Recently, I completed writing the 12th title in my Isabel and Alma Trumbo Cozy Mystery Series. So far, I’ve published 1o titles, the latest one being Eve’s Win. My two unpublished titles are To Dye For and Fowl Play. My plan is to write book number 13 (I’m not superstitious!) in the second half of 2020. Why do I? Because I enjoy interacting with the familiar cast of characters and spending some time in its small-town setting of Quiet Anchorage, Virginia.
I just looked up to see that I published my debut series title, Quiet Anchorage, in 2011. I was age 55, and this year I turned 64. The math, then, shows I’m more of a senior now much like my two senior sleuths Isabel and Alma Trumbo are. I know I sure have a better idea of what they’re physically able to accomplish during their adventures. Bring me the Bengay tube! Isabel has remained the reflective sister while Alma is more outspoken, setting up their contrast of personalities. Somehow, they manage to remain close and continue living in the same house with their lovable pet beagle, Petey Samson. I base them on my real-life aunts with the same first names who died several decades ago.
Humor is playing a larger role in the new cozy mysteries I’m writing. I go back and forth over which scenes and lines in them are funny and not so funny. Cozies employ a moral code that everything is kept clean and within the bounds of good taste. I liken the humor found in cozies to the standup comedian Jim Gaffigan who is known for leaving the raunchy and obscene material out of his stage acts. I’ve said before it’s more difficult and challenging to write clean humor than not-so-clean humor. At least it is for me.
I don’t believe I’m going to include anything about the coronavirus pandemic in my future mystery plots, either in my cozies or my hardboiled crime titles. For one thing, I hear enough about it on the TV news and read enough about it in the newspapers. My mysteries are written as escapist, entertaining fiction. I suppose a dystopian crime noir could use the coronavirus pandemic in its plotline and premise. However, I’ll leave those to the other authors. Besides, Isabel and Alma wouldn’t like the look of wearing a facemask even if it was pink or paisley.
I know the small towns are having a rough time right now. Frank Fritz and Mike Wolfe on the History Cable TV show American Pickers visit such spots during their treks for antiques across the United States. Main Streets are swiftly fading from the modern scene. They find potholed streets, deserted buildings, and boarded-up storefronts. Of course Quiet Anchorage doesn’t suffer the same plight in my cozy mysteries. Rather, its depiction is the vibrant, relevant one I remember from back when I was a kid. I didn’t live within the town limits, so I know what an exciting time it was to drive into town and see the sights on a Saturday night.
I should also say a few words about Isabel and Alma’s pet beagle that’s been with them from their first mystery. Petey Samson is the love of their lives. Beagles follow their noses, sort of like a downsized bloodhound. They’re a playful, good-natured breed of canine, but they’re also mischievous and get into trouble quite often. His clownish antics--like sneaking down to the butcher shop for meat scraps--help to keep my sleuth sisters on their toes and provide some of the comic relief. I can’t imagine Isabel and Alma without a pet in their household.
From this point, I expect to keep the Isabel and Alma Trumbo Cozy Mystery Series going for at least the next couple of years. I haven’t run out of steam yet.
I just looked up to see that I published my debut series title, Quiet Anchorage, in 2011. I was age 55, and this year I turned 64. The math, then, shows I’m more of a senior now much like my two senior sleuths Isabel and Alma Trumbo are. I know I sure have a better idea of what they’re physically able to accomplish during their adventures. Bring me the Bengay tube! Isabel has remained the reflective sister while Alma is more outspoken, setting up their contrast of personalities. Somehow, they manage to remain close and continue living in the same house with their lovable pet beagle, Petey Samson. I base them on my real-life aunts with the same first names who died several decades ago.
Humor is playing a larger role in the new cozy mysteries I’m writing. I go back and forth over which scenes and lines in them are funny and not so funny. Cozies employ a moral code that everything is kept clean and within the bounds of good taste. I liken the humor found in cozies to the standup comedian Jim Gaffigan who is known for leaving the raunchy and obscene material out of his stage acts. I’ve said before it’s more difficult and challenging to write clean humor than not-so-clean humor. At least it is for me.
I don’t believe I’m going to include anything about the coronavirus pandemic in my future mystery plots, either in my cozies or my hardboiled crime titles. For one thing, I hear enough about it on the TV news and read enough about it in the newspapers. My mysteries are written as escapist, entertaining fiction. I suppose a dystopian crime noir could use the coronavirus pandemic in its plotline and premise. However, I’ll leave those to the other authors. Besides, Isabel and Alma wouldn’t like the look of wearing a facemask even if it was pink or paisley.
I know the small towns are having a rough time right now. Frank Fritz and Mike Wolfe on the History Cable TV show American Pickers visit such spots during their treks for antiques across the United States. Main Streets are swiftly fading from the modern scene. They find potholed streets, deserted buildings, and boarded-up storefronts. Of course Quiet Anchorage doesn’t suffer the same plight in my cozy mysteries. Rather, its depiction is the vibrant, relevant one I remember from back when I was a kid. I didn’t live within the town limits, so I know what an exciting time it was to drive into town and see the sights on a Saturday night.
I should also say a few words about Isabel and Alma’s pet beagle that’s been with them from their first mystery. Petey Samson is the love of their lives. Beagles follow their noses, sort of like a downsized bloodhound. They’re a playful, good-natured breed of canine, but they’re also mischievous and get into trouble quite often. His clownish antics--like sneaking down to the butcher shop for meat scraps--help to keep my sleuth sisters on their toes and provide some of the comic relief. I can’t imagine Isabel and Alma without a pet in their household.
From this point, I expect to keep the Isabel and Alma Trumbo Cozy Mystery Series going for at least the next couple of years. I haven’t run out of steam yet.