Tea and Conversation - A Group Interview

Sit back, grab a cup of tea and check out the answers to the questions I posed to some wonderful authors. Welcome Jennifer J. Chow, Connie di Marco, Traci Hall, Victoria Hamilton, Rosie Genova, Daryl Wood Gerber, Kathleen Kalb, Terrie Farley Moran, Elizabeth Pantley, and Mindy Quigley.

 

Kathy: Name a book (or a few) that you read growing up that made a lasting impression on you.

Jennifer J. Chow: A Wrinkle in Time for its worldbuilding and deep insights.

Connie di Marco: I’d have to say The Borrowers series. They were just wonderful! I had a collection of Nancy Drew mysteries that were even old at the time I had them, with wonderful illustrations from the 1930s. I wish I had kept them!

Traci Hall: Plague by Graham Masterson

Victoria Hamilton: I first read Jane Eyre as a Reader's digest condensed book and it made such an impression, and from then on I was hooked on classic lit. When I was 20-ish, I read A Pint of Murder by Alisa Craig - aka Charlotte MacLeod - and was hooked on traditional or cozy mysteries.

Daryl Wood Gerber: AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, THE 3 MUSKETEERS, A WRINKLE IN TIME

Rosie Genova: I remember reading "The Treehouse Mystery," by Carol Beach York when I was about eight or nine. It may have been the germ of the idea that I might write one of my own someday.

Kathleen Kalb: DIE FOR LOVE, by Elizabeth Peters.

Terrie Moran: Heidi by Johanna Spyri. I was in elementary school when I read it. At first the fact that Heidi was an orphan being pushed off on her grandfather by an uncaring aunt horrified me and I didn’t want to continue reading, but as I moved further along in the story, I admired Heidi’s resilience at being able to cope with everything life threw her way and to live joyfully. It was a terrific life lesson. 

Elizabeth Pantley: One of the first novels I fell in love with was The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary. I was fascinated by the concept of a talking animal set in a real-life setting. The combination of a talking mouse and a human boy may have planted the seeds of my love for paranormal cozy mysteries!

Mindy Quigley: Charlotte’s Web. I am still not over that death scene.


Kathy: Name a cozy mystery that you did NOT write, but you wish you would have.

Jennifer J. Chow: A Hannah Swensen book, complete with recipes!

Connie di Marco: Hmmm, does it have to be a cozy? How about the Magpie Murders. I wish I had written that one!

Traci Hall: Paige Shelton Scottish Bookshop mysteries

Victoria Hamilton: ANYTHING by Joan Hess. I love and adore her Maggody series (laugh out loud funny) and her Claire Malloy books. Her death was such a loss to the humorous cozy world!

Daryl Wood Gerber: THE DOMESTIC DIVA RUNS OUT OF THYME.

Rosie Genova: Any of Kate Carlisle's Bibliophile mysteries--I was fascinated by all bookbinding details--almost as fun as the actual mystery plots.

Kathleen Kalb: DEVILS CHEW TOY by Rob Osler.

Terrie Moran: The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries by Emily Brightwell is the first book of the extremely long running Mrs. Jeffries series. Set in the Victorian era, Mrs. Jeffries is housekeeper for the inept Inspector Witherspoon of Scotland Yard. While the Inspector fumbles around trying to solve a murder, Mrs. Jeffries organizes the household staff to discover the killer. Since I come from long line of women who worked in domestic service, it was easy for me to appreciate how clever Mrs. Jeffries could be. 

Elizabeth Pantley: While I’ve yet to write a book about witches, I love the Starry Hollow Witches series by Annabel Chase. It’s what I’d call “paranormal cozy witches light,” and I’ve enjoyed the nineteen-book series so much I’ve read through it twice! The series is infused with humor, has amazing world-building, and is character-rich.

Mindy Quigley: Ellen Byron‘s Cajun country series. Plantation Shutters is a damn-near perfect cozy.

Kathy: Is there a genre or mystery subgenre that you'd like to write, but know you never will?

Jennifer J. Chow: Epic high fantasy

Connie di Marco: I love espionage novels, such as those by John Le Carré or Alan Furst, but I doubt I have the knowledge or background to write one.

Traci Hall: I have an open mind to genres so never say never.

