Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Double Your Fun with Two Christmas Cozies

DEBORAH CROMBIE: We have a double helping of book fun for you today! Jungle Red friends Edith Maxwell (as Maddie Day) and Maya Corrigan both have brand new Christmas-themed mysteries. And, yes, we really do need to start getting in the mood. Christmas will be here before we know it. Here are Maddie and Maya with some holiday cheer!

 

 A Couple of Recipe-Wielding, Pseudonym-Toting Authors

Maddie: Thanks, Debs, for hosting Maya and me! When we realized we both had Christmas cozies coming out the same day (September 29), we thought a joint appearance would be more fun than going solo, so we’re going to interview each other. The Reds community gets two for the price of one! And we’re both giving away a copy of our new books, too.

Maya, Gingerdead Man (best title, ever) features a Dickens of a Holiday Festival, and your protagonist Val throws a tea for the volunteers – who are all in costume. It’s a fabulous visual. How did you think up a Dickens-themed holiday festival? Have you ever been to one like it?


 Maya: The idea came from one of my critique partners, Carolyn Mulford. Though I’ve never been to a Dickens Festival, I found photos and programs online from several festivals with volunteers dressed as Dickens characters. It was a perfect fit for my series. My previous books in the series, Crypt Suzette and S’more Murders, had scenes with costumed, role-playing characters. Costumes can disguise people, but the choice of a costume can reveal someone’s true nature. The killer who crashes the tea party in Gingerdead Man is shrouded in black like the eeriest Dickens ghost from A Christmas Carol. The ghost gives each person a gift. When Santa opens his, he finds a gingerbread man, but it doesn’t have raisin eyes and an icing smile. Instead, it’s a skeleton with bones traced in white icing—a gingerdead man. I bet you can guess what the murder weapon is. 


Speaking of skeletons, Maddie, you have one in Candy Slain Murder, only it’s a real skeleton, not an edible one. Your main character, Robbie, like mine, runs a café. How did you incorporate holiday motifs in your mystery? 


 Maddie: Robbie decorates her country store with garlands and tiny white lights. She puts up a freshly cut tree and decorates it with her boyfriend, Abe, and his teen son, Sean, who brings holly-shaped cookies his grandma made. The three of them walk downtown for the tree-lighting and visit from Santa, who drives in on an antique fire truck driven by Mrs. Santa. Unfortunately, Danna, Robbie’s assistant, gets in a fight with an aggressive local photographer, which kind of spoils the event.


And then we have the food and the recipes, which we both include in the books. In Candy Slain Murder, Robbie Jordan and her assistants work hard to come up with Christmas breakfast and lunch specials that look festive. They make a spinach and red pepper egg bake, a Noel omelet, and a split pea soup that includes fresh peas and minced fresh tomatoes. They serve gingerbread people and red-and-green sugar cookies, too. But at Pans ‘N Pancakes, they can use as many ingredients as they want. Your book recipes always have only five ingredients. Is it hard to come up with those?


 Maya: When I was a Mom with two part-time jobs and two preschoolers, I began collecting easy recipes so I could cook fast. Besides the recipes I’ve used for years, countless five-ingredient cookbooks are out there. I’d rather be able to use a few more ingredients for the book’s recipes, but five works with my mystery framework—five suspects, five clues, and five-ingredient recipes. I found it hard to stick to just five suspects in Gingerdead Man. With two seemingly unrelated deaths and no one person with a motive for both crimes, I had to juggle two different sets of suspects. They’re winnowed down as the story progresses, but the connection between the two deaths doesn’t become clear until the end. 


 Maddie, you also have multiple victims in Candy Slain Murder, but a different kind of challenge. One victim shows up as a skeleton. How did Robbie go about investigating a long-ago death, and have you incorporated cold cases in other mysteries?

Maddie: Good question! I don’t think I’ve used a cold case before. But this one kind of slammed Robbie in the face, when Abe spies the skeleton in the attic of a house where the roof was opened to put out a fire. Robbie does what she does best (next to cooking) and digs into the disappearance of a local woman a decade earlier. She sneaks a peek at some of the woman’s diaries from before she dies, and she visits the hospital where the woman’s husband practices.

