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It’s time to find out more about one of my fellow cozy mystery authors. Today, I’ve got the lovely K.M. Waller lined up for you. She’s the author of a number of mystery books including The Three Witches of Burberry, which is part of her Lost Souls Paraagency romantic paranormal series, and Mourning Express, which is part of the multi-author Funeral Fakers series.

I love her sense of humor – read her answer to the penguin question and you’ll see what I mean. So grab a beverage, settle down into a comfy spot and have a read below to see what K.M. has to say about writing, cookies, and penguins.

1 – What inspired you to write your books?

Books have always been my happy place, but it never crossed my mind growing up and into all of my twenties to write one. Then, while reading everything written by Janet Evanovich, I came across her book How I Write. That was the first time that I read about an author who’d started writing as a stay-at-home mom at the kitchen table. I’d just stopped working as a real estate paralegal to stay at home with my daughter, so it felt timely to be reading her journey. I started writing after that and over my ten year journey have found my way to writing what I enjoy reading the most – cozy mysteries.

2 – What’s your favorite thing about cozy mysteries?

I love the amateur sleuth who uses his or her ordinary skills to solve a crime. Kooky sidekicks who either help or accidentally hinder the investigation add so much fun to the story too.

3 – Do you have any writing rituals?

I am a morning person, so all the writing gets done in the first part of the day or not at all. I do have to be in the “zone” and I use brain.fm for focus music to help me get there. Oh, and don’t forget that trusty cup of coffee at my side!

4 – What’s more important – character or plot?

Tough question! I can be disappointed in a plot and still continue to read if the characters are fun and entertaining. Character driven stories are my favorite but if an author can twist a mystery plot that gives me a surprise, then that author has a fan for life.

5 – What do you like best about being an author? What do you like the least?

Readers are the best thing about being an author. Especially, when they fall in love with characters I’ve created and take the time to tell me. I love connecting with readers. What I dislike is how fast the publishing industry is changing. Most days it’s hard to keep up with trends in marketing, tropes, cover art, etc.

6 – What’s your favorite cookie? If you don’t like cookies, what’s wrong with you? Oops, sorry, scratch that. My follow-up question was meant to be far more polite – “Why don’t you like cookies?”

I’ve rarely met a cookie I didn’t like. I’m my daughter’s Girl Scout troop cookie mom, so I spend a great deal of February and March eating my favorite GS cookie – Samoas. For a few months our lives revolve around cookies.

7 – A penguin walks through your front door wearing a sombrero. What does he say and why did he come visit you?

The sombrero belonged to his owner who has been accused of murdering one of his restaurant employees. Death by salsa. The penguin needs me and my special skill of being an animal psychic to help find the killer and bring them to justice. His name is Eduardo and I tickle his tummy before joining him on the mystery-solving adventure.

8 – What else would you like us to know about you? 

I’m just as goofy as I look – to the horror of my children who are always embarrassed by me.

About K.M. Waller

K.M. Waller lives in Florida with her husband, two kids, two rescued porch kittens, and a popcorn-loving hermit crab. When she’s not reading, writing, or chasing her kids around the house, she’s binging television dramas and mysteries.

Connect with her at her Website | BookBub | Instagram | Facebook

Grab your copy of K.M.’s books – they’re also free in Kindle Unlimited:

The Three Witches of Burberry

Mourning Express

Editor’s Note: Thanks so much for the interview, K.M.! Is there anyone who doesn’t love Girl Scout cookies? My favorite are the Thin Mints. 🙂

I have another fun cozy mystery author interview for you today, this time with Larissa Reinhart. You’re going to love her answers to my questions, especially the one to the cookie question. You’ll definitely be craving a sweet treat after reading that one.

So settle in a comfy chair with the beverage of your choice, maybe even a cookie or two, and find out what Larissa has to say about writing, penguins, and cookies.

1 – What inspired you to write your books?

My first series, A Cherry Tucker Mystery, began when I was living in Japan. I’d been working on another manuscript, but this redneck artist from Georgia kept speaking to me as I drove my kids to school. Then her crazy family began speaking to me. I had to write her story down just to get her out of my head so I could concentrate on the other manuscript. And that became Portrait of a Dead Guy. She never did stop speaking, so my idea of quieting her didn’t work.