Victoria Hamilton: You know, my favorite writer of all time is Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone books. I am on my 3rd or 4th time through the series, (I'm on S is for Silence right now) and have read some of them more than that. I don't imagine I'll ever write a private eye book, but I wish I could.

Daryl Wood Gerber: Humorous mysteries, I mean drop-dead funny like Wendall Thomas or Carl Hiassen.

Rosie Genova: I'm a big fan of procedurals, and I'd love to write something like Tana French's Dublin Murder series, but I'm entirely too squeamish. I'll leave it to the experts.

Kathleen Kalb: Thriller, but I'm a wimp.

Terrie Moran: Absolutely. The genre is Nonfiction, specifically American History. As much as I love research, I do not have the Patience or the Fortitude (notice how I worked in the names of the lions that guard the entrance to the New York Public Library) to do the kind of research that nonfiction requires, so I will leave it to Doris Kearns Goodwin. 

Elizabeth Pantley: I think writing romance novels would be fun. I’d enjoy writing about two people who meet and fall in love, and all the adventure and complexity that occurs along the way. I’d be too self-conscious to write the actual “romance” parts though, so I don’t see any of those in my future.

Mindy Quigley: Anything serious. I’ve tried writing serious literature, but the jokes always sneak in.


Kathy: If you were to take a job that any of your characters have, which one would you prefer?

Jennifer J. Chow: Pet groomer

Connie di Marco: Maybe I could be an astrologer, like Julia Bonatti in the Zodiac Mysteries. Or better yet, own an occult bookstore like Julia’s friend Gale.

Traci Hall: As for a job I'd like, well, I'd like to inherit a castle, but in Scotland, and open a B and B, combining all three series I have right now. Scottish Shires series, Irish Castle series, and Salem B and B series.

Victoria Hamilton: LOL... well, Melody Heath, a recurring character in my Vintage Kitchen Mysteries is a romance author morphing into a mystery/thriller author, so, since I've never wanted to be anything but a mystery writer, I suppose it's her! Now, question back... I do have a mystery or two written with Mel Heath as the lead character. Do you think anyone would read them if I published them??

Daryl Wood Gerber: Culinary Book Store Owner

Rosie Genova: My sleuth in the Italian Kitchen Mysteries, Victoria Rienzi, is a mystery author so I'm all Terrie Moran: By the time I finished writing Well Read, Then Dead, the first of the Read’Em and Eat mysteries, I wanted to be Sassy Cabot who ran the bookstore part of the bookstore cafe. I could image spending my life surrounded by books, coordinating book related events and having my meals in the café side of the store (run by my bestie, Bridgy Mayfield) at tables with pictures of authors and snippets of their writing varnished to the table tops. And of course, I would have to solve a murder or two, but hey, it is all in a day’s work. 

Kathleen Kalb: Lawyer, like Grace the Hit Mom.

Terrie Moran: By the time I finished writing Well Read, Then Dead, the first of the Read’Em and Eat mysteries, I wanted to be Sassy Cabot who ran the bookstore part of the bookstore cafe. I could image spending my life surrounded by books, coordinating book related events and having my meals in the café side of the store (run by my bestie, Bridgy Mayfield) at tables with pictures of authors and snippets of their writing varnished to the table tops. And of course, I would have to solve a murder or two, but hey, it is all in a day’s work.

Elizabeth Pantley: One of my characters, Frank, a talking Siamese cat of all things, manages a magical library filled with thousands of cozy mysteries. He leads a book club group as they travel into the books for wild adventures. That sounds like a job worth having!

Mindy Quigley: I’d like to be Butterball the cat. His whole job is to do whatever he wants and eat delicious food and bask in the sun.


Kathy: If you were to collaborate on a mystery with any author, living or dead, who wrote in any genre, who would you pick?

Jennifer J. Chow: Agatha Christie

Connie di Marco: I think I’d pick Sue Grafton. I’ve always enjoyed her characters and her plots.

Traci Hall: Heather Graham or Jenn McKinlay.

Victoria Hamilton: Well, gosh, it would be Sue Grafton, whose death devastated me. But I can't really write in her style, so I would definitely pick Joan Hess.

