FOLLOWING MY FORTUNE COOKIE FUTURE

by Korina Moss 

Sometimes when your life’s path seems particularly up in the air, you cling onto things that might give you something to grasp onto: a Tarot card reading, a horoscope, a Magic 8-Ball. I don’t normally put a whole lot of weight into those, but when my son and I get Chinese food… Let me tell you, those fortune cookie fortunes I hold sacred. 

I got this one early on in my publishing journey, so I knew the cookie fortunes were the real deal.

Once my Cheese Shop Mystery series got going, I modified Homer Simpson’s fortune.

And I even opened a fortune about my love life… but it was a bit of a curveball. 

I guess it could be worse than Humphrey, my Highland cow.

The next time we went to the Chinese restaurant in July, I feared another mocking fortune cookie. However, this was the one I pulled out. 

It was especially exciting! Although in a tiny corner of my mind, I did wonder if it was meant to be literal, and before the end of the month, I’d somehow end up with a glittery, broken raw egg on my lap. (At least I’d still have Humphrey.)  

But this fortune did not mock me. Two days later, it actually came true in all its metaphorical glory! I was asked to be a founding faculty member and Author in Residence for Stone Lyon Society, a new online writing school focused solely on cozy and traditional mysteries.  It seemed too good to be true! I met with Patrick, the founder of the school, who has a vast background in business, education, teaching, and writing. As a freelance developmental editor specializing in cozy mysteries, I work with a lot of new mystery writers, so I’ve gotten to know the common areas where they tend to fall short. Of course, being a writer myself, I also have an idea of what’s important when learning the craft. In the meeting, I was thrilled to discover that Patrick and I are so aligned in what we think mystery writers need and how to meet them where they are. As fellow New Englanders, we also got along famously. After signing some contracts, I’m now helping to shape the school’s curriculum.

I’ve said before how satisfying developmental editing has been, because I get to help mystery writers strengthen their abilities and reach their goals. But I can only work with so many clients, as each manuscript takes me a few weeks—I’m already booked through next March. To have this opportunity to now reach more writers through this program is certainly a “golden egg of opportunity.” My fortune was right on target.

Now I wonder if I should leave my foretold future on a high note and stop reading my fortunes. We could always switch to an Italian restaurant. At least if it had fortune breadsticks, it would be the same every time. 

Readers: Have you ever gotten your fortune told? Do you believe in it in any of its forms? 

KORINA MOSS is the author of the Cheese Shop Mystery series, which includes the winner of the Agatha Award for Best First Novel, as well as two novels short-listed for Best Contemporary Novel. 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 a faculty member and Author in Residence at Stone Lyon Society, an online writing school for cozy and traditional mystery writers. She’s also a freelance developmental editor specializing in cozy mysteries. To learn more, visit her website at korinamossauthor.com. 

MY FULL CIRCLE JOURNEY

 by Korina Moss

Some of our WWK members at Malice Domestic

‘Tis the season for Malice Domestic, an annual mystery fan convention that takes place in Bethesda, MD the last weekend in April. 

My Agatha Award for Cheddar Off Dead

This conference has a special place in my heart because it’s where I get to meet readers who love mysteries as much as I do, hang out with my writing friends, and get to know some of my author idols. It’s also where I won an Agatha Award for Best First Novel for Cheddar Off Dead and was nominated the following two years for Best Contemporary Novel for Case of the Bleus and Fondue or Die. Being among the writers I admire in those categories and being recognized by the mystery community was an honor.

Selling and signing at the Little Falls Cheese Festival

As every published writer knows, behind the fun stuff like accolades and meeting readers, lies the hard work of writing and marketing your books. I keenly felt the pressure of having my first series published by an imprint of Macmillan, a big-5 publisher, along with then having to launch a new book every six months. By book six, I was pretty burnt out. 

