From the moment I began writing the Southern Sewing Circle Mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime in 2009, Tori Sinclair, Rose Winters, Margaret Louise Davis, Leona Elkin, and the rest of the gang became my friends. They made me laugh, they made me cry, and they made me feel like I was one of them. When I was between books, they still popped in for a visit once in a while, whispering story ideas in my ear. Sometimes those whispers came in the shower, sometimes the car, sometimes on walks. So it wasn’t necessarily out of the ordinary to hear one of those whispers while eating lunch with my youngest daughter. But this time, instead of Leona elbowing her way to the foreground in the hopes of claiming a book all to herself, this particular whisper involved all of them…in New York City, no less. Suddenly, I could see Margaret Louise white-knuckling it in the back seat of a New York City Cab, Leona flirting with the doorman at her hotel, and Beatrice Tharrington snapping photographs of each and every landmark with her beloved Kenny Rogers bobble head in tow. And as each new image played in front of my eyes,…

They start out as just a name—someone with a particular hair and eye color. Sometimes they have an extensive history and, sometimes, they have little more than a particular job or an odd quirk or two to help define them. But as you begin to write, as you begin to create the world around them, as you begin to make them interact with other names, something magical begins to happen… They become real. Welcome to my favorite part of the writing process. Creating characters in a series is like unwrapping a fairly innocuous gift and finding the most extraordinary present inside. And the best part of all? The present keeps getting better every single time you reach inside the box. When I started writing the Southern Sewing Circle mystery series, I knew my main character—Tori Sincliar—was a librarian. I knew her age, her general appearance, her basic personality. The same was true for the rest of the women in the Sweet Briar Ladies Society Sewing Circle—Leona, Margaret Louise, Dixie, Beatrice, Debbie, Melissa, and Rose. But as I continued to write, each and every one of them came to life to the point where they began to feel like true friends—friends…

When you write fiction as I do, you rely on your imagination to make the story come alive, creating a setting readers can visualize, characters people can root for, and a plot worthy of escape. But when you’re writing a series, you have yet another task—crafting characters that people want to follow from one book to the next. The creation of interesting characters is doubly important in my Southern Sewing Circle Mystery Series because the books, themselves, use relationships as the hook. Sure, these women sew, but it’s the coming together as a group—and the friendships that are formed as a result of a common interest—that’s truly at the heart of these books. Think about it… Friendships tend to form over a common interest—similar aged children, a particular sport or hobby, or even a favorite cause. These interests provide a common ground that often supersedes a host of other differences (age, ethnicity, religion). It’s this common ground (sewing) that I use to bring nine unlikely souls together, thereby giving myself a more colorful palate from which to work. Let’s take a look… Tori Sinclair is the protagonist in my series. She’s in her late twenties, hails most recently from Chicago,…

Sharon’s Cozy Corner All about the cozy mysteries: interviews, reviews, books I guess it’s true what they say about April Showers bringing May Flowers! The roses in my garden are blooming like crazy, with some as big as my hand. My pergola garden calls to me with its comfy swing and sweet smelling blooms – so I heed the call and traipse out there with a cold glass of tea and a cozy mystery tucked under my arm. Nothing finer than springtime! Hope your spring is going well too! And to celebrate the ongoing beautiful weather, here are a few new mysteries to keep the cozy mystery fan occupied for those sweet rare days! Author Elizabeth Lynn Casey continues her stories of the lives and activities of the good folks of Sweet Briar, South Carolina in her second Southern Sewing Circle Mystery, DEATH THREADS. Casey deftly crafts a thrilling mystery along with a charming story of friendship and small town life to create a fun, fast-paced novel that will keep cozy mystery lovers thoroughly entertained. Casey’s characters are unique and endearing – the shy but handsome schoolteacher Milo who is sweet on Tori, the feisty Leona Elkin, Tori’s self appointed…

Southern Sewing #1August 2009On Sale: August 4, 2009Featuring: Tori Sinclair288 pages ISBN: 0425229106EAN: 9780425229101Paperback$6.99 Mystery Amateur Sleuth, Mystery Woman Sleuth Buy at Amazon.com Sew Deadlyby Elizabeth Lynn Casey Ever since she moved to Sweet Briar, South Carolina, Yankee librarian Tori Sinclair has been the talk of the tiny town. But she’s been so busy at work, winning over the sewing circle, and trying to forget her cheating ex that she hasn’t even had time to baste together a pillow, let alone mind local gossip. Then she finds the hometown sweetheart dead at her back door… Everyone believes the police investigator, who’s just fixin’ to link Tori to the murder in a love triangle gone bad. To clear her name, Tori will have to rely on her new sewing sisters and stitch together the truth— or be darned.Previous Picks Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.