Cozy Mystery Writing Tip: Letting Readers Become Armchair Detectives

by Korina Moss

In each of the books in my Cheese Shop Mystery series, my protagonist Willa and Team Cheese—the three friends she solves mysteries with—always sit at the same hand-hewn picnic table in the kitchenette of her cheese shop to discuss the murder and the suspects. Readers of my series know this is the time when the suspects and their motives will be laid out, helping readers to keep track of what our sleuths have discovered, and allowing them to make their own guesses as to whodunit. 

Cozy Mystery Booktuber, the Beachbum Bookworm

This is part of the fun of reading a cozy mystery—trying to solve the puzzle along with the sleuth. Cozy mysteries play fair with the reader. They lay out clues, weaving in some red herrings. With the clues given, readers may be able to solve the mystery. It all depends on how clever the author is at distraction. Cozy writers need to have a big enough pool of suspects for readers to guess from but not too many to overwhelm them. Readers also need to be able to keep the suspects and their motives straight. Here is the way I help my readers do this. 

• Soon after the murder is discovered, I write a scene cataloging who my sleuth thinks the suspects are. Every cozy should have five to six clear suspects. Your protagonist sleuth may not know who all of them are right away, but you should have a solid list of suspects very early in the book. 

• Then after some investigating (between a third and halfway into the book), I revisit the suspects and what’s been discovered about them. Maybe I’ve dismissed one or added one or maybe the list remains the same. The sleuth may be feeling more strongly about some than others at this point, which can change again based on new evidence. Some suspects may have a strong motive for having murdered the victim, but it appears they didn’t have opportunity or vice-versa. More investigating will reveal new motives and secret opportunities to have committed the crime. 

• As the book goes on, your protagonist’s investigation narrows down the suspect list until he or she is left with stronger suspicions about two or three of them. So, toward the end of the book, I’ll have a scene identifying the narrowed list of suspects and the reasons my sleuth thinks one of them may be the culprit.

Of course, all of these discoveries are also woven in throughout the story but stopping two or three times to write a scene discussing the suspects is helpful for the reader to play along and try to solve the mystery before the big reveal. As long as you’ve plotted your mystery carefully to keep even the savviest reader guessing, helping them become armchair detectives will help you gain a loyal readership. 

Readers: When reading a mystery, do you like to try to solve whodunnit? 

You can be an armchair detective when cozy mystery booktuber, the Beachbum Bookworm, discusses my Agatha Award-winning novel Cheddar Off Dead with her YouTube viewers during the last week of March (exact date to be announced). I'll be there too, so buy and read Cheddar Off Dead, go to her channel, subscribe and hit the notification button. Keep up with me on Facebook, Instagram, and my website so you won't miss it!

Cozy booktuber Sonia with an i

BUY NOW FOR $2.99

KORINA MOSS is the author of the Cheese Shop Mystery series set in the Sonoma Valley, California, which includes multiple Agatha Award nominated books for Best Contemporary Novel and the winner of the Agatha Award for Best First Novel, Cheddar Off Dead. Listed as one of USA Today’s Best Cozy Mystery Series, her books have also been featured in PARADE Magazine, Woman’s World, and Writer’s Digest. Korina is also a freelance developmental editor and book coach specializing in cozy mysteries. To learn more or subscribe to her free monthly #teamcheese newsletter, visit her website korinamossauthor.com.

MALICE DOMESTIC, WHERE WRITERS' DREAMS COME TRUE

 By Korina Moss

As I begin to prep for my trip to Malice Domestic in less than two weeks, I’ve been thinking about all the dreams that I’ve realized there. Malice Domestic is a three-day fan convention/ conference in Bethesda, MD, attended by hundreds of authors and fans alike. It celebrates the traditional mystery, books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie. (Hence, the name for the Agatha Awards voted on by Malice attendees and handed out at the awards banquet.)

This will be my third year attending, and boy, I never imagined what amazing experiences this conference would bring me, or how many of my dreams would be realized. If you’re a mystery writer – published or not yet published—who might be hesitant to attend, let me tell you what can happen if you go:

You can meet your favorite authors.

