Tag Archives: cozy mysteries

Why I hate stupid amateur sleuths

Posted on by
Reply

A couple of months ago, I was in a group of writers discussing our stories, when I got one of the nicest compliments I’ve ever received. Fellow mystery writer, Mindy Quigley, said, “What I like about your heroines is that they aren’t stupid.”

She went on to clarify. “It’s not that they don’t ever make bad decisions, but they weigh those choices and consider the consequences before acting on them.”

It was all I could do not to beam like a fool when she said that. You see, I hate the willfully stupid amateur sleuth. Now, by definition, we have to cut the amateur sleuth a lot of slack because she has no business doing what she’s doing in the first place. (I say “she” because the vast majority of the time the amateur sleuth is female) We know she isn’t supposed to be sneaking around buildings after hours, or poking through suspect’s desks and filing cabinets or questioning everyone in town. She doesn’t have the authority to be where she is, doing what she’s doing, and any evidence she gathers is tainted–which is probably why so often she must rely on forcing the killer to confess. We go along with this because we love the vicarious thrill of the investigation. We like solving puzzles, we like seeing justice done.

But what I can’t stand is when the female amateur sleuth is willfully stupid.

For starters, I need to have more motivation for her involvement than just being a Nosey Parker. Sure, in long-running series, it can be challenging to come up with strong reasons for our heroine sleuth to get herself involved… we can’t threaten every member in an extended family (I’m looking at you, Jessica Fletcher) without someone eventually calling us out on that. But once an amateur sleuth gets a few murders under her belt, I can see where members of her community might ask her to get involved because they trust her more than the police. That works for me.

But when the police actively tell the amateur sleuth to butt out, maybe it’s not a good idea for her to respond back by telling the law enforcement official that he stinks at murder investigations. Or that she thinks he may be in on whatever corruption is happening in the small town of Picturesque (population: varies depending on author’s needs). Even better, maybe she shouldn’t say those things when she is alone with said LEO and no one knows where she is.

On the same thought, maybe our amateur sleuth shouldn’t decide to confront a murder suspect by herself at some lonely destination that Doordash couldn’t find without GPS and a bloodhound. This just happened recently in a story I had really been loving up to that point, and I nearly chucked the book across the room when I came to this scene.

If an amateur sleuth makes bad decisions–and sometimes this is necessary to move the story along–at the very least, they need to show us they realize they aren’t making a smart choice. Spare me the heroine supremely confident in her own ability to bring a killer to justice who goes around telling the police they are such bumbling idiots they couldn’t find a box of doughnuts placed in the middle of their desk. Or the heroine who gets involved in solving the crime without any personal stake in the matter whatsoever. Or the heroine who is repeatedly told by law enforcement to stay out of the case but persists anyway because they know best.

I feel strongly about this, and yet also feel I’ve painted myself into a corner with the Ginny Reese Mysteries. If you’re a fan of the series, you’re well aware of the slow burn romance between Ginny and Joe Donegan, the local sheriff. Joe’s tolerance for Ginny’s interference has been tempered by the fact they are still attracted to each other, but as their relationship deepens, so does this gap between Ginny’s actions and Joe’s acceptance of them–both on a personal and professional level. At some point, Joe either has to turn a blind eye to her activities or actively collaborate with them. If not, her amateur sleuthing may eventually destroy their relationship. Believe me, I’ve thought about the different ways to solve this problem. But my point is, if Ginny persists in her amateur investigations, she does so knowing what she is risking: the case, her life, and her future relationship with Joe.

So yeah, a perfect heroine would be boring–and no cases would be solved. But the heroine who effectively says, “I’m so sure I’m right, I’m going to insult the only people who can lock up this criminal and instead go confront said killer alone with nothing but the power of my persuasive argument for back up… ” Yeah, I’m going to lose all respect for her.

You can give me all the pretty little cozy towns, the quirky characters, furry sidekicks, and love interests in the world, but if I don’t respect the main character, you’ve lost me as a reader.

All Good Art is Political

Posted on by
Reply

The title of this blog post is a quote from Toni Morrison, “All good art is political. There is none that isn’t.” She goes on to point out that Shakespeare and Aeschylus wrote plays poking at kings, and that good art should be beautiful and political at the same time. That she wasn’t interested in art that wasn’t rooted in the world.

