Behind the story of Handmade Ho-Ho Homicide by Lois Winston

USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick-lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Here’s the story behind her latest Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Handmade Ho-Ho Homicide.

The beginning of a story

“I’ve always gotten most of my plots from actual events,” Lois said. “I’m a total news junkie. I read two newspapers every day and watch both local and national news on TV every night. The plot for Handmade Ho-Ho Homicide is loosely based on a murder that took place last year about twenty miles from where I live and hasn’t come to trial yet. Unfortunately, I can’t offer anything beyond that without divulging a huge plot spoiler.”

One of the questions asked in Handmade Ho-Ho Homicide is what happens when parents don’t set boundaries? Lois pointed out that family interactions play an important role in her series. “In Revenge of the Crafty Corpse, Book 3 of the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, I introduced readers to Ira Pollack. Ira is Anastasia’s half-brother-in-law, a widower with three extremely spoiled kids. No matter how much he gives them, it’s never enough. In Handmade Ho-Ho Homicide, the eighth and newest book in the series, Ira’s permissive attitudes toward childrearing come to a head when a murderer takes advantage of the over-the-top Christmas extravaganza Ira has created on his property to impress his children.”

No nightmares here

“Readers won’t have nightmares after they read one of mysteries,” Lois said. “There are enough scary things going on around us these days. I want to offer readers a respite from the real world. Yes, my books are about murders, but I leave the gore to other authors. I’ve dumped a lot on Anastasia, but she deals with her staggering debt, communist mother-in-law, serial bride mother, and all those dead bodies I drop at her feet with a Jersey Girl attitude. If you read an Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, you’ll laugh your way to discovering whodunit.”

Lois also said she’s not a funny person by nature. “I’ll think of the perfect rejoinder hours after the moment has passed, and I mess up the punch line of every joke I’ve ever tried to tell. So it came as a real shock to me when I began writing and found my inner humor emerging. On paper, through my characters, I know how to be funny. Publishers Weekly compared Anastasia to Tina Fey’s Liz Lemon, and Kirkus Reviews called her ‘North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.’ Imagine that!”

Research can be scary

“Before I wrote humorous cozy mysteries, I wrote romance and romantic suspense. Lost in Manhattan is a story that involves a member of the IRA seeking revenge on my heroine’s family. Bombs are involved. Since I knew nothing about bomb making, I began searching the Internet for information as to the accuracy of what I wanted to happen in a specific scene. I discovered The Anarchist’s Cookbook online and contact information for the author. So I emailed him the scene and asked if I had my facts right. He not only wrote back, he included diagrams for constructing the bomb! Luckily, this was in the late 1990’s, prior to 9/11, the formation of Homeland Security, and the growth of government cyber surveillance. Nowadays the government probably monitors all of this guy’s online activities. I’m lucky I’m not wearing an orange jumpsuit—I look awful in orange!”

Learn more about Lois Winston at www.loiswinston.com

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