The Maizie Albright Star Detective series began because I had an agent who wanted something like Cherry Tucker “but different.” The movie industry had moved into our area. Pinewood Studios had bought land a few miles from my house (that’s where the Avenger movies are made) and The Walking Dead and other TV shows were being filmed a few miles in the other direction. That inspired me to create a new character and place her in Georgia, with a “fish out of water” theme — a celebrity who’s basically kicked out of Hollywood and returns home to start a new career as a private investigator, the role that made her famous. Six books in and movies are still being made here. Maizie Albright is learning how to become a detective and also how to live a normal life.

The Finley Goodhart Crime Capers is my newest series. I always loved con artist stories, so I thought it’d be fun to create a con artist amateur sleuth character and also put her in Georgia.

2 – What’s your favorite thing about cozy mysteries?

I love the puzzle. I was always an Agatha Christie fan. But it’s really about the characters to me. I’ll read a long series because of the characters. Particularly if they’re funny and quirky with a romantic interest.

3 – Do you have any writing rituals?

As a mom, I have to keep changing my writing rituals. There’s an office but now it also has a treadmill and weights in it. This winter I find myself sitting at the kitchen table and writing so I can keep a better ear on the washing machine (I kept forgetting about the laundry). Now I’m working and homeschooling due to the Corona Virus, so I’m still at the kitchen table. When I started writing and my girls were little, they used to go to bed and I could write. They don’t go to bed before me anymore. 😉

4 – What’s more important – character or plot?

A bad plot can ruin a book, but if the characters aren’t interesting or likable or compelling, I don’t think you could get through the book and learn if the plot works or not. At least, that’s my opinion!

5 – What do you like best about being an author? What do you like the least?

I think most writers love coming up with ideas for stories and characters. That’s exciting and fun. I have so many ideas for future stories that I don’t even know if I could write them all. Interacting with readers is also an awesome part of writing. When I began writing, I never realized how many new friends I’d make, particularly through social media.

The hardest part is forcing myself to sit and write when nothing seems to be working. My brain literally hurts. It’s frustrating. Every time I write, I get to a point where I wonder if I can really finish the book. It puts me in a horrible mood. I don’t it when the “writing world” bleeds into my “mom world” because I can’t get the problem out of my head.

6 – What’s your favorite cookie? If you don’t like cookies, what’s wrong with you? Oops, sorry, scratch that. My follow-up question was meant to be far more polite – “Why don’t you like cookies?”

In that case, I’m 100% normal. I love cookies! Recently, I’ve developed an addiction to the Girl Scout shortbread cookies, Trefoils. I also love Oreos, Nutter Butters, and anything made by Pepperidge Farm. For homemade cookies, you can’t beat a chocolate chip. This is such a hard question…

Actually maybe my favorite are some of the Christmas cookies I make. Either sour cream cookies or almond. Or the sugar with the frosting. Or my daughter makes these delicious orange and lemon cookies.

I don’t think I have a favorite cookie.

7 – A penguin walks through your front door wearing a sombrero. What does he say and why did he come visit you?

It’s Taco Tuesday, obviously. He’s made frozen margaritas.

8 – What else would you like us to know about you?

I made the first Maizie Albright Star Detective book free to encourage everyone to #StayHomeAndRead. 15 MINUTES is available in most stores for free right now: https://books2read.com/b/m2Xqor

18 CALIBER, Maizie Albright Star Detective #6, launches April 14th. Maizie’s mixing with international stars, spies, and her mother’s dark past in her sixth case in The Wall Street Journal bestselling series.

You can learn more at my website www.larissareinhart.com, where you can also sign up for my VIP Readers’ Email group and get a free short story! Thank you!

Thanks so much for having me on, Ellen! This was fun. Should I send the penguin over to your house? With my daughters at home, we’re making cookies. 🙂

Editor’s Note: Thanks so much for the interview, Larissa! Loved the reference to Nutter Butters – took me right back to my childhood. 🙂 So great that you’re making cookies with your daughters at home. I suspect there is a lot of cookie baking and eating going on in many homes these days.

