to expect. My expectations for a cozy: no graphic violence, explicit sex, or lots of profanity. I want to enjoy the story and be entertained. The main character must be likeable and one I can identify with on some level.

Here is a general definition for a cozy mystery: the investigator is an amateur, usually a woman. She has no official authority to investigate crimes, especially murder. But in order to view the scene of the crime, interview suspects, and nose around, she must have a connection with someone who does have such authority, like a spouse, friend, or relative who is a cop, a private investigator, a criminologist, or a forensic scientist.

In Martha Grimes’s Emma Graham mysteries, Emma is a twelve-year-old girl, whose best friend is the sheriff. Even though Bernie and Chet are private investigators in Spencer Quinn’s series, I consider the books cozies because the stories are told by Chet, a dog. And Carl Hiaasen’s characters are so quirky, “authority” is merely a foreign word. They take matters into their own hands as if they have a god-given right to so do. I think that must have something to do with them being from Florida.

I would love to hear your thoughts of what makes a cozy mystery, as well as your favorites. I’m always looking to add new authors to my reading list.

~Kathleen Kaska
 

Excerpt from Run Dog Run:

She’d been foolish and gone off alone, now she might have to pay the ultimate price…

The rocks along the bottom of the creek bed seemed to disappear. Kate felt the ropy, gnarl of tree roots instead.

The cedar break. She was approaching the road and soon the water would pass through the culvert. She knew that she would not make it through the narrow tunnel alive. Her lungs screamed for air. With one final attempt, she grabbed hold of a long cedar root growing along the side of the creek bank and hung on. Miraculously, it held. She wedged her foot under the tangled growth and anchored herself against the current. Inching her way upward, she thrust her head above water and gulped for air. But debris in the current slapped her in the face, and leaves and twigs filled her mouth, choking her. Dizziness overcame her ability to think—exhaustion prevented her from pulling herself higher.

She must not give in. Fighting unconsciousness, Kate inched her way up a little farther, and at last was able to take a clear breath. Her right arm hung loosely by her side, the back of the shaft had broken off in the tumble through the current, but the arrow was lodged in her arm. Numb from cold water and exhaustion, she lay on the bank as the water swept over her, and then, as quickly as it had arrived, the flow subsided and the current slowed. If she could hang on a few moments longer, survival looked promising. As thoughts of hope entered her mind, Kate feared that her pursuer might not have given up the chase. Perfect, Kate Caraway, just perfect. You screwed up again, she chided herself as the lights went out.

Blurb:
After five years in Africa, researching the decline of elephant populations, Kate Caraway’s project comes to a screeching halt when she shoots a poacher and is forced to leave the country. Animal rights activist Kate Caraway travels to a friend’s ranch in Texas for a much-needed rest. But before she has a chance to unpack, her friend’s daughter pleads for Kate’s assistance. The young woman has become entangled in the ugly world of greyhound abuse and believes Kate is the only one with the experience and tenacity to expose the crime and find out who is responsible. On the case for only a few hours, Kate discovers a body, complicating the investigation by adding murder to the puzzle. Now, she’s in a race against time to find the killer before she becomes the next victim.

Buy:
Amazon 

Bio:

Kathleen Kaska is a writer of mysteries, nonfiction, travel articles, and stage plays. When she is not writing, she spends much of her time with her husband traveling the back roads and byways around the country, looking for new venues for her mysteries and bird watching along the Texas coast and beyond. 

It was her passion for birds that led to the publication The Man Who Saved the Whooping Crane: The Robert Porter Allen Story (University Press of Florida). Kathleen Kaska is the author the Classic Triviography Mystery Series, which includes The Alfred Hitchcock Triviography and Quiz Book, The Sherlock Holmes Triviography and Quiz Book, and The Agatha Christie Triviography and Quiz Book. 

Kathleen also writes the award-winning Sydney Lockhart mystery series set in the 1950s. Her first two mysteries, Murder at the Arlington and Murder at the Luther, were selected as bonus-books for the Pulpwood Queen Book Group, the largest book group in the country. Her latest Sydney Lockhart mystery, set in Austin, Texas, is Murder at the Driskill.