There is a meme going around on TikTok these days that starts by saying, “This is a dog account (or a horse account, or a gardening account, or a hiking account, insert the thing you love here) but also a political one because you can’t [do your favorite thing] if ICE shoots you in the face.”

(Yes, I do understand the irony of commenting on anything along these lines from a platform that is now state-run here in the US.)

Yesterday, I saw an Instagram post where a baker went on a tear because someone said she shouldn’t be political on her own account because her followers “weren’t there for that” and she was incandescent with rage that people assumed because she was into baking and cottage core that she was also into human rights violations and the acts of terrorism taking place in cities across the US right now. She stated unequivocally that she did not care if she lost followers because if that’s how people felt, she didn’t want those people following her in the first place.

And yet we’re frequently told as content creators, brand marketers, and artists looking to sell our work that being political is the LAST thing we should do. Usually by people who wish to see the status quo maintained and who do not feel at risk of losing any rights that matter to them.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Yesterday, I answered a #pretendpanel question on bluesky on whether I allowed politics to impact my writing.

The beginning of my threaded reply is screen shot here:

Yes. I began writing a story at the end of 2024 that was meant to be a fun little palette cleanser between Ginny Reese books, a paranormal cozy mystery in which the protagonist discovers her secret power is the ability to weaponize ice.

<insert your favorite face palm gif here>

Now I don’t write directly about politics or world events. During lockdown in 2020, my family had to separate into two households: one with high-risk and/or WFH members and me by myself, an essential worker expected to show up every day unless I was actively sick. I don’t make “great art” by any means. I write stories that I like to think are intelligent, captivating escapism. Between 2020 and 2021, I wrote two books, neither of which mentioned Covid-19. Bishop’s Gambit is set in the 1950s, prior to covid. An Embarrassment of Itches (Ginny Reese Mysteries Book 1) was written at a time when the last thing I wanted to think about was the pandemic. Because Itches was a series starter, the lack of any mention of Covid has carried through the series.

But if you’ve read Itches (or any of my books for that matter), you know I write about female main characters coming into their strength and power with the support of their partners. Women who learn to stand up to bullies, to fight for what’s right. You’ll read “nevertheless, she persisted” worked into a paragraph, or find an explanation of why red lipstick became a statement against fascism (Hitler hated it). As for my heroes, you’re more likely to find cinnamon rolls than alpha males. Not pushovers by any means, but decent, kind men who don’t feel the need to degrade or humiliate the love of their lives.

So even if my stories aren’t political per se, they still reflect the things I believe in. Common decency, compassion, empathy. 

There’s a line from A Nose for Death (Ginny Reese Mysteries Book 4) where Ginny tells the killer that empathy is not a character flaw. I stand by that 100%.

Which is why it almost physically hurts for me to write what was supposed to be a take on Frozen meets Practical Magic. The ice metaphor is baked into the story–I can’t give my main character, Morgan Frost, a different super power. The story is 90% complete. I can either bin it or make the story more meaningful.

I chose to make it more meaningful. 

Yes, it’s still a lightweight paranormal cozy mystery, but I’m reworking certain elements. I’m taking back ice as a force for good in this story, and seeing that the powerful and corrupt get a satisfying comeuppance. I may not be able to make those changes in the real world, but I can make them in mine, and hopefully silly little stories like this one can help people get through a tough day by stepping outside their cares for a few hours. Maybe even give them hope.

This story hasn’t been released because it’s not ready yet. It’s not good enough. But when it is, there will be no doubt where I stand. Because it is more important to me to write a good story than it is to hit an arbitrary, self-imposed publishing deadline. It is more important to me to tell a good story than remain politically neutral in the hopes of not losing any followers. Because silence is a stance as well.

“Cozy” is Not a Dirty Word

Posted on by
2

It seems like everything these days has “cozy” as a descriptor added to it. Cozy mystery, cozy fantasy, cozy games. As a cozy mystery writer, naturally I don’t mind this. Wikipedia defines a cozy mystery as “a sub-genre of crime fiction in which sex and violence occur offstage, the detective is an amateur sleuth, and the crime and detection take place in a small, socially intimate community. Cozy mysteries thus stand in contrast to hardboiled fiction, in which more violence and explicit sexuality are central to the plot. The term “cozy” was first coined in the late 20th century, when various writers produced work in an attempt to recreate the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.[1]”

I like this description because I cut my teeth on the Golden Age of Mystery. My mom was a huge fan of Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy L. Sayers, Patricia Wentworth and more. Lord Peter Wimsey was one of my first fictional crushes, and to this day, I feel sad for the pre-teens who grew up crushing on Edward Cullen instead. I write cozy mysteries because I love this subgenre and long to recreate that vibe in my own storytelling. I like the descriptor because when I pick up a book in that subgenre, I have a pretty good idea of what to expect. That’s the value of genre reading.

