This month I am going to try to add at least ten new-to-the-site authors to the Cozy Mystery site. As usual, I plan to add them to the site in batches of four or five. Hy Conrad is one of these authors, but I decided to list him separately because while researching him, I read something really interesting on his website.

When I found out there is a new Mr. Monk mystery book, I quickly went to add it (Mr. Monk Helps Himself) to Lee Goldberg’s page on the site. I then downloaded the cover of the book, which left me baffled. That’s when I discovered that Hy Conrad is the author of the book.

Hy Conrad? Who’s he? Well, I’ll tell you who he is!

Hy Conrad was one of the writers for the long-running Monk television show. He wrote for the show during all eight of its seasons. He is also listed as the co-executive producer of the Monk television show during its last two seasons. And for all of you White Collar television show fans, he was listed as both a writer and consulting producer for that incredibly humorous mystery show.

I have to admit that I didn’t know about Conrad’s involvement with those two shows until I looked at his website. However, I knew that his name looked familiar to me. And the reason for that is that we own two of his “Whodunit” mini-mystery books. He has written several Whodunit mini-mysteries, as well as a mystery series for children. He also writes the Abel Adventures Mystery Series which features Amy Abel, the owner of a travel agency for people who are adventurous. The series also features Amy’s interfering mom, Fanny.

While looking through Hy Conrad’s website, I found his blog post for January 25, 2013 particularly interesting. The title of this entry is: “Wait! I’m a Cozy Writer?” With a title like that, I knew I HAD to read it. And, boy, am I glad I did!

In this blog entry he talks about finding out what a Cozy Mystery is. I love how he describes what books were called before someone came up with the “Cozy Mystery” term… simply mystery novels. He asks about Monk >>> would the networks buy it today? He talks about being someone who grew up reading Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, and Nero Wolfe. He then poses the question about people who grow up reading books by Dean Koontz and watching Criminal Minds. (I’m not going to tell you what he thinks they might “probably be nostalgic” for.)

I recommend that you take a look at Hy Conrad’s “Wait! I’m a Cozy Writer?” blog entry. I think you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. As I read it, I found myself nodding in agreement with him. Being a fan of Monk and White Collar, as well as being so impressed by this blog I quickly bought Rally ‘Round the Corpse – the first in his Abel Adventures Mystery Series. (I’m looking forward to reading it, and will try to let you know what I think about it after I do.)

And to answer his question: Yes, by everything I’ve seen, you are a Cozy Writer!

I just added five new-to-the Cozy Mystery site authors, but there are actually seven people who write. (It gets quite confusing to me when I add these types of pages to the site!) One of the series is co-written by two authors under one pseudonym and another of the series is written by two authors, both with their own names on the books.

Sparkle Abbey: Abbey is a pseudonym that Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter came up with, in honor of their two pets. As Abbey, they write the Pampered Pets Mystery Series. This series features two sleuths: Mel Langston is an ex-beauty queen who now owns the Bow Wow Boutique and Caro Lamont, who is an ex-psychologist who now works as a pet therapist.

Alyse Carlson: Carlson writes the Garden Society Mystery Series, which is set in Virginia. This series features Camelia Harris, a P.R. promoter for the very exclusive Roanoke Garden Society.

Diane Kelly: Kelly is an ex lawyer and tax accountant who writes the Tara Holloway Death and Taxes Mystery Series. It is set in Dallas, Texas, where Tara works for the Internal Revenue Service. Tara is a criminal investigations agent.

Blanche Day Manos & Barbara Burgess: Manos (an ex-teacher) and Burgess (a retired trial court administrator) coauthor the Darcy / Flora Mystery Series. This series is set in a friendly, small town in Oklahoma. Darcy Campbell and her mother Flora Tucker are the two sleuths in this mystery series.

Earl H. Smith:  Smith was both a professor and a Dean at a college in Maine before he decided to write fiction. He has written a humorous murder mystery set in a small town in Maine.

As you all know, when I started the Cozy Mystery site I only had authors on it who I had read. Since then, I have added a whole lot of authors to the site who some of you have recommended, saying they definitely belong on the site. The four newest authors who I have just added to the site are:

Allen B. Boyer  Boyer writes the Bess Bullock Retirement Home Mystery Series. Bess is a retired police officer who has moved into the Honey Hills Retirement Home. She never expected to take up detection again, but she has.

Beverly Connor  Connor Writes the Diane Fallon Forensic Investigation Mystery Series AND the Lindsay Chamberlain Archaeology Mystery Series. Connor, an archaeologist, uses her knowledge writing both of these forensic field mystery series. Connor also co-writes the Frank Hayes Mystery Series with her husband, Charles Connor.

Morag Joss Joss pens the Sara Selkirk Mystery Series. The sleuth, Sara, is a world renown cellist who lives in Bath, England. Joss has her MA in English and also has advanced training in singing. Joss has several mystery book awards – the Dilys Award, the Silver Dagger Award, and the Edgar Allan Poe Award.

Jana Lynn Shellman Shellman writes the Poppy Hannah Mystery Series. Shellmann is a paralegal, as is her main sleuth, Poppy. A main difference between Shellman and her sleuth is that Poppy is also psychic.

I have four new-to-the-site authors to introduce you all to. These are authors who I have been told belong on the Cozy Mystery site, by Cozy Mystery readers like you.

Cynthia Gallant-Simpson writes two series. The first is the Deadly Mystery Series, which takes place in Cape Cod. Liz Ogilvie-Smythen is a British expatriate who inherits the Cranberry Inn. Gallant-Simpson’s other series is called the Nantucket CULINARY Mystery Series, which features a caterer as its sleuth.

Stuart M. Kaminsky writes the Toby Peters Mystery Series. All of you fans of the old black and white movies from the 1940s will recognize the Hollywood stars Kaminsky features in this series – Errol Flynn, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, and Judy Garland are just a few who can be found in this series. Toby is a private detective who is often used by the Hollywood studios to get their big-name stars out of trouble .

K.D. McCrite, a psychologist, is one of the authors of the Annie’s Attic Mystery Series books. McCrite is now writing the Eastgate Mystery Series, which features Carrie Jean Lockwood, an assistant pastor in Arkansas.

Patricia Rockwell is an ex-professor who currently writes two mystery series. Essie Cobb, Senior Sleuth Mystery Series is the first of those series, and it features Essie and three of her senior citizen cohorts from an assisted living facility. Rockwell’s Pamela Barnes, Acoustic Mystery Series features a psychology professor (and acoustics expert) in California.