What Makes a Cozy Mystery?

I like mysteries. I like to read mysteries. In fact, I give mysteries credit for starting me down the writing road since I picked up pen to write my own mystery at age ten after reading some Hardy Boy mystery books. So, it’s a little surprising that I published twenty-eight books before any of those books were labeled mysteries.

 But I did keep my love of mysteries. The truth is, I often sneaked a mystery thread into my stories through the years. I even included a suspicious death and a murder in my recent Shaker book, The Innocent. It’s good to make readers wonder a bit. But I had never written a full-fledged, murder-in-the-title, and mystery-on-the-cover book until Murder at the Courthouse, my first Hidden Springs mystery published last year. Now Murder Comes by Mail follows it up with more murder and mayhem in my little town of Hidden Springs.

Murder in the title is a sure indication the book is a mystery. Then readers can spot another clue on the cover to let them know what kind of mystery. Those lovely cats. The same as other fiction books, mysteries come in different flavors. You have police procedurals, detective stories, and suspense filled dramas, but when you see a cat or dog on the cover you can be pretty sure you are looking at a cozy mystery.

What makes a cozy mystery? Cozies are usually gentle mysteries. Oh, people die and not from natural causes, but the violent deaths rarely take place on stage. Bodies are discovered. Clues are uncovered. Murderers caught. Usually the amateur sleuth main character is an intuitive, intelligent woman who just happens to stumble across those dead bodies. Consider Murder, She Wrote. Think of how many murder victims just happened to show up in Jessica Fletcher’s little town. 

So we come to another thing that makes a cozy a cozy. Nearly all cozy mysteries are set in small towns, the more picturesque the better. The main character nearly always has some sort of business. A book store, a tea shop or perhaps an antique store or a knitting and yarn shop. The main character may have some sort of relationship with someone in the law enforcement business that enables her to get inside information regarding the crime. And don’t forget those cats and dogs. Those furry friends can play major roles in the story.  

The victims in cozy mysteries rarely get much sympathy since they are often unlikeable characters nobody is going to miss and to whom the reader has not formed any emotional attachment. Readers of cozy mysteries want an easy, entertaining read and not something that will make them sad or nervous about being alone on a dark and stormy night. They read to relax and have fun trying to come up with the whodunit answer before the amateur sleuth unmasks the perpetrator at the end of the story. 

At the same time, they can be disappointed if they figure out the answers too easily or too soon. Whether they guess the bad guy or not, they expect the clues to be there to point to the killer. They want to be able to look back and say, “Yes, I should have seen that.” Of course, the author throws in a few red herrings to try to lead the reader astray while the amateur sleuth character manages to sort through and figure out the real clues.

Cozy mysteries are often series books with the same main characters. Think of Sue Grafton’s alphabet series. She introduced Kinsey Millhone to readers in A is for Alibi and now is near the end of the alphabet with a new book titled X. Grafton’s mysteries are detective fiction and not cozies, but you can find plenty of cozy series too. Lillian Jackson Braun’s The Cat Who… series are definitely cozies with that cat in the midst of every mystery. Most mystery series have continuing characters but can also be read as stand-alone books. 

With all that said, I confess I must not have read the rules before I began writing my own cozy mysteries because my books break many of the rules I’ve just noted. I do have the cats. That may have been my saving grace. But my main character is a man, and if that isn’t bad enough, he’s a policeman. Admittedly, he’s a deputy sheriff in a small town that while not particularly picturesque, does have that friendly everybody knows everybody feel. Throw in some quirky, hometown characters readers can picture walking down Main Street and at least the setting works for a cozy mystery. My victims aren’t all unsympathetic characters either, but they are characters the reader doesn’t really know well. My main characters do run into danger and sometimes end up in dramatic will-there-be-a-way-out-of-this situations.    
Recently I sent out a newsletter with a giveaway contest, and for fun, I asked readers if they thought they would like to live in a small town like Hidden Springs. Far and away, the majority loved the idea of living in a small town. Many did either live in that similar small town now or had grown up in one. But one reader was right on the money when she sent this comment. “As far as living in the fictional town of Hidden Springs, well to be honest, the crime rate is sky high in comparison to the population. So, I don’t think I’d feel safe living there.” 

