New Authors Added In August
************************
14 New Authors added in August

Grace Carroll Cynthia Gallant-Simpson Debra H. Goldstein Roz Siegel Catriona McPherson Sarah Zettel Suzanne Young

S. S. Van Dine Marion Chesney Dianne Day Kate Borden Nancy Jill Thames Joyce Oroz Mary Janice Davidson

******************************************
******************************************

Connie Shelton's NEW Charlie Parker Mystery

Stardom Can Be Murder
The 12th Charlie Parker Mystery

It's a terrible case of mistaken identity when a gang of bank robbers
think that Charlie is a famous movie star. Disappointed with their take
from the bank, they decide that a hefty ransom will be their ticket to
riches. But what will happen when the real star steps forward?

Charlie knows that only her wits will save her from this band of
desperate men.

******************************************
******************************************

The CONTESTS:

(Please check the website Contest page for rules and details...They've changed! Mystery-Cozy Contest Page )

******************************************

For the Website...

Find the "B" Author whose main character has a code-cracking wife!

***********************

For the Newsletter...

Find a misspelled word, grammar error, punctuation error or any other mistake in my opening greeting!

******************************************

Good Luck and Have Fun!!!!!

******************************************
******************************************

Check Out My "Other" Passion!

*~* Vickie's Vintage *~*
Treasured Keepsakes Of Years Gone By

******************************************
******************************************

BOOK REVIEW
**************

ROBERTA ISLEIB
Preaching To The Corpse
A Dr. Rebecca Butterman: Advice Column Writer Cozy Series

**********************************

Review of Preaching To The Corpse

This book has a nice cover and the design is good. The interior design is appropriate and the type size and margins make the book comfortable to hold and read. I mention all these details because these elements of books are no longer automatic. The advent of some late-twentieth-century technology had put book production within reach of almost anyone. But just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

I also mention these details because, according to the cover, this is an advice column mystery. It is not. True, Dr. Rebecca Butterman, an excellent protagonist, by the way, writes an advice column, but this mystery has no connection to her column. I guess it's our current obsession with labeling, categorizing, and organizing everyone and everything.

Dr. Butterman is a church-going psychologist. This is her second outing from the experienced and sure hand of her creator. Isleib is an accomplished and gifted writer. It shows in this novel. The story takes readers behind the scenes in a small New England church which is seeking a new assistant pastor. Now in some churches such a decision is made elsewhere at a higher level of the church hierarchy. Not here. Church members are sitting as a small search committee to interview and recommend the hiring of a new assistant pastor. They'd like to get it done since the holiday season looms and the previous assistant pastor resigned rather abruptly.

Late one night, Butterman gets a call that the chair of the search committee has suddenly died among suspicions she may have had help meeting her maker. Among the possible suspects is the pastor of Shoreline Congregational Church in Guilford, Connecticut. Pastor Wesley Sandifer is acting strangely and the death of Lucy Bales has thrown things into an uproar. Butterman is pressed into service as a reluctant replacement for the dead woman. As the book progresses, the author judiciously releases information, almost always in an organic and controlled manner that will keep readers on their mystery-solving toes.

Meanwhile, Butterman has personal difficulties inside her family. Her father abandoned the family many years ago but Rebecca wants to reestablish a connection. The coming Christmas season seems an appropriate time to reach out. Her sister, however, has major objections and the occasional flare-ups over the subject imbue several scenes with familiar emotions.

Isleib, a clinical psychologist by training, handles all this with a sure and steady hand. Her protagonist, Butterman is invested with a wide range of emotional baggage and surrounding characters that flesh out her circumstances and make the novel an interesting and enjoyable experience. I recommend the book and look forward to a long acquaintance with Dr. Rebecca Butterman.

Carl Brookins
http://www.carlbrookins.com/index.html

************************************************************************************
************************************************************************************

Contact Me To Place Your Ad Here

************************************************************************************
************************************************************************************

AUTHOR INTERVIEW
********************
An Interview with DIANNE DAY
Author of The Historical Freemont Jones Mystery Series

********************

Though now a denizen of the San Francisco Bay area, the setting for her historical mysteries featuring Fremont Jones, Dianne Day spent her childhood in sultry Mississippi, as southern a state of mind as you can get. Imagine humidity so thick you can smell it, kudzu choking the trees, and the ghost of William Faulkner tap-tapping on a typewriter. The perfect breeding ground for a writer of novels that interweave both research and real-life as it was lived in the turn of the century, along with murder and characterizations so vivid you feel as if you know these people, despite their slightly starchy speech and the strange clothes they wear.

Beacon Street Mourning, a recent hardcover release from Doubleday, is the sixth in the Fremont Jones series and perhaps the last. The first, The Strange Files of Fremont Jones, won a Macavity Award given by the Mystery Readers International. I wondered how Day invented her popular protagonist, who seems to be a cross between Sherlock Holmes and Susan B. Anthony.

************************

SUSAN: Welcome, Dianne. How did you conjure up Fremont Jones?

DIANNE: She came to me in a dream..

SUSAN: Is Fremont Jones based on any true historical character?

DIANNE: The character of Fremont Jones is based on characteristics of many women who truly lived at that time in history. The commonly expressed opinion that Fremont is "a woman ahead of her time" is in error. There were many, many women like Fremont Jones, especially West of the Misssissippi. We haven't heard much about them because history books were recording the deeds of men and, for the most part, were also written by men. But by spending some time in a library that has holdings of unpublished diaries and journals, one will find that most of them were written by women very much like Fremont Jones in spirit. To mention a few who became well known without having to go West: Margaret Sanger, who started Planned Parenthood and advocated birth control, Virginia Woolf, Coco Chanel, Martha Graham - and the list goes on.

SUSAN: Describe Fremont in three words. Then describe yourself in three words. Are you more like her than you are different?

DIANNE: Three words for Fremont: (a) courageous (b) curious (c) compassionate. Three words for me (a) intellectually curious (b) caring (c) a risk-taker. I think Fremont and I are more alike in nature than we are different, given that fictional characters are always idealized.

SUSAN: What made you want to write a historical mystery series?

DIANNE: I wanted to write a mystery series set in San Francisco with a female protagonist, and the only commercially viable way I could do that in the early 1990s was to make it historical. So it was a business decision - shocking but true.

SUSAN: Are you a history buff?

DIANNE: I am a history buff, but my chosen period is in the medieval history of England, Scotland and Ireland. I'm particularly interested in the pre-Christian period in Scotland and Ireland, and in the Celtic Christian Church. This period is extremely difficult to research. My dream has been to be able someday to go to the great libraries of the UK and Ireland for a year, or a series of months out of each year over a period of years, to do this research - although the older I get the less likely this is to happen.

SUSAN: Does the turn of the century seem especially intriguing to you?

DIANNE: The turn from the 19th to the 20th century does not seem so much intriguing to me as it was unusually significant. Most people, including myself, don't realize how many of the things we take for granted today had already come into existence and were beginning to change everyday lives back then.

I believe it's always important to know historically what happened and when, so that we can have a sense of perspective in our lives and in our decision making processes. And in spite of all that blather, I really chose it because when you think San Francisco and history, the next thing you think is either Gold Rush or Earthquake. I chose the 1906 Earthquake and the Fire which did more damage than the quake. (Fire and Fog.)

SUSAN: How do you conduct research for your books?

DIANNE: I do research in the library and in reference materials at home. In general, I've found the Internet too cumbersome for efficient research, unless I'm guided by a reference librarian.

SUSAN: How long does it take from idea to finished manuscript?

DIANNE: It takes about twice as long or longer to do the research as it takes to write the book. In some cases, particularly with Emperor Norton's Ghost, I found important research material toward the end, and I wished for more time but the publication schedule wouldn't allow that. Certainly, only about a fourth or less of research actually ends up in the book, and even then it should blend completely. Yet there have been times when because of the research, the story in my head wanted to go to a place I wasn't allowed to take it, because of time constraints and word length.

SUSAN: After six mysteries featuring Fremont, do you feel like you know her as well as yourself? Does that make it easier or more difficult?

DIANNE: I think of Fremont as a real person I'm getting to know from year to year. I certainly don't know her as well as I know myself. In fact, I'm not sure I know myself all that well either; I surprise myself all the time, sometimes pleasantly and sometimes not so pleasantly. I have enough ideas in my head to last well beyond a lifetime. Life is interesting. All you have to do to get ideas is pay attention.

SUSAN: Will the Fremont Jones series continue beyond the current book Beacon Street Mourning?

DIANNE: At present, I don't know the answer to that question. It's a business decision, and not mine to make. Beacon Street Mourning will not be out in mass market paperback until 2001, leaving plenty of time for my publisher to make a final decision.

SUSAN: Tell us about your current project with Clara Barton. What inspired you in this case?

DIANNE: My working title is Cut to the Heart. The book is essentially a thriller with a lot of medical Civil War stuff in it, half the characters are real historical people and half are fictional. Clara Barton, who was a real person, is the protagonist. As for what inspired me, I'm saving that for the acknowledgments section of the book, and for the author's note.

SUSAN: Do you have a special schedule for writing?

DIANNE: I go through a long period of gathering information, thinking and making notes, though I'm not organized about it like PD James and Elizabeth George, who make notebooks and such. I use corkboards, refrigerator magnets, pockets and notebooks that fit in a purse or book bag. I have to have photographs and maps. When I'm in this brewing stage, it kind of never stops. I may not look like I'm working but I am, all the time. An illness earlier this year has forced me to change my schedule. Five hours is my maximum now, and I have to work in the middle of the day when my energy is highest. I used to work a lot at night. Now at night I either read or answer email.

SUSAN: Name some of your favorite authors and describe briefly why they appeal to you.series?

DIANNE: PD James for her command of the language and for her fine mind. Elizabeth George for her ability to plot and subplot. Nevada Barr for her nature descriptions. John Sandford because he creates sexy men who appeal to me and his plots are good too. Jeffery Deaver for the intelligence with which he analyzed the business of writing,and set about to become a bestseller. Rennie Airth for his compassion, which brings light and air into River of Darkness. Val McDermid for her stunning versatility and for her good mind. Ian Rankin for his ability to hold me with Rebus in darkness without my becoming too afraid of losing my humanity. Dennis Lehane, for the same reason. Margaret Atwood for her courage in being true to herself, and for publishing her poetry. SJ Rozan because she just writes a damn good story whether from a man's or a woman's point of view, and because I never get tired of reading about New York. Michael Jahn, ditto - I never get tired of reading about New York.

SUSAN: What is the best and the worst part about being a writer for you?series?

DIANNE: The best part is that it's when I'm telling all these stories in my head that I feel the most whole and the most sane. The worst part is the business part.

SUSAN: Any advice for aspiring writers?

DIANNE: The whole publishing scene is changing so rapidly today that one piece of advice doesn't fit everybody anymore. This is why I've started Services For Writers. I used to say: Don't write unless you can't not write. I don't say that anymore. One thing I can still say to everyone is: If you want to write, then read, read, read.

by Susan McBride

******************************************
******************************************

Contact Me To Place Your Ad Here

******************************************
******************************************

1st IN THE SERIES:
PARNELL HALL

Author of The Puzzle Lady and Stanley Hastings Mystery Series.

By Victoria L. Webb, copyright 2010
**************************************

Vickie: Where were you/what were you doing when you heard your book was going to be published?

Parnell: When my first Puzzle Lady crossword puzzle mystery was published, my Stanley Hastings private eye series had been going for years. So A Clue For the Puzzle Lady, which is probably what you would call my first cozy, was actually my 19th book. Complicating the issue is the fact Stanley Hastings is medium-boiled at best, and no one is every sure where to classify him. Stanley does a job I actually did myself, chasing ambulances for a negligence lawyer. He has a wife and kid, doesn't carry a gun or have fistfights or car chases or any of the things you associate with a PI. There is a minimum of violence in the books, and if there is sex, Stanley isn't the one having it. It was on the strength of those books that Margaret Maron invited me to Malice Domestic. And in one of them, which is actually entitled Cozy, Stanley and Alice vacation at at New England bed-and-breakfast. The book is full of recipes and the cat solves the crime.

DETECTIVE: (first Stanley Hastings) - I was a private investigator in New York City, working for an agency that serviced negligence lawyers, the kind that advertised on TV. "Free consultation. No fee unless recovery. We will come to you home." They wouldn't, of course. They'd send me. And I'd come and investigate your accident, and take pictures of your broken leg, and get you to sign a retainer. It didn't take that long for me to realize I was making 10 bucks an hour and 30 cents a mile, and the lawyer was getting a third of the settlement. So I studied up and took the LSATs, and I was all set to enroll in law school when my agent called and said we sold the book!

A CLUE FOR THE PUZZLE LADY: It was the summer of '98 and I'd just come back from taking Sophie, my Portuguese water dog to water training class at a lake in Connecticut, and my wife met me at the door saying. "Kate Miciak! Bantam! Call your agent!"

Vickie: How long did it take you to complete your first book?

Parnell: DETECTIVE: Three or four months. During which time I was working as a private investigator. I got called for jury duty, took a notebook and started scribbling, and by the time I was released I have a couple of chapters. I finished it sitting in my car and in hospital waiting rooms in between cases.

A CLUE FOR THE PUZZLE LADY: Nearly a year. It was much more complicated, involved a lot of rewriting. Plus I had to create a crossword puzzle, which took me almost as long as the book..

Vickie: How long did it take to get your first book in the series published?

Parnell: DETECTIVE: wrote it in '85. Sold it in '86.

A CLUE FOR THE PUZZLE LADY: Wrote it in '97. My agent sold it ito Bantam in '98. At the time, it was under the pseudonym Alice Hastings. It still would be, but Bantam changed their mind. It may have had something to do with the author photo.

Vickie: When you wrote your first book, did you know it would become a series?

Parnell: DETECTIVE: That's what the first agent I contacted asked. I said, "No, the protagonist's conflict resolves." He said, "Too bad, all they want is series characters." So when the next agent asked, I said, "Sure."

A CLUE FOR THE PUZZLE LADY: It was always intended as a series, and Bantam gave me a three book deal.

Vickie: How did you come up with the "theme" of your series?

Parnell: DETECTIVE: I was and out of work actor/writer working as a private eye, and it struck me how different I was from the PIs I read about in books or on TV. So I took a guy like me and threw a murder at him.

A CLUE FOR THE PUZZLE LADY: My agent and I wanted a gimmick to sell a new series, so we kicked ideas around and came up with crossword puzzles.

Vickie: How long after your first book, did you start the next one in the series?

Parnell: DETECTIVE: As soon as we sold it. I got a two book deal, and started in on the sequel. At the time I was still working as a PI, and my wife gave me a microcassette recorder, so if I had ideas while I was driving around from case to case, I could click it on and take notes so I wouldn't forget. It took me about a week to go from making notes to just dictating the whole book, which is what I do now.

A CLUE FOR THE PUZZLE LADY: As soon as I finished the rewrite of CLUE, I plunged right into LAST PUZZLE & TESTAMENT.

Vickie: When you wrote your first book, did you know the title before, during or after you wrote it?

Parnell: DETECTIVE: I knew it as soon as I knew I was writing a book. For a while, I was just scribbling. But when I got a few chapters in, I had a title.

A CLUE FOR THE PUZZLE LADY: As soon as I came up with the premise. The clue is in the first chapter, which made that easier.

Vickie: When you wrote your first book, was the term "Cozy Mystery" being used yet?

Parnell: DETECTIVE: This was before Sisters in Crime and Malice Domestic. I'd read all of Agatha Christie, and I knew what it meant, I'm just not sure if it was used. I'd also never been to a mystery convention. I didn't even know they had them. I went to the World Crime Congress in '88 because it was in New York City and I'd been nominated for an Edgar. And I only found out about the Bouchercon because I got nominated for a Shamus. So I really don't know.

A CLUE FOR THE PUZZLE LADY: Absolutely. I had already written my Stanley Hastings, Cozy, at the time. (though it didn't come out until a couple of years later)

Vickie: How do you feel about being included in the phenomenon of the extremely popular "Cozy Mystery" genre?

Parnell: I'm delighted. This year I'm the Guest of Honor at Malice Domestic, which blows my mind. The Lifetime Achievement Award winner is Mary Higgins Clark. I may sing to her.

******************************************
******************************************

See you next month!
Vickie
www.Mystery-Cozy.com
Vickie@Mystery-Cozy.com

Mystery-Cozy.com
P. O. Box 14457
Bradenton, FL 34280
USA

******************************************
Copyright 2010 -2011 Mystery-Cozy.com!
******************************************
You are receiving this newsletter because you sent an email to
Vickie@mystery-cozy.com and requested it.

Feel free to forward this newsletter on to friends
and family, fans of cozy mysteries.

If you prefer not to receive anymore Newsletters from
Mystery-Cozy.com - Send me a quick email at
vickie@mystery-cozy.com
and I'll take you off my list. Thanks!

Newsletter Archive

---

Mystery-Cozy Newsletter
Murder and Mayhem - Cozy Style

June 2011
Victoria L Webb, Webmistress & Editor

Website: http://www.mystery-cozy.com/
Email: vickie@mystery-cozy.com

******************************************
******************************************

IN THIS ISSUE
*** Hello From Sunny Florida
*** New Cozy Mystery Releases
*** New Authors Added To Mystery-Cozy
*** The Contests
*** Book Review
*** Author Interview
*** "1st In The Series" Series

******************************************
******************************************

Hello From Sunny Florida!

Summer has come to Florida! The temperatures are up, but the humidity is still not bad! YAY!!!! The nights are still "cooling" off and sitting outside in the evening is still possible - and pleasant - for now.

The weather is a large factor in completing the work we're doing on the Trawler - we cruised over to the Marina (where she's up on dry-land) on the 19th of May. She did a GREAT job getting us there, though we could tell she was having a few problems - but she knew she was going to get a much needed "face-lift" and would be leaving there all tuned and toned up - looking more beautiful than she had in years! So she made sure we arrived there safely!

Bob has, admitedly, done most of the work on her so far - but it will soon be time to start painting her, so I'll be there helping with that. Bob's accomplished a tremendous amount of work on her in such a short period of time. At the rate he's going we'll have the Trawler back home and ready to start cruising before my next Newsletter. When I add the "About Me" page to the webite - hopefully by July - I'll have some before and after pictures for you to take a look at.

