I was so honoured to be included in the Self Publishing Show's 'Spotlight' podcast this week. Mark Dawson is an author I really look up to and have learnt so much from on my journey so far. I'll pop the episode below so you can give it a listen. I applied for his SPF Foundation grant for 2019 and was one of the finalists even though I didn't win, so that's a resource that I definitely can recommend. I also took his Self Publishing 101 course and am a patron of the show because it's a brilliant resource for any new (and more experienced) authors.

PLEASE NOTE: Whilst I do my best to make sure that all of the cozy mysteries included are free to download at time of writing, they do sometimes revert back to their regular price as the promo period ends. I have zero control over this, the authors themselves set the price promos, each author lives in a different time zone and even then, glitches with technology, etc can mean that the book is no longer on offer. Make sure that you double check the price before downloading. 

Hello and thank you for welcoming me to the Cozy Mystery Book Explorer, Sarah!

My name is Jennifer S. Alderson and I have one series of amateur sleuth mysteries out (the Adventures of Zelda Richardson) and a second cozy mystery series is in the works!

The star of my first series is Zelda Richardson, an American art history student studying in Amsterdam who keeps getting entangled in art-related mysteries while working for Dutch museums, libraries and archives.

Reviewers call my amateur sleuth a cross between Nancy Drew and Robert Langdon. Her research provides the clues needed to solve the mystery, along with her drone flying friend-Fredrick and her forensic anthropologist boyfriend, Jacob. In my latest book, she gets help from a Dutch art detective, as well!

Amsterdam, Netherlands is Zelda's hometown and the main setting for my series. It's also my adopted home! I moved here 16 years ago to study art history and never left. I am now married to a Dutch man and we have a wonderful 7-year-old son.

The settings of my novels are extremely important to me; I want my readers to feel transported to the destination I've described. What's better than a vacation and mystery rolled into in one? :D
The Adventures of Zelda Richardson series are set in Nepal, Thailand, the Netherlands, Papua, Panama, Costa Rica, Italy, Croatia and Turkey.

Have any of you been to any of these wonderful countries?
Down and Out in Kathmandu: A Backpacker Mystery*** 
Holiday Gone Wrong: A Short Mystery Thriller
The Lover’s Portrait: An Art Mystery
Rituals of the Dead: An Artifact Mystery
Marked for Revenge: An Art Heist Thriller [out in May 2019!]
(** cozy with an edge – Down and Out in Kathmandu is Pg-13 because of swearing backpackers, the rest of my novels are PG.)

Travel Agency for 50-plussers
​
I also have a fun surprise to share with you – I’m currently developing a new series that will be more traditional cozies! This one features a travel-loving yoga instructor who gets roped into helping her cat-loving landlord (and owner of a travel agency for 50-plussers) out of a bind by helping guide an organized trip to Budapest. Things don’t quite work out as either hopes…

The early draft of book one had my beta readers rolling on the floor in laughter! If the stars align, the first two books will be out before the end of the year.

The setup is that my main character will work as a guide on trips around the world. Right now I have plans for these intrepid travelers to visit Budapest, Tuscany (Italy), Saint Petersburg, Costa Rica, Fiji, the French Riviera, and Normandy (France).

Whereas I try to tie the Zelda Richardson books to a current event in the art and museum world, this series will fall neatly into the ‘vacation cozy’ genre and focus on the interactions between the members of the group as they visit fascinating cities around the world.

Because this new series is still in development, I thought it would be fun to pick your brains about what you enjoy most about the cozy genre. I’ve got a few questions to post throughout the week and look forward to reading your answers!

Why don’t we start with one now? What are some of your favorite cozies (books or authors) that feature tour groups, vacations, cross-country trips, volunteer trips, bed and breakfasts, etc?

Thanks again for having me! My books are available as paperback, audiobook and Kindle Unlimited. If you want to learn more about me, you can check them out here:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Jennifer-S.-Alderson/e/B019H079RA/
Or signup for my newsletter to be kept up-to-date about the new series:http://eepurl.com/cWmc29

​You can also find me on social media:
Website: http://www.jennifersalderson.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JSAauthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jsaauthor/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferSAldersonAuthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/JennifeSAlderson

Hello! So great to meet everyone! My name's Nova Nelson, and Sarah Jane Weldon has been kind enough to let me be the guest author this week.

I write the Eastwind Witches paranormal cozy mystery series. It follows Nora Ashcroft as she settles into her new life as a Fifth Wind witch in the paranormal town of Eastwind, where she gets suckered into using her psychic powers to solve mysteries.

