Wednesday, October 12, 2022

What We Are Writing: Rhys keeps it cozy

 RHYS BOWEN: This week there was an article in the British Daily Express about Richard Osman and how he had "invented" the cozy genre. I was delighted that one of the indignant commenters asked, "What about Rhys Bowen and Constable Evans?"

Thank you, kind commenter. I didn't invent the genre either, although Constable Evans came out 25 years ago now. I think we can give credit for that to Agatha and her contemporaries. But I admit to being cozy by nature. The world is divided, isn't it? Either you are cozy and see the universe as a place of order and safety, which a crime disrupts, or you are noir and you see the universe as a place of chaos. You can solve a crime but you can't heal the universe. I am glad I am the former.  I've tried writing darker (and I'm sure you'll notice that my stand-alones do veer toward dark sometimes. Definitely the next one will) but my series mysteries remain on the cozier side.

Molly Murphy does sometimes get quite dark but it doesn't stay there, thanks to Molly's cheerful nature and her ability to see humor--just like my own.  I'm delighted that my new co-writer, my daughter Clare Broyles, shares this sense of humor. I believe this scene in the book we are just finishing (currently called IN SUNSHINE AND IN SHADOW) shows that we see the humor in most things.

Molly has gone to stay with her friends Sid and Gus at a women's artist colony in the Catskill mountains, close to Sid's family who have a bungalow colony up there. Both Sid and Gus are involved in a play that the women are producing and Molly goes to a rehearsal. Here's a snippet:

The building was very dark as we came in from outside. As my eyes adjusted I saw that there were figures on stage and quite a number of people in the audience. I found a seat away from the others as I didn’t want to disturb them.

                The strange figures were lit by hanging oil lamps on the stage. They were wearing long flowing sleeveless garments that reminded me of night shifts and revealed bare feet and ankles. Colorful scarves draped from their arms. Brilliant feathers were stuck into giant bird heads with long curved beaks. They raised their arms high and made screeching noises then rushed forward. They cried out in unison, but I couldn’t make out the words.

                “Louder,” a woman’s voice called out from the center front of the audience. “I can’t hear a goddamn word you are saying.” Nobody, except me,  seemed to have been shocked by the woman's profanity. The bird-like creatures walked back and repeated the scene.  The muffled chorus of voices grew louder and the movement of the scarves more intense but still not a word could be understood. One of these strange creatures, with some struggle, managed to pull the unwieldy mask off, revealing cropped hair and a rather sweaty face.

                “It’s no use swearing at us, Clara,” said the woman tartly, “We can’t make ourselves heard through these stupid things.” I knew that voice and took a second look. It was Sid. The other actors took their masks off as well, not without difficulty. 

                “We just can’t use these things.” A heftier older woman with a deep voice spoke. “I always thought masks were a bad idea.” There was a huffing sound from a woman in the front row. “They are lovely, Doris,” the speaker said apologetically. “Could we put them on sticks and carry them with us?”

                “But that would look like headless birds. It would destroy the symmetry of the movement,” Sid spoke up. She repeated the rushing movement with the mask in her hand and it did look strange.

                “Can we cut air holes in the bottom of the masks so that they can project the words?” the woman Sid had called Clara suggested.

                “They will fall apart,” the huffing woman said gloomily. “The beaks are integral to the construction.”

                “Without the masks we just look like women in scarves,” one of the actors complained. “We need to represent the birds chorus.”

                “For now, let’s try this,” Clara said, clearly wanting to move on, “Before each block of speech add, ‘We are the birds’. It’s in keeping with Greek chorus tradition and will leave no doubt that you are the bird chorus. We must distinguish you from the humans and the gods. Put those masks down and let’s try it again.”

                The scarved women lined up across the stage. Sid was in the middle. They raised their hands over their heads.

                “We are the birds!” they chorused, “Ka-kaw, ka-kaw, Eee-ooo, Eee-ooo.” They rushed forward, scarves waving from their hands. “Forward to the attack, throw yourselves upon the foe, spill his blood; take to your wings and surround them on all sides.” The line of birds parted and flew around the stage, scarves wafting behind them, attacking two other characters who defended themselves with what looked like pots and pans.