That doesn’t mean that I never desire to read something grittier or more graphic. Lord Peter resides cheek-by-jowl next to Eve Dallas on my bookshelves. I’ve recently fallen in love with cozy fantasy, and I adored The Spellshop by Sara Beth Durst. (I have the second book, The Enchanted Greenhouse, sitting on my TBR stack like the prize gem in a dragon’s hoard). This doesn’t mean I don’t own a copy of Jurassic Park, or that I’d never re-read the Lord of the Rings.

For me, “cozy” is more of a mood than anything. It’s a certain vibe I’m seeking when I pick up a book. It’s because I want the banter between Amelia Peabody and Radcliffe Emerson. It’s because I wish to battle wits with Miss Marple, or soak in the atmosphere of a deadly cruise down the Nile. I do think this is a large part of the appeal of the subgenre–people talk about cozies as being low stakes books, but the stakes are still there for the protagonists. It’s just that our female amateur sleuth is not likely to be targeted by a serial killer and the dog always lives. The magic-using protagonist hiding out from the anti-spell casting government might be in danger, but the village will stand up to protect them.

Cozy reads aren’t necessarily my comfort reads, though they can be. I can be happy with a ridiculous amount of violence if I love the characters and I know everything will turn out all right in the end. What makes it a comfort read is I know these criteria will be met when I pick up the book to read it again. I love the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, and re-read them frequently. Ditto scores of other sci-fi and urban fantasy books. Ilona Andrews is an autobuy for me, and I have everything they’ve published in print.

But when I’m browsing online, in a bookstore or library, trying to decide what to read next, quite often I’m going to gravitate toward something with “cozy” as a descriptor. I don’t know about you, but I need a lot of soothing these days. The news is a constant bombardment of all the ways in which we are going to die (and suffer while doing it), so yeah. I’m re-reading and re-watching a lot of old favorites. The last thing I need is for my entertainment to wound me. The “cozy” descriptor (mostly) allows me to choose new material without bracing myself for an unseen blade being shoved into my ribs.

Even in my embrace of all things cozy, I admit, I get a little tired of the majority of books in this genre being set in bakeries or craft stores. I get it–baking and crafting are how many people immerse themselves in coziness. I am doing a lot of baking now myself, having discovered 3 Doughs 60 Recipes by following @mostlybree on bluesky. I’ve also revived my old bread starter recipe, and while I am still working the kinks out of it (I get fabulous tasting bread that won’t rise), I take pleasure in doing something besides doomscrolling on the weekends. But as someone who is a terrible baker and doesn’t craft, I find myself longing for cozy mysteries set in other environments.

There appears to have been a recent complaint in the gaming community, however, that gaming is taking cozy too far by introducing cozy versions of popular, violent games. That “cozy” is somehow a disease poisoning their good times. Now, I’m not a gamer; I only heard this referenced through a blog post on The Book Wyrm’s Hoard, so I don’t have all the facts. But the blogger’s talking points are sound:

  1. If you don’t like “cozy” you don’t have to consume it. It’s not for you.
  2. “Cozy” as a descriptor is associated with people who identify as female. And we deserve to have our space, too.

Cozy is not a “dirty” word. For one thing, cursing isn’t allowed in cozies. šŸ˜‰

If you don’t like it, that’s fine. It wasn’t meant for you anyway.

 

Celebrate Your Wins, Big or Small

Posted on by
4

Yesterday, I found out that A Nose for Death (Ginny Reese Mysteries Book 4) has been shortlisted for the Chanticleer International Book Awards in the Mystery and Mayhem division. This was completely unexpected. My experience has been that later books in a series tend not to do very well in awards contests because there is often too much backstory to be judged as a standalone. I entered mostly because I know these events are good at getting more eyes on a story, the better to increase visibility.

I almost didn’t post about it, because there are a lot of talented writers and terrific stories that got shortlisted as well, and the steps to climbing to semi-finalist, to finalist, and eventually to winner, are steep. No one remembers who won silver in the Olympics, right? Only gold.