I'm still dividing my time between Mystery-Cozy.com and my other passion...Old Stuff! I'm having a ball finding and listing vintage items. It's a FUN challenge going out and looking around for old items that I can list on Etsy. If you have a moment, go take a look at my Etsy shop (and the rest of the site). I've attached a Coupon Code to my wesite ad at the bottom of each page - for all my Mystery-Cozy visitors. It's a great site for Vintage and Hand-Made items. (http://www.etsy.com/shop/VickiesBeachHouse)

I've had a lot of success with the "Featured Book of the Month" boxes on most of the pages. I added quite a few new ads this month and have had a lot of future ads already placed. There are still plenty of openings though for those of you who are still interested! I appreciate the support shown by all the great cozy authors on Mystery-Cozy in this ad campaign. I hope to be hearing from a lot more in the months to come! Thank You!

I added five more Themed pages this month - Southern Cozies, Beauty & Health Cozies, Travel & Tour Guide Cozies, British Cozies, and Home Improvement/Interior Design Cozies. I hope you find some new series and authors on these pages to add to your Cozy Mystery library.

NOTE: Please read this short explanation of the inner workings of Mystery-Cozy and how the site generates the funding it needs, not only to maintain the site, but also for allowing it to continue growing. The way the "Clicking" on of book covers, authors names etc (which take you to my affiliate page) works in a nutshell - simply clicking on the links stores a cookie which alerts my affiliate host to credit Mystery-Cozy with a small percentage of each sale made. The problem with the way the program is set up is the cookie is only active for 24 hours. If you come back after the 24 hours and purchase the book (or any other item) without going through the links on Mystery-Cozy.com, Mystery-Cozy doesn't get the credit. I've had some GREAT support from many of my visitors, but with the increasing size of Mystery-Cozy also comes the increasing cost to continue adding to it! Your understanding of how the credit program for supporting Mystery-cozy works, will help Mystery-Cozy stay afloat for many years to come. Thanks for allowing me to explain this to you.

We did have a winner in the Newsletter Contest in May...Elizabeth in Bend, OR! - and a winner in the Website Contest in May...Liz in Annapolis, MD! Good Going, Liz & Elizabeth!!!. I'd love to see more of you enter and win some of these great books. A lot of authors are sending in signed copies of their latest books for me to give away in the contests. So take a look at the Contests Page and enter. It's free...and I pay the postage to get your prize to you.

Thanks to all of you who support Mystery-Cozy.com - we had over 100,000 hits in May, which brought our total hits up to 1,611,454! Thank You SOOOOOO Much! I appreciate all of you who come back every month to gather new books and authors for your cozy mystery library! Happy Reading! Thank You!

One small Note about the website hits - I noticed in my website stats that a lot of the referral links coming from some of the author websites and blogs are coming up as "Not Found". I believe that is because the link they are sending people to are Author pages. Since I've divided the Author pages from seven to eighteen, a lot of the old pages no longer exist. If you're going to add a link to Mystery-Cozy.com please use the home page link - it's the only page that will never change. I would very much appreciate an update on your links pages to go to http://www.mystery-cozy.com/Mystery-Cozy.com.html Thank You!

Let me know if you have any questions, suggestions or comments. I love hearing from you!

I hope you enjoy my Mystery-Cozy Newsletter!

Until next month,
Vickie

***********************************************************************************
***********************************************************************************

Check Out My "Other" Passion!

*~* Vickie's Vintage *~*
Treasured Keepsakes Of Years Gone By

**********************************************************************************
**********************************************************************************

JUNE * NEW RELEASES *
(Click here to see the Full List)
************************

Geraldine Evans Deadly Reunion 14th Llewelyn & Rafferty Mysteries Lee Goldberg Mr. Monk on the Couch 12th Mr Monk Mysteries Barbara Hambly The Shirt on His Back 10th Ben January Mysteries Susan Santangelo Moving Can Be Murder 2nd Baby Boomers Mysteries Sophie Littlefield A Bad Day for Scandal 3rd Stella Hardesty Mysteries Peter Lovesey Stagestruck 11th Peter Diamond Mysteries Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli Dead Dogs and Englishmen 4th Emily Kincaid Mysteries Riley Adams Finger Lickin' Dead 2nd Memphis Barbeque Mysteries Lorna Barrett Sentenced to Death 5th Booktown Mysteries Juliet Blackwell Hexes and Hemlines 3rd Witchcraft Mysteries Janet Evanovich Smokin' Seventeen 17th Stephanie Plum Mysteries

Carolyn Haines Bones of a Feather 11th Sarah Booth Delaney Mysteries Julie Hyzy Grace Interrupted 2nd Manor of Murder Mysteries Sue Ann Jaffarian Twice as Dead 6th Odelia Grey Mysteries Rita Lakin Getting Old Can Kill You 7th Gladdy Gold Mysteries Leslie Meier English Tea Murder 17th Lucy Stone Mysteries Amy Myers Classic in the Barn 1st Car Detective Mysteries Karen E. Olson Ink Flamingos 4th Tattoo Shop Mysteries Kate Sedley The Midsummer Crown 20th Roger the Chapman Mysteries Maggie Sefton Unraveled 9th Knitting Mysteries Victoria Thompson Murder on Sisters' Row 13th Gaslight Mysteries Wendy Lyn Watson Parfait Murder 3rd Mystery a La Mode Mysteries

