I like starting off a new book with a title in mind. Sometimes the title is completely changed by the time the powers-that-be get ahold of the manuscript, but I still like to write with a working title.


I like starting off a new book with a title in mind. Sometimes the title is completely changed by the time the powers-that-be get ahold of the manuscript, but I still like to write with a working title.


by Lucy ArlingtonIn the winter months I crave comfort food. You know the warm, stick-to-your-ribs stuff your mom made—oatmeal, macaroni and cheese, fresh bread. When I lived in Ontario, Canada with its ice and snow, those cravings made sense. Who doesn’t love to burrow on the couch under a blanket, with a good book and a warm oatmeal cookie, while the wind howls outside?
But currently I’m living in Bermuda, and although the winter temps can go as low as the high 50s, the weather hardly calls for snuggling inside to stay warm. So why am I still craving those chicken and dumplings?
Today, I’m sharing a recipe that, in my opinion, falls into the comfort food category, but is lighter and healthier. A friend of mine gave me this recipe, and it fits the bill on so many levels—it’s pasta, it’s easy, and it’s delicious. Make it for dinner sometime this week and see if you agree.
Do you crave comfort foods in the winter? What is your favourite comfort food?
(By the way, less than a week to the release of BURIED IN A BOOK! I can’t wait.)
MUSHROOM PASTA

1 ½ cups bow tie pasta (farfale)
½ lb. mushrooms
½ onion, chopped
1 Tbsp butter
1 4.4 oz package of garlic-herb cream cheese (Boursin is the best)
¼ cup chicken broth
pepper, to taste
1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. While it’s cooking: In a large skillet, sauté mushrooms, onions, and pepper in the butter until tender.
3. Add cheese and broth and stir until blended.
4. Drain pasta, add to skillet, and toss to coat.
5. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

ee in her hand. Race organizers had made sure there were coffee stands at various points throughout the race. (This photo, of course, shows a man breaking through the winner's tape). :)
“Okay. They are fast tracking the first series. The first book is due in eight weeks.”
While staring at that fear-inducing number on the scale, I realized I hadn’t read a book for fun in four months. Forget the weight gain; the loss of reading time had to change. Is life worth living without reading? I don’t think so. But how was I going to find the time to exercise and read with five more back to back deadlines looming over me?
I suppose the question is would I have signed both contracts had I known how hard it was going to be. The answer: absolutely yes in a heartbeat. I think all the Cozy Chicks will agree that we have the very best jobs as cozy mystery authors. Being able to do what I love is worth every extra pound on the scale.
By Guest Blogger Miranda James (aka Dean James)“What do you mean, you’re writing a cozy series with a guy as the main character? Don’t you know that a cozy series has a female amateur sleuth as the protagonist?”
Well, yeah, most cozy series these days do feature female leads, but that’s no reason to discriminate against a guy who isn’t a hard-boiled private eye. I don’t walk the mean streets, and I don’t see any reason why my hero, just because of the chromosomal difference, has to walk them either.
There have been other cozy male characters in mysteries. Anybody remember Lord Peter Wimsy? And he of the “little grey cells,” M. Hercule Poirot? For all that he was a professional detective, one can’t get much cozier than the Grande Dame, Agatha Christie herself. There’s also Margery Allingham’s Albert Campion(my personal favorite) and Ngaio Marsh’s Roderick Alleyn (who, even though a Scotland Yard ‘tec, is pretty dang cozy, too).
So I didn’t see any reason why the main character in my “Cat in the Stacks” series shouldn’t be a guy. After all, the cat in the series, a Maine Coon named Diesel, is also male. Plus, after having written a couple of series (as Jimmie Ruth Evans and Honor Hartman) from the female point of view, I wanted a change. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the female characters in those other series, but I thought it would be an interesting challenge, to write a male amateur detective in a genre that’s currently dominated by “cozy chicks.”

Reader response so far has been gratifying, although I must admit that the character that everyone likes best is Diesel, but Charlie gets a lot of favorable comments for being a nice, caring, family-oriented guy. One of the reasons I write cozy mysteries is that I like writing about decent people who sometimes find themselves mixed up in murder and mayhem. People who aren’t paid to deal with crime, like professional crime solvers. I’ve loved amateur detectives ever since I first discovered Nancy Drew longer ago than I care to admit these days.
Why shouldn’t an ordinary guy have fun solving crimes? And if his cat is along for the adventure, so much the better.
By Guest Blogger Lucy Arlington
The moment you step off the train you’ll inhale a breath of pure air scented with a hint of jasmine from the trellis at The Secret Garden, the plant and flower store. As we get closer to my office, we’ll pass by Six Pence Bakery and the heavenly aromas of baking bread and chocolate croissants fresh from the oven will have you drooling, but I promise to buy you a treat at EspressoYourself, the coffee shop located right below A Novel Idea.Here’s the quaint brick building where I work. I have a view of the park and the Nine Muses Fountain. And did you notice that the streets are all made of cobblestone and are lined with urns bursting with marigolds and snapdragons? This is the prettiest downtown I’ve ever seen.
Come on into the coffee shop and meet Makayla, the beautiful barista. Not only does she make the world’s best caramel latte, but she also keeps a little lending library in the café and she and I talk about books every day. And take a look at all the walls! Local artists created all of these gorgeous watercolors and oil paintings. Inspiration Valley is loaded with writers, potters, photographers, weavers, musicians, foodies, and book lovers.
After I show you around the literary agency and try to not to feel too guilty about the stack of query letters and proposals pilling up on my desk, we can have lunch at Catcher in the Rye, which is an amazing sandwich shop, or head over to the hot food bar at our local grocery store, How Green Was My Valley. For dinner, I recommend trying out Voltaire’s. I’ve been dreaming of sharing a candlelight dinner there with Officer Sean Griffiths, the dashing policeman I met when an aspiring writer died at A Novel Idea. 
Yes, there’s been a murder in this Southern paradise! But don’t let that keep you from visiting. My mother’s a psychic and she’s predicted that with the help of Makayla, Sean, and the other literary agents, I’ll find out who decided to silence an innocent author forever.
Would you like to spend some time in Inspiration Valley?
by Maggie Sefton

