Cozy Mystery Week ~ Recap With 6 Top Notch Authors

This series of posts was a smash hit, so I decided to repost everything and put them all in one place so it would be easier to find for new readers or those who wanted to read these stellar authors' posts. So if you love cozy mysteries, and I DO, check out their articles and their books.

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

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

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

Cozy Mystery Week ~ Nancy Haddock on Cozy Cover Artistry

Cozy Mystery Week ~ Kathleen Kaska on Cozy On Up

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

Last Friday of the Month Recipe ~ Billie's Gingerbread Cake and Kathleen Kaska's Latest Book

It's not quite the last Friday, but we thought you'd might not want to think about this the day after Thanksgiving.  And this is worth thinking about.

The recipe and why you love making it:

Hi, L.A., thanks for having me as a return guest. I have a collection of foodie books, including books by Julia Child, MFK Fisher, Anthony Bourdain, and Ruth Reichl. Last year when I discovered that Ruth Reichl had written her first novel, Delicious!, I ordered it immediately. Not only was this heartwarming story about love and loss and food history, it featured a Bundt cake recipe called “Billie’s (her main character) Gingerbread Cake.”

I’d never made a Bundt cake in my life. I didn’t even own a Bundt pan. But I was up for a challenge. I bought a pan, all the ingredients, and plowed ahead. After reading the ingredient list and preparing instructions, I was tempted to take short cuts, especially in preparation of all the spices. But I followed Billie’s advice and ground the peppercorns, cloves, and cardamom, and grated the fresh ginger root, a lot of ginger root. I also grated zest from three oranges. Imagine the aroma in my kitchen that afternoon! 

The recipe called for ½ cup of bourbon, which I don’t drink. Again, I was tempted to buy bourbon flavoring, but I sprung for the real stuff. It took me a couple of hours to put the cake together (and I still have lots of bourbon left), but it was well worth the trouble. This is not the type of cake you throw together for a bake sale. It’s labor intensive and best saved for a holiday or special occasion.

Billie’s Gingerbread Cake

Ingredients

• Butter (for the pan)
• Flour (for the pan)
• 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon whole cloves
• 1 tablespoon whole cardamom seeds
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 2 cups flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 eggs plus 1 extra yolk
• 1 cup sour cream
• ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 inches (2 large pieces) fresh ginger, grated
• Grated rind of 2 to 3 oranges (enough to make 1½ teaspoons

Preparation

         

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 6-cup Bundt pan.

2. Separately grind the peppercorns, cloves, and cardamom. Measure ¼ teaspoon of each. Grind the cinnamon stick and measure 1 teaspoon.

3. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, pepper, cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon.

4. In another bowl whisk the eggs, extra yolk, and sour cream.

5. In an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar for 3 minutes or until light, fluffy, and almost white. Beat in the ginger and orange rind.

6. Beat the flour mixture into the batter alternately with the sour cream mixture.

7. Spoon the batter into the pan. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the cake is golden and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

8. Set the cake on a rack to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. SOAK ½ cup bourbon 1½ tablespoons granulated sugar

9. In a small saucepan, combine the bourbon and sugar. Simmer for 4 minutes. It should reduce to about ⅓ cup.

10. While the cake is still in the pan, brush half of the bourbon mixture onto the bottom. Let the syrup soak in for a few minutes.

11. Turn the cake out onto a rack. Gently brush the remaining mixture all over the cake. GLAZE 5 teaspoons orange juice ¾ cup confectioners' sugar, sifted into a bowl 12. Stir the orange juice into the sugar until sugar until smooth.

Drizzle the glaze all over the cake. 

Here is the link to the book Delicious!: A Novel.

Short Book Blurb:

When I’m not reading foodie book and trying new recipes, I write mysteries and blog posts for Cave Art Press. Do You Have a Catharsis Handy? Five Minute Writing Tips is my latest release.

These five-minute writing tips had their origins as Cave Art Press blog posts. The tips include writing styles, grammar and punctuation rules, and tips on the down and dirty of publishing and marketing. 

To keep these tips short and humorous, references and stories about egg-laying chickens and how dogs think, The Three Bears and The Seven Dwarfs, Contrary Mary and Goldilocks, my high-school English teachers and the United States Post Office, 77 Sunset Strip and Breaking Bad, Pope Francis and Michelle Obama, and a prairie dog who walked into a bar were used.

