Brook Peterson is the author of the Jericho Falls Cozy Mystery series. A History of Murder, the first in the series, follows amateur sleuth Chloe Martin as she solves a local murder in the small, touristy mining town of Jericho Falls, Nevada. The series also has a holiday novella, The Present Predicament, and the second book in the series, A Collection of Secrets, comes January 2022.
A History of Murder is available to purchase in print and Kindle edition on Amazon, and the eBook is also available from these retailers. You can connect with Brook on Instagram, Facebook, and her website. Also be sure to subscribe to her newsletter to stay up-to-date on her next release!
This interview is from the November 30, 2021 edition of the Cluesletter. For more author interviews and other mystery news and tidbits, be sure to become a subscriber.
Hi, Brook! It’s great to have you. Your Jericho Falls Cozy Mystery series is set in a fictional Nevada town once known as a booming gold mining hub, and now a quaint tourist spot. In your opinion, what makes a good cozy mystery town? Where did you get the inspiration for Jericho Falls?
Thank you for having me, Manon, it is such a pleasure. We all love cozies set in places where you’d least expect something menacing going on. Jericho Falls fits nicely into this category today. However, it was a very different, rough and tumble mining town in the late 1800s. In its heyday, it definitely had its share of fights, disagreements, and even murders. This background gives me a lot of material to work with in upcoming stories. In fact, I have a novella in the works where the mystery hinges upon a hidden prospector’s map that’s found when a Main Street business does a remodel.
The seed of this series started after a trip my sister and I took to Virginia City, Nevada. We stayed in the Silver Queen Hotel, drank at the Bucket of Blood Saloon, and toured as many historic buildings as we could, including Piper’s Opera House. We were brought up doing this kind of exploring of old places with our parents, but something about that particular trip really stuck with me. I started a draft of the story right away, although it took me years to finish and publish it.
There are currently two published books in the Jericho Falls series: A History of Murder, book one, and The Present Predicament, a holiday novella. Since you are relatively early on in this series, do you have ideas of where the story will go?
Originally, I planned to write just three novels in the series, a perfect set-up for Chloe’s overall character growth—and love story (wink). But last holiday season, the idea for the novella came to me, and now another novella-length story is emerging. So, it’s safe to say the series will be longer than I first thought. Honestly, I love these characters and their historic town and I feel there are a lot more adventures left in store for them.
With the holidays coming up, do you have any gift recommendations for book lovers?
One thing that’s on my Christmas list this year is a pair of writing gloves. I have been drooling over the handmade options on Etsy as well as these available at Storiarts.
As a writer with a very active online presence, how do you manage your time? Do you have any tips for writers looking to amp up their organization skills in 2022?
This is a big question. Balancing this business along with home and family is not easy. In my previous job in public relations, I managed projects by making a series of lists; what I needed to accomplish within a month, a week, and then, each day. Now, since I’m only accountable to myself, my schedule has a lot more wiggle room. But I still plan in the same manner. Sarra Cannon and Helen Redfern are both amazing teachers of this style of planning specifically for creatives. I highly recommend their YouTube channels.
My overall advice is to always prioritize writing. Since books and stories are our “merchandise” as authors, we have to be creating in order to stay in business. I try to spend time on my current work in progress first thing each day. This doesn’t always happen (I’m a weirdo who really enjoys doing the admin stuff and can get sucked in too easily), but when I maintain this focus I feel successful even if I don’t hit all of my self-imposed deadlines.
Lastly, let’s talk about your upcoming release, A Collection of Secrets, which is book two in your Jericho Falls Cozy Mystery series. What can you tell us about this one?
I’m very excited about this story that picks up where Book 1 left off. Similar to A History of Murder, there are aspects of the past that continue to trouble our sleuth, Chloe Martin. But that’s not the only thing complicating her life; she also hits a snag in her burgeoning relationship with police chief, Lance Garner. Without giving too much away, I will say that readers of book one who wanted more information about Christy’s mysterious diary will be pleased. 😉
My favorite part of writing this story was incorporating the RV park scenes. In the past, my husband’s job required extensive travel and staying in RV parks was a way of life for us. It was fun for me to bring this part of our real life into the world of Jericho Falls.
Pre-orders will begin in December 2021 at all major eBook retailers at a reduced price of $1.99. The book will release by Jan 2022. After the launch period, the eBook price will go up to $2.99, so get it early!
A huge thanks to Brook for joining. Sleuths, I hope you enjoyed the interview! If you aren’t already subscribed, I would like to invite you to sign up for the Cluesletter and get author features alongside other mystery goodies.