You can connect with other writers and readers.

You can finally meet your online friends in person.

You can meet booktubers and book bloggers. 

You can make new friends.

You can learn interesting craft tips from author panels.

You can discover more about your favorite authors. 

You can find new authors whose books you’re dying to read.

You can discover publishing tips and inside scoop.

You can buy too many books and get them signed.

You can get free swag.

You can be on an author panel (sometimes with authors you used to read when you only dreamed of getting published).

You can introduce readers to your books.

You can meet readers who love your books.

You can find out you have fans!

You can dine with your editor. 

You can be nominated for an Agatha Award!

You can win an Agatha Award!

You can discover how incredibly nice and supportive the mystery writing community is.

You can get inspiration you need to keep going.

You can feel you belong.

Writers Who Kill at Malice Domestic, 2022

Agatha Award Nominees, Best Contemporary Novel

This year’s Malice Domestic marks it’s 36th year and takes place on April 26-28th. I was honored to win the Agatha Award last year for Best First Novel for Cheddar Off Dead. I’m honored to be nominated again this year for Best Contemporary Novel for Case of the Bleus, alongside my fellow nominees Ellen Byron, Annette Dashofy, Tara Laskowski, and Gigi Pandian. 

For more on me and my fellow nominees, go to Leslie Budewitz’s blog post, “And The Nominees Are…”

For more on Malice Domestic, go to MaliceDomestic.net. For more information on my Cheese Shop Mystery series, go to korinamossauthor.com.

Readers: Have you ever been to a writers' convention or conference? How was your experience?

THE WRITERS' CONNECTION

 by Korina Moss

Connection. That’s what good books are about, aren’t they? You connect with a fictional protagonist and their circumstances. They become someone real to you, often times long after you’ve read the last page. How many times have you stayed up late, racing toward the end of a book, only to dread it when you finally get there, because that’ll mean the book is finished? This is why cozy mystery series are so popular. What could be better than the opportunity to be back with “old friends” you loved from a prior book in the series as they maneuver through a whole new and exciting set of circumstances? 

As important as the plot is to a cozy mystery, the connection readers feel with the characters doesn’t come from the mystery solved. It’s the human connection—our protagonist’s plight, their quirks, and their vulnerabilities—the stuff our readers can relate to. The traits our characters possess that we hope to have in our real-life friendships is what makes them likable and worth returning to read about book after book. 

As an author, a connection is also what I try to achieve off the page. I’m a cozy mystery writer, but I’ve been a cozy mystery reader for over thirty years, long before my own series was published. So although the marketing aspect of my profession is time-consuming, it’s also a lot of fun, because I get to interact with other people who love reading cozies too. Although our foundation is our love of mysteries, we connect on other levels beyond books. Same with my connection to others in the writing community. I thrive on authentic relationships. My mindset is never one of selling to readers or networking with authors. It’s about having an authentic connection. 

When I was honored last year with the Agatha Award for Best First Novel for Cheddar Off Dead, it was the validation I needed that I’d begun to make that connection I’d been striving for in my books and within the mystery community. And this year, being fortunate enough to be nominated again for an Agatha Award, this time for Best Contemporary Novel for Case of the Bleus, makes me believe that connection is holding strong. I’m so looking forward to the Malice Domestic fan convention in April where the awards banquet will be held. After all, what’s better than being back with old friends? 

Reader: What makes you return to a series or an author? 

KORINA MOSS is the author of the Cheese Shop Mystery series (St. Martin’s Press) set in the Sonoma Valley, including the Agatha Award winner for Best First Novel, CHEDDAR OFF DEAD and the current nominee for Best Contemporary Novel, CASE OF THE BLEUS. Her books have been featured in PARADE Magazine, Woman’s World, AARP, and Fresh Fiction. For more information about Korina and her books, and to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter, visit her website korinamossauthor.com. You can also connect with her on Facebook and Instagram. 