A different kind of cold case in this book is when a young man shows up claiming to be Danna’s older half-brother. The problem is, growing up as the single child of a single mother, she’d never heard about any siblings, half or otherwise. I don’t want to spoil the story, but it gets complicated, and stems from an issue that formerly was more scandalous than it is for many these days.

Most people think of cozy mysteries as light and humorous, but they also tackle familial and societal issues familiar to readers. Real life has real-life problems, and I don’t shrink from including them in books – but only as a backdrop to the mystery.

Tell us about that aspect of your book, Maya.

Maya: A situation many families face comes up: what to do about an aging parent who needs more care than is available at home. Val caters a birthday dinner for an older man and overhears an argument his daughters have about whether and how to convince him to give up his house. Related to his living situation is the status of the young immigrant woman who’s been his live-in aide and is in a precarious economic and legal position.

Maddie: Both are current and timely. How about pen names which we both write under? Were you asked to use one, or was it your own choice?

Maya: I’ve written nonfiction and short stories using my first, middle, and last names. For this series, which I knew would come out as a small paperback, I combined and shortened my first and middle name so it would fit better on the cover. In Gingerdead Man and other books, I’ve created characters with pseudonyms, aka, aliases. Like a costume, an alias disguises your identity, but your choice of a name can be a clue to who you really are.  


 So, Maddie, are your pen names a way to hide your identity and why did you choose them?

Maddie: That’s funny. No hiding for me, since I do my best to link my names everywhere I can. My name since birth has been Edith Maxwell, and my Agatha Award-winning Quaker Midwife Mysteries are written under that name (book #6, Taken Too Soon, released September 8!). Maddie was born five years ago with the first Country Store Mystery, when my editor wanted me to use a different name than Edith. Here’s why. The Local Foods Mysteries series was by Maxwell but, after five books, the contract was not renewed. Kensington wanted the new series to look like it was written by someone else, but they never said I couldn’t connect the names. The series has done so well, Maddie Day also writes my newest series, the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries.


 Maya: Thank you again to Deborah and all the Jungle Red Writers for hosting Maddie and me. May we all meet again in person very soon.

Readers: What’s your favorite season for books to be set in? Do you seek out books by a favorite author’s alter ego? Have you been surprised to learn two authors were the same person? Each of us will send a signed copy of our new book to a lucky winner!

***

In Candy Slain Murder, Country Store owner Robbie Jordan’s life seems merry and as bright as the Christmas lights glistening around South Lick, Indiana – until a man claims to be the long-lost half-brother of Robbie’s assistant. A fire destroys the home of a controversial anesthesiologist, exposing skeletal remains in his attic. The twin of the long-dead woman is murdered. Unavoidably intrigued, all Robbie wants for Christmas is to stop her winter wonderland from becoming a real nightmare.

Maddie Day pens the Country Store Mysteries and the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. Agatha Award winning Edith Maxwell writes the historical Quaker Midwife Mysteries and short crime fiction. With twenty-three mysteries in print and more underway, Day/Maxwell lives with her beau and their energizer kitten north of Boston, where she writes, gardens, cooks, and wastes time on Facebook. She hopes you’ll find her on social media under both names, on WickedAuthors.com, and at her web site.

 ***

Gingerdead Man: During Bayport's Dickens of a Holiday festival, Val hosts a tea party for the festival's costumed volunteers. Robed in black, a party crasher hands out gingerbread men with white icing skeleton bones. Though the creepy cookie—a gingerdead man—looks like a Halloween leftover, cookie addict Santa can’t resist it, gobbles it up, and keels over. His death puts a damper on the festivities, and then someone else dies from eating a sweet gift. To restore the holiday spirit, Val and Granddad must stop the murderer from baking more deadly treats.

