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This book brings together essays written by a number of well-known writers of cozy mysteries, including Sherry Harris, Amanda Flower, Leslie Budewitz, and Edith Maxwell, among others, who provide insight into their approaches to writing. Topics covered include how they work with the form, develop characters and settings, and utilize the particular hook, skill or business that establishes the protagonist's ability to solve crimes. In addition to discussing these traditional aspects of writing, several authors focus on how they have expanded the direction the contemporary cozy mystery has taken with the inclusion of more diverse characters and social issues.
List of contents
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction: Give the Cozy Its
Phyllis M. Betz
PART ONE: Writing Genre
In Defense of Cozy Mysteries
Sherry Harris
Why I Became a Cozy Writer-And Why I'm Happy I
Vicki Delany
From Following the Rules and Regs to Throwing Them Out the Window
Justin M. Kiska
Crimes of Fashion
Diane Vallere
Where Subgenres Overlap
Kait Carson
Cozy and Not-So-Cozy Novels: Defying a Sub-Genre Label
Tina deBellegarde
Stepping Out of the Shadow of the Queen of Crime
Mary Anna Evans
Fair Play in Cozies
J.A. Hennrikus
The Accessibility of Cozies: How Playing Fair Is How Cozies Endure
Andrea J. Johnson
From Rue Morgue to the Craft Cozy: The Evolution of the Traditional Mystery
Peggy Ehrhart
Writing Multiple Series
Edith Maxwell
PART TWO: Writing Theme
Crafts and the Cozy Mystery
Sybil Johnson
"Cookies open doors": Food as an Investigative Tool
Maya Corrigan
Writing the World Around Us: Social Issues in the Cozy
Leslie Budewitz
Cultural Elements Elevate a Cozy Mystery
Jennifer J. Chow
PART THREE: Writing Setting
Mise-en-Scène
Rabbi Ilene Schneider
Handling Diverse Settings
Marni Graff
Cozy Crime in a Surveillance Society
M.E. Hilliard
PART FOUR: Writing Character
What Makes a Cozy Character
Amanda Flower
...And a Colorful Cast: Building a Diverse Cozy
Kathleen Marple Kalb (Nikki Knight)
I'm Okay, Really: Writing a Main Character Who Has an Addiction or a Mental Health Disorder
J.C. Kenney
Writing a Highly Sensitive Amateur Sleuth
Carol E. Ayer
Why I Wrote a Buddy Cop Series with a Lesbian and a
Winnie Frolik
Postscript: I've Been Here Before
Phyllis M. Betz
About the Contributors
Index
About the author
Phyllis M. Betz is a professor emerita of English from La Salle University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She lives in Burlington, New Jersey.
