Whoever said these were our golden years, was either living on martinis on the beach or hadn’t reached the gilded age when every bone and joint in their body screamed for attention. I’ve ignored the screaming for a few years, but the noise is now coming from a woman in a white lab coat with the initials DR imprinted in front of her name. The fun of my youth (and beyond) has a price to pay, and it’s time to pay. So I’ll be taking a few months sabbatical from blogging, podcasting and writing and working on physical fitness. Unfortunately, surfing is on doc’s ‘no-no’ list for the next year—grrr. The best part of that news, however, is that I have lined up some amazing guest bloggers from July to October! As soon as I put the news out, authors came through for me in overwhelming numbers. That’s how awesome the community is;) Here is your line-up for the Cozy Corner for the rest of the summer—until we meet again in October, get cozy and read on! Rebecca Adler Karen Rose Smith Rhys Bowen Krista Davis Olivia Matthews Tina Kashian Sofie Kelly Libby Klein Jenn McKinlay Winnie Archer Lena Gregory…

How old were you when you started writing? I was 38 when I started my first book. I had no intention of being an author when I started; I simply wanted to see if I could finish a book. I found a community of like-minded people and learned a ton about the creative process and the business side of writing. Once I finished that first book, I wondered if it was publish-worthy. It wasn’t. So I wrote another and another. My third book—after being rewritten a half-dozen times—finally sold. I didn’t enjoy writing in high school and college. My teachers had a way of destroying the pleasure of putting words on paper. I wrote to please them, not myself. What’s the most difficult part of being a full-time writer? What’s the most rewarding? Self-discipline. I write a novel every six months. I plan out my weeks of research, writing, and editing. I must stick to my schedule, or else I find myself in a stressful rush for the last month or two. The current book is always hanging over my head—it’s a cloud that never leaves. When I turn the book in, it’s immediately replaced by the next book. I…

The last homework assignment has been completed. The last drive line has been driven. And the last school bell has rung…until August. Mom’s across America are breathing a sigh of relief— until next week when they have to scramble to entertain the bored kids. I have a few mysteries for you to enjoy during the short window of unabashed joy your kids are experiencing from the freedom of school responsibilities. For those teachers out there, enjoy the silence—you deserve it! ROCKETS’ DEAD GLARE by Lynn Cahoon Tourist Trap Mystery As sunny South Cove, California, gears up for their annual Fourth of July celebrations, a local murder threatens to kill the fireworks . . . South Cove’s local businesses are up in arms after volunteer fire chief Barry Gleason threatens to shut down anyone who doesn’t comply with the fire code. But when Barry schedules a training burn in an old abandoned barn, he is the only one who doesn’t come out alive. Jill Gardner—owner of Coffee, Books, and More—smells murder in the ashes. She’ll have to work quickly to nab a killer with a short fuse—or else everyone’s holiday will end with a fizzle . . . Mystery Woman Sleuth…

Today, I’m sitting down with the heroine of The Profiler series, Evelyn Baine, to find out more about how she balances her job with the FBI and the rest of her life: So, Evelyn, what exactly do you do for the FBI? “I’m a criminal investigative analyst – what you might call a profiler – for the Behavioral Analysis Unit. If you’ve got a crime where everything you’ve tried has failed to find you the perpetrator, you call my unit. We don’t need forensics or obvious suspects. What we do is look at the crime scene and read the psychology behind it. What caused the perpetrator to do this? What kind of person is he? How do you find him?” That sounds really complicated. How did you get into this line of work? “Sometimes it is complicated. I don’t really like to talk about my personal life, but I learned about profilers when I was twelve years old. My best friend disappeared and an FBI profiler came to town to find her. He never did, so it became my life’s mission to join the FBI, learn how to profile cases myself and one day figure out what happened to her.”…

by Sharon Pape and Kym Roberts It always amazes me when I approached an author I don’t know with a hairbrained idea, and she actually says, “Yes!” Yet the writing community is that way: adventure seekers to the core. My guest today is one of those brave souls who didn’t hesitate to jump on board this crazy ride between her fictional characters and mine. Sharon Pape, author of the fabulous Abracadabra Mystery series, has co-written today’s blog with me. It started out as an interview between characters, but ended up as a short story we hope you’ll enjoy. Without further ado, here’s Magick in the Barn! I looked around and my knees nearly buckled. I closed my eyes, said a silent prayer to anyone listening. “Please, let this be a dream.” I slowly peaked out my left eye. No one in the heavens heard a thing I said. We were standing in the middle of what appeared to be a magick shoppe from 17th century England. There were beakers and bottles and antique fixtures my daddy would absolutely love. Princess nudged my leg and the breath I’d been holding so tight in my chest escaped through my lips. I sounded…