Maya Corrigan writes the Five-Ingredient Mysteries. They feature a café manager and her live-wire grandfather, the Codger Cook, who solve murders in a historic Chesapeake Bay town. She’s also written nonfiction and short stories as Mary Ann Corrigan. She lives in a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C. When not reading and writing, she enjoys theater, travel, trivia, cooking, and crosswords. Connect with her through her website, mayacorrigan.com, where you’ll find book news, recipes, and mystery history anecdotes and trivia.  

DEBS: I just wanted to add that my town used to have a Dickens festival on the town square every year, on Thanksgiving weekend. I'm not sure why they stopped but I wonder if it might have had something to do with heavy Victorian costumes and unseasonably warm Texas weather.... There were no murders (that I know of!)

 

 

108 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your new books, ladies . . . do you have a favorite holiday to use as a setting in your stories?

    I don’t believe I have a favorite season for books to be set in . . . just give me a good story.
    If I discovered that an author I enjoyed reading wrote under a different name I’d definitely read those books, too . . . .

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    1. I love books set in Halloween. I have been surprised by alter egos. Why do writers do that

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  2. Congrats to both of you on your new releases. Maddie's is fun, and I hope to get to Maya's soon. I love Christmas cozies, but I do enjoy just about any season.

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  3. Thank you, Maddie and Maya for giving us some great Christmas books to look forward to. Congratulations on these new books.

    I love both Halloween and Christmas seasons for books. It’s fun to read a book taking place in a favorite time of year.

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  4. Think that writers can bring out the best of a season in cozy mysteries with the use of food, celebrations and decorations, but I must say I have a fondness for the Christmas holiday. I love reading Christmas stories all year long, but really dig into them starting about this time of year. Both of these wonderful books are on my TBR list.

    Don't think I've been surprised to learn about two names used by one author mainly because by following them I've known about it ahead of time.

    Thank you for the fabulous opportunity to win books by two of my favorite authors! I've shared and hoping to be the extremely fortunate one selected.

    Be safe, stay healthy and have a little adventure along the way - even if through the pages of a good book.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  5. Congratulations on your new releases Maddie and Maya.
    I'll definitely follow an author who writes in another name. I love Christmas 's cozies but also love well written cozies in any other season.

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    1. Thanks, Danielle. Cozies are good all year round.

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  6. Congratulations on the new books!

    I don't have a favorite season for books to be set in. I just read what is offered by the authors I like.

    And if I like an author's work, I do seek out their books if they are written under a pseudonym.

    When I first saw the title of this blog post I thought of a different Christmas cozy other than Maya's. I know there was a third one (at least) because I had pre-ordered that one along with the new Maddie Day book. Apparently it is beginning to look a lot like (a deadly) Christmas!

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    1. I keep seeing more with today's release date! Tina Kashian has Mistletoe, Moussaka, and Murder.

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    2. And Vicki Delaney's Dying in a Winter Wonderland comes out today too. Thanks for your comment, Jay.

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    3. Vicki Delany's Dying in a Winter Wonderland was the other book I had pre-ordered along with the new Maddie Day.

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  7. Congratulations to both of you on the release of your new books. How exciting to be able to read about Christmas without having to actually be *doing* Christmas yet!

    Cozies take me away into, well, a cozy world where the characters become like friends to me. I don't mind what season the story is set in -- or which name the author is using; just give me a good story, well written, and I'll be your happy reader.

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    1. Awesome Amanda, and thank you. Agree - we can enjoy the season without yet starting the decorating and baking.

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    2. Thank you, Amanda. I used to start worrying in June about how to "do" Christmas. Now, with a scattered family, it's a simpler holiday, but I miss the way it used to be.

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  8. I'm not very particular about the season in which the story is taking place - a good story is a good story any time of year. And I am contrary enough to want a beach read at Christmas and I might enjoy a snowbound story in July.

    Yes, if I like how the author writes I will seek out other books by them, no matter what name they use. I remember many, many years ago I loved books by Evan Hunter. Then I discovered he was also Ed McBain, with a lot more wonderful, and very different books for me to read. Only recently have I learned (although I might have known before and then forgotten) that neither name is the name he was born with.