                I must confess I didn’t understand the rest of the play. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to laugh. The actors said the funniest lines but with incredible seriousness. After a great many repetitions of scenes, a woman with a flute came on and began to play. The leader of the birds came out and said in time with the music,

                “At the beginning there was only Chaos, Night, dark Erebus, and deep Tartarus. Earth, the air and heaven had no existence.” Gus came out, dressed entirely in what looked like a black undergarment. She carried a giant wooden egg-shaped ball.

                “Firstly, black-winged Night laid a germless egg in the bosom of the infinite deeps of Erebus,” said the speaker. Gus jumped up onto a box that had been placed at center stage and pantomimed laying the egg onto to the box.

                “And from this, after the revolution of long ages, sprang the graceful Eros with his glittering golden wings, swift as the whirlwinds of the tempest,” the speaker intoned as the flute melody went higher and higher. Another dancer jumped out from behind the box, presumably having been hatched out of the egg. This dancer was in the white version of Gus’ clothing but with golden wings attached. She chased Gus around the stage with a golden bow in her hand. After this all sorts of Greek figures came onto the stage and proceeded to create the universe. I admit I enjoyed that part. So, I could truthfully say that I had enjoyed the production when Sid and Gus finally emerged from the theater, Sid in her usual silk pajama pants and Gus back in her rational dress.

                “It’s such an important political statement,” Gus said earnestly as we walked through the dirt lane toward what I hoped was our lodging for the evening. “You do see that don’t you?”

                “Umm,” I wasn’t sure what to say but luckily, she went on.

                “The birds represent the unartistic souls, giving way to convention and trying to tear down the gods of beauty and expression.”

So Molly is not highbrow in her tastes. I bet we've all been through a theater production that is so high brow we're not sure whether we're supposed to laugh or not. I remember going to see a play in London once and as we came out I heard a woman's voice behind me saying loudly, "I suppose that was all meant to be quite significant."  I knew how she felt.

This is one small light-hearted moment in a murder mystery, and therefore a serious book. My gravedigger's scene from Hamlet, perhaps.  Do you enjoy these lighter moments in books? Do you read both light and dark?  I know I do, unless it gets violent and graphic.

And a news flash: Yesterday I celebrated the publication of the paperback of GOD REST YE ROYAL GENTLEMEN: It's a month until the new hardcover, PERIL IN PARIS, comes out.



47 comments:

  1. Thanks for this glimpse into Molly's upcoming story. Molly certainly is a good friend, trying to be supportive of the show despite her confusion . . . . I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the story.

    I do enjoy the lighter moments in stories . . . if it was all dark, it would be terribly depressing.

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  2. Constable Evans got me through a bout of pneumonia some years ago. I liked reading about Wales. Thank you for staying cozy!

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  3. I heard about that article. Didn't read it, because it's almost as ridiculous that someone thinks this dude invented cozy as the pristine white go-go boots a certain public figure wore recently. Congratulations on the fan's shoutout.

    I'm right there with Molly, I'm afraid, about not-highbrow - and looking forward to the new book! I do mix dark with light in my reading, but find it hard to write dark even when I try.

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    1. Edith, what does "high brow" exactly mean? Does that mean that people watch the play with raised eyebrows?

      Diana

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    2. Diana, it means intellectual, vs. crass amusements for the masses.

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    3. karen in ohio, that was my guess, though I was not sure. thank you! Diana

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  4. Yes, I also heard about the Richard Osman piece. The Express writer is definitely ignorant about the origins of the cozy genre.

    I read both light and dark books in the crime fiction genre but even the dark books need some scenes with humour/lightness or it would be pretty grim reading (for me).

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  5. I fall in the middle. My earlier books were darker and I remember my prospective editor for the Key West books asking me: "Can you write light?" I assured her I could. Light with layers LOL.