Fresh Fiction’s Miranda Owen recently sat down with Historical Romance superstar, Stephanie Laurens, to discuss the first book in her Cavanaugh series. They talk finding the right balance of mystery, romance, and action; creating a great heroine; and what she’s planning for the series in the future. Miranda Owen: Even though the reader is made aware of all the shadowy players in THE DESIGNS OF LORD RANDOLPH CAVANAUGH (Review), there is a little mystery for the good guys. Do you find it difficult balancing the mystery, action, and romance in your stories? Stephanie Laurens: Yes and no. It’s certainly something I consciously bear in mind because I actively write mystery-romance (the Casebook of Barnaby Adair series) as well as romance with a touch of adventure/mystery, such as this release. I decide early on what the balance ought to be, and it can vary from about 80% romance/20% adventure-mystery to 20% romance/80% mystery and through all points in between. You could say that striking the right balance takes conscious effort. Miranda Owen: Let’s talk heroines. In online romance book discussion groups, you always get asked to name some of your favorite heroes and heroines. For me, about a billion heroes come…

Everyone is more than ready for the trees to bloom and the flowers to sprout. The temperatures are finally rising and hopefully *fingers crossed* we’ve all experience the last snowfall of winter! Sitting in the sun soaking up some vitamin D is finally a possibility, and what better way to celebrate the return of nice weather than to do it with a blanket in the park and a book in your hands? Here are four new mysteries for you to enjoy this spring season. And as a tease for next week, one of these authors will be joining me for a short story right here on the Cozy Corner! It’s your turn to dig into the clues, and figure out the mystery! But, you’ll only be able to do that, by going to each author’s social media sites! QUEEN ANNE’S LACE by Susan Wittig Albert China Bayles #26 A present day ghost leads China Bayles to a secret from Pecan Springs’s past in this haunting mystery from New York Times bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert. While helping Ruby Wilcox clean up the loft above their shops, China comes upon a box of antique handcrafted lace and old photographs. Following the…

Greetings, John. You are a homicide detective. Can you tell us a little about your job and what brought you into law enforcement? I didn’t intend to go into law enforcement. I was majoring in political science and began picking up criminal justice courses. After I passed the bar, I told my parents I wasn’t ready for a desk job. I figure there was plenty of time to be a cop and, later, a lawyer like my father. It didn’t make them happy but they knew I’d get this “cop thing” out of my system. Now it’s been seventeen years—ten on the homicide team–and I’m the guy they call in Richmond when the crime is gruesome. You have faced some very dangerous situations as a cop. What was your most harrowing case? We heard that your partner was hurt? How has this changed you? The explosion and fire were the single worst event of my life. My partner and I were on the trail of a serial arsonist. When we entered his residence we realized it was a trap. My partner was badly injured. To this day I lie awake hearing his screams. I can’t say that incident has made…

My name is Daralyse Lyons and I am the author of 20 novels and, today, I’ve decided to sit down with one of my characters, Laura Cutty, for a chat about life, love and how to keep the romance alive. Before we launch in, what you should know about Laura is that she’s married to a murderer. That’s right. Laura knew when she married him that Thomas Cutty was a killer. She accepts that about him, just as he accepts everything distasteful about her – like the way she cracks her knuckles when nervous or uses the last of the toilet paper without replacing the roll. Twelve years of marriage and two beautiful babies later, and Laura and Thomas have learned to love the life they built together – a life that depends on Laura never asking the question: Who did Thomas kill last night? So here I am, sitting across from Laura, each with our cups of hot cinnamon spice tea, and we’re talking about romance because I am regrettably single and she is blissfully attached and I figure I have a lot to learn from her. Me: Hi Laura. Thanks for sitting down with me today. Laura: No…

It’s springtime! Although many of us are not feeling the effects yet, we can benefit from all of the hard work mystery authors did while hibernating with their computers over the winter. This week I have four great cozies for you to check out. Magic by the sea with cupcakes at a festival—it doesn’t get any better than that! A MAGICAL MATCH by Juliet Blackwell Witchcraft Mystery #9 Witch and vintage store owner Lily Ivory faces her most difficult mystery to date with a case of mistaken identity that hits close to home… Lily Ivory and her friends are planning a 1950s-themed brunch to benefit the local women’s shelter. When a figure from her past shows up unannounced, threatening her unless she returns something that belonged to him, Lily’s fiancé, Sailor, steps in to defend her. After the same man is found dead later that day, Sailor is the primary suspect. He swears he’s innocent, but multiple witnesses ID him as the perpetrator of the assault. Lily vows to clear his name…only she’s not sure where to start with the mounting evidence against him. When she sees Sailor in the neighborhood despite knowing he’s in jail, Lily starts to wonder…