Do cozies respond to our times?

That’s a weighty question but one I have had reason to mull over recently.

Last week, I had the honor of speaking with a local Hadassah (women’s group) about my books and the craft of writing. Of course, I took questions afterward. And although most had to do with my characters or the plotting, one audience member asked me a more surprising question: “Do current events play into your books at all?”

I had to pause at that one. First off, there’s the technical aspect of the question. How does an author work something “current” into a manuscript that won’t see the light of day as a book for at least a year? I’ve spent my time working at daily newspapers, and I’ve seen stories become old – or at least different – before the print version hits the street the next day. How much more so, then, will a novel age, especially in our fast-paced, social media-driven digital world?

So, back to that question: Just as I was about to respond with a resounding “no,” another thought hit me. “Current events” covers a lot of topics, but for me – and, I suspect, for many of us – almost all of those topics bring with them a sense of unease. There’s so much going on in the world right now. Political violence, antisemitism, Islamophobia, and homophobia are on the rise. War is raging in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan (and probably a few other places I’ve forgotten about). On a smaller, but more personal scale, most of us are worried about rising prices and uncertainty about our healthcare. And for me personally, my ongoing treatment for colon cancer.

It’s a lot. All of it, for all of us.

So here’s where cozies come in. Sure, they deal with crime – often murder – but they do so with gentleness. I don’t know what wag came up with the description that in cozies “the blood is dry before it hits the page,” but I love it. Our violence is second-hand or after the fact. Our sleuths are people – or pets – we can relate to. And our books promise the kind of resolution that lets us know that all is right with the world, or can be made so, with only a little smart sleuthing and the help of our friends. (Or our pets, of course, such as the Witch Cats of Cambridge’s Clara, Laurel, and Harriet!)

Now, I write non-cozies as well. These tend to be dark psychological suspense (like my recent The Butterfly Trap), and they’re a very different animal, if you will. An outlet for other thoughts and feelings, some long-obsessions and the like. But with a new cozy just out, The Cat’s Eye Charm, and another waiting to be written, I found myself thinking of the need for such gentle books – and why now feels like the perfect time to cuddle, either as a reader or a writer, with just such a book.

Speaking of that “blood is dry” truism… The Cat’s Eye Charm has, at its center, a jewelry heist. There’s a kidnapping and physical danger and, I hope, some scary moments. But no murder. This wasn’t a conscious choice when I started writing. But is it possible some of the above played into that? After all, most of my other Witch Cats of Cambridge cozies (which Level Best Books has now reissued!) feature an untimely death, usually by nefarious means. And, of course, a neat resolution, thanks to Becca and her three magical kitties. But not this time.
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Is this a response to current events? Perhaps. All I can tell you for sure is that these times call for a comforting escape. And that includes entertainment that will keep readers on the edge of their seats but not give them nightmares. We have plenty of those other kinds of stories in the news these days. Now is the time for something with a happy ending and a few cats. In other words, something cozy.

Hi, I’m Jackie Layton, and today I’m interviewing Ruth J. Hartman. Ruth and I became friends through our agent, Dawn Dowdle. We bonded at Malice Domestic, and our friendship grew through grieving Dawn’s passing. It’s fun that we’re both Level Best Authors, and we both have books releasing this year.

Hairless Hassles was released on April 15.

Ruth, have you ever been a cat groomer, or have you hired one?  Do you give your cats baths? And how many cats do you have in real life?  

Hi Jackie, it's good to be here with you! I've never been a cat groomer or used one, so the research for them was fun. Especially since the groomer in my Mobile Cat Groomer Mysteries goes to see many of her feline clients in her van. I normally don't bathe my cats since they're indoor kitties, but two of them we have now, a brother and sister, had a skin condition when we got them as kittens. 

So, for the next ten weeks, I had to bathe them in special shampoo three times a week. Even though that period was hard on them and me, it bonded us, and even now, four years later, they love to be with me and follow me around.  That time period was a learning opportunity for me too, since it gave me a small picture of what a cat groomer does. Along with the brother and sister cats, we already had an older cat when we got them.
 
I like cats, but because of allergies I’m more of a dog person. I include dogs in all my books. In A Texas Flower Farmer Cozy Mystery Series, my main character, Emma Justice rescues a puppy. In An Organized Crime Cozy Mystery Series, Kate Sloan is rescued by a stray dog. You probably guessed that this becomes her dog. How do you keep up with all your fictional and non-fictional cats?
 
I love the dogs in your books! I'm sorry that you have an allergy to cats but am glad you can be around dogs with no problems.  I understand about the stray and rescued dogs in your mysteries. All of the cats we've had are either strays or rescues. I think it makes them more grateful when they finally get a forever home. For my non-fictional cats, we have three. The two I mentioned, Murray and Molly, are almost four years old. And our Calico, Remmie, is fifteen this year!

