For the first time since last fall, the Cozy Critters met at my house yesterday. We had had a couple of luncheon meetings at a restaurant, but it was great to be together again, the coffee hot and bracing, the cookies close at hand. As it turns out, it was a better day weather-wise than today wold have been because this morning dawned wet and drippy, with the temperature falling all day.
Peg has been doing a lot of reading. She reads a wide range of subjects, but her favorite is cozy mysteries. Her opinions are valuable because she reads so much and can say exactly why she likes or dislikes a book. One book, whose title shall remain a secret, was on her bad list. In fact, she couldn’t bring herself to finish it. The reason? The characters were not interesting. They didn’t make her feel any empathy for them and they all seemed the same–bland. So, writers, that should be a lesson for us. Characterization! I’ve said many times that’s the key to a good story.
However, one of her favorites was Steamed Open by Barbara Ross. It is a series that centers around a family in Maine. She also enjoyed On Pins and Needles by Elizabeth Craig. This is a southern quilting mystery with plenty of Carolina atmosphere and charm.
Jane has been busy with writing and art. She brought a couple of framed colored pencils drawings, one of a friend’s little girl and another of a child she met on her travels. Jane is meticulous in her artwork and the result is a realistic rendering of the subject. She has also done a colored pencil still life of some of her own pottery. I hope she frames it and hangs it on her wall.
Carolyn came, loaded with fresh farm eggs, a wonderful, new poem, examples of her lovely oil paintings, and a cookbook she has put together for her family. I had asked her to bring the cookbook. She brought it a couple of years ago and I was really impressed with how she had arranged it. It is the inspiration for a cookbook I’d like to make. Carolyn included, not only recipes, but copies of her paintings, poetry, items clipped from newspapers, a montage of some of her favorite things that are distinctly hers.
With Moonstruck and Murderous with my publisher, I read to them the climactic chapter, then I read the first couple of chapters of a new mystery which centers around cozy mystery critiquers. Did I put my friends in the story? That is the questions. These fictional ladies may be a tad older, but they are just as energetic and fun as the real ones and they do have a habit of getting involved in some of the most amazing things.
Moonstruck is at the cover picture stage. The Cozy Critters gave me some really good suggestions as to how that cover should go. As I’ve said, a critique group is a vital resource for an author and I appreciate them.
As the weather goes from rainy and cold to–well–more rainy and cold, it is a perfect time for cozies. So, enjoy being warm and safe and having wonderful adventures from the comfort of your favorite chair. And, may all your mysteries be cozy ones.
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