Tag: Christmas Mystery

Please, no, not another book idea!

~ patyjag ~ 6 Comments

I get asked all the time, “Where do you get your ideas or how do you come up with so many ideas for stories?”

Nia

I like to call it my superpower, but then something like this happens: My friend and I who sell books twice a year at an outdoor flea market enjoy watching all the dogs go by and try to figure out their breeds or crossbreeds. It’s just a fun game. Then, this past summer, I had my little dog Nia with me at one of the events. A woman came in to look at our books and, of course, asked to pet Nia. My little Chiweenie is a people dog. She loves kids, she loves anyone that isn’t wearing a hat and built large. The woman pet her and talked to her for several minutes then looked up at me and said, “You should use her as a therapy dog. She has the right temperament and look at that loving caring face.” The woman went on to tell me all the places I could take Nia to comfort people.

After she left, my friend and I were talking about it and instead of doing the humanitarian thing with this information, I flipped it and said that would make a great way to have an amateur sleuth get involved in all kinds of murders. (Yes, an idea for another series popped into my head and hasn’t left.)

Then someone was playing old time records on a record player as a means to bring in customers and sell the record player. The song Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas came on and as the song progressed, my mind went to what a great title for a book. Merry, Merry, Merry Murder. And make it set at Christmas. Now this stuck and has been brewing in my mind as the holidays are fast approaching. Too late for this year, but I will have a book with that title coming out next year.

But wait, how can I get this title to work with the two series I have right now? All the Gabriel Hawke series titles have animals in the titles. It would be out of sync with the rest of the series. Same goes with the Spotted Pony Casino Mystery series. Those titles all have to do with gambling terms. How can I use this title to write a Christmas murder mystery if I can’t make it fit the two series I already have going?

Pop back to the new shiny idea of the woman with therapy animals who travels to schools, hospitals, nursing homes, outreach centers, and so on. She could start her series with Merry, Merry, Merry Murder. Or I can make it a standalone Christmas Mystery.

But wait. This has all been spinning in my head for several months now and two days ago when I was finishing up sewing Christmas presents, I had Christmas music playing. Christmas Classics to be exact. The Jackson 5 were singing, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. There is a spot in the song where Michael stops singing and says he’s going to tell Daddy. He says it like he’s mad at his mom. And BAM! The whole idea for the murder and who is blamed and who really did it came flashing into my head. I had to leave the sewing machine to find a piece of paper and a pen to write down all the things that had come together to make the story work.

And now, I just have to decide if it will be a standalone book or the beginning of a new series… I really don’t want to juggle three series, but I also like the idea of the shorter cozy style mystery. Maybe one of those a year…. So I can keep putting out two books a year in the other two series. We’ll see!

If you’re looking for some great gifts for the readers on your Christmas list, check out the Ladies of Mystery Cavalcade of Books. An online place to find some of our books on sale and just some of our books. https://bodiebluebooks.com/ladiesofmystery/

Tis the Season for…Mystery Reads!

~ patyjag ~ 7 Comments

Having been published in romance before I wrote mystery, I can remember hearing romance writers talk about listening to Christmas music in the summer to get a Christmas story written. While I’ve been known to listen to music to get into a character or a story, I’ve never listened to Christmas music to write a Christmas story. No matter what time of the year I write it.

The one thing I do know is I prefer Christmas mysteries to Christmas romance. Thinking on it, I believe it’s because you know in a romance that the two who love one another will get together and there will be a wonderful time had by all.

But a Christmas mystery… Someone may or may not be killed. Is it a relative of the main characters or is it someone special to a relative? Or it could just be the nice old man or woman down the street. But there will be suspense, there will be clues, and there may or may not be a holiday. It depends on how hard the main character is working to solve the murder or it could be because he or she is being detained by the murderer and they can’t make the celebration with their family or loved ones. Hmmm… So much more can go on with a Christmas mystery.

Possibly there is a favorite aunt’s special Christmas letter from her lover that was stolen, and the main character has to get it back before the aunt opens up the music box she always plays on Christmas Eve as she reads the letter. Why does the letter have to be there? What will the aunt do if the letter is gone? So much to think about and so much to do to get that letter back. It makes the season more intense and interesting to have so much hanging on whether or not the letter is replaced before the aunt knows it is missing.

