Elizabeth Spann Craig - Why I Write Mysteries

*Editor's Note: Welcome to Elizabeth Spann Craig, today's Tuesday 'Why I Write Mysteries' columnist! After reading her piece I feel like saying, 'What she said!' Love it! Enjoy, everyone!

I'm a bona fide mystery nut.

When I was a kid, I got my hands on every Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden book I could find. The two series were very different from each other, and I’d switch back and forth between the two.

Once I started reading mysteries, I never stopped. I graduated to Agatha Christie, then to Martha Grimes. Then I read any mystery anyone ever recommended to me or that sounded interesting to me.

Why do I love them so much?

I love the process of restoring order. I love reading (and writing) about an idyllic setting where a serious problem is introduced and then methodically—and successfully—solved. Good triumphs over evil and order is restored to the idyll.

I love starting on the same page as the sleuth. We can identify with them easily since we don’t have all the pieces of the puzzle yet, either.

I love the fact that everyone has something to hide—like so many of us in real life. No one wants their dirty laundry aired and they’ll try to lie and cover up evidence in order to keep their secrets.

I love the small town gossip in cozy mysteries.

I love the sense of surprise when the second body is discovered. It’s a double-whammy surprise if the body is of the suspect I’d pegged as the killer.

I love the frightening moment when the sleuth is face to face with the murderer. I love pulling for the sleuth as she outsmarts the killer.

My most favorite thing about mysteries? Creating my own by incorporating my favorite mystery elements into a manuscript.

Elizabeth Spann Craig

http://elizabethspanncraig.com/

Pretty is as Pretty Dies—August 2009, Midnight Ink

Memphis BBQ Series—May 2010, Berkley Prime Crime

http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com

Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!

Pardon me, my American friends, while we Canadians celebrate our Thanksgiving a little (ahem, right on time, really) early.











Here are some Thanksgiving themed mysteries that sound interesting to me:

Death of a Turkey: a Peggy Jean Turner mystery (2005) - Kate Borden
Product Description
It's Thanksgiving--and it's not just the turkey who's in danger.

As tourists arrive at Cobb's Landing to enjoy an authentic Colonial-style Thanksgiving, mayor Peggy Turner would be thankful for nothing more than a clue as to who killed her neighbor--a clue that didn't point to her.


Turkey Day Murder: a Lucy Stone mystery (2001) - Leslie Meier
From Library Journal
Although much of her time is spent on family, fund-raising, and helping her best friend with day-care kids, Lucy Stone (Valentine Murder)Athe sleuthing reporter of Tinker's Corner, MEApromises an elderly friend that she will find out who murdered a confrontational local Native American. Recent selectmen board meetings regarding the Metinnicut Indians have been getting out of hand. Most of the townsfolk believe that the Natives want federal recognition only so that they can open a casino, but the dead man thought otherwise. Lightweight, approachable prose; cozy, small-town ambiance; and a down-to-earth sleuth make this a good choice for most collections.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


Fowl Prey: a Bed and Breakfast mystery (2001) - Mary Daheim
Product Description

Leaving the Hillside manor in capable hands, bed-and-breakfast hostess Judith McMonigle heads north to Vancouver's Hotel Clovia with her irrepressibly voracious cousin Renie for a pre-Thanksgiving getaway.But when an addled and impoverished popcorn vendor is murdered-along with his foul-mouthed pet parakeet-a local copper's suspicious gaze settles on the two visiting Americans. The cousins, in turn, suspect one of the "Sacred Eight" -- an odd-duck assortment of glamorous showbiz glitterati currently gathered at the historic hotel. And unless Judith and Renie can pluck a killer from the secretive, star-studded group, their geese will be thoroughly cooked in short order!

So, to all my Canadian friends, Happy Thanksgiving!

And to everyone else... Happy Monday!

Cleo Coyle - Coffeehouse Mysteries

Cleo Coyle's wonderful 'Coffeehouse' Mysteries have a fabulous New York feel to them; they're kind of like the coffee Clare Cosi sells at the Village Blend, authentic and tasty, but never gritty or bitter!

Here is a list of the books so far:

On What Grounds, September 2003

Through The Grinder, October 2004

Latte Trouble, August 2005

Murder Most Frothy, August 2006

Decaffeinated Corpse, July 2007

French Pressed, April 2008

Espresso Shot, October 2008

So far I have read French Pressed and I enjoyed it so much, I'm looking forward to catching up with the rest of the series!

~::~

November 3rd will see the release of a brand new Village Blend mystery, Holiday Grind, and Cleo Coyle will be here with a wonderful Question and Answer interview exclusive to Cozy Murder Mysteries.

