The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Krista Davis’ Cozy Mystery Series (Both of Them!)

I just received this letter from Krista Davis. She posted it earlier on Facebook.

Some of you have heard that Penguin Random House (meaning Berkley, NAL and Obsidian) is cutting back on cozies and have asked me what’s going on. Here is the situation as I understand it.

Some series have been cancelled, and we’re all very sad about that. However, I am aware that some series have been renewed, so that’s promising.

If you want to know the status of your favorite Berkley series, sign up for the author’s newsletter and follow the author’s Facebook page. Please, please check with the author before posting that a series is ending. Several of us have had to scramble to correct inaccurate information. I have four books coming out in 2016 – 2017, and a lot of other Berkley/NAL/Obsidian authors have books coming out as well.

Please do NOT boycott Penguin Random House. You will only hurt the authors. In the publishing industry we are judged by our sales numbers. A lot of series are still being published by Berkley right now. Even some new ones! And authors whose series are ending will be pitching ideas for new series, so they need good sales numbers to impress other publishers. Sales are more important for us now than ever.

I have read a claim that if a book in a series isn’t published in 2016, it means the series has been cancelled. I can refute that because one of my books was moved from a December 2016 release date to February 2017. That date was changed long before any of this ever happened.

A lot of people are asking how they can help. Support your favorite authors by buying their books. Authors love to read and we have budgets, too, so we understand if you can’t buy all the books you want to read. It’s a big help if you ask your library to carry our books. You can also write reviews and post them. More reviews mean we get more advertising from Amazon and that leads to more readers!

We appreciate your support more than we can ever express. We love our readers. Cozy readers are fun, inquisitive, smart, and delightful. Thank you for caring so much about our series.

Cheers!
Krista

Thank you for the information, Krista. I’m looking forward to many new Cozies from you. I’m glad to see the speculation about your Cozies was just an unfounded rumor.

Some More Cozy Mystery News – March 23, 2016

authorTwo days ago Linda MH posted a comment that might have some of us wondering “What’s going on?”

Linda:

I was just reading about the shakeup that took place at Berkley/Penguin/NAL publishing company. Seems that mass market paperback books (our beloved cozies!) have taken a real hit. A lot of authors have been told the company won’t continue to publish their books. (Examples: Melissa Bourbon, Janet Bolin, & Rosie Genova, and one site mentioned Krista Davis–to name a few.) I’m hoping some of these authors (if they own the rights to their series) will continue to write books and self-publish. I read LOTS of books on my iPad using the Kindle app, but I still buy the majority of my cozies in the paper format. I’m really sad that some of these series will just end. Do you have any information on this?

First off, here’s some terrific news:

Krista Davis >>> Neither of her two series (Domestic Diva Mystery Series and Paws & Claws Mystery Series) have been cancelled! So, let’s squelch those bad thoughts!

As you may remember, I already told you about this bad news: Avery Aames‘ Cheese Shop Mystery Series and Julie Hyzy’s White House Chef Mystery Series have been cancelled. Now for some more really bad Cozy Mystery news:

Janet Bolin >>> Bad news in Threadville! Unfortunately, the Threadville Mystery Series has been cancelled. However, Janet has some good tidings: “And those poor folks in Threadville can finally settle down and live their lives without a murder to solve every year.” Even better, at the end of her letter she told me that she is still writing. So we’ll have to watch for some new Cozies from her!

Melissa Bourbon >>> Her publisher has decided to end the series, however, the good news is that she has a new contract with another company and will be writing a new Cozy series. And, she may even self-publish a 7th book in her Magical Dressmaking series!

Peg Cochran is currently writing the Cranberry Cove Mystery Series, the Farmer’s Daughter Mystery Series, and the Lucille Mystery Series. Unfortunately she will no longer be writing either her Gourmet De-Lite series nor her Sweet Nothings Lingerie series (written as Meg London). So, although it’s bad news for those two series, it’s great news that she is now writing three Cozy Mystery series!

Barbara Early (aka Beverly Allen – Bridal Bouquet Shop Mystery Series) will be starting a new Cozy Mystery series soon. The Vintage Toy Shop Mystery Series will start with a Christmas Cozy called Death of a Toy Soldier.

Christina York has been writing as Christy Evans and Christy Fifield. As Christy Fifield she writes the Haunted Gift Shop Mystery Series, which although it has been cancelled, she owns the rights! So she will be writing more of the Haunted Gift Shop mysteries. Great news!

I have several other Cozy Mystery authors who I have “heard” have been cancelled, however, I want to verify it with them before I post the news. I hope to get back to you all shortly. (I normally don’t post information about authors whose series have been dropped/cancelled by their publishers until I verify the information.)