I think a good story has intrigue, humor, and a nice sprinkling of romance, so that's how I write my books.

You'll learn a little more about me and the series through the week, but to start off, I thought I'd introduce you to Grim, Nora's familiar (the goofball in the picture). He used to be a hellhound, but then he died and came back to life as a - you guessed it - grim. He's snarky, eager to rush headlong into danger, and bacon obsessed. (He also loves a good belly rub, but don't tell anyone.)

If you want to check out the series, there are two places to start:
1. Read book 1, Crossing Over Easy: 
US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B425B2T
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07B425B2T

2: Get a free novella by joining the Cozy Coven, my reader group: www.cozycoven.com

Don't hesitate to say hello and ask me any questions you might have; I believe that's the whole point of this. ☺️
Talk soon!

This week's cozy mystery author in residence in our Cozy Mystery Book Explorer Facebook group is Hillary Avis.

Hillary will be taking over the group from Friday 11th January until Friday 18th January, when we'll be joined by a new cozy mystery author in residence. This is a brilliant opportunity for cozy mystery fans to get up close and personal with the author and to ask them any questions you like, about the characters, series, life as an author, and inspiration behind the books, so please don't be shy. ​

Hi! 
I write cozy culinary mysteries and I’m so pleased to be the guest author this week.

A little about me—I live in Eugene, Oregon, with my husband and two daughters, ages almost-13 and just-turned-6. You can imagine the noise levels...especially when you add in two dogs, two cats, and five chickens that just started laying (OMG the egg songs they sing). The fish doesn’t make much noise, luckily.

Oh, and we just signed an adoption contract for a 95-pound Great Pyrenees rescue dog. You know, because we don’t have enough going on.

I’ve been a reader and a writer as long as I can remember. My childhood was full of Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie (and some Narnia and dragon books, too), so I guess I’ve always liked books full of sprawling old mansions with secret rooms and rusty keys that open hidden doors and plucky women who go down into the basement to investigate the strange noise.

In the past, I’ve written historical and fantasy novels, but they’ve never seen the light of day. It wasn’t until I tried my hand at a mystery that I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I started publishing cozy mysteries last spring and I haven’t looked back—once I discovered the genre, it was like everything clicked and I knew what I wanted to BE. It only took me until I turned 40, ha ha. Well, my mom always said our family was full of late bloomers. The real joke here is that my former job was as a career counselor.

Let me tell you a bit about my books. I have two series right now, the Neela Durante farm mysteries and the Death du Jour culinary mysteries.

Neela is the character that I’ll always love the most, because she’s the sleuth who showed me I am a mystery writer at heart. I also drew from my personal experience to write her; I earned my undergraduate degree in biology, and Neela is an geneticist who works for a big corporate seed company. Not the typical cozy profession! But she uses her paycheck to support her family’s small organic farm, including her four sisters. Of course, things aren’t very easy for her in the first book, Kernel of Doubt…her colleague is murdered, her sleuthing jeopardizes her job right when her family needs the money the most, her husband files for divorce, and her sweet beagle, Molly, refuses to use the dog door! Luckily, Neela has some allies to help her solve her many problems, including the quirky tech guy at work and her soon-to-be-ex husband who happens to work in law enforcement, as well as her own PhD-level smarts.

I’ve only written one book in that series so far, but I’m looking forward to writing another one this spring/summer! I already have a story idea and a cover, so it’s definitely going to happen.

The Death du Jour mysteries are a culinary series that follows an aspiring chef as she works toward owning her own restaurant. Her quirky friends are also in the restaurant industry—her best friend and roommate is a sous chef at a French restaurant, and another character runs a bakery called the Honor Roll. “On a roll,” get it? I do love puns. The book titles in this series are all puns based around types of soup…and let me tell you, I have a LOOONG list of punny soups stashed away. I could write this series for YEARS and never run out of titles. #authorproblems

Book 2 in the Death du Jour series, Rest in Split Peas, actually released today!

(If you’d like a taste of soup and suspense by the sea, along with some yummy soup recipes, you can grab it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KYDQ4NG)

To celebrate, Crime Chowder (A Death du Jour Mystery #1) is FREEEEEE today and tomorrow! 
https://www.amazon.com/Crime-Chowder-Death-Jou…/…/B07K4VPLPM
​
So…if you've made it to the bottom of this encyclopedia entry, any questions about what it’s like writing culinary or farm mysteries? Or maybe you have advice about how to introduce a giant dog named Bruno to a houseful of sassy small pets?