I’ve written two, well three, Christmas mysteries, and I’ve found every one of them to be entertaining to write due to urgency in the main characters to get the murder solved by Christmas. For some reason ending the book on Christmas Day just feels right to me. After a long game of cat and mouse between the clues and the main characters to solve the murder(s), I like to give them the treat of spending Christmas with the people they love.

Okay, so that sounds like a romance. The Happy Ever After ending doesn’t always stay that way in a mystery or a mystery series. You never know when the main character’s life could blow up. But for that brief moment at the end of the mystery set right before Christmas, it gives the reader and the character a moment of peace believing their loved ones are safe and they survived the murderer.

If you like a fun Christmas mystery novella, I enjoyed The Thirteenth Santa by Joanna Pence last year. I listened to it on Chirp. In fact, I enjoyed it so much I listened to it twice.

Or you could read my new novella in the Shandra Higheagle Mystery series, Christmas Chaos. This novella came about because my fans kept asking me for more Shandra Higheagle. I’m hoping having set this book ten years after the last book in the series, the readers will finally see how the future turns out for Shandra, Ryan, the twins, and all their friends and family.

Christmas Chaos

Check out a super-special Christmas surprise— a continuation of the Shandra Higheagle Mystery series. Ten years later the twins are at college but there’s trouble brewing.

Shandra Higheagle Greer is anxiously awaiting a visit from her twins as they head home from college for Christmas break. After a ten-year absence, her deceased grandmother is back in her dreams and the message seems clear. The twins are in trouble. After giving a young woman a ride to a nearby town, they become suspects in her murder.

Even though he’s been removed from the case, Shandra and her husband, Weippe County Sheriff Ryan Greer, continue to investigate, determined to dig up proof that the twins had nothing to do with the homicide. Even if that means putting one of the twins in danger to uncover the truth.

Universal buy link: https://books2read.com/u/47dKjq

I hope you are having a wonderful November. I’m at a marketing and promotion conference right now. November 10th I’ll be at the RAVE- Readers Authors Vegas Event. If you’re in the Vegas area come on down to the Horseshoe Casino. There will be 300 authors from all genres sitting in the Event Center all day Friday the 10th. I’d love to have you come by and say, “Hi!” This is only a few of the mystery authors who will be there.

I’ll be home for four days and then I’m headed to Portland Oregon to sell my books and the books of other NIWA (Northwest Independent Authors Association) members at the Portland Holiday Market at the Expo Center from Nov. 17th – 19th. If you live around Portland or are passing through one of those days, come on by and visit. I always have goodies for people who stop by to talk.

Guest Blogger~ Sally Carpenter

~ patyjag ~ 2 Comments

Christmas can be murder

By Sally Carpenter

Only ten weeks until Christmas!

In my mind, it’s never too early to break out the holly and tune up the carols. I’m a Christmas junkie. I cry when I pack away the decorations each year and count down the days when I can put them up again. I’ve toyed with the idea of leaving them up year-round. That would save me the bother of hauling them out of storage each year and unpacking.

Readers of cozy mysteries love Christmas. I’m not sure why, but there’s something about the holiday season that brings out the larceny. Maybe it’s the juxtaposing of a cheery time of goodwill against murder, or the thought of strangling that annoying neighbor with a strand of colored lights. Most cozy series have at least one Christmas-themed mystery. I finally wrote my contribution to the genre: The Notorious Noel Caper.

As you can tell by the title, it’s part of my Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol series—book five, in fact. I’m astounded that I’ve made it this far in my writing. I have two cozies in my other series—the Psychedelic Spy—for a total of seven books. Many authors have a greater backlist, but I’ll celebrate my output. My first novel was published ten years ago (2011), so that’s almost one book a year. Not bad for a part-time author holding down a day job. Also, many writers stop after one or two books, so I’m thrilled with my longevity.

