Marla A. White – Ladies of Mystery

Why I Write the Un-Cozy Genre

Any time someone asks “why do you write mysteries” I tell them because it’s the only way to kill someone who irritates me and not go to jail.

And I tend to stick to cozy mysteries because I don’t want to have to learn cop procedures. Just kidding. I still do a lot of research on cop jargon, weapons, and crimes, but I like to focus on what makes characters tick more than the policy and protocols. I leave that to the more procedural driven writers because those are the kind of details you cannot get wrong and still maintain your readers’ trust.

First, let’s establish that most people define a cozy mystery as a book set in a small town. In “Framed for Murder”, the setting of Pine Cove is heavily influenced by the actual town of Idyllwild, California. Neighbors know each other, they have a dog for a mayor, and there’s only two major streets. To me, there’s something comforting about characters living in a place where nothing truly bad happens (unless you count the dead person who usually is universally disliked anyway) and often there’s a spark of romance. It’s a nice break from real life.

One of the first books I read as a kid was a Nancy Drew mystery, so detectives out of uniform who can make up the rules as they go along have always been appealing. Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe, Robert Parker’s Spenser, and of course the great Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum all get to solve crimes but bend a few laws along the way. Dick Francis’ mysteries were a huge influence as well. My first full-length novel from The Wild Rose Press, “Cause for Elimination,” has a cop as one of the main characters, but there’s also Emily Conners, professional horse trainer and part-time snoop. Besides, once you throw a little romance in there, it’s reasonable that some rules get broken. Plus, his partner is a snarky, lovable jerk who refuses to draw inside the lines anyway, so problem solved!

Which brings me to the “un-cozy” part of the story. One reviewer loved “Framed for Murder” but commented that they’d call it an un-cozy because my characters go beyond the sure steadiness of a Miss Marple. For instance, my characters’ lives are screwed up long before they find the body In the Pine Cove books, the main character Mel O’Rourke faces a fear of heights, learns how to run an aging B&B, deals with her eccentric grandmother, and solves a murder. The stakes for Mel aren’t just life or death, although there’s that too; she struggles with her identity as she has to start her life over.

In truth, I’m one of those idiots that writes in multiple genres. The idea of self-discovery is a common theme throughout all of them, whether it’s after losing a job, a cheating boyfriend, or the world as you knew it. It’s when characters are at their most vulnerable but also the most interesting. It’s one thing to know at the end of a cozy the killer will be caught, that’s kind of a given. But as a writer, I love the journey of writing a book where I have no idea what’s next for my characters beyond solving the core plot problem until I’ve outlined all the way to ‘The End’.

Old enemies become allies to unravel a deadly mystery.

Mel O’Rourke used to be a cop before a life-changing injury forced her to turn in her badge. Now she leads a relatively peaceful life running a B & B in the quirky mountain town of Pine Cove. That is, until her old frenemy, the charismatic cat burglar Poppy Phillips, shows up, claiming she’s been framed for murder. While she’s no saint, Mel knows she’d never kill anyone and sets out to prove Poppy’s innocence.

The situation gets complicated, however, when the ruggedly handsome Deputy Sheriff Gregg Marks flirts with Mel, bringing him dangerously close to the criminal she’s hiding. And just when her friendship with café owner Jackson Thibodeaux blossoms into something more, he’s offered the opportunity of a lifetime in New Orleans. Should she encourage him to go, or ask him to stay? Who knew romance could be just as hard to solve as murder?

Buy Links

Amazon – https://bit.ly/43Uwj96

Barnes and Noble – https://bit.ly/3TKdPDu

Apple Books – https://books.apple.com/us/book/framed-for-murder/id6483932566

GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/211106987-framed-for-murder

AllAuthor – https://allauthor.com/book/87348/framed-for-murder-a-pine-cove-mystery/

Books2Read – books2read.com/u/4Djgor

Book Bub-https://www.bookbub.com/books/framed-for-murder-by-marla-a-white

Marla White is an award-winning novelist who prefers killing people who annoy her on paper rather than in real life. Her first full-length mystery novel, “Cause for Elimination,” placed in several contests including Killer Nashville, The RONE Awards, The Reader’s Favorite, and finishing second in the Orange County Romance Writers for Romantic Suspense. Originally from Oklahoma, she lived in a lot of other states before settling down in Los Angeles to work in the television industry. She currently teaches at UCLA Extension and gives seminars about the art of script coverage. When she’s not working on the next book, she’s hiking, cheering on the LA Kings, or discovering new craft cocktails (to, you know, drown her sorrows over the Kings #GKG).