Run Dog Run, is Kathleen’s her first mystery in the new Kate Caraway animal rights series. 

Find Kathleen:
Website | Twitter |  Facebook

Cozy Mystery Week ~ Nancy Haddock on Cozy Cover Artistry

I've brought in some of the best cozy authors out there to share their secrets and their insights about the booming genre of Cozy Mysteries.

Cozy Cover Artistry

By Nancy Haddock with Sarah Oberrender, Senior Cover Designer, Berkley Art Department

You may not judge a book by its cover, but a great cover will certainly snag your attention, right? Personally, I’m drawn by cover art that is vibrant, or sometimes simply intriguing.

Did you know crafts and foods figure largely in majority of cozies? When I book shop, I look at the cover art to get a feel for the general setting, i.e., country, bookstore, flea market. I also notice if a particular craft or food is front and center, as those details give me a clue what the story might center around. And, yes, I do notice if animals are on the cover. Cats, dogs, horses—I’m open to any and all creatures!

Now I don’t necessary buy a book based solely on its cover, but I’ll sure give it a second look. If I see an eye-catching cover over and over again? Wow, yes! I definitely want to know more about the story behind the art!

Being traditionally published so far, I’m not in charge of my cover art, although I do have input. I will say I’m consistently amazed and delighted by the quality of my covers, and by those of other authors – traditionally or independently pubbed.

So, what is the process in creating cozy covers that are unique to each author in traditional publishing? For the answers, I turned to Sarah E. Oberrender, senior cover designer for Berkley (Penguin Random House). She graciously gave me a short course in the artistry of cozy covers.

Nancy: What is the first step in designing a cover, especially for a new series?

Sarah: The art department’s first step in the cover design process is a meeting with the editor and publishers to go over ideas. The editors and authors have conversations prior to this meeting to brainstorm ideas, and then the editors present those ideas to us. There’s a bit of discussion and then we’re off!

Nancy: How do you go about designing the unique “looks” for author covers?

Sarah: We want each series cover to have a unique look that sets it apart from the others and really makes it stand out on a bookshelf. But at the same time, we don’t want to deviate so far from a genre look as to confuse our readers. So, the balance is to incorporate unique elements and details into each cover while maintaining that cozy mystery charm and intrigue. Whether that is in the illustration style, medium, type design, or series logo.

NOTE FROM NANCY: I chuckled in pure joy the first time I saw my Basket Case cover. The artist who created that cover was Diana Kolsky, and my “logo” consists of six pairs of reading glasses marching along the top of the cover. What a wildly clever way to subtly represent some of my main character—the Silver Six!

Nancy: I know authors supply ideas, and perhaps mention what kinds of building, colors, materials, etc. might be prominent in the stories, but how much do you incorporate those into the covers?

Sarah: The art department does our best to incorporate all elements and details into the cover art to make it as accurate as possible. Sometimes, there simply isn’t enough room to include every element or detail since we also have to consider type placement and legibility. We want our readers to be able to clearly read those great covers quotes and taglines! Sometimes editors pass along reference photos to us (to either convey mood or particular details), which are always helpful in executing the author’s vision. And often times we comb through the manuscript or story synopsis (whatever is available to us at the time) for particular details to pull out.

Nancy: Is the cover artwork done primarily by computer or by hand drawing/ painting?

Sarah: A combination of both. We work with a tremendous network of illustrators who work in a variety of mediums. Some work traditionally on a canvas and scan their work in digitally. Others work exclusively on the computer from the start. The variety of illustration styles is one of the things that makes each series unique!

Nancy: Anything else you’d like to add to the general understanding of cover art design from your perspective in traditional publishing?

Sarah: Each publishing house has their own process for cover design, so I can only speak to what I know in the Berkley Art Department. But I do know that the common thread amongst us all is that it’s truly a collaborative process with a common end goal – to make the best covers possible for both our authors and readers alike.

In my humble opinion, the Berkley Art Department succeeds in spades!

