Every author has people tied to the roots of their writing career. Melissa Bourbon Ramirez is one of those people for me – and how lucky can one be! Not only was she in my first critique group, she introduced me to Fresh Fiction and the Cozy Corner! She also happens to be an incredible author who has a new release June 1st – every mystery lovers lucky day. So I asked her to join us to give us the latest scoop!   Kym: Hi Melissa, welcome back to the Cozy Corner! Melissa: Thank you! It’s always fun to be back and talking about cozies.   Kym: I’m so excited about your return to Bliss, Texas with your 7th Harlow Cassidy Magical Dressmaking Mystery! Can you tell us a little bit about your June release?  Melissa: I am SO excited to be back in Bliss, too. It’s been a while, and I really love Harlow Cassidy. She’s so fun to write, and I love her community. If you’re new to the series, Harlow is a custom dressmaker who leaves New York to return to Bliss, Texas after her great-grandmother, Loretta Mae, dies. Only Meemaw isn’t actually gone. Her ghostly ways…

It’s such a joy to find an author and follow them through multiple series, especially an author whose writing grabs you and sucks you into the story. For me, Melissa Bourbon’s novels latched onto my hand as I held the book (I may have latched onto Melissa’s at a book signing) and drug me straight into the mystery. Lola was the first of many series to snag my love of a great caper. To this day, I still pull out my Lola Cruz Mysteries to reread! But Lola was just the beginning of my girl crushes. Melissa has written so many great series, and they just keep coming from this talented, bestselling author. I had the pleasure of hearing about the Magical Dressmaking Mysteries before they went into print! Her Bread Shop Mysteries are killer whodunit recipes—the list goes on and I had the pleasure of asking Melissa about her latest release from her fabulous Book Magic Mysteries, Murder and an Irish Curse. Hold on tight, you’re about to get pulled into a great story!   Kym: Welcome back the Cozy Corner, Melissa! Melissa: Thank you! It is always fun to visit Fresh Fiction and the Cozy Corner!   Kym:…

Have you ever planned something so perfectly, only to have it be a complete flop? On the other hand, have you had something randomly brilliant happen that came at the right time because you were in the right place? TheBook Magic Mysteries, for me, is that bit of random brilliance. The beginning of the Book Magic Mysteries started about three years ago with a neighborhood walk. I was with my good friend and fellow mystery writer, Wendy Lyn Watson. On this walk, she had been musing about a book idea featuring a bibliomancer. Being a book lover, I was immediately hooked by the idea. I insisted that she write this book, but adulting got in the way (in the form of other book contracts and Wendy’s day job as a professor). Fast forward to 2020. Wendy and I were talking from afar (I moved to North Carolina, and Wendy is still in North Texas) and the bibliomancy series came up during our conversation. One thing led to another, and pretty soon we were plotting an epic series that spans two coasts, features cousins Cora Lane and Pippin Lane Hawthorne, and centers around the Lane women’s gift (or curse) of bibliomancy….

It’s that time of year when I must pick the best mysteries I’ve had the pleasure of featuring on the Cozy Corner throughout the year. I’m not going to lie, it’s my favorite, and least favorite part of this blog. I obviously can’t choose them all, yet every one was featured because it spoke to me in a special way. This year brought us some wonderful who-dun-it to enjoy; favorite series of the past, along with a bunch of new mysteries full of diversity that kept our days and nights busy with memorable characters. There were also so many novels I couldn’t feature due to scheduling and space constraints—so how did I choose from such a large pool of incredible mysteries which released this year?  With high spirits, and a glass of wine to toast each and every author;) *** Singapore Sapphire was featured on Cozy Corner blog titled New and Tried and True in September, 2019. A.M. Stuart has a winning start to this series! SINGAPORE SAPPHIRE by A.M. Stuart Early twentieth-century Singapore is a place where a person can disappear, and Harriet Gordon hopes to make a new life for herself there, leaving her tragic memories behind her–but murder gets in the…

Fresh Pick for Tuesday, April 22nd, 2014 is A KILLING NOTION by Melissa Bourbon #WhatsNewTuesday Great Read Magical Dressmaking Mysteries #5 NAL April 2014 On Sale: April 1, 2014 320 pages ISBN: 0451417208 EAN: 9780451417206 Kindle: B00F9EZBXS Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List Mystery Cozy Buy A Copy Amazon.com Kindle BN.com Powell’s Books Indiebound A Killing Notion by Melissa Bourbon Harlow Jane Cassidy is swamped with homecoming couture requests. If only she didn’t have to help solve a murder, she might get the gowns off the dress forms…. Harlow Jane Cassidy is swamped with homecoming couture requests. If only she didn’t have to help solve a murder, she might get the gowns off the dress forms…. Harlow is doing everything she can to expand her dressmaking business, Buttons & Bows, without letting clients know about her secret charm. When she has a chance to create homecoming dresses with a local charity and handmade mums for several high school girls–including Gracie, whose father, Will, has mended Harlow’s heart–she is ready to use her magical talents for a great cause. But when Gracie’s date for the dance is accused of murder, Harlow knows things won’t be back on course until she…

You don’t know me (or maybe you do… that would be awesome!), but I’m a mystery writer. I’m the author of the Lola Cruz Mystery Series and A Magical Dressmaking mystery series. A KILLING NOTION, book 5 in the Harlow Cassidy series, released today! When you aren’t a regular on a blog, it can be hard to know what to write, and how to present it to a brand new audience. Should I be funny, like in my books? Serious, because murder is serious business? Or some combination of the two, perhaps? The truth is, I’m no stand up comedian (not by a long shot), but like any fleshed out character, I’m a combination of things. I love a good mystery (cutting my teeth on Nancy Drew, graduating to Agatha Christie, and branching out from there), read the occasional romance (Julia Quinn makes me laugh), but stick mostly with women’s and/or literary fiction (The Help is a favorite). How, then, did I come to write mysteries, and why are some of my mysteries sexy and sassy (Lola Cruz) and some very down home (Harlow Cassidy’s A Magical Dressmaking mystery series)? The short answer is, I like the mystery device. What…