Edith Maxwell's Blog, page 37

A Little Canoodling with Your Cozy? Guest Christin Brecher

Happy to welcome Christin Brecher to the blog today! She’s talking romance in cozies. Take it away, Christin!

In many cozy mysteries, love often lies at the heart of the matter.  There are love triangles, detective-meets-amateur sleuth romances, and a myriad of relationships in which devotion leads to secrets and whodunnit solutions.  Happily, for cozy readers who are drawn to the murder-meets-love with a dash of humor recipe, there is a strong tradition of this mash-up. 

Google “rom-com mystery” and you will find lists of current titles from every major book source, including GoodReads, Book Riot, Crime Reads, the big book chains and indie stores alike.  Cozy mysteries such as Janet Yavanovich’s Stephanie Plum Novels, Linda Howard’s Mr. Perfect, and Kyra Davis’ Sex, Murder and a Double Latte are among today’s favorites, but the tradition of a delightful crime fighting duo is by no means a new one.  Agatha Christie’s Tuppence and Tommy Beresford stories, which debuted in 1922, feature a couple whose motive for solving murder was a shared passion for adventure and a desperate need for money.  Dashiel Hammet wrote the iconic The Thin Man which features Nick and Nore Charles, a couple who solve murders with witty banter, lots of cocktails, and their pooch, Asta.  Recently, I was a guest on Facebook’s Cozy Mystery Book Party and the group shared many of their favorite versions of the cozy-romance trope from film and television.  Top of the list included Moonlighting, Hart to Hart, and Remington Steele. 

When PHOTO FINISHED, the first book in my newest series, the SNAPSHOT OF NYC MYSTERIES, launched, one of the most gratifying reviews was Kirkus’ comment that the book has “the cutest meet-cute in NYC.”  Kirkus’ meet-cute reference occurs on a NYC subway between my protagonist, amateur sleuth and NYC photographer, Liv Spyers, and Harry Fellowes, an undercover agent for the Art Crime Unit whose day job is as an art insurance appraiser.  The uptown man to Liv’s downtown life, these two click because of mysteries they both share.  The chemistry between them is a result of their teamwork.  In my newly released MUGSHOTS OF MANHATTAN (#2), Liv and Harry’s relationship grows from one romantic NY moment to another, all the while they encourage each other to answer the all-important question: Whodunnit? In the end, of course, justice is served and their love story is better than ever.  

Readers, your turn – do you enjoy a dash of romance with your mystery? Leave a comment below!

Summer Travels, Great Memories, Old Friends, and a Bit of Inspiration

Sherry is still melting. Things are supposed to approve this weekend! Whew.

We’ve been very fortunate to travel this summer so I’m sharing some pictures and thoughts today.

First up in June we visited friends we were stationed with in Los Angeles in the early nineties. Nancy and I became fast friends through our shared love of garage sales. We also had both worked for financial planners and had almost identical dinnerware by Dansk. When our husbands we’re out of town, we had each other’s backs through babies, chicken pox, earthquakes, and anything else life threw at us. They now live on a family ranch in Northern California.

We fell in love with all of their dogs! I miss them!

And the beautiful scenery! No trip to the ranch is complete without a ride in the quad. One wrong step and you’re tumbling down the mountain.

We made a quick trip to Florida to visit my mom and were able to visit her lovely neighbors too. It was so hot, I didn’t even make it to the beach other than to drive by.

Then we were off on a road trip. In St. Louis, my dear friend Dianne, arranged a gathering of sorority sisters! It was so great to see them.

Then we were off to Colorado. Our first stop was Denver where we went to watch Jono Keyes (son of our dear friend Christine) play Ultimate Frisbee with his Australian mixed team. We watched him play in Ohio last summer and had so much fun we wanted to watch him again. I wrote about it here. This year they took fourth place!

After the tournament we spent part of a day at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. Go if you ever get a chance. They have a huge herd of bison.

Then it was on to Cheyenne, Wyoming where we met and married. It was a wonderful visit and walk down memory lane. We hadn’t been there in twenty-seven years and it’s thriving. We saw the base chapel where we were married, the place we had our reception, our first house, and visited Mary Rose who was with me the night I met Bob, and saw our Matron of Honor, Peggy.