****************************************** ****************************************** Connie Shelton's NEW Samantha Sweet Mystery Sweet's Sweets The Second Samantha Sweet Mystery Samantha Sweet is about to realize her dream of opening her pastry shop, Sweet's Sweets. Juggling the crazy amount of work to get her new business off the ground, with her old job of breaking into houses, she's got her hands full. When a blood-soaked garment is found among the discards at one of her properties, and a friend makes a shocking confession, Sam finds herself pulled into a pair of mysteries. ****************************************** ****************************************** New Authors Added In May ************************ 13 New Authors added in May Suzanne Adair Ellen Block Sunny Frazier Sarah R. Shaber J. Michael Orenduff Marion Moore Hill Catherine O'Connell Aileen Baron Cynthia Robinson Hannah Alexander Sarah Andrews Helen Smith Susan Santangelo ****************************************** ****************************************** Connie Shelton's NEW Charlie Parker Mystery Stardom Can Be Murder The 12th Charlie Parker Mystery It's a terrible case of mistaken identity when a gang of bank robbers think that Charlie is a famous movie star. Disappointed with their take from the bank, they decide that a hefty ransom will be their ticket to riches. But what will happen when the real star steps forward? Charlie knows that only her wits will save her from this band of desperate men. ****************************************** ****************************************** The CONTESTS: (Please check the website Contest page for rules and details...They've changed! Mystery-Cozy Contest Page ) ****************************************** For the Website... Find the "F" Author whose main character is a librarian and artist! *********************** For the Newsletter... Find a misspelled word, grammar error, punctuation error or any other mistake in my opening greeting! ****************************************** Last Month's Winners! There Was A Newsletter Winner in April! Elizabeth in Bend, OR! Congratulations!!!! There Was A Website Winner in April! Liz in Annapolis, MD! Congratulations!!!! Good Luck and Have Fun!!!!! ****************************************** ****************************************** Contact Me To Place Your Ad Here ****************************************** ****************************************** BOOK REVIEW ************** DEBORAH MORGAN Death Is a Cabaret A Jeff Talbot: Antique-Lover's Mystery Series ********************************** A Short Bio: Deborah Morgan's hometown is Grove, Oklahoma. Morgan picked up her basic knowledge of criminal investigation while she was Chief Dispatcher for a city police department in northeastern Oklahoma, and as permit clerk and dispatcher for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Before moving to Michigan in 1993 to "join typewriters" with Loren D. Estleman, she was managing editor of a biweekly newspaper in southeast Kansas. She's also been managing editor of two national treasure hunting magazines. She and Loren live on 120 acres in Michigan, in a home that reflects their shared love for antiques. Morgan enjoys photographing other authors and many of those photos have appeared nationally in magazines, newspapers, and on book jackets. An accomplished poker player, Morgan's been known to match skills with such luminaries as Sara Paretsky, Lawrence Block, and Parnell Hall at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention. Morgan has a son, a daughter, a grandson, and a granddaughter - all in Missouri. She spends as much time there as possible, near her Oklahoma roots in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. Most of her family (parents, siblings, etc.) still reside there. ********************************** Review of Death Is a Cabaret In the lively, well-plotted Death Is a Cabaret, the cabaret in question is not a lively nightclub to which everyone goes because that's what life is. Instead, this cabaret is an 18th century porcelain tea or coffee service. The priceless set that fuels the plot was a present from Napoleon to Josephine. Finding it has been a mission for Jeff Talbot, who has scoured flea markets, estate sales and garage sales for years to locate this historical artifact for Blanche Appleby, the owner of Seattle's largest antiques mall. But this cabaret would never go on sale in Blanche's store; this time it's personal. Blanche's mother once owned the set, but it was sold when she died more than 50 years ago. A retired FBI agent-turned-antiques picker, Jeff has been using his investigative skills to track down the set. When it finally comes on the auction block, Jeff is there, ready to pay any price. But the price may be too dear when rival collectors are found murdered. For a piece this valuable, there's no lack of suspects. Now Jeff combines both his careers as he tries to find out what makes something worth enough to kill for. Deborah Morgan, an award-winning author of mystery and historical western short stories, delivers an outstanding traditional mystery in her first novel. Morgan adds a keen sense of "the pulse of history" to the antiques that propel the plot of Death Is a Cabaret. In addition, she perfectly captures how the thrill of antiques hunting can easily turn into an obsession. Most importantly, Morgan keeps the antique lore relevant to the mystery, making Death Is a Cabaret full of twists and turns that logically move ahead the story. Jeff is a sturdy, unique character capable of sustaining a long series. Morgan uses his background as an FBI agent to keep him grounded; then she enlivens his household with a devoted butler and an agoraphobic wife who has found the Internet her key to the outside world. Collectors and antiques buffs will be thrilled with Death Is a Cabaret. Mystery fiction fans will find a new treasure. From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: By Oline Cogdill ************************************************************************************ ************************************************************************************ Contact Me To Place Your Ad Here ************************************************************************************ ************************************************************************************ AUTHOR INTERVIEW ******************** An Interview with MARY DAHEIM Author of The Bed & Breakfast Mystery Series and The Emma Lord - Alpine Series. ******************** A Short Bio: Seattle native Mary Richardson Daheim has been fascinated by story-telling since early childhood. She first listened, then read, and finally began to write her own fiction when she was ten. A journalism major at the University of Washington, she was the first female editor of The Daily where she attracted national attention with her editorial stance against bigotry. She was recently inducted into the University of Washington Department of Communication Alumni Hall of Fame. After getting her B.A., she worked in newspapers and public relations, but in her spare time she tried her hand at novels. In 1983, Daheim’s first historical romance was published, followed by a half-dozen more before she switched genres to her original fictional love, mysteries. Just Desserts and Fowl Prey, the first books of twenty-three (with Scots on the Rocks set for the end of July) in the Bed-and-Breakfast series were released in 1991. A year later, the Emma Lord series made its debut with The Alpine Advocate. The eighteenth, The Alpine Scandal, was published in late March 2007. The Alpine Traitor is scheduled to come out in early 2008. Daheim has also written several short stories for mystery anthologies and magazines. She has been an Agatha Award nominee, winner of the 2000 Pacific Northwest Writers Association Achievement Award, and her mysteries regularly make the USA Today bestseller list and the New York Times top thirty. ******************** From Elizabeth Arneson, former About.com Guide Q: Do you like to stay in B&Bs? Mary: Yes. My husband and I stay in them, especially on short trips around the northwest. The Judith character is based on my cousin Judy, who does not run a B&B -- she's a nurse -- but she has all the requirements that a B&B owner ought to have and seemed like an ideal person for the kind of protagonist I wanted to create. Of course, the character then evolves as somebody else, but basically it's my cousin Judy. And she likes to stay at B&Bs, too. Q: Do you remember the first B&B you stayed in? Mary: The very first one I think was in Victoria, British Columbia. Right on the water, it was wonderful. It had its own fireplace, and it was on the street facing the water with a wonderful view. A big old stone house. Because Victoria is all rock, a lot of the earlier homes there are stone. Q: Are a lot of the events in your mysteries -- other than the murders, I hope -- based on things that happened in your own life? Mary: When you've lived 60 years, you run into just about everything in the world. So many characters in the bed and breakfast series are based on my relatives. Judith, for example, was indeed married to a 400-pound man who blew up at the age of 49 and left her a widow with a son named Mike. She went home to live with her mother, who is the basis for Gertrude. Those things have actually happened. If you've read some of the books, when the cousins are talking about things from the past, like the Christmas nostalgia in Nutty as a Fruitcake, just about all of that is real stuff. It's either stuff handed down to us as kids, or stuff that happened to us as kids. Q: Do people in the family mind that you've used their characterizations in the novels? Mary: Well, most of them are dead now. Between when I started and now, so many of that generation have gone. There are only about two or three senior relatives left. But, no, they don't mind. They all have wonderful senses of humor and get a kick out of it. My cousin Judy loves it; she thinks it's great. Happily, nobody has complained. Q: When did you develop an interest in writing? Mary: Even before I could write or read, I would draw pictures telling stories. I always wanted to tell stories. I was an only child, and kind of a sickly one at that, so I spent a lot of time at home in my little room. It sounds dreary, but it wasn't -- I loved it. When I learned to read and write, I began to put words with the stories. Somewhere along the line, I was doing comic strip type things. I started doing narrative stuff when I was 9 or 10 and wrote my first mystery when I was about 11. I typed it on a steno pad -- my mother was a legal secretary -- and it was 30-odd pages long. I found it when I was cleaning out my folks' house after my mother died, and it actually had the elements. It had a beginning, a middle, and an end, a little romance, red herrings, suspects, all those things. I had read a lot of mystery, especially Mary Roberts Rinehart, so it seemed like a natural thing to do. Q: Your first published novel wasn't a mystery. Mary: I ended up going through the back door with a historical romance, which I thought was a straight historical novel until I found out that those weren't in vogue anymore. The women's mass market paperback explosion had occurred. That's how I first got published. Q: What was your first published book? Mary: Love's Pirate (1983) was the first, which I had called The Royal Mile. Of course, that was not a very sexy title; they said it sounded like a horse race. I thought it was wonderfully detailed and rich and accurate in Scottish history, which it was. But they wanted sex... It was an 850-page manuscript, so I had to take out a lot of the history part. Thankfully, I was able to preserve enough of the history that people could read it for that as well as the love scenes. But I was not a romance reader. I was a mystery and historical reader, and I read a lot of biography. I was never at home in that genre (romance). I wanted to write mysteries. Q: What was your first mystery? Mary: Just Desserts. At that point, I was still under contract for Harlequin-Silhouette. I planned to do three historicals for them, and then I didn't know what I was going to do. (I had done four historicals for Avon.) But I knew I had to get out of the (romance) business and do something different for a couple of reasons. One, in October 1989, my mother became ill and I knew it was going to be her last illness and I had to do something to keep my mind off of what was going on there. Also, I wanted to write something funny that she would enjoy. In the meantime, for the last three years, I had been asked by our kids' parochial school to put together an overnight mystery at the local bed and breakfast and to auction it off. I put together these elaborate mysteries. It took a whole month of my life to put these things together, because I had all sorts of clues and extra characters running in and out, all kinds of things. It finally dawned on me that I was the only one who wasn't getting anything out of it except a lot of work, so why not take one of the plots and see if I can turn it into a mystery. It happened to be set in a bed and breakfast because that's where we were doing these things. I wrote the first 85 pages within a month or so, staying up until 2 in the morning because I couldn't settle down at night. Unfortunately, my mother died that following February and never did get to read any of it, but it kind of saw me through. After 80-some-odd pages, it got to the point where I didn't know if I could do it, and my agent warned me that there wasn't the money in mysteries that there was in romance. So I got that far and thought, "Now what the heck am I going to do?" I asked the regional Avon sales rep and another person in town whose opinion I respect to look at it. The rep very kindly took it to a regional sales conference and gave it to one of the senior editors. That was right after Thanksgiving. On Dec. 15, I got a letter from Avon offering a three-book contract, and I thought, "I guess I can do this." That's how the bed and breakfast series was born. Q: You seem to be quite prolific. Do you try for one book per year in each series? Mary: Actually, the last couple of years there have been two in each series, and there will be again this year. I have newspaper training, and also public relations, and you have to meet deadlines. Of course, when you're out in the world doing that, you have to do it in the midst of all kinds of confusion. My very first job was in Anacortes, a small town north of here. I was it for the paper. It was a five-day-a-week daily, and the front page had to be filled every day with local news. The editor occasionally would contribute a story, but other than that it was all me. I had to have everything in the back shop by 2 o'clock. If that doesn't teach you to do it fast, do it right, and do it the first time, then nothing ever will. Now I only work about four hours a day, and not every day. I try to, but it doesn't always happen. Q: Do you have a favorite out of the two series? Mary: I enjoy both of them. In fact, I always compare writing them to house guests. When I start a new book, whichever series it is, I'm thrilled -- like having visitors come in from out of town. Then you get down to the last 25 or 30 pages, and you can't wait to get rid of them and move on to the other one. It takes 3 or 4 months to do a book; by that time, I've gotten the idea for the next one and I can't wait to get started. ****************************************** ****************************************** Contact Me To Place Your Ad Here ****************************************** ****************************************** 1st IN THE SERIES: LESLIE CAINE Author of the Domestic Bliss Cozy Series and under the Pen name "Leslie O'Kane", the Molly Masters and Allie Babcock Cozy Series By Victoria L. Webb, copyright 2010 ************************************** Short Bio: As the opening for my "Meet Leslie" page, here's a touch of biographical information: I have been married for more than two decades and have two not-so-young children. My daughter is in college and my son is in high school. I have a bachelor in journalism, a degree as an electrical-engineering technician (I repaired computers for IBM for three years), and am a certified interior decorator, though I only rarely work as a decorator. ************************************** Vickie: Where were you/what were you doing when you heard your book was going to be published? Leslie: This dates back to 1995, when my first cozy, Death and Faxes, was accepted for publication. I had just stepped out of the shower, so I put my robe on and answered the phone. It's a good thing about the robe, because I was very excited and started leaping all around my house and would have given my neighbors quite an eyeful. (I've written 17 cozies, but my most recent series is written under my pseudonym, Leslie Caine; my actual name is Leslie O'Kane.) Vickie: How long did it take you to complete your first book? Leslie: Eight months. Vickie: How long did it take to get your first book in the series published? Leslie: Two Years. Vickie: When you wrote your first book, did you know it would become a series? Leslie: Yes, it was written as a series and by the time it sold, I had already completed Just the Fax, Ma'am, the second in the series, and St. Martins published both in 1996. Vickie: How did you come up with the "theme" of your series? Leslie: Switching to my current series, my agent suggested it to me; I had emailed her to tell her that my book had been nominated for an award by Romantic Times, and she wrote back: "Congratulations! BTW, do you know anything about interior design?" I wrote back that it was a passion of mine. Six weeks later, I was signing a three-book contract. The first one was: Death by Inferior Design. The most recent release was book 7: Holly and Homicide. Vickie: How long after your first book, did you start the next one in the series? Leslie: On all three of my series, I never wait more than a month. Vickie: When you wrote your first book, did you know the title before, during or after you wrote it? Leslie: I always have to select the title first. It's integral to my thought process. Vickie: When you wrote your first book, was the term "Cozy Mystery" being used yet? Leslie: Yes, and I like the term! Vickie: How do you feel about being included in the phenomenon of the extremely popular "Cozy Mystery" genre? Leslie: I enjoy reading cozies, and I'm proud to write them. I was once on a panel of cozy authors versus hard-boiled authors, during which the moderator gave both groups the same key facts of a murder to be investigated. My group had to plot an impromptu hard-edged professional detective novel, and the hard-boiled writers had to plot a cozy. Let me tell you...we kicked butt. Plotting a cozy is NOT easy! ****************************************** ****************************************** See you next month! Vickie www.Mystery-Cozy.com Vickie@Mystery-Cozy.com Mystery-Cozy.com P. O. Box 14457 Bradenton, FL 34280 USA ****************************************** Copyright 2010 -2011 Mystery-Cozy.com! ****************************************** You are receiving this newsletter because you sent an email to Vickie@mystery-cozy.com and requested it. Feel free to forward this newsletter on to friends and family, fans of cozy mysteries. If you prefer not to receive anymore Newsletters from Mystery-Cozy.com - Send me a quick email at vickie@mystery-cozy.com and I'll take you off my list. Thanks! Mystery-Cozy Newsletter Murder and Mayhem - Cozy Style May 2011 Victoria L Webb, Webmistress & Editor Website: http://www.mystery-cozy.com/ Email: vickie@mystery-cozy.com ****************************************** ****************************************** IN THIS ISSUE *** Hello From Sunny Florida *** New Cozy Mystery Releases *** New Authors Added To Mystery-Cozy *** The Contests *** Book Review *** Author Interview *** "1st In The Series" Series ****************************************** ****************************************** Hello From Sunny Florida! Florida is slowly coming into summer this year! The humidity has been minor so far, with the last two or three days being beautiful and brezzy with very low humidity and cool evenings! Very unusual for Florida this time of year - we usually have the AC going full blast by now. It's been great so far though - but we know the humidity will be here soon, so Bob and I are taking advantage of the great outdoor weather and planting our gardens and taking short trips in the small inflatable boat. We'll be taking the Trawler to the marina where she will be put up on dry land, for probably a month, sometime this week. A lot of work to be done on her - old bottom paint sanded off (Bob will be doing this) and then new bottom paint applied. We'll also be repairing the shafts and propellors and painting the cabin and sides of the boat. Also taking a look at all the through hulls to make sure they're not leaking. We're hoping to finish all this by the end of May and then doing a bit more to the inside and then taking off for our first "cruise" into Sarasota sometime in June. It's been five years since we started working on her and we're seeing a light at the end of the tunnel! I'm still dividing my time between Mystery-Cozy.com and my other passion...Old Stuff! I'm having a ball finding and listing vintage items. It's a FUN challenge going out and looking around for old items that I can list on Etsy. If you have a moment, go take a look at my Etsy shop (and the rest of the site). I've attached a Coupon Code to my wesite ad at the bottom of each page - for all my Mystery-Cozy visitors. It's a great site for Vintage and Hand-Made items. (http://www.etsy.com/shop/VickiesBeachHouse) I've had a lot of success with the "Featured Book of the Month" boxes on most of the pages. A lot of authors purchased their ads during April and quite a few of the boxes are filled for months - some of them for a year! There are still plenty of openings though for those of you who are still interested! I appreciate the support shown by all the great cozy authors on Mystery-Cozy in this ad campaign. I hope to be hearing from a lot more in the months to come! Thank You! I was aiming for all the changes to be completed on Mystery-Cozy.com before May arrived, but my "time management" skills have apparently slowed down - in other words - I don't seem to do well at estimating just how long it takes to rip apart and reassemble some of the pages at Mystery-Cozy! I added the Supernatural page and the Stay At Home Moms page - but I still have approximately 12 more themed pages that I will be adding to the site. NOTE: Please read this short explanation of the inner workings of Mystery-Cozy and how the site generates the funding it needs, not only to maintain the site, but also for allowing it to continue growing. The way the "Clicking" on of book covers, authors names etc (which take you to my affiliate page) works in a nutshell - simply clicking on the links stores a cookie which alerts my affiliate host to credit Mystery-Cozy with a small percentage of each sale made. The problem with the way the program is set up is the cookie is only active for 24 hours. If you come back after the 24 hours and purchase the book (or any other item) without going through the links on Mystery-Cozy.com, Mystery-Cozy doesn't get the credit. I've had some GREAT support from many of my visitors, but with the increasing size of Mystery-Cozy also comes the increasing cost to continue adding to it! Your understanding of how the credit program for supporting Mystery-cozy works, will help Mystery-Cozy stay afloat for many years to come. Thanks for allowing me to explain this to you. The contests on Mystery-Cozy.com and the Mystery-Cozy Newsletter have started picking up a lot and I had quite a few entries this past month. Which is one of the reasons I changed the rules for the Contests (please read the new rules on the Contest page) It seems that quite a few of the people who entered aren't around when the Newsletter comes out - working etc. and so i thought, in order to be fair to everyone and give all of you a chance to enter, I will collect the names of everyone who sends the correct answer to either the Newsletter contest or the Website contest (or both)- up to and including the 7th of each month - and put their names in a jar. Then on the 8th I will choose the winner from the names gathered and send an email to each of the winners and post their (1st) names on the Website. I hope a lot of you enter this month - it will be fun for me to gather the names and then then pick a winner for each of the contests! We did have a winner in the Newsletter Contest in April...Sue in Lisle, IL! - and a winner in the Website Contest in April...Shirley in Victoria, TX!Good Going, Sue & Shirley!!!. I'd love to see more of you enter and win some of these great books. A lot of authors are