Spring Into a New Series!

Finally, after a long deadly winter spring has sprung, the sun is shining and baby birds are fledged. We actually had a robin's nest over the porch light this year, and the babies have already flown the roost, but not before one had a close call in my cat's mouth! Luckily, I saved its life, locked the cat up, and Robin Mama and Papa taught their little baby to fly.

And speaking of new beginnings and fresh life, I have a new mystery series beginning too! Introducing... the Teapot Collector Mysteries that I am writing as Amanda Cooper! For some reason tea and mystery seem to go together. There is nothing better, to me, than to curl up with a wonderful mystery and a cup of tea. And if you have tea, you MUST have a teapot!

Tempest in a Teapot:

Sophie Freemont Taylor, failed restaurateur, chef and teapot collector, is at loose ends in Manhattan until she decides on the spur of the moment to return ‘home’ to Gracious Grove, a town in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Though not her real home town, it is where she finds respite at her grandmother’s establishment, the same place where Sophie fell in love with teapots, Auntie Rose’s Victorian Tea House. Her grandmother, Rose Freemont, aka ‘Nana’, welcomes her with open arms and twenty nine year old Sophie settles in to find her groove cooking again, even if it is ‘only’ tearoom fare. At the same time she reestablishes friendships with her childhood buddies Dana and Cissy, and her first love, Jason Murphy.

Life in Gracious Grove is never boring, but is not usually as spirited as it becomes when there is a murder at the tearoom next door, the establishment of cranky octogenarian Thelma Mae Earnshaw. Thelma has nursed a six decade long grudge against Nana, who she claims stole her beau, Harold Freemont, also known as Sophie’s grandfather and Nana’s late husband. But despite Thelma’s irascibility, Sophie feels compelled to help figure out who killed a local socialite with a baked goody at Thelma’s tearoom, Belle Époque. It’s unnerving that it occurred so close that Sophie heard the hubbub surrounding the murder by poison! Too soon the danger strikes close to home with an attack on her Nana, and Sophie races the clock to figure out what is going wrong in the pretty little town of Gracious Grove.

I will be doing lots of promotional visits online as Tempest in a Teapot comes out June 3rd. So far, here is my schedule:

June 3rd:

Fresh Fiction - What’s New Tuesday - Giveaway! Link to come, so check back on the 3rd!

Mystery Lover’s Kitchen - about the new book and a giveaway too! Link to come! 

June 5th:

Dru’s Musings - A Day in the Life of Sophie Taylor - Giveaway!! Link to come^.

June 6th:

Read Your Writes - A Q&A about the new book and series.

And I'm thrilled to death that Tempest in a Teapot is going to be the June book under discussion in the Cozy Mystery Book Reviews book club on Facebook. She's having a lovely giveaway, too! Here's a link to the event!
https://www.facebook.com/events/283907028437652/?notif_t=event_description_mention  

Here are my three release dates in 2014:

For more on Tempest in a Teapot and the Teapot Collector Mysteries, visit the series’ Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Amanda-Coopers-Teapot-Collector-Mysteries/296605927102353

Bowled Over - March 5th

It's been such a busy year, and I've neglected blogging, though I have certainly been present on Facebook enough.

But with Bowled Over coming out next Tuesday, March 5th, I thought I had better update a whole lot of things! I have had my website updated, and the links are up to pre-order Bowled Over! Readers may not know this, but you can help your favorite book series continue by ordering books in advance, or buying them during their first week of publication, as bestseller lists, etc., do help get contracts!

I know it can get expensive, especially considering how many great books are coming out on the same day, so I suppose as readers we need to prioritize! I do believe that the fact that A Deadly Grind became a national bestseller has helped with my next bit of news...

I have been contracted for two more Vintage Kitchen Mystery books! WooHoo!! So there will be books 4 & 5.


So now... in Bowled Over Jaymie comes face to face with a killer so devious, I hope you will be mystified until the reveal! Does that sound like I'm trying to be a magician, and hope to abracadabra, presto, surprise and amaze you with the denouement?? I guess I am. Just call me the Amazing Victoria! LOL!

For the record, here are the Amazon and B&N links for Bowled Over:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Bowled-Over-Berkley-Prime-Crime/dp/0425251926/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360610419&sr=8-1&keywords=bowled+Over

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bowled-over-victoria-hamilton/1111306823?ean=9780425251928


I'm making all kinds of blog appearances for the next few weeks. I'll update here as I get live links. Today,I am at Joyce and Jim Lavene's blog taking about romance in mysteries... are you for or against? Let me know! http://romanceofmystery.blogspot.ca/2013/02/to-romance-or-not-by-victoria-hamilton.html

See you soon!!

