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Terry Ambrose

Writing is like a good barbecue sauce, if it ain't bold, it ain't worth doing.

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You are here: Home / Archives for cozy mystery

cozy mystery

Behind the story of Fishing for Trouble by Elizabeth Logan

December 1, 2020 By Terry 2 Comments

Fishing for Trouble tour graphic
Fishing for Trouble by Elizabeth Logan

Behind the story of Fishing for Trouble by Elizabeth Logan Elizabeth Logan is the (current) pen name for Camille Minichino, who is determined to turn every aspect of her life into a mystery series. A retired physicist, she’s the author of 28 mystery novels in 5 series, all with different pen names. Fishing for Trouble is the second book in the Alaskan Diner series.

Under contract, but following her instincts

Camille said she decided to write this series and Fishing for Trouble when she was offered a work-for-hire contract from the publisher that.came with “a bible.” What this means is the publisher determined the major details, i.e., the protagonist is the owner of a diner in Alaska; her name is Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Cooke; her BFF owns an inn down the road; she works with Alaska State Trooper Cody Graham; her chief cook (also the victim in the first book) is Oliver; and more!

This was Camille’s first work-for-hire contract. She said, “The bible specifies so many details that writing it turned out to be not too different from a board game, working around the ‘givens’ to construct a story. I did get to choose her hair color. But not her pet, an orange tabby named Benny, short for Eggs Benedict.”

Camille said the one issue that runs through all her books is feminism. “Not necessarily the banner-carrying kind, though I’ve done my share of that, but the subtle kind that makes sure the protagonist (they’re all female) is strong enough to be self-supporting, both financially and emotionally, that she is as smart as any male counterpart. In earlier books, my agenda was to show women as scientists or mathematicians, a STEM agenda in itself. In my current book, the second in the Alaskan Diner series, she’s a business owner and, of course, a master sleuth!”

Camille Minichino writing as Elizabeth Logan

Up close and personal

“You need to know these idiosyncrasies only if you plan to spend a week or so with me. I’m not sure it will affect how you approach my books. First, I don’t like maintenance of any kind. This applies to grooming (no makeup or extraneous cosmetics), housework, office work like scheduling and filing, or follow-up chores.

“Second, I’m not much of finisher, which I view as maintenance. The fact that I’ve finished 28 novels and a host of short stories and articles is due entirely to deadlines for my day job and publishers. Otherwise, I’d have to return payroll checks, advances, and royalties.

“Lastly, I want to create and run. If you need highly polished floors, you’re on your own.”

Not a finisher, but up to a challenge

“My biggest challenge with this series was Benny, the cat. Definitely Benny, the cat. Those who know me know I have never nor will I ever have a pet. No dogs, cats, parrots, fish. None. I don’t hate them; I just don’t want to be bothered maintaining a creature that is not human, that is, will never grow up and move out, get a job, and be on his or her own. (See #3, regarding maintenance.)

“Nevertheless, I accepted Benny (again, see #3, this time with respect to advances and royalties) and appealed to my cat-loving friends, whose name, it turns out, is legion. They only too happily showered me with cat stories and photos of cats in different positions, so to speak. I have a binder full of What cats eat or don’t eat, What they sound like, How their tail communicates. One of the cat people even constructed a Pinterest page for Benny.

“What could have been very challenging turned into a great new way to relate to my friends and critique partners.”

Embalming, anyone?

“I have a cousin-once-removed who is married to a freelance embalmer. I know, that’s already funny, but Bobby is also a funny guy. When I was writing the Periodic Table Mysteries, my first series, I wanted to give my retired-physicist protagonist (i.e., me) something to make her likeable. Fun to have lunch with. Give physicists a good name. So, I gave her a pair of best friends who run a mortuary and offer her the apartment above the parlor, two levels above the embalming room.

“Well, you can see where this is going. Bobby became my expert witness as the series went on (The Hydrogen Murder, The Helium Murder, and so on) as he shared his funniest true stories and I turned them into my fiction, changing names to protect the innocent.

“It seems that when a dearly departed is laid out for viewing in a casket, the clothes are cut up in such a way as to make the prep easy. For example, a dress or jacket will be sliced up the back and tucked in the sides of the casket, which is more convenient than trying to ‘dress’ the person.

“One day, one of Bobby’s friends came to visit in the prep room. The guy took off his jacket and hung it on the back of a chair. I’ll leave you to figure out the punch line!”

Dying to learn more about Camille Minichino or Fishing for Trouble? Check out her website at minichino.com. And, if you’d like to see more of my Behind the Story interviews, you can pick and choose here.

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Filed Under: Author Interviews Tagged With: cozy mystery

Behind the story of Larceny at the Library

July 21, 2020 By Terry 2 Comments

Colleen J. Shogan is a political scientist by training. She’s worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative staffer in the United States Senate and as a senior executive at the Library of Congress. In addition to her role as Senior Vice President of the White House Historical Association, she’s also the award-winning author of the Washington Whodunnit series. Larceny at the Library is the sixth book in the series.