Before I wrap, I want to thank Sarah again for answering my questions, and for working me into her schedule so quickly! Here’s another round of kudos to Sarah and to Diana Kolsky for their brilliant cover designs, too!

I also want to acknowledge my Silver Six Crafting Mysteries artist, Anne Wertheim (represented by Munro Campagna Artists Reps). In Sarah’s words, “[Anne] is a delight to work with and has such a keen eye for bringing cozy mysteries to life.”

She truly does! I’ve been bowled over by each of my covers! (And, yes, I’ve seen the art for the third book that will release in December 2017. It’s TOO COOL!

With the thousands of books published every year, creating cover art that is unique to the authors and their series is an enormous task. I salute the artists and designers with traditional publisher art departments, and the many independent artists, too. Thank you for giving our books their beautiful faces!

Blurb for Paint The Town Dead:

Leslee Stanton Nix—aka “Nixy”—thought moving to small-town Lilyvale, Arkansas, would be about as thrilling as watching paint dry. But keeping up with her retired Aunt Sherry and her housemates—collectively known as the Silver Six—has proven to be as exciting as it is exasperating.

To kick off the grand opening of their craft shop, the Handcraft Emporium, Nixy and the Silver Six invite Doralee Gordon to teach a gourd painting class. Nixy isn’t happy when Doralee’s ex crashes the class with his new fiancée, but things really get messy when the bride-to-be later turns up dead.

Now it’s up to Nixy and the Silver Six to use their melons to find the killer—before someone else gets painted out of the picture...

Buy: 

Amazon  | Barnes & Noble

Bio:

Nancy Haddock is an award-winning and national bestselling author of mystery-romance and cozy mysteries. Basket Case and Paint the Town Dead are her current books in the Silver Six Crafting Mystery series with Berkley Prime Crime. The third book in the series, A Crime of Poison, will be released in December, 2017.

Nancy’s earlier books, also with Berkley, are La Vida Vampire, Last Vampire Standing, and Always The Vampire. These paranormal mystery-romances feature Cesca, aka Gidget with fangs, and are set in Haddock’s current hometown, St. Augustine, FL.

Nancy draws on historic wealth, southern culture, and the plain old quirkiness of places and people for her books. She lives with her husband and rescue dog Baron.

Find Nancy:

Website |  Facebook |  Twitter or Twitter ~ Nancy Haddock | Goodreads

Cozy Mystery Week ~ Paty Jager on Location, Location, Location for a Cozy Mystery

I've brought in some of the best cozy authors out there to share their secrets and their insights about the booming genre of Cozy Mysteries.

Location, Location, Location for a Cozy Mystery 

by Paty Jager

Location, location, location. That’s what you hear from Real Estate agents, entrepreneurs, and yes, agents and editors. A good location for where you live, where a business is set up, and where your story is set can make a big difference in having a happy life, a good business, and a successful story.

Most cozy mystery books and series are set in a small town or village where if the amateur sleuth doesn’t know someone, they do know someone who knows that person. In a cozy mystery the person solving the mysteries is usually an amateur sleuth with little or no access to police information. Being in a small community allows the sleuth to talk with the people in the community who knew the deceased.

For this reason, it is good to have a location that 1) is a small town, village, or community 2) as in the case of several of Agatha Christie books, a derailed train, or snowed in resort, so the suspect pool is close at hand and small.

When it comes to cozy mysteries, having an amateur sleuth in an occupation where they come in contact with many various people can help keep the reader from thinking everyone in the sleuth’s life will be killed off soon.

Occupations that help you pick a good location for setting your cozy mystery or series are:

•         Caterer- because they would come in contact with many and varied people.
•          An owner of a bed and breakfast- this would give them access not only to the community but different people coming and going.
•          Gardener- this person would know many people around the community both as clients and where they purchased their plants, fertilizers and such.
•          Librarian- would know the community and have easy access to information.
•          Bookstore owner- again, know many people in the community and have access to information.

The list could go on. But this gives you an idea.