Bottle O' Buttons

Have you read my May 1st release, A Deadly Grind, yet? Well, in it, among the junk Jaymie buys at an estate auction, is a box of sewing odds and sods with a bottle of buttons in it. (She has a reason... read the book to find out why she buys the box of sewing stuff!! LOL) Being the borderline hoarder that I am, I do have a big bottle of buttons, and this is it.

Some of the buttons are old, ones I've been hauling around for 25 years. Some are those pesky 'one of' buttons that come attached to a new sweater or blouse. What the heck are you supposed to do with those things? I never lose buttons, so long after the sweater or top has gone bye bye to the Goodwill or Sally Ann, I'm left with the randomness of odd buttons. I've got a virtual tidal wave of weird little buttons in tiny plastic bags with random bits of thread.

But my bottle o' buttons has come in useful at times. I make hand wipe cloths for my kitchen using half a tea towel and crochet cotton, and I always need a big button for it so it can hang on my cupboard drawer handle, right beneath the sink. My big bottle o' buttons has never failed me yet.

So... do any of you have a mason jar of buttons, or am I alone here?

The Book Day Cometh...

I haven't blogged much lately, but that's just because I've been busy busy busy! My release day is fast approaching and I've been very very busy (with secret projects, too, but I'll talk about those soon!!) with organizing my release month activities. So far I've got a few blogs lined up.

I know there will be more, so this list will be amended and improved, with links and information, as I go along.

Here's the beginning...

April 29^th, 2012 - Mystery Lover’s Kitchen blog with recipe and giveaway.

May 1^st, 2012 – Release Day! I'll be at Dru Ann Love’s Blog "A Day in the Life of Jaymie Leighton" with book and bookmark giveaway.

May 10^th, 2012 - Lesa Holstine’s blog... Jaymie's junk obsession from her sister, Becca’s, viewpoint.
May 16^th, 2012 - Escape with Dollycas blog... subject to be announced!

See you all around... 

Surprise!!

Okay, so this photo may not mean a lot to some, but to me it is the beginning of a new 'chapter' (ahem - pun intended) in my life. I have been a romance novelist for many years, but I am now 'reinvented' and have finally stepped up into the life I always, since I was twelve, wanted. I am - ta-da - a mystery novelist!

These are review copies, or galleys, or ARCs (whatever you want to call them) of the first Vintage Kitchen Mystery, A Deadly Grind, coming to a store - online and in the real world - near you! I was so excited I did a happy dance right there in the kitchen.

BTW, the table the box is on is in the front window, and is actually where the cats sit to look out on their domain. They let me borrow it... LOL. I gave it right back to them.

Anyone want to review a mystery??

Libraries and Authors

Publishing is one of those industries that seems perpetually on the edge of collapse. I have been in the business long enough to hear so many doomsday warnings and threats that whatever new thing coming down the pike is the 'death of the publishing industry'. As long as the industry keeps evolving, I think it will be just fine. People will always read, despite warnings to the contrary.

But one thing I do know, is that readers are not oblivious. Conscientious readers worry that they are contributing to the decline by buying books at used book stores and borrowing them from libraries.

I received a lovely letter from a future reader of my May release, my first mystery novel ever, A Deadly Grind, Book 1 of my Vintage Kitchen Mysteries cozy series.

Maureen said: "I am on the waiting list at my local library for the book and am eagerly awaiting reading it. I apologize for not purchasing it. I live with multiple illnesses which have put me on disability, and money is extremely tight. I am sure at some point I will either buy it, or perhaps ask for it as a Christmas gift! I read voraciously and love to lose myself in a good book. Especially at night, or when the pain or fear are bad, it is nice to live vicariously through the characters and escape for awhile."

 

I was deeply touched. Whenever I have been frightened or lonely, a good mystery has done the same thing for me, and I have spent many hours at a hospital bedside with a riveting mystery.

 

I wrote back to her that she must never apologize to a writer for borrowing their book from the library, or buying it at a used book store. Sure, we, as novelists, need the sales, but it is so much more important that people read the books, enjoy them, and look forward to more. There have been many times in my life when the library has been my solace and saving grace. I've used it voraciously my whole life, and consider libraries one of the most vital signs of a civilized nation. Any country that encourages its citizens to read (openly, and without censor) is, if not already a democracy, well on its way.

 

So if you borrow books from the library, but want to do the author a solid, review the book for a review site, click 'like' on amazon.com and the other sales sites, talk about the book and recommend it.