Love of libraries

Colleen worked for almost twelve years at the Library of Congress in a variety of different management positions. She said sheI’d always wanted to write a contemporary murder mystery set at the Library. “I’m so excited I was able to do it. My exposure to the collections and incredible staff who work there provided me with the creative ideas for the book, but all characters are fictitious!”

Even though the series is set within the world of politics in Washington, D.C., Colleen doesn’t advocate for policy issues. She did, however, have a goal.

“I wanted to make more people aware of the vast resources available at the Library of Congress. I hope that readers enjoy the mystery, but when they finish the book, they decide they want to visit the Library, either in person or online.”

For this book Colleen said she spent a great deal of time in various rooms of the Library of Congress. “I made notes about the specific architectural or artistic details. I desperately wanted the murder to take place in the Librarian’s Ceremonial Office, an ornate room inside the historic Jefferson Building. I focused on that room for a while before I decided how the murder would occur in the book.”

A series with substance

“I like providing readers with some historical facts and substance in my novels. Yes, there’s also humor and certainly the plot of a whodunit. But I try to incorporate knowledge and information, which distinguishes them from the average cozy mystery.”

Colleen noted that in the research for her fourth book, K Street Killing, forced her to do a little real-life storytelling. “I snuck onto the rooftop terrace of a popular, swanky restaurant that lobbyists frequent. I wanted the murder to take place at that location, but I wasn’t sure it was feasible. I had to tell a white lie to gain access to the area, but it was worth it!”

Learn more about Colleen J. Shogan at www.colleenshogan.com

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Filed Under: Author Interviews Tagged With: cozy mystery

Review of Ask Me No Questions: A Lady Dunbridge Mystery

December 6, 2018 By Terry 1 Comment

From the publisher of Ask Me No Questions

From New York Times bestselling author Shelley Noble, Ask Me No Questions is the first in the Lady Dunbridge Mystery series featuring a widow turned sleuth in turn-of-the-twentieth century New York City.

A modern woman in 1907, Lady Dunbridge is not about to let a little thing like the death of her husband ruin her social life. She’s ready to take the dazzling world of Gilded Age Manhattan by storm.

From the decadence of high society balls to the underbelly of Belmont horse racing, romance, murder, and scandals abound. Someone simply must do something. And Lady Dunbridge is happy to oblige.

My review

I was really looking forward to reading this book. I love the time period, the pomp and circumstance, and and the spirit of the times. In short, I came into this book with high expectations.

The story begins with a smart introduction of Philomena Amesbury, the countess of Dunbridge. Known as Phil to her friends  She has sass, is smart, and has no compunction about showing up the police.

The strength of this book is the plot and the story. It’s filled with twists that left me unsure of who the killer was until the end. For readers who like the continuity of a series, the author introduced multiple long story arcs, which will likely form the basis of future stories.

In period pieces, I look forward to being immersed in the world, but I found the descriptions and character development weak. There were times when they didn’t paint a clear picture, making it difficult to visualize the setting, the dress, the atmosphere, and others where I was quite satisfied. The one main character who really shined was Detective Sergeant John Atkins. His essence and values were clear from the beginning and remained true throughout.

This was a good story overall. I was always interested to see what was coming next and wanted to know how Phil was going to solve the crime. I’m also curious as to what her next adventure will be.

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Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: book review, cozy mystery, New York Times bestseller

Behind the story of Death Diamonds and Freezer Burn

November 6, 2018 By Terry 1 Comment

Tricia L. Sanders writes cozy mysteries and women’s fiction. Death, Diamonds, and Freezer Burn is the second in her Grime Pays mystery series. A former corporate trainer, Tricia has traded in her bullet points for the chance to make things up. She likes to write books in which women control their own destiny.

Death, Diamonds, and Freezer Burn from the headlines

“In Death, Diamonds, and Freezer Burn, Cece is wavering to find solid footing after a failed marriage. Instead of sitting around and feeling sorry for herself, she starts her own business,” Tricia said. “Parts of this story were from a newspaper headline I read a long time ago. I had clipped the headline and filed it away. When I started looking for ideas, I pulled this one out of the folder and it resonated with what Cece might run across in building her new business while doing a favor for an old friend.”

Living life for fun

Tricia said no one knows how many days they have left on this planet, which is why she’s committed to using hers wisely. “I’m having the most fun I can. If that means I have to put something aside to take trip, then I’ll do it.  I love to travel. I love to take photos, and I love to write. Not necessarily in that order. If I can do them at the same time, then I’m the winner.”

She added that the friends she’s made during the process of writing is the most rewarding. “I have at least a dozen or so very good friends who are writers and many, many more who have touched my life in some way or another, and the thing they all have in common is that I would not have met them had it not been for writing this book.