Being back in Cheyenne, reminded me of an idea I had for a cozy set there. A young woman who’s a designer from LA, goes to help her grandparents run their Western clothing store for a week. It’s Yellowstone meets Project Runway.

We saw more friends we been stationed with as we headed to Avon, Colorado for a week. What a beautiful place. I’ve been to many parts of Colorado but never there. It’s near Vail. One day we drove to Aspen, where we had a two-day honeymoon at the cheapest place in town. It’s now housing for workers.

Then we drove over Independence Pass to Leadville. It’s a stunning drive that you must take if you’re ever out in Colorado. We’ve done it before but it had been many, many years ago.

What a summer with friends, beautiful scenery, historic sites, so many mountains, and vast prairies!

And I couldn’t end the post without saying happy anniversary to my wonderful husband of thirty-three years. I’m not sure how I was so lucky to meet you (it’s a good thing you’re stubborn), but I can’t imagine life without you.

Readers: Is there somewhere you’ve visited that you’d like to go back to?

Wicked Wednesday-Curiosity

Jessie: In New Hampshire, deep into revisions on a new novel!

September always brings to mind freshly sharpened pencils, notebooks, yellow buses, and, of course, learning. I don’t know any writers who are not interested in learning, partly, I think, because we tend to be curious people. We also tend to collect bits of information on the things we are curious about in some sort of a system. It might be a shoe box filled with newspaper clippings, a notebook, or even a gazillion tabs left open on the computer. So Wickeds, how do you keep track of all those things that pique your curiosity?

Barb: You mean aside from falling down World Wide Web rabbit holes? I don’t keep track of big picture things that interest me because they’re always there, lingering in my mind, pricking at me. But I do count myself very lucky if there’s a strong, narrative non-fiction book about whatever I’m researching. If the book is good, it’s work and pleasure all in one nice package!

Edith/Maddie: System? What is this system you speak of? So many ideas and bits of information rise up all the time. The odd ones I think might spark a short story I try to capture on my white board. (Ironing money. Autocorrect errors. When the rotating lights in a hot tub get stuck on red. You get the picture.) When I get ideas for a future novel, I add it to an Ideas folder in my Scrivener project for that series. The articles about history or the printouts about some subject or other tend to get lost in piles, alas.

Sherry: I have a file folder filled with ideas in my desk. I have another folder on my desktop called book ideas. And then I have articles that inspired me bookmarked on my computer.

Liz: I wish I was that organized, Sherry! I usually end up dictating a note into my Notes app on my phone if something catches my attention – then I wind up scrolling through a million notes to find it when I vaguely remember!

Readers: How do you keep track of ideas for projects?

Components for Writing a Proposal

Sherry–it’s going to be hotter today than yesterday! We are having a hottest week all summer.

In January of 2015 we did a whole series of Wicked Wednesdays devoted to writing a proposal for a novel. We all sold books by writing a proposal and there are several key components in each one. If you’re a first time writer or a reader who is curious about our writing process these blogs will be of interest to you.

One of the things that helped many of us is what I’ve come to call “the magic proposal.” Author Daryl Wood Gerber shared hers with Liz, who shared it with us, and we’ve shared it with many other authors.

Our first topic was writing a synopsis. It can strike fear in the heart of the many an author, but here is some helpful advice: https://wickedauthors.com/2015/01/07/wicked-wednesday-writing-the-dreaded-synopsis/

The second topic we tackled was writing the first three chapters. It can be scary writing chapters when you may or may not know a lot of the details of the entire story. https://wickedauthors.com/2015/01/14/wicked-wednesday-proposal-writing-the-first-three-chapters/

Another element of a proposal is writing character sketches. This is a good exercise whether or not you write a full proposal as it’s a way to get to know your characters. https://wickedauthors.com/2015/01/21/wicked-wednesday-character-sketches/

Our final topic was talking about marketing plans and comparable titles. I remember how scared I was when I realized I had to do this. But, as with the other components of the proposal, it was really good to think about. https://wickedauthors.com/2015/01/28/wicked-wednesday-comparable-titles-and-marketing-plan/

We finished the month with an interview with agent John Talbot. https://wickedauthors.com/2015/01/30/ask-the-expert-agent-john-talbot/

Readers: I hope you found this look into the proposal writing process interesting and helpful.