 

Oh... and hug a librarian. It'll surprise the heck out of her/him!

Cozy Mystery Writer

It's Online!!

I'm so excited to be able to announce that at long last my Victoria Hamilton Mysteries webpage is done and online!


I would love for folks to click through and tell me what you think. Obviously, I love it. I like the lightheartedness of it, and the simplicity, and that Hoppy the Yorkie-Poo and Denver the Crabby Tabby are in residence. I also am excited that folks will get their first - albeit brief - taste of A Deadly Grind, Book One of my Vintage Kitchen Mysteries. Chapter One is online.


Better still, concerning the website, I think my designer has captured the essence of A Deadly Grind, because ultimately, while my book has what I believe is a compelling mystery at the heart of it, it is also about life and love and growing up, while holding on to joy and standing up for what you want in life.

Whoo, that seems like a lot! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that readers like it as much as I loved writing it!


So, check it out, and PLEASE tell me what you think!

Victoria Hamilton Mysteries

2012

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a safe and happy New Year's Eve celebration.

It is only the 2nd of January, but my anticipation is already growing. After many years of writing romances, this is the year my first cozy mystery will be published. In May, I will be proudly flogging A Deadly Grind, Book 1 of my Vintage Kitchen Mysteries. Before Christmas I did the second round of copyedits on it, and in another week or so, I will have the finished cover to show around. I am in the midst of writing Book 3, Picked for Murder or Picked to Death... not sure of the title yet.

I'm so excited!

Building a Mystery Part 1 - Character and the Cozy

Building a Mystery - Part 1

Character and the Cozy

I've been a professional writer for quite a while, though my career as a published mystery author is just beginning. One thing that writing romance novels does for the writer, is it forces them to focus on character, the heart of any romance worth reading.

So I look at my eleven years writing historical romances as training ground for my career as a mystery author. For some readers, character may not seem an important part of a genre that can coast along nicely on a gripping plot, good action, and a believable murder investigation. But I guarantee this: if you think of the writers you like best, you'll find that they created at least one, and probably more, memorable characters.

Think of a protagonist who stumbled into private investigation when her lone wolf nature got her evicted from the police force of a small California town. As books in the series were published, we learned that she became the way she is because of her background, raised by an aunt who was not a nurterer. Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone is one of the iconic characters in mystery fiction, with every book giving us a little more depth, a little more insight into the quirky character.

But as a writer, how do you do that? How do you create a character that folks will not only like, but remember?

I must admit, I've thought about this a lot over the years, and if you're interested, I'll share, starting with...

What's in a Name?

Do... give your character a memorable, but not overcomplicated or difficult to pronounce in your head, name. If your character's name is pronounced 'Peter' don't spell it 'Peetyre' and expect folks to get it. The exception is if you are setting your mystery in a country where spelling of names is formalized and important to get right. If your character is Welsh, then Dafydd for David is correct, but give your reader a shot at pronouncing it right. Give a pronunciation key in some way, and repeat it in every book in which the character appears. Real-life Canadian singer Damhnait Doyle's Irish name is interesting, but I can never remember that her first name is pronounced 'DAV-net'. Maybe I will, now that I've made a point of it in my head. She's a real person, and the name is cool, but I wouldn't go out of my way to give a character such a complex name. Look at Kinsey Millhone... easy to remember, easy to pronounce.

Don't... give your character a stupid name that distracts from the character. This is somewhat a personal prejudice, but hear me out; I have a reason for disliking cutesy names like Kitty Katz, or Lily Gardener. As tempting as it is, if that character is going to stick around beyond one book, it is a turn-off for me, as a reader, if I'm rolling my eyes every time I read the character name. And it's bad for the eyes. I'm not against unusual names; far from it. After all, I named a central character in my Vintage Kitchen Mystery Series 'Valetta Nibley'. But if you feel a compelling urge to name someone Baby Druel, or something equally horrendous, go on... I dare you!

I have lots more to say, but I figure I have time. Tune in next time for more on Character and the Cozy in Building a Mystery - Part 2    

Building a Mystery

I have been thinking a lot, lately, about what goes into a successful mystery series. Some of the questions I've asked myself have to do with character, plots, setting, complications, conflict, etc. As the title of this entry says, ultimately, I've been considering what goes into building a mystery. (That's also the title of a Sarah McLachlan song, FYI!)

So I thought I'd do a 'miniseries' of blog entries on my own particular approach to planning and writing a mystery series. This is as much for my own benefit, as for anyone else's. I think it helps to pause every once and a while to look at how you do things and figure out if the approach is working for you.