As soon as that analogy came to me, it immediately brought back to me the events surrounding the 1994 Winter Games. I’ve always been a big fan of ice skating, though I haven’t followed it in recent years. At the time of the 1994 Games, however, the eyes of the world were on women’s figure skating, primarily because the assault of Nancy Kerrigan at the US Figure Skating Championship orchestrated by a group of conspirators connected with one of her main rivals, Tonya Harding. Kerrigan was bludgeoned above the knee with a police baton by Shane Standt. The goal of the attack was to prevent Kerrigan from competing in the National Championships, from which the top competitors would be chosen to go on it the Games.

Despite suffering what could have been a career ending injury, Kerrigan worked hard to make a comeback, and was granted an exemption to the Nationals in order to be on the US Ice Skating Team. She delivered some of her best lifetime performances but lost gold (in what was considered a controversial decision) to Oksana Baiul. Controversial because it was one of the closest calls in ice skating history, and because the judges defended their decision by citing Baiul’s program was skated with artistry, and Kerrigan’s with caution.

I watched those performances. I’m not a qualified judge by any means, but I would have to agree. Thirty-one years later, I can still remember Baiul’s winning skate. She skated with passion, precision, and grace, despite having suffered a collision with another skater in the warm-up arena and requiring Games-approved injections in her back and shoulder for pain. Kerrigan’s performance was elegant and controlled, and it simply fell short at that place and time.

What struck me the most afterward was how bitterly disappointed Kerrigan was about her second place win. I get that she came back from a terrible assault, overcoming her injury with a level of determination and fortitude I doubt I could ever muster. How disappointing it must have been to be that close to winning gold after all she’s been through, only to lose it to a sixteen-year-old at her first Olympic Games. But Kerrigan was caught on mike making a disparaging comment about Bauil’s emotional reaction to the win, and later again, was heard to seemingly belittle her arrangement with her Disney sponsor as being “cheesy.” The media, who’d championed her in the wake of her assault, suddenly turned on her in this apparent display of poor sportsmanship.

But I wonder if this isn’t more emblematic of the US view of competition. Winner takes all. No glory in anything but the gold. If you’re not the winner, you’re a loser. Maybe this is not a uniquely US perspective, but sometimes it certainly feels that way to me. 

It seems to me that if you only acknowledge the gold medals in your life, you are depriving yourself of a lot of the joy that comes from smaller, every day wins.

So I am determined to celebrate all my wins, big or small. It is truly an honor to be shortlisted for the Mystery and Mayhem Awards, knowing I’m standing up there with the Olympic contenders in my genre. Gold may be out of my reach. I may not even make it up on the podium. But I’m an Olympian just the same.

A Nose for Death (Ginny Reese Mysteries Book 4) is now available!

Posted on by
4

It’s finally here! A Nose for Death (Ginny Reese Mysteries Book 4) is now available! For some reason the print version on Amazon is a little slow to go live, but it’s now up as an ebook and print book on Amazon. It will soon be live on Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Apple, or you can ask your library to stock it through Hoopla and Overdrive, if those are your preferred platforms. What can I say? Amazon is speedy, so if you can’t wait, grab your copy there. If you’d rather support different sites, the price is the same across them all.

Cover art for A Nose for Death, depicting A German Shepherd sitting in a lane with fencing on either side that leads to a lovely house in the background. Behind the dog, there is a bloody axe in the driveway.

Isn’t this cover adorable? I made high-pitched dolphin squeals when I saw this from Melody Simmons at Bookscre8tivecovers.com. Here’s the blurb:

A storm. A dog. And a body…
Ginny Reese and her dog Remington are back in a thrilling new cozy mystery by award-winning author M.K. Dean.

Veterinarian Ginny Reese is adjusting to her recent inheritance in the small southern town of Greenbrier. After a storm takes down one of the outbuildings on her property, her dog, Remington, discovers human remains in the ruins. When the victim turns out to be Vicky Coleman, an old high school classmateā€”and former girlfriend of Sheriff Joe Doneganā€”both Ginny and Joe become suspects and are sidelined by a new investigative team.