THE MODES OF A MYSTERY WRITER

 By Korina Moss

I can’t help myself – I’m one of those people who always makes at least one New Year’s resolution. Wishful thinking, perhaps? I prefer the term hopeful thinking. This year, one of my resolutions is to have more work-life balance. 

Now that my son is a college student, it’s just me at home, so the only schedule I have to adhere to is my own. Sounds divine, except it allows me to get into my modes. Yes, I meant to write modes, not moods (although they can be pesky too). I have work mode and relax mode and I have a hard time transitioning between the two. (This doesn’t include veg out mode, which happens pretty much every night.) When I’m working on a book, which has (thankfully) been continuous over the past three years, it’s mentally all-encompassing for me. I’m always thinking about it, even if I have to push it to the back of my mind. I’ve been mentally living in my series’ fictional town of Yarrow Glen with my protagonist Willa and her Curds & Whey cheese shop crew since the spring of 2020, and it’s not easy to pull myself out. 

This is especially true when I’m in crunch mode, as I was just a couple of months ago when my deadline for Fondue or Die, book 5 in my Cheese Shop Mystery series, was fast approaching. I’d been in a concentrated writing mode for the four months prior, trying to turn my sketchy outline and underwritten first draft into a worthy manuscript. As the deadline got closer, I was also in heavy publicity mode for my newly released book 4, Case of the Bleus. Last fall, I had three out-of-state appearances, plus book signings, and all the extra online marketing that comes with a new release (blogs, interviews, and podcasts). So, I was in crunch mode squared. 

Signing books at the St Louis Cozy Con

Once my manuscript was submitted and the publicity machine wound down, I immediately turned to thinking about book 6, wanting to get an outline done before the Fondue or Die revision suggestions would come back from my editor in mid-January. I had a couple of weeks to brainstorm and outline before my son came home for his college semester break. Then I promised myself (and him) I’d take a break for the holidays. I even took time off from my early morning part-time job. 

Book 5 in my Cheese Shop Mystery series

The first few days of switching off work mode, I felt mentally restless. I was so used to the constant thoughts of my books or my social media marketing, it was a tougher transition than I’d expected. I made an effort to post and scroll on social media significantly less frequently. I told myself it was okay if I didn’t keep up with everything that was happening in the mystery writing community. Although the habits were hard to break, what a relief it was! I was so much more mentally present. I stayed up late and slept in! (Not compared to my 19-year-old son, but both times were later for me.) I fell into a happy relax mode. My son and I made some short overnight trips and had a great holiday break, and when he left for his ski trip with his dad, I felt rejuvenated and ready to get back to work! 

Macy's in Herald Square, NYC

Alas, my relax mode was no less stubborn to leave behind than work mode had been two weeks prior. My alarm clock was waking me up at 5:45 AM, but I was not ready to relinquish my newfound mode. The book I’d been outlining was tapping me on the shoulder to come up with those final chapters, but my muse was also in no hurry to get back to work. Now that it’s been a couple of weeks, slowly but surely, I’m easing back into it. My New Year’s resolution for more work-life balance may be a little harder to achieve than anticipated, but then again, I’ve always done too much hopeful thinking. 

Did you make any New Year's resolutions for this year? 

ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING: EMBRACING THE MESS AT ANY AGE

By Korina Moss

I am very late to the party, but I’ve finally started watching Only Murders in the Building, a murder mystery series on Hulu starring Steve Martin (Charles), Martin Short (Oliver), and Selena Gomez (Mabel). I binged season 1 in two days and have started season 2. I adore the show. It’s exactly my vibe—quirky characters with a dash of humor who solve a murder mystery in a close-knit setting. It’s as close to a cozy mystery (with cursing) as you can get outside of the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel.

I especially appreciate watching the intergenerational friendships formed between Mabel, who is in her late twenties, and the two older men, Charles and Oliver, who are in their seventies. The difference in age provides plenty of humor—whether it be the slang they use or signing their name to a text—but they also learn some deeper things from each other. Developing these types of friendships onscreen provides a way to highlight how similar people of disparate ages can be.