With all the craziness going on in the world these days, I have a fun distraction for you—an interview with cozy mystery author, Carolyn Ridder Aspenson! Grab a beverage and a snack, find a comfy chair, and scroll on down to find out what Carolyn has to say about writing, penguins, and cookies.

Interview with Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

1 – What inspired you to write your books?

I’ve always wanted to write a book…a book! I never thought I’d write more than one. I played around with it for a long time, but I never finished anything, and I never really tried to learn anything about the process. Until my mom died. When I lost her, I wanted to find a way to keep her alive in something more than a memory. I wanted to share her with other people. My mom was a great woman, and everyone loved her. So, I wrote a book called Unfinished Business about a stay at home wife and mother of two whose mother dies and comes back as a ghost. When she does, she opens a portal for the main character, and she’s suddenly thrown into this new world where the dead and the living live as one. It’s not a cozy mystery, but I’ve found people enjoy it, and it’s done well. It reached the top 100 on Amazon, which was a pretty big deal, and was published through one of their imprints before I decided to self publish it and the rest of the series.

2 – What’s your favorite thing about cozy mysteries?

I like that they’re not gory, and that terrible things don’t usually happen on the page. Real life is filled with enough of that, and I have other books in that style, but a cozy is just good clean fun.

3 – Do you have any writing rituals?

I typically write in the morning. I’m a morning person, and that’s when I’m most productive. Other than that, I listen to instrumental music, but that’s about it!

4 – What’s more important – character or plot?

Character for me is first, and plot is second. I don’t mean individual characters, but the relationships between the characters. Relationships drive people, they motivate them to make the decisions they make, and without them, even the best plot has holes.

5 – What do you like best about being an author? What do you like the least?

I like that my typing speed is almost two hundred words per minute. Okay, that’s not what I like best. It’s true, which fascinates me, but it’s not the best thing. The best thing is that there are people out there that actually read what I write, and they enjoy it. Unfinished Business still gets me emails from people who say it’s helped them feel better about losing someone, made them laugh and cry, helped them heal. That’s amazing. The book was my way of healing, of working through my grief, but I never expected it to help others, and I’m so glad it did.

What I like least is, hands down, the marketing. It takes a lot of time, effort, and money. Books don’t sell like they used to. The digital platform has changed that entirely, and most authors don’t make enough to support themselves.

6 – What’s your favorite cookie? If you don’t like cookies, what’s wrong with you? Oops, sorry, scratch that. My follow-up question was meant to be far more polite – “Why don’t you like cookies?”

Gee, thanks. It’s Lent, and you’re asking me about cookies when I just gave up sugar! I am not partial to any particular cookie, except Thin Mints and homemade chocolate with white chocolate chips. And Oreos. See? Not partial.

7 – A penguin walks through your front door wearing a sombrero. What does he say and why did he come visit you?

He says, “As you wished, Rob Lowe is here for the weekend.” The penguin is my genie from a bottle, and Rob Lowe’s my wish. That’s not too much to ask, is it?

8 – What else would you like us to know about you?

I have a newsletter I send out twice a month, sometimes more if I’ve got something to say. I don’t push my books, but I do talk about my life. I’d love for everyone to check it out. Sign up is at carolynridderaspenson.com

I have several different cozy series. The Lily Sprayberry Realtor Cozy Mystery Series, The Chantilly Adair Psychic Medium Cozy Mystery Series (but I think my publisher is changing the series title), The Pooch Party Cozy Mystery Series, and The Holiday Hills Witch Cozy Mystery Series. I’ve got books in each coming out this year, and I’m always looking for ARC readers!

Thank you so much for having me!

About Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

Carolyn Ridder Aspenson writes sassy, southern cozy mysteries and featuring imperfect women with a flair for telling it like it is. Her stories focus on relationships whether they’re between friends, family members, couples, townspeople or strangers because ultimately, it’s relationships that make a story. Now an empty-nester, she lives in the Atlanta suburbs with her husband, two Pit Bull-Boxer mix dogs and two cantankerous cats, but you’ll often find her at a local coffee shop people watching (and listening), or as she likes to call it, plotting her next novel.