That’s another thing about the cute little towns where cozy mystery series are set. They have an amazingly high crime rate, but since it’s all in fun and only fictional people are victims of the crimes, cozy mystery lovers are okay with this. They are also happy the stories have no profanity or explicit sex (especially true with the inspirational cozy mysteries). Often there is no mention of romance at all, but I do have a thread of romance running through my Hidden Springs mysteries.  

So if you stroll down Main Street and stop in at the Grill for a cup of coffee and hear that somebody just met an untimely end, then you could be in Hidden Springs or some other small town cozy story. You might as well settle down to stay a while, pet the cat or dog, and try to figure out who did the dastardly deed.


How important is setting in a story? Have you ever decided to read or write a story solely because of the setting? Do you think setting sometimes dictates what sort of characters can come to life in a story?    

Ann H. Gabhart is the bestselling author of many novels, including Angel Sister, Small Town Girl, and Love Comes Home, the 2015 Selah Book of Year winner. She’s also known for her Shaker novels and Heart of Hollyhill books. Now, as A.H. Gabhart, she is writing the Hidden Springs Mysteries set in a small town much like the Kentucky town where she grew up. Ann and her husband have three children and nine grandchildren and still enjoy country life on a farm near that small town. To find out more about Ann’s books or to follow her blog, visit www.annhgabhart.com. You can also join the conversation on her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/anngabhart. 

Murder Comes By Mail

Deputy Sheriff Michael Keane doesn't particularly enjoy being touted as the hero of Hidden Springs after pulling a suicidal man back from the edge of the Eagle River bridge in front of dozens of witnesses--a few of whom caught the breathtaking moments with their cameras. But the media hype doesn't last long as a new story pushes its way into the public consciousness of Hidden Springs' concerned citizens. 


Photos of a dead girl arrive in the mail, and Michael becomes convinced she was murdered by the man he saved. With a killer one step ahead, things in Hidden Springs begin to unravel. Now Michael must protect the people he loves--because the killer could be targeting one of them next.

Ann is generously offering a copy of Murder Comes by Mail to one commenter. Leave a comment to get your name in the cat dish. Winner announced in the Weekend Edition.

A Spring of Hope through the Years

by Ann H. Gabhart


At thirteen, I started writing in a journal to try to figure out life and because I loved words. Later, when I began writing for publication, my journal was where I whined and cried over discouraging lows and celebrated exhilarating highs in my writing life. Perhaps these peeks at some of my old entries will encourage you to persevere and write on.


• Jan 4, 1978 – It seems appropriate I waited till now to write here in ’78. I’ve waited so long and now I’m almost without words. It got an offer. Specifically, Warner Books wants to publish my book. My agent says she’s not entirely satisfied with the terms but wants to know how I feel. What can I say? Of course I’m satisfied. To me, it sounds like a fortune, a miracle, an answer to prayer.

• Dec 31, 1978 - I’ve written on so many New Year’s Eves since I began journal writing. Sometimes that seems such a long time ago. In other ways, only a soft twirl of days. This passing of the old year to the new is a time to mark accomplishments, to count successes and mourn over failures. This has been an exciting year full of newness. Seeing my book on the stands was a definite high. 

• Jan 3, 1983 – I didn’t write on New Year’s Eve. Guess that is indicative of my mood. I hate to keep reiterating my failures, and that’s all 1983 held professionally. Rejections and even worse than that–no rejections. Only silence. So I’ll let 1982 roll past and turn loose of it. I’ll realize I’m still able to work. I still want to write even if the words seem elusive and difficult. So what if my drawer is full of rejections. It’s all part of learning and getting better. Pray God I am getting better and 1983 will hold something good in the wings for me, the writer.

• Jan 14, 1985 – A new year. New hope. I keep trying anyway. I got a nice letter from my agent saying my “lack of sales” was no reflection on my writing ability.