In my Cheese Shop Mystery series, there are age gaps among my 33-year-old cheesemonger protagonist, Willa, and the supporting characters who work in her cheese shop and also help her solve the mysteries. There’s Archie, who started the series as a nineteen-year-old still living with his mom, and Mrs. Schultz, who is “smack dab” in her sixties, as she likes to say. Although each character is at a different stage in their lives, they’re all starting anew in some way and have things to teach each other. 

Archie’s new chapter is typical of young adults who graduate high school without a sense of what they want to do with the rest of their lives. It’s not until he starts working at Willa’s cheese shop, Curds & Whey, that he begins to consider becoming a cheesemonger like Willa. As she shares her passion for cheese with him, he inadvertently teaches her about trust.

Hoping to avoid the heartaches of her past, Willa hadn’t set down roots before moving to Yarrow Glen to open Curds & Whey. When a murder occurs right outside her shop and she’s the number one suspect, she’s forced to trust the people who offer to help her—two of them being Archie and Mrs. Schultz. Willa realizes she’s been denying herself close friendships for too long. Through solving the mysteries and running her shop, she learns not only to trust others, but to trust herself, gaining a new level of confidence. 

Confidence was never something Mrs. Schultz lacked until she unexpectedly became widowed shortly after retiring from her job as a high school drama teacher. Without her husband of almost forty years by her side, retirement looked very different than she’d envisioned it. She found herself approaching life timidly for the first time. Working at Curds & Whey was a way to test herself. The new job and becoming a part of their mystery-solving team brought back her bright personality and gave her the confidence to try other things… like possibly dating? (You’ll have to read book 3, Curds of Prey, to find out.)

Through my cozy mystery series, I have the opportunity to show that it’s not just the people Archie’s age or even Willa’s age who find themselves navigating uncharted waters. I began middle age newly single with my first novel published—certainly a new chapter for me. I think Steve Martin’s character, Charles, described it best when he said he was ready to “embrace the mess.” Yes, life can be confounding—and beautiful—at any age. No matter how old we are, we still have new things to do and to learn, even from younger folks. It’s high time we see that represented more often in our books and on our screens. 

Would you like to see more intergenerational friendships portrayed in books and tv shows/movies? Which books or shows have these types of characters?

I will be zooming in LIVE in the Cozy Mystery Crew Book Club Zoom Room today, July 9th, at 4PM eastern time. Join the Cozy Mystery Crew private FB group to access the zoom link under “Featured.” I’ll be there LIVE to talk about Cheddar Off Dead and my series, and take your questions. And those attending will be entered to win one of my Cheese Shop Mystery books of their choice. Hope to see you! 

AUTHOR HIGHLIGHTS FROM A FAN CONVENTION

by Korina Moss 

What a difference a year makes. A few weeks ago, I attended Malice Domestic, a weekend-long mystery fan convention in Bethesda, MD. Mystery writers and readers, alike, get to attend panels on topics ranging from Nancy Drew to book influencers, sit in on interviews with blockbuster authors like Ann Cleeves and Hank Phillippi Ryan, and get your favorite mysteries signed. It’s a chance to meet, literally, hundreds of mystery authors. I also get to catch up with my writer friends who I mostly only get to see at occasions like this one. When I attended my first Malice last year, I was one of the new kids—my first book had just been published a few weeks prior. This year I have three books published and that first book, Cheddar Off Dead, was among the nominees for an Agatha Award! Here are some highlights of events I participated in at Malice Domestic 2023.

Malice Go-Round  

Photo credit: Dorothy McFalls

Think speed dating for books. My friend and fellow cozy mystery author, Rosalie Spielman, and I partnered up to participate. A total of 26 authors, in pairs, had two minutes each to pitch our books to a tableful of readers eager to add to their TBR list. Sounds simple enough, right? Multiply that by 23 tables, which was how many tables we visited in 90 minutes. Since each table of readers would be getting two new authors every four and a half minutes, Rose and I decided to liven up our pitches. Rose writes two series, one set in Hawaii (Aloha Lagoon) and one set in Idaho (Hometown Mysteries), so she literally changed hats as she spoke about each. I write the Cheese Shop Mystery series, so I wore an apron with a quote from my protagonist: “I firmly believe most of life’s problems can be solved with cheese.” We think the humorous visuals were appreciated and we had a blast. 