When you establish the occupation of the amateur sleuth, you can then decide the location. For instance, if you picked the bed and breakfast owner, you’ll want a spot that would bring tourists to the area, and decide how involved the sleuth will be in the day to day upkeep of the B&B. That will play into how well she knows her visitors, her staff (if she has them), and the community. Is the B&B for extra income because her job at the bank doesn’t pay enough for her two children and mother since her husband died or divorced her. These are all things to think about when deciding on the location.

While it seems one might be able to just say, my sleuth is a baker, his shop is in the middle of town, and my town has 12,000 people. That isn’t enough to knock the socks off an agent, editor, or reader. You need to make the character unique and put him in a unique location.

For my Shandra Higheagle mystery series, I came up with the character first. She is half Nez Perce, an American Indian tribe that lived in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. They are now on two reservations. One in Idaho and one in Washington. I wanted a character with this background to go with my branding. Next, due to her heritage and my brother being an artist and knowing a potter I could talk to for inspiration and knowledge, I made her a potter. A unique occupation that fits with her heritage. To make the occupation and her more unique, she digs the clay for her projects on land she owns. There is a whole process that must be done to purify clay. This process is one that plays into her art and her ancestry. And is something I learned from the potter I interviewed for my character.

Then came location. I like to keep my books in the Pacific Northwest. It’s where I live and easier to go to locations and experience the area and learn history. With this in mind, knowing the clay could be found on mountains, I picked a real area with a small ski resort and then plopped my fictional ski resort, county, and town on a fictional mountain in Idaho. This put my sleuth within 6-8 hours of her mother and step-father in Montana and her Nez Perce relatives in Washington (a whole other story).

This small community at the base of the mountain where there is a ski lodge, is my small town/village location for most of Shandra’s sleuthing. She’s built up friendships and business acquaintances in this small community where they also have a big art show every June (bringing in out of town people for new victims and suspects, just like the ski resort). But I also have a friend who lives on the reservation where Shandra’s family lives, which is real, in Washington. With her help, I have placed, part of a book and one whole book so far on the reservation. Again, a small community where everyone knows everyone else and is ready, with the help of Shandra’s relatives to talk about people in their community.

Both of these locations, the ski resort and town and the reservation have a small population, are community-minded, and have a realistic aspect of new people in the communities to befall a death or become a suspect.

The best location for a cozy mystery is a small town, community, or area cut-off from others that is unique in some way to make the mystery and characters stand out and make for a unique and enticing read.

Blurb

Book one of the Shandra Higheagle Native American Mystery Series

Dreams…Visions…Murder

On the eve of the biggest art event at Huckleberry Mountain Resort, potter Shandra Higheagle finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. She’s ruled out as a suspect, but now it’s up to her to prove the friend she witnessed fleeing the scene was just as innocent. With help from her recently deceased Nez Perce grandmother, Shandra becomes more confused than ever but just as determined to discover the truth. While Shandra is hesitant to trust her dreams, Detective Ryan Greer believes in them and believes in her.

 
Can the pair uncover enough clues for Ryan to make an arrest before one of them becomes the next victim?

This book is FREE at all ebook venues. It is also available in print and audio.

 Amazon | Nook | iTunes

Bio:
Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 30 novels and over a dozen novellas and short stories of murder mystery, western romance, and action adventure. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it. This is what Mysteries Etc says about her Shandra Higheagle mystery series: “Mystery, romance, small town, and Native American heritage combine to make a compelling read.”

Find Paty:
Blog / Website /  Facebook / Paty's Posse / Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest

Cozy Mystery Week ~ Marilyn Leach on Cooking Up Delicious Red Herrings

 I've brought in some of the best cozy authors out there to share their secrets and their insights about the booming genre of Cozy Mysteries.

Cooking Up Delicious Red Herrings

By Marilyn Leach

Have you ever read a cozy mystery where you were certain who the perpetrator was before reading the last two chapters?  That book probably didn’t end up on your ‘keeper’ shelf.  How do you entice the reader to continue guessing and create an entertaining read all throughout?  You must cook up a few, (usually never more than five), delicious red herrings.