• Jan 2, 1987 – This time last year we were just realizing Dad was sick, and now he’s gone. I can’t review the year. Too sad. I’ll stick with work news. I did sell 3 books, a record for me.

• Jan 3, 1989 – Life brings both joy and sadness. I have been gifted with many good things… my family, my talent, the chance to do what I love. So many blessings. Perhaps I shouldn’t forget my spring of hope that sustains me when I’m discouraged. The next book. The next idea. The next editor. I have only to believe, to keep trying, to step forward with prayer. 

• Jan 3, 1991 – I love it when I can think positive. I want a whole year of positive

thinking. “You can do it” stuff.

• Jan 17, 1994 – Guess I didn’t search for time to write about my year because it’s been such a sorry one in regard to writing successes – a deep valley of discouragement. 

• Jan 12, 1995 – It’s a funny thing chasing after a story idea, and today, so futile I thought I’d write about it. It’s as if I’ve blanked out my mind and I’m stumbling around searching for a way out of the blankness, hoping I’ll bang into something to suggest some possibilities. But right now it’s a white-out blizzard of nothing. Another way to describe it? I’m in a huge field. Nothing but flat ground. I’m lost but not really worried. I know that one direction will lead me to something interesting – maybe a hole I can fall into. But which direction? Where’s the story?

• Jan 21, 1998 – I want to do something fresh, something to inspire me and make me proud to say I’m a writer again. Maybe I’ll be a writer again. Now I’m just going through the motions and doing a poor job of that. I need a new story. I need a story. Period, exclamation point.

• Jan 14, 2003 – Here we are starting the fourth year of the 21st Century. I haven’t worked the way I’d like. I keep dragging my feet. Letting things interfere. Falling to sleep at the wheel (or keyboard). Afraid of failing. I’m still working on Jocie’s story. (Scent of Lilacs) I like it, but will anyone else? I don’t know. But I am going to push through to the end. If I fail, I fail. But I’ve failed already if I don’t try. 

• Jan 3, 2005 – Of course, the year’s writing highlight is selling my book. I’m so excited about that I shouldn’t even think a depressing thought. 

• Dec 27, 2005 – Time spins away from us in great circles. One day it’s the first of the month. The next the end. A new grandbaby girl has come into the world. A beautiful perfect miracle of a child. Blessed beyond imagination.

• Jan 3, 2008 – So long ago I started writing in a journal. So many private words. Yet it continues to feed my soul. Words on paper. Thoughts and ideas. Gripes and complaints. 

Praises and joys. Worries and troubles. Happiness and love. So many things to record over the years. I started my first journal when I was 13. I’m not 13 anymore. But I’m still here. Still writing. Still having joy and worries. But pray God, always more joy.

As you can tell from the entry dates, I’ve been writing for many years, but without being able to record my dreams and hopes in my journal, who knows? I might have given up during those discouraging times of no sales. My recent release, Love Comes Home, is my twenty-seventh published book, fourteen of those after the Lord gave me that new story I so needed in 1998. It was a few more years before I wrote Scent of Lilacs about a preacher and his family in the Sixties. That story landed me squarely in the inspirational market, a place I love since I can share the spiritual journeys of my characters in their stories. What are we without what we believe? 

My first book was published almost forty years ago. Since then I’ve worked with different publishers, re-invented myself as a writer several times, but I felt like I had come home when Scent of Lilacs came out. (By the way Scent of Lilacs is a free download right now!) 

Sometimes the Lord opens a door and then has to nudge us in some way to make us notice the opportunity. In my case, perhaps rejections were my nudge. I can’t say I’m glad for the rejections, but I am glad to be writing for the Christian market. Each new story is a gift and I feel blessed to be able to share my stories with my reading friends. 




Have you ever faced discouraging times in your writing life and considered giving up? Or maybe you’re not a writer, but have faced discouragement in other areas of your life? What made you keep trying and how did you keep your hopes alive? 

