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 pain than to turn it into a laugh. I’d done this before with periodontal surgery (I’m such a baby about pain)—nothing funny about that—but I made it funny and entertained some of my friends.

At the time I began my first mystery, I knew nothing about writing mysteries. I had read them all my life, but cozy mystery was not anything I understood. And my first attempt at a mystery was a failure, especially in terms of novel length. It was over 100,000 words. A small publisher I met at a conference asked me for the full manuscript. I waited for a reply, but the publisher never got back to me although I continued to make contact. I was persevering, thinking it was business ethics to reply. Now I know some agents and publishers let a writer know they are not interested by silence.

I continued to learn how to write and got better at what I was attempting to do. Because my work was always set in a small town and the sleuth was always an amateur with an insatiable curiosity about murder, it became clear I was writing cozies. They were a fit for me, not only because I have always lived in small communities, but because the tone of cozies fits the way I prefer life to be. And that’s probably the main reason why I write cozies. Yes, they may tackle serious issues such as drugs, sexual abuse, political corruption, assaults on the environment, and, of course, murder, cozies always turn out well. The protagonist may suffer emotional and physical trauma, but she doesn’t die. She may encounter evil people intent upon doing her and those she loves harm, but she prevails and the bad folks get theirs. Moreover, the protagonist takes on tough battles, the ones that count, and they make her a better, stronger person.

Roadblocks are always part of the cozy protagonist’s life just as they are part of the reader’s life. We may hate the difficult times, but these events present us with the opportunity for growth. Seeing the protagonist tackle problems and emerge from the battle, not only as a winner, but as someone changed by the encounter is what a good cozy mystery gives us. Why wouldn’t I want to write a story in which someone wades into the fray and comes out stronger?

Some of the battles the protagonist wages are with herself, e.g. now that her marriage has dissolved, who is she? Can she overcome being terrified of heights? These are the barriers that the writer will present to the protagonist along with external impediments such as loosing her job or finding her best friend has betrayed her. The clever writer uses these barrriers in the protagonist’s search for the killer, making her path toward solving the murder full of twists and turns. Overcoming these obstacles make for great tension and opportunity for the protagonist to change and develop. What’s exciting for me is that these difficulties in solving the crime and to changing herself are the kinds of issues the average person deals with. Cozies protagonists are like you and me, beset by life’s problems. They become heroes by tackling the difficult, and the reader finds something of them in herself.

Cozies are abut solving the murder, but the best ones are also about the characters in them. I like writing characters that are relatable and presenting them with challenges I know they can handle. Cozy protagonists are the people we all hope to be, and cozies tell us we can be these people. No capes, no super powers, fancy weaponry or unusual physical prowess needed. Just a nose for murder and a sharp mind. No, my protagonists are not me, but they are that me I can fantasize myself to be: bolder, a bit younger, sharper of mind, more heroic, more interesting, a better friend to others, just an exaggerated version of the person I am and the one I privately wish I could be, the hero of my own story. What fun. I’m more attractive, smarter, and I get to win! Why wouldn’t I want to write that story about that person?

I like laughter in my life, and the good feeling outcome of cozy mysteries fits well with how I want to see life: good prevails. I like the kitty, doggie, cute babies and nature videos on Facebook. I watch them in the morning while hubby reads the news of the day. Since he seems glummer about life than I do, I’ve recommended he insert a cute cat video in his reading as a balance to the wars, humanitarian conflicts and natural disasters he usually reads. Life isn’t always easy. I think people need cozy mysteries to give them hope and joy. I write cozy mysteries to make myself feel good and to take my reader along on that journey. It’s not really about murder; it’s about the protagonist solving the murder.

What do you like about cozy mysteries?