Whilst browsing mystery books on Amazon recently, I stumbled across some Agatha Christie books available on pre-order and coming out on the 1st January for £1.50. Originally written as short stories for magazines, and ideal as bite size reads when you don't want to read a full novel. As a huge Agatha Christie fan, I can tell you that my Christmas started early and I did a little jump for joy. I normally struggle to buy the Agatha Christie books from UK book stores because the print books are genuinely priced around the £7.99, £8.99, £12.99 level, an amount that I struggle to justify at the moment as I save up for my own book covers, ISBNs, and editing. But short stories for £1.50 is a lot more pocket friendly, especially for the Kindle version. So I thought I would share these books with you here, in case you want to add them to your collection. A few of them seem to be out already, especially in the US, whilst some are out on the 1st January - perfect for the New Year reading list!

This week's cozy mystery author in residence in our Cozy Mystery Book Explorer Facebook group is Christine Zane Thomas.

Christine will be taking over the group from Friday 20th December until Friday 27th December, when we'll be joined by a new cozy mystery author in residence. This is a brilliant opportunity for cozy mystery fans to get up close and personal with the author and to ask them any questions you like, about the characters, series, life as an author, and inspiration behind the books, so please don't be shy. ​

This week's cozy mystery author in residence in our Cozy Mystery Book Explorer Facebook group is Liz Hedgecock, best known for her historical cozy mysteries.

​​​Liz will be taking over the group from Friday 14th December until Friday 20th December, when we'll be joined by a new cozy mystery author in residence. This is a brilliant opportunity for cozy mystery fans to get up close and personal with the author and to ask them any questions you like, about the characters, series, life as an author, and inspiration behind the books, so please don't be shy. ​

Where to begin? Well, I live in England - in a village in Cheshire - and I write the Pippa Parker cozy mystery series which (surprise!) is set in an English village. However, I grew up in London and have an interest in the Victorian period, so I also write alternative Sherlock Holmes mysteries and I co-write a cozyish humorous Victorian mystery series with two female protagonists, the Caster & Fleet series.

How did I start writing? Well, I've always been a big reader - I was an only child and I devoured my own books and everything else I could find. Then I did an English degree at uni and a master's in Victorian Literature, but, well, at that age everyone tells you you should get a real job. So after a couple of years teaching at uni, that's what I did. I'd occasionally write a story, but as for doing anything with it... Fast forward a good few years, including getting married, having 2 boys, and moving from city to village, and the job I loved suddenly changed and acquired a killer commute.
The writing itself almost happened by accident. I went on a one-day course through work about writing for publication - not novels, but in trade journals or case studies. But the tutors were really encouraging, and that got me to thinking 'What if...?' Soon after I saw a call for short stories on Twitter. I wrote one, sent it to Londonist magazine, and a few days later, they emailed. And that was it. I was hooked.

After another year of grinding my teeth and sitting in traffic, I quit my full-time job, and now I divide my time between writing, shouting at my children, and working in a lovely primary school. My commute is now either an easy drive outside peak hours, or walking downstairs to my computer!
Over the course of the next week I'll be posting bits and pieces, including snippets about my characters, some of the inspirations for my books, and a couple of freebies you can get via my newsletter. Looking forward to chatting with you all!

​I live in a semi-rural town with my wonderful husband of 42 years (we meet at camp as teenagers) and family is a huge deal for me. 

​Keeping things lively are my three married children, their spouses, and my seven grandchildren. We get together every second Sunday for a meal (I love to cook for others) which is surely why my mysteries are culinary and that they are set in small towns with characters having close relationships with friends and family. Not that these are always harmonious but real life is like that too, isn’t it?

​After losing our beloved terrier of 18 years I’m currently on the look-out for a new furry friend. There are plenty of animal shelters here but my husband is a little nervous about me coming home with more than one as I’m a big softie. 

​My parents emigrated to New Zealand in 1957. Dad was in the royal navy and mum (an amazing woman who left everything to follow her husband) was a nanny, then a postie on a bike! With 5 children they needed help so my nan (mum’s mother and a widow) was brought out from England to help care for us. 

​Dad was strict but away for months at a time which often made me feel as though we lived in two worlds—one with plenty of freedom while the other contained far firmer boundaries. This might sound unusual, but it definitely gave us a broader spectrum of life and the ability to adapt. (An Englishman’s ire is not a pretty sight!)

​The only real complaint I had was of having no other relations on this side of the world, which became another reason to treasure family times. With five siblings having three children each who in turn began their own families we are a merry band of 40-50 every Christmas with a few strays mingled in. 