I'll say right up front, for real advice on how to write a mystery, go to one of the fabulous books or sites for help. I'll do a little research and come up with a list for you. This is more my own, weird, eclectic, peripatetic, wandering, willful way of going about building a mystery series.

Some topics will be:
1 - Where Do I Begin? How I start when I'm planning a series.
2 - Character. How do I decide who my protagonist will be, as well as peopling the world.
3 - Place. Where to set the series?
4 - Will It Fit? Do all of the aforementioned things work for the kind of mystery I'm planning?

And anything else I think of as I'm going along.

If you have any questions, chime in!!

The Companion Pieces

I've enthused on and on about my perfect teapot, and I'm still getting a kick out of it, and the 'sweater' (cozy) I crocheted for it. But this summer I also was on the hunt for a nice sugar and cream to go with it. I've been using a melamine sugar bowl that just felt too 'summery' and picnicky, if you know what I mean.

I had some guidelines: the sugar was most important, so it had to be perfect. The creamer, not so much, since I rarely use it; unless I have company, I usually use milk out of the fridge for my tea. I don't care for matchy-matchy, so I didn't really care about a set. Vintage was preferable, but I had to love them both. I'm cheap, so I didn't want to pay a lot.

That last bit is why I didn't end up buying the cream and sugar I really love, which is a vintage Pyrex Snowflake set, hard to find, even online, and horribly expensive if it comes complete with the sugar lid. By horribly expensive I mean twenty plus dollars, plus shipping. That's pricey, to my cheap li'l ole heart. 

 Anyway, I found both a cream and sugar at an antique mall, the sugar is vintage (I believe) but the cream isn't... not really. They are not a set, but I think it all looks kinda pretty 'shabby chic-ish' together.

So, the sugar is a vintage piece with no markings... I just love the colors and the shape. It was five dollars, cheap at twice the price! Not! I like it, but I wouldn't have paid more than that fiver.

If you look in the photo, you can see one of my cats peering over the edge of the picnic table at it, wondering why I'm not letting him up on the table! LOL.

The creamer I got was only two dollars, and it is Wedgwood Tigerlily! Amazing... this piece is worth ten times more than I paid, and that's the kind of math I love.

So... do you prefer 'sets'... things that match? Or do you, like me, have kind of oddball tastes and like variety?

   

This last photo is just because she's cute... my friend's cat, and I call the photo 'Reba Wants Cheese' because that's what she's beggin for!!

Happy September, everyone!!

Sum-sum-summertime!

Why does time seem to fly so quickly in the summertime? I can't believe my last post was July Fourth... incredible.

Summer and vacation go together so well, especially for us northerners. Summer is fleeting, and we want to make the best of every moment. Over at Killer Characters, Jaymie Leighton (from my Vintage Kitchen Mystery series) is musing on the perfect summertime destination for someone who lives in a tourist town. So I thought I would offer a poll... I'm curious... what is YOUR ideal summertime vacation spot?

Let me know!!! And if I haven't offered you the right answer, leave me a comment!

Poll results:

Where is your ideal summertime vacation spot?

Happy Fourth!

Enjoy the day, my friends. I will be spending it reflecting on two countries, alike in wealth (relative to the rest of the world) and freedom and both blessed with a strong and diverse populace.

On this Fourth of July weekend, I celebrate the unique bond between the United States of America and Canada, friends with the longest unprotected border in the world.

Today in Queensville, MI, hometown of Vintage Kitchen Mysteries: Jaymie Leighton and her sister Becca are gathering with their friends at Boardwalk Park to watch the annual sail race from Heartbreak Island, in the middle of the St. Clair river, down to Fawn Island and back. They'll talk, picnic, laugh and later watch the fireworks over the river and sing the Star Spangled Banner.

Planning for the Glorious Fourth: http://www.killercharacters.com/2011/06/planning-for-glorious-fourth.html

Writing in a Vacuum

No, not a Hoover.

Speaking of old vacuums, just for a moment. Long ago when I was in my first apartment, I got from somewhere one of those hideous old heavy cannisters, you know the ones. The design was actually beautiful; it had a teal steel body and fabric hose and lots of chrome. Trouble was, it didn't suck. It actually left MORE dirt on the carpet than when I started.

But that's not the kind of vacuum I'm talking about.

I've been super fortunate in signing a three book deal for the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries, and I am now writing book 2, working title Bowled Over. I'll have book 3 done by the end of the year. Now, writing a series, when you are carrying the same main characters all the way through, requires a character arc, some kind of logical progression in the characters' lives. I love that part of the job.