A History of Labor Day

Sherry — it’s hot as the blazes in Northern Virginia!

Growing up Labor Day was always the day before school started. Not as relaxing as one might hope — probably even worse for my parents who were both teachers. But it was also a time for picnics and lemonade and friends. Maybe even a game of volleyball or badminton in the backyard.

I found the history of Labor Day fascinating. I didn’t realized it became a national holiday in 1894 — thank you President Grover Cleveland! By the time it became a national holiday, 23 states were already celebrating. There’s even an argument as to who first suggested the holiday and interestingly their last names were McGuire and Maguire!

If you want to read more about the history this is an interesting article: https://www.dol.gov/general/laborday/history

And in case you need something refreshing to drink here is a recipe for my mom’s famous (at least in our family) lemonade!

1 can frozen lemonade (64 oz)

1/2 small can frozen orange juice (6 oz)

3/4 cup sugar (less if you don’t want it too sweet)

3 or 4 lemonade cans of water

If you can’t find 6 oz orange juice just play around with the proportions. Stir it all together in a pitcher and chill.

Readers: Do you have a Labor Day tradition? What are you doing this year?

Genre Hopping with Josh Pachter #giveaway

Edith/Maddie hanging out in San Diego.

And one of the authors I’ve already greeted is Josh Pacher. Josh is a prolific and talented short story author who in recent years has also turned his hand to editing musician-based anthologies of short stories. And now his first novel is out!

Here’s the Blurb for Dutch Treat: When American grad student Jack Farmer is sent to Amsterdam to do historical research in the Begijnhof, a closed community populated by elderly women, he meets Dutch nurse Jet Schilders and finds himself juggling romance … and murder.  

It’s not too much of a genre hop from the Wickeds’ books to his, but our genre hopping feature is what I invited him over for, and he was happy to answer our standard set of questions. Read down for a SIX e-book giveaway!

What genres do you write in? I write straightforward crime fiction, sometimes from the point of view of the criminal and sometimes from the point of view of the person (police officer, private investigator, amateur sleuth) who solves the crime. My work rarely includes on-the-page sex or violence, but my characters do occasionally use language that prevents their stories from being classified as cozies, despite the cats and teapots.  

What drew you to the genre you write? In 1966, my ninth-grade English teacher gave me a copy of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, and it was love at first sight (with the magazine, not Miss Ryan). A year later, I read Richard Deming’s “Open File” in EQMM—it was a police procedural in which the investigators failed to solve a crime—and at the ripe old age of fifteen I thought there were enough clues presented that the cops ought to have been able to resolve the case.

So I wrote a new ending and mailed it to the magazine … and a few weeks later I got a handwritten response from editor Frederic Dannay—one of the two cousins who wrote as “Ellery Queen”—that ended like this: “Have you ever considered writing a detective story yourself? Seems to me, Josh—if I may—you should!” So of course I did, and Mr. Dannay bought and published the result, and I’ve been writing short crime fiction ever since!  

What sets your book apart from what is out there? Dutch Threat is set in the present day, but at heart it’s a look back at the whodunnits of the Golden Age of Crime Fiction. The story unfolds in the Begijnhof, a closed community in the middle of Amsterdam that’s locked up at night, so there are a limited number of people who had the opportunity to commit the murders … and most of them are elderly women. If there’s another book like it out there, I haven’t seen it!  

Do you write a series or standalones? Why? Dutch Threat is a standalone, although quite some time ago I already had the book in mind and wrote a short story that takes place a year or so after the events of the novel. But I’ve written several short-story series—one back in the 1980s about Mahboob Chaudri (a Pakistani policeman in the island emirate of Bahrain) and a current series about Helmut Erhard (a private eye in Texas whose father was a German POW during WWII).

Most of my more than a hundred published short stories are standalones, though, and both my Chaudri and Erhard series started out as one-offs. In each case, I found myself liking the main character so much that I wanted to get to know him better—and the only way I could think of to do that was to continue to write about him…

What are you working on now? First Week Free at the Roomy Toilet, a chapter book for younger readers, is coming from Level Best in February. They originally offered me a three-book contract for First Week Free and two sequels, but I recently retired from a fifty-year career as an educator and decided I was done with the pressure of deadlines, so I signed for the first book only. I am, however, working on a sequel … but at my own pace, not with a deadline hanging over my head.  