​I might add that this is just my side! We celebrate my husband’s Christmas on boxing day and as he has 6 siblings of a similar age and family status, well, you can just imagine that’s another 40-50 and counting!

​Having lost both parents to cancer a few years ago and experiencing two bouts of breast cancer, I am a firm believer in living life to its fullest, making the best of any situation and ensuring those you care about feel loved.

​I’ve worked in administration most of my adult life and became a caregiver for my parents when they needed it. I’ve also spent time as a reliever for my mother and father-in-law who ran foster homes for abused children, ran vegetable co-ops, and spent years helping to run a football club (soccer) for all ages. I also played the game at a high level until I was 49. (Really.)

​Writing has always been my passion and I finally left my other job last year to do this full-time. With 21 books out over 4 years and a USA Today Bestseller badge, I feel privileged to be doing something I love that gives other pleasure. (hopefully ;-)). Reader satisfaction is the most important part of my job, so in making sure my stories are the best I can and to always have a promised happy ending makes me happy. That’s a win-win, right?

​I am also ¼ of the SPAgirls podcast - a free service offering advice and tips for new authors which has been amazing as we’ve interviewed so many famous authors from the wider writing community.
Enough about me! I’d love to hear what makes you happy, especially with Christmas on our doorstep. Do you celebrate this holiday? With a large family gathering? Or perhaps, you like quiet time with a good book?

You can find me here:
http://caphipps.com
https://www.facebook.com/authorcaphipps
https://www.amazon.com/author/caphipps
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/c-a-phipps
https://twitter.com/CherylAPhipps

Last year I was lucky enough to be filmed for a new Channel 4 television series called 'Genealogy Roadshow' which was later renamed 'My Family Secrets Revealed'. Almost a year to the date when we filmed it in the Lake District, it was exciting to be back in the Lake District (this time filming a new television series called Deep Water, based on the books by Paula Daly) and to learn that episode 3 of the series would be aired. For those of you in the UK, it will be available to watch on Catchup on Channel 4 for the next 28 days, but for those who are abroad, I've tried to film it so you can watch it here instead. I hope you enjoy the episode, and learn a little bit more about what makes me tick as a cozy mystery author too. 

I did film a little vlog on the day that we filmed the main episode, in the snow during the 'beast from the east'. 

This week's cozy mystery author in residence in our Cozy Mystery Book Explorer Facebook group is Margaret Lashley, best known for her Val Fremden Humorous Mystery series.

​​​Margaret will be taking over the group from Friday 30th December until Friday 7th December, when we'll be joined by a new cozy mystery author in residence. This is a brilliant opportunity for cozy mystery fans to get up close and personal with the author and to ask them any questions you like, about the characters, series, life as an author, and inspiration behind the books, so please don't be shy. 

Since November is all about celebrating historical cozy mystery books, I thought we'd take a moment to appreciate author Kerry Greenwood and her female sleuth and fearless flapper Phryne Fisher. These books are set around 1928-1929 in Australia. They have some of the most beautiful book covers too! I'm not 100% certain that they are cozy mystery books, but they are certainly close enough and it would be too sad not to include them. 

Whenever you buy the Kindle version of a book, always check if to see if you add the audiobook version at the same time. These are often reduced from over £20 to around £2.99 for folks who have the ebook. This usually means that you can make use of the Whispersync function on your Kindle device and switch between reading and listening to the story - perfect for when you are at the gym, or driving your car. You can also get the audiobooks as part of an Audible subscription, or sign up for a free 30 day trial to see if you like audiobooks first. 

Technically, Agatha Christie can't really be included under the heading of Historical Cozy Mysteries because the books were not written at least 50 years after the time period she was writing about. But not to include her in our celebration of historical cozy mystery books would just seem like blasphemy given that Christie is considered the Queen of the Mysteries. The technical term for Agatha Christie's books would really be 'classics' but they certainly give us some insight into the time in which she wrote. Not all of her books are cozy mystery, since they are really crime thrillers, but I'm going to break my own rules and include some of them anyway - such a rebel I know! If you want to explore more of Agatha Christie's books and wonderful book covers, check out my Pinterest board here. 

Every Friday I include free audiobook codes in my Free Book Friday mailing list for you to use to download any book you like from Audible in the UK, US, Germany, or France. You can also get the books on your 30 day free trial if you aren't already a member. What would be super cool, is that you leave a review on whatever book it is that you listen to, as this will really help future readers and help me to acquire more free codes from Audible that I can pass on to you. Need more audiobook suggestions, check out my blog post here or for more Agatha Christie audio books click here.