However... it is very much about writing in a vacuum. I have almost zero input from others on how the characters work. All I can do, at this point, is make their lives logical, interesting and move them forward.

So... what is important to you, as a reader, or writer, about the character arc in your favorite mystery series? When there is a love interest, do you want the love to move forward quickly, or do you not want a resolution too quickly? What about love triangles... love them or loathe them?

I'm interested!

Animals in Mysteries: The Poll Results

Well, the poll is over, and it appears you like animals, you really do!

Love 'em, especially when they help solve the crime.	9 (64%)
They're fine, as long as they don't act too human, like helping to solve the crime.	4 (28%)
Animals just get in the way of the plot.	0 (0%)
It's not important to me either way.	1 (7%)

Votes: 14

Thanks all, for taking part in the poll!!

Animals in Mysteries

I've read a lot of mysteries over the years, and among them have been hundreds that feature animals as characters. Dominant among these are cats and dogs, of course, but cats seem to have the edge in cozy mysteries.

I wonder why? Personally, I do love both dogs and cats, but have two cats right now. I'd love to have a dog, too, but they just seem to take more work than cats. Dogs have to be walked; cats, not so much. And maybe that explains one of the reasons cats are so common in mysteries. Cats can be there in the story when you want them, and mysteriously glide away when you don't. I always wonder what happens to the animals while the protagonist is out solving crimes; are they lonely? Does she have a dog walker for the pooch? Maybe that's just me and my hyper-sensitivity to responsibility.

Anyway, when I started to create the Vintage Kitchen Mystery series, I decided that Jaymie would have one of each, Denver the tabby, and Hoppy, the Yorkie mix. I'd love a Yorkie, and maybe someday I will get one.

What made me think of this was Avery Aames blog entry today, over at Killer Characters. It is from the viewpoint of Rags, Charlotte's cat, and I love that! Check it out: http://www.killercharacters.com/2011/06/rags-from-cheese-shop-mystery-series.html

But first... because I'm curious... take my poll, to the right of this blog entry. What do YOU think of animals in mystery novels???

New Post at Killer Characters! Meet Jaymie Leighton.

Today, over at Killer Characters, check out Jaymie Leighton - star of my upcoming Vintage Kitchen Mysteries series with Berkley - as she talks about her obsession with vintage cookbooks, and shows off a cover of one!

http://www.killercharacters.com/2011/05/old-cookbooks-old-recipes.html

Miss Valetta Nibley, Spinster and Town Snoop

Over at Killer Characters today you will meet Valetta Nibley, pharmacist and town snoop with a heart of gold, from the Vintage Kitchen Mystery series.

Valetta is one of those characters that you don't realize, as you're writing away, how much they are sneaking into your heart. I don't think I even noticed at first how she's keeping an eye out on those she cares for. She's a Mama Hen with no chicks, and her 'snoopiness' is really just her way of caring.

Drop in and tell me what you think of small towns!

http://www.killercharacters.com/2011/04/spinsters-small-towns-and-friends.html

Stages and new mystery series...

Book 1 of my shiny new Vintage Kitchen Mystery series, A Deadly Grind, will not be published until May of 2012. For me, ADG is at the stage where I know so much about it (in fact, I'm done the first draft of Book 2 - Bowled Over) that I'm excited for other people to read it, to see if they like it as much as I do! I'm like a parent, I guess... will you all like my special little snowflake? I hope you do.

Writing is all about stages. I'm at a completely different stage with another series that I am planning, a historical mystery series that has me so excited I can't sleep at night. I'm at the very beginning, peering at it through the pearly haze of dawn and hoping it will be all I want it to be. I know some writers don't feel this way, but planning a new series is like... well, it's like seeing a bright, shiny gift under the Christmas tree and wondering what's in it. Do you remember that feeling? Remember dreaming about what's in that gift? Is it all you hoped for, you wonder? Will you unwrap it and gasp in glee? 

As the days go by, I make new discoveries about the series. I haven't rushed it, which is how I approach opening gifts, first untie the ribbon, then remove one maddening piece of tape at a time to preserve the pretty wrapping paper. 

But then, I tend to do the same with a new mystery series that I am thinking of diving into as a reader. I like to look around, find something I'm interested in, tiptoe toward it and look it over. How about you? Do you look for new series, then be sure to get Book 1, so you'll have the story from the beginning? Or do you dive in wherever you find a book that hooks your interest, then go back and get the others if you like it?