Authors

A snarky park ranger-turned-amateur sleuth, a free spirit with magical hair and a pet pig–the world of mystery author Stella Bixby is never lacking in excitement. Stella is the author of two popular series: the Rylie Cooper Mystery series and the Magical Mane Mystery series.

In the interview below, Stella shares details about her new release as well as some great tips for authors looking to engage more with their audience. My favorite takeaway? Stella asked her followers and newsletter subscribers to pick elements of her book, such as the strawberry festival theme, characters’ names, and even the cover art for her sleuth’s pet pig!

Connect with Stella on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and her website. You can also find her on Goodreads and BookBub.

Hi, Stella! Thanks for joining me. Your new book, Festival Fiasco, is the sixth installment in your Magical Mane Mystery series, which features sleuth Ellie Vanderwick and a dash of paranormal humor—Ellie’s hair goes crazy depending on her mood. Where did you get the inspiration for this series?

Thank you so much for having me! The idea for Ellie’s story came to me as I sat in the hairdresser’s chair. My normal trim and highlights were great, but on a whim, I decided I wanted pink hair. As she added pink to my blonde locks, we joked about how funny it would be if hair changed color and shape based on our moods. This sparked the idea for the Magical Mane Mystery series and Ellie Vanderwick was born.

When it comes to Festival Fiasco specifically, my readers really helped me shape the book. On my Instagram stories, they chose a strawberry festival as the theme of the book. Through my newsletter, they helped me name five of the characters. I even had readers help me choose what Penelope—Ellie’s pet pig—would look like on the cover.

You also write the Rylie Cooper Mystery series, starring park ranger Rylie as she solves mysteries and finds a bit of romance. How does writing this series compare with your Magical Mane series?

The Rylie Cooper series was the first series I published and was my attempt to add more books to the market like Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series and Meg Cabot’s Heather Wells Mystery series. In both of these series, the authors not only give the reader a satisfying mystery, but romance and humor as well. When I tried to decide what I should write—after trying and failing to write a good young adult fantasy novel—my heart landed on light-hearted mysteries. As I’ve continued to write, I’ve really enjoyed writing in the paranormal cozy genre as well. 

The biggest difference between the two series is that the Magical Mane series has magical elements, whereas the Rylie Cooper series does not. Ellie is an orphan who grew up in foster homes then moves from Colorado to Iowa when she inherits her deceased grandmother’s farm. Rylie has a very supportive—even slightly overbearing—family who happily takes her in when she finds her boyfriend in a compromising position with another woman.

You are very active online, from social media to your newsletter. What tips do you have for authors looking to expand their platform?

Be consistent. Whatever you decide to do, be consistent. If you plan on sending a newsletter every week, do it. If you decide to post on Instagram every day, do it. Don’t overwhelm yourself by being everywhere, but if you make a promise to your readers—whether in your book or in your social media posting—follow through with that promise. Find your readers and go to them. Sure, TikTok is fun, but if your readers are primarily on Facebook, use both platforms. 

I also LOVE to give things away. I don’t even know how many different short story freebies I have, but there are a lot. Some of them are prequels I use to generate interest in my series, and some are bonuses that come between books in each series. I love adding a small Easter egg in a book and then at the end having a link for a free short story about that little Easter egg. I utilize BookFunnel to gather email subscribers with these freebies. 

 Just for fun, can you share some of your writing traditions? Do you have a special writing spot, maybe a coffee or tea drink, or any furry companions that keep you company while you write?

I need three things when I write—coffee, a candle (my favorites being from Chalk Full of Love), and Brain.fm, which helps me concentrate on the task at hand. I have an office with a treadmill desk and a regular desk, but sometimes it’s easier to write in my living room on the couch with one of my four golden retrievers cuddled up next to me. 

 Lastly, let’s talk future releases! You have a couple books on the way: Wasted, book 8 in the Rylie Cooper series launches this Fall, and after that comes Jamboree Justice, book 7 in your Magical Mane series. What can we expect with these books? Do you have plans for future books, or perhaps a future series?

I’m currently working on Wasted. Though Amazon says it’ll release this fall, I’m hoping to move that release up to this spring! I’ve just outlined the book and it’s so exciting. If you’ve been following the series, you know Rylie is at a turning point in her life. I think Wasted will be a great transitional book.

After that, Justice Jamboree will release—hopefully this spring or summer. And I have plans to release a few more books in the Magical Mane Mystery series this year too. 

As for other series, I have some ideas. I haven’t quite decided how long Rylie and Ellie’s series will continue, but they can’t go on forever—which means I’ll have to move on. This past December, I released Mistletoe Malarkey—a spin-off of the Rylie Cooper series starring Rylie’s best friend, Shayla, and set in Ireland at Christmastime. That book was meant to be a standalone, but it lends well to the possibility of Shayla getting her own series. I also have another idea for a spin-off of the Rylie Cooper series with Rylie’s friend, Logan. You’ll see more of Logan in Wasted when it releases!

Thank you again for having me!

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Thanks so much to Stella 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.

Who doesn’t love a good cocktail? Well . . . perhaps not Mark, the victim in A Dash of Death, the first installment in the Cocktails and Catering Mystery series by Michelle Hillen Klump. Mark’s cocktail was spiked with deadly oleander, and since reporter-turned-mixologist Samantha Warren mixed the drink, all eyes are on her. Cue the sleuthing!