sending in signed copies of their latest books for me to give away in the contests. So take a look at the Contests Page and enter. It's free...and I pay the postage to get your prize to you. Thanks to all of you who support Mystery-Cozy.com - we had 151,737 hits in April, which brought our total hits up to 1,505,985! Thank You SOOOOOO Much! I appreciate all of you who come back every month to gather new books for your cozy mystery library! Happy Reading! Thank You! Let me know if you have any questions, suggestions or comments. I love hearing from you! I hope you enjoy my Mystery-Cozy Newsletter! Until next month, Vickie *********************************************************************************** *********************************************************************************** Check Out My "Other" Passion! *~* Vickie's Vintage *~* Treasured Keepsakes Of Years Gone By ********************************************************************************** ********************************************************************************** May * NEW RELEASES * (Click here to see the Full List) ************************ Vickie Delany Among the Departed 5th Constable Molly Smith Mysteries Avery Aames Lost in Fondue 2nd Cheese Shop Mysteries Emily Brightwell Mrs. Jeffries Forges Ahead 28th in the Mrs. Jeffries Mysteries Kate Carlisle Murder Under Cover 4th Bibliophile Mysteries Earlene Fowler Spider Web 15th Benni Harper Mysteries Sally Goldenbaum The Wedding Shawl 5th Seaside Knitters Mysteries Charlaine Harris Dead Reckoning 11th Southern Vampire Mysteries Dorothy Howell Clutches and Curses 4th Haley Randolph Mysteries Miranda James Classified as Murder 2nd Cat in the Stacks Mysteries Jess Lourey October Fest 6th Murder by Month Mysteries Gail Oust Shake, Murder, and Roll 3rd Bunco Babes Mysteries Ann Purser The Measby Murder Enquiry 2nd Ivy Beasley Mysteries Hannah Reed Mind Your Own Beeswax 2nd in the Queen Bee Mysteries Joanna Campbell Slan Make, Take, Murder 4th Scrap-N-Craft Mysterries Elaine Viets Pumped for Murder 10th Dead-End Job Mysteries Bethany Maines Compact with the Devil 2nd Nikki Lanier Mysteries Clare O'Donohue Missing Persons 1st Kate Conway Mysteries Cynthia Smith Silver and Guilt 5th Emma Rhodes Mysteries ****************************************** ****************************************** Connie Shelton's NEW Samantha Sweet Mystery Sweet's Sweets The Second Samantha Sweet Mystery Samantha Sweet is about to realize her dream of opening her pastry shop, Sweet's Sweets. Juggling the crazy amount of work to get her new business off the ground, with her old job of breaking into houses, she's got her hands full. When a blood-soaked garment is found among the discards at one of her properties, and a friend makes a shocking confession, Sam finds herself pulled into a pair of mysteries. ****************************************** ****************************************** New Authors Added In April ************************ 18 New Authors added in April Jacklyn Brady Ella Barrick Melissa Bourbon Steve Sherman Dorothy St James Cynthia Smith Jennifer Apodaca Bethany Maines F M Meredith Diane Gilbert Madsen Casey Mayes Lesley A Diehl Jessie Crockett Robert Burton Robinson Phil Edwards Kari Lee Townsend Ed Lynskey Neil S Plakcy ****************************************** ****************************************** Connie Shelton's NEW Charlie Parker Mystery Stardom Can Be Murder The 12th Charlie Parker Mystery It's a terrible case of mistaken identity when a gang of bank robbers think that Charlie is a famous movie star. Disappointed with their take from the bank, they decide that a hefty ransom will be their ticket to riches. But what will happen when the real star steps forward? Charlie knows that only her wits will save her from this band of desperate men. ****************************************** ****************************************** The CONTESTS: (Please check the website Contest page for rules and details...They've changed! Mystery-Cozy Contest Page ) ****************************************** For the Website... Find the "R" Author whose main character inherited a deli! *********************** For the Newsletter... Find a misspelled word, grammar error, punctuation error or any other mistake in my opening greeting! ****************************************** Last Month's Winners! There Was A Newsletter Winner in April! Sue in Lisle, IL! Congratulations!!!! There Was A Website Winner in April! Shirley in Victoria, TX! Congratulations!!!! Good Luck and Have Fun!!!!! ****************************************** ****************************************** Contact Me To Place Your Ad Here ****************************************** ****************************************** BOOK REVIEW ************** SHEILA LOWE Poison Pen A Forensic Handwriting Mystery Series ********************************** A Short Bio: Sheila Lowe has crafted a unique protagonist using her professional experience. Claudia Rose is an independent career woman with a tender heart, great instincts, and the ability to deal with scary situations, including romance, as they come at her. Claudia learns from past experiences and gives people the benefit of the doubt for as long as possible. Sheila Lowe is a handwriting expert and the author of the best-selling books The Complete Idiot's Guide to Handwriting Analysis and Handwriting of the Famous and Infamous. She is also the author of the award-winning Sheila Lowe's Handwriting Analyzer software. A British transplant, Sheila currently lives in Ventura, CA. Poison Pen is Sheila's first published fiction and the first in the Claudia Rose series. Learn more about the series at: http://www.claudiaroseseries.com/. ********************************** Review of Poison Pen Claudia Rose joins a crowd at the star-studded funeral of her former friend, Lindsey Alexander. Claudia is amazed at the GQ model pall bearers, high profile attendees looking for one more big party, and swarming paparazzi trying to capture the best photo. Claudia, Lindsey, and Kelly had been friends in college. Claudia and Lindsey studied handwriting analysis. Claudia stuck with it while Kelly studied law and Lindsey moved into high profile public relations. Lindsey's personal actions and behavior pushed Claudia and Kelly away, yet there was still a lingering attachment between the trio. Claudia would love to see the suicide note found beside Lindsey's body due to professional curiosity, but she is not involved in the investigation. She is hired by a mutual friend of Lindsey's who suspects foul play. Claudia hesitates to get involved, but finds herself suddenly propelled into the investigation and she has no choice by to follow the myriad of disturbing clues to the life-changing conclusion. Poison Pen is a solid mystery as well as a learning experience. The reader is pulled along with the protagonist as she follows the trail of clues to their conclusion, while being privy to some insight into handwriting analysis. It's a great pairing. Review by: Lisa Haselton ************************************************************************************ ************************************************************************************ Contact Me To Place Your Ad Here ************************************************************************************ ************************************************************************************ AUTHOR INTERVIEW ******************** An Interview with JEAN HAGER Author of the Iris House B & B Mystery, The Mitch Bushyhead Series and the Molly Bearpaw Series. ******************** A Short Bio: Mystery writer Jean Hager is a fan of bed and breakfasts. After writing several novels centered on Cherokee culture, she wanted to do an amateur sleuth series. Remembering a good bed and breakfast in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, she decided to set her amateur sleuth series in a fictional B&B, the Iris House. In the Iris House mystery, The Last Noel, trouble is brewing at a church Christmas pageant. Out-of-town drama professor Sherwood Draper causes quite a stir when he replaces the former pageant director. By the time his corpse is found in a dressing room, there are plenty of suspects. Protagonist Tess Darcy (the innkeeper) takes it on herself to get to the bottom of the story. ******************** From Elizabeth Arneson, former About.com Guide Q: How long have you been writing? Jean: Thirty years. My first book was called The Whispering House, a mystery for 8- to 12-year-olds, featuring a 12-year-old girl. It was set in a fascinating old house in Kansas (built by an Englishman in the early 1900s, now owned by my sister-in-law). The book was published in 1970 by a regional publisher, Steck-Vaughn, and has long been out of print. Q: What did you do for a living before writing novels? Jean: I taught high school English for several years before becoming a full-time writer. Q: What attracted you to the mystery genre? Jean: I've read mysteries and loved them since age 9 or 10, starting with Nancy Drew. I wrote a lot of romances when that market was red hot, but I preferred writing mysteries, even then. It was just that the romance market was open to me at the time and the mystery market was very tough to crack -- this was before the boom in mysteries the last few years. Q: Why did you decide to write mysteries set in a bed and breakfast? Jean: I wanted to write an amateur sleuth series, and since my husband and I had stayed in a couple of B&Bs in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and loved the experience, I decided to create my ideal bed and breakfast -- Iris House -- and pattern the town -- Victoria Springs, Missouri -- loosely on Eureka Springs. Q: You also write two series based on Cherokee culture. What is your connection to the Cherokee culture? Jean: I am 1/16 Cherokee and my mother and grandfather were raised in Cherokee County, Oklahoma, near Tahlequah, the capital of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. I became fascinated with the traditional culture when I was tracing my genealogy, began buying every book I could find on the Cherokees, and eventually decided to set my first adult mystery (The Grandfather Medicine) against a Cherokee background. Q: Do you prefer writing one series over another? Jean: Not really. I do enjoy switching from a Cherokee book to an Iris House book and back again. I think writing the two very different kinds of books helps keep me from getting stale. Q: How often do you stay in B&Bs? Jean: Not often enough! Most of my traveling is to conferences, which take place at hotels and it's easier to stay in the hotel. But I do prefer B&Bs and have two in Oklahoma on my list of B&Bs to try first chance I get. Q: Do you remember the first B&B you stayed in? Jean: Very well. It was in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and it was called Red Bud Manor. Our room was furnished with antiques, and the hostess served breakfast each morning on the screened-in porch. She dressed in an old-fashioned, floor-length gingham dress with apron to serve her guests and the breakfasts were delicious! Q: What B&B is your personal favorite? Jean: As I said, I haven't stayed in nearly enough of them yet, but I have to say that I still have fond memories of the Red Bud Manor and would like to return. Q: What do you like most about B&Bs in general? Jean: The setting is much more home-like than hotels, the atmosphere is casual and laid-back and, from my limited experience, the breakfasts are much better, too. Q: How well has the Iris House series been received by readers? Jean: Amazingly well. Many readers say they wish there was a real Iris House so they could stay there. They seem to enjoy the description of Iris House almost as much as the mystery. The fourth book in the series, The Last Noel, was #1 on the Mystery Scene Paperback Bestseller List. That was a very nice surprise and indicates that the readership for the series is building. Q: You have two more Iris House books on the way, Sew Deadly (the fifth, December, 1998) and Weigh Dead (the sixth, late 1999). Do you plan to continue the series beyond that? Jean: Yes, I have a contract for the seventh and hope to continue for several more books after that. Q: Do you get plot ideas for the Iris House series from real life or are they completely made up from scratch? Jean: I come up with groups of people who might be staying in Iris House. In Blooming Murder, it was officers of the local garden club who were sponsoring a conference in town. In Dead and Buried, it was people who'd come back to Victoria Springs for their 20-year high school reunion. In Death on the Drunkard's Path, the guests were in town for a quilt show and sale. In Weigh Dead, a local fitness guru has reserved Iris House for people who are registered for her weight-loss and fitness retreat. So a book idea starts with figuring out who's staying at Iris House and why. The characters are not consciously based on anybody I know. They're made up, as is the plot line. Q: Do you have a favorite contemporary mystery author? Jean: I have several, including Carolyn Hart, Joan Hess, Sharyn McCrumb, and Harlan Coben. Q: Do you have a favorite "classic" mystery author? Jean: Yes, Agatha Christie. She was a master of misdirection. Q: Where did you grow up? Jean: I grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, until I was 15, when we moved to the small town of Pawnee, Oklahoma, where I graduated form high school. I met my husband at Oklahoma State University, and we have lived in several towns in Oklahoma (he's a hospital administrator). We've lived in Tulsa for 15 years, my husband is now retired, and we plan to stay here. ****************************************** ****************************************** Contact Me To Place Your Ad Here ****************************************** ****************************************** 1st IN THE SERIES: CATHY PICKENS Author of the Southern Fried Cozy Series By Victoria L. Webb, copyright 2010 ************************************** Short Bio: Cathy Pickens has been, under different names, a lawyer, a business professor, a university provost, a clog-dancing coach, a church organist /choir director, and a typist. The most profound influences on her life have been her family, her faith, Nancy Drew, and Perry Mason. She grew up in a small town and, forced to move to "big cities" to support herself, first as a lawyer and then as a professor, she found the only way to return to the comfortable familiarity of her childhood was by moving Avery Andrews back home and chronicling her exploits. ************************************** Vickie: Where were you/what were you doing when you heard your book was going to be published? Cathy: I was at home when Sue Dunlap--one of my absolute favorite writers--called to tell me that my first Avery Andrews short story had been selected for the Sisters in Crime/Private Eye Writers joint anthology, "Deadly Allies II." Needless to say, there was jumping up and down and squealing involved. Ten years later, I was nearing the end of a 5-year stint as provost (chief academic and chief operating officer) for Queens University of Charlotte--a job I didn't like nearly as much as I like teaching. I was sitting in my office when Ruth Cavin, the legendary editor at St. Martin's Press, called to tell me she'd selected "Southern Fried" as the 2003 Best New Traditional Mystery winner. Good news always comes by phone, I've found. Vickie: How long did it take you to complete your first book? Cathy: Oo, that's always a tough question. Between the publication of the first short story and Avery's first book was 10 years--almost to the day. I wasn't working on the book the entire time. After all, life does intrude (see above: provost's job), but it was a main focus of my creative mental energy during that time. As a writer friend said once, "It's not how long it takes you to get published. It's how long it takes you to get publishable." I agree with that distinction. The book that was published became very different as I continued to write and learn my craft. And I'm very thankful no one wanted to publish an earlier book or an earlier version of "Southern Fried." That would have been hard to live down! Vickie: How long did it take to get your first book in the series published? Cathy: See above. Vickie: When you wrote your first book, did you know it would become a series? Cathy: I like reading mystery series, so I always planned on writing a series. It's fun to return and visit with old friends--both as a reader and as a writer. Vickie: How did you come up with the "theme" of your series? Cathy: The Southern Fried mysteries are a love letter to the part of the country--the hills of the Southern Appalachian chain--where I grew up. A little-understood part of the country, I've found, and I wanted to capture the parts that I love so much. I'd always wanted to go home to the small town where I grew up, but jobs took me elsewhere. So the books were a way to go home. Vickie: How long after your first book, did you start the next one in the series? Cathy: I heard Sue Grafton talk once about all the books she'd written that DIDN'T get published. "A is for Alibi" was book #8! I decided then that I couldn't say I'd given it a good try until I had at least 5 manuscripts in the bottom drawer of my filing cabinet. I'd already been writing other adventures for Avery, so I had a start on a second book before the first one sold. Good thing, because publishers and readers expect a book a year! Vickie: When you wrote your first book, did you know the title before, during or after you wrote it? Cathy: I settled on "Southern Fried" early, thinking surely the publisher would change it. It is, after all, a rather bad inside joke--someone dies in a fire, you see ... No way they'll keep the title, I thought, so might as well have a little fun. On the cover, they added a picnic basket with fried chicken (and a baguette, which I can assure you would never grace any Southern picnic I've ever attended !) and that was that. Vickie: When you wrote your first book, was the term "Cozy Mystery" being used yet? Cathy: In 2003 (or 2004 when the book came out, I think the term was in use. Vickie: How do you feel about being included in the phenomenon of the extremely popular "Cozy Mystery" genre? Cathy: I didn't set out to write a cozy mystery. I set out to write the kind of traditional mystery I liked to read. Sometimes I feel a bit uncomfortable with that label because folks in Avery's books are like folks I know--they cuss and things aren't always calm or polite. Even though the murders take place off camera, I strive for accuracy--and death isn't always pretty. Publishers Weekly referred to the first book as "a cozy with sharp edges," which is an accurate description, I think. No sex, though--and people do want Avery to find herself a boyfriend. I keep pointing out that she's awfully busy solving crimes ... ****************************************** ****************************************** See you next month! Vickie www.Mystery-Cozy.com Vickie@Mystery-Cozy.com Mystery-Cozy.com P. O. Box 14457 Bradenton, FL 34280 USA ****************************************** Copyright 2010 -2011 Mystery-Cozy.com! ****************************************** You are receiving this newsletter because you sent an email to Vickie@mystery-cozy.com and requested it. Feel free to forward this newsletter on to friends and family, fans of cozy mysteries. If you prefer not to receive anymore Newsletters from Mystery-Cozy.com - Send me a quick email at vickie@mystery-cozy.com and I'll take you off my list. Thanks! Mystery-Cozy Newsletter Murder and Mayhem - Cozy Style April 2011 Victoria L Webb, Webmistress & Editor Website: http://www.mystery-cozy.com/ Email: vickie@mystery-cozy.com ****************************************** ****************************************** IN THIS ISSUE *** Hello From Sunny Florida *** New Cozy Mystery Releases *** New Authors Added To Mystery-Cozy *** The Contests *** Book Review *** Author Interview *** Interesting Items From My Authors *** "1st In The Series" Series ****************************************** ****************************************** Hello From Sunny Florida! First of all I'd like to Welcome all of new subscribers this month! I had a record number of new subscribers to the Mystery-Cozy Newsletter this month! Thanks to all and please feel free to forward a copy of this Newsletter to everyone you know that enjoys Cozy Mysteries! I'd love to see last month's record of sign-ups increase for the month of April! Thanks again! Secondly - I'd like to apologize for the tardiness of the Mystery-Cozy Newsletter. Usually I send it out on the 1st of every month, but I've been working hard changing all the pages on the Mystery-Cozy website. Dividing up the Author pages and working on adding new themed pages. Time got away from me and, again, I apologize for getting it out late. A bit about life here in Florida and then on to business - The weather this week was a bit iffey at the beginning of the week - very strong storms blew through, leaving a few roofs on the side of the roads and tons of palm tree branches scattered everywhere. BUT - since then, the weather has been beautiful! Clear warm, sunny skies and NO humidity! The nights have gone back to being cool and great for sleeping with windows open. We know the humidity will return but for now we're just enjoying the great spring weather! After many hours of cultivating and planting TONS of seeds and flowers the past few weeks, Bob and I decided to take a break from "responsilities" and took our small inflatable boat from the house - through all the canals - out into the Bay last weekend and made a stop at a small island off of Longboat Key called Beer Can Island. Tons of small boats with families, fishermen and party-goers lined all sides of the island - everyone enjoying the great weather. We actually ventured out a bit into the Gulf of Mexico with the little inflatable! Not very far though - there are BIG fishes out there, probably larger than the boat! :>( I'm still dividing my time between Mystery-Cozy.com and my other passion...Old Stuff! I'm having a ball finding and listing vintage items. It's a FUN challenge going out and looking around for old items that I can list on Etsy. If you have a moment, go take a look at my Etsy shop (and the rest of the site). It's a great site for Vintage and Hand-Made items. (http://www.etsy.com/shop/VickiesBeachHouse) I was aiming for all the changes to be completed on Mystery-Cozy.com before April arrived, but my "time management" skills have apparently slowed down - in other words - I don't seem to do well at estimating just how long it takes to rip apart and reassemble some of the pages at Mystery-Cozy! So far, I've divided the original eight Author pages into fourteen pages, with eight or nine more left to do. I am in the process of adding fourteen new Themed pages - and have the New Themed page for Supernatural Cozies up! (Hope you enjoy it!) I've also changed the format of all the pages - you'll notice on each page now there is a "Featured" cozy of the month which will be changed every month. This will be a great opportunity for my authors to display their books in a prominate spot on each page - being the 1st book seen at the top of each page every month! (Note: Authors - you will be receiving information about this from me soon!) I'm going to add a page About Me and About Mystery-Cozy.com during April also. Please watch for the link to be added to the top of each page. I'll be posting regular tid-bits of news about what Bob and I are up to - along with interesting items about life here in Florida. This page will also explain the inner workings of Mystery-Cozy and how the site generates the funding it needs, not only to maintain the site, but also for allowing it to continue growing. There will be an explenation about the way the "Clicking" on of book covers, authors names etc (which take you to my affiliate page) works. In a nutshell - simply clicking on the links stores a cookie which alerts my affiliate host to credit Mystery-Cozy with a small percentage of each sale made. The problem with the way the program is set up is the cookie is only active for 24 hours. If you come back after the 24 hours and purchase the book (or any other item) without going through the links on Mystery-Cozy.com, Mystery-Cozy doesn't get the credit. I've had some GREAT support from many of my visitors, but with the increasing size of Mystery-Cozy also comes the increasing cost to continue adding to it! Your understanding of how the credit program for supporting Mystery-cozy works, will help Mystery-Cozy stay afloat for many years to come. Thanks for allowing me to explain this to you and watch for the new page, which will explain it in a bit more detail. The contests on Mystery-Cozy.com and the Mystery-Cozy Newsletter have started picking up a lot and I had quite a few entries this