Folks, I could not be prouder to announce my first cozy noir mystery, Sweeping with the Fishes, will be published later this month!
A splashing good time!
Aquarium Director Sona Lahiri just tied up her last loose end with a murder… but she’s not in safe waters yet.
Fletcher’s Bay Aquarium hosts exotic wildlife, hidden treasures, and one soaking dead body. Sona has a plan, a prize to claim, and a problem: her new custodian, Leonard Lake. As she passes off the drowning as an accident, the nosy little janitor keeps prodding with his endless questions — and the police aren’t far behind.
Sweeping with the Fishes is the first Leonard Lake Mystery from Casey Jones. If you like Columbo, a splash of cozy noir, and a cracking reverse-whodunit, you’ll love this twisting maze of discovery and deception.
Pick up An Aquarium of Deceitthis July 28th, and sink into a mystery you’ll want to read twice!
Cozy cohort, there’s still time to grab your free chance to win a bunch of great cozy mysteries. Click here and see what one lucky entry will win!
From there, you’ll get email updates from myself and other cozy authors, letting you know what we’re up to with delivering your next (hopefully) favorite book.
Edits are underway on A Tisket A Tasket A Biscuit A Casket, Margot Parish’s first full-length cozy mystery novel. I’m excited to tell you the lion’s share of work is really digging deep on the characters– not just Margot, but the suspects and old ‘friends’ she finds in Fletcher’s Crossing.
I think a good whodunit can only be improved by working harder to develop the characters into full-fledged people. The more realistic and flawed they are, the easier it’ll be to connect with them as a reader. That’s my hope.
I’m also working on polishing up our next baking recipes! Nothing soothes this dandy of a writer like puttering around the kitchen, bringing sweet things into the world. (Don’t be surprised by holiday cookies, it’s all I’m saying.)
It means a lot that you’d want to hear more from me. I’m just glad you can get something back as well. Sign up and look forward to grand things!
Folks, I’m delighted to announce I’ve joined a friendly lot of mystery writers for a special free chance to win more than two dozen new mystery books!
Just click here and take a look at some of the great mysteries one lucky contestant will get their (oven) mitts on, and sign up for your free chance to win!
You’ll start to get updates from myself and cozy authors like me, who just want to share entertaining mysteries where the murders happen off-page, thebad guy answers for their crimes, and everything wraps up nicely with a few cookies and a cup of something hot. (Lately I’ve been baking chocolate-chocolate chip w/ salted peanuts, to go with a lovely decaf latté.)
Now, Margot Parish’s first mystery ‘A Tisket A Tasket A Biscuit A Casket’ is still being polished, and the unlucky exploits of Leonard Lake are still in the drawing board stages. Here’s where I could really use your help:
What would you like from me as a giveaway? I never want to waste my reader’s time, which means sending you things you’ll actually enjoy. Would you like…
Baking Recipes Perfected in Margot’s (and My) Kitchen?
Character Profiles on the fascinating residents of Fletcher’s Crossing?
Cozy Recaps of Favorite Mystery Series and the Great Detectives?
A Snapshot of My Writing Process?
Sketches for Upcoming Mystery Covers?
Something I haven’t thought of!
Put your best answers in the comments, and I’ll make sure you get nothing but the best I can give.
Lots of interesting developments in the works that I can’t wait to share. Stay tuned for more updates soon!
No comfy kitchen is complete without the wafting aroma of fresh chocolate chip cookies!
Part of my mission as a creator of cozy delights (stories, treats, and affirmations that yes, you’re doing enough) is to bring you the best version of these delights that I can. We start with the basic building blocks and well, build. (I’m also excited to share my secret cookie cheat with you.)
My amateur sleuth Margot Parish feels most at home in the kitchen, just like me. Chocolate chip cookies are her go-to comfort food to get suspects talking; now you can taste why for yourself!
The alchemy of turning crude ingredients into cookie-fied perfection does not happen immediately, but overnight. Let’s start with what we need!
Ingredients Gear!
13 Tbsp Unsalted butter (or 2 sticks, minus 3 Tbsp)
½ cup white sugar
1½ cups brown sugar
2 eggs
11 ½ ounces all purpose flour
1 Tbsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp cinnamon
Kick of nutmeg!
