"" Writer's Wanderings: So, What is a cozy mystery?

Friday, October 14, 2011

So, What is a cozy mystery?


When I began writing Murder Among The Orchids, I was just having fun writing a mystery with a kooky character that I fell in love with as she developed. It wasn't until I began to shop it around to publishers that I realized it was really a cozy--well, almost. The editor said she really needed to have a cat. I'm not a cat-person. I would have had a hard time writing in a cat but I thought a plant might solve the problem. After all, didn't that gardener named Jerry suggest that plants were like people and you should talk to them? People talk to cats. I rest my case.

Seriously, cozy mysteries do include some common elements: usually a very likable woman who inadvertently becomes an amateur detective--a sleuth; humor; a small town setting; and the list goes on. If you'd like a truly good run down of what a cozy mystery is, I found the Cozy Mystery List site explains it as well as anyone. When I searched for a definition this site was referred to by countless others trying to explain what a cozy is.

If you are looking for some light reading, a cozy may be exactly what you need. Oh, and one other thing--the sleuth always "gets her man."

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