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    1. Reading about snow in July is always a good idea!

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    2. Thank you for your comment, Judi. I had a similar experience when I found out that Reginald Hill, famous for his Yorkshire police series, also wrote cozy-ish novels like Death of a Dormouse, under the name Patrick Ruell.

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    3. Maya, thank you. I did not know that. I'm looking forward to reading your book as well as Maddie's. Congratulations!

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  9. I enjoy reading Christmas books and Halloween books any time of the year. When reading a series in order I'll read any holiday book when I get to it. Thank you for giving us this chance. pgenest57(at)aol(dot)com

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  10. Congratulations to both of you for your new books. I enjoy Christmas cozies and romances, and I'm happy to get into the seasonal mood this year.

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  11. How much fun to interview one another today!!

    Congratulations on your upcoming books. Christmas cozies have to be a genre of their own! Love the costume theme in a mystery and of course the food.

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    1. We enjoyed tossing ideas back and forth for the post. Thanks for commenting, Judy!

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  12. Congrats Edith and Maya! No preference for seasons here--if I enjoy an author's work, I'll read whatever I can get my hands on, whenever. And I'll follow them to other series under other names, too.

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  13. Congrats, Edith and Maya! I'm happy to read a Christmas cozy any time of year, but especially now when it's beginning to feel like autumn. And I'll read an author I like under any name!

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    1. Thank you for hosting us! It's a treat to be a guest on Jungle Red Writers!

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  14. I vote for Thanksgiving. The author can assemble a bunch of people who despise one another but pretend they don't. Halloween and Christmas are close seconds. Congratulations, Edith and Maya!

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  15. When we first moved to Maine in 2005 the town of Fort Kent still hosted an annual Dickens of a Christmas Festival. Shoppers were encouraged to dress up in Victorian costumes and many of the shopkeepers were dressed as well. Over time, the tradition died out and now we only celebrate the Scarecrow Festival to welcome in the harvest.

    I love books set at Christmas and yes, I will often seek out an author's alter-ego if I enjoy their writing, even if it crosses genres!

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    1. The heavy costumes would work in Maine, Kait!

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    2. Sorry you lost your Dickens festival, Kait. It's an annual affair in many places, but may not take place this year because of the need to stay out of crowds. I just hope they all come back next year.

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  16. Congratulations, Edith and Maya! I love books during the Christmas season. And for Halloween, I would read really scary books.

    Debs, I love the Dickens festival. When I was a kid, my Mom taught high school English classes and she would bring her students to the Dickens faire in the city. I remember it was just before Christmas and I would go with them to the City. I loved everything about the Dickens faire - costumes, Christmas decorations, and food! They stopped for a few years then revived the festival. I think it was a matter of finding a venue for the festival.

    Maya and Maddie, I love the titles of your books.

    While I do love mystery novels, they are more of Halloween reads for me. During the Christmas season, I prefer lighter slant on mysteries. Your books look like they will fit my Christmas requirements - no graphic violence and not too scary.

    Today is launch day for many, many, many wonderful books, including an American launch of a book that I bought from the Edinburgh Book Festival shop and several books that I wrote reviews for NetGalley.

    Diana

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    1. Thank you, Diana. What a great idea for an English teacher to take her class to a Dickens festival.

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    2. Definitely easier reads, Diana. I hope you love them.

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  17. My favorite holiday cozies are Halloween, but Christmas does come in second! I always track down book series by an author's alter ego since I figure if I like the series I'm reading there's a good chance I'll like their other series too. I was surprised when I found out Seanan McGuire also writes as Mira Grant... the two types of books are just so different.

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    1. Don't you love that kind of surprise?

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    2. Thank you for your comment, Kim. As long as we're taking about pen names, do you know which writer holds the alter ego record? English crime writer John Creasey, who also published romance and western novels, used 28 pseudonyms in the 600+ novels he wrote!

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    3. Maya, I didn't know that! Both of those facts are astounding. How did he write 600+ novels??? We should have asked his ghost to comment on motivators...

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  18. Happy publishing day, Edith and Maya!