The term red herring, as we know it, means to set a false trail, disguise the scent of the real antagonist, with rather smelly fish.  How is that done in a cozy mystery?  Here are some possibilities.

THE FRAME UP: This is quite popular in cozies.  The perpetrator skillfully, and in an underhanded manner, sets up a false trail that leads to a not-guilty-of-the-crime person.  I’ll refer to them as the NGP, not guilty person.

 

The perpetrator plants false crime scene evidence that points to the NGP.

• “There were several Mars Bars wrappers found at the scene of the crime.”  He looked at the policeman.  “And we all know who can’t survive more than two hours without one of those sweet treats in her mouth.”

The perpetrator becomes aware of and, in a stealth manner, divulges secrets that point to the NGP.

•  “Miss Tibbles,” the constable commented, “we’ve discovered that you actually were aware of your aunt’s habit of squirreling away her life savings in the large box of doggie biscuits in her kitchen pantry. And by the way, you’ve got chocolate on your lips.”

The perpetrator, and most the village, family, or community, know that the NGP had a stormy relationship with the deceased.

•    “Why yes, Constable.  I overheard them just recently.”  She straightened her back.  “Miss Tibbles said she’d strangle her aunt if she called her Nibbles Tibbles one more time.”

The perpetrator considers who stands to inherit, hopefully the NGP or someone related to the NGP.

•   “And now, the heir named in her will.”  The lawyer paused and ran a finger around his collar.  “Since dear auntie has passed on, it’s Miss Tibbles.”

The perpetrator sets up the situation so the NGP is near or at the scene of the crime around the time the crime happened.

•   “But, I come to Auntie’s every Thursday afternoon to take little Scamper for his walk, Constable.  He wasn’t in the back garden, so I went inside and called him from the door.  But the little beast didn’t come.  So, I left.”  Miss Tibbles took another bite of her Mars Bar and lifted her chin.  “I had no idea a crime was committed.” 

The perpetrator makes a current event in the NGP’s life appear to be a suspicious activity.

•    “We know you’ve said you worked a great deal of overtime, Miss Tibbles, but we understand you purchased one thousand shares of the Mars Bars’ enterprise the very afternoon of your aunt’s demise.”

Of course, all this misguiding “evidence” can be used outside of the frame-up structure as well.  It simply sets up a fishy scent.  Remember, all the while a red herring is being developed, clues are also given to allude to the real perpetrator, a fine kettle of fish. And here, putting Miss Tibbles aside, are a few more opportune ways to send someone off the trail following a delicious red herring.

LAST ONE TO SEE THE VICTIM ALIVE: This always makes someone appear suspect.

• “But officer, when I invited him to my home for dinner, how was I to know the gentleman would die of poisoning an hour later?”

FAKE ALIBIS:  A lie has been uncovered as to the whereabouts of a suspicious person and it makes them appear that much more unreliable.

• “Ok, Detective.  So you’ve discovered I wasn’t at my swim club the night of her murder.  But if it became known where I really was, my wife would make me your next murder investigation.”

ACT ONE ARGUMENT:  The first chapter in a cozy usually has some dramatic argument or altercation between the victim and another person or persons.  This is a perfect spot to place a red herring, perhaps alongside the perpetrator.

• “How dare you make such a vile insinuation about my wife, you crazy-mad woman.  You’ll regret you ever opened your mouth.”  He clenched his fists.  “You’ll pay for this.”

GUILTY OF ANOTHER RELATED CRIME:  Someone is caught or fingered for committing a crime related to the crime being investigated.

• “Oh, alright then.”  She wiped a tear from her eye.  “I did send him a poison pen letter.  I disdained the man and he deserved it.  But I would never kill him.”

FLEE THE SCENE:  A person always appears guilty if they flee the scene.

• “But detective, I knew you’d never believe I had nothing to do with it, especially since the poison- tipped spear belonged to me.  As soon as I realized it was stolen from my home and had been declared the murder weapon, I flew to Spain.”

