Our contest for a first sentence of a cozy mystery that you have yet to write is drawing to a close. There’s still time to get your entry in. Go to the Contest page at www.acozydeath.com and type in your entry. If you’re at a loss for inspiration, look at some of the Agatha Christie novels that we’ve read or watch a YouTube version of the same author’s mystery or an Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes mystery. Each author starts their stories in a seemingly innocuous fashion but gives ample information about the story to come. Imagine your story and how you’d start it. Now, enter that first sentence into the Contest entry form. You might win!
This month we have Gabby Allan or, as she’s also known, Misty Simon coming to talk to us. She is clever, funny, and has been writing since almost forever! Misty is also a member of Sisters in Crime and mentors writers from that group. Having an author come to visit is an opportunity to feel closer to the author’s writing, learn how authors craft their writing, and share (nicely) what you think of the author’s work. Misty has written novels in many different subgenres. It will be interesting to hear whether she likes one in favor of the others. I’m listing her books for you below. Choose one of them and come to the meeting.
FULL SERIES LIST IN ORDER
1 - Desperately Seeking Salvage (Oct-2016)
2 - Don't Dream It's Rover (May-2017)
3 - Every Death You Take (Jul-2017)
4 - Having a Ball! (Feb-2018)
5 - I Wear My Ghost Goggles at Night (Oct-2019)
6 - Ghosts Just Want to Have Fun (Sep-2020)
Strings Attached (Apr-2011)
1 - Wicked Ink (Jun-2014)
2 - Protective Ink (Oct-2014)
An Ivy Morris Mystery
1 - Poison Ivy (May-2005)
2 - The Wrong Drawers (May-2006)
3 - Something Old Something Dead (May-2007)
4 - Frame and Fortune (Jul-2008)
5 - For Love and Cheesecake (Jun-2009)
6 - Hoedown Showdown (Mar-2017)
1 - What's Life Without the Sprinkles? (Feb-2013)
2 - Making Room at the Inn (Mar-2014)
3 - Go Ahead, Make My Bouquet (May-2015)
4 - Christmas in Kissinger (Nov-2016)
5 - Hoedown Showdown (Mar-2017)
1 - Cremains of the Day (Nov-2017)
2 - Grounds for Remorse (May-2018)
3 - Deceased and Desist (Nov-2018)
4 - Carpet Diem (Sep-2019)
5 - Varnished without a Trace (Oct-2020)
A Whit and Whiskers Mystery (Gabby Allan)
1 - Much Ado about Nauticaling (Aug-2021)
2 - Something Fishy This Way Comes (Aug-2022)
3 - All That Glitters Isn't Old (Jul-2023)
The Tallie Graver and Whit and Whiskers Mysteries are cozies. Misty, as you can see, has also written paranormal fantasies, romance novels, and some urban fantasies. Choose any of them so that you can get a feel for the author’s work; however, if you’re sticking to cozies, the last two series are your best bet. If you haven’t signed up yet for April, please do. We have a few spaces left open. See you on April 23rd at 2:00p.m. Pacific (5:00p.m. Eastern).
More news—
Our calendar for April is very colorful and up to date. Check it out. Tahlia is our resident techie and makes it happen!
The book for May is A Cotswold Killing by Rebecca Tope (meeting is May 28th).
The book for June is Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien (meeting is June 25th).
Don’t forget to get your sentence into the Contest for First Sentence of a Cozy Mystery!