Ginnyā€™s relationship with Vicky Coleman ended on bad terms and she feels obligated to find out what happened to her former best friend. Doing so will stir up old memories and feelings, potentially derailing whatever it is Ginny is rekindling with Joe. But Vicky played some dangerous games that put her in the crosshairs of a killer, and if Ginny isnā€™t careful, she and Remy will end up in the killerā€™s sights as well.

A Nose for Death is the fourth book in the highly acclaimed Ginny Reese Mysteries, and the stakes have never been higher. Make sure you have time to read when you pick up your copy because you won’t be able to put it down!

I can’t wait to share this with you! I’ll be doing a live on TikTok tomorrow evening (Saturday 3/29/25 at 7 pm EST) with author Dori Saltzman (Death of a Travel Advisor) to discuss writing mysteries, but also writing series. Do join us! My account is https://www.tiktok.com/@mk_dean_author. We look forward to seeing you there!

I’ll be updating this post with the other links as they go live!

Why I’m Quitting in 2025

Posted on by
5

I’ve been publishing stories since 2010, when my first book was accepted by a small press. Since then, I’ve written 19 novels under various pen names.

I made a decision to rebrand myself and self-publish in 2017, when two of the small presses I worked with stopped paying royalties to their authors. I re-branded again in 2022 when I realized that I wrote more mysteries than I did romances (though I’m stuck with this website domain name unless I want to start all over again from scratch).

Also in 2022 or thereabouts, I decided to spend less time on social media platforms I didn’t enjoy, and dove headfirst into TikTok. I didn’t abandon the other platforms–authors are expected to maintain a presence on a wide variety of sites–but I neglected them (and this website) in favor of my new shiny toy. 

I’ve never had as much fun on a social media platform as I have on TikTok. Something about the format brought out the frustrated actress in me, and I had a blast playing with wigs, filters, costumes, and lip syncing to funny sounds. If I could make it relevant to my writing, even better. But unlike people who managed to parlay their time on the app into real income, or at the very least, a decent side hustle, I never hit the big time. Not as an  influencer. Not as an author. But I met lots of wonderful people and I had FUN at a time when I needed it the most. I found an enjoyable community there, and I loved it.

It seems very likely that TikTok will be banned in the US shortly. Don’t get me started on that–that’s a whole other discussion by itself–but let’s just say that Google, Amazon, and Meta donated large sums of money to seeing the app got killed here in the US.

So, 2 years of work building a platform will be going down the drain. And I have to say, as much fun as I’ve had on TikTok, it’s been detrimental to my writing productivity. Every year I spend more and more time on marketing, promotion, and social media to the exclusion of writing. One of the nice things about TT was the algorithm was easier to master. But all SM platforms keep raising the bar on visibility, requiring you to spend either time or money there in order to be seen.

The bulk of my ideal readership is probably on Facebook, to a lesser degree, Instagram. The bulk of my sales are through Amazon. I’ve spoken at length about why I don’t have my books in KU, and only part of that is because once all other digital platforms for selling books is gone, Amazon can do whatever they like to authors. There are reasons why I can’t divorce myself from these platforms even though I have strong moral objections to how they do business. (Leaving Twitter was easy. Once Musk took over, it ceased to be a useful platform for authors. If you want to find me in a happier place, I’m on bluesky now)

And when I realized that the odds were high I was going to lose TikTok–and any traction I’ve worked to build as an indie author–something inside me just gave up.

No. I’m not going to quit writing.

But I’m going to take the pressure off of it.

I’m no longer going to jump through hoops to get noticed. I’m going to spend less time on social media period. I’m not going require my writing to fund my retirement, or make me a household name. I’m going to write because I have fun doing so, and stop trying so hard to make it a second (or third) job. I’m going to write the stories I want to read without worrying if they are marketable or not. If I pitch something to an agent, it will be for the fun of it, not because I’m hoping it will change my life. If I go to a convention, it will be to see friends, not to sell myself as an author. I’m not giving up on my dreams. I’m giving up on sacrificing joy for them. Honestly, at this point, the writing just has to break even and stop costing me money.

And while I’m conflicted about where I will spend my time as an author on social media, maybe the answer for right now is right here. Where I can release my thinky thoughts for people to read or not read as they see fit, without worrying about pleasing a demanding algorithm.

But I am going to miss you, TikTok.

 

 

December Events: Indie Author Winter Wonderland and A Cozy Mystery Party

Posted on by
Reply

It’s December 1 here, and we’re experiencing a little light snow. Sadly, snow is a rare occurrence these days, so I appreciate the weather being cooperative when I’m planning some winter-themed events!