As far as the fictional cats, that's more complicated. All of my series have cats in them. In the Mobile Cat Groomer Mysteries, the main character, Molly Stewart, has two of her own - Percival and Jasper. Then, of course, there are lots of others in the stories since Molly spends most of her days grooming and taking care of her fluffy clients. Since every one of my four series has at least one cat in it, I keep track of them in a notebook where I write down all the characters, both human and feline. In my notes, I list the people and cats, their names, appearance, and personality quirks - yes even for the cats! (And the main character in this series was named after our cat, Molly.)

     I include dogs in my stories because I love them. I also think they add a layer to characters' development. Sometimes you can judge a person by how they treat dogs. Also, dogs need to be walked. So, they get my characters out and about in the community.
Why do you write stories that have cats? 

I've never had dogs, but my brothers, as adults, have had them. I've always had cats my whole life. In most of the pictures of me as a little kid, I'm holding a cat or two. My mom was the same way, and so is my sister. Cats are smart, funny, and each has his or her own personality. It's always a joy to get to know each different cat and see what kind of quirks or habits they have.

All my books are set in small towns, and Whitewater Valley is charming. Did you base it on a real place?
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    Thank you! It's loosely based on the small Indiana town where I live, with people who all know each other, and who are mostly friendly and quirky, with the occasional nut tossed in!
 
Ruth, thanks for answering my questions. Congratulations on Hairless Hassles.
 
 
Ruth J. Hartman loves a good mystery. That’s probably why she happily gave up a life of
cleaning other people’s teeth to write books. With several cozy mysteries under her belt,
her main problem is keeping the characters straight – sometimes they have a tendency to
hop on over to a different series, just for laughs.

Over forty books later, consisting of romances, a children’s book, women’s fiction, and
now cozy mysteries, Ruth still enjoys the thrill of taking the thoughts and images of her
characters from her imagination to her computer screen.
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She lives in rural Indiana with her husband, Garry, and their family of spoiled cats.
Because of Ruth’s love for felines, every one of her books has at least one cat in it. Her
cats, who’ve deemed themselves her editors, act like they’re supervising her writing,
even though they’re often loafing off or napping.
 

By Andrea J. Johnson

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,” or as one would write in steno, SKWRA*EUPBLG. What’s steno you ask? My novel’s main character, Victoria Justice, would say it’s the curious little language that has almost gotten her killed and earned her a front row seat to her town’s most heinous crimes. In actuality, steno—also known as shorthand stenography—is an abbreviated symbolic writing method done on a stenotype, which is a machine that increases the speed and brevity of writing compared to a standard computer keyboard. Thus, the goal of a person who uses stenography is to write as fast as someone can speak. But for me, steno is the inspiration for Poetic Justice, the first book in the Victoria Justice Mysteries, which launches its second and third installments in Spring 2025 and Spring 2026, respectively.

The character of Victoria Justice has lived in my brain since 2006—although back then I didn’t know what to do with her. She was inspired by the call for “original action stars” to compete in the reality TV series Who Wants to Be a Superhero? presented by Stan Lee. The premise of the show was for contestants to create characters who could become comic book heroes. In my mind, what better hero could there be than a court stenographer who seeks to undo bad verdicts through vigilante justice? But at that time, I hadn’t discovered my literary passion, so I couldn’t take advantage of the epiphany.

Cut to almost two decades later. By then, I’d left my full-time job as a courtroom stenographer to pursue writing and had started the search for a new novel idea. Luckily, I found my old notes on Victoria, tweaked her persona to read as more human than hero, and matched her up with highly fictionalized snippets of real-life court cases. And, voila, the Victoria Justice Mysteries were born.

Now, if you’re wondering about the tone of these books, they are a cross between traditional cozies and light legal thrillers (think Murder, She Wrote meets The Pelican Brief). Victoria Justice, is the story’s moral compass, so I devised a name that would leave no doubt about her ethics. She will always do what is right, and she will always prevail against evil. Sure, the moniker is a little on the nose as are most of the names in the series. However, I think that’s the best way to help readers quickly acclimate to the setting and identify the conflict. Of course, there’s also some backstory to the name. In the sixth chapter of Book 1, Victoria reveals that she’s adopted and that her birth mother was a teen hooked on drugs. Doctors had expected her to die from a neonatal opioid addiction, but she survived and her adopted mother named her Victoria in honor of her victory over death.

Even though the books are fictional, just about everything I experienced as a court stenographer has been crammed into this series—from brawls in the courtroom to missing evidence to bomb threats to gun-toting attorneys. And yet, the thing that’s had the most influence on Victoria’s characterization is the outward perception of the profession by those unfamiliar with what stenographers do. She’s often ridiculed for being the one person in the courtroom whose job it is to be seen, not heard. People ignore her, call her an overpaid notetaker, and assume she’s not very smart. I played into that a bit with the physicality as well by making her short and meek, but inside she has the ferocity of a panther and tons of snark. And while the thrust of the series is about solving murders, an equally large portion of it is about Victoria finding her voice and learning to stand up for herself. In a way, she becomes the town’s last bastion for morality by using the profession’s tenants of accuracy, honesty, and neutrality in the face of the law to claim her space in the world. She also finds love while maintaining her independence, which I think is a valuable lesson for young people today.