“I also write about friendships in my book and explore the friendship of longtime friends, like Cece and Angie, and friends we’ve grown distant from, but who still fill our hearts with good memories like Carla.  And there’s also the new friendships that bloom when unlikely women share a common goal which eventually leads to friendship—like Cece and Nancy. There’s also some one-sided male/female relationships in the book like Cece and Grant Hunter. She’s attracted to him as a friend, but he is obviously looking for a deeper connection.”

One of the things Tricia did for fun, but has now decided must make its way into a future book was riding in a hot air balloon. “I will definitely use that experience in a story. I look forward to Cece and Detective Alder taking a hot air balloon ride. I’m sure there will be a blip though, and it won’t all be fun and games.”

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Filed Under: Author Interviews Tagged With: cozy mystery

Review of Back Stabbers by Julie Mulhern

November 1, 2018 By Terry 23 Comments

From the publisher of Back Stabbers

All Ellison Russell wanted was an update on her stock portfolio. Instead, she found her broker dead.

With an unexpected out-of-town guest at her house, Ellison is too busy for a murder investigation. Only this time, Detective Anarchy Jones wants her help, and she can’t deny the handsome detective. Can Mr. Coffee supply her with enough caffeine to keep her brain sharp and everyone else happy?

Juggling bodies (one, two, three, four), two-faced friends, her social calendar, and a cat (yes, a cat) is taxing but Mother might be the biggest challenge of all.

With a killer drawing closer, can Ellison put together the pieces or will she be the one getting stabbed in the back?

My review

This cute cozy is filled with humor, twists-and-turns, and a look back to seventies high society. It’s a fun read with crisp dialogue and quirky characters. I especially liked the scene in which there is a literal cat-and-dog fight that results in plenty of mayhem. I don’t want to spoil the surprise of where the cat winds up, but it had me laughing out loud.

The identity if the killer isn’t clear until the end thanks to red herrings and some deft plotting. Relationships between the characters feel real—even when they’re the deliberately contrived relationships of people who mix socially but dislike each other. This creates some delicious backbiting which we, as readers, get to enjoy.

Book & a Latte Contest

What: This month, Julie is giving away one e-book copy of “Back Stabbers” and I’m adding a $5.00 Starbucks gift card. One random entry will be chosen as the winner. The winner will receive a book and a gift card.

How to enter: Choose one or more of the options below. Each option gives you an additional chance to win.

Who can enter: This contest is only open to anyone over 18 years of age.

Winners: Selected winners must claim prizes within 72 hours of notification. Verification of entries: All winning entries are subject to verification.

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Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: book review, cozy mystery

Behind the story of A Crafter Knits a Clue by Holly Quinn

October 9, 2018 By Terry 2 Comments

Holly Quinn is both an avid reader and crafter. She sells her artistic creations locally and dreamed of one day opening a gift shop to sell local artist’s handiwork. Instead, she began writing about it, which is how the Handcrafted Mystery series was born. A Crafter Knits a Clue is the first book in the series.

A Crafter Knits a Clue comes from a love of crafting

Holly said that as someone who paints, quilts, sews, and gardens, she’s always fantasized about owning a local shop where townspeople could sell their wares. “I’m genuinely interested and seek to purchase handcrafted items as they are vastly unique and created with love… much like writing. However, I also LOVE a good mystery. I combined the two and voila! My books are written strictly from a very curious mind. My mother always said as a child I asked way too many questions. Why does this happen? Why did that happen? It’s why I LOVE a good mystery. I’m always looking for what isn’t said or what is hidden within the text, people’s motives etc.… In that way alone, I’m much like my main character, Sammy Kane.”

Pouring everything into writing

“I take this writing gig very seriously,” Holly said. “I often begin my workday in the wee hours of the morning—like 4 AM with plenty of coffee. I hope in doing so, readers are entertained to the point of not wanting to put the book down and my work ‘stands out’ in a flooded market. Writing and art are the only times I feel the freedom of ‘living in the moment.’ The minute I’m done writing or creating, my mind is completely unfocused and seriously a bit attention deficit to be honest.”

Holly said there are three characters in the book who share the initials S.H.E. “The initials  represent SHE Detective Agency—a pretend club from their youth. This was based on an actual club I had created during my grade school years which I teased someday I would write about … and here I am! If you liked reading Nancy Drew as a child as much as I did, this series might be right up your alley!”

Christmas in July

“While working on the holiday book for this series, I purchased an essential oil necklace and breathed in the scent of Christmas during the hot and humid summer to think Christmas thoughts. And watched a lot of Christmas in July on Hallmark! I told my husband he might come home from work to find the house decorated, lights blinking, the air-conditioning set to full blast, and a house full of people ready to spend a fictional holiday.

Learn more about Holly Quinn and the Handcrafted Mystery series at www.authorhollyquinn.com.

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Filed Under: Author Interviews Tagged With: cozy mystery, interview

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