The Cozy Mystery List Blog

Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV

Five New-to-the-Site Cozy Authors: Rebecca Adler: Taste of Texas, Susan Bernhardt: Kay Driscoll, Marla Cooper: Destination Wedding, Kendel Lynn: Elliott Lisbon, Carlene O’Connor: Irish Village

I’m adding another set of authors to the site >>> five new authors this time! As always these are authors that I’ve heard of through visitors to the Cozy Mystery site, either through comments here or through email.

A former theatrical actress, Rebecca Adler grew up in Florida, and has lived in New York, Mississippi, and now in Houston, Texas. She is the author of the Taste of Texas Mystery Series, starring Josie Callahan, a former Austin journalist now working as the head waitress in her aunt’s restaurant in the small town of Broken Boot, Texas. This series includes Tex-Mex recipes.

 

 Susan Bernhardt lives in Wisconsin and volunteers at her local free clinic, and previously was a public health nurse. She writes the Kay Driscoll Mystery Series, which also stars a Wisconsin-dwelling former nurse who volunteers at a local free clinic. The Kay Driscoll mysteries all take place during different holiday seasons.

 

A professional writer who was born in Texas and now lives in California, Marla Cooper has written on a variety of subjects ranging from advertising copy to poetry to travel guidebooks. One book she wrote on destination weddings inspired her Destination Wedding Mystery Series. This series stars Kelsey McKenna, a wedding planner in California.

 

Born in California, Kendel Lynn has also lived in Michigan and now lives in Dallas, Texas. She started both a stamp company and co-launched a mystery publishing house (Henery Press), and is the author of the Elliot Lisbon Mystery Series. This series stars the director of a foundation on Sea Pine Island, South Carolina who does minor sleuthing for donors of the foundation.

 

 Carlene O’Connor spends most of her time in either New York or Ireland, and is the author of the Irish Village Mystery Series, which takes place in the fictional small town of Kilbane, County Cork, and stars Siobhán O’Sullivan, the owner of a small family bistro. (Actually, she and her five siblings manage the bistro.)

I hope you enjoy these new authors to the site!

Comments

  1. Here are three more authors not on your listing:
    Kathi Daley:
    Zoe Donovan, Paradise Lake, Whales and Tails, and Seacliff High. Dianne Harman:
    Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery Series, Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery, and High Desert Cozy Mystery.
    Chloe Kendrick:
    Food Truck Series

    Reply

  3. Much thanks for these Authors…..My ” TBR ” file is growing with a ton of titles from your suggestions…I have bought a gaggle of books, at the same time…Right now, I am reading Carol Higgins Clark, and winding down with Sue Graftons ” U is for Undertow”…I also loveeeeee…the books by Isis Crawford…Hilarious dialogue, and great characters….
    You are the dearest!!! Snowhugs

    Reply

  4. This is such a great blog! I stumbled upon it while researching the term “cozy mystery” a couple of months ago. I discovered I had been reading cozies for years and am now writing one of my own (“Sugar Pie and Moonbeams”) without knowing the definition!

    I edit cozy mysteries for Gemma Halliday Publishing so I know from cozy! This site is my go-to for all matters cozy! Thanks for this new list, too. Sounds terrific!

    Reply

    • Connie,

      How exciting to be an Editor! How does one become an Editor? I’m constantly reading Cozy Mysteries and would love to do something like that.
      Would appreciate any information you can send me.

      Judy

      Reply

      • Sure, I’d be glad to.

        There are three ways to work as an editor: content or substantive editor, copy editor, and proofreader. Usually all three work on a book before it is published.

        The content editor (this is what I do) reads to discover holes in the plot, inconsistencies in any aspects like characters, settings, clues, story timing and flow, implausible behavior or occurrences, and book structure. She may suggest adding material, deleting material, reorganizing, and rewriting—working with the author to do those things. Content editors do fact checking and counsel authors on trademark or copyright infringement issues contained in the book. They also comment on point of view, and they make sure tense is consistent throughout.

        Copy editors advise authors on changes needed in word choice, sentence structure and flow and language, and often do a fair amount of proofreading, meaning correcting typos, misspellings, punctuation errors, etc. Copy editors might also do fact checking and other things done by proofreaders and content editors.