So there we are. The old adage, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” never holds true for the red herring. “Where there’s smoke, there’s lots of it,” would be more appropriate.  Add a little hot sauce, a slight zip of acidic lemon, and a slightly singed flavor.  You’ve just cooked up a, or several, red herrings to make the taste of your mystery linger into the night.

Enigma of Fire: A Berdie Elliott Pentecost Mystery

When English village, Aidan Kirkwood, experiences an explosive fire, the entire parish is aflame with rumor and innuendo until Berdie Elliott, the scorching sleuth and vicar’s wife, can douse the flames with cold, hard facts that expose the perpetrator.  A heroic dog, elusive book, and military champions come together to reveal the enigma of fire.

Excerpt:

“Cedric. Don’t chance it. Please.” Doug’s voice trembled as he shot out the command.

“Don’t what?” Berdie asked herself as much as Doug.

“Down, Mrs. Elliott.”  Doug’s eyes wide, his breathing was short and rapid for the toil of making his wheels go toward them as fast as he could manage.

“Down?  What are you talking about?”

Berdie suddenly experienced a jolt to her body that propelled her to the ground with such force it left her breathless.  A stab of pain coursed through her while the reverberation of full-on colliding trains penetrated her ears.  The horrific ache that shot through her knees focused her senses as she tried to gather her thoughts.  Grass etched itself into her cheek, making it itch.  Then the smell of acrid smoke assaulted her nose.  She worked to catch a breath of air.  What’s happened? 

Buy:
Amazon

Endorsement

Are you an Agatha Christie fan?  Does the thought of an English village make you long to grab your passport and head across the pond?  Are cozy mysteries your cup of tea?  If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, you won’t want to miss Marilyn Leach’s newest release, Enigma of Fire. 

Intrepid heroine Berdie Elliott, a vicar’s wife whose sleuthing skills were honed as an investigative reporter, faces her most challenging mystery yet when her husband’s former military comrades come to the sleepy village of Aiden Kirkwood for a sculling regatta.  From its riveting prologue to the final resolution, this story showcases Leach at her best. 

Amanda Cabot, CBA and ECPA bestselling author

Bio:

Marilyn Leach is a dyed-in-the-wool British enthusiast who lives lakeside near the Colorado foothills.  She enjoys viewing and reading mysteries that originate across the pond.  From the Scottish Borders to Devon, city buzz to rural church bells, she enjoys excursions throughout the beautiful isle that inspire her writing.  Her dear friends, who have become like family, live in Reading, England. 

Find Marilyn:
Website | Amazon Author Page

   

Cozy Mystery Week ~ Lois Winston on Can Murder Be Funny?

I've brought in some of the best cozy authors out there to share their secrets and their insights about the booming genre of Cozy Mysteries. 

Can Murder Be Funny?

by Lois Winston

People are very opinionated. It’s the nature of the beast, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I happen to prefer people with strong opinions, even if their opinions differ considerably from my own. One of my best friends is my polar opposite when it comes to politics. We simply agree to disagree on certain topics.

I came to the mystery genre via romance, where I’d previously published two books. Romance authors can be very opinionated about their genre. When some romance authors embraced women’s fiction and chick-lit back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, it created a huge uproar within Romance Writers of America, dividing authors into two camps, the purists who wanted to exclude anyone not writing traditional romance and those who were open to a broader interpretation of the genre.

When I switched from writing romance to writing mystery, I once again found myself in the middle of what apparently was an old argument. You see, I write humorous mysteries. Some people have very strong opinions against this particular sub-genre because they find nothing humorous about murder. Actually, neither do I. However, I do find that it usually helps to have a sense of humor to get through much of what life throws at you, and I try to convey that in the way my characters approach life. (I also prefer to read books that make me laugh, rather than have me constantly checking the locks on all my windows and doors!)

So when I began writing mysteries, I knew I wanted to write humorous amateur sleuth mysteries, not police procedurals, thrillers about terrorists who want to blow up cities, or dark, gritty serial killer fare. I get enough of all that reading my daily newspaper and watching the evening news.