oming. I always get depressed after I have a course of prednisone and boy did it hit me Saturday. But I have found a new side effect: stupidity. Since I was crying for no reason and feeling very sorry for myself, I decided to make a batch of cookies. The smell coming from the oven always seems to cheer me up. So, what did I do? I grabbed the hot cookie sheet without a pot holder!! Okay, add burned and blistered fingers to the list of maladies. The joy of cooking became the agony of baking. Add to that, more crying over nothing. At least I tried to cheer myself up!
Welcome to Kaye Barley - bibliophile, animal lover, and blog hostess to many a mystery writer. You can read more about her (and her dog Harley) at Meanderings and Musings. Today, she'll tell us how she met Harley, her beloved Corgi. The Chicks will send a donation to the ASPCA in Harley's name. Post a comment and we'll add your pet's name to our donation!
appealing aspects of this series is the bond between Olivia Limoges and her companion, Captain Haviland, a standard poodle of above-average intelligence. This relationship is so realistically written, and so poignant without being forced or over-done that it always manages to touch my soul.
Animals play such a huge role in most of our lives that we decided to highlight a special pet once a month (or every other month, depending on our schedule).
Ellery AdamsWith my sixteenth published mystery novel, Buried in a Book (written under the penname Lucy Arlington) coming out this February, I’ve killed lots and lots of people in print. They’ve been strangled, poisoned, electrocuted, stabbed, hung, drugged, pushed down stairs, drowned, etc.
What I’ve avoided thus far is death by gunshot. Why? Because I don’t know much about guns. True, I don’t know what it’s like to be choked to death either, but I can find an answer to most medical questions at our local hospital (my husband works there and most of the doctors are used to seeing me, notebook in hand, grilling a pathologist or cardiologist in order to get my facts straight).
Guns are trickier. They have calibers and specific ranges and particular bullets and grips and firing patterns. And I have no idea what they really feel like to hold or sound like when they’re being fired. Knowing Hollywood action films and TV cop shows, what I’ve seen on the big screen isn’t very accurate. One can research guns like any other subject, but I like to do firsthand research, so I called the closest shooting range and made an appointment for a private lesson. (Not for the Bullets and Beer event, however!)
My first impression was of the noise. Guns are loud, folks. The gunshots you hear on TV are muted. And a big gun, like a rifle, machine gun, or shotgun, is really loud. Even wearing headphones, I was surprised by how loud the guns I shot were.
Because the character in my upcoming pie shop series (written under the name Ellery Adams and due out in July) is going to start toting around a concealed weapon, I wanted to find the perfect handgun for her. Therefore, I fired several handguns to see which felt the most comfortable and I ended up picking the Colt .45 (the gun with the wood on its handle).

Turns out, I’m a decent shot. I killed that paper mugger but good (only missed him twice) but I was so horrible at loading the magazines for the Smith and Wesson M&P 9 and the Colt .45 that I would have been dead a thousand times over if speed was a requirement in a gunfight. The Smith and Wesson Model 60 was a revolver and easy to load, but I tended to jerk the trigger a bit when I fired and therefore shot my mugger in the gut instead of in the face or in the heart.
And speaking of hearts, mine was hammering throughout the whole lesson. The noise, the power of the bullet exploding from the gun, the shells flying through the air, the smoke rising to the rafters, the smell of gunpowder—it was all strange and new and both terrifying and exciting.
My instructor was amazing. He taught me loads about gun safety, maintenance, various weapons’ ranges, and shooting posture. He even gave me a run-down on different ammunition and which guns most women prefer. The guy was a font of gun wisdom.
Am I am expert now? Not by a long shot. (ha, ha) But am I going to know exactly how my heroine feels when she handles that Colt .45? You bet.
Have you ever fired a gun? Ever wanted to?
by Maggie Sefton
ic, out-of-nowhere, no warning occurrence that snuffed out a smart, vivacious, bright, hard-working, sweet, kind, and lovely woman. . .and a dear, dear friend. I still can't believe her light is gone from our world. Diana and I were planning to chat via phone that Thursday afternoon. How I wish we had been able to talk before. 