        Proofreaders are usually the last eyes on a ms. and do the final polishing—correcting any typos, punctuation, spacing, and spelling mistakes.

        You MUST be a complete word nerd and dedicated member of the Grammar Police to do ANY of these jobs! You must also have a copy of the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed., Elements of Style (Strunk & White), and Merriman-Webster’s huge tome of a dictionary—I think it’s the 12th ed. but you can google the most recent one.

        Most publishers want their editors to have at least a BA and a couple of years of experience. You must also be experienced in MS Word and MUST know how to use Track Changes and all the bells and whistles in the Review tab. You should be well versed in publishers’ language in the areas of proofreading and book parts (front matter, back matter, etc.) You must know how book lengths are determined (by number of words—not page count) and what the ideal lengths are for novellas, fiction, and nonfiction manuscripts so you can advise authors to either add or subtract from their books. All of this information is available online. You can begin to hone your researching skills by looking all this up if you don’t already know it.

        You could start out by posting your services to private clients on Facebook group pages frequented by writers and authors. For example, since I live in Maine I advertise my services (gently, of course, in a personal post) on a Maine writers’ page. If you get a job, agree to the $ ahead of time. About $200 for an average length book is a good place to start. I ask for half up front and the balance when done. Once you have satisfied several clients, you will begin to get referrals. After that, you can apply to publishers, I think.

        I hope this helps!

        Reply

  5. This is exciting!!!
    I do have Carlene O’Connor’s book..and am excited that Susan Bernhardt’s will be in paper soon… the others…I have on a “to buy” list!!! Wonderful news here!!

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  6. Wise decision selecting Susan. I love her series. I’ll be anxious to check out the other authors too. Thanks for suggesting them.

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  7. Worthy additions to the site. I’m trying to save Susan’s Ginsing Conspiracy for my trip to Salt Lake City in a few weeks; it’s been loaded on my Kindle for awhile but I prefer print books unless I’m traveling. Super exciting to know that it will be coming out in print!!

    Reply

    • Cheryl, I hope you have a terrific time in Salt Lake City! Traveling has been made so much easier now that we have Kindles! My queue is always loaded, so I don’t have to pack any extra Cozies >>> nor do I have to worry about having enough Sudoku & MahJong games!

      Reply

  8. I am currently reading “Terror in Taffeta” and it is very enjoyable. Reading as “real book” which is even better. I would definitely recommend this book.

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  9. Thank you for adding Susan Bernhardt to the list. Her Kay Driscoll mysteries are great! If you haven’t read them already, I highly recommend them.

    Reply

  10. Just a heads up on the Irish Village series — contains lots of profanity, even from young children, which I found disturbing. When I contacted the author, she said she had to stay true to her characters. I’ve never been to an Irish village, so I don’t know if that’s the way everyone talks there or not, but some people might find this uncomfortable.

    I read the first in the Destination Wedding series last month & found it hysterical — looking forward to seeing more of this series!

    A book I found intriguing and really enjoyed is called “Other People’s Baggage” — it has three novella’s, one each by Kendel Lynn, Gigi Pandian, and Diane Vallere — what’s very unique is the premise — each of the three sleuths are traveling someplace (where a mystery will occur, of course) and they all happen to own identical pieces of luggage — and at some point in their travels their suitcases get mixed up — so each one arrives at her destination with a suitcase BELONGING TO ONE OF THE OTHER SLEUTHS — and then she ends up having to use the contents of this other person’s suitcase to solve her mystery! I really loved this! And of course it had the added effect of making me want to go out & get all the books in all 3 of the authors’ series LOL!

    Reply

    • Margaret StashEmpress, thank you for the profanity warning. I haven’t read the book yet, but since my daughter just got back from visiting Ireland, I’ll have to ask her!

      As for Other People’s Baggage (by Kendel Lynn, Gigi Pandian, & Diane Vallere) >>> your description just did it for me! I now have it downloaded on my Kindle. It sounds really “intriguing”!

      Reply

  11. Danna, quite often I will pick up paperback novels in the library that have “first in a new series” on the front cover. I like to try these cozies out sometimes. Have you ever thought of have a separate section for this type of novels??

    Reply

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