ANN H. GABHART, the author of several bestselling novels, has been called a storyteller, not a bad thing for somebody who never wanted to do anything but write down stories. She’s published novels for both adults and young adults with more stories on the way. She keeps her keyboard warm out on a farm in Kentucky where she lives with her husband, Darrell. They have three children and nine grandchildren. To find out more about Ann or her books visit www.annhgabhart.com. Check out her blog, One Writer’s Journal, www.annhgabhart.blogspot.com or join her on Facebook. www.facebook.com/anngabhart 


Today, Ann is giving away a copy of her latest release, Love Comes Home to one commenter. Let us know you want to be considered for this special book. Winner announced in the Weekend Edition.

World War II is finally over and the people of Rosey Corner are busy welcoming the boys home. The Merritt sisters in particular are looking toward the future. Kate is eager to start a family and live out her dream of happily ever after with Jay. Evangeline wants a beautiful house and encourages Mike to pastor a big-town church. Victoria wants what can never be--a life with a man who will never come back. And little Lorena is growing up and wondering more and more about her birth family.


Through the heartfelt storytelling of bestselling author Ann Gabhart, readers join these endearing characters as they walk an uncertain road. Each sister must learn to hold her plans with a loose hand, trusting that God will guide and strengthen them as they share the joys and sorrows of life in their little corner of the world.


Dear Friends of Seekerville: Our friend Ann Gabhart's momma has recently gone to heaven. The funeral is today, so we don't expect Ann. But this post is such a blessing to all of who are journeying in the publishing world-so do please leave a comment and let Ann know how much it blesses you and we'll all be saying a prayer of comfort for Ann and her family.

Tina Radcliffe for Seekerville

The Confidence to Write

with guest Ann H. Gabhart.

 
I got the writing bug when I was around ten years old and I’ve been infected ever since. But it’s one of those good bugs and I’ve never sought or wanted a cure. In fact I’ve just spilled out words and more words through all the years I’ve been writing. My first book was published in 1978. Since then I’ve published twenty-six more novels–all different genres. I’ve published two historical romances for the general market, nine books for young teens, two coming of age books for middle readers, one non-fiction life testimony biography, five Shaker novels, six Small Town, America family/historical novels, one inspirational historical romance, and now one Christmas novella. Whew! And that’s just counting the books that have been published. I’ve got more than I want to count on my no-editor-loves-this-story reject shelf.

I’m telling you all this for a reason. I married young and didn’t have the opportunity to go to college to study writing or anything else. My writing skills were learned by trial and error as I scribbled story after story in between chasing after my kids and helping my husband on the farm. Perhaps it was because I didn’t have any writing instructors to point out my many weaknesses that I never thought there was any type of book I couldn’t tackle. Well, I suppose I knew I couldn’t write scholarly treatises or those dark literary works that never end well, but I didn’t want to write those anyway. I wanted to write stories about characters full of life who found ways to overcome obstacles and never failed to find a happy ending or at least a ray of hope as the sun goes down on their stories.

And since I was just a naive young author with little going for me other than perseverance and the courage to try, if I got an idea for a book, I always thought yeah sure, I can write that. Of course, that could be why some of those stories are still on that reject shelf. Long, long ago, the first novel I wrote was a Gothic romance. That story, while it was never published, did help me obtain an agent who told me historical romances were all the rage.

With publication as my goal, I thought why not give a historical story a try. So what if I didn’t know much about history. I knew where the history books were in my public library, and the story I researched there became my first published book. When my third historical romance book was rejected for being “too clean” for the general market, I decided to try young adult fiction. I was a kid once. I knew how that felt. Then, there was that year when I was casting around for a new direction and I thought about how I love reading mysteries. So why not write some? Those are still on that reject shelf, but I wrote them. Finally, after a hard run of writing and not selling, I decided to heed that time honored advice to write what I did really know–small town family stories. I grew up in a small town, and while my family lacked the kind of drama that makes for story conflict, I was writing fiction which meant I could make up things. That story, Scent of Lilacs, became the first book in my Heart of Hollyhill series.