To Buy:

Cave Art Press | Amazon | My Website

Bio:
Kathleen Kaska writes the award-winning Sydney Lockhart mysteries set in the 1950s and the award-winning Classic Triviography Mystery Series, which includes The Sherlock Holmes Triviography and Quiz Book. Her nonfiction book, The Man Who Saved the Whooping Crane: The Robert Porter Allen Story (University Press of Florida) was published in 2012. 

When she is not writing, Kathleen, a native Texan, spends much of her time traveling the backroads and byways with her husband, 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. Kathleen is also the marketing director for Cave Art Press. Her collections of Cave Art Press blog posts, Do You Have a Catharsis Handy? Five-Minute Writing Tips, was just released.

Find Kathleen:
Website | Twitter |  Facebook

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

Five Secrets from Author Kathleen Kaska

Holey moley (you'll get it when you read on.) These secrets are fun and I'm dying to know the answer to #5.  Welcome back, Kathleen Kaska. 

She'll also be a guest on our Cozy Mystery week, April 3-8. Don't miss it.

Hi Kathleen) please tell us Five Secrets we may not know about you, but will after today!

1. I have a personal editor whom I’ll call Evelyn. She resides in my subconscious and analyzes what I’ve written while I sleep. Sometimes she wakes me up in the middle of the night to let me know I misused a word. For example: “Are you sure you want to use the word cockatoo? You can’t drink a cockatoo, but you can drink a cocktail. I’m just saying.” Or she’ll suggest a way to fix a writing problem. “You should consider shortening the first chapter by leaving out the bird-watching story. You can use that later.” Sometimes the message I receive is a reminder. “Did you send the new cover-image for your guest blog post to Leslie?” Evelyn is never wrong. I often wonder why she doesn’t tell me about all my errors and make even more suggestions; then I realize that if she did, I’d never get any sleep.

2. Since I began running marathons four years ago, I’ve secretly wanted qualify for the Boston Marathon. It seems a pie-in-the-sky goal. I’d have to shave off a minute per mile. So I’ll make my secret wish public—and maybe it will come true.

3. While I was good Catholic schoolgirl, I went to confession once a month—as if I had any choice. The nuns marched us from the school to the church and lined us up in front of the confessional. I made my first confession at the age of seven. I couldn’t think of any sins I’d committed so I made some up. If I’d told the priest I hadn’t committed any sins, he might have told Sister Leonardo and she would’ve made my life hell. I left church terrified because I’d broken The Eighth Commandment—in confession! Later I realized the irony of the situation. The absolution I received included being forgiven for lying about lying.

4. My new release, Run Dog Run, was the very first mystery I wrote. I finished the first draft fifteen years ago. It came close to being published several times, but no cigar. I finally put it on the back burner and let it simmer for a few years. The manuscript has been revised and updated so many times I almost have the thing memorized. Two years ago, I updated it again (for technology changes faster than automobile designs) and sent it out. Black Opal Books sent me a contract, and there you have it.

5. Okay, here’s my deepest, darkest secret: I always wanted to be as smart as Hedy Lamarr, as gorgeous as Marilyn Monroe, and as sultry as Lauren Bacall. One out of three ain’t bad. Which one will always remain a secret.

A peek at Run Dog Run:

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. Kate and her husband, Jack Ryder, travel to Wimberley, Texas for a much-needed rest. But before Kate even 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 is in a race against time to find the killer before she becomes the next victim . . .

Buy:
Amazon

Bio:

Kathleen Kaska writes the award-winning Sydney Lockhart mysteries set in the 1950s and the award-winning Classic Triviography Mystery Series, which includes The Sherlock Holmes Triviography and Quiz Book.  Her nonfiction book, The Man Who Saved the Whooping Crane: The Robert Porter Allen Story (University Press of Florida) was published in 2012.

When she is not writing, Kathleen, a native Texan, spends much of her time traveling the backroads and byways with her husband, 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.