My Christmas mystery has a twist—it’s set in Southern California, where snow is something you won’t see unless you watch a Hallmark movie or drive (with chains on the tires) up the mountains to the ski resorts. In SoCal, Christmas means sand at the beach, and “cold” weather is 55 degrees. You wouldn’t believe the number of people who have commented about the thick, quilted coat I brought with me when I moved from the Midwest. A “winter coat” here is really a hoodie zipped up.

My book is the only Christmas cozy ever written with surfing Santas. When I was writing the third draft, I saw a newspaper article about the real surfing Santas. That sounded so cool I added them in the story. Every year some surfers dress up in red-and-white wetsuits, put on fake beards and Santa hats, and surf off the coast. No agenda except to put a smile on faces as people watch them shoot the waves. My book cover has a surfing Santa. In chapter 15, Sandy is involved in a surfing Santa event and, like everything Sandy does, ends in near disaster.

The story is set at the Santa’s Magic theme park, based off a poplar (and fictious) movie franchise. SoCal is home to a number of theme parks. Santa’s Magic was inspired by the real-life Santa Claus Land (now called Holiday World), which opened in Santa Claus, Indiana, in 1946, making it the world’s oldest theme park (Disneyland debuted in 1955). My Psychedelic Spy series also has a Christmas theme park, but I made sure the two parks had different rides and attractions.

Sandy is the emcee of the Miss North Pole pageant, inspired by the fact that teen idol Donny Osmond has been involved with both the Miss Universe and Miss USA events. But things get sticky when Sandy’s girlfriend, Cinnamon, is jealous of him spending time around the beautiful contestants. Sandy and Cinnamon are sorting out their relationship that’s been growing over four books.

And the mystery? Well, this time I have three bodies. I had asked members of a cozy readers Facebook group how they felt about multiple murders in a book. Their answers scared me. One said, “The more the merrier!” Since cozy murders take place off the page, three bodies are not as ruthless as it sounds. All of the bodies turn up at the Santa’s Magic park, substituting ho-ho-homicide for holiday cheer.

Christmas cozies remind us of the darkness that lurks in human hearts. In scripture, after the joyful nativity the Holy Family fled into another country to escape an evil ruler who then killed hundreds of babies. Christmas Day may mean sorrow to families who can’t afford gifts or those who face empty dinner table chairs that once held loved ones who have passed away. For some, Christmas may be just another day of living in a sidewalk tent. But cozies also bring us a happy ending: the crook is caught and community order is restored. And what will happened between Sandy and Cinnamon? That too may be a happy ending as well.  

It’s Christmastime in Tinsel Town, and there’s plenty of ho-ho-homicide at the soon-to-open Santa’s Magic theme park, where bodies are dropping like snowflakes. Former pop star Sandy Fairfax has a killer job—he’s the emcee for the televised Miss North Pole beauty contest–er, scholarship pageant. But will the beautiful contestants make his girlfriend jealous? Or will she join him in his sleuthing? The deadly Christmas season begins at a celebrity bowling tournament when a pinsetter plops down a body instead of the pins. Throw in surfing Santas, a seductive executive’s wife, a sleazy tabloid editor, an egotistical movie rival and a gift-wrapped death trap, and it’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Print link:   https://www.amazon.com/Notorious-Noel-Caper-Fairfax-Mystery/dp/1952579317

ebook link:  https://www.amazon.com/Notorious-Caper-Sandy-Fairfax-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B09CN1W7V1

As my Christmas gift to readers, I’m giving away a free story to those who sign up for my mailing list. Sandy Fairfax starred in a hit 1970s TV show, Buddy Brave Boy Sleuth. You can get a free Buddy Brave adventure, “The Medieval Malice Caper,” at http://sandyfairfaxauthor.com; scroll to the bottom of the page for the button.

Sally Carpenter is a native Hoosier who now lives in Southern California. Besides writing seven cozies, all published by Cozy Cat Press, she has stories in three anthologies and penned chapter three of the group mystery Chasing the Codex. She works at a community newspaper where she also writes the Roots of Faith column. This year she welcomed a new rescue cat into her home.   

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sally.carpenter.54