QUICK TIPS FROM A COZY MYSTERY EDITOR: THE VICTIM

by Korina Moss

There are many early choices to make while plotting your cozy mystery. An important one is choosing the murder victim. The victim doesn’t spend too much time on the page. After all, you should have him killed off by chapter three (chapter five at the latest). So, he should be someone who can make a big impression in a short amount of time. If he has an interaction with several characters before he’s murdered, you’ll have the beginnings of your suspect list ready as soon as the body is discovered, keeping the pace brisk. If there’s some kind of relationship between the victim and your protagonist, even better—it may give your main character a reason to investigate or a reason to be suspected! 

However, you want to stay away from making the murder victim and your protagonist’s relationship too close. If the victim is a beloved family member or best friend, it will be difficult for the lighter tone of your cozy mystery to recover, as it needs to do fairly quickly after the murder. It’s good to include some humor to lift the darkness of what’s just been discovered, but it won’t land well if the victim is Uncle Dewey or your protagonist’s best friend. That’s not to say your protagonist shouldn’t be affected; they absolutely should. Write a scene where she’s shocked, upset, or reflective about the victim or death itself. Although cozies have a lighter tone, they still need to feel grounded and real. After that brief but somber time is taken, your protagonist goes into investigative mode as soon as the death has been identified as a murder (if it’s not obvious). The pacing of a cozy mystery should be quick and compact, so you don’t want to spend precious early pages grieving and not getting back to the fun part—trying to solve this mystery!  

Keep in mind that you’re likely going to be revealing a lot about the victim as your protagonist begins to piece together the murder. So, make sure the victim isn’t just a one-note bad guy. Think of a full backstory for him (for you, not necessarily for the page), so that he’ll come across as a fully formed three-dimensional character. If you think about it, the victim is kind of the star of the book. Make sure he deserves that title. 

When you’re deciding who should be your murder victim, consider the following: 

• How will your victim make the greatest impact in a short amount of time? 

• What is your victim’s relationship with your protagonist? 

• Will your protagonist be able to bounce back from their death to keep the tone cozy? 

• Will your victim be able to interact with some of the characters so those characters can become the initial suspects? 

• Is your victim a fully formed character? 

Readers: Do you have any tips or preferences for a cozy mystery author choosing a murder victim?

 

KORINA MOSS is the author of the Cheese Shop Mystery series set in the Sonoma Valley, which includes the winner of the Agatha Award for Best First Novel, Cheddar Off Dead, and 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 and traditional mysteries. To learn more or subscribe to her free monthly newsletter, visit her website korinamossauthor.com.

Three Series? by V.M. Burns

People often ask about the fact that I write three mystery series. In case you didn’t know, I write three mystery series. I write a Mystery Bookshop Mystery Series, which is set on the shores of Lake Michigan in the fictional Southwestern Michigan town of North Harbor, Michigan and features mystery bookshop owner, Samantha Washington as the amateur sleuth who solves murders with the help of her grandmother, Nana Jo and friends from a retirement village.

In addition to the Mystery Bookshop series, I also write a Dog Club Mystery Series which starts in the fictional town of Lighthouse Dunes, Indiana. In the second book, the series moves to Chattanooga, Tennessee and features Lilly Ann Echosby as the amateur sleuth who solves murders with the help of her family and friends from the dog club.

My third series is my RJ Franklin Mystery Series which is a culinary mystery set in the fictional town of St. Joseph, Indiana and features detective RJ Franklin and his godmother, Mama B, as the sleuths. One of the questions that I’m often asked is how can you write three completely different mysteries? How do you keep the characters and the details straight? So, I thought I’d give a bit of insight into the how and the why of writing multiple series.

Why three series? I have a lot of different ideas for mysteries and writing three different series helps to provide a way to get all of these ideas out and onto paper. It also helps to eliminate the possibility that I would become bored with the characters. Writing a book takes quite a bit of time…months (sometimes longer, if you have a life). When you’re writing, you spend a lot of time with your characters. I spend a lot of time not only writing, but just thinking about the characters. I spend a lot of time thinking through how the characters would react in various situations. I even spend time thinking about what these fictional characters eat, drink and wear. Imagine spending months with the same people in your head day after day and line after line (probably the reason a number of famous writers were also alcoholics). These characters are in your head all day, every day. Even the closest of families spend time apart from time to time. Yet, when you’re writing, you don’t get a break from your characters. Even when doing other tasks like cooking, shopping, or laundry, those characters pop in your head. If you know a writer, that’s when you will see them grab a scrap of paper (or in my case, an envelope or a napkin) to jot down notes for later. Needless to say, after months thinking about, listening to and writing about a cast of characters (yes, I said listening to because it can seem like your characters are talking to you, and NO, I’m not crazy). When the book is finally finished, you need a break. Writing a different series (at least for me) provides an opportunity to continue writing (something I love), but with a completely different set of people in a different environment with different problems. Writing multiple series provides a well needed break.

The next question I’m asked is HOW do you keep your characters straight? Each of my series features different people in different settings. The fact that I’m very familiar with each of those settings is extremely helpful. I was born and raised in Northwestern Indiana. I lived for several years in Southwestern Michigan and I now reside in Chattanooga, Tennessee, so I’m very familiar with each of the locations for my series. Southwestern Michigan, although close in physical proximity is very different from Northwestern Indiana, and the Midwest often feels like a completely different planet from the South. Plus, Detective RJ Franklin and Mama B are different from Samantha Washington and Lilly Echosby. So, their reactions will, of course be different. However, there are tips for helping to keep all of the details straight. First, I keep a detailed list of my characters along with their quirks and eccentricities which I refer back to when needed. I also find that Pinterest is great for maintaining visual images. I’ve gotten into the habit of creating a Pinterest board for each of my books when I start to write. This enables me to describe (and remember) people, places and things which may come back in future books.

Ultimately, I think writing multiple series adds variety and provides different creative outlets. As a reader, I enjoy reading British and American, historic and contemporary cozies as well as police procedurals and P.I. mysteries. As a writer, I am having a lot of fun trying my hand at writing them. Who knows, maybe I’ll even find the time for a fourth or fifth series. 

V.M. (Valerie) Burns was born in Northwestern Indiana and spent many years in Southwestern Michigan on the Lake Michigan shoreline. She is a lover of dogs, British historic cozies, and scones with clotted cream. After many years in the Midwest she went in search of milder winters and currently lives in Eastern Tennessee with her poodles. Her debut novel, The Plot is Murder was nominated for a 2017 Agatha Award for Best First Novel. Valerie is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Dog Writers of America, Crime Writers of Color, International Thriller Writers, and Sisters in Crime. Readers can learn more by visiting her website at vmburns.com.