What are you reading right now? For the last couple of years, I’ve been editing a series of anthologies of crime fiction inspired by the songs of singer/songwriters: Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Buffett, Billy Joel, Paul Simon. (The Joni one includes stories by the Wickeds’ Sherry Harris and Edith Maxwell!) The fifth book in the series, Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles, was published by Down and Out last month, and right now I’m reading stories for #6, which will be Friend of the Devil: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Grateful Dead. For fun, I’m reading Anthony Horowitz’ latest Hawthorne mystery, A Twist of the Knife, and at the recommendation of Leya Booth (the publisher of Dutch Threat), Zilpha Keatley Snyder’s delightful children’s book The Egypt Game.  

Do you have a favorite quote or life motto? “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” (John Lennon, “Beautiful Boy”)     Favorite writing space? This is a little embarrassing, but I do most of my plotting in the shower. I do most of my writing in my home office, upstairs in the Midlothian, Virginia, home I share with my wife Laurie.  

Favorite deadline snack? As I said above, I’m not really doing deadlines anymore. But I would never say no to an Oreo, a bowl of buttered popcorn, or a nice thick slice of watermelon!   What do you see when you look up from writing? On occasion, the editors of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine have commissioned illustrations to accompany my stories, and several times I’ve bought the original artwork and had it framed. I’ve also framed the cover art for the two collections of William Brittain’s short stories I edited for Crippen & Landru and the certificate I received from EQMM for finishing second in their Readers Award balloting in 2019. These treasures and several others are hanging on the wall above my desk.

Readers: If you’ve been to Amsterdam, what was your favorite thing about your visit? If you haven’t been to Amsterdam, what would you most like to see or do there? My editor will send an e-version of the new book to six commenters today.

Note: Josh is also at Bouchercon in the Pacific time zone, so he might not be able to respond to comments right away today. (And what a generous giveaway offer from Genius Book Publishing https://geniusbookpublishing.com/!)

Josh Pachter is the author of more than a hundred short crime stories, which have appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, and many other periodicals and anthologies. In 2022, Crippen & Landru published The Adventures of the Puzzle Club and Other Stories, containing five stories by Ellery Queen and nine by Pachter. Dutch Threat is his first novel, and First Week Free at the Roomy Toilet, his first chapter book for younger readers, will be published by Level Best Books in 2024. He also edits anthologies and translates fiction from Dutch and other languages. A finalist for the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity,  Thriller, and Derringer Awards, he received the Short Mystery Fiction Society’s Golden Derringer Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2020.

 

Where are the Wickeds at Bouchercon?

Edith/Maddie here, loving San Diego!

Bouchercon is the world’s biggest crime fiction convention, named after the late Anthony Boucher many years ago. This year’s version is going on right now in beautiful San Diego, California. Only half the Wicked Authors are here this year, so we’re working double-time meeting and greeting our fans and our author pals.

Isn’t that the best lineup of honorees? Including great FOW (Friend of the Wickeds) Dru Ann! Here’s where you can find us.

Liz: I’m so excited for B’Con this year – especially the location! I visited San Diego earlier this year for the first time and it was so fun – can’t wait to go back. I even did a ghost tour Which is pretty fitting, since I’m on a paranormal panel this year. Join me Thursday at 10:20 for the Like You’ve Seen a Ghost: The Rising Popularity of Paranormal and Supernatural panel! Can’t wait!

Julie: Liz, I want to hear more about that ghost tour! Thursday (today) I’ll be at the Sisters in Crime lunchtime dessert event, and then I’m moderating a panel at 2pm, The Hook: Books, Victorian Architecture, and Other Excitement  in Cozy Mysteries. Friday at 1pm, The Legacy of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. Saturday at 2:20 Cozy is Not a Four-Letter Word panel. I’ll be signing in the Kensington hospitality suite at 1:30. Remember, there will be authors doing giveaways at 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 in the Kensington hospitality suite, so come by and bring a big empty bag. Lots of free books! I’ll also be at the Sisters in Crime table on and off throughout the weekend.

