My Christmas cozy, The Purloined Poinsettia, is set in a small Georgia town called Peach Grove. The main character is a chiropractor, and the doctor and her best friend do a lot of the sleuthing. The doctor’s assistant and office manager are also integral to any investigations. The office manager (Larraine) is well known as a committed churchgoer. She knows just about everyone in the church because she has served for years the welcoming committee. It only seemed natural to involve Larraine and her church in my Christmas plot.
As I began to write the first page of the soon-to-be mystery, I wondered what would happen if Larraine decided she wanted to spread her wings and join the decorating committee. The idea of her being in charge of a large order of potted poinsettias, which somehow, mysteriously, gets cancelled, seemed a natural -- and the beginning of the Purloined Poinsettia took shape.
The actual murder was moved along by some of my cozy-mystery-writing pals. In my previous stories, the murders were more traditional. The victims succumbed to poisoning and gunshot wounds etc… The Christmas story cried out for a Christmas-decoration related murder. So I went to my Cozy Mystery Writer FB group and bounced a few ideas off the ladies there. I think I found a good one.
It's Christmas time in Peach Grove and someone is pilfering poinsettia plants from the True Blooms Florist! When Dr. Susannah Shine and office manager Larraine Moore search for a cancelled flower order for Larraine's church, they dig up a deadly discovery: A bloody body surrounded by the poached poinsettias.
Close by, Larraine's bestie, fellow welcome-committee-member Shirleen Carter, is found holding the murder weapon. As the women begin uncovering clues, a long hidden relationship between Shirleen and the victim, the church financial secretary, comes to light. Poking around the church during the annual Christmas pageant, Dr. Susannah discovers two parishioner’s clandestine meeting, along with irregularities involving the accounting office. When the gang follow leads back to the True Blooms Florist, a series of secrets are revealed and the killer is finally discovered.
What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?
I love collecting decorative blue-and-white ceramic snowmen.
Also, being Italian American, building a big delicious antipasto is a requirement. It reminds me of Christmas in the past where my extended family got together and my father and aunts built a huge platter of all the luscious delights, like olives, roasted peppers, veggies drizzled in olive oil, cheeses, and deli meats. Then they put it in the middle of table, while scolding everyone not to touch it until we all sat down. With the aroma of a turkey cooking, my mouth would be watering already! My cousins and I would sneak over and grab a black olive or a small wedge of cheese when no one was looking. Even for just a few people, making a holiday antipasto can take a few days of advanced prep, and lots of garlic!
What’s the best writing tip you’ve learned or been given you’d like to share?
I remember being told to write every day, but I like to translate that to: Be persistent. Even if you can only fit in 10 minutes on a certain days. Keep pushing forward. Also, find your tribe. The best beta readers and critique partners are ones who read your genre, understand it’s conventions and appreciate it.
What do you know now about writing and publishing you wish you had learned sooner?
Hmmm. That’s a loaded one. There’s so many things in writing and especially self-publishing that you only learn by doing. I would say, as a self-published author, meet all kinds of authors, share your process, give advice openly, but save your energy for your own work.
Also original ideas exhilarate the artist, but if you want to sell books, you have to understand and hit the tropes. You can challenge yourself, for instance with different genres by writing short stories.
Find your own process. People who sell books want to turn everyone into a plotter/outliner. Of Course!! Every pantser has their own process, which won’t necessarily fit anyone else, so there aren’t many books on pantsing! I wasted a lot of time trying to get other methods to work for me. Save the Cat, Writing the Breakout Novel, Story Genius, Rock Your Writing and many others gave me a lot to think about and aim for in my plotting, but in the end, I don’t outline. I write the first act (approximately) and then back engineer an outline in excel and use it to keep track of the story structure, clues and red herrings. It works for me!
Are there any other books that you’d like to tell my readers about?
My ChiroCozy Mystery Series has books set at Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. They all feature, fun, food, hijinks, and recipes. My favorite recipe, Double Chocolate Pecan pie, comes from the Thanksgiving themed book: Fixation and Fraud. You can find them in my Holiday Bundle.
That's all for today's interview. If you'd like to learn more about Cathy's book, check the links below.
The first installment of my Milo series. So far, only a Christmas story is available .
https://www.amazon.com/Milo-Mistletoe-Molly-Dishy-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0D5WYJ7R7//
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CathyTullyCozyAuthor/
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https://dl.bookfunnel.com/nano75o7xs
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