The warm, wonderful feeling yesterday afternoon wasn’t due completely to the fireplace, although it was snapping and blazing, or the hot, aromatic coffee or even the gingersnaps. No, that cozy feeling was because three good friends were gathered around the hundred-year old table, laughing, talking, and sharing thoughts on reading, writing, and more. Much more. […]

Plain Poetry from a Plain Country Woman
by Blanche Day Manos Don’t tell me they are gone, for I can see them still The house, the spring, the burr oak tree, the barn beneath the hill. I smell the sausage sizzling, I hear the rooster crow, The sounds and scents of each new day that woke me long ago. I feel […]

What Are Cozy Mysteries Made Of?
·Cozy mysteries are a partial reflection of the life of the author. Each person–you, I, everyone, is a part of so many other people, of our own experiences and the experiences of others, of hopes and failures, of good and bad, of the past, the present and yes, even the future. We are all that […]

Out of the Shadows, The Cemetery Club
·The Cemetery Club, the first Darcy and Flora cozy mystery, was written as a joint effort between my friend Barbara Burgess and me. You see, it happened this way: Barbara and I had a mutual friend, Levern, who introduced us. We three were in Rogers one beautiful Arkansas day, in an upstairs tea room in […]

Why On Earth Do You Read (or Write) Cozy Mysteries?
So many books from which to choose. The world is awash with books, rooms overflow with them, including mine. So, with all the fiction and non-fiction at your fingertips, why do you choose to read cozy mysteries? Is it the appeal of the name, sort of contradictory. How can a mystery be cozy? Or is […]

Who Is the Real Ned McNeil?
·Who is Ned McNeil? She is the main gal in two cozy mysteries concerning a historical house and moonlight. She doesn’t actively go looking for trouble, but it always finds her. She has courage but she also has her share of doubts and fears. I think you’ll like her. I do. Ned is the shortened […]