Edith/Maddie: I headed out west a day early. I used to live in Ocean Beach, a section of the city, almost fifty years ago – and I’d never been back. Yesterday I made a little pilgrimage for old time’s sake.

Last night I participated in the Cozies and Cocktails event, which was lovely, with much thanks to the brilliant Ellen Byron, who organized it, and kudos to Julie for reading. Following is where else I’ll be from now on out.

Like Julie, today I’ll be at the Sisters in Crime lunchtime dessert event, and I’m on her 2pm panel, The Hook: Books, Victorian Architecture, and Other Excitement  in Cozy Mysteries. Friday at 8:30am I’m doing a Cozy Spotlight in Torrey Pines 2. On Saturday at 8:50am I’m moderating Eating Your Way Thru a Book:  Culinary Mysteries. At 1:30 pm I’ll be at the Kensington signing. Otherwise look for me poolside or in the bar, and bid on my fun Murder Uncorked auction basket in the silent auction room!

Readers: Are you here? Find us and say hello! If you aren’t at the convention, how are you spending your end of August?

Wicked Wednesday: Relaxing into the Fall

Edith/Maddie here, heaving a deep sigh north of Boston.

Well, my friends, we’ve made it all the way through five August Wicked Wednesdays, from the second day of the month to the last. And that means fall is coming. Colder weather. Frosts. Boots, sweaters, scarves, gloves.

Wait, I hear the collective consciousness crying out. It’s still warm! Half the Wickeds are in or traveling to sunny San Diego, in fact. And if any of you are in San Diego tonight, Julie and I will be at Cozies and Cocktails at 8:30 pm along with an amazing group of fellow authors. We hope to see you there!

Anyway, summer is good. But there’s no avoiding the fall, and I happen to know it’s a favorite season for more than one of us.

So, Wickeds, which of your summer relaxation practices will you carry through into the fall? Do you have a different set to haul out for the cooler weather?

Julie: What a great question! I have been walking a lot this summer, and I’ll continue that. I’ve also been cross-stitching and knitting regularly, which I find so soothing. They definitely follow with me. Honestly, I’ll try and bring as much summer with me as long as possible. I love summer, and hate the idea of having to add a layer of clothes.

Edith/Maddie: Same here, Julie. I don’t like the thought of switching from my morning writing attire of shorts and t-shirt to the hoodie and yoga pants I wear when it’s cooler. Like you, I’ll keep up my daily walking habit. This fall I also have a small quilt top I’m going to try hand-quilt as I relax on the couch.

Barb: Funny you should ask. Today we leave for Paris. Of course, due to a cancelled connecting flight, we’ll be spending 12 hours at JFK, and then the overnight flight. I don’t sleep on planes, so I expect to be a basket case when we arrive, but the next day, I am sure the agenda will include relaxing in a cafe, watching the world go by.

Sherry: Oh, no, Barb! That doesn’t sound fun–the 12 hours at JFK–the rest of it will be fabulous. I don’t sleep on planes very often so I feel your pain. I’m always happy when the weather cools down. Like Julie and Edith, I’ll continue walking and scuff up some leaves while I’m at it!

Liz: I’m sad to say goodbye to summer, but it also means the dogs get to walk on the beach again. They are banned during the summer months. So we’ll be keeping up our daily walks as a relaxation practice but we’ll get to be down by the water, which is lovely.

Jessie: I love the fall and am especially looking forward to it this year since we have not been at the beach and so won’t have to leave it. Like Julie, I will continue knitting and even ramp up my efforts since it is such a great cool weather activity. I will continue my long daily walks and spending time any day that it is sunny in the screen house with my dog.

Readers: What summer practice will you keep up as the weather cools and the days shorten?

Afternoon Tea with Guest Vicki Delany

Edith/Maddie, about to hop a plane for the west coast.

Please join me in welcoming Vicki Delany to the blog. She’s one of my Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen blogmates and has a new Tea by the Sea mystery out!