    I can't say I have a favorite season to read about, it's all good to me!

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  19. It's funny - if I saw Christmas decorations out in stores at the end of September, I'd say, "Too early!" but it's NEVER too early for Christmas mysteries (and Christmas romances, which I also love.) I like to indulge in them every year, but I can already tell I'm going to be gorging this season, reading about festive holidays to make up for all the traditions I'm going to miss in order to stay safe and reduce community spread of Covid.

    I also have to say, I've seen a lot of Christmas-pun titles, but Gingerdead Man is a first and I love it. Also, I want that skeleton cookie stamp with the heat of a thousand suns!

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    1. Julia, this is the book I consulted with Youngest on - one will be in the mail to you and her soon!

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    2. Thank you, Julia. Search for skeleton cookie cutter on Amazon. That's where I bought mine.

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  20. Fall is my favorite season, so I love books set in the fall. I'm aware of most of the alter egos of my favorite authors, so I do seek out their books. Both of these sound great - congratulations on yur releases and thank you for the chances to win! aut1063(at)gmail(dot)com

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  21. Congratulations, ladies! I have no favorite season to set books in anymore than I have a favorite season to read them in. Galveston Island has a wonderful Dickens on the Strand celebration that I mean to attend every December. Hasn't happened yet but someday. . .

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    1. Thanks for your comment, Pat. I've been amazed at the number of Dickens celebrations.

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    2. Thank you, Pat. I hope you get to that celebration when it's safe to go!

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  22. Congrats! I have been surprised to find out two authors are the same person! My favorite seasons are spring and fall. I will read about all of them! Thank you for this amazing chance!!
    cupcakesannie@yahoo.com

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  23. Maya and Maddie/Edith, I love your books (and Deborah Crombie's as well).
    My favorite season for books to be set in is whatever season it really is, although I do enjoy Halloween and Christmas books.And yes,if I enjoy an authors writing, I will seek out anything they've written.

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  24. Christmas and Halloween are my favorite holidays for mystery settings. It just seems to add a little something extra. And I do look for books by alter egos. If I enjoy one series, I assume I'll like their others too and want to read them all. I haven't been disappointed yet!

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    1. Thanks for your comment, Alicia. You're right about the holidays adding something extra. We can all relate to holiday get-togethers, and it's fun to play with the traditions in a mystery.

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    2. Agree, it's definitely fun to riff on traditions.

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  25. Such a fun interview! And congratulations, you two . Is it difficult to write a book about a season – – when it isn’t really that season when you’re writing it? How do you remember to stay Christmasy?

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    1. Thank you, Hank. I know I wasn't writing this book at Christmas, and it was probably springtime. But it's not hard to stay in the season when you're immersed in it.

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    2. Thank you, Hank. Being a slow writer, I started the book in the spring and didn't finish it until January. That was my Christmasy year! I did make a lot of changes in the last month, so the real holiday season must have been an inspiration.

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  26. Just wondering if any of you authors are interested in sharing bookmarks for Little Free Libraries. We are about to install one on our property, and I was thinking that would be a perfect addition to that service.

    If so, you can find a lot of them on the LFL website, where many of the little libraries are mapped by number.

    I know many authors send them out, and use them liberally at conferences, but there are so few opportunities for this right now.

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    1. I would love to send bookmarks for your little free library, Karen! Message me your mailing address. We have several LFLs in my town and I keep meaning to drive by and drop off extra books I have. Now I'll bring bookmarks, too.

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    2. I'm also happy to send you bookmarks too, Karen! You can message me on FB or e-mail me: Maya dot Corrigan at gmail dot com. I can also leave them at some LFLs on my evening walks. What a great idea! Thank you.

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  27. Will do! Glad you like the idea.

    I won't need more than maybe five per title, and based on the remarks from another author I'll make sure the Plexiglas box I use will also accommodate postcard-sized markers.

