Time to Get Cozy

As a writer of Cozy mysteries and an avid reader of them, how can I pass up the opportunity to get to know a cozy author who sounds as though she has just written the next book I want to read?  My guest today is Caryl Janis and her newest book is Research Can Be Murder.

Caryl says she has been a fan of mysteries since childhood, so now she writes her own. Her first book was To Sketch a Killer, an urban cozy set in 1977 Manhattan. Her newest book is Research Can Be Murder . It's a contemporary cozy set both in Manhattan and its nearby suburbs.

A freelance musician and nonfiction author, Caryl says she enjoys concerts, the theater, museums, and spending time with her family and friends. Let's get to know more about Caryl.

What do you enjoy about being an author?

Lots of things – it’s a learning process, which I really love, including searching for background material, visiting places that can be used as inspiration for certain chapters and scenes, and experimenting with different paths that a plot or a sub-plot can take. I also enjoy the challenge of creating believable characters, plots, and structures that will entertain readers and then figuring out better ways to rewrite any given chapter to try and make it better.

What do you find is the most challenging part of being an author?

Aside from coming up with a really good idea for a plot, I’d have to say that it’s marketing! There’s more and more emphasis on this, and it can be overwhelming for most authors.

Tell us about your road to publication. 

Since my previous work was in nonfiction, writing a mystery was a whole new world for me and one I’d always wanted to try. So, I took a class in fiction writing, became part of an online critique group, and joined several fiction and mystery writers’ organizations. All of it was immensely helpful. I kept writing/re-writing and finally finished two manuscripts. Then I began querying agents and publishers. Of course, rejection was all a part of the process. I just kept trying – revising, sending out, and so forth. But then The Wild Rose Press accepted To Sketch a Killer and then, a little while later, Research Can Be Murder. I was thrilled, and it’s been a wonderful experience.

What is your book that you will feature today and how did you come up with the idea to write it?

The book is an urban cozy mystery titled Research Can Be Murder. I was intrigued by the idea of how family memorabilia can both tell stories and offer up its own mysteries – and, also, how easy it is to make all kinds of assumptions about these historical items and the people and events they represent. My heroine, Emma, gets totally immersed in such a situation and is determined to do research to hunt down some factual answers – and I wanted some of those answers to be completely surprising to her. Then I asked myself: what if she gets caught up in an unrelated murder along the way? I was off and running from there.

Let's get a blurb:

Emma Streyt hated to admit she was bored. But her newly retired brother puts an end to that by dropping a stash of old family memorabilia on her doorstep. Cheered on by her best friend, Emma enthusiastically dives into these boxes of antique treasures. But some faded diary pages convince her that century-old thefts-- and maybe something worse -- are tied in with their past. Eager to dig deeper into this mysterious puzzle by doing some serious research, she settles into a neglected New York City archive with an eccentric cast of characters. But more sinister matters than history soon unfold there when a fellow researcher is murdered. And Emma's determination to solve the case makes her a dead-center target for the killer.

How about a short excerpt:

Prologue 

A Few Days Before Halloween 

Boredom takes many forms, but standing in the archive’s museum room and facing a loaded gun is not one of them.

This all began in an effort to combat boredom and when the boxes and trunk arrived, a new and exciting world opened up. Most of it was good, but I just couldn’t let the other part go. Finally, I got in over my head. 

Now—trapped between dusty display cases crammed with antique silver and decaying letters from bygone luminaries—a little boredom would be welcome. 

This is no random threat. The owner of the gun is not a stranger.

You just never know with people.

What’s your next project?

I’m writing a sequel for To Sketch a Killer, my first urban cozy/murder mystery that came out last October. It takes place in 1977, and I find it totally incredible that this is now considered historic because I well remember that year!

What advice do you have for beginning writers?

Keep going. Keep trying. And have fun!! 

Thank you, Caryl,  for being my guest today.  To read Research Can be Murder or contact Caryl, please see her Buy Links and Social Contact information below:

BUY LINKS

Amazon Amazon.com: Research Can Be Murder: 9781509254477  

Barnes & Noble Research Can Be Murder by Caryl Janis, Paperback | Barnes & Noble® 

Books-a-Million Research Can Be Murder by Caryl Janis (booksamillion.com)

IndieBound Research Can Be Murder a book by Caryl Janis (bookshop.org)

Walmart Research Can Be Murder (Paperback) - Walmart.com

SOCIAL MEDIA

Website: https://www.caryljanis.com/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarylJanis

Are there any comments or questions for Caryl?