Today’s featured author is Lucinda Race, whose latest release, Tea & Talismans, continues her witchy series, the Book Store Cozy Mysteries.
In the interview below, Lucinda offers up insights into her writing and publishing—from her favorite cozy mystery heroine traits to two great tips to aspiring indie authors.
Connect with Lucinda on Instagram, Facebook, BookBub, and her website. Subscribe to her newsletters (either mystery or romance themed!) here. Grab a copy of Tea & Trouble here.
Hi Lucinda, thank you for joining! Tea & Trouble is the most recent book in your Book Store Cozy Mystery series, which follows beginner witch Lily and her feline familiar Milo in small town Maine. In your opinion, what makes a great cozy heroine? What qualities do you like to see in an amateur sleuth?
I like heroines to be self-assured, smart, and have a of bit sass, and I’m excited to read and write their story. The supporting characters need to match her courage and tenacity for solving the crime. But more importantly I want to get that connection with the heroine, someone I would want to be friends with in real life, that enhances the story for me.
In my Bookstore Cozy Mystery Series, I adore Lily Michaels and would love to share a cinnamon bun and a cup of coffee with her relaxing in the wingback chair at her bookstore while we chatted about books, Milo and her hometown of Pembroke Cove.
I love the witchy theme of this series, and the fact that Lily is a novice witch still working to understand her powers. What made you decide to write a paranormal cozy mystery series? What are some aspects of the genre that you love, and/or are there any you find difficult to write?
I’ve been hooked on cozy mysteries since I read Nancy Drew as a child and then Agatha Christie when I got a little older. When I first started to write and publish, I wrote romance and then romantic suspense. When I was talking to an editor, who is also a friend, I shared my dream of writing cozies. She told me to believe in myself and take the plunge, so I did. When I decided to add the paranormal element to this series, I felt it added a bit of humor and depth to the characters. Ongoing learning is important to me and I wanted Lily to challenge herself. And who doesn’t love a snarky, talking cat? They already have so much character in the “real” world.
I had to chuckle when you asked what I find difficult about this genre to write. Most cozy mystery writers are plotters and I can’t plot a book to save my soul. I’m what is known as a “pantser,” and if you are unfamiliar with the term, it means I write organically with zero preplanning. Each story weaves its own kind of magic as it reveals itself to me. When I start writing a cozy, I know the name of the victim, how they died, and the names of the suspects. One of those must have committed the crime. With Tea & Trouble, I didn’t know until almost the very end who was the murderer and when I realized it, I was gob-smacked—but it made perfect sense.
With a mystery you must leave clues to help the reader join in the investigation and try to determine “whodunit.” As a pantser, I’m writing more circular. Something will pop up and I’ll need to go back into previous chapters and drop in a clue or a red herring. Writing cozy keeps me on my toes.
In addition, I wanted this series to be in first person, since I find those are the cozies I enjoy the most. However, when I started writing I realized Lily’s best friend and secret love interest needed to have a voice. So, every third chapter in the book is in Gage’s point of view.
As an indie author, you publish under your own imprint, MC Two Press. What do you love about indie publishing? Do you have any advice to give to writers hoping to publish independently?
I love the challenge of indie publishing. There are so many hats I need to wear and some aren’t always comfortable but ultimately, I’m in charge of my indie business. Writing is the creative outlet I crave, and the actual publishing side is hard work.
The two bits of advice I have for new indie authors: invest in a great editor who excels in your genre, and purchase a cover that meets the readers’ expectations. Unless you are a graphic artist in the book cover business, please don’t create your own. Competition is fierce on every virtual or literal store shelf. Don’t give the potential buyer, AKA a reader, a reason to scroll past your book. This is money well spent and if you can’t afford these two critical items, try to barter with someone for exchange of services or save until you can.
The old saying, “you never get a second chance to make a first impression,” is true in indie publishing, too.
Besides cozy mystery, you also write romance and women’s fiction. What do you love about each of these genres? How has writing in other genres improved your mystery writing?
I love reading and when I was a kid I read every book on the family book shelves. It exposed me to so much variety. When I started writing I leaned into romance in part because I was comfortable writing a love story. I needed to develop confidence in myself. After writing and publishing the McKenna Family Romance series, I expanded into later in life stories with characters who need to start over. This was a perfect outlet for women’s fiction. The Matchmaker and The Marine is one example of that. A woman becomes a matchmaker after her husband is killed and a Marine who left part of himself in the war zone. They were both broken, and become friends long before they drift into a romance.
But, of course, since I longed to write mystery, romantic suspense storylines began seeping into my work it was clear that is what my heart was nudging me to do. After writing several romantic suspense books my typing fingers flew over the keys on my laptop and, as of today, I’ve written seven books in the Book Store Cozy Mystery series.
Lastly, what’s on the horizon for you? Are you preparing for any new releases, new series, or anything else you’re excited about?
I have a new series that I’m working on which links back to the Book Store Cozy Mystery series, The Witches of Robin’s Pointe. One of my characters in the Bookstore Cozy series will be relocating up the road to Robin’s Pointe. Although these two series are connected, they will be independent, but I hope readers fall in love with both series. I actually have the first book written but it needs editing and more books written and ready before I release it in late 2024. I will also continue on with Lily and the gang from Pembroke Cove too. There are so many more crimes that will occur in that quaint seaside town.
I will also release another book in the Cowboys of River Junction and toying with a couple more ideas. But trust me, Miss Muse constantly reminds me there are a lot more books in my brain just waiting to be written.
And for nonfiction, I’m writing a book, Writing to Publishing: A Beginner’s Guide to Self-Publishing, that will be released in early 2024 about new indie authors entering the self-publishing arena. Basically, it’s everything I did wrong in the early days and how to avoid them.
Thanks so much to Lucinda for the interview. Sleuths, I hope you enjoyed it! If you aren’t already subscribed, please be sure to sign up for the Cluesletter and get author features like this alongside other mystery goodies, delivered to your inbox every other Tuesday.