Author Panel: Agatha Best First Novel Nominees 

I had the honor of being nominated this year for the Agatha Award for Best First Novel for the initial book in my Cheese Shop Mystery series, Cheddar Off Dead. The Agatha Award celebrates the traditional mystery, best typified by the works of Agatha Christie. My fellow nominees were M.A. Monnin (Death in the Aegean), Rob Osler (Devil’s Chew Toy), Harini Nagendra (The Bangalore Detective’s Club), Joan Long (The Finalist), and Nina Wachsman (The Gallery of Beauties). The panel was moderated by last year’s Agatha Award winner in the same category for Arsenic and Adobo, Mia P. Manansala. It was a fun panel where we shared our inspirations, our difficulties, and our moment of disbelief in being nominated for the award. 

Book Dealer Room 

Author SK Golden getting her books signed
Photo credit: Dale T. Phillips

You know how you go into a Target intending to buy some toothpaste and a laundry basket, and leave with $126 worth of impulse purchases? The Book Dealer Room was my Target, where any ounce of self-control (and the knowledge that my TBR list was already about 50 books deep) flew out the window. The bookseller for this event was Mechanicsburg Mysteries, an independent bookshop located in Mechanicsburg, PA. Not only did they have the participating authors’ books available, the authors were there during their scheduled times to sign their books. As I mentioned, I bought more books than planned and was able to get most of them signed. As an author, I enjoyed meeting readers who were excited to start or continue my series, and I was thrilled when a short line formed for my signing and I sold out of books! 

The Agatha Awards Banquet 

with author Daphne Silver

This was the highlight of my weekend, as I took home the teapot as the winner of this year’s Agatha Award for Best First Novel. It was a feeling like I’d never experienced (such a happy shock!). As I mentioned in my acceptance speech, to win an award named after Agatha Christie is a full-circle moment for my 12-year-old self. That was the age I read my first Agatha Christie novel—The ABC Murders—and wanted to become a mystery novelist to be able to do what she does. Well, I’m still working toward being able to do what the Queen of Crime does, but becoming a mystery novelist came true with the publication of Cheddar Off Dead. As the win continued to sink in throughout the evening, I held onto the gratitude of feeling so embraced by the mystery writing and reading community. The joy everyone had for me capped off an incredibly rewarding weekend. 

If you’re a reader of mysteries, an as-yet-published mystery writer, or a published mystery author, I highly recommend attending next year’s Malice Domestic, which will take place April 26-28, 2024. I’ll be there and I’d love to see you! 

NAME THAT SHOP!

by Korina Moss

I’m in the final stages of writing the fourth book in my Cheese Shop Mystery series. Each book continues with the core cast of characters and introduces new ones, most of whom then become regular characters in the series (if they’re not the culprit or the victim, of course). These characters, original and new, live and work in my fictional town of Yarrow Glen. When I created my small Sonoma Valley town, I made a drawing of what it looked like and the shops and businesses it would encompass. The town center is only a few square blocks with wide brick-lined sidewalks dotted with crepe myrtle trees, a large park, and a sole traffic light.

This photo of Paso Robles, CA comes close to
how I envision part of downtown Yarrow Glen 

Main Street includes the major buildings: town hall, the library, post office, church, and the new security complex (the police and fire stations). There’s also Ron’s Service Station where you can pick up an old-fashioned curvy glass bottle of Coca-Cola for a dollar while getting your car fueled, washed, and serviced. The turn-of-the-century Inn at Yarrow Glen is where visitors stay. My protagonist Willa can usually find the latest newcomer she wants to question in the attached pub, The Cellar. The former wine cellar is also where the locals regularly gather, including Willa and her friends. It’s only a few buildings down from Apricot Grille, the only fancy restaurant in town. However, when Willa’s not making one of her cheese-filled dishes, she and her friends prefer to grab a quick bite while on a case at the Let’s Talk Taco truck, which is parked across from the Glen Gazette newspaper building.  