Authors Similar to Sofie Kelly

CatsEarlier this month I posted an entry about Sofie Kelly‘s series featuring the first book in her Magical Cats Mystery Series, Curiosity Thrilled the Cat. So I thought I’d ask if you all can think of any authors who are similar to Sofie Kelly.

I have tried to remember who mentioned (in a comment) that she is reading Sofie Kelly’s Magical Cats now because she has finished Lilian Jackson Braun’s The Cat Who … series. (I meant to write it down, and as I have said many times, I have to annotate everything if I want to be able to pull it out of my memory banks!) So, I have started the list with Braun’s series.

In your recommendation, please be sure to include why you think that they are similar to Sofie Kelly! Thanks!

Authors who are similar to Sofie Kelly (aka Sofie Ryan):

Lilian Jackson Braun: The Cat Who … Mystery Series

Ali Brandon (aka Diane A.S. Stuckart): Black Cat Bookshop Mystery Series

Rita Mae Brown: Mrs. Murphy Mystery Series

Laurie Cass (aka Laura Alden): Bookmobile Mystery Series

Claire Donally: Sunny & Shadow Mystery Series

Carole Nelson Douglas: Midnight Louie Mystery Series

Kay Finch: Bad Luck Cat Mystery Series

Rebecca M. Hale: Cats and Curios Mystery Series

Delia James: Witch’s Cat Mystery Series

Miranda James (aka Jimmie Ruth Evans, Honor Hartman, & Dean James): Cat in the Stacks Mystery Series

Mulgray Twins: DJ Smith and Gorgonzola Mission Mystery Series

Shirley Rousseau Murphy: Joe Grey Cat Mystery Series

Fran Stewart: Biscuit McKee & Marmalade Mystery Series

Sofie Ryan (aka Sofie Kelly): Second Chance Cat Mystery Series

Leann Sweeney: Cats in Trouble Mystery Series

P.S. I have several other “Authors Similar to …” lists on the Cozy Mysteries by Theme page on my site.

Rita Lakin’s Gladdy Gold Mystery Series & Lee Harris’ Christine Bennett (Holiday) Mystery Series Have Finally Been Converted!

Every once in a while I go to some of my favorite authors’ pages to check to see if their Cozies are finally offered in Kindle format. Yes, I know this must seem strange to those of you who don’t use e-book formats to read your Cozies, but as I’ve written before, once I tried my husband’s Kindle (after years of refusing to even look at it!) I became a Kindle-maniac! I almost never read my Cozies in “real paper book” format now. I guess you could call me a Kindle addict! (And let’s face it, there are a whole lot of worse things a person could be addicted to!) But I digress…

Getting back to what I was going to tell you about…

I keep checking Cozy Mystery authors who I enjoy reading, hoping to find their books in Kindle format. Some of these authors include Patricia Moyes, Lee Harris, Valerie Wolzien, Rita Lakin, and Hazel Holt (some of her Cozies have already been converted). So, this past week, when I found that all of the Christine Bennett (Holiday) mysteries by Lee Harris and all of the Gladdy Gold mysteries by Rita Lakin have been converted to Kindle format, I was (quite literally) whooping it up while sitting at my computer! (My husband came downstairs when he heard me “talking to someone” >>> the “someone” happened to be my computer!)

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Rita Lakin‘s Gladdy Gold Mystery Series, let me tell you it’s a delightful series that features women who live in a retirement community as the sleuths. Gladdy is the most responsible, and she’s also the one who brings order to their sleuthing cases. These ladies may live at a retirement village, but let me tell you, they have not resigned themselves to sitting by the pool! I consider this one of my favorite Cozy Mystery series. (Rita Lakin wrote, produced, and edited for TV shows – including Peyton Place, Dynasty, Mod Squad, & Dr. Kildare. She also created Flamingo Road & The Rookies and wrote movies of the week and miniseries.) (Getting Old Is Murder is the first book in the series.)

The other Cozy Mystery author who I finally became aware of being Kindle-ized is Lee Harris. She writes the Christine Bennett (Holiday) Mystery Series. If you’ve been with me for a while, you probably know how much I love holiday themed Cozies. This was the primary reason I found Lee Harris (years ago) but the fact that she is a very good Cozy Mystery author is what made me become a fan of this series. This holiday Cozy series is unusual in that it features an ex-nun (Chris) as its sleuth. (The Good Friday Murder is the first book in the series.)

P.S. I’ll keep checking for Valerie Wolzien, Patricia Moyes, & the rest of Hazel Holt’s books!

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