Find Carolyn on Facebook at Carolyn Ridder Aspenson Books Find Carolyn on BookBub at Carolyn Ridder Aspenson Visit Carolyn’s website and sign up for her newsletter at carolynridderaspenson.com

Connect with Carolyn on Facebook | Instagram | Website | Amazon | Bookbub

Editor’s Note: Thanks so much for the interview, Carolyn! And I’m so sorry for asking about cookies during Lent when you’ve given up sugar. I admire anyone who can give up sugar. I think I would last less than twenty-four hours if I tried it. LOL!

I have another fun cozy mystery author interview for you today, this time with the lovely Jenna St. James. Grab a beverage, find a comfy chair, and have read below to see what Jenna has to say about writing, penguins, and cookies.

Interview with Jenna St. James

1 – What inspired you to write your books?

When I first started journaling and writing, there was a lot of chaos in my life, and I needed a way to express myself without getting thrown in jail (lol)…so I started therapy writing. From there, my first novel Picture Perfect Murder was written. I found it was easier to get my emotions down on paper than to verbally express them. Eventually I learned to curb the chaos and started writing cozies for the pure pleasure.

2 – What’s your favorite thing about cozy mysteries?

You get to use your brain to try and solve a puzzle…and you almost always have an awesome sidekick!

3 – Do you have any writing rituals?

I typically start my day at 2am, but I won’t let myself have coffee until around 5am.

4 – What’s more important – character or plot?

Both! It’s like bread & butter or peanut butter & jelly. Although I will say sometimes I think I lean heavier on one more than the other depending on the book. I can usually pick up one of my books and tell you which one I went heavier on—plot or character.

5 – What do you like best about being an author? What do you like the least?

What I like best about being an author is that I get to stay in the comfort of my home and tell people stories I hope they enjoy. My LEAST favorite part of being an author is marketing. As an Indie author, it’s like you have to have a doctorate in eight different fields. Marketing is not my forte, and I feel like sometimes I do myself a disservice. Because I’m constantly trying to read up on and implement ideas, I get behind on my writing.

6 – What’s your favorite cookie? If you don’t like cookies, what’s wrong with you? Oops, sorry, scratch that. My follow-up question was meant to be far more polite – “Why don’t you like cookies?”

LOL. I love cookies, cakes, pies, pretty much sprinkle sugar (fairy dust) on it, and I want to consume it! I love coconut, so cookies with coconut, chocolate, maybe pecans and a shot (or two) of bourbon or rum for flavor!! YUM!

7 – A penguin walks through your front door wearing a sombrero. What does he say and why did he come visit you?

His name is Pierre Penguin, and my favorite character, Tante Lulu from Louisiana, sent him to me. Pierre hands me a necklace of St. Jude. “Put it on. Tante Lulu says you’re the next hopeless cause she’s willing to help. Laissez le bon temps rouler!” Of course I readily agree! It’s not every day one of your favorite authors, Sandra Hill, decides to give you your own Cajun from her Cajun books series. LOL…I’m sure my James will understand.

8 – What else would you like us to know about you?

I try not to take things too seriously. Like many people, my life has a tendency to be chaotic, and that stresses me out. So I try and tell myself to sit back and laugh through a lot of it. Also, I hope to be able to travel more so I can expand my writing settings within the next five years. Take my readers on different adventures in different parts of the world. And mostly, I’m thankful every day that I get to do this job.

Jenna St. James’ Books

Check out Jenna’s cozy mystery series—the Ryli Sinclair Mysteries, the Sullivan Sisters Mysteries, the Copper Cove Mysteries, and the Witch in Time Mysteries—and her Trinity Falls romantic comedy series.

