Cozy Mystery Writers

I thoroughly enjoy both reading and writing cozy mysteries. For those who are not sure what a cozy mystery is, they can be defined as gentle mysteries, with no blood and guts, no violence, no cursing, no graphic sex, where the action in general takes place in small communities, and those doing the detecting are amateurs. The following are cozy mystery authors that I follow:

Susan Wittig Albert - The series that I follow here is the China Bayles Herbal Mysteries. It is a small town setting, with interesting characters and a lot of useful information on herbs,

M.C. Beaton - The series that I follow here are the Agatha Raisin series and the Hamish McBeath series. Both take place in small communities, are laced with humor, and push credulity.

Lilian Jackson Braun - The series that I follow here is the Cat Who series. The background is a small town community, where the protagonist writes a column for the local newspaper, as well as being the wealthiest person in the area. There is a strong cat theme here, as the protagonist is "owned" by two Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum.

Rita Mae Brown - The series that I follow here are the Mrs. Murphy series (all the animals talk, with Mrs. Murphy as the leading animal character), and the Sister Jane series, which is all about fox hunting (no, the fox is chased, but not hurt). 

Hope Callaghan - The series that I follow here are the Cruise Ship Christian Cozy mysteries, and the Garden Girls Christian Cozy mysteries. Both series have wonderful characters, great story lines, and they leave the reader smiling.

Laura Childs - The series that I follow here is the Tea Shop Mysteries.  Great reads, with recipies included!

Agatha Christie - Yes, these are older books, but I love re-reading them! I follow both the Miss Marple series (small community spinster sleuth) and the  Hercule Poirot series (dashing, celebrated Belgian detective). I love following the clues in both of these series!  

Cleo Coyle - The series that I follow here is A Coffeehouse Mystery. I do love coffee - and strong female protagonists! We get loads of info on coffee, and recipies!

Krista Davis - The series that I follow here is the Paws & Claws mysteries.

Vicki Delaney - The series that I follow here is the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery series. I am a tremendous Sherlock Holmes fan, and this series carries on a great tradition. With the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop right next door to Mrs Hudson's Tea Room, what can go wrong!

Joanne Fluke - The series that I follow here is the Hannah Swensen series. Set in Lake Eden, MN (my home state), we have a protagonist that owns a bakery, and a book filled with local culture and ... recipies! 

Dorothy Gilman - The series that I follow here is the Mrs. Polifax series. Retired garden club lady becomes first class spy ... and it is believable! 

Carolyn Hart - The series that I follow here is the Death On Demand series. The setting is the small seaside community of Broward's Rock. The protagonist is the owner of a local bookstore that focuses on mysteries.

I hope that you find one or two authors here that you would like to get to know. There is nothing better than a good mystery!

(c) September 2018 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.

How Susan Wittig Albert Influenced My Writing

Susan Wittig Albert (aka Robin Paige and Carolyn Keene) is the author of the fictional book "Loving Eleanor", as well as the China Bayles Herbal Mysteries, the Darling Dahlias Mysteries, and The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter. The China Bayles series were the first books from Albert to come to my attention. I was very atracted to this series because of the strong characters, and the real life situations they encountered. Bayles left a high profile professional life as a criminal attorney in Houston to open an herbal shop located in a small town located half-way between Austin and San Antonio. (I love the attached  tea shop, and the connecting metaphysical shop owned and run by her best friend.)

Each character is solidly written, with a past and a present that define who they are, and why they think and act as they do. We are shown how the words and actions of one character affect the other characters, and how life is full of surprises. Wittig also goes into the shadows of her characters past, and how they can hold them back in a very not good way. 

There are several areas of focus in the China Bayles series, inluding herbs, recipies, families, being supportive of friends, and metaphysics. This is important to me, as I would like to bring things such as Tarot, Reiki, and other healing modalities into my books. I also want these energies to take second place to the story that I am writing, so that they compliment it, but do not necessarily drive it. 

Another thing that I take away from Albert's series is attention to detail - especially details of a physical nature, such as how rooms are placed in relation to each other, how a house looks/feels overall, and how we relate to our surroundings.

The theme for April will be beta readers. My first blog will be on what they are, and why as writers we need them.

(c) March 2018 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.