The first is that I’m participating in the Indie Author Winter Wonderland event hosted by Indievisible Events December 6-9. This event pulls in indie authors across varied genres to showcase their work at discounted prices!

The second is on December 8th, from 1:30-2 pm EST, I’ll be doing an author takeover as part of the HUGE Cozy Mystery Party hosted by the Facebook group of the same name. I’ll be talking about the Ginny Reese Mystery series, holiday baking, and pets in books, among other things. I’ll also be giving away a $10 Amazon gift card–which I’m sure can come in handy right about now! You have to join the group to participate, but you should anyway! They are always hosting some sort of cool and fun event with great prizes too. Just look at all the names of the participating authors in this year’s party!! I believe everyone is doing their own giveaway, too!

I’m already planning to attend as many of these takeovers as possible.

For the duration of these events, An Embarrassment of Itches (Ginny Reese Mysteries Book 1) will be just 0.99 cents for a limited time. Be sure to tell your friends to snag their copy if they haven’t read it yet.

A Nose for Death (Ginny Reese Mysteries Book 4) is with the editor right now, and we’re looking at a March 2025 release date. I’m hoping to have some launch party book signings arranged by then.

Also, I’m no longer on Twitter. I’m over on Bluesky, which feels the way Twitter felt in the early days before the feeds got throttled and linking to outside sites was frowned upon.

So, come join in the fun!

It’s Bouchercon time!

Posted on by
2

Tomorrow I’m flying to Nashville to join my good friends Claire Johnson and Anna Butler at the 55th annual Bouchercon World Mystery Convention! I’m so excited! This is my first Bouchercon, as this is the first year that it’s been somewhat in my neck of the woods.

According to Bouchercon’s Mission statement:

Boucherconā€™s mission is to introduce, attract, and promote readers and writers by producing outstanding, inclusive events to grow and sustain the mystery community.

BoucherconĀ® is the annual world mystery convention where every year readers, writers, publishers, editors, agents, booksellers and other lovers of crime fiction gather for a 4-day weekend of education, entertainment, and fun!


The first Bouchercon took place in 1970 in Santa Monica, California. Subsequent Bouchercons have been held in many cities across the United States, as well as in Toronto and the UK.

Wait, what? 1970 was 55 years ago?? I’m sure this must be a typo, right? 

At any rate, the event will be held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center and it looks to be a SMASHING conference! The venue is amazing! There are terrific panels on almost every subject imaginable, and the Anthony Awards will be announced as well. Not to mention, I just found out Laurie King will be celebrating the 30 year anniversary of the release of The Beekeeper’s Apprentice–which also doesn’t seem possible that this beginning to a terrific series was that long ago as well.

Planning to go? Look for me there! I’ll be doing speed-dating for authors (it’s exactly what it sounds like only you as the reader sit at tables while authors come by and for 2 minutes persuade you to read their book) as well as a panel on avoiding the pitfalls of indie publishing with moderator Fred Tippet II, and panelists R Weir, Winnie Frolik, and
Josh Pachter. Immediately after the panel, I’ll be signing books in the dealer’s room. Provided I can find it! Will GPS work inside the convention center? Better brush up on those map reading skills! Hope to see you there!

Bookmarks, Bouchercon, and the Next Ginny Reese Mystery

Posted on by
2

Everyone who knows me knows I live for that first day at the end of the summer, when the temperatures drop 20 degrees and the humidity is cut in half. You can take a deep breath without feeling as though you need gills, and walk the dogs without feeling as though you live in a greenhouse. As someone with poor heat tolerance, I loathe summer. I get it when friends bemoan the coming winter months, when the skies are dull and gray, and you have to deal with sleet and the occasional snow. But give me a break. We barely get any fall or winter these days, whereas summer is nearly year-round now.

Let me have my autumn, darn it. Bring on the spooky season, I say!

“Summer” starts sooner and lasts longer each year now. Every year shatters heat records from the year before. We almost never see snow around here anymore, and are perilously close to losing fall as well as winter.