past month. Which is one of the reasons I changed the rules for the Contaests (please read the new rules on the Contest page>) It seems that quite a few of the people who entered aren't around when the Newsletter comes out - working etc. and so i thought, in order to be fair to everyone and give all of you a chance to enter, I will collect the names of everyone who sends the correct answer to either the Newsletter contest or the Website contest (or both)- up to and including the 7th of each month - and put their names in a jar. Then on the 8th I will choose the winner from the names gathered and send an email to each of the winners and post their (1st) names on the Website. I hope a lot of you enter this month - it will be fun for me to gather the names and then then pick a winner for each of the contests! We did have a winner in the Newsletter Contest in March...Susan in Great Bend, KS! And a winner in the Website Contest in March...Lori in West Bend, WI!Good Going, Susan & Lori!!!. I'd love to see more of you enter and win some of these great books. A lot of authors are sending in signed copies of their latest books for me to give away in the contests. So take a look at the Contests Page and enter. It's free...and I pay the postage to get your prize to you. Thanks to all of you who support Mystery-Cozy.com - we had 158,487 hits in March (our highest month so far), which brought our total hits up to 1,357,669! Thank You SOOOOOO Much! I appreciate all of you who come back every month to gather new books for your cozy mystery library! Happy Reading! Thank You! Let me know if you have any questions, suggestions or comments. I love hearing from you! I hope you enjoy my Mystery-Cozy Newsletter! Until next month, Vickie *********************************************************************************** *********************************************************************************** Check Out My "Other" Passion! *~* Vickie's Vintage *~* Treasured Keepsakes Of Years Gone By ********************************************************************************** ********************************************************************************** April * NEW RELEASES * (Click here to see the Full List) ************************ Susan Wittig Albert Mourning Gloria 19th China Bayles Mysteries Donald Bain Skating on Thin Ice 35th Murder, She Wrote Mysteries Sandra Balzo Running on Empty 1st Main Street Mysteries Jessica Beck Evil Éclairs 4th Donut Shop Mysteries Rita Mae Brown Hiss of Death 19th Mrs. Murphy Mysteries Elizabeth Lynn Casey Deadly Notions 4th Southern Sewing Circle Mysteries Dixie Cash I Can’t Make You Love Me, But I Can Make You Leave 7th Domestic Equalizers Mysteries Chris Cavender A Pizza to Die For 3rd Pizza Lover's Mysteries Carol Higgins Clark Mobbed 14th Regan Reilly Mysteries Jane K. Cleland Deadly Threads 6th Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries Kate Collins Night of the Living Dandelion 11th Flower Shop Mysteries Lesley Cookman Murder to Music 8th Libby Sarjeant Mysteries E. J. Copperman An Uninvited Guest 2nd Haunted Guesthouse Mysteries Jeanne M. Dams A Dark and Stormy Night 10th Dorothy Martin Mysteries Casey Daniels A Hard Day's Fright 7th Pepper Martin Mysteries Diane Mott Davidson Crunch Time 16th Goldy Bear Mysteries Kathryn R. Wall Jericho Cay 11th Bay Tanner Mysteries Vicki Doudera Killer Listing 2nd Darby Farr Mysteries Sarah Graves Knockdown 14th Home Repair Is Homicide Mysteries Rosemary Harris Slugfest 4th Dirty Business Mysteries Virginia Lowell Cookie Dough or Die 1st Cookie Cutter Shop Mysteries Mary Jane Maffini The Busy Woman's Guide to Murder 5th Charlotte Adams Mysteries Katherine Hall Page The Body in the Gazebo 19th Faith Fairchild Mysteries R. T. Raichev Murder at the Villa Constantine 6th Country House Mysteries Cynthia Riggs The Bee Balm Murders 10th Martha's Vineyard Mysteries Ann B. Ross Miss Julia Rocks the Cradle 12th Miss Julia Mysteries Betty Rowlands Miss Minchin Dies 11th Sukey Reynolds Mysteries Clea Simon Dogs Don't Lie 1st Pet Noir Mysteries Clea Simon Grey Zone 3rd Dulcie Schwartz Mysteries Julia Spencer-Fleming One Was a Soldier 7th Clare Fergusson Mysteries Leann Sweeney The Cat, the Lady and the Liar 3rd Cats in Trouble Mysteries Maggie Toussaint On the Nickel 2nd Cleopatra Jones Mysteries Lea Wait Shadows of a Down East Summer 5th Antique Print Mysteries ****************************************** ****************************************** Contact Me To Place Your Ad Here ****************************************** ****************************************** New Authors Will Be Added In April ************************ 28 New Authors will be added in April Sorry - With all the changes on Mystery-Cozy.com this past month, I was not able to get the New Authors up - but will be adding them throughout the month of April, so keep checking the Author pages to find them. The list below is the list of New Authors added in March. (go to "Author Pages" to see more!) Laura Alden Sasscer Hill Alan Orloff Virginia Lowell Ada Madison Nicola Slade Pamela DuMond Virginia Brown Joelle Charbonneau Casey Mayes Jessie Chandler Robin Allen Carol Culver Dorothy St James Mary Moody Janet Bolin J J Murphy Sofie Kelly Kimberly Frost P J Alderman Veryl Ann Grace Lois Winston Melanie Jackson Bente Gallagher David James Jasper Fforde Dolores Gordon-Smith Deborah Coonts Donis Casey Tori Carrington Judith Cutler ****************************************** ****************************************** Contact Me To Place Your Ad Here ****************************************** ****************************************** The CONTESTS: (Please check the website Contest page for rules and details...They've changed! Mystery-Cozy Contest Page ) ****************************************** For the Website... Find the "C" Author whose main character is restoring an old colonial house! *********************** For the Newsletter... Find a misspelled word, grammar error, punctuation error or any other mistake in my opening greeting! ****************************************** Last Month's Winners! There Was A Newsletter Winner in March! Susan in Great Bend, KS Congratulations!!!! There Was A Website Winner in March! Lori in West Bend, WI Congratulations!!!! Good Luck and Have Fun!!!!! ****************************************** ****************************************** Contact Me To Place Your Ad Here ****************************************** ****************************************** BOOK REVIEW ************** NINA WRIGHT Whiskey Straight Up A Whiskey Mattimoe Mystery ********************************** A Short Bio: An actor turned playwright and novelist, Nina Wright is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). She writes the humorous Whiskey Mattimoe mystery series for adults, as well as books for younger readers. With an undergraduate degree in theater and two master's degrees (in English literature and applied linguistics), Nina has taught creative writing, playwriting, speech, drama, English literature, and English as a Second Language to adults and teens. Born in northwest Ohio, Nina learned from Lake Erie and her patient father how to swim, ice skate, sail, and fish. Her father also encouraged her to laugh and tell stories. Today Nina's favorite place is a beach almost anywhere. She loves to wander along open water contemplating new action for her novels. Because she was an actor and playwright before she wrote fiction, Nina learned her craft by studying what works on the stage: revealing truth through desires, fears, secrets, conflict, dialogue, visual and aural motifs, and-most important-action. A playwright must instantly draw audience members into the world of the drama and hold them there by their own free will until the house lights come up at the end. Such is the novelist's job, too. Nina's recent moves have enriched her fiction. Her affection for coastal Michigan, central West Virginia, and magical St. Augustine, Florida, is evident in the settings of her novels. Readers, stay tuned: Nina is spinning stories set in exciting new places, not necessarily near Big Water. A storyteller committed to both the page and the stage, Nina enjoys teaching others to find their own voices. In addition to coaching writers of all ages, she offers a repertoire of classes. See Nina's Workshops ********************************** Review of Whiskey Straight Up A few days with Whiskey Mattimoe and friends will give you the wildest ride you ever took from your armchair! The second in the series that began with "Whiskey on the Rocks" is a zany romp through a Michigan resort town that will leave you breathless with laughter. Whitney Houston Halloran Mattimoe may find the antics of her Afghan hound Abra trying, but the two are very much alike. Both are headstrong and independent and tend to run headlong into life and danger. Of course, Abra does have the habit of stealing purses, but all the characters in Magnet Springs are a bit quirky, much to the reader's delight. The lady sheriff generates magnetic forces when her stormy temper is aroused, and a neighboring rock star travels the world while her precocious eight-year-old stays with Whiskey and Abra. Stepdaughter Avery has new twins with no named father and has moved into her late father's home with Whiskey. Add puppy Prince Harry the Pee Master and it's a spicy mix. The usual crew at Mattimoe Realty keeps Whiskey's business running while minding her personal business and when ex-husband Jeb Halloran pops into the widow's life again, bets are on for reconciliation. Cowboy realtor and mayor Gil Gruen is Whiskey's sleazy competitor and adversary but when she stumbles over his bloody dead body, Whiskey falls into the icy water and headlong into another mystery. In about 300 pages you'll find a Jamboree, a couple of murders, a kidnapping or two, a whole barrel of red herrings, lots of fur coats and hours of laughter. Mystery fans will appreciate the clever clues, plot and suspects, but hang on to your sleuthing cap because things change right up until the end in true cliffhanger style. Don't expect a tight procedural mystery here. Not since Lucy Ricardo has any woman gotten into so many madcap situations. "Whiskey Straight Up" is a delight and you'll be anxious for your next visit to Magnet Springs. Nina Wright has promised "Whiskey & Tonic" for 2007, refreshing news for readers who like to follow familiar characters. Wright has delivered a great cocktail for series fans. --Julie Obermiller ************************************************************************************ ************************************************************************************ Contact Me To Place Your Ad Here ************************************************************************************ ************************************************************************************ AUTHOR INTERVIEW ******************** An Interview with DEB BAKER Author of the Queen Bee Series, the Gertie Johnson Backwoods Adventures,and the Dolls To Die For Series. ******************** A Short Bio: Deb Baker (McGarity) was born in Escanaba, MI in 1953. Her family moved to Wisconsin in the 60s, but they kept strong ties to the Michigan Upper Peninsula. As a chronic late bloomer, Deb graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in English at the age of 45. Her first novel, Murder Passes the Buck, earned her The Authorlink International First Novelist Award where she took the mystery category, then went on to win Best of Show. The stories are set in her beloved Michigan backwoods and feature the unstoppable, unflappable Gertie Johnson. Others in the series include Murder Grins and Bears It and Murder Talks Turkey. Deb also writes a second series called the Dolls To Die For Series with doll restoration artist, Gretchen Birch. Titles are Dolled Up For Murder, Goodbye Dolly, Dolly Departed, and Ding Dong Dead. Deb is Vice President of the Wisconsin chapter of Sisters In Crime and is active with Mystery Writers of America. ******************** Deb's Frequently Asked Questions Here are some answers to questions Deb gets the most: Q: When did you start the Mrs. Bundle series? Deb: I started writing in 2001 and finished my first Mrs. Bundle book in 2003. Originally, the first Mrs. Bundle was going to be a novella, but I got into it, and I just loved her. She had a lot to say. I started the second one in 2003 and finished in 2006. She's a very likable protagonist, our Mrs. Bundle. She's a woman of mature age. I never say how old she is and let the reader decide. She lives in farm country in Vermont. Her teenage neighbor, Angie Andersen, helps Mrs. Bundle. It's an adult read, but I found there's a market for pre-teens and teens who love the series, too. Q: Where do you get your ideas? Deb: Good questions and the honest answer is - from real life. Nothing I could make up would ever be more weird or interesting. I read everything and listen in on conversations and the stories come. Q: Do you use real places? Deb: Sometimes. Sometimes not. In the backwoods series, Stonely is based loosely on Rock, Michigan. Using a real town, especially if it's small, can be tricky. The residents expect consistency in setting and see themselves in every character. Q: You landed two contracts for three books each at exactly the same time. Right? Deb: Yup. I had two ideas floating around the publishing world and they both hit at the same time. I was an unpublished, inexperienced writer. Let me tell you, I learned to pick up the pace. Q: Do I have to read your books in order? Deb: No, read them in any order you want. I planned each one to stand alone. But if you insist here they are in order, starting with the first: Gertie's Backwoods Adventures - Murder Passes the Buck, Murder Grins and Bears It, Murder Talks Turkey The Dolls To Die For series - Dolled Up For Murder, Goodbye Dolly, Dolly Departed, Ding Dong Dead Q: Who is this Hannah Reed person? Deb: She's me! Only younger and smarter. Look for her, er..my...first Queen Bee mystery in the fall of 2010. Q: When are you going to write another Gertie Johnson backwoods adventure? Another of the Dolls To Die For? Deb: Hannah Reed is contracted for three beekeeping mysteries. After that, I hope to write a fourth Gertie story. The Dolls To Die For series has been completed. Q: Are your books available on Kindle? Deb: Yes, all of them are. In fact, just to get you started, Murder Passes the Buck is available for only $3.99. Try it! Q: Your backwoods series is set during hunting seasons. Do you kill animals in your books? Deb: I use deer, bear, and turkey hunting seasons but would never, ever kill any animal in a story or any other way. I love nature and all its creatures. However, I do kill many people. No one seems to mind. ****************************************** ****************************************** Contact Me To Place Your Ad Here ****************************************** ****************************************** INTERESTING ITEMS FROM MY AUTHORS **************************************** ~ From JUDITH CUTLER: http://www.judithcutler.com/index.html My latest series is about a couple of antique dealers working in Kent, UK. Lina Townend is the natural daughter of a Lord, but was adopted by Griff Tripp, a retired actor. Check out Silver Guilt for more information. ~ From DIANA ORGAIN: Author of the Italian Detective Nic Costa Mysteries My new book in the Motherhood Series FORMULA FOR MURDER is available now. ****************************************** ****************************************** 1st IN THE SERIES: SUZANN LEDBETTER Author of the Hannah Garvey & Jack McPhee Series By Victoria L. Webb, copyright 2010 ************************************** Vickie: Where were you/what were you doing when you heard your book was going to be published? Suzann: Dianne Moggy at MIRA called me about the so-called "directional series" (East of Peculiar, South of Sanity, North of Clever, West of Bliss, Halfway to Halfway) on the afternoon before Thanksgiving 1998. I was up to my elbows in stuffing, but did my darndest not to sound like it. As I recall, I ditched the cooking thing posthaste, and we wound up talking for over an hour, with me enjoying every minute of it. Vickie: How long did it take you to complete your first book? Suzann: I think about four months, but it could have been a smidge longer. In all books I've published, the amount of time it takes to write one is directly proportional to the deadline date. Give me a year, it'd take a year. Four months? Yeah, I can do that. Deadlines are not suggestions. Vickie: How long did it take to get your first book in the series published? Suzann: The series proposal made the publishing rounds via my agent at least twice, maybe three times. Anyone who believes once s/he is published, rejections are a thing of the past is sadly mistaken. Particularly in instances like mine when I had a track record in nonfiction, humor, and in historical/biographical novels, but none in contemporary suspense. Vickie: When you wrote your first book, did you know it would become a series? Suzann: Three were proposed for the original contract. I don't recall knowing it would extend to five, before it did. In fact, there were a couple of years and a couple of single-titles between West of Bliss (# 4) and #5, Halfway to Half Way Vickie: How did you come up with the "theme" of your series? Suzann: Well, mystery series titles often link in myriad ways. Numbers had been done. Sue Grafton owns the alphabet. Colors were taken, common phrases, etc., so I latched onto directions. Plus, Peculiar, Sanity, Clever, Bliss and Half Way are all (or were) genuine Missouri town names. Vickie: How long after your first book, did you start the next one in the series? Suzann: Immediately. When East of Peculiar's manuscript was submitted to the editor, I went right to work on the synopsis for South of Sanity. The copy edit for EoP pretty much coincided with starting SoS's manuscript . . . and on down the line. That's why I always chuckle about waiting for the muse to strike. Write for a living and the muse is the ol' checkbook's current (and ever-shrinking) balance. Vickie: When you wrote your first book, did you know the title before, during or after you wrote it? Suzann: I had the title at the proposal stage. And after years of writing magazine articles, humorous essays for Family Circle, two humor collections, an academic biography and seven novels--all of which were *not* published with my titles, I was shocked the directional series would be. By then, I was beginning to think my kids would demand new names, since history had shown I was lousy at titling everything else. MIRA cured my title-itis. Vickie: When you wrote your first book, was the term "Cozy Mystery" being used yet? Suzann: I think cozy has been around since Agatha Christie was still of this coil. The difference is how cozy has expanded and convoluted to include about a bazillion types of amateur sleuth mysteries. In Ms. Christie's heyday, cozy was more of a St. Mary Mead/drawing room-type setting. Vickie: How do you feel about being included in the phenomenon of the extremely popular "Cozy Mystery" genre? Suzann: Fine by me. Call 'em whatever, as long as readers enjoy them. Of course, it does strike me as a bit odd that, for example, West of Bliss's plot surrounds a work-place massacre, but it's the amateur detective theme that remains a constant. My amateurs comprise a squad of retirees headed by my lead character, Hannah Garvey, and has more than a touch of police procedural via Sheriff David Hendrickson, but then again, I've never written within standard lines. Probably didn't color within them as a kid, either. ****************************************** ****************************************** See you next month! Vickie www.Mystery-Cozy.com Vickie@Mystery-Cozy.com Mystery-Cozy.com P. O. Box 14457 Bradenton, FL 34280 USA ****************************************** Copyright 2010 -2011 Mystery-Cozy.com! ****************************************** You are receiving this newsletter because you sent an email to Vickie@mystery-cozy.com and requested it. Feel free to forward this newsletter on to friends and family, fans of cozy mysteries. If you prefer not to receive anymore Newsletters from Mystery-Cozy.com - Send me a quick email at vickie@mystery-cozy.com and I'll take you off my list. Thanks! Mystery-Cozy Newsletter Archives Mystery-Cozy Newsletter Murder and Mayhem - Cozy Style March 2011 Victoria L Webb, Webmistress & Editor Website: http://www.mystery-cozy.com/ Email: vickie@mystery-cozy.com ****************************************** ****************************************** IN THIS ISSUE *** Hello From Sunny Florida *** New Cozy Mystery Releases *** New Authors Added To Mystery-Cozy *** The Contests *** Book Review *** Author Interview *** Interesting Items From My Authors *** "1st In The Series" Series ****************************************** ****************************************** Hello From Sunny Florida! We're having a great beginning to Spring down here in Florida! The past few weeks have been wonderful - lots of sunshine, in the mid-70s during the days and cool at night - and NO humidity - Yet!! :>) Bob and I have been doing our "picker" business plus "dressing up" the new house with grass, flowers and a new fish pond. Actually Bob's been doing 95% of the work and hes done a GREAT job with it. We've managed to take a few Sunday afternoons off and have taken the little inflatable boat out to explore our surroundings. Two weekends ago we took it into the Cortez Fish Festival. It was quite a distance to go - but way faster than going by car - TONS of people there! We had a great weekend with friends from Maryland this past weekend! Absolutely wonderful couple - they loved this area and were so grateful to see the sun and the beaches! We had a few very nice nights of dinner, wine, a lot of laughing and talking! I'm still dividing my time between Mystery-Cozy.com and my other passion...Old Stuff! I'm having a ball finding and listing vintage items. It's a FUN challenge going out and looking around for old items that I can list on Etsy. If you have a moment, go take a look at my Etsy shop (and the rest of the site). It's a great site for Vintage and Hand-Made items. (http://www.etsy.com/shop/VickiesBeachHouse) I've started making the changes on Mystery-Cozy, but they won't be up and running until the first of April. I have 13 new categories that I'm placing on the themed pages and have started dividing the author pages - there will be 26 pages with author listings instead of 8. I'm also moving items around on some of the pages - the Themed Book of the Month will be at the top of the page instead of in the left hand column. And I have a few other surprises that will be visible in April, so make sure you come back then and check things out. The contests on Mystery-Cozy.com and the Mystery-Cozy Newsletter are still not being taken advantage of as much as I would like, but I've decided to keep them up and see what happens with them. We did have a winner in the Newsletter Contest in February...Lori in West Bend, WI! Good Going, Lori!!!. I'd love to see more of you enter and win some of these great books. A lot of authors are sending in signed copies of their latest books for me to give away in the contests. So take a look at the Contests Page and enter. It's free...and I pay the postage to get your prize to you. Thanks to all of you who support Mystery-Cozy.com - we're still averaging over 100,000 hits per month and I appreciate all of you who come back every month to gather new books for your cozy mystery library! Happy Reading! Thank You! Let me know if you have any questions, suggestions or comments. I love hearing from you! I hope you enjoy my Mystery-Cozy Newsletter! Until next month, Vickie *********************************************************************************** *********************************************************************************** Mechanicsburg Mystery Books & Gifts *** We've donated 20 trees to be planted by American Forests so far this year. *** New and Used Mysteries. Free Shipping for online orders totaling $25 or more (does not include gift baskets). 