How I Went From Christie to Creepy + Win up to 25 eBooks

Okay, I might stand out like a sore thumb, right (pick my book, anyone?) but when it comes to mystery writing, it turns out I fit right into a whole new category — the paranormal mystery genre. Who knew?

Have you ever read a paranormal mystery? I stumbled into the genre by accident, and am so glad I did!

It was a warm and sunny day, two years ago (well, I’m guessing it was warm and sunny; this is Australia, folks, it’s almost always warm and sunny). I was sitting at my desk and conjuring up a new crime novel, and I wanted it to be different to anything I’d done before. I kept thinking: what do I love best about murder mysteries? It’s not the murder, not really. I’m not a macabre kind of person (as we’ve discussed before). And it’s certainly not the sinister build up to the murder. Sometimes, while reading, I find myself thinking, “Come on, just stick the bloody knife in and let’s get on with it!”

No, it’s all about the CLUES.

I love ’em. Each and every one of them. And I especially love when they’re camouflaged with stinky red herrings—the kind that send you barrelling down the wrong alleyway and lead you further away from the truth.

So why not write a story with the murder already over and done with, and the victim presenting the clues like a narrator from above? Seemed like such a fun, fabulous way to write a book. So I did it.

The first, Do Not Go Gentle, was such a lark, I wrote a second one: my very latest: Do Not Go Alone, which brings us here, folks.

Today, I’m proud to announce that I’ve teamed up with 25 other paranormal authors—authors who’ve been writing this genre for years—to offer you the chance to winup to 25+ paranormal mystery eBooks AND gain access to free and 99c bookswhile you’re at it!

Just click on the image above, or here, and explore a new genre with me. It might be a little spookier than you’re used to, but gee it’s a lot of fun.

Happy (creepy) reading everyone!

xo Christina

DO NOT GO ALONE: A POSTHUMOUS MYSTERY 2

Now on sale for just 99c!

“There’s a bullet in my head and it’s really messing with my hairstyle…” So begins the second in the new Posthumous Mystery series. This time the victim is 27-year-old party girl Maisie who really shouldn’t be dead. Her party’s still pumping she’s missing all the fun. As she hovers overhead watching her loved ones splash about, Maisie begins to wonder: who hated her just enough to slaughter her in the middle of her own soiree then return to the pool as if nothing has happened? Can you help uncover a killer before the creepy dead people convince Maisie to cross?

Out of the (cozy) cupboard and proud!

I knew they were crime. I knew they were fairly benign. But I never had a clue my murder mysteries were 'cozy' until I began uploading them to Amazon. 

Despite my best efforts—'suspense!', 'international mystery!', 'humor!'— I was quickly relegated to the 'Cozy' genre. Didn't bother me, of course. It just confused me.

What the hell is Cozy Crime?

The name, of course, gives the game away. Look up a dictionary, any dictionary, and you're likely to find the words: "comfortable, snug, warm and friendly".*

And, yes, that is one way of looking at my books. Kind of.
I mean, there are a few murders in the mix, but for the most part The Ghostwriter Mystery Series and The Agatha Christie Book Club can be read in the dead of night without looking over your shoulder and checking the locks.

They're not dripping in blood and lurking with vicious rapists or child killers. There's no gory autopsies and psycho serial killers.

They're mysteries with an edge of menace. Puzzles with a little peril. A good story with some secrecy and problem solving thrown in. And, yes, okay then, they are best read cuddled up in a cozy armchair, preferably with a cute dog/cat/cuppa by your side.

Guilty as charged!

Of course many authors, readers and publishers go even further than that, and suggest that 'Cozy' means 'small town', means 'amateur sleuth', means compulsory addition of a cat/dog/craft/hobby. And for some it does. But it needn't be that defined.

For me, 'cozy crime' just means a bloody good mystery that's enjoyable to read, fun to solve, has a very clever plot and quirky, lovable characters, and still lets you sleep at night. Or, as they say: Comfortable, snug, warm and friendly.

So, to celebrate the genre that was thrust upon me but which I have quickly grown to adore, I wanted to give a thumbs up to some other wonderful cozy authors with whom I share Amazon digital shelves and a facebook writing group. I haven't read them all but I can vouch for their sincerity and devotion to the genre, whether they intended to write cozy or not.

Take your pick...

And happy (cozy) reading everyone!
xo Christina

* The Concise Oxford Dictionary

C.A. Larmer Author of novels at Self-Employed	Ritter Ames Fictional Escape Artist at Writer
Kathi Daley Kathi Daley Books at Writer	Julie Mulhern Washington and Lee University
Mollie Cox Bryan Mystery Writer at Kensington Publishing Corp.	Tonya Kappes USA Today Bestselling Author at Paranormal Mystery and Women's Fiction Joined about 8 months ago
Dianne Harman University of California, Los Angeles	Leigh Selfman
Julie Seedorf Writer at Self-Employed	Sylvia Selfman
Leslie Langtry University of Illinois at Springfield	Julie Moffett Works at Novelist
Amy Metz Author at Home	Christa Nardi University of Connecticut at Storrs
Celeste Burke Author at Writer	Julie Sarff Works at Community College of Denver
Zanna Mackenzie Works at Freelance Writer and Author	Kee Patterbee Georgia State University
Morgana Best Works at Author	Maureen Kovach Retired English teacher at Carey High School
Duncan Whitehead	Ava Mallory Author at Author Ava Mallory