Everyone needs a little charm in their life. Whether it comes from grandma, the old man next door, or a best friend, it will never be turned away. It’s what makes the cozy genre welcome on any reading list. Today’s feature is full of delightful Southern charm wrapped in lovable characters, recipes and a few grisly crime scenes–the perfect go-to ingredients when a reader needs a break from the real world. And don’t worry, Kate Young just keeps on giving after the last page, because then it’ll be time to rush into the kitchen and whip up some of her fabulous goodies!  Kym: Welcome to the Cozy Corner, Kate! Kate: Thanks so much for having me. I’m thrilled to be here.  In May you released your second Marygene Brown Mystery, Southern Sass and a Crispy Corpse, which is set the adorable island community of Peach Cove Georgia. Is there a real Peach Cove that you’ve modeled your island after? Peach Cove is loosely based on and inspired by both Seaside, Florida, and Savannah, Georgia. I took the small community feel of Seaside and combined it with the old southern roots of Savannah.  I love that Marygene’s mother haunts her–don’t all parents leave…

Murder in the Bayou Boneyard, the sixth book in my Agatha Award-winning Cajun Country Mystery series, revolves around Halloween in the fictional village of Pelican, Louisiana. All the books in this series (as well as in my Catering Hall Mysteries, which I write under the pen name, Maria DiRico) include recipes. I wanted this particular book to contain a couple of recipes that were Halloween themed but also had a distinctly Louisiana touch. After a long search and much experimentation, I came up with a recipe for Cajun Pecan Cookie “Fingers.” These cookies are similar in texture to pecan sandies.  They’re tasty and not super sweet. I tinkered with this recipe to prepare it for Fresh Fiction and it’s slightly different from the one in the book. I added two more tablespoons of powdered sugar, but another change was the result of a happy accident. I read the measurement for vanilla as four tablespoons instead of teaspoons. Oops! But you know what? It made the recipe even better. If you want to add a real Cajun kick to these cookies, mix a 1/4 to a 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper into the dry ingredients. That’s the secret ingredient in my…

The detective first took me to her Captain’s office.  A long-time veteran of the force, the man was older than my escort, his once dark hair bleached silver by some combination of years and stress. He considered the detective the way a grandfather might look at a particularly studious kid, his eyes betraying admiration with a touch of amusement. She was a hard-working investigator and she was being interviewed by an author. He’d known her as a beat cop. Detective Shonah Maldonado, for her part, regarded her boss with a mix of respect and gratitude. He’d believed in her when few on the force had thought the junior female officers would rise much further than patrol. Her appreciation, however, was about more than his giving her a shot. The man was smart. He’d correctly identified a need for more female detectives to handle the kinds of crimes that were all too frequently crossing his desk: domestic abuse, sexual assaults, and child endangerment. Some female victims—and perpetrators—only opened up to women. And Maldonado, with her empathetic smile and patient demeanor, was just the kind of cop who could get folks talking. That day, though, I was at the station to get…

Sammy’s heart sank. Could this day get any worse? She’d hoped to spend more time with her old neighbor, but she resigned herself to the fact that the timing apparently wasn’t meant to be. Maybe it never had. Sammy’s mind wandered to Mayor Allen, his wife, Connie, and Carter too. With Carter abroad at school, she hoped his parents’ sharing what she had uncovered about his sister’s death wouldn’t cause him to want to come home. What would that kind of news do to his psyche, especially while he was so far away from Heartsford? She wondered if she had made the right decision to get involved. Did ignorance really mean bliss? She didn’t think so. Knowing Kate’s death wasn’t an accident didn’t make it easier, though. Would bringing the murderer to trial bring Kate back? Certainly not. Or Jane Johnson? They deserved justice though and young Ethan deserved justice for his injuries too. The carnage! She needed a mind break. Sammy decided on a whim to try to return Bradley’s call. The phone went straight to voicemail: “Hey, Bradley, -um, -I mean…Brad. That feels weird on my tongue. Anyway, have a safe trip. Catch you on the flip side!…

In this excerpt from Burning Ridge, Deputy Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner Robo search for the body of an unknown victim. Prior to this excerpt, veterinarian Cole Walker’s Doberman pinscher, Bruno, had found a charred boot containing partial human remains. Mattie has used the boot as a scent article to see if Robo can find the missing corpse while her colleague, Chief Deputy Ken Brody, provides backup… *** Robo entered the forest with her not far behind. She could still see him as he slipped through the sparse pine, but lost sight of him where the evergreens grew dense. When the footing became less soggy, she pushed herself into a sprint. Sunlight dimmed as the forest closed around her. Mattie pressed forward, searching for Robo as her eyes adjusted to less light. She spotted him about thirty yards ahead following a faint trail, his nose in the air. She raced after him, using the firmer footing to catch up. A Steller’s jay, its blue feathers iridescent in the filtered sunlight, flashed ahead and then landed high in a pine to scold her, its chirrup echoing in the stillness. Too still? When they’d reached the meadow, they’d ridden out of…