10% off new books. Monthly specials. Stop in for a visit the next time you travel through PA. ********************************************************************************** ********************************************************************************** March * NEW RELEASES * (Click here to see the Full List) ************************ Penny Warner How to Survive a Killer Seance 3rd Party Planning Mysteries Denise Swanson Murder of a Bookstore Babe 13th Scumble River Mysteries Diana Orgain Formula for Murder 3rd Maternal Instincts Mysteries Joyce & Jim Lavene A Touch of Gold 2nd Missing Pieces Mysteries Judi McCoy Begging for Trouble 4th Dog Walker Mysteries Carolyn Hart Dead by Midnight 21st Death on Demand Mysteries J. G. Goodhind Wicked Words 6th Honey Driver Mysteries Carola Dunn Anthem for Doomed Youth 19th Daisy Dalrymple Mysteries C. S. Challinor Murder on the Moor 4th Rex Graves Mysteries Gail Oust Shake, Murder, and Roll 3rd Bunco Babes Mysteries Dolores Gordon-Smith Off the Record 5th Jack Haldean Mysteries David Dickinson Death in a Scarlet Coat 10th Lord Francis Powerscourt Mysteries Rhys Bowen Bless the Bride 10th Molly Murphy Mysteries Mary Daheim The Alpine Vengeance 22nd Emma Lord Mysteries Veronica Heley False Money 5th Abbott Agency Mysteries Jacqueline Winspear A Lesson in Secrets 8th Maisie Dobbs Mysteries Jasper Fforde One of Our Thursdays Is Missing 6th Thursday Next Mysteries Laura Childs Scones and Bones 12th Tea Shop Mysteries Ellery Adams A Deadly Cliche 2nd Books by the Bay Mysteries Michael Robertson The Brothers of Baker Street 2nd Reggie and Nigel Heath Mysteries Sara Rosett Mimosas, Mischief, and Murder 6th Ellie Avery Mysteries Cynthia Harrod-Eagles Body Line 13th Bill Slider Mysteries Charlotte Hinger Lethal Lineage 2nd Lottie Albright Mysteries Lucy Lawrence Sealed with a Kill 3rd Decoupage Mysteries Paige Shelton Fruit of All Evil 2nd Farmers' Market Mysteries Teresa Solana A Shortcut to Paradise 2nd Frau Consultants Mysteries Linda O. Johnston Beaglemania 1st Pet Rescue Mysteries Beth Groundwater Deadly Currents 1st Rocky Mountain Outdoor Mysteries Nancy Martin Sticky Fingers 2nd Roxy Abruzzo Mysteries ****************************************** ****************************************** Check Out My "Other" Passion! *~* Vickie's Vintage *~* Treasured Keepsakes Of Years Gone By ****************************************** ****************************************** New Authors Added In February ************************ 19 New Authors were added in February (go to "Author Pages" to see more!) Laura Alden Sasscer Hill Alan Orloff Virginia Lowell Ada Madison Nicola Slade Pamela DuMond Virginia Brown Joelle Charbonneau Casey Mayes Jessie Chandler Robin Allen Carol Culver Dorothy St James Mary Moody Janet Bolin J J Murphy Sofie Kelly Kimberly Frost P J Alderman Veryl Ann Grace Lois Winston Melanie Jackson Bente Gallagher David James Jasper Fforde Dolores Gordon-Smith Deborah Coonts Donis Casey Tori Carrington Judith Cutler ****************************************** ****************************************** Contact Me To Place Your Ad Here ****************************************** ****************************************** The CONTESTS: (Please check the website Contest page for rules and details... http://www.mystery-cozy.com/Mystery-Cozy-Contests.html ) For the Website... Find the "P" Author whose main character writes a daytime drama! No Winner in February! For the Newsletter... Find a misspelled word, grammar error, punctuation error or any other mistake in my opening greeting! We Had A Newsletter Winner in February! Lori in West Bend, WI Congratulations!!!! Good Luck and Have Fun!!!!! ****************************************** ****************************************** Contact Me To Place Your Ad Here ****************************************** ****************************************** BOOK REVIEW ************** G A McKEVETT Killer Calories A Savannah Reid Mystery ********************************** Killer Calories' Offers Up Cozy Mystery in Southern California Setting G. A. McKevett's Savannah Reid is a southern belle who has been displaced to Southern California. She was once a police officer, but after being kicked off the force, she has now opened her own business as a private investigator. With the help of her apprentice Tammy and her former police partner Dirk, Savannah solves crimes in this mystery series. Killer Calories is the third book that chronicles Savannah's mystery-solving skills. The business world becomes personal when Tammy's other employer is found dead at the spa she owned. Kat Valentina was once a beautiful and famous actress. After her career fizzled, she opened a spa in southern California with her husband and manager. The spa is a health-oriented one that serves green sludge disguised as breakfast and almost kills its visitors with exercise morning, noon, and night. But it's also a troubled spa, complete with a stalker security guard, a quack of a doctor, and elderly, spying neighbors. When Savannah gets an anonymous letter in the mail stuffed full of cash, asking her to investigate, she and Tammy jump at the chance to find out if Tammy's former actress/boss met death by her own hand or someone else's. Or was her murder just an accident -- too many margaritas mixed with an overly-heated mud bath? Savannah is fun -- lots of it. And she likes to eat; she has Dirk sneak her out of the spa several times to eat bad breakfast food and burgers. She also enjoys fine dining with her friends John and Ryan, an elegant gay couple. She offers one-liners with style, and fights crime with her black belt in karate. Savannah is an amateur sleuth. Her education and life’s experiences have provided her with certain skills that she will utilize in order to solve all the crimes that are thrown her way. And she is usually a very intuitive, bright woman. Yes, Savannah used to be a police officer. However, she was kicked off the squad. And she isn't doing very well as a private investigator - she has bills piled up on every surface of her house. San Carmelita is in southern California, but it is still a small town. The small size of the setting makes it believable that all the suspects know each other and the spa setting feeds into that even more. Savannah is a very likeable person who is able to get the community members to talk freely (i.e. gossip) about each other. There are multiple people who are very knowledgeable and nosy (and of course, very reliable!) characters in the book who are able to fill in all of the blanks, thus enabling Savannah to solve the case." Savannah is not a medical examiner, detective, or police officer - but her best friend and former partner Dirk is. This makes a very convenient way for her to find out things that she would otherwise not have access to. The local police force, except for her friend Dirk, doesn’t take Savannah very seriously. They dismiss her presence, almost as if she doesn’t exist. This of course, makes it convenient for her to casually overhear things at the scene of a crime. And in Savannah's case, they even let her examine the body - of course, none of her meetings with the medical examiner yield any results - the medical examiner is convinced that Savannah is crazy for investigating the case and that all initial test reports were complete. In this series, all of the characters are likeable, so that the reader will want to visit them again. The supporting characters are equally important to the reader. It is for this reason that there are so many funny, eccentric, and entertaining secondary characters, such as Tammy, Dirk, John, & Ryan. I've already checked the fourth book in the series out at the library and I will be reading it soon. http://awornpath.blogspot.com/ http://awornpath.blogspot.com/2010/01/killer-calories-offers-up-cozy-mystery.html ************************************************************************************ ************************************************************************************ Contact Me To Place Your Ad Here ************************************************************************************ ************************************************************************************ AUTHOR INTERVIEW ******************** An Interview with ALLISON CESARIO PATON Author of the Mrs. Bundle Mysteries Q&A with Allison Cesario Paton - Feminine and strong, that's her Mrs. Bundle! Interview: Q: When did you start the Mrs. Bundle series? Allison: I started writing in 2001 and finished my first Mrs. Bundle book in 2003. Originally, the first Mrs. Bundle was going to be a novella, but I got into it, and I just loved her. She had a lot to say. I started the second one in 2003 and finished in 2006. She's a very likable protagonist, our Mrs. Bundle. She's a woman of mature age. I never say how old she is and let the reader decide. She lives in farm country in Vermont. Her teenage neighbor, Angie Andersen, helps Mrs. Bundle. It's an adult read, but I found there's a market for pre-teens and teens who love the series, too. Q: Are you working on a book now? Allison: I'm in the middle of No. 5. Mrs. Bundle's going to be involved in mystery that takes her out of her comfort zone---on many levels! Q: Will she find as much adventure as in past mysteries? Allison: Even more! That's what Mrs. Bundle is looking for - Allure. Q: What kind of response have you gotten from your readers? Allison: I get incredible e-mails from people all over the country. It's wonderful. There's thousands of authors out there, and early on it hit me – oh my, I hope they like these stories I'm having such fun writing--and they did! Readers seem to enjoy all the Vermont idiosyncrasies as much as I do. A lot of the success has been word of mouth. Readers have embraced Mrs. Bundle and Cracker. Q: Why did you decide to start writing? Allison: I always had to have a creative outlet. During various careers ranging from teaching to selling property, I became a watercolorist. When I started writing, I realized it was a lot like painting. We use words to capture an image. It's a challenge for me to create this strong, likeable character named Mrs. Bundle. I'm really into women helping women. Mrs. Bundle is a role model to Angie. She's feminine, but she's strong. I really celebrate that concept. Q: How many Mrs. Bundle books do you think you will write? Allison: I'll probably do at least eight. Finding the time can be a challenge between book signing events, which I absolutely love. Q: What do you like to read? Allison: I read fun stuff, mysteries. I love the Mitford series, and E.F. Benson, Grafton, and of course, Christie. I'm a real Anglophile. I love quirky, challenging mysteries, reads with deep and serious sub-themes. I love women protagonists who are smart. Q: Are there any similarities between you and Mrs. Bundle? Allison: Well...she has a reputation for being impetuous, and I've been called that before. She's very competent and doesn't give up. She's like a dog on a bone, especially when it has to do with someone near and dear to her. The other thing about Mrs. Bundle: even though she's elegant and refined, she doesn't mind getting down and dirty if she has to. In the second mystery, there's a nasty murder and things get really unpleasant, but she never falters. Q: Do you think you'll write any books outside of the series? Allison: I'm sticking with Mrs. Bundle; I love her, and I love all the inhabitants in the community of Pillson. There's a lot more to write. Q: What if the Mrs. Bundle books were turned into a movie? Allison: Jean Marsh from 'Upstairs, Downstairs' or Joanne Woodward would play Mrs. Bundle. Who would play Angie? Eva Mendes. Who would play Cracker? It might be a thespian stretch for both of them, but either Spook or Choo Choo from the 'Top Cat' gang. ****************************************** ****************************************** Contact Me To Place Your Ad Here ****************************************** ****************************************** INTERESTING ITEMS FROM MY AUTHORS **************************************** ~ From ELIZABETH EAGAN-COX: http://www.ElizabethEaganCox.net Book 4 in my Shannon Delaney 'cozy' paranormal mystery series will be on my editor's desk by the end of this year. It's release should be early in 2012. On this note, about book 4, I'd like to say that it is because of readers I am continuing the series...they've found me on the Web and asked about another book. My publisher is so agreeable, that the series is uncapped. That said, I would love to hear from readers as to what their thoughts are in regard to: If Shannon had to decide between Alex and Zach...who would it be and why? Email me your thoughts...ghostmystery@usa.com ~ From CONNIE SHELTON: http://www.connieshelton.com Enter my Kindle Giveaway contest by signing up for my newsletterat my website...http://www.connieshelton.com I've just learned that a new e-book site is now carrying all of my titles, plus over 2 million others! Check out Diesel e-books by clicking here. They have a rewards program where you can earn credits by purchasing or reviewing books, and there are easy ways to search for and bundle the books you like by category. And they sell in all e-book formats, so you can buy there whether you own a Kindle, a Nook, a Sony Reader or iPad....or if you just want to read books on your computer or other device. http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/index.php?page=item&id=SW00000036636 ~ From JOSI KILPACK: http://www.josiskilpack.com/Official_Josi_S._Kilpack_Website/Home.html Blog: http://www.josikilpack.blogspot.com/ I have a new book out. Blackberry Crumble, book 5 in my Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery Series. ~ From PATRICIA ROCKWELL http://www.cozycatpress.com/ Just wanted to update you that my new cozy mystery "FM For Murder" is now available both in paperback and eformat. Here are the sites: Amazon: Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/FM-Murder-Patricia-Rockwell/dp/0984479546/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1298054032&sr=1-1 Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Pamela-Acoustic-Mystery-ebook/dp/B004MYFT9C/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_ke?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1298054032&sr=1-1 Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/41345 ~ From RHYS BOWEN http://www.rhysbowen.com/ http://www.rhysbowen.blogspot.com http://www.jungleredwriters.com I'm currently writing Molly 11, which is called Hush Now, Don't you Cry at the moment, but that may change. This one is set in a "cottage" at Newport, R.I. and is about a family that has a lot in common with the Kennedies. My publisher is releasing a Molly short story to tie in with Bless the Bride. It is called The Amersham Rubies and it will be free on Kindle, awailable about mid March. Please please download it and post tags and reviews. It will help to spread the word about the Molly books. the next Lady Georgie book comes out in September. It will be called Naughty in Nice and takes place on the French Riviera with lots of beautiful people including a handsome French marquis and Coco Chanel! ****************************************** ****************************************** 1st IN THE SERIES: JANE CLELAND Author of the Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries By Victoria L. Webb, copyright 2010 ************************************* Short Bio: Jane K. Cleland’s multiple award-nominated and IMBA best selling Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery series [St. Martin’s Minotaur] has been reviewed as an Antiques Roadshow for mystery fans. “Josie” stories have also appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Jane chairs the Wolfe Pack’s literary awards, which include the Nero Award and the Black Orchid Novella Award, granted in partnership with Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. She is a past chapter president and current board member of the Mystery Writers of America/New York Chapter. Library Journal has just named Consigned to Death a "core title" for librarians looking to build a cozy collection, one of only 22 titles listed, along with books by Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. The full article is at www.libraryjournal.com. ************************************** Vickie: Where were you/what were you doing when you heard your book was going to be published? Jane: I was at home doing (what else) writing. Vickie: How long did it take you to complete your first book? Jane: 10 months (if you don't count the five years it took me to complete my first novel which remains on the shelf) Vickie: How long did it take to get your first book published? Jane: 1 week to sell (yea!) and 1 ½ years from then to the pub date Vickie: When you wrote your first book, did you know it would become a series? Jane: Yes. Vickie: How did you come up with the "theme" of your series? Jane: I owned a New Hampshire-based antiques business for several years, so when my publisher (St. Martin's Minotaur) was looking for mysteries featuring female, amateur sleuths and not set in New York, naturally I thought of that business. If you're going to have an amateur sleuth, she needs an organic reason to do research. The antiques business suits that imperative well. In order to appraise antiques, you need to be good at research. Also, you get to go to museums, interact with rich people, and delve a little bit into history. Vickie: How long after your first book, did you start the next one in the series? Jane: The minute the first one sold. Vickie: When you wrote your first book, did you know the title before, during or after you wrote it? Jane: No, the publisher changed the title. Vickie: When you wrote your first book, was the term "Cozy Mystery" being used yet? Jane: Yes! Vickie: How do you feel about being included in the phenomenon of the extremely popular "Cozy Mystery" genre? Jane: At first I was a bit surprised. I think of my books as "traditional" mysteries; now, however, I'm thrilled! ****************************************** ****************************************** See you next month! Vickie www.Mystery-Cozy.com Vickie@Mystery-Cozy.com Mystery-Cozy.com P. O. Box 14457 Bradenton, FL 34280 USA ****************************************** Copyright 2010 Mystery-Cozy.com! ****************************************** You are receiving this newsletter because you sent an email to Vickie@mystery-cozy.com and requested it. Feel free to forward this newsletter on to friends and family, fans of cozy mysteries. If you prefer not to receive anymore Newsletters from Mystery-Cozy.com - Send me a quick email at vickie@mystery-cozy.com and I'll take you off my list. Thanks! Mystery-Cozy Newsletter Murder and Mayhem - Cozy Style February 2011 Victoria L Webb, Webmistress & Editor Website: http://www.mystery-cozy.com/ Email: vickie@mystery-cozy.com ****************************************** ****************************************** IN THIS ISSUE *** Hello From Sunny Florida *** New Cozy Mystery Releases *** New Authors Added To Mystery-Cozy *** The Contests *** Book Review *** Author Interview *** Interesting Items From My Authors *** "1st In The Series" Series ****************************************** ****************************************** Hello From Sunny Florida! 2011 in Florida has started off with some sunny, warm days and some very bad storms coming in off the Gulf of Mexico. I'm not crazy about feeling my house shake! We're hoping this is not one of those "Things Could Be Worse" omens! We haven't had any really bad storms since we moved here in 2004. Yes, we actually moved here the year of all the bad hurricanes, but we moved after the hurricanes and were told (ahem) that it would be another 40 years before we had any more weather as bad as that on the west coast. Ha! :>) Bob and I are pretty much settled into the new house and are looking forward to starting on the creative end of moving - ripping apart all the landscaping and re-doing it our way. A lot of work to be done out there. We did take a day off on Sunday and took a ride through the canals in our neighborhood in our small inflatable; and even went out into the intercoastal waterway in the Bay for a few minutes. Nice afternoon for "cruising" around the neighborhood. I'm still dividing my time between Mystery-Cozy.com and my other passion...Old Stuff! Bob and I did our first "picker" job a few weeks ago. We had the opportunity to go into a house and "pick". We found quite a few very nice items and had a ball doing it. (In case you don't know what a "picker" is, watch the History channel on Monday nights at 9PM - Eastern time). Bob and I aren't crawling through barns yet, but we're having fun looking for the items we want for my Etsy shop. If you have a moment, take a look at my Etsy shop (and the rest of the site). Its a great site for Vintage and Hand-Made items. (http://www.etsy.com/shop/VickiesBeachHouse) I'd love to see more of you entering the contests and winning some of the great books I have from the authors. A lot of authors are sending in signed copies of their latest books for me to give away in the contests. So take a look at the Contests Page and enter. It's free...and I pay the postage to get your prize to you. If I don't start getting more entries this month, I'm going to have to rethink this area of the website. Any ideas for contests or giveaways? Let me know what you think. Now for my great news about Mystery-Cozy.com...we didn't hit the "Million Hit Mark" before the 1st Anniversary of Mystery-Cozy (January 14th), but we DID hit the mark on the 27th of January! In one year and 13 days, Mystery-Cozy.com had over 1,000,000 hits! Amazing to me!! I appreciate all your support and hope to have another great year in 2011! I'm thrilled that so many people love Mystery-Cozy.com! Thank You! Let me know if you have any questions, suggestions or comments. I love hearing from you! I hope you enjoy my Mystery-Cozy Newsletter! Until next month, Vickie *********************************************************************************** *********************************************************************************** Mechanicsburg Mystery Books & Gifts *** We've donated 20 trees to be planted by American Forests so far this year. *** New and Used Mysteries. Free Shipping for online orders totaling $25 or more (does not include gift baskets). 10% off new books. Monthly specials. Stop in for a visit the next time you travel through PA. ********************************************************************************** ********************************************************************************** February * NEW RELEASES * (Click here to see the Full List) ************************ David Hewson The Fallen Angel 9th Nic Costa Mysteries Barbara Allan Antiques Knock-Off 5th Trash ’n’ Treasures Mysteries Nancy Atherton Aunt Dimity and the Family Tree 16th Aunt Dimity Mysteries M.C. Beaton Death of a Chimney Sweep 27th Hamish MacBeth Mysteries Mary Stanton Angel’s Verdict 4th Beaufort & Co. Mysteries Alan Bradley A Red Herring Without Mustard 3rd Flavia de Luce Mysteries Donis Casey Crying Blood 5th Alafair Tucker Mysteries B. B. Haywood Town in a Lobster Stew 2nd Candy Holliday Mysteries Deborah Coonts Lucky Stiff 2nd Lucky O’Toole Mysteries Richard Yancey The Highly Effective Detective Crosses the Line 4th Teddy Ruzak Mysteries Joanne Fluke Devil's Food Cake Murder 14th Cookie Jar Mysteries Lorraine Bartlett A Crafty Killing 1st Victoria Square Mysteries Simon Brett Blotto, Twinks, and the Ex-King’s Daughter 1st US Edition Blotto & Twinks Mysteries Ellen Byerrum Shot Through Velvet 7th Crime of Fashion Mysteries Heather Webber Absolutely, Positively 2nd Lucy Valentine Mysteries Tori Carrington Love Bites 5th Sofie Metropolis Mysteries Christy Evans Drip Dead 3rd Georgiana Neverall Mysteries Sue Ann Jaffarian Ghost in the Polka Dot Bikini 2nd Ghost of Granny Apples Mysteries Toni L.P. Kelner Blast from the Past 3rd Where Are They Now? Mysteries Amanda Lee Stitch Me Deadly 2nd Embroidery Mysteries Mel Starr A Trail of Ink 3rd Hugh de Singleton Mysteries Lila Dare Polished Off 2nd Southern Beauty Shop Mysteries Martha Grimes Fadeaway Girl 4th Emma Graham Mysteries Victoria Houston Dead Deceiver 11th Loon Lake Fishing Mysteries ****************************************** ****************************************** Check Out My "Other" Passion! *~* Vickie's Vintage *~* Treasured Keepsakes Of Years Gone By ****************************************** ****************************************** New Authors Added In January ************************ 19 New Authors were added in January (go to "Author Pages" to see more!) Barry S. Brown Allison Cesario Paton John L. Betcher Lucille Kallen Meira Pentermann Olive Etchells Donna Lynd Barbara Hamilton Fay Risner Catherine Shaw Sharon Pape V. C. Clinton-Baddeley Vicki Doudera Mary Anna Evans Al Roker Delia Rosen Ann Summerville Alan Gordon David Hewson Gayle Wigglesworth ****************************************** ****************************************** Contact Me To Place Your Ad Here ****************************************** ****************************************** The CONTESTS: No Winners in January! (Please check the website Contest page for rules and details... http://www.mystery-cozy.com/Mystery-Cozy-Contests.html ) For the Website... Find the "C" Author whose main character plays poker! For the Newsletter... Find a misspelled word, grammar error, punctuation error or any other mistake in my opening greeting! Good Luck and Have Fun!!!!! ****************************************** ****************************************** Contact Me To Place Your Ad Here ****************************************** ****************************************** BOOK REVIEW ************** AL ROKER The Morning Show Murders Chef Billy Blessing, Morning Show Personality Short Bio: Al Roker is known to over thirty million viewers for his work on NBC's Today show, a role that has earned him ten Emmy awards. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Don't Make Me Stop This Car!: Adventures in Fatherhood. An accomplished cook, Roker also has two bestselling cookbooks to his credit. Al Roker lives in Manhattan with his wife, ABC News and 20/20 correspondent Deborah Roberts, and has two daughters and a son. ********************************** The Morning Show Murders Review: The basic story line starts out simple enough and quickly gets several layers. The book opens with the main character, Chef Billy Blessing, struggling over a new reality cooking school pilot that his arrogant Executive Producer Rudy Gallagher insisted on. They exchange words over the dismal prospects of the show. I turned to survey the other nine inhabitants of the soundstage kitchen. They, like Eldon, were dressed in chef coats, with most of their hair tucked under white caps. Also like Eldon, they were all very young, the exception being a beady-eyed fortysomething gent who had the appearance and the odor of a greasy-spoon fry cook. They’d separated themselves by gender. A male with acne was staring at me with the goofy adoration of a dependent dog. Another was nervously rubbing a mustache that looked like anchovies attacking his upper lip. I spied a brown Mohawk partially tucked under a cap, the oily bottom spikes sticking out over the collar of his coat like the tail of a dirty bird. Yuchhh! One of the very young women – girls, actually – chomped on gum. A pretty brown-skinned sister who might qualify as a supermodel trainee seemed more interested in protecting her long fingernails than in food preparation. A girl with a sallow complexion had little pieces of metal piercing her brows and ears, and every time she nodded her head, which was often, they caught the light and reflected it into the camera, causing a flare. God help her if she was ever trapped outdoors in a lightning storm. Breakfast was obviously the most important meal of the day for a fourth girl, judging by the tattoo of a fried egg on her neck. A fifth, another black woman, was showing more attitude than Wanda Sykes but none of the humor. That evening at Billy’s four-star Bistro a crime boss from his old neighborhood and family friend is in the restaurant and asks Billy if, in his connected position, he has heard of an assassin coming to town from overseas. Two days later news that Rudy is dead from poisoned food from Chef Blessing’s posh Bistro restaurant puts him as the number one suspect and the police close his restaurant simultaneously putting a strain on his morning show appearances. Billy is assaulted by somebody believing he killed Rudy and searching for what they think he removed from Rudy’s place. Billy begins investigating and becomes convinced that Rudy’s last assignment in Baghdad has something to do with his murder. A mercenary contractor meant to protect the reporters was killed one night at dinner in front of the team. As the other members of that dinner party start to all die off it seems likely, but why is Billy in danger? The plot has several layers and Chef Blessing doesn’t take himself too seriously with some self effacing humor that made me chuckle. There is a cast of characters including international assassin Felix the Cat, the Morning Show crew including the pushy new Executive Director, Billy’s prior girlfriend who happens to be the daughter of the station owner and Rudy’s fiancée, Billy’s hard-core-New-Yorker assistant at the Bistro and then security hired to protect him who have ties to the Baghdad mercenaries, and an ex-Mossad agent coming to the show pushing his “tell all” book. It is a fun “beach” read with a few quirky characters and an adequate storyline to keep you reading. The plot may not be memorable but it wasn’t simple or transparent either and the ending was satisfying. I classified this as a “cozy-esque” mystery because it is on par for a cozy with little graphic violence, breezy writing style and the fun cast of characters. It isn’t full-on cozy since it does involve international aspects. If you are looking for a light read that isn’t award winning high prose but an entertaining story then this book is for you. As a debut novel it wasn’t bad at all, I certainly have read far less deserving fair that had some readers raving. http://www.mysterysuspence.blogspot.com/2010/03/review-morning-show-murders-by-al-roker.html ************************************************************************************ ************************************************************************************ Contact Me To Place Your Ad Here ************************************************************************************ ************************************************************************************ AUTHOR INTERVIEW ******************** An Interview with NANCY GLASS WEST Nancy's Blog: http://www.nancygwest.com/blog.html Author of the Aggie Mundeen Mysteries Short Bio: When Nancy Glass West was seven years old, she and her mother wrote poems to each other on special occasions. In high school, Nancy published a poem in the library journal Pegasus. At eighteen, she realized she might have to get a real job. Since journalists were underpaid and English majors were selling lingerie, she studied General Business at the University of Texas and University of Houston and earned a BBA. Married, with two daughters, Nancy realized she had to study English literature and write. She read numerous books on writing and wrote articles, poetry, and the biography of artist Jose Vives-Atsara (Shoal Creek Publishers). She founded Book Publishers of Texas, edited their trade journal and promoted their books for seven years. Interview: Q: Why do you write mystery fiction? Nancy: In mysteries, evil invades someone’s ordinary world and hurls everyone into chaos; but as the story progresses, evil is gradually revealed and, at least partially, explained. Unlike what can happen in the real world, evil in mystery fiction is exposed to the light, overcome, and order prevails again. We seek order in our lives, so mystery fiction appeals to us. I relish creating suspense in mysteries, and I love developing characters who have to overcome serious problems. In Nine Days to Evil, Meredith Laughlin faces a deadly snare and has to dredge up repressed courage. Forever Fatal is the humorous story of what happens when loveable but klutzy Aggie Mundeen, the over-thirty graduate student desperate to avoid aging, stumbles into murder at her health club and decides to catch the killer. SAPD Detective Sam Vanderhoven, her friend (and secret love), sets up roadblocks to thwart her outlandish schemes. Q: Which comes first, character or plot? Nancy: Either can generate a story. My husband was musing about possible events at the San Antonio medical center. I subsequently read a newspaper account of a bizarre incident in California and combined the two ideas to create the plot for Nine Days to Evil. I considered what type of person would be most affected by these events and created my protagonist, Meredith Laughlin. Mystery writer Marilyn Wallace describes it this way: “Something gnaws at you and refuses to go away. It’s like a grain that serves as an irritant….As a writer, I am compelled to probe it, consider it, and expand it.” Forever Fatal is the first book told from Aggie Mundeen’s viewpoint. In her next book, she talks Meredith and Sam into going with her to a Texas dude ranch. Aggie, the “mature” graduate student, has a tendency to stumble into murder. Determined to solve the crime, she creates chaos. While I was writing Nine Days to Evil, Aggie Mundeen repeatedly invaded my thoughts until I knew I had to write more about her. Forever Fatal is the first of Aggie’s escapades. Meredith Laughlin and Detective Sam Vanderhoven provide support, but this is Aggie’s story. Q: How much writing success is due to luck, perseverance, or talent? Nancy: Luck is essential in getting the right piece of work to the right agent or editor. Perseverance is key. If a writer constantly works to improve her writing, she will succeed when she develops sufficient skill to draw readers into her fictional world and hold them to the end of the story. Talent is probably a fascination with stories and language--fascination strong enough to keep a writer happily spending hours reworking plots, deepening characters, and re-crafting sentences. Maybe talent is simply a sensitive inner ear that tells a writer when something works. ****************************************** ****************************************** Contact Me To Place Your Ad Here ****************************************** ****************************************** INTERESTING ITEMS FROM MY AUTHORS **************************************** ~ From CHRYSTLE FIEDLER: http://www.chrystlecontent.com I'm a new author for Simon & Schuster. My new mystery, Death Drops: A Natural Remedies Mystery, will be out in 2012. ~ From DAVID HEWSEN: Author of the Italian Detective Nic Costa Mysteries David Hewsen had his entire Detective Costa series optioned for major, international TV development by Bavaria Media. The TV drama series will be shot in English and set in Rome where most of David Hewson’s novels are set. For any of you in or close to London: The Directors of Goldsboro Books and Pan Macmillan are delighted to invite you to the launch of David Hewson’s 9th Detective Nic Costa novel, THE FALLEN ANGEL. On Thursday 3rd February 2011; At Goldsboro Bookshop, 7 Cecil Court, London WC2N 4EZ...Apperitivi and Anti Pasti 6.30-8.30pm ~ From NANCY COHEN: Blog: http://www.nancyjcohen.wordpress.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/nancyjcohen Facebook: http://www.bit.ly/c3YchC I’ve been working on various mystery and romance projects. My Shear Murder edits are done, so I’m waiting for the next stage in the publishing process. This tenth Bad Hair Day mystery is due out in January 2012 from Five Star. To keep busy, I’ve written the synopsis for the third book in my paranormal romance trilogy. Silver Serenade, my latest sci fi romance, continues to do well and is available in print and digital formats. Now I’m ready to turn my attention to one of my proposed new mystery series. WINTER WARMUP CONTEST! PRIZE: A free signed copy of one of my books, your choice of genre and format. Separate Bonus Prize Drawing for Newsletter Subscribers: Green stone peridot chain necklace and $10 Starbucks gift card. For entry rules, go to: http://bit.ly/bNGjmq ~ From R. MICHAEL PHILLIPS: Wanted to drop you a line to let you know "Rook, Rhyme & Sinker", my second book in the Ernie Bisquets Mystery Series, will be released in February. ~ From VICTORIA THOMPSON: My newest book in the Gaslight Series, Murder On Sisters Row, will be released on June 1, 2011. I am writing one book per year in this series, and the release dates will be late spring/early summer each year. ****************************************** ****************************************** 1st IN THE SERIES: JOHN LAMB Author of the Bear Collector Mysteries By Victoria L. Webb, copyright 2010 ************************************* Short Bio: John Lamb began his civilian law enforcement career in 1979 as a deputy sheriff with the Riverside County (California) Sheriff's Department. After the academy, he was assigned to the desert community of Indio (near Palm Springs) where he won several citations for superior performance. In 1982, John transferred to the Oceanside Police Department in northern San Diego County. During his career in Oceanside, he was a street cop, a hostage negotiator, a CSI, a homicide investigator, a detective sergeant, and the hostage negotiation team leader. John was considered one of the premier homicide detectives of San Diego County and earned frequent praise from the District Attorney's office for his work. He also possesses in excess of 700 hours in specialized training in such varied subjects as bomb scene investigation, clandestine laboratory investigations, psychological profiling, and link analysis. Finally, John was cited numerous times for superior performance and bravery in the line of duty. He was medically retired from the force in 1997 and immediately set out to pursue his other great passion: professional writing. John is happily married to Joyce, a latent fingerprint expert and crime analyst. In January 2004, they moved from San Diego County to Virginia's Shenandoah Valley where they live with four golden retrievers and six "rescued" cats. John's hobbies include Civil War reenacting, gardening, cooking gourmet cuisine, amateur bird watching, and going to teddy bear shows with Joyce. ************************************** Vickie: Where were you/what were you doing when you heard your book was going to be published? John: I was at my home in the Shenandoah Valley, mowing my lawn. We have a couple of acres of land and I was down near the bottom of the hill when I saw my wife Joyce on the porch waving frantically for me to come. I drove the mower up to the house, Joyce handed me the phone, and my agent told me we'd just sold a three book deal to Berkley Prime Crime. Vickie: How long did it take you to complete your first book? John: It took about nine months to complete The Mournful Teddy, which was the first book in the Bear Collector mystery series. Vickie: How long did it take to get your first book published? John: My very first mystery was Echoes of the Lost Order. It took over a year to write it, the better part of six months to find a literary agent, and then about a year before she sold the book. The Bear Collector mysteries came after that. Vickie: When you wrote your first book, did you know it would become a series? John: Yes. Our original proposal was for three "Teddy" mysteries. After those were written, Berkley wanted two more. Vickie: How did you come up with the "theme" of your series? John: My books feature a retired homicide detective married to a teddy bear artist. I'm a retired homicide detective and my wife (a retired fingerprint expert) and I collect teddy bears. Combining murder with something as sweet as a teddy bear appealed to me and I knew more about stuffed animals than an adult male should admit. Vickie: How long after your first book, did you start the next one in the series? John: I took a month off before starting the second book, The False-Hearted Teddy. My contract called for books every nine months, which seems like a lot of time, but really isn't. Vickie: When you wrote your first book, did you know the title before, during or after you wrote it? John: Actually, my wife came up with the title when I was about halfway through the book. Since then, I've either known the title before starting work on a book or developed it early on in the process. Vickie: When you wrote your first book, was the term "Cozy Mystery" being used yet? John: Yes, and I soon learned the label could be perjorative. Some readers (and authors) seem to feel that "cozy" connotes a fluffy, leisurely-paced story with little in the way of realistic crime-solving. My books defy that convention. They've been called a hybrid between police procedural and cozy, but I'm perfectly happy with the label "cozy." Vickie: How do you feel about being included in the phenomenon of the extremely popular "Cozy Mystery" genre? John: Very pleased. I love writing books that don't celebrate gore and sadism. I saw plenty of that in my previous career and don't find it entertaining. ****************************************** ****************************************** See you next month! Vickie www.Mystery-Cozy.com Vickie@Mystery-Cozy.com Mystery-Cozy.com P. O. Box 14457 Bradenton, FL 34280 USA ****************************************** Copyright 2010 Mystery-Cozy.com! ****************************************** You are receiving this newsletter because you sent an email to Vickie@mystery-cozy.com and requested it. Feel free to forward this newsletter on to friends and family, fans of cozy mysteries. If you prefer not to receive anymore Newsletters from Mystery-Cozy.com - Send me a quick email at vickie@mystery-cozy.com and I'll take you off my list. Thanks! Newsletter Archive Mystery-Cozy Newsletter Murder and Mayhem - Cozy Style January 2011 Victoria L Webb, Webmistress & Editor Website: http://www.mystery-cozy.com/ Email: vickie@mystery-cozy.com ****************************************** ****************************************** IN THIS ISSUE *** Hello From Sunny Florida *** New Cozy Mystery Releases *** New Authors To Be Added In January *** The Contests *** Book Review *** Author Interview *** Interesting Items From My Authors *** "1st In The Series" Series ****************************************** ****************************************** Hello From Sunny Florida! Happy New Year! I hope 2011 brings everyone a year full of GREAT things! Bob and I spent the month of December moving into the new house and then painting, cleaning etc the old house for our friends to rent. Today will be our last day walking through the old house, making sure everything is finished. We managed (somehow) to have a very nice and peaceful Christmas in the new house. We even put up our tree and decorated inside and out. We did all of the moving and fixing up the old house by ourselves and plan on spending the first month of the New Year sleeping and sitting on our dock fishing! I'm still dividing my time between Mystery-Cozy.com and my other passion...Old Stuff! I'm having a ball finding and listing vintage items. It's a FUN challenge going out and looking around for old items that I can list on Etsy. If you have a moment, go take a look at my Etsy shop (and the rest of the site). It's a great site for Vintage and Hand-Made items. (http://www.etsy.com/shop/VickiesBeachHouse) I have a lot of new ideas for Mystery-Cozy.com and will start implementing them during the month of January. Now that things are settling down with the house, I'll have more time to work on things that I want to change. Keep checking back to the website for the new changes. The contests on Mystery-Cozy.com and the Mystery-Cozy Newsletter didn't get off to a running start...I had a winner for the October Newsletter Contest and winners for the November Website Contest and Newsletter Contest, but no one entered either the Website Contest or the Newsletter Contest in December. I'd love to see more of you enter and win some of these great books. A lot of authors are sending in signed copies of their latest books for me to give away in the contests. So take a look at the Contests Page and enter. It's free...and I pay the postage to get your prize to you. Great news about the Mystery-Cozy Website: In the month of October we went over 117,000 hits to the site!! I was so excited to see that! BUT in November we did even more...a total of 123,374 hits! December brought in 105,810 hits, which is excellent considering how busy everyone was with their holiday. WOW!! A BIG Thank You to all my visitors and authors for your constant support! Mystery-Cozy has accumulated over 893,944 hits in less than a year! We would only need 107,000 hits in the next 14 days to hit the 1,000,000 mark by Mystery-Cozy's 1st Year Anniversary on January 14th, 2011! I appreciate all the support and hope to have another great year in 2011! I'm thrilled that so many people love Mystery-Cozy.com! Thank You! Let me know if you have any questions, suggestions or comments. I love hearing from you! I hope you enjoy my Mystery-Cozy Newsletter! Have a prosperous and peaceful New Year... and for those of you up north...stay warm and well! Until next month, Vickie *********************************************************************************** *********************************************************************************** Mechanicsburg Mystery Books & Gifts *** We've donated 20 trees to be planted by American Forests so far this year. *** New and Used Mysteries. Free Shipping for online orders totaling $25 or more (does not include gift baskets). 10% off new books. Monthly specials. Stop in for a visit the next time you travel through PA. ********************************************************************************** ********************************************************************************** January * NEW RELEASES * (Click here to see the Full List) ************************ Mary Kennedy Stay Tuned for Murder 3rd Talk Radio Mysteries Jill Paton Walsh The Attenbury Emeralds 3rd New Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane Mysteries Madelyn Alt Home for a Spell 7th Bewitching Mysteries C.J. Sansom Heartstone 5th Matthew Shardlake Tudor Mysteries Cynthia Smith Silver and Guilt 5th Emma Rhodes Mysteries Jennie Bentley Mortar and Murder 4th Do It Yourself Mysteries Steve Hockensmith World’s Greatest Sleuth! 5th Holmes on the Range Mysteries Robert J. Randisi I’m a Fool to Kill You 5th Rat Pack Mysteries Blaize Clement Cat Sitter among the Pigeons 6th Dixie Hemingway Mysteries Peter Helton Falling More Slowly 1st Inspector Liam McLusky Mysteries Susan Rogers Cooper Full Circle 9th E. J. Pugh Mysteries Steven F. Havill Double Prey 17th Posadas County Mysteries Hannah Dennison Thieves! 