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Unveiling the Fun Side of Crime: My Murder Research Adventure

Maybe this should worry me, but there’s no shortage of people I want to kill on a daily basis, so coming up with victims for my plots is relatively easy. Cut me off on the freeway? Your car is now being driven by a soon to be dead character. Be mean to a friend? Murder will follow.

The real fun for me comes when it’s time to research the details. For “Cause for Elimination” I had firsthand knowledge of the horse and eventing world because I lived it. But finding out how to blow up a boat (hint: it’s not as easy as it sounds), or what it would sound like if someone were stabbed and their lung collapsed, required a little more digging. Fortunately, I have a few real live resources I can turn to for answers.

There’s a fellow eventer and nurse who’s very patient with my myriad of weird questions about broken necks and blood loss. Another good friend is an expert in wiring and security systems. He was invaluable when I was trying to figure out how the spy camera I needed for a particular scene would work. My nephew builds boats and helped me with the boat question.

Obviously, the Internet is a beautiful thing. There’s a wonderful website, “How To Kill Your Imaginary Friends” with articles such as, “If you shock a flatline, I swear I will come to your home and beat you with a wet chicken”. One of my characters is Scottish so I have a ton of websites bookmarked to make him sound authentic, including “The Septic’s Companion” for British slang words and insults. Plus lots and lots of research on weapons; guns, swords, knives, and even what a cat-o’-nine-tails looks like. I dread the thought that one day someone will look through search history and promptly arrest or medicate me.

But many of the specific, colorful details in my books, however, come from personal experiences. Like I said, I boarded my horses and rode at most of the locations that appear in “Cause for Elimination”. One scene, where a boarder is bemoaning how their life has been ruined, was from an actual and hilarious encounter that I had. Beautiful Idyllwild, a place a go as often as I can, was the inspiration for the quirky town of Pine Cove in my cozy mystery, “The Starlight Mint Surprise Murder” and the upcoming sequel. My non-mystery books were born out of a visit to a historic inn.

Probably the single most useful research tool for me as a writer, however, is wordhippo.com. It’s like a thesaurus on steroids and helps me keep my writing fresh. Used with ProWritingAid, because I’m useless at putting commas in the right place, I’ve gotten much better at turning in manuscripts that are clean and avoid mistakes. Because while killing off people is fun, murdering the language is downright embarrassing!

Fun facts

Something readers might find interesting about this book:

Much of what happens in this novel is inspired by real events, people and places from my years of riding horses. Emily’s distinctive pickup truck was inspired by a real truck I coveted. Justin’s uncontrollable ride with “whoa?” – happened to me on that very field. The horse she rides, Reese, is based on the last horse I owned right down to his big suitcase head that he likes to waggle. Don’t even ask me about the upholstery story! And though I’ve never forgotten to unhook my air-vest, I’ve certainly had my share of close calls.

A fact about me readers might find interesting:

The first time I got on a horse was to ride a neighbor’s fat pony bareback. It took off, I clung to its side for maybe 100 yards before hitting the ground, and have been in love with horses ever since. It’s entirely possible I hit my head.

Cause for Elimination

After suffering a devastating riding accident, eventer Emily Conners is on the road back to reclaiming her life. Then she discovers the body of her friend and boss, Pam Yates, brutally murdered at the barn and it seems like nothing will ever be normal again. She’s out of a job, and annoyed by the handsome cop whose been sent to investigate the case. Because while she wants to see the killer brought to justice, she has some dark secrets of her own she’d rather he didn’t unearth.

Detective Justin Butler usually gets his killer, but this time the investigation proves particularly difficult as Pam Yates had no shortage of enemies. He looks to Emily for insights into a world that’s completely foreign to him and can’t understand why she’s resistant to help. Is she as busy as she claims, or is she scared off by the growing attraction they both share?

As the investigation heats up, dangers come from unexpected corners and buried secrets are exposed. Emily and Justin will have to work together to catch the killer, putting both their hearts and their lives on the line, before they strike again.

Buy links:

Amazon https://amzn.to/3qk7XCP

Books2Read https://books2read.com/u/b6zjM6

BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/books/cause-for-elimination-by-marla-a-white

GoodReads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62233827-cause-for-elimination

All Author https://allauthor.com/book/70256/cause-for-elimination/

Marla White is an award-winning novelist, story analysis instructor at UCLA and writing coach who lives in Los Angeles. She graduated from the University of Kentucky where she took her first horseback riding lesson. After dabbling in hunters, barrel racing, and weekly trail rides, she fell hopelessly in love with the sport of eventing. She “conquered” Novice level before taking a break to pursue novel writing but hopes to return to the saddle some day soon. Her first novel, “The Starlight Mint Surprise Murder,” was published in 2021 followed by the first two books in her Keeper Chronicles series. When she’s not writing, she’s out in the garden, hiking, or working on a jigsaw puzzle.

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