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Product Description:
There's nothing cozier than a winter evening in Greenwich Village. Streetlights shimmer through icy flakes, cafés glow with welcoming warmth, and a layer of snow dusts historic townhouses like powdered sugar on holiday confections. Murder has no place in such a pretty picture, until now...

Coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi has grown very fond of Alfred Glockner, the part-time comic and genuinely jolly charity Santa who's been using her Village Blend as a place to warm his mittens. When she finds him brutally gunned down in a nearby alley, a few subtle clues convince her that Alfred's death was something more than the tragic result of a random mugging--the conclusion of the police. With Clare's boyfriend, NYPD Detective Mike Quinn, distracted by a cold case of his own, and ex-husband Matt investigating this year's holiday lingerie catalogs (an annual event), Clare charges ahead solo to solve her beloved Santa's slaying. Then someone tries to ice Clare, and she really gets steamed. But she'd better watch out, because if she fails to stop this stone cold killer, she may just get the biggest chill of her life.

This very special holiday entry in Cleo Coyle's nationally bestselling mystery series includes a bonus section of delicious holiday recipes as well as a glossary of coffeehouse terms, instructions on making espressos and lattes without an expensive machine, and tips for creating tasty coffeehouse syrups at home.

~::~

Looking forward to it!!

Win a free Agatha Christie game!

Further to our conversation yesterday about mystery games, check out the Christie website for this opportunity to in a free Agatha Christie's Dead Man's Folly computer game!

http://msnprod.oberon-media.com/images/promos/MSN/AC3/index.html

Also on this page, download your free computer wallpapers! I looove free stuff!

Clue, anyone?

I've never been one who particularly enjoyed board games. My favorite board games are trivia or word games like Trivial Pursuit or Balderdash. If I was going to have a favorite board game, though, given my obsession with murder mysteries, you'd think Clue would rank right up there. Hmmm, I've played it a couple of times, but wasn't much impressed. It just seemed so... I don't know. Miss Scarlet in the library with a candlestick? I can come up with a better plot than that!

Murder Mystery Board Games

However, it appears that there is a whole new world of Clue games out there from Hasbro. 'Cluedo', as it was first called when it was invented in 1949 by Anthony E. Pratt, now has a DVD version, a card game, a Harry Potter and a 'The Office' version (I wonder if Michael Scott is the victim?). Other than that there are also a whole variety of games out there to help you host a murder mystery party. I've never been to one, but have any of you? I would love to hear first hand from someone who had been to a murder mystery evening.


Murder Mystery Jigsaw Puzzles

Have you heard of these? I've actually done one, and for someone with the boredom threshold of an antsy three-year-old (me!) when it comes to board games and jigsaw puzzles, it was cool! To me there were three levels of interest: first, I kind of like jigsaw puzzles anyway, second, the picture on the box cover is NOT what you'll be putting together (Yippee!) and then you are actually solving a mystery at the same time! Great fun! Find a complete set of Alphabet murder mystery puzzles (Not connected to Sue Grafton's 'Alphabet' series of murder mysteries) at Mystery Game Central.

Computer Murder Mystery Games

I'm not much of computer gamer, but I have been tempted by the CSI Computer Games. I have to admit, though, as much as I looove CSI New York (Gary Sinise is so believable as an investigator/cop!) I cannot stand the gruesome elements, and I'm deathly afraid the computer game would expect me to get upcloseandpersonal with someone's bullet-riddled esophagus, or something. Yuck!!

So for a lily-liver, some of the best interpretations of mystery to computer is the Nancy Drew series (the Hardy Boys have a computer game series, too) and the Agatha Christie games are also very good! Except... I can't solve them. Again, that three-year-old's short attention span. By the way, this 'ants in my pants' feeling only seems to apply to games. I can read or write for hours on end and not get antsy.

Anyway, Mystery Game Central has a wonderful rundown of these computer mystery games as well! Have any of you played them?


Online Mystery Games

A world that is new/foreign to me is the online gaming community. Oh, I've known it existed, but who knew there were mystery games out there? There seem to be many, but one that is intriguing to me is Sleuth. According (again) to Mystery Game Central, it is an "open-ended online detective game where you solve mysteries by searching for clues, questioning suspects and interviewing witnesses." Sounds like fun!



Gifts Galore

I suppose I wrote this in response to my realization that Christmas is coming. Do you have mystery lover on your gift list for Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa? A teenager? A pre-teen? If the 'giftee' of your choice won't sit still to read, how about a mystery game of some sort?

