The other day I received a letter from a site reader who said she was quite happy about finding my site. She knew she had the right place when she read my description of what a Cozy Mystery is.

Unfortunately, when I wrote that description, I should have added “most of the time” as a clause. My description says that Cozy Mystery books are ” ‘gentle’ books… no graphic violence, no profanity, and no explicit sex.”

I still stand behind my description; unfortunately, a lot of authors of Cozy Mystery books want it both ways… They want the growing market of Cozy Mystery fans, but at the same time, they want to be considered >>> modern, 21st century, “with it,” hip (whatever the term is)… They bend the rules as set by such great Cozy Mystery authors as Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, etc.

This particular site reader checked out her first book by a “Cozy” author who I have on the site, and was quite upset about  profanity being used throughout the book. She felt like I had added an author who did not qualify as a Cozy Mystery author under my description of what a Cozy Mystery is.

Although there was no graphic violence, there was plenty of profanity and explicit adult situations. Unfortunately, she had taken for granted that all of the books on the Cozy Mystery site would contain “no graphic violence, no profanity, and no explicit sex.”

So, I am now qualifying this description of what a Cozy Mystery should be… It seems like many authors (or their editors) feel like there is a need for certain situations/language/details. As you watch a current television show today… ask yourself: Would Ricky and Lucy Ricardo or Andy and Barney be in this situation or say those things? I bet the answer is “Probably not!” more times than not… but that’s the way a lot of writers (and that includes Cozy Mystery authors) write today…

Yep, the five of us are together again… My husband and I always enjoy having both our son and daughter home, and of course, our “puppy” Sprite is right here with us. She sleeps most of the day away, but seems pretty satisfied that we are all available to make sure all of her wishes are met. (The “she” in the last sentence referred to Sprite, not my daughter!)

My daughter is back home for a very short vacation. She spent the summer interning at the FAA in Washington, D.C. – and really enjoyed it. She was so lucky >>> She had an exceptional time. And, because of this internship, she is getting closer to finding what she wants to do once she graduates.

But, as I said, she will not be home for very long. She will be heading back to the Boston area in less than two weeks… It seems like she is home just long enough to get her dry cleaning done, so she can pack it up and send it back east. (She is packing up her UPS boxes to send as I type this entry!)  

Good grief! Where does the time go?!?

Thank you all for the well wishes and kind words. I have to admit that I usually try not to write “personal things”… other than my rants and raves, which if you have been with me even a short while, you have probably seen. Yes, there are plenty of those! (And I have another rant and rave that I will be posting real soon>>> Unfortunately, I’m never at a loss for those!)

My husband had his final doctor’s appointment this morning and was given the “100% back-to-normal” diagnosis. Whewww! Am I relieved!

Thanks, again…