Here’s the blurb: Thanks to the Great Teacup Shortage, Cape Cod tearoom proprietress Lily Roberts is already feeling the strain. But when a family fracas turns deadly over an antique tea set, she’ll really have to pour through the clues before another crime is brewed up. Lily visits an antiques fair for replacement tea cups. Among other finds, she snaps up a charming Peter Rabbit-themed tea set in a wicker basket, perfect for children’s events. But a few days later, a woman named Kimberly marches into the tearoom, rudely demanding to buy it back—then later returns and removes an envelope hidden in the basket’s lining.

An acquaintance of Lily’s named Rachel is on the trail of the tea set too. Apparently, she and Kimberly are half-sisters. But it’s more than a storm in a teacup when one of the sisters is found dead on the grounds of the B&B owned by Lily’s grandmother, Rose. Is this a simple case of greed boiling over, or are there other suspects in the blend? It’ll take some savvy sleuthing from Lily, Rose, and their allies to find the answers before a killer shatters more lives . . .

The Perfect Afternoon Tea

“Do you make all the food served here yourself?” [Detective Redmond asked] That was an abrupt change of topic. Had she even heard me? Might as well answer the question.

“I do, and everything’s made completely from scratch. Nothing purchased and nothing out of a package. More than once, people have complained when they saw the prices. We never apologize. Good food, well prepared with excellent ingredients, much of it sourced locally, costs money. Not to mention fresh flowers on the table and real china and silver and linen at every place. Afternoon tea isn’t an everyday thing, not even in the UK and certainly not in America. It’s a treat, an indulgence, and I believe it needs to be presented accordingly.”

Scone finished, Detective Redmond helped herself to a macaron and sipped her tea.                                                                         Tea and Treachery By Vicki Delany

Tea by the Sea, the main location in my Tea by the Sea mysteries from Kensington, is a traditional afternoon tea room located near the Outer Cape town of North Augusta, on Cape Cod. I love afternoon tea, and like Lily Roberts, my protagonist, I believe it’s a treat, and indulgence.

The fine china, the perfect table settings, the delicious food. Plus the time taken to enjoy it.

Afternoon tea is not something to be rushed through. It is the perfect occasion for realizing with friends. Afternoon tea is not the same as high tea, although the two are often confused. Afternoon tea was sometimes called low tea at one time, as it was served on a low, drawing room table, as opposed to high tea, served on a high kitchen table. High tea, now usually just called tea in the UK, is a working family’s evening meal. Occasionally the phrase high tea is used these days to refer to afternoon tea with an extra course such as soup or a quiche.

Afternoon tea was invented by Anna Duchess of Bedford, a friend of Queen Victoria, around 1840.  (So the story goes.) Anna began feeling a mite peckish around four in the afternoon and she wanted a small, light meal to tide her through. She began inviting friends to join her, and the idea spread, and here we are. 

Almost anywhere in the world, from England where it was invented, to North America, Africa, and Asia, afternoon tea is served and it is much the same everywhere.  A pot (or pots) of perfectly prepared tea served in fine china.  The food is always some variation of scones (with jam, butter, and clotted cream) small finger sandwiches, and a selection of delicate pastries.   Afternoon tea can be a heck of a big meal; a lesser meal called a cream tea, tea with just the scones and accompaniments, is often available for those with smaller appetites.

For a true celebration, a glass of champagne or sparkling wine is sometimes served as well.

Although the food aspect of afternoon tea is set – scones, sandwiches, desserts – Lily Roberts bakes a great variety of those things from one day to the next, depending on what she feels like making, what’s in season, and what’s in the stores.  She also prepares a children’s tea – juice or iced tea, ham and cheese or jam sandwiches, chocolate chip cookies and small cupcakes. Even the children’s tea is served on the best china and in fine glassware.

If you’re not able to get out yourself to a tea room and enjoy the delights of afternoon tea, or prepare it at home for your friends, I hope you’ll enjoy afternoon tea at Tea by the Sea between the pages of Steeped in Malice.

Readers: are you a lover of afternoon tea? Never been? If you have been what’s the place you’d most recommend?