    Can't wait for the new Georgie book Rhys! and I love your bird scene

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    1. Roberta, that reminds me of Rhys's last bird scenes in Four Funerals and a Wedding Maybe. Hilarious!!

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    2. That bird scene was inspired by what happened to Hank once!

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  6. The writer of the Osman piece may have killed their own career with that single sentence, or at the very least destroyed a good deal of their own credibility.

    I used to read all the dark, heavy crime fiction, but I just can't any more. For one thing, I have three adult daughters, two of whom travel all over and do scary things like backpack in the mountains, climb boulders, and egads, hitchhike in Thailand, most of the time alone. I couldn't sleep at night ever again if I was still reading those "women in a box"-type books. Give me a good, lighthearted story, or at least one with lighter moments. I appreciate a chuckle, or even a good guffaw in the midst of a tense scene, as long as it isn't at the writer's expense.

    The bird chorus is so vivid in this description, Rhys. Love it.

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    1. Karen in Ohio, I cannot read those "women in a box" type books either. Agree with you about the writer of the Osman piece. It is crystal clear that the writer did not do their homework. ha ha.

      Diana

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  7. Rhys, thank you for sharing that snippet. I enjoy the Molly books and am glad that Clare sees the importance of injecting light hearted moments into the stories. Sid and Gus are perfect characters for that because they are always up to something! ( Cannot wait for Peril in Paris!)

    I read both light hearted and dark mysteries, and other genres, too. I particularly love series but read stand alones as well. I loved Where the Sky Begins. Grace said it well, even the dark books need scenes with humor.

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  8. Telling, perhaps, that the writer attributed the 'invention' of the cozy to a male writer. Get back in those kitchens, girls!

    Greatly enjoyed the scene with Molly and Sid and Gus. As a friend once commented as we left the theater, "Did we like it?" Looking forward to this book, also Peril in Paris, and anything else you care to write, Rhys. Life would be unbearable if not for moments of lightness and laughter--same with the books I choose to read.

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    1. Flora, that was exactly the thought I had. "Let's rummage around the genre until we can find a man we can pin as its creator." Picture me rolling my eyes into the back of my head.

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    2. Julia, Love that " let's rummage around the genre until we find a man we can pin as its creator" remark. I am still laughing.

      Diana

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  9. Great clip, Rhys. I do read both light and dark and yes, I like the "lighter" moments in darker books. But I can't read dark all the time. If I wanted nonstop depression, I'd turn on the 6pm news.

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    1. I had to find a clip that didn't give away too much of the plot!

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  10. Can a book be "cozy" if it's dark?

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    1. I suppose it we define cozy as a world view. If darkness happens but then order is restored to the universe. One of my Constable Evans books went quite dark and into a very twisted mind.

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  11. Dark and Light – it depends where and when I am reading the book. Cozy mysteries are the only thing that I want to read in bed and as an ebook – my mind wants a good story, good characters and not too much brain work. I need to feel good, and enjoy the characters and usually the author – Vicki Delaney gets me every time. Then I have what I call ‘need a mystery, but not too taxing’ – these are audiobooks that have a good mystery, but a step more convoluted that a cozy – still needs good characters, and a good plot to get me through what goes on in my day. These are often a part of a series. Mary Higgins Clark, Karen Slaughter are a few. To top it off we have ‘the don’t talk to me, I’m reading audiobooks’. These are my favourite authors, again usually in a series, where I listen, concentrate and reveal in the deliciousness – Penny, Osman, Winspear, Cleeves, Deb and Julia.
    I am in a drought right now – 5 books in a row, that just didn’t grab me. Need to go back to some old favourites or find some new ones. I see Susan Elia MacNeil has a new one out – but it is not yet in audio. Since I can’t afford Audible, I have to wait until it is available as a library download, and unfortunately a lot are not. Need to have someone explain to me sometime why some books seem to have Audible rights only.
    I forgot that I have Book Club this afternoon – and I have only read 2 chapters in the book. I started it, but would rather stick needles in my eyes than read it. I can tell you the plot – there will be one or 2 children who speak the local dialect, there will be a priest, there will be rape and violence, and the author will waffle the ending. What more needs to be said. I may be flogged…or denied the egg salad sandwiches.