For a great rundown of all kinds of murder mystery games see (wait for it...): Mystery Game Central

So... have you ever tried any of these types of mystery games? If you have, chime in and tell me about it!

Margaret Grace - Why I Write Mysteries

*Note from the editor: Welcome to Camille Minichino, aka Margaret Grace, author of the wonderful ‘Miniature’ Mysteries, that are miniature only in that they deal with miniatures and dollhouses. Enjoy her unusual and wonderful take on why she writes mysteries! It’s really more what mysteries are to her! Enjoy!

Why I Write Mysteries

by: Margaret Grace (aka Camille Minichino)

I write mysteries because it's so much like doing physics. You might even say,

MYSTERIES = MC²

[Some people think I see everything in relation to physics. As if that's a bad thing!]

We often hear that mysteries are like puzzles, that writers and readers enjoy putting the pieces together, ending up with a satisfying solution, much like turning 1500 jagged pieces into a reproduction of Van Gogh's Sunflowers.

I'm in accord with that notion, but only to a certain extent.

Surely, mysteries are not like jigsaw puzzles, where all the pieces can be piled before us with one brisk dump from the box, and what's required is simply to sort them by color or shape and fit them together.

Neither are mysteries like Rubik's cube puzzles, where the faces of a block are bound as one, but in the wrong order.

We have everything we need; our job is to make the correct twists and turns.

Is a mystery like a crossword puzzle? I don't think so. Again, all the clues are there in a couple of columns. In most cases, there are black squares that are cues to word length. We fill in the blanks and enjoy a sense of accomplishment when every square is filled in.

How about an acrostic?

Now we're getting closer.

Closer to mysteries and to physics. Especially if we're looking at a diagramless acrostic.

Contemporary acrostics use two sets of clues: one set might be a list of definitions or word play phrases, the other is a quotation that emerges as correct letters are transferred to a grid that has no marks for word length. The solver works in both directions, sometimes figuring out the definitions, anagrams, or puns, and other times using insight into what the quote is about. That is, sometimes looking at the pieces, sometimes at the whole.

There's often also a vertical clue, where the initial letters of every definition spell out the quote's author and source. This gives us even a third set of clues to work or "see through."

In the same way, in a good "whodunit" mystery, there are many sets of clues that unfold: some are hidden in plain sight, some are subtly presented, some not; some are within the character profiles and arcs, the setting, or the plot. These mysteries are solved not by simply putting a given number of known pieces together, but by first sorting out the pieces that matter from the ones that don't. Maybe there are a couple of red herrings; maybe there are no herrings of any color.

I've seen puzzles where the manufacturer has deliberately included extra pieces that don't belong in the scene. Those puzzles are more like the great physics problems: figuring out the messy universe.

But solving the mysteries of the universe may take a while. In the meantime, I have nothing against working and reading on the small scale of a good, messy whodunit.

Neither doing physics nor reading mysteries should be taken lightly. Remember Woody Allen's admission: "I'm astounded by people who want to 'know' the universe when it's hard enough to find your way around Chinatown."

Links:

http://www.minichino.com

http://www.dollhousemysteries.com

http://www.killerhobbies.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home

http://twitter.com/minichino

Taking a short break...

I've certainly had a rip-roaring start here at Cozy Murder Mysteries. 41 posts so far in just a month and a half seems like a lot to me, and the variety of authors... it's going great and I am enjoying myself.

But... (you knew there was a but, didn't you?) I do have a writing career to attend to, and I must get organized! I'm in the middle of so many things, it's driving me slightly bonkers!

Sooooo... I'm going to take a brief... very brief, really... break, less than a week, to allow me time to catch my breath and work uninterrupted.

I will be back October Sixth with a wonderful treat, Margaret Grace also known as Camille Minichino on why writing mysteries is like physics. ?? I know! If you have a perplexed look on your face, good... you'll have to come back next Tuesday, October 6th at 8:01 AM to find out just how writing mysteries is like physics!

Also coming up:

Elizabeth Spann Craig on 'Why I Write Mysteries'

Publisher Spotlight on... Poisoned Pen Press

Author Q&A's on Cleo Coyle and Sue Ann Jaffarian

Marion Moore Hill 'On Touring' - A Mystery author takes her show on the road.

As well as....

More reviews, more author interviews, seasonal reads, and lots more!

Open Call:

I am still looking for: reviewers, opinion pieces, Why I Read Mysteries, Why I Write Mysteries, author profiles. I'm open to suggestion! If you've written a blog piece on some aspect of murder mysteries, especially cozy, and want someone to host it, think of me!

See you Tuesday, October 6th!