I receive a lot of requests to appear on my blog, but every now and again I reach out to someone first. That’s the case with Writing the Cozy: Authors’ Perspectives on Their Craft. That’s because I’m a huge fan of authors helping authors (aspiring and published) and this anthology fits the bill. Here’s a bit more about it:

Writing the Cozy: Authors’ Perspectives on Their Craft

This book brings together essays written by a number of well-known writers of cozy mysteries, who provide insight into their approaches to writing. Topics covered include how they work with the form, develop characters and settings, and utilize the particular hook, skill or business that establishes the protagonist’s ability to solve crimes. In addition to discussing these traditional aspects of writing, several authors focus on how they have expanded the direction the contemporary cozy mystery has taken with the inclusion of more diverse characters and social issues.The text is divided into three sections—the genre, characters and setting. The authors discuss why they have chosen the cozy; they offer definitions of the cozy, they illustrate how and why they have selected the protagonists and explain the importance of the setting characters in which they live, work, and detect. The editor, Phyllis Betz, provides some critical framework in the introduction and postscript that continues her work on showing the value of cozy mysteries both as literary texts and reflections of the culture. Her earlier anthology, Reading the Cozy, brings together scholarly analyses on the genre.

The Lineup: Contributors, in order of appearance in the anthology, are: Sherry Harris, Vicki Delany, Justin M. Kiska, Diane Vallere, Kait Carson, Tina deBellegarde, Mary Anna Evans, J.A. Hennrikus, Andrea J. Johnson, Peggy Ehrhart, Edith Maxwell, Sybil Johnson, Maya Corrigan, Leslie Budewitz, Jennifer J. Chow, Rabbi Ilene Schneider, Marni Graff, M.E. Hilliard, Amanda Flower, Kathleen Marple Kalb (Nikki Knight), J.C. Kenney, Carol E. Ayer, and Winnie Frolik.

Writing the Cozy Mystery: Authors’ Perspectives on Their Craft is published by McFarland & Co. It can be purchased directly through the publisher or on Amazon.