Shaker village of Pleasant Hill

So when my editor and agent suggested I write a Christmas novella set in my fictional Shaker village, I didn’t think about how I’d never tried to write a novella. My adult fiction tends to run long. I didn’t think about how in all my research on Shakers, I’d noted one–only one–lonely mention of Christmas. I certainly didn’t admit that I had never read a Christmas novella. Never. I just said, sure, I can do it. Send the contract. 

Confidence in your ability to tell a story is not a bad thing to have. Beginning each new story is something like standing on a cliff edge ready to jump without knowing exactly how you’re going to fly. The first time you stand there, you are so full of hope and enthusiasm that you’re willing to leap into the air without knowing what might happen next. But after you’ve done it a few times–managed to write a whole book from the beginning through the middle all the way to the end–you begin to trust your writing wings.  

I didn’t know how the Shakers celebrated Christmas but I was confident I could find out. I didn’t know how my fictional story would tie into a Christmas theme, but I was sure a way would open up when I began thinking about a story idea. Your subconscious is a powerful ally in writing. The idea came to let my character, Heather, be heavy with child as Mary was on that trip to Bethlehem so many years ago. Just as Mary did, Heather pondered the future of her child even as she wondered how Mary felt awaiting the birth of Jesus. “But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19 KJV) I let my storytelling confidence take me on a Christmas journey and the result was my first Christmas novella, Christmas at Harmony Hill.  

Have you ever trembled on the edge of a storytelling cliff, afraid to trust the characters coming to life in your head? Perhaps, you’ve had to re-invent yourself as a writer and try different genres the way I have. What gave you the courage to try something new and different as a writer?   




Ann H Gabhart, the author of several bestselling novels, has been called a storyteller, not a bad thing for somebody who never wanted to do anything but write down stories. She’s published twenty-six novels for adults and young adults with more stories on the way. She keeps her keyboard warm out on a farm in Kentucky where she lives with her husband, Darrell. They have three children, three in-law children, and nine grandchildren. To find out more about Ann or her books visit www.annhgabhart.com. Check out her blog, One Writer’s Journal, www.annhgabhart.blogspot.com or follow her on Facebook, www.facebook.com/AnnGabhart , Twitter, https://twitter.com/AnnHGabhart  or Pinterest, http://pinterest.com/annhgabhart/. 

 A stirring story of healing, hope, and home at Christmas

It is 1864 and the nation is torn apart by civil war when Heather Worth discovers she is with child. With her husband at the front and nowhere else to turn, she seeks refuge in the Shaker village of Harmony Hill. Amid the tumult of the times, Heather yearns for the peace she sees in this strange community. But can this longing really be fulfilled amid these people with their peculiar beliefs about family?

As Christmas approaches, the joy of new life and the love that is born of forgiveness may hold the answer.

Join bestselling author Ann H. Gabhart for a peek into the world of the Shakers--and the world of the human heart. 

Today, Ann is giving away an autographed copy of Christmas at Harmony Hill to one of our commenters. Winner announced in the Weekend Edition.

  

Letting Life Happen in Fiction with Guest Ann H. Gabhart

 "Why did you let that happen to your character?" a book club member asked me once. I don’t remember which book or what happened to my character that concerned her, but it was a fair question that started me wondering. Why did I let that happen? Or did I even “let” it happen?

One of Ann's book clubs!

 Are my characters just puppets in my hand? Or have they come to life so fully in my imagination that they head down life’s road with me dogging their footsteps yelling questions like a pesky reporter? “What are you doing next? Where are you going? Why’d you stop here? Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Actually, once the main characters are living their stories, I’m more than chasing after them. I become those characters while the story words form on my computer screen. 

That bonding with characters doesn’t happen without some work. I just turned in my third Rosey Corner book, Love Comes Home. That novel followed up my characters in Angel Sister and Small Town Girl. So for it, I didn’t have to come up with an entirely new set of characters. I did bring new faces into the story, but I also knew many of the characters like my closest family after writing two other books with them. I was thrilled they let me move in with them while I discovered the rest of their story. 

