A Little of This and A Little of That at the Cozy Mystery Site
I have just added about 50 new mysteries on my Soon to be Released Mysteries page on the site. I was surprised to find so many mysteries during my recent search! I even found three Cozies that were released this month. It’s pretty rare for me to find Cozies after-the-fact, but I’m certainly glad I did!
It took me a little longer than usual to finally get all of these new mystery books on the site. Our daughter came home for a short visit last weekend. She is getting ready to move to Washington, D.C. and as she will be renting an apartment downtown, she won’t need her car which is a good thing since parking is so expensive. She drove her car back here to store it in our garage.
We always enjoy her visits. She has been keeping busy at her current job, and the weekend before she came home her college roommate flew out to visit her in New Orleans. I know our daughter really enjoyed seeing her great friend, and I sure hope the two of them can continue visiting each other once there are more miles between them.
Anyway, back to the cozies. I try to update the Soon to be Released Mysteries page whenever I find new mystery books. That’s why I was so surprised when I found about 50 new mysteries after taking only one weekend off! Yikes!
Cozy Mysteries by Location – Is It Important to You?
I have talked before about one of the reasons I enjoy reading seasonal Cozy Mysteries. Before we moved down to San Antonio, I don’t think it was quite as important to me. However, since we don’t really see the four seasons down here, I especially like Cozies that remind me of the seasons I miss. These are Cozies that are set in cold-weather locations as well as Cozy Mysteries that take place during crisp autumn days when the gold/orange/red leaves are shedding from the trees.
That said, I have to admit that I have a preference for Cozy Mysteries that take place in the northeast part of the USA, the northern states, or Great Britain. These areas provide me with the cold, blistery weather of winter and the cool, sometimes windy weather of autumn. Also, it just seems easier for me to imagine a Cozy village setting in Great Britain or New England.
My husband and I were talking about the importance of location in my Cozies when he asked me if I would read Cozies set here in San Antonio. I replied that the San Antonio locations wouldn’t draw me to those books since I am already familiar with the area. However, I know a lot of Cozy Mystery readers read Cozies that are set in their towns or geographical areas and seem to enjoy reading about familiar places.
How about you? Do you have a location that attracts you to your Cozy Mystery books? Is the location something you look for when you choose a new Cozy series? Are there locations you avoid when choosing a Cozy?
Happy Fourth of July!
Happy Fourth of July to those of you in the USA. I hope you all stay safe.
My husband and I had planned on being in Northwood, Iowa today >>> but have put off our trip up there until later this year. I was all excited about visiting the place I consider to be “my hometown”, although it really isn’t. My father was in the Air Force, so we lived in several states, Spain, and Chile. Between every new assignment we would go visit my grandmother in Northwood, my father’s hometown. My grandmother and I developed an extremely close bond when my younger brother was born and I went to live with my grandparents for a while. As the story goes, when my grandparents dropped me off in Arlington, Virginia (after my stay with them) I was waiting in the car, ready (and wanting!) to “go home” with them.
My grandmother shared her enjoyment of reading with me. I credit her with my love for books. Of the four children in my family, I was the only one who developed this passion for reading, and I am truly grateful for her inspiration.
My husband and I were going to head to the upper Michigan area via Northwood to get some respite from our humid heat down here. Also, I have been wanting to visit Northwood for a while. (My last visit was fifteen years ago.) However, when I was taking a look at another town’s website in northern Iowa, I saw that they would be spraying for mosquitoes, which put the breaks on our trip. (I’m particularly attractive >>> to mosquitoes, that is! I can be outdoors with my husband for five minutes and he’s not affected, but when we go inside, I find I have three or four bites already >>> and that’s in San Antonio where mosquitoes are usually not much of a problem.) So we’re just postponing our trip until the mosquitoes are under control up there.
Well, I certainly had not planned on writing about our change of plans for the Fourth >>> I had only planned on writing to wish you all a Happy & Safe Fourth of July!