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    1. Margo, not finishing a book is as much a critique as slogging on to the end. As long as you can tell the rest of your book club why you didn't finish, I suspect you'll have plenty to contribute to the conversation! ( And maybe nab an egg salad sandwich before things get started...)

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    2. I often find that I am at odds with book club members over books they think are wonderful and I find bleak and depressing.

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    3. Quite a few people in the book club subscribe to the theory that if you are nominated for and/or get a prize (Booker, Scotia Bank, anything high-faluting) that the book deserves a 10/10. There are some that do, and then in my opinion, some that really don't. They also shun authors who are popular - so I often get grief for my opinions. Most of them shot down Louise Penny - how could they? It was a mystery, forget about the magical, thoughtful, and truly Canadian writing.

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    4. Margo, I've learned not to recommend books for the library's book club. Always the same sort of book--setting might change and age of characters, but that's all. No mysteries, no lighter fare, no nonfiction. I've read so many good books by stepping out of my own reading 'lane.'

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  12. Definitely reading more light than dark these days, and sticking with well loved characters. This snippet was fun to read!

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  13. Rhys, my mother read all sorts of things and she loved Constable Evans. She also liked Molly and Georgie, which is how I became the fan that I am. Like most of the other readers here, I prefer light to dark, but nicely balanced.

    I had to laugh about the play Molly was attending in the Catskills. I too once went to a play in Woodstock, right in the heart of the Catskill mountains and I had no idea what it was all about. The title was something about a banana peel, which sounds like it must have been funny, but if so, no one in the audience was laughing.

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    1. Maybe it was the same theater? We based ours on a real small theater that was in existence in those days-

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  14. I read both light and dark. I do enjoy suspense and thrillers, as well as cozies. Lucy/Roberta’s UNSAFE HAVEN could certainly not be called a Cozy, but it had me on the edge of my seat from the first page. Hank’s books do that for me, too. I can only read most of Julia’s books in the summer, thanks to her wonderful descriptions of icy coldness that have me drinking hot tea constantly. I will not read gore or gratuitous violence. Many years ago I gave up on an author whose series books became more and more violent. The final straw for me was the book where the “good” guys seemed to be killing people just for the sake of killing them.

    DebRo

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    1. Maybe I should advertise my books as environmentally friendly air conditioning, DebRo?

      And I agree with you very much on the last point. I enjoy dark reads, often more than light, but it infuriates me when an author starts throwing in more and more graphic violence in order to become, I don't know, edgier? Taken more seriously? There have been books and writers I have left behind because of that.

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    2. I put down a book when the violence is too much

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    3. Rhys, I put down a book when the violence is too graphic! Diana

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    4. What about the dreaded author kills off a character for no realistic reason? Recent book killed off one of the more interesting characters. The author could have moved the character on in their life and eliminated them from the immediate plotting of books without killing them. One series I will not continue to read! No I’m am not referring to Elizabeth George, it is a very recent book by a prominent UK author. Great discussion topic after more have read the book.

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  15. Rhys, you are so wonderful! And this excerpt is so terrific. I am looking up that article right now..I cannot believe an editor let it get through with that as its premise. And thinking about Angela Lansbury today--who could certainly play it dark OR light. Personally? I am not so taken with "light"--present company excepted, or and Anthony Horowitz, (my idol) and Nita Prose--but I avoid gruesome violent craziness.
    And yes, DebRo, there's a thing I've noticed too about series with increasing violence. I wonder if that's the author searching for "new." Cozies are difficult to write, because they have such boundaries. Which is why I am always in awe of the successful cozy authors! (Present company included.)