4th Vicky Hill Mysteries P. L. Gaus A Prayer for the Night 7th Ohio Amish Country Mysteries Parnell Hall The KenKen Killings 12th Puzzle Lady Mysteries Elizabeth Gunn Kissing Arizona 3rd Sarah Burke Mysteries Julie Hyzy Buffalo West Wing 4th White House Chef Mysteries Sharon Fiffer Backstage Stuff 7th Jane Wheel Mysteries Lee Goldberg Mr. Monk on the Road 11th Adrian Monk Mysteries Laura Lippman The Girl in the Green Raincoat 11th Tess Monaghan Mysteries Diane Fanning Twisted Reason 4th Lucinda Pierce Mysteries Nancy Martin Foxy Roxy 1st Roxy Abruzzo Mysteries G. A. McKevett A Decadent Way to Die 16th Savannah Reid Mysteries Judith Cutler Ring of Guilt 3rd Lina Townend Mysteries Jenn McKinlay Buttercream Bump Off 2nd Cupcake Bakery Mysteries Amy Myers Murder on the Old Road 7th Marsh and Daughter Mysteries Jane Adams Blood Ties 6th Naomi Blake Mysteries Joyce Carol Oates Give Me Your Heart Tales of Mystery and Suspense ****************************************** ****************************************** Check Out My "Other" Passion! *~* Vickie's Vintage *~* Treasured Keepsakes Of Years Gone By ****************************************** ****************************************** New Authors To Be Added In January ************************ 23 New Authors to be added in January (go to "Author Pages" to see more!) Barry S. Brown Allison Cesario Paton John L. Betcher Lucille Kallen Meira Pentermann Sarah Addison Allen Olive Etchells Jim Lacey Donna Lynd Barbara Hamilton Fay Risner Catherine Shaw Sharon Pape V. C. Clinton-Baddeley Vicki Doudera Mary Anna Evans Al Roker Hannah Alexander Kate Jacobs Delia Rosen Ann Summerville Alan Gordon Phil Rickman Gayle Wigglesworth ****************************************** ****************************************** Click here to place your ad #N-3 ****************************************** ****************************************** The CONTESTS: No Winners in December! (Please check the website Contest page for rules and details... http://www.mystery-cozy.com/Mystery-Cozy-Contests.html ) For the Website... Find the "C" Author whose main character plays poker! For the Newsletter... Find a misspelled word, grammar error, punctuation error or any other mistake in my opening greeting! Good Luck and Have Fun!!!!! ****************************************** ****************************************** Click here to place your ad #N-3 ****************************************** ****************************************** BOOK REVIEW ************** KATE KINGSBURY Mistletoe and Mayhem A Special Pennyfoot Hotel Mystery Kate Kingsbury's Bio: I realized, some time ago, that you know nothing about me. Not a good way to run a website. So here are the basic facts, and I'll add to them as I get time. I was born in England, shortly before the outbreak of WW II. (Yes, I really was!) I spent the war years in London, spending most of my time between school and air raid shelters. When things got a little noisy outside the shelters, and everyone was too scared to sing, I'd get up and start telling a story, making it up as I went along. Before long word got around, and I was asked to entertain on a regular basis. Thus the storyteller was born. It was many, many years, however before I actually saw my stories in print. My first publishing effort was a letter to the children's page of a British national newspaper. It described how our cat would thrust one paw through the letter box in our front door and bang the doorknocker with the other paw. When we opened the door the cat walked in. It was months before any of us realized why no one was at the door when we answered it. Anyway, I was eight years old and I got paid for the letter. My first sale! The second came nearly fifty years later. (I'm a late bloomer.) In between I enjoyed a short career on the stage as one half of a sister act, until I emigrated to the United States with my husband. That put pay to my stage career, but I kept my hand in by playing piano and singing at a local English-style pub every month on British Night. I worked as a receptionist, accountant, office manager, executive secretary and for a change of pace, a salad maker in a restaurant. I actually worked with the first prototype computer. It took up the entire room, with tapes almost as big as me. The noise of all those wheels whirring around was distracting. How far we've come in such a short time. My son was born in 1968, and during the first few months of his life I stayed home and renewed my interest in writing. Then my husband decided to go into business for himself, selling British Foods to the ex-patriots and many Americans (all of whom had excellent taste, of course.) He sold, and I did the accounts. We became partners and incorporated, but the writing bug wouldn't leave me alone. The first manuscript I had the nerve to submit was accepted by Silhouette Books in 1987, and my new career began. I wrote my first book on a typewriter. I often say that if computers hadn't been invented, I would not be a writer today. As it was, graduating to a computer changed my life. Back then, comparatively few people had access to a chat room. Those who did were usually savvy computer types, business people and writers. With my thirty year marriage breaking up, the chat rooms became salvation. I found companionship, friendship and eventually love. He lived on the east coast, I lived on the west. That was in 1993, when computer time was charged by the minute. When our computer and phone bills added up to $1500 a month, we decided it would be cheaper to get together. We met for the first time at the airport in Portland, Oregon, and the next day drove across the country to Philadelphia. I had to call my sister and close friends every night to reassure them that I wasn't with an axe murderer. A year later we were married in Las Vegas on our way back to Oregon, where we've lived happily ever since. Now, how's that for romance! A few years ago we added to our happy home a cute little rat terrier who thinks she's a Great Dane. All fifteen pounds of her. She rules the household, nevertheless. A true member of the family. ********************************** Mistletoe and Mayhem Review: The staff of the Pennyfoot Country Club hopes that this year, Father Christmas will bring good tidings and break from a streak of bad luck that has plagued the hotel, its staff and guests in previous years. "For all who entered the Pennyfoot's walls in December did so at the risk of falling prey to the infamous Christmas curse," but this year, owner Cecily Sinclair Baxter was determined that only the best of Edwardian Christmases will be in store for her staff and guests. "Mistletoe and Mayhem" by Kate Kingsbury is the sixth in a special Pennyfoot Hotel Christmas series, and it's the first one I've read - but it won't be my last. Set in a little town called Badgers End, on England's southeast coast, the Pennyfoot is decked with holly and adorned with a "kissing ball." Although kissing under the mistletoe is a centuries-old tradition, at the Pennyfoot, people who are spied kissing under it keep turning up dead, and it's up to Cecily to figure out who the killer is before more deaths and additional fears ruin the Christmas holidays. And, then there's this slight problem: "The possibility existed of an insane murderer intent on wiping out the entire Pennyfoot staff." Meanwhile, there's also a longstanding feud between the owners of hotel and the local inspector. "Inspector Cranshaw had long ago formed the opinion that the Pennyfoot was a den of iniquity and should be shut down forever. Anytime he had reason to investigate a crime on or near the premises, it raised the possibility of him getting his wish." Ironically, I finished reading this book on Christmas Eve, the date that this story ends, so I thought I'd offer readers a bonus Cozy Corner review this week. And because the acknowledgement page said the author hoped that this wouldn't be the last special Pennyfoot book, I headed to her website to see why. On it, she explains that her publisher has terminated further books in two of her other series and she wasn't certain of the fate of Pennyfoot holiday books. But there's good news, Kingsbury is working on "Herald of Death" for 2011, and she gave a sneak peak at Cecily's next adventure. Goody, something fun to look forward to next Christmas. Plus, if you like "Mistletoe and Mayhem," there are five previous special holiday Pennyfoot books, as well as 12 titles in the Pennyfoot Hotel series to hunt down before next year's installment hits the book stores. Cozy Corner Book Review by Lisa Allmendinger About Lisa Allmendinger: Lisa Allmendinger has been a reporter for 30 years at a number of daily and weekly newspapers. In addition, she's been the editor of I Love Cats magazine, an international publication, for 21 years, but don't tell her two Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever dogs, Ryan and Driver. Allmendinger shows her Tollers in agility, obedience and conformation competitions. She lives in Sylvan Township. A reporter for AnnArbor.com, Lisa can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com. Her Cozy Corner mystery reviews run each Wednesday. ************************************************************************************ ************************************************************************************ Contact Me To Place Your Ad Here ************************************************************************************ ************************************************************************************ AUTHOR INTERVIEW ******************** An Interview with NANCY LYNN JARVIS Author of the Regan McHenry Mystery Series Interview by Cathy B Stucker Short Bio: Nancy Lynn Jarvis has been a Santa Cruz, California, Realtor for twenty years. She owns a real estate company with her husband, Craig. After earning a BA in behavioral science from San Jose State University, she worked in the advertising department of the San Jose Mercury News. A move to Santa Cruz meant a new job as a librarian and later a stint as the business manager of Shakespeare/Santa Cruz. Nancy's work history reflects her philosophy: people should try something radically different every few years. Writing is her newest adventure. She invites you to take a peek into the real estate world through the stories that form the backdrop of her Regan McHenry mysteries. Details and ideas come from Nancy's own experiences. If you're one of her clients or colleagues, read carefully - you may find characters in her books who seem familiar. You may know the people who inspired them - you may even see yourself in print. Stucker: What is your most recent book? Tell us a bit about it. Jarvis: Backyard Bones is a mystery that begins with children unearthing a skeleton in their new back yard. It’s an ancient burial, but they find another body in the same place a few weeks later and it’s murder. My protagonist, Regan McHenry, is the Realtor who sold the house where the murder victim turned up. She gets drawn in to investigating as an amateur sleuth because the police suspect her client. It turns out lots of people in the neighborhood have secrets regarding the murder victim and no one’s relationship with the victim is quite as it seems. Her curiosity gets her in trouble and she has to figure out which suspect is the murderer before she becomes a victim herself. Stucker: Tell us something about yourself. Jarvis: I’ve been a Realtor for the past twenty years in Santa Cruz, California, I still own a small real estate company with my husband, Craig, although we haven’t been actively working for the past couple of years. Before that, my career was checkered. After earning a BA in behavioral science from San Jose State University, I worked in the advertising department of the San Jose Mercury News, as a librarian, and later a stint as the business manager of Shakespeare/Santa Cruz. My work history reflects my philosophy: people should try something radically different every few years. Writing is my newest adventure. Stucker: What inspired you to write this book? Jarvis: I’d been a Realtor long enough to have worked in really down markets before the 2007 real estate collapse. Markets like that are cruel, painful and frustrating. I decided I wanted to take a time-out rather than working through it. I got bored with my elected break and decided it would be an entertaining puzzle solving exercise to see if I could write a mystery. I took the phrase “write what you know” to heart and started writing using people I knew as the characters and experiences I’d had as background. The writing quickly evolved from that start, but it was really fun to do. Stucker: How did you publish this book? Jarvis: Remember, writing started as a game for me. I never intended to do anything with what I wrote. That changed when a friend who always wanted to write and see her name in print was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Possibly because my husband and I had a long history of being small business owners, we decided to set up a micro publishing company, dedicate the first book to her, and get some copies of the first book, The Death Contingency, out there so she could see her wish fulfilled before she died. Our skills meshed well for editing, design, using technology, and marketing. We found a printer and were ready to go. Our initial investment only involved some minor trademarking and copywriting expense and book printing. Initially we went with a POD printer to keep costs down and only printed 100 books to see what might happen. They sold in a day and the business has been growing ever since. Stucker: What do you believe is the hardest part of writing? Jarvis: Creating unpleasant scenes like finding a body or being in a tight situation with the bad guy are the hardest parts to write. I’m really in the moment and sharing what’s happening to Regan as I write, so I can get upset. I’ve been known to cry while I’m writing. Stucker: How do you do research for your books? Jarvis: Except for the murders, details and ideas come from my own experiences. I decided to set my book in Santa Cruz, a location I knew well after living there for many years, and make the protagonist a real estate agent because I’m so familiar with that world. Real estate has its own culture and most people don’t know much about it; I thought readers might get a kick out of “inside information.” Also, I had a stockpile of funny, interesting, unusual, and odd things that had happened during my twenty year career to use as background material. For the rest of it, I use the internet primarily. There is a real book called Decomposition for Dummies, but you’d be amazed what information is available online. If anyone checked my computer, they might worry about me. Among the ghoulish details they’d find are articles on dying of hypothermia for The Death Contingency, squatting facets for Backyard Bones, and accidental mummification for Buying Murder. Stucker: Did you learn anything from writing this book? What? Jarvis: I’ve learned many things but two things have surprised me the most about writing. The first is how much fun it is. I love all aspects of it: writing, cover design, publicizing, and especially talking to people at book signings. I’ve met many interesting people I would never have known if I hadn’t written the books. The other surprising thing is that, even though I have a story outline and have created a life history for all the characters so I understand them, sometimes the characters tell me things about themselves I didn’t know. In Backyard Bones I had intended to have a different character be the murderer, but when it came time to write the unveiling, as it were, I knew I had been wrong about the killer’s identity. I thought I could go back and change a few things and add a few clues to make the new killer work since the book presents many suspects, but when I went back to add the needed clues, I discovered they were already in place. Evidently the killer had been telling me about his guilt all along, but, like Regan, I missed it until then. Discoveries like that make writing especially entertaining for me—and hopefully for my readers as well. Stucker: What types of books do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors? Jarvis: I read more non-fiction more than fiction, especially anything to do with history or politics. My favorite authors for fiction are Margaret Atwood, Amy Tan, and E.L. Doctorow For mystery I like Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers and Tony Hillerman. Stucker: Are you working on your next book? What can you tell us about it? Jarvis: I just finished writing the third book in the series. It’s called Buying Murder. It’s just off to the editor. It begins with a building inspector finding a partially mummified body. The inspiration for it came from conversations around an odd triangular wall space in a house my clients were buying. They joked with the building inspector that the space seemed like a good place to hide a body and asked him to explain why it was there. He came down from the attic after taking a look at it and, with a perfectly straight face, announced he found Jimmy Hoffa. Now I’m taking it further and using it as the starting point for a book. Stucker: What is the best advice you could give other writers about writing or publishing? Jarvis: Specifically for what I’m doing publishing, I would recommend getting a couple of books, Poytner’s books are great, and then go online to places like Linkedin and Goodreads and talk to some other writers to share experiences. You’ll get some great ideas and meet some terrific people. For writers: edit, edit, edit. When you think your book is ready for prime-time, edit it again and get a good copy editor to go over it, too. Even if your story is wonderful, your reader won’t think it is if they get distracted by mistakes. Stucker: What are you doing to promote your latest book? Jarvis: In addition to normal things like book signings, getting local newspaper articles, and getting on as many blogs as possible, I’ve gotten national press with had a mention in Costco Magazine and in The National Association of Realtors Magazine. I also belong to Sisters In Crime, a group for mystery writers. Stucker: Where can readers learn more about you and your book? Jarvis: Your readers can read the first chapters of the books and pick up a recipe for “Mysterious Chocolate Chip Cookies for free at http://www.goodreadmysteries.com. Books can be purchased from the website and on Amazon.com. ****************************************** ****************************************** Click here to place your ad #N-5 ****************************************** ****************************************** INTERESTING ITEMS FROM MY AUTHORS **************************************** ~ From JACKIE GRIFFEY: http://www.jackiegriffey.com http://jjgbreaktimewithjackie.blogspot.com I've just put four of my Maryvale cozy mystery series up on Kindle with the first one to follow later when I get the rest of the rights back. The first one on Kindle is the second in the series, THE NELSON SCANDAL. It's also at a 'gift' price of $2.99 to read about the hot clues and cold trails Sheriff Cas Larkin and his matchmaking wife, Connie, follow investigating four homicides - two of them more than a hundred years old. ~ From LUISA BUEHLER: http://www.luisabuehler.com http://www.luisabuehler.wordpress.com Thank you for including me. I have a new book (#7) coming out in the series in March of 2011. Grace Marsden Mysteries ~ Think Monk in a skirt solving Cold Cases ~ ~ From RHYS BOWEN: http://www.rhysbowen.com/ http://www.rhysbowen.blogspot.com http://www.jungleredwriters.com The movie version of Her Royal Spyness is still progressing nicely. They hope to have the script finished any day and then I guess it's casting and getting major studios to come onboard. Any suggestions as to who should play Georgie? What's next for Molly and Georgie? The next Molly book comes out in March and is called Bless the Bride. Is Molly finally getting married? If she can survive an adventure that involves her with New York's Chinatown. And Lady Georgie? Like so many English aristocrats of her era so goes to spend the winter on the Riviera--only in her case she is assigned a little underhand business to do by Queen Mary. I blog about twice a week at Rhys's Pieces, http://www.rhysbowen.blogspot.com I'm also a member of the famous Jungle Red Writers blog where we discuss fun, controversial and interesting subjects every day. That's at http://www.jungleredwriters.com I hold frequent contests on www.freshfiction.com and give away English teatime baskets, royal jewelry and all kinds of good stuff so check that great site out from time to time. ~ From CONNIE SHELTON: Amazon.com bestselling author of the Charlie Parker Mystery Series and the NEW Samantha Sweet mysteries. Get my free mystery newsletter by visiting my website:www.connieshelton.com Interested in writing? Get my free fiction writing tips ( http://connieshelton.startlogic.com/novelinaweekend/5152.html )and learn how you can start your own book in just one weekend! And check out my latest how-to writing guide, Show, Don't Tell: Five Secrets to Solving the #1 Problem in Fiction Writing". ~ From SHEILA LOWE: www.sheilalowe.com www.claudiaroseseries.com I've signed with a wonderful literary agency who is looking for a new publisher for my Claudia Rose Forensic Handwriting Mystery series, as well as the thriller I'm working on: LYING...IN BED. "Lying" is a standalone, but Claudia and some of her friends are in it. I'm still in the full-time practice of forensic handwriting examination and gave some court testimony this year. I'm also still analyzing handwriting for personality for employers, private investigators, individuals, etc., etc., worldwide. ~ From PEGGY EHRHART: http://www.PeggyEhrhart.com The second book in the Maxx Maxwell mystery series is due out at the end of January: Got No Friend Anyhow from Five Star/Gale/Cengage. Sweet Man Is Gone is now available in e-book formats. Here are the links-- Kindle Nook Apple iBookstore The Digital Bookshop ~ From HANNAH DENNISON: http://www.hannahdennison.com http://hannahdennison.blogspot.com/ For those of you who live in Los Angeles, I would love to see you at the launch party for THIEVES! which will be held on Saturday January 8 at 4.30 pm at The Mystery Bookstore in Westwood. As always there will be food, wine -- and a raffle! January marks the beginning of the Gipping Guessing Game - a monthly contest with some fun prizes. Details can be found on my website in the new year. Also, Vicky Hill now has her very own Facebook page - so if you're curious about what she's up to in Gipping-on-Plym when she's not solving the odd murder, please swing by. ~ From SHARON PAPE: http://www.sharonpape.com My first book, Sketch Me If You Can debuted in August. The second, To Sketch a Thief will be out June 7th, 2011 and I've almost finished writing number three --Sketch a Falling Star. ****************************************** ****************************************** Click here to place your ad #N-6 ****************************************** ****************************************** 1st IN THE SERIES: Leann Sweeney Author of the Yellow Rose Mysteries and the Cats in Trouble Mysteries By Victoria L. Webb, copyright 2010 ************************************* Short Bio: Leann Sweeney was born and raised in Niagara Falls and educated at St. Joseph's Hospital and Lemoyne College in Syracuse, NY. She also has a degree from the University of Houston in behavioral science and worked for many years in psychiatry and as a school nurse; she has retired to write full-time. She began writing in 1980, fulfilling her lifelong dream. After perfecting her writing skills with classes and a small fortune in writing books, she joined MWA and Sisters in Crime. Now she's in love with both her NAL/Obsidian mystery series: The Yellow Rose Mysteries and the Cats in Trouble Mysteries, and it shows--The Cat, The Quilt and The Corpse was the #1 bestseller on the Independent Mystery Bookseller's List when it debuted and made several top twenty lists for 2009 at bookstores across the country. Leann is married with two fabulous grown children, a wonderful son-in-law and a beautiful daughter-in-law--not to mention grandaughter Maddison Grace (Maddie). She has lived in Texas since 1974 and resides in Friendswood, Texas with husband Mike, her three cats, and Rosie--the smart, retrieving, golf-ball chasing, busy-busy-busy mini-labradoodle. Read more about Leann's cats: http://www.leannsweeney.com/a.leann.html ************************************** Vickie: Where were you/what were you doing when you heard your book was going to be published? Leann: I was at my day job when I got the call. I was a school nurse for 20 years and I was in my clinic, probably stopping a nosebleed or helping someone through an asthma attack. Then I nearly had an asthma attack. I was stunned and then I cried. Vickie: How long did it take you to complete your first book? Leann: It took me nine months to write that first book, Pick Your Poison. Vickie: How long did it take to get your first book published? Leann: ELEVEN YEARS! Vickie: When you wrote your first book, did you know it would become a series? Leann: Yes because I'd written 2 more books in the series in those eleven years. Turns out, they didn't want those 2 other books and I ended up writing 4 more in that series that were published. The last one came out in 2008. Vickie: How did you come up with the "theme" of your series? Leann: For my first series, I came up with the theme (adoption mysteries) because there was an adoption secret in our family and I read a newspaper article about a corrupt family court judge. The book took off from there. The Cats in Trouble idea came from a B&N sales rep, believe it or not. My editor asked me to write the series and since I am huge cat lover, I jumped at the idea. it's turned out very well! Vickie: How long after your first book, did you start the next one in the series? Leann: I started it right away while sending out the first manuscript to agents and editors. I have been writing continuously for the last twenty years now. Writers write. Once you figure out that's who you are, you couldn't stop if you wanted to. Vickie: When you wrote your first book, did you know the title before, during or after you wrote it? Leann: It had several titles, but my editor liked Pick Your Poison the best. Seems like my first books always had title changes. Vickie: When you wrote your first book, was the term "Cozy Mystery" being used yet? Leann: I think that term had been around since Agatha Christie. I knew that's what I was writing. But "cozy" fell out of favor on the marketing side and so my Yellow Rose books were marketed as "chick lit." But they're cozies. And now that the term cozy is popular again, my cat series proudly wears that brand! Vickie: How do you feel about being included in the phenomenon of the extremely popular "Cozy Mystery" genre? Leann: I love it. As I said, I always knew what I was writing and have adored the genre since I was a kid. Both my "first in a series" are very dear to my heart and I feel so fortunate to be doing what I love. ****************************************** ****************************************** Click here to place your ad #N-7 ****************************************** ****************************************** See you next month! Vickie www.Mystery-Cozy.com Vickie@Mystery-Cozy.com Mystery-Cozy.com P. O. Box 14457 Bradenton, FL 34280 USA ****************************************** Copyright 2010 Mystery-Cozy.com! ****************************************** You are receiving this newsletter because you sent an email to Vickie@mystery-cozy.com and requested it. Feel free to forward this newsletter on to friends and family, fans of cozy mysteries. If you prefer not to receive anymore Newsletters from Mystery-Cozy.com - Send me a quick email at vickie@mystery-cozy.com and I'll take you off my list. Thanks! Diana Orgain Judi McCoy Gail Oust Ellery Adams Lucy Lawrence Sue Ann Jaffarian If you would like to be put on my e-mail list for receiving my Cozy Mystery Quarterly Newsletter please click "Cozy Mysteries". If you have any questions, suggestions or requests, please email me! Thanks for stopping by and come back again soon!!! Take a look at my other "passion". Copyright © 2009 - 2012 All Rights Reserved, Victoria L. Webb Mystery-Cozy.com P.O.Box 14457 Bradenton Florida 34280 Website: www.Mystery-Cozy.com Email: Vickie@Mystery-Cozy.com