However, I firmly believe that there’s a place and a readership for all sub-genres of mystery. Taste is very subjective, and I respect whatever someone else’s particular taste in mysteries is. If someone likes to read or write stories that scare the stuffing out of people, that’s their choice.

Me? I like to make my readers laugh, even if they’re reading about a murder investigation. That’s why when I planned my first murder, the death of the fashion editor in Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun (Book One of my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series), I did it with (duh!) a hot glue gun. After all, anyone can kill someone with a Glock, a kitchen knife, or a vial of arsenic, but how many killers use a glue gun?

My mystery series is also populated with a cast of zany characters. I love taking polar opposites and throwing them together to create conflict. In the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, my protagonist has a mother who believes she descends from Russian royalty and a mother-in-law who’s a staunch communist. Not only are they both living under Anastasia’s roof, they’re forced to share a bedroom. Zany characters + conflict = humor, even though it’s in the confines of a murder mystery.

The problem with writing humor, though, is that you never know if your readership will “get it.” For me, writing humor is the second hardest part of writing a mystery. The first part is creating a story where you keep your reader guessing as to the identity of the killer. As the author, I have to know who the killer is. So it’s difficult for me to be objective. Did I leave too many clues? Not enough? The worst thing in the world is to have your readers figure out whodunit by the third or fourth chapter into the book.

Humor is very subjective, though. I’ve written scenes where I’ve laughed out loud as I’ve typed, then again each time I reread the scene. However, I never know if others will find those scenes funny. So I always hold my breath, fingers crossed, waiting to hear what readers have to say. Some will laugh; some won’t. All I can hope for is that more laugh than don’t.

So you can imagine how absolutely thrilled I was when I received the following starred review from Booklist: “Winston has hit a home run with this hilarious, laugh-until-your-sides-hurt tale. Oddball characters, uproariously funny situations, and a heroine with a strong sense of irony will delight fans of Janet Evanovich, Jess Lourey, and Kathleen Bacus. May this be the first of many in Winston's Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series.”

By George, they got it!

A Stitch To Die For is the newest Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery. I’m currently working on the sixth full-length book in the series. At this point my readers know what to expect from me in the way of humor. My task is to live up to their expectations. With each new book I hold my breath, hoping that I’ve succeeded.

A Stitch To Die For

Ever since her husband died and left her in debt equal to the gross national product of Uzbekistan, magazine crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack has stumbled across one dead body after another—but always in work-related settings. When a killer targets the elderly nasty neighbor who lives across the street from her, murder strikes too close to home. Couple that with a series of unsettling events days before Halloween, and Anastasia begins to wonder if someone is sending her a deadly message.

Buy:

Paperback | Kindle | Nook | Kobo | iTunes | Google Play

The Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries

Anastasia Pollack’s comfortable middle-class life comes crashing down around her when her husband, Karl Marx Pollack, dies suddenly, and she discovers his well-hidden gambling addiction. Karl leaves her with two teenage sons, no savings, enormous debt, and Lucille, the communist mother-in-law from Hell. As she attempts to dig her way out of debt, Anastasia finds herself stumbling across one dead body after another, forcing her to become a reluctant amateur sleuth.

Books in the series include:

Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun

Death By Killer Mop Doll

Revenge of the Crafty Corpse

Decoupage Can Be Deadly

A Stitch To Die For

Crafty Crimes (Three Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mini-Mysteries)

The Empty Nest Mysteries

When her career is outsourced to Asia, fledgling romance author and empty-nester Gracie Elliott seeks a job that will allow her time to write. However, she soon discovers no one wants to hire her. Undaunted, she starts her own business, only to discover her path to success littered with dead bodies.

Books in the series include:

Definitely Dead

Literally Dead

Bio: USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” 

In addition, Lois is an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. 

Visit Lois/Emma at www.loiswinston.com and Anastasia at the Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog, www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com. Follow everyone on Pinterest at www.pinterest.com/anasleuth and onTwitter at https://twitter.com/Anasleuth. Sign up for her newsletter at https://app.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/z1z1u5