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    1. I think with any cozy series it's like a sit-com--after you've exhausted the premise you have to delve deeper into the characters and that's where it gets darker. Certainly my Constable Evans series got darker as it went along

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  16. I'm good with light and dark, but not too dark. I don't want graphic on the page, and definitely no child or animal jeopardy that doesn't end well. I enjoy seeing authors grow their characters and become confident enough in their writing to let those characters walk a bit on the dark side. So long as they don't fall into the abyss - I'm good.

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  17. Rhys, thank you for explaining the fuss about Osman and cozy ? mysteries. I saw a post about it on Facebook and I was confused. I had no idea what it was all about! After your explanation, I was thinking that whoever wrote that about "inventing cozy mysteries" apparently DID NOT do their homework. Ha ha.

    Loved that excerpt about Molly. My great grandmother was named Molly and she married my great grandfather. Although my great grandfather encouraged his daughters, including my grandmother, to go to University because he believed in education for everyone, in some ways he was very conservative. When my grandmother and great grandmother came home from the barber with cropped hair (1920s hairstyle similar to Lady Edwina Ashley?), my great grandfather, who was a clergyman, told my great grandmother that he could not take her to church anymore. Molly said she did not care. Ha ha. I am still laughing about that story.

    Love cozy mysteries. Your question about light or darker in the stories reminded me of a story about Agatha Christie. In her dedication to her brother in law when she wrote Poirot's Christmas, she mentioned that the book has more blood. In her autobiography, her brother in law complained that there was not enough blood in her books. I took it to mean that he thought it was not violent enough for his taste?

    In these sad times with current events (the pandemic, Russia attacking Ukraine, decay of civilized behavior, and so on), I feel that we need more lightness. For me, I can escape from the harsh reality in your cozy mystery novels. You mentioned that Evans got darker. And your stand alone books veer towards darkness. For me, I never thought they were too dark. If I thought it was too dark, then I would stop reading. I always finished reading all of your novels.

    Once in a while I have read novels that veer towards darkness and since I am a mood reader, sometimes I can handle that.

    Sorry this is so long!

    Diana

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  18. This is sooo good, Rhys! Thanks for sharing. I've always like light and dark... but I've drifted more toward the light of late. Smart is more important than light or dark. And a little funny is always welcome.

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    1. I think the pandemic, insurrection and war have given us all enough darkness and we need an escape right now ( Rhys)

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  19. Sounds cozy. Looking forward to it.

    About that headline: While I blame the writer/headline writer for it, it is fun to mock it. I keep asking what I've been reading and reviewing for 20+ years if cozies were just now invented. Yours were some of the first I read, Rhys.

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  20. I like a mix of light and dark, to match my moods. I don't think I could have kept a straight face at the bird chorus rehearsal. It reminded me of Schitt's Creek when Moira was a giant bird in her low budget movie. Ka-caw! As for the author of the article, he or she couldn't possibly have found a more public way to display his/her own ignorance than that.

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  21. Ah, we do need the light moments to set us up for the serious ones to follow, and I love those sharp wits that pop the balloons of pomposity. I can hardly wait for this new adventure.

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  22. Oh, I love the idea of Molly and Sid and Gus are together at an artists' retreat, and I love the setting of the Catskill Mountains, too. There's never a dull moment when these three get together. And, I'm so excited about upcoming Peril in Paris comes out. I need a new Georgie book.

    I missed Monday and Tuesday on here, but I did go back and read the posts. Hallie, it seems you are having a busy fall. How lucky are those who will be in your writing classes. Hank, that email from Harlan Coben must have been a great thrill indeed. I find birds of prey so fascinating, and your story, plus the rest, is now on my reading list. Count me in, too, as someone who can watch Dr. Zhivago over and over again. I think my bird of prey would be nocturnal, the Great-Horned Owl, one of only two owls who actually hoot.

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  23. I read light and dark and mixed and suspect journalists err when grasping for a headline. Angela Lansbury should receive credit for making a cozy sleuth a TV phenomenon!

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  24. Delightful snippet, Rhys! I am with you. I lean to the cozy and yours are some of my very favorite :)

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