Find Kathleen:
Website | Twitter |  Facebook

Five Secrets from Kathleen Kaska and Her Novel ~ Murder At The Galvez

First we get to meet Kathleen, and then read her secrets. They're very interesting :)

Bio:  Kathleen Kaska writes the award-winning Sydney Lockhart mysteries set in the 1950s. Her first two books Murder at the Arlington and Murder at the Luther, were selected as bonus-books for the Pulpwood Queens Book Group, the largest book group in the country. The third book in the series, Murder at the Galvez, has just been released and number four will be out soon. Kaska also writes the Classic Triviography Mystery Series, which includes The Agatha Christie Triviography and Quiz Book, The Alfred Hitchcock Triviography and Quiz Book, and The Sherlock Holmes Triviography and Quiz Book. The Alfred Hitchcock and the Sherlock Holmes trivia books were finalists for the 2013 EPIC award in nonfiction. Her nonfiction book, The Man Who Saved the Whooping Crane: The Robert Porter Allen Story (University Press of Florida) was published in 2012.

When she is not writing, Kathleen, a native Texan, spends much of her time traveling the backroads and byways with her husband, 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.

Hi Kathleen, please tell us Five Secrets we may not know about you, but will after today!

1)  I had not planned on writing the Sydney Lockhart Mystery Series. At the time Sydney appeared in my life, I was working on another series. Then one afternoon while staying at the Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Sydney walked into my life and demanded I tell her story. The crazy girl wouldn’t shut up until I wrote the first scene. Her story was so entertaining, I put the first series on the backburner and began writing Murder at the Arlington. I’m working on book number five right now. The first series is still unpublished.

2) Since I’ve been writing my Sydney Lockhart series, I’ve had this weird reoccurring dream. Let me back up. Like I mentioned in my bio, the series is set in 1950s and Sydney is a twenty-nine-year old female Philip Marlowe. One of my readers described Sydney as a cross between Jessica Rabbit and Lauren Bacall. Anyway, since I began writing about her wild exploits, I’ve often dreamed of running down the street wearing a pair of red stilettos. I do own a pair of red stilettos, but when I run, it’s in a pair of New Balance sneakers.

3)  When I was a teenagers in the 1960s, I watched a lot of TV. My favorite TV personality was Morticia Adams from The Adams Family series. I wanted to look just like her, act just like her, and be blessed with her femme fatale charm. A few years ago, I wrote a short story about a high school girl obsessed with Morticia. The title is Role Model and by the time this blog posts, the story should be up on Amazon as an e-book. 

4)  I want to be an Egyptologist. Yes, I know at my age that will probably not happen. I didn’t discover my passion for ancient Egypt during my trip to that wonderful country in 1992. Since then, I’ve read everything about Egypt I can get my hands on, nonfiction and fiction. And that includes Elizabeth Peters’ entire Amelia Peabody series. I’m fascinated with King Tut’s story and am intrigued over the mystery surrounding the demise of his sister/wife Ankhesenamun. 

5)  Okay, I saved the most shocking secret for last. Don’t hate me, but I don’t like Oreo cookies. A real chocolate cookie is not pitch black and a real cream center is not stark white. I ate them when I was a kid because every kid ate them. Now that I’m an adult, and not so susceptible to peer pressure, I eat whatever cookie I want.

Blurb :

Eighteen years after discovering the murdered body of her grandfather in the foyer of the historic Galvez Hotel, Sydney Lockhart reluctantly returns to Galveston, Texas to cover the controversial Pelican Island Development Project conference. Soon after her arrival, the conference is cancelled; the keynote speaker is missing. When his body turns up in the trunk of Sydney’s car, she’s hauled down to the police station for questioning. The good news is Sydney has an alibi this time; the bad news is she finds another body—her father’s new friend—he’s floating facedown in a fish tank with a bullet in his head. Her father’s odd behavior and the threatening notes delivered to her hotel room, leads Sydney to suspect that her grandfather’s unsolved murder and the present murders are connected. As if this wasn’t bad enough, just a few blocks from the hotel at her parents’ home people are gathering, sparks are flying, another controversial event is in the planning, one that just might rival the Great Storm of 1900. 

Buy Links:

Amazon

LL Publications

Social Media Links:

http://www.kathleenkaska.com

http://www.facebook.com/kathleenkaska

http://www.kathleenkaskawrites.blogspot.com

http://www.twitter.com/KKaskaAuthor

http://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard

http://www.amazon.com/Kathleen-Kaska/e/B001K88UMQ/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1402244054&sr=1-2-ent