cozy mysteries
A little romance with your dead body?
Not only does a cozy mystery need a crime to be solved, I think it also needs a bit of romance. Since cozies are often series books, this means the author can develop the relationship slowly. The question is how slowly? One book? Two? Or more? Looking over the series I have written, I…
Read MoreIs this gal cozy?
In interviews and at book events I’m often asked if my protagonists are like me. I always answer no and add that they may be an idealized version of me—younger, smarter, more adventurous, and much more interesting. Yet that is not true of Eve Appel. She is no exaggeration of any of my characteristics.…
Read MoreWhy I write cozy mysteries
I didn’t start out intending to write cozy mysteries. I began writing mysteries with humor in them. I needed to laugh, and I thought others might also. My need for a chuckle was actually a form of catharsis, making light of some times in my life that were difficult. What better way to get beyond…
Read More“Older than dirt”
I have a birthday soon, too soon. It’s tomorrow. I won’t share with you how old I am, but I recently took a twenty-question quiz on Facebook. It was comprised of items from the past. If you remembered all 20 of them, then you were “older than dirt.” I was “older than dirt.” Each year…
Read MoreResearch in Cozies Only Goes so Far
When I first began writing mysteries I was told to write what I knew. I soon found out that what I knew was limited. I had retired from academe after many years of serving as a professor and as a university administrator, both awfully boring stuff for mysteries unless a writer can spice them up…
Read MoreMy version of developing story ideas
Yes, those are my feet in not very high fashion shoes (they’re plastic) and white socks. This is called, “I’m holding my feet to the fire.” It means I’m finally moving on with ideas for the next three Eve Apple mysteries. I am working on descriptions of my next three books in the Eve…
Read MorePlaying with the Cozy Mystery
Camel Press, publisher of my Eve Appel mysteries, sent me the contract for mysteries 7 through 9. I am thrilled to be writing three more adventures with Eve Apple and her friends and family. Now I must consider what joys as well as difficulties I will provide to create tension and conflict for her. I’ve…
Read MoreWhat’s Not on the Page
Some of the material in this blog appeared years ago on a blog, but I recently was thinking about how much of what the writer knows about a character never finds its way onto the page, but is important in developing both character and plot. Particularly important in my writing is my life as a…
Read MoreThe winner is, and another contest
Contest for A New Muse Here’s a list of the suggestions readers made for my new muse: Coyote Raven Brahma Bull Fairie, Swamp Fairie Ghost of Chuck Wagon cook Frog Spoonbill Rhesus Macaques Florida Panther Flamingo Iguana Domestic Cat Kinkajou River Otter Skunk Ape Burmese Python Pixabay.com-choose Bald Eagles Anhinga Thanks to all…
Read MoreFiring My Muse
Once upon a time, I thought an alligator was my muse, at least when I wrote any of my books about rural Florida. One of the first mysteries I wrote set in rural Florida was a short story that won me the Sleuthfest 2009 short story contest sponsored by MWA FL Chapter. In it,…
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