Michelle joined the February 8 edition of the Cluesletter to chat about her new release, journalism versus fiction writing, and, of course, cocktails.

Connect with Michelle on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and her website (and don’t forget to sign up for her newsletter for a free cocktail guide!). A Dash of Death is available to purchase from IndieBound, Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.

Hi, Michelle! Thanks for joining me. First, congratulations on A Dash of Death, which is out today! The first book in your new Cocktails and Catering Mystery series, it stars reporter-turned-cocktail mixologist Samantha Warren. In your opinion, what makes a great cozy sleuth?

Thank you so much for the invitation! For me, a great cozy sleuth has similar characteristics to a reporter—they are innately curious and willing to dig for answers until they are satisfied they’ve uncovered the truth. Sometimes they are driven by sheer nosiness, while other times, they reluctantly insert themselves into a case to help right a wrong or protect themselves or a loved one.

The best cozy sleuths have interesting careers or hobbies that put them in position to encounter multiple murders, but also introduce readers to activities they might want to learn more about. I doubt I’m alone as a cozy mystery fan in wanting to live vicariously through my favorite cozy sleuths, learning about everything from winemaking to home renovation.

Lastly, for me, the best cozy sleuths have room to grow. They aren’t perfect, they sometimes make rash decisions or poor judgements, but they learn from their mistakes and try to do better.

Since this is your debut cozy, do you have any thoughts on writing mystery? Are you an outliner, or do you like to write and see how the mystery unfolds? What does your writing process look like?

I wish I was more of an outliner, but I am really more of a pantser than a plotter. I start out with a basic idea and write a very rough, bare-bones outline. Usually I know the victim and their manner of death, but I may not even know the killer’s identity when I start writing. I tend to write in short bursts—I try to write a minimum of 500 words a day—so I’m usually only thinking about what needs to happen in those 500–1000 words, or, if I’m really on a roll, maybe the next 500–1000 words. I piece together a really messy first draft, letting the story unfold as I go along.

During the second draft, I go in and add the finer points of the plot and add more clues or red herrings. That’s when I get a beta reader involved to make sure the story makes sense. Once I’ve received their input, I make changes and do the final polishing before turning it over to my editor.

I know you started your writing career as a newspaper reporter, just like Sam, your protagonist. How does writing fiction compare to journalism?

Journalism is all about the facts. There is definitely still room for creativity, but facts must take priority over everything else. In fiction writing, if some piece of information isn’t working with the flow of the story, I can just change it and make up something entirely new. That’s very freeing!

That said, some skills are very applicable. As a newspaper reporter, I wrote nearly every day, usually on deadline. That kind of daily exercise helps to develop muscle memory, which can carry you through the hard parts of fiction writing, like writer’s block.

I’ve also carried over some of the writing strategies I developed as a reporter. Long, in-depth feature stories were always my favorite to write, because they provided the best outlet for my creativity. But they also provided the greatest opportunity to blow my deadline. I used to agonize so much over the finer details of the writing, sometimes spending an hour or more on the first paragraph, trying to make it perfect. That became problematic on deadline, so I had to adjust my method.

I learned to write in chunks, skipping parts I hadn’t quite figured out yet. By the time I wrote all of my chunks, I had the bulk of the story written, and I had the time left to finesse the finer points and massage the language. I use that same process today in writing my mysteries. If I come to a sticking point, I skip it and come back to it when I’m ready.

Also, more than just the writing, I’ve found the reporting skills have come in useful. As a journalist, you strive to tell a complete story with all the facts covered. In mystery writing, you are piecing together clues in a similar way to provide readers with all the information necessary to solve the mystery. The reporter’s eye trains you to pick out what is missing in a story, whether it is an alternate point of view, or an explanation for a confusing topic. I think that training has helped me spot plot holes or logic problems that might have otherwise gone unnoticed.

Considering the theme of your book, I have to ask: What are your favorite cocktails? Are there any you recommend to pair with a good cozy mystery, like A Dash of Death?

I have different favorites, depending on the season. In the fall and winter, I love anything with apple brandy, or allspice dram. One of my favorite winter drinks is called the Lion and the Lamb. It’s made with bourbon, lime juice, orgeat, allspice dram and bitters. It has a warm, spicy sweetness to it that makes it a perfect pairing for a cozy mystery. In the summer, I’m all about tiki drinks. It’s hard to go wrong with a good, homemade piña colada, or a flavorful rum punch.

There are definitely a few cocktail recipes in A Dash of Death, and you can find more on my website or in my newsletter.

I’d love to hear about where Sam’s adventures in cocktails and catering will take her. Can you tell us anything about future books (plot, themes, anticipated release date)?

Yes! I am hard at work on book two right now. In it, Samantha is roped into catering cocktails for a Fourth of July festival, and gets sucked into a bit of controversy surrounding the construction of a new tennis club. There are definitely some fireworks… and some murder. The title was just approved a few months ago. It will be called Murder Served Neat. There’s no release date yet, but it should come sometime in 2023.

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Thanks so much to Michelle 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.