I incorporated a little ode to Autumn in the opening paragraphs of A Nose for Death (Ginny Reese Mysteries Book 4) that had to be eliminated when I moved the time sequence for the story from fall to early spring. I’ll share it here:

Autumn is my absolute favorite time of year. And not just ā€œfallā€ but autumn in every sense of the word. Itā€™s the crackle of dry leaves underfoot as they skitter across the sidewalk on a windy day. The smell of wood smoke in the air, and the wet mulchy scent of damp earth. Itā€™s the honking of geese overhead on a cold, gray day, the mournful sound resonating in your bones as you pull out your heavy sweaters and boots for the first time of the season. Itā€™s how the spectrum of sunlight shifts from white to gold, slanting through trees with leaves of yellow, orange, and red, lighting up the emerald-green blades of grass in the fields with an intensity seldom seen at any other time of year. Itā€™s waking to air so crisp, itā€™s like biting into a fresh apple, with tracings of frost on the windowpanes.

Sadly, what we’re experiencing now is what’s being referred to as ‘false fall.’ Yesterday we got the lovely break in heat and humidity, and tonight the temps are dropping into the upper forties. Normally I’d be thrilled, but we’re told the temperatures are going to bounce back up into the 90s again and stay there well into November. As someone who loves hiking with the dogs, this is depressing, to say the least.

But I’m taking advantage of it now, making a point to get outside after work while we have this temporary reprieve from living in Satan’s armpit. Yesterday, while walking the dogs, the solution to a thorny plot problem that has been tying me up for months miraculously revealed itself to me, and I had to dash back to the house and write it down before the resolution escaped me. I’m not much of an outliner or plotter (some would point out the advantages of being one right about now) but as I wrote down the details of the solution, it held up. Which means I can finally move forward to finish this book.

I’d be hard-pressed to say exactly why it is that I’ve been struggling to finish this WIP. Work stress, life stress, just-getting-darn-old stress have all been factors. I try not to be annoyed with myself and just accept any progress, the Eureka moment when I solved my sticky plot problem being one of them. This means I’m entering the homestretch of Nose at last, and I’m hoping for a fall release date. Another reason to love fall!

I’ll be attending the big mystery convention Bouchercon in Nashville next week, meeting up with friends and sitting in on some panels. I’m busy making swag bags with stickers, QR cards, temporary tattoos, and candy, as well as decorating bookmarks. I find the process of sorting beads, deciding on the colors and patterns, and then creating the handmade look very soothing. But at this point, I’m planning on bringing so much with me to Nashville, I might as well move there!

The swag bags and bookmarks are for the author speed dating event I’m doing Thursday 8/29 am, where I will be circulating a room of attendees, pitching the Ginny Reese Mysteries in a 2 minute spiel to each table. On Saturday 8/31 at 8 am, I’ll be on a panel discussing how to avoid the pitfalls of indie publishing, after which there will be a book signing in the dealers room. If you’re near Nashville next week, you should check out Bouchercon at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center! If you’re attending, look for me there–I’d love to meet you!

Also, if you’re not following M.K. Dean on BookBub, I’d love the support! I can’t take advantage of certain features on the site (such as their release announcement function) until I have at least 1K followers. It costs nothing to create an account if you don’t have one, and what I love about Bookbub is you can tailor your preferences when it comes to their featured deal notifications so you’re alerted if there are discounted/free books in your favorite genre. Check it out!

 

The Chaotic Hype Awards: Good Clean Fun… Mostly.

Posted on by
Reply

If you didn’t already know, I’m spending most of my social media time on TikTok these days. There’s something about the platform that appeals to the actor in me, and I have more fun on that platform than any other.

Right now, I’ve been nominated for the Chaotic Hype Awards! This is a crazy annual awards event hosted by BookTokker @chaosandbooktalk. I’m in two categories: Best Mystery Author (as McKenna Dean) and Most Likely to have an Alphabet Agency Watching Them (as MK Dean). The competition is FIERCE and needs to be thinned out. Help a mystery writer out? You can vote in the awards here (and not just mystery: romance, voice actors, reviewers and more)! 

Here’s a little sample of the fun we’ve been having…

 

@mk_dean_author The Chaotic Hype Book Awards will be announced a week from today: February 10th at 7 pm EST with @Chaos and Booktalk šŸ“š You can only vote once so choose wisely! Lynx to the voting can be found in the clicky place in my personal biography! #mysterywriter #mysterytok #ginnyreesemysteries #chaotichypeawards2024 #chaotichypeawards #dundundun #bookbesties #hypegirlsquad ā™¬ original sound – MK Dean Cozy Mystery Author