But because I’ve used several personal experiences to craft these books, all of my friends assume that Victoria Justice is my alter ego. After all, she’s a Black female like me, and I spent nearly ten years as a shorthand stenographer. However, that’s really where the similarities end between me and Victoria. If anything, we are polar opposites. Victoria loves her job and, despite the early childhood hardships of adoption and bullying, she is optimistic about working in the court system since that’s all she wants out of life. I, however, wasn’t a cheerful or disciplined court reporter because I knew my destiny lied elsewhere. I am much happier as a writer, but I love that the time I spent in the steno world has been memorialized in this series. Other than that, any crossover audiences think they see between Victoria and me is merely coincidental.

***
 
Andrea J. Johnson is a speaker, editor, book coach, and author of the Victoria Justice Mysteries. She also teaches creative writing at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and her craft essays have appeared in several publications such as CrimeReads, Mystery Scene, and The Romance Writers Report. In addition, she has contributed commentary on popular fiction, films, and television as a freelancer writer for the entertainment websites Popsugar and The List. More notably, she’s authored a series of nonfiction books that include How to Craft a Killer Cozy Mystery, Mastering the Art of Suspense, and How to Craft Killer Dialogue. She has also given writing seminars on these topics through the Mystery Writers of America, Malice Domestic, Sisters in Crime, the International Thriller Writers Association, Women’s Fiction Association, and the Surrey International Writers’ Conference (Canada). When Andrea isn’t writing, teaching, or coaching, she loves dissecting reality television. Join her for those online conversations by visiting ajthenovelist.com or following her on Twitter (X), Pinterest, BlueSky, and Instagram @ajthenovelist.
 

There’s a lot to love about cozy mysteries. Almost always, they begin in a picturesque small town filled with quirky characters we can easily imagine as our neighbors and friends.
 
While a thriller might keep us on the edge of our seats, a cozy mystery pulls us into our favorite reading chair with a cup of hot coffee or tea. Even the covers of cozies are warm and fuzzy, with bright colors and pun-filled titles.
 
Once we have selected our book, we can settle in for a fun read, where the language is clean and the murder takes place off-screen. Within the first chapters, we get acquainted with the village, find our way to the local library, and pick up a little gossip along the way.
 
The conclusion of a cozy must be as satisfying as playing an old-fashioned game of Clue, where the crime fits nicely into a logical outcome. “Naturally, Col. Mustard committed the murder with a candlestick in the kitchen,” we will announce to ourselves when the book ends. “That is exactly what I predicted.”
 
All of these aspects of a cozy mystery make us feel as comfortable as when we’re padding around in our pajamas at home. But the undisputed star of the cozy mystery is the amateur sleuth. She (because most are women) stumbles into a murder scene and quickly realizes she must solve the crime. No one else is as capable as she, for this dangerous task.
 
When others question the sleuth’s reasoning, she adeptly argues her point with one of several reasonable explanations:
 
“The murder occurred on my property.”
“I knew the victim.”
Or, “I’m on the suspect list and must clear my name.”
 
Without hesitation, she throws herself wholeheartedly into the search for the killer. As readers, we abandon all logic to support her zeal. In fact, we fall in love with her enthusiasm.
 
We adore the amateur sleuth because she is an ordinary person, placed into an extraordinary situation. We understand her, and admire her. Like us, she’s an everyday woman, taking on the world to get the job done in her own community. Before we know it, we have pledged our allegiance to her cause and are determined to help her identify the murderer and bring him to justice.
 
Never mind that the professionals want her to quit meddling in their case, the amateur sleuth cannot be stopped. Whether she is a bookstore owner, a nosy senior citizen, or an inquisitive news reporter, our main character is always a few steps ahead of the real detectives. We love to root for the underdog, and the amateur sleuth gives us plenty of opportunity.
 
She is generally likeable and well intentioned, even when she puts herself in harm’s way. She has no real training for the task, though she’s pretty good at solving puzzles, or dabbling in research on the Internet. Whatever her background, she is confident of her ability to be of assistance. Naturally, we are drawn to her: we see ourselves, in her adventures.
 
In some cases, the amateur sleuth has “super powers” that contribute to her success—ESP, or a connection to a well-informed ghost, perhaps. While cozy mysteries with a hint of the supernatural are fun to read, my favorites are still the ones that feature a smart, loveable, imperfect woman who solves the case with nothing but her wits, hard work, and a little help from her friends.
 
Inevitably, the cozy mystery plot is filled with twists and turns that keep our amateur sleuth guessing until the end of the story. Despite all the setbacks, the amateur keeps going. She surprises us with her resourcefulness, driving around all the obstacles until she finds her way to the end. And we, her loyal companions, are happy to be along for the ride.
 
Anna St. John writes cozy mysteries featuring a mature yet feisty former crime reporter, Josie Posey, as the amateur sleuth. Her debut novel, DOOMED BY BLOOMS, was released by Level Best Books in February 2023, followed by CLOCKED OUT in 2024. DOLLED UP FOR MURDER is the third book in the Josie Posey Mystery Series. Anna is a former journalist, award-winning advertising copywriter, and ad agency owner. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the Kansas Authors Club.