Yesterday’s question was: What makes your cosy cosy?
As question 2 indicates, I began plotting and writing The Cosy Knave almost out of the blue. Of course I had some vague ideas about what constituted a cosy, but shortly before I embarked on my new subgenre, I consulted a blogger who is a real expert so I had a chance of getting it right. These days, all rules are there to be challenged, of course, still I thought it would be a good idea to stick to these five rules of thumb:
a) an amateur sleuth with a useful job or position, but also someone who can get help from the police when she needs it: the librarian Rhapsody, engaged to the local constable.
b) a suitable setting: a small village where everybody knows everybody else, including their sordid - or silly - secrets, the kind of place that tend to make you forget that the good, old days never really existed.
c) the right kind of crimes, meaning a couple of murders are all right, as long as the readers are spared the dirty truths about the shock and pain they cause. For once, bloodthirsty old Macbeth got it right when he said: "If it were done when ´tis done then ´twere well it were done quickly´.
d) plenty of quirky characters: readers will expect prattling dog walkers, stuck-up mushroom ´experts´, taciturn farmers and constables called Smith, Wesson and Winchester.
e) finally, the traditional cosy is expected to be free of sex scenes and swearing - so this is the perfect gift for granny, your young daughter, or anyone who likes having their crime candied.
Thanks, Dorte, for letting me participate! I cannot wait to read your new book!
So here is the next question in the relay:
9) Do you consider yourself a cosy mystery writer, or do you plan to publish in other sub-genres?
To find out the answer, you will have to head to Clarissa Draper´s blog tomorrow!
Awesome! I think that's so cool. I didn't know there was such a specific criteria. I'm writing a cosy-ish novel but I would say it's closer to something Agatha Christie would write.
ReplyDeleteThose are the reasons people find cozies so appealing!
ReplyDeleteI never know what category to use and I think I use some of the wrong, but now I've got cozy down pat. Thanks, Dorte and Colleen!
ReplyDeleteLOL
ReplyDeleteI also used the term without really knowing what a cosy was two years ago, but that was before I saw the "recipe" the link leads to. I don´t think one should take rules too seriously either, but there are readers who pick cosies because they loathe sex, blood and gore, and I like thinking my readers get what they pay for.
This "relay" is interesting/fun.
ReplyDeleteThese definitions remind me of the Amanda Pepper mysteries by Gillian Roberts, written some years ago--the author is about my age (71). I discovered one of the books one day in a used bookstore and then bought the rest through Amazon (used). My daughter and I both love them. The sleuth is a full-time high school English teacher whose boyfriend is a policeman. So that takes care of definition a): amateur sleuth who can get information (and/or help) from the police. Now I know that this witty, suspenseful, and all-around fun series is a cozy mystery--all because of your post!
Ann Best, Author of In the Mirror, A Memoir of Shattered Secrets
I didn't know that there were such tight rules for them either. My mom loves cosy's, but they drive me crazy with all the detail that goes into the amateur sleuth's job.
ReplyDeleteThe only kind of mysteries I read are cosy ones and I love that this post gave me a bit of a peek into the writing process for that genre :)
ReplyDelete