Chocolate chips
M&Ms, Pretzels, etc
Standing Mixer
Medium-big bowl
Whisk
Spatula
Baking sheets
Ice Cream Scoop
Parchment paper
Directions
Melt butter. We want to break it down before we build back up, so melt your butter to a golden brown, then chill in a bowl ’til solid.
Add butter to mixer with white and brown sugar, mix ’til combined.
Add two eggs one at a time, and re-mix.
In your medium-big bowl, whisk flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, and nutmeg. You’re in for a treat.
Add half of dry ingredients to buttery sugar and mix. Scrape down the mixing bowl, add 2nd half. (Don’t over-mix, we’re trying to avoid too much gluten buildup.)
Add cookie toppings, lightly mix w/ spatula. Chill for an hour or two, up to 2 days.
Pre-heat oven to 350°F, ready baking sheets w/ parchment. Scoop your dough into walnut-sized lumps, with room to spread out.
Bake for seven minutes. Make last-minute touch ups w/ extra toppings!
Bake for seven more minutes.
Cool, serve, and soak up compliments for your amazing cookies!
Did you notice my secret baking cheat, of pulling the cookies out at the half-way mark, to give them one last touch-up? This never would’ve occurred to me. You have the last word on how your cookies turn out, so make ’em beautiful.
I also enjoy an efficient kitchen, so while my cookie dough’s in the mixer, I clean my medium-big bowl for storing the finished dough in the fridge!
The original recipe is courtesy of Andrew Rea, mastermind behind Binging with Babish! You can find his recipe here.
Baking is such a thoughtful, delicious way to show a loved one we care. (Even self-care.) Like my favorite things in life: coffee, great music, fresh-baked treats, or a good story, none of them happen by accident. I invite you to try out, tweak, and personalize this recipe to your taste buds, as I did!
I’m going back to work on my new cozy mystery, A Tisket A Tasket A Biscuit A Casket. In the meantime, you can catch up with my podcast, Cozy Cozies! Say good night, Smibbons!
I’m supremely delighted to announce that my cozy mystery podcast, Cozy Cozies, is now live. The episode touches on favorite cozy titles, what’s been cooking in the oven recently, and what’s been simmering on the mental stove. Included is a sample from my upcoming book, A Tisket, A Tasket, A Biscuit, A Casket. Enjoy.
It’s been difficult for a long time to go after what I want, to prioritize my career, and re-frame what I’m looking for in the future. Starting a podcast has been something I’ve been meaning to do for ages. It wasn’t until a self-publishing coach suggested it too that the fire was finally lit under my backside.
I’ve joined Mark Dawson’s self-publishing course, and am so far quite encouraged by the lessons on offer. More on that front as it develops.
I started an instagram account and actually used my camera on purpose! Will wonders never cease.
Leave questions you’d like answered on the podcast in a comment below, and stop by again soon for new delights!
I’m delighted to announce that my fiancée and I have tied the knot! We’re hitched! After deliberating back and forth on the scale for our nuptials, we agreed to keep it small as humanly possible. (Health being the primary concern.) I’ve no idea what to expect from married life, but if it’s anything like what we’ve been thru already– minus the stress of wedding planning– then we’ve got this.
In completely unrelated news, I’ve started work on a Cozy Mystery, my first. I’ve always loved the genre– lord knows I’ve absorbed enough of it– but this is my first foray into the creation of one. It started as a short story idea, some 6,000 words, and may stay that size. It may not. Time will tell.
One thing I’ve finally managed to learn is not worry about the first draft. In the past, I might have dithered back and forth on making sure every word is perfect in this draft, and it’s an obstacle I just don’t have time to indulge. I finished the first draft of a tween mystery manuscript just as October began, and work on it has consumed most of my non-wedding thoughts for the whole summer.
What got me over some stumbling blocks was the fact that it didn’t need to be perfect, it just needed to be. It’s a first draft.
This side it still just getting started, but I’m excited to see where it goes, how it grows. More to follow.
Here we go. After far too long away, I’m finally resuming the work of getting my own site up on its feet. Hoo boy.
There are stories I want to tell, old gems I want to polish up, and an audience I want to connect with: namely, you. If you like mysteries, a good scare, and a few pleasant surprises, then this is the place for you.
If you want to be good, first you have to be brave. Getting this site just right will take time, but at least it exists, which is more than I could say for it yesterday.