Daryl Wood Gerber: Kista Davis. We have similar sensibilities; or Sue Grafton for harder edged material.

Rosie Genova: Dorothy Sayers, except I wouldn't think of collaborating with a genius. I'd just sit at her feet and pretend I'm Harriet Vane.

Kathleen Kalb: Elizabeth Peters.

Terrie Moran: Well, since I have already had a wonderful experience writing four books with New York Times bestselling author, Laura Childs, I will move on to my second choice, Edgar Allan Poe. Why Poe, you ask? Easy. I grew up in the Bronx in a fifth floor walk-up and my bedroom window overlooked Poe Park, and the house Poe lived in with his wife (she died in that cottage) and mother in law. During those years he wrote “The Bells” “Annabelle Lee” and “For Annie” a hand written copy of which is now being auctioned for about half a million dollars. His poems led me to write poetry, and later I moved on to writing novels but I still have a copy of a perfect villanelle I wrote in college. My teacher wrote a note on it that said, “Teresa, you have real talent. Keep writing.” Imagine if I could write poems with Edgar! 

Elizabeth Pantley: Rather than just one, I’d love to gather together all the amazing cozy mystery authors I’ve met to create an amazing book filled with unique characters. Can you imagine? If each author wrote their specific character’s part? That would be a fun project.

Mindy Quigley: Jesse Q Sutanto. Her books, crack me up, and based on her social media persona, she seems like she’d be every bit as funny in real life.


Kathy: What's the most outlandish scenario you can think of for a cozy mystery?

Jennifer J. Chow: Death by Rube Goldberg machine...inside a locked room

Connie di Marco: The one that comes to mind, and it’s so unique and amazing, is Donna Andrews’ You’ve Got Murder (Turing Hopper #1). The main character is a computer presence!

Traci Hall: Outer space--I know it's coming but I'm not ready yet.

Victoria Hamilton: Aline Maxwell, who lives in Roswell, NM, runs a little shop selling tourist stuff like alien candles and masks. The townsfolk love her shop and accept her, especially since she has a special way with all the kids and animals she babysits. Even the most irascible become docile and well-behaved in her presence. Unbeknownst to any of them, she is one of the surviving aliens who crashed in New Mexico many years ago. She has come to love earth and earthlings. When one of the townsfolk is murdered and found in Aline's backyard, she must solve the murder before her secret is discovered. Sexy police detective Matt Lincoln is attracted to Aline, but there is something about her that he can't quite figure out. ((Apologies to the TV show Roswell, New Mexico for kinda/sorta ripping off their storyline!! But it would make a cute cozy.))

Daryl Wood Gerber: A running-impaired female protagonist is hobbling after a long distance runner who stole her mother's precious jewels and the thief is her longtime nemesis from high school.

Rosie Genova: I'm picturing a bunch of cats and dogs who are boarded for the night, trying to figure out who offed their mean neighbor (who complained once too often about their yowling and barking). Call it "Murder at the Animal Hospital"!

Kathleen Kalb: Suburban mom who's an assassin...wait -- I, well Nikki Knight,  write that!

Terrie Moran: The protagonist is the reporter for a small town newspaper. When there is a serious crime, she is constantly getting in the way of the town’s only detective. After the detective really pushes her aside at the scene of a purse snatching, she retaliates by talking the Chief of Police (who happens to be her uncle) into ordering the detective to take her on a ride-a-long. The bank is robbed. The robbers take her hostage, He realizes how he feels about her and risks his life to rescue rescues her. Then they go back to fighting. 

Elizabeth Pantley: Hmm. Perhaps a story where the protagonist turns out to be the murderer? I’d never write such a book, but can you imagine?

Mindy Quigley: When I was pitching for the deep dish mystery series, I knew they wanted a cat in the pitch. My husband and I kept concocting more and more over the top cozy mystery scenarios. It’s a Library! But it’s also a donut bakery! And the whole thing is in a castle! But the castle is in the wine country in New York! And it’s a cat sanctuary! And the whole shebang is run by Agatha Christie’s great, great granddaughter!

I’m still waiting for that series to be written.

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I hope you enjoyed our tea and conversation. Be sure to check out their books and come back to Cozy Up With Kathy for more interviews, guest posts, and reviews, not to mention the off giveaway!