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  28. I love cozies and holiday stories, any holiday, just add to the fun. I remember feeling a little clueless years ago when I had read something by Donna Lea Simpson, wanted to read more and "found" Victoria Hamilton and Amanda Cooper! I hadn't even considered it. Now if a like a series I always check for more by that author under a different name. If I like one it's probably I'll like the other.

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  29. I read this post hours ago, but got caught up in events immediately and didn't have a chance to respond until now. I don't have a favorite season for books to be set in, but I have enjoyed quite a few specifically Christmas books. It's a special time of the year that adds a special something to any story.

    As far as I'm concerned, good writing is good writing. Most often if I like the work of an author under one name, I can assume I will like that person's writing under another. I wish publishers didn't make you do it -- it only complicates keeping track of good writers. But when I am aware of the shared identity, I definitely read with equal enthusiasm under any and all pseudonyms.

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  30. I love the Halloween and Christmas seasons in books. Thanks for the chance!
    Jess

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  31. Wow! Two for the price of one, indeed.
    Well done, Reds.
    Intriguing information, ladies.
    Just because a book is a "cozy" doesn't mean it's without social commentary. Some of us like a bit of grit with our stories.

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  32. I love Halloween the most. Especially watching the kids in there many different costumes.

    Congratulations to you both on your new book. Great titles.

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  33. No preference on the season. Although I knew about Edith and Maya, I have been surprised by other authors' pen names. Please let us know when you write under different names because I will try those books. Years ago, my family and I read many of Dell Shannon and John Creasey's books under their different names. Stay safe and well.

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  34. Congratulations Maddie and Maya on the release of the new books. My favorite season for a book to be set in is winter, I think. Especially at Christmas time. As far as an author writing under 2 or more names, I'm always surprised when I find out they are one and the same! I do usually want to give the "other author" a try when I find out. Everybody stay healthy and safe and good luck but I hope I win the books😉

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  35. Thank you, Laurie. Stay healthy and good luck in the book raffle.

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  36. If I like an author, I definitely will read books published under their pen names. I really enjoy holiday themed books, doesn't matter what the season.

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  37. I'm so ready for some cookies and other goodies! Very excited for these books! Congrats, Maya and Maddie!

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  38. I have been surprised when an author I like writes under more than one name! I like reading Halloween and Christmas stories!!

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    1. I've had those surprises, too, Linda.

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    2. I've read several Christmas mysteries, but I always shied away from Halloween ones. I don't like being scared! But after writing one, I realize how much fun they can be.

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  39. Congratulations to you both on your new book releases! They both sound like exceptional reads with adorable covers! I can read a good Cozy Mystery anytime but the Halloween themed books make me want to hoard them like Candy Corn! They have to be by my favorite authors though garunteeing me good reads. I love the Christmas themed books with special events and parties making them delectable treats as well. Yes I have been surprised to learn two authors were the same person! It felt like I'd found a clue in a mystery! Edith Maxwell I've bought some books recently in your Country Store Mysteries series and I love them already! Oh the food!! Maya Corrigan you are new to me as an author but I really want to go to your Dickens Party and find out who dun it! I understand from your post why you two might use different author names but does it cause legal headaches as in legal names, taxes etc? I have to wonder but I'm sure it's all old hat to you both now! Thank you both so much for the enjoyable informative post and Giveaway!

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    1. Thank you, Sharon. For me, and probably most other people, the pen name appears on the book, but my real name is on any legal documents. I sign a contract, have a copyright, and endorse checks under my own name.

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    2. Thanks for the FYI! I meant to cut out the word taxes when I proof read my post, SO sorry I missed it! Computer problems posting... Didn't mean to sound rude or nosy, just wondering about the legal name bit. My husband and I had a business with legal name but "doing business as" etc. but it was our legal names that went on official documents as well. Wishing you the very best in all of your writing endeavors!!

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  40. CoNgRaTs on your books ladies! They sound a hoot- and the covers are great! My favorite holidays for Cozies are Samhain & Yule- such festive times of the year! I am getting used to the different names- it does help to differentiate genres, but different series sometimes confuses me. Thank you for the opportunity to snag these beauties!

    Cheers-
    Kelly Braun

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