cozy mystery

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A perfect blend of knitting and cozy mysteries.

Reagan Davis writes cozy mysteries set in small town Ontario. Her protagonist, Megan, owns a knitting shop; the perfect job for an amateur sleuth 😉

In the introduction I mention speaking (via zoom) with a university psychology class last week about my memoir about ten years I spent in a cult in the 1990s. The students were super engaged and thoughtful and it was a joy to chat with them and answer questions. I’m always thrilled to help educate anyone about how cults work and how even smart, self-aware people can get sucked into them.

Today’s show is supported by my patrons at Patreon. Thank you! When you become a patron for as little as $1 a month you receive a short mystery story each and every month. And the rewards for those who love mystery stories go up from there! Learn more and become a part of my community of readers at www.Patreon.com/alexandraamor

This week’s mystery author

Reagan Davis doesn’t really exist. 

She is a pen name for the real author who lives in the suburbs of Toronto with her husband, two kids, and a menagerie of pets. 

When she’s not planning the perfect murder, she enjoys knitting, reading, eating too much chocolate, and drinking too much Diet Coke. 

The author is an established knitwear designer who regularly publishes individual patterns and is a contributor to many knitting books and magazines. 

To learn more about Reagan and all her books visit ReaganDavis.com

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Do you yearn for a life of freedom?

Minnie Crockwell is a free spirit. She travels the USA in her RV, with a very polite ghost named Ben in tow, exploring the country and, of course, solving crime. The life of a digital nomad has occasionally called to me, but I think I’m better off hearing about others’ adventures. To me it seems that the Will Travel for Trouble mysteries are the perfect confluence of living an adventurous life vicariously through literature.

Today’s show is supported by my patrons at Patreon. Thank you! When you become a patron for as little as $1 a month you receive a short mystery story each and every month. And the rewards for those who love mystery stories go up from there! Learn more and become a part of my community of readers at www.Patreon.com/alexandraamor

This week’s mystery author

Minnie Crockwell has traveled and lived in too many styles of RVs to remember. Without a land yacht at present, she lives in a sticks and bricks home in Virginia and wonders what her next RV purchase will be. She’s shopping!

Minnie also writes time travel romance novels as Bess McBride.

Learn more about Minnie/Bess and all her books at BessMcBride.com.

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Culinary cozies with a touch of the islands.

Catherine Bruns writes in several different series of her own and has also contributed to a multi-author series set in Hawai’i. As with so many authors, including yours truly, Catherine works full-time and squeezes her writing around the edges of that full day.

For the second time in two weeks I’m introduced to a food dish I’d never heard of: Loco Moco. The dish originated in Hilo and consists of rice, a hamburger patty, a fried egg and gravy. Have you ever had it?

Today’s show is supported by my patrons at Patreon. Thank you! When you become a patron for as little as $1 a month you receive a short mystery story each and every month. And the rewards for those who love mystery stories go up from there! Learn more and become a part of my community of readers at www.Patreon.com/alexandraamor

This week’s mystery author

Catherine Bruns is the USA Today bestselling author of the Cookies & Chance mysteries. She lives in New York with her very patient husband, three sons, and several spoiled pets.

She also writes the Italian Chef mysteries, Cindy York real estate and Carrie Jorgenson (Aloha Lagoon) culinary series. Her book, For Sale by Killer, won the 2019 Daphne du Maurier award for Mainstream Mystery/Suspense.

To learn more about Catherine and all her books visit CatherineBruns.net

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Would you trade Hawai’i for Nebraska?

Kelly Brakenhoff’s amateur sleuth, Cassandra Sato, is ambitious: she wants to be a university president one day. So leaving Hawai’i and landing in Nebraska makes sense to her because it will further her career.

Kelly reads to us from the first book in the Cassandra Sato series, Death by Dissertation, and we talk about how creating a character who is a fish out of water can lend itself to interesting plot points and situations.

In the interview, I ask Kelly about her picture book for children called Never Mind. She shares what motivated her to write that book and the important issue the next book in the series addresses. (Hint: it has to do with farts.) 🙂 Below is the video she mentions where she reads Never Mind and Amy Willman does the signs for it.

This week’s mystery author

Kelly Brakenhoff writes the Cassandra Sato Mystery series including Death by Dissertation, a 2020 RONE Award Mystery Finalist, and Dead Week, “a diverting whodunit,” (Publishers Weekly).

Kelly is an American Sign Language Interpreter whose motivation for learning ASL began in high school when she wanted to converse with her deaf friends. She also writes a popular children’s picture book series featuring Duke the Deaf Dog.

To learn more about Kelly and all her books visit KellyBrackenhoff.com

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Debra Goldstein is a judge AND she’s been on the TV show Jeopardy!

How’s that for a line item on a CV?

My guest today reads from her brand new book, Three Treats Too Many, and we talk about her long-held desire to write, how publishing proved easy in the beginning and then got a little harder, and what it’s like to blank out when trying to answer the final question on Jeopardy.

In the introduction I mention staying up far too late watching the Disney Plus behind-the-scenes documentary about making the animated film Frozen 2 and how I am a sucker for any kind of show or book about what goes on during the making of a creative project.

This week’s mystery author

Judge Debra H. Goldstein writes Kensington Books’ Sarah Blair mystery series, including recently published Three Treats Too Many, 2020’s Silver Falchion finalist Two Bites Too Many and January 2019’s Woman’s World book of the week, One Taste Too Many.

Debra’s short stories have been named as Agatha, Anthony and Derringer finalists. Debra serves on the national board of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and is the President of SEMWA and is past president of SinC’s Guppy chapter.

To learn more about Debra and all her books visit DebraHGoldstein.com.