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than fifty books: clever cozies to Gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy.  She is currently writing the Tea by the Sea mysteries, the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series, the Year-Round Christmas mysteries, and the Lighthouse Library series (as Eva Gates). Vicki is a past chair of the Crime Writers of Canada and co-founder and organizer of the Women Killing It Crime Writing Festival.  Her work has been nominated for the Derringer, the Bony Blithe, the Ontario Library Association Golden Oak, and the Arthur Ellis Awards. Vicki is the recipient of the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award for contributions to Canadian crime writing. She lives in Prince Edward County, Ontario.    Find Vicki at http://www.vickidelany.comFacebook Instagram: Vicki.Delany

You can sign up to receive Vicki’s quarterly newsletter at Vicki Delany – Canadian Author of Mystery Novels and Suspense Novels » Contact Buy the book: Steeped in Malice (kensingtonbooks.com) 

Clammed Up is Ten Years Old!

by Barb, enjoying summer in Maine, as the temperatures go down into the 50s at night–perfect sleeping weather as my mother would have said

I’m celebrating a few days early, but Clammed Up, the first book in the Maine Clambake Mystery series, has its tenth anniversary on September 3rd. (When I’ll be in Paris. Also, September 3, 2023 is the 50th anniversary of my husband and me meeting for the first time, when a friend of a friend brought him to my West Philadelphia apartment. Who’d have thought we’d be here now?)

Little did I know when I wrote it how important Clammed Up would be and what a workhorse it would be.

Actually, it’s a good thing I didn’t know how important it would be, because if I had known, I likely would have freaked out and been paralyzed. As a reader, I’m perfectly willing to excuse a weak first-in-series book, especially if I’ve been entranced by a later book and gone back to read in order. (I’m similarly willing to give the first episode of a television series a pass if there’s a lot of set up and go on to try the second episode.) However, lots and lots of people read in order, and for them, Clammed Up is the gateway to the Maine Clambake Mystery series.

As for being the workhorse, Clammed Up is still in print, in its seventh printing, if the copyright page is to be believed. It had sold 85,640 ebook and mass market paperback copies as of December, 30, 2022, the date of my last royalty statement. (I don’t have a count on audiobooks and large print. The accounting for those is done differently.) Not big numbers for a bestselling author, but good for a mid-lister like me. (I think. In this business no one tells you anything.) It still sells along at between 40 and 150 paperbacks a month, at least this year (according to Bookscan).

Clammed Up was a nominated for an Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel for 2013, for the RT Book Reviews, Reviewer’s Choice Best Book Award for 2013–Amateur Sleuth, and was a finalist for the Maine Literary Award for Crime Fiction. The book has a respectable 4.3 rating on Amazon with 2709 reviews, and a lower 3.92 rating with a higher 4480 reviews on Goodreads, but I actually think that is good. It means the book reached people beyond the core cozy audience–and for some of them, it wasn’t their cup of tea.

Here’s what some nice people said about Clammed Up. (Some are old friends now but back then I barely knew most of them.)

I can see this series on the bookshelves for years to come.

Dru’s Book Musings

Clammed Up certainly deserves its nomination for the Agatha, and I will be making my reservation for another clambake with Julia and her family.

Carstairs Considers

Clammed Up is a terrific start to what promises to be a top-notch series, with a cast of characters I look forward to knowing better.

Suspense Magazine

Ms. Ross has written such a gorgeously cohesive novel that I wanted to celebrate it as a paragon of cozy cooking mysteries as well as a fine piece of fiction on its own.

Criminal Element

It’s always exciting to catch the first book of a new mystery series and realize it’s the start of years of enjoyment ahead.

Kingdom Books

When I look back at Clammed Up today, it is very much a first-in-series book. I was finding my way, getting to know my main character Julia Snowden, her strengths and foibles, and the world of Busman’s Harbor, Maine. I recently read an interview with an actor who has been playing the same character in a TV series for ten years. He said that when he went into the first episodes, he’d done plenty of prep on the character and his backstory and so on. But now that he’s portrayed the character reacting to all the situations he’s been in during the series, it feels like he has actual lived experience as this character. That’s very much the way I feel about Julia. Now that I’ve seen how she acts in so many different situations, I know her so much better.

Clammed Up has made the career I’ve had as a traditionally-published author possible. It’s led me to eleven additional novels and six novellas about the Maine Clambake characters. And, it has led me to all of you. I will be forever grateful.

Readers: How do you feel about first-in-series books? Is it one chance for you, or will you give a series with possibilities a second try?