Event poster and my books on display at Barnes & Noble 

When the series ended, I couldn’t imagine jumping into another book or series right away. However, I wanted to remain in the mystery writing community while my muse decided when to resurface. So about 16 months ago, I shifted my focus from cozy mystery author to freelance developmental editor specializing in cozy mysteries. I enjoy the work, and I get to revel in my clients’ successes: finding agent representation, receiving publishing contracts, and independently publishing their mysteries. And at this year’s Malice Domestic, I get to cheer on one of my clients whose book has been nominated for an Agatha Award for Best First Novel. (In February, it won the Lefty Award for Best Debut Mystery from Left Coast Crime.) 

Adrian Andover's lauded debut mystery

Expanding my role in the mystery community has been a balm for my burnout. Witnessing the determination and excitement of new writers has reminded me of my writing roots. It’s taught me to set aside the business aspects of being a published author to get back to what really matters—creating a story I want to tell.

Readers & Writers: If you’ve been to a mystery writers conference or convention, what has it done for you? If you haven’t, what would you hope to get out of it?

If you’re attending Malice Domestic, please find me on Saturday, April 25th at 2:00 PM on the panel titled Served with a Side of Murder: Food-Related Mysteries, with fellow authors Mary Lee Ashford, Jennifer J. Chow, Raquel V. Reyes, and moderator Debra Klein. I’ll be featuring my sixth book, Bait and Swiss. At 4:00 PM, you can find me in the book seller’s room signing my Cheese Shop Mysteries.

KORINA MOSS is the author of the Cheese Shop Mystery series, which includes the winner of the Agatha Award for Best First Novel, as well as two novels short-listed for Best Contemporary Novel. 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 specializing in cozy mysteries. To learn more or subscribe to her free monthly newsletter, visit her website korinamossauthor.com.

A WORD CHOICE CONUNDRUM

by Paula Gail Benson

Recently, I explored the REVIEW function on Microsoft Word. I clicked on REVIEW and selected SPELLING AND GRAMMAR, which takes you to EDITOR. The EDITOR provides several different levels of information that can be modified depending upon what the writer wants or, if the writer does not choose, what he or she uses.

You have basic CORRECTIONS for Spelling and Grammar. Then, a grouping called REFINEMENTS, which includes Clarity, Conciseness, Inclusiveness, Punctuation Conventions, and Vocabulary. INSIGHTS lets you check Document Stats, where you can learn about word counts and readability (my Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level for these two paragraphs is 11.2, but I have 20% passive voice).

I decided to click on specific functions to better understand the information they provide. For what I’ve written so far on this post, I have an Editor Score of 95% with an indication of 1 suggestion for Inclusiveness. What is that suggestion? That I change “he or she uses” at the end of the first paragraph to “they use.”

This is understandable. Rather than reflecting gender, it recommends a generic term, now being used for persons who identify as binary or non-binary.

In addition, it has historical precedent. Jennifer Gunner, in her article “Why the Singular ‘They’ Has Always Made Sense in Context,” mentions that the Oxford English Dictionary traces use of “they” as a singular rather than a plural pronoun to a 1375 romance poem, William and the Werewolf. She continues, “No one even claimed they and them were solely plural pronouns until four hundred years later—and even then, grammarians demanded that you was also only a plural pronoun (thou was the singular form).”

A writer may have to make careful choices considering historical terminology. For a short story I’m writing that takes place in the 1880s, Microsoft Word’s Editor has provided some interesting suggestions. In my story, about a young woman trying to determine what she should do in life, I mention my protagonist asking for an opinion from the headmistress of her finishing school. The headmistress tells her to consider becoming a nanny for a former classmate who is now married and expecting a child.

At this point in writing the post, my Editor Score has dipped to 91% and I have 3 suggestions under Inclusiveness. The first for “he or she.” The second and third are words I used in my short story: for “headmistress” the Editor would use “principal” and for “nanny” it offered “babysitter,” “live-in babysitter,” or “childcare worker.”

These suggestions offer gender neutral alternatives, but they are not words I would expect my 1880s protagonist to use instead of “headmistress” or “nanny.”

Until her retirement, my aunt operated a one-person United States Post Office branch. If someone called her a “Postmistress,” she would gently correct to “Postmaster.”

Am I potentially offending someone by using the terms “headmistress” and “nanny” or am I using them properly to reveal historical context? What do you recommend?

How should I ask this question if I click on the option to “Give feedback to Microsoft”?