Cozy Mystery Setting: How to Build a Town Readers Love
Your cozy mystery setting is the town readers fall for first. Learn to build a small town with a map, warm gathering spots, and secrets worth solving.
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How to Write a Cozy Mystery Ending That Satisfies
A satisfying cozy mystery ending rewards readers without cheating. Learn to plant clues, time the reveal, and land a last chapter that sells book two.
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How to Plan a Cozy Mystery Series Readers Will Binge
Planning a cozy mystery series? Learn to build recurring characters, a series bible, and a small-town world readers will happily return to, book after book.
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How to Build a Cozy Mystery Suspect List That Plays Fair
Build a cozy mystery suspect list that plays fair: how many suspects you need, what makes each one squirm, and where to hide the killer in plain sight.
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Cozy Mystery Opening Chapters: How to Hook Your Reader
How to write a cozy mystery opening readers cannot put down: lead with the sleuth, build the town first, and plant the case before the body lands.
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Red Herrings in a Cozy Mystery: How to Plant Them Without Cheating
A craft guide to writing red herrings in a cozy mystery that mislead the reader without breaking fair-play rules or insulting their intelligence.
Read moreWrite Your Own Mini Mystery: A Fun Detective-Story Activity for Kids
A five-step, kid-friendly recipe for writing a mini mystery — detective, clues, a red herring and the big reveal — inspired by the Maisie Jo Mysteries.
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How Do You Write a Detective Who’s Seven?
Writing a mystery for brand-new readers with a six-year-old sleuth taught me a lot about voice. Here's how to make a young detective work on the page.
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