The Cozy Mystery List Blog

I have recently been “trying out” new authors, in hopes of finding a few authors who I can add to my “Favorite Authors” list. Unfortunately, I have hit a few snafoos… which has me going back and revisiting authors who I really like, but who I have (for some reason) put on a type of “hold.” These are authors whose books I own, and whose books are sitting on my TBR (To Be Read) bookshelves.

When I get recommendations from site readers I add the authors to my list of authors to post, and when I finally get to their names, I do some research and then make up their pages. A lot of the time there are authors who look like they will be really good matches for my taste in mystery books. So even though I am a very slow reader these days, I put those authors who truly look interesting (to me, that is!) on my “authors to try” short list. Unfortunately, some of the time I find an author or two who I simply cannot read. I know I have said this before, but if the author can’t grab my attention in (+/-) the first fifty pages, then I feel like it simply is NOT going to happen.

Anyway, I have decided that it is time for me to go with the “tried and true” authors (for me, that is!) so I will be reading three authors who I have really enjoyed in the past, but for some reason I haven’t read in a while: Susan Wittig Albert, Carola Dunn, and Monica Ferris. All three are authors who I started reading YEARS ago… All three are authors who I revisited throughout the years, but for some reason, never read their series all the way through. I wonder if the reason I never “caught up” with these authors is because I always wanted to have books in my TBR bookshelf that I knew I would enjoy.

Do you have authors who you have “saved for a rainy day?“ Author who you know will pull you into their novels and make you want to read, read, and read?

I know the title of this entry might not make a lot of sense, but I have been e-mailed by some of you about mystery book authors who are being dropped by their publishers. Some of these authors have several books in their series and are not being given the opportunity to wrap up their existing series.

At the same time >>>

It also seems like some authors are being given the opportunities to start second and even third series. This, of course, is great for those select authors and their fans, but not so wonderful for the discontinued authors and their fans.

Another trend that seems to be VERY BIG is the omnibus craze. Again, there’s a positive for some: You can buy two or three of an author’s books in one book, but if you’re already the author’s fan, you have probably read all of those books. So, it’s not such a great deal for the author’s fans.

I guess I wish that rather than being treated to the omnibus selections of “select” authors, publishers would keep publishing the mystery books of the not so “select” authors. It seems like new and original mysteries should be given the opportunities that the reprints/reissues are given. Is it that much more profitable for a publishing company to rehash three books by an author in one tome VS putting out a new mystery by a lesser known author?

I guess the “buck” (as in “$”) stops here…