The Inn at Yarrow Glen was inspired by the
Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake, CA. 

The last block of Pleasant Avenue is where Willa’s cheese shop, Curds & Whey, is located. The street is a hodgepodge of mostly older flat-roofed buildings, which were renovated into shops and cafés with second-story cozy apartments where the shop owners reside. Willa lives above Curds & Whey across the street from perpetual flirt, Roman, owner of the Golden Glen Meadery. Her best friend Baz, the handyman, lives next door above Carl’s Hardware. Lou’s Market and Read More Bookstore complete her side of the street. At the end of the block is Rise and Shine Bakery where Willa gets her daily fresh breads for customer cheese sampling.

As you might be able to tell from that description, not every business in the town center is mentioned. This was done purposely, as I wanted to leave myself the creative freedom to add certain shops for future storylines. One of these new businesses is a bicycle shop and it needs a name. I decided to do something different and involve cozy mystery readers in the creative process. I thought it would be fun to allow you the opportunity to name the shop. From your suggestions, I will choose the bicycle shop name I like best and use it in my cheese shop mysteries series. The person whose name I choose will receive a signed copy of Book 4 when it releases and will be credited in the acknowledgements. 

If you’d like to suggest a fictional bicycle shop name for consideration in my book, go to my Facebook author page here and find the pinned post with the photo of this bicycle. 

Leave your suggestion in the comments section under the post. Be sure to hit the follow button on my page so you’ll be notified if your bicycle shop name was chosen. You can suggest as many names as you like, as this is not a random drawing. If more than one person has suggested the same name, the person who commented first will be credited. If you don’t have social media, you can email me at korinamossauthor@gmail.com. I’m taking bicycle shop name suggestions through this Wednesday, January 12th. Have fun and good luck! 

If you'd like to learn more about my Cheese Shop Mystery series, please visit my website at korinamossauthor.com

The Challenge and Reward of Writing a Standalone Series

by Korina Moss

 

Cozy mysteries are my favorite kinds of books to read because they are generally standalone series. I know standalone series sounds like an oxymoron, but it’s really the best of both worlds. Although the series is a continuation of the same characters in the same town, each book’s mystery is complete--it stands alone without plot cliffhangers. I love these types of mysteries because even when I’m racing to finish and find out whodunnit, I don’t want it to end. I always want to continue to follow the characters, even doing their routine things. Just give me a few more chapters of them eating breakfast… working together… doing anything so I don’t have to leave them yet! 

I always start with the first book in a series. Being a writer of a standalone series, however, I’m aware that the first book a reader may pick up may not be Cheddar Off Dead, the first book in my cheese shop mystery series. The challenge comes in writing descriptions that draw new readers in but don’t bore those who are well-versed in my fictional town of Yarrow Glen. A friend of mine who’s an avid cozy mystery reader was put off by an author whose long-running series she loves, but who describes the town and characters the same, verbatim, in every book. As an author, I understand the temptation—it’s difficult to find new ways to describe people and places when you want new readers to know the same things that old readers know. Unfortunately, we can’t all be Sue Grafton in how cleverly she not only made her recapped descriptions work but made them comforting to return to in each book. 

The best part of writing this kind of series is being able to develop my characters and their relationships over many books. I was thrilled when my publisher offered me a second contract to write three more books in my cheese shop mystery series, for a total of six books thus far. It means I can think more long-term about my characters, and it allows them more room to grow. My readers can get to know them even better and see how their personalities and relationships change over time. When readers open another cheese shop mystery, I want them to immediately feel they’re back among old friends. 

The second cheese shop mystery, Gone For Gouda, releases on September 27th and is available for pre-order. Cheddar Off Dead is available wherever books are sold. You can go to korinamossauthor.com for more information. 

Are you like me and always start a series from the first book or do you pick up the latest book?