About Jenna St. James

Jenna writes in the genres of cozy/paranormal cozy/ romantic comedy. Her humorous characters and stories revolve around over-the-top family members, creative murders, and there’s always a positive element of the military in her stories. Jenna currently lives in Missouri with her fiancé, step-daughter, Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever dog, Brownie, and her tuxedo-cat, Whiskey. She is a former court reporter turned educator turned full-time writer. She has a Master’s degree in Special Education, and an Education Specialist degree in Curriculum and Instruction. She also spent twelve years in full-time ministry.

When she’s not writing, Jenna likes to attend beer and wine tastings, go antiquing, visit craft festivals, and spend time with her family and friends. Check out her website at http://www.jennastjames.com/. Don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter so you can keep up with the latest releases! You can also friend request her on Facebook at jennastjamesauthor/ or catch her on Instagram at authorjennastjames.

Editor’s Note: Thanks so much for the interview, Jenna! I love that your penguin is named Pierre and hails from Louisiana!

Today, I’m featuring an interview with Daphne McLean, the author of the Jennifer Temple cozy mystery series. After reading her Amazon bio, I can tell that she’s someone I would like to hang out with. After all, she lists French fries, chocolate, and snarky coffee mugs as some of her likes. Right up my alley!

Grab a snarky coffee mug of your own, fill it up with your favorite beverage, and sit back and read what Daphne has to say about writing, penguins, and cookies.

1 – What inspired you to write your books?

I began by writing children’s picture books. I have two little ones at home, and I read to them often. I published the book on my own, and it ignited a passion for writing and publishing that I didn’t even know I had! The premise of my story, Red Picket Fences, was thought of during one of the many late night feedings that I had with my first son. The story just marinated in my mind for a few years. I finally was able to organize my thoughts and get the story out last summer, Which is 5 years after the story seedling was planted.

2 – What’s your favorite thing about cozy mysteries?

I’m really into true crime. However, those stories can be very heavy at times. Cozy mysteries provide me with what I like to call “murder lite” I get my fill of intrigue and crime without all of the heavy emotions. I also love that many of them are set in small tight-knit communities. I live in a lovely little community that I’m grateful for, and so I love seeing that played out in the stories I read as well.

3 – Do you have any writing rituals?

I do! I always need a candle burning and a drink of some sort. Right now, it’s iced tea. I also like to create a visual board to plot.

4 – What’s more important – character or plot?

Character. You can have a plot that’s well paced, well thought out, and with no loopholes and that won’t matter if the readers cannot connect with the main character.  I’ve had people tell me they couldn’t continue with a book before because they found the MC very unlikeable. Sneak in a couple of quirky but lovable supporting cast members and they might even forgive a plot hole or two.

5 – What do you like best about being an author? What do you like the least?

As a stay-at-home mom of two little ones, the little time I get to myself every now and then is very important to me. I value it, and use it wisely. I’ve had a few readers who are also mothers say that I’ve given them time to relax and escape or they used their precious time alone to read my book, it sends me over the moon.

I’ll be honest, what I like least about being a writer is marketing my book. However, it’s a necessary evil. If I could just write and write and hand things off to be polished, published and pushed into the hands of readers, I would be a happy woman.

6 – What’s your favorite cookie? If you don’t like cookies, what’s wrong with you? Oops, sorry, scratch that. My follow-up question was meant to be far more polite – “Why don’t you like cookies?” 

Hands down a plain soft chocolate chip cookie. I’m typing in a coffee shop near cookies, and now I must buy one.

7 – A penguin walks through your front door wearing a sombrero. What does he say and why did he come visit you?  

He followed me all the way home from the party last night to give me my sombrero back.

8 – What else would you like us to know about you?

I’m just a typical mom, who is turning her passion for writing into a career. Much like my MC, Jennifer Temple, I also keep chickens. Aside from that and our love of true crime, that’s where our similarities end. I love to cook, and would never stake out a rumored mobster!

Get Daphne’s Books

Pick up a copy of Red Picket Fences – the first book in the Jennifer Temple cozy mystery series – on Amazon.

Connect with Daphne

You can connect with Daphne at Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Website

Thanks so much for being on the blog, Daphne! I love the fact that you keep chickens – very cool. You also have excellent taste in cookies. I’ve never met a soft chocolate chip cookie that I didn’t like.