Now I’m on to a new book with characters I’m only just meeting. So how do these characters I’m going to be living with for the next few months come to life in my mind? The Bible says man was formed from the dust of the earth. Characters are formed from the dust of a writer’s mind. Every person I’ve ever met, every character I’ve ever read about or seen in a movie or on TV, every person I can imagine, all those are stored somewhere in my mind. When it’s time to create that new character, I take a pinch of this and a dollop of that from the glimmering treasure trove in my head until the person I’m looking for begins to form before my writer’s eye. 

Sometimes it’s a slow process of one brick of character piling on another brick. Other times, a character springs to life as soon as I think of her name. Lacey in The Blessed was that kind of gift. I had intended her to be a minor character in my third Shaker book, The Seeker, but as soon as I named her, she informed me she had a story of her own that would be wasted if she just got a few paragraphs in a minor role. 

Most of my main characters are not like Lacey. Most have to be developed. I’ve given talks where I let the audience participate in building a character by brainstorming the answers to a few basic questions. Is the character male or female? How old are they? Third question – name?  You can’t really name a character until you know the answers to the first two questions. Nationality and historic era make a difference with names too. Once we agree on a name, then we go on to whether the person is married, has children, what kind of work they do, whether they live in the city or country, etc. My audience always has great fun doing this character exercise and are often shocked at how an imagined person can so quickly come to life in their thoughts as we answer those few questions. By the end of our little exercise, I sometimes have to referee as many of the participants are ready to fight for their image of the character to be the person for our story. 

We don’t write the story, but if we did, what each person wrote would be completely different from all the other stories.  That’s because in the process of coming up with a story, they would have to answer many more questions about the character. One, what do they look like? But even more important, why do they do the things they do? I generally write a brief paragraph about my character’s appearance–eyes, hair color, features, height, build–general things that I need to remember. I let those images float around in my head to try to see my character, but even more important than how the character looks is how he or she thinks. That’s because I’m going to pitch them into some situations. In Words Spoken True, I dropped Adriane down in the middle of a very volatile summer in Louisville’s history, and then piled even more trouble on her. In my coming book, Christmas at Harmony Hill, Heather is faced with one challenge after another as she awaits the birth of her baby in this Civil War era Christmas story. 

So why do I let these things happen to my characters? Because life happens to people and I’m writing about people. I name them and put them in their time and place, but then the story takes over. Without my characters facing conflicts and hardships, I wouldn’t have much of a story. Readers love fiction because of the people, but they want those people to overcome challenges as they chase after their dreams. 

Readers also want to know what happens next. Those happenings might make us smile or perhaps weep or even be nervous as we hurry through the pages. But we want to live the story with the characters and believe they would really do the things they do in the book. So that’s why I set my characters down on the road of life and “let” things happen to them. 

When you read fiction, do you invite the characters into your heart and mind and live the story with them? Do you ever wonder what happens to them after you read the last page?

ANN H. GABHART, the author of several bestselling novels, has been called a storyteller, not a bad thing for somebody who never wanted to do anything but write down stories. She’s published twenty-five novels with more stories on the way. She keeps her keyboard warm out on a farm in Kentucky where she lives with her husband, Darrell. They have three children, three in-law children, and nine grandchildren. To find out more about Ann or her books visit www.annhgabhart.com. Check out her blog, One Writer’s Journal, 


www.annhgabhart.blogspot.com or follow her on Facebook, www.facebook.com/AnnGabhart , Twitter, https://twitter.com/AnnHGabhart , or Pinterest, http://pinterest.com/annhgabhart/.



Ann has generously offered to giveaway a copy of Small Town Girl, her July release from Revell to two Villagers who leave a comment. Winner announced in the Weekend Edition.

The Merritts of Rosey Corner, Ky., are back. Evangeline is marrying Pastor Mike, and the family could not be happier — except for Kate, who has loved Pastor Mike since she was 15. Birdie is smitten with Mike’s best man, Jay Tanner, but he seems interested in Kate. The joy of the wedding lingers until the bombing of Pearl Harbor, when the war begins and the young men must leave loved ones behind and go defend their country. Will Kate send away her only chance at dancing in the Rosey Corner moonlight?