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Fall Media Roundup

My debut series the Victoria Justice Mysteries launches Fall 2020, and I have been fortunate enough to get several positive reviews and media opportunities as a result. In my quest to share this information with you, I have decided to consolidate those links in one place. Since this is the first outing for such a post, I will cover events and social media that spans the last three months. Moving forward, I will do these more frequently (every 30 days?) to keep you abreast of the latest information.

Remember, when in doubt, you can always direct message me on Instagram or Twitter, leave a review on Goodreads, check out what I’m reading and writing on Pinterest, sign-up for my newsletter, or order my latest release via Bookshop.

Now, without further ado, here’s what I have been up to this fall:

Coastal Point, Lower Delaware’s Online Newspaper, Covers Poetic Justice Book launch courtesy of Browseabout Books and the Lewes Public Library

“13 Reasons Why Your Novel Sucks at Diversity” – Essay included in Musing the Margins: Essays on Craft via Human Kind Press

“My Book, The Movie: Poetic Justice” – Blog via Campaign for the American Reader

“Cozy Mysteries and Legal Thrillers: The Intersection of Two Crime Genres” – Essay via CrimeReads

Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore Event with Mystery/Thriller Author RV Raman

“Five Reasons Your Magazine Pitches Get Rejected” – Blog via Funds for Writers

“A Day in My Life ~ Victoria Justice” – Blog via Dru’s Book Musings

Early Review of Poetic Justice via Serena Jayne

Early Website Review of Poetic Justice via VM Burns

Early Blog Review of Poetic Justice via Classic Pink Reviews and Black Crime Fiction

Early Industry Review of Poetic Justice via Publishers Weekly

Early Preview of Poetic Justice via Kings River Life Magazine

Review of Untamed Shore for Latinx Popular Fiction Blog by Raquel V. Reyes

New Book Preview via Mystery Scene Magazine, Issue #166

The Cozy Sleuth Interview

This fall I had the most fun I’ve ever had with a podcast appearance thanks to LeAnna Shields over at The Cozy Sleuth. She’s the author of the Mystic Ranch Mysteries, a new paranormal cozy series, so we spent much of the interview talking about what elements make great detective fiction for lovers of stories with unique settings and diverse storylines.

Near the end of the interview, she asked me if anything in my series was inspired by real life. Here’s what I had to say:

“Absolutely. The protagonist in the Victoria Justice Series is a court stenographer. And before I became a writer, I spent ten years of my life working as a one. And when you think about it, that’s the perfect occupation for a cozy because it’s a job where you have access to law enforcement and lawmakers without being a direct expert in crime detection. Therefore, like any good amateur sleuth, my protagonist uses her unique perspective of the law but also has to rely—to a large extent—on community ties. So its with both that community feel and working at a courthouse that I start each book…along with a loose interpretation of a real-life trial. Now, upon initial inspection, that opening trial doesn’t appear to correspond with the murder that follows. But over the course of the book, the trial becomes crucial in solving the story’s main blood crime.”

So what do you think? In the comments below, let me know if I’ve piqued your interest. Or if you’re dying to hear the rest of our interview, follow this link to go directly to the podcast.

Event Alert: November 30 – A Cozy Conversation With V.M. Burns

Did you know that the Victoria Justice Mysteries’ fictional setting of Trident County Delaware is loosely based on the real-life Sussex County Delaware locations of Georgetown, Lewes, and Rehoboth Beach? Thanks to this fun fact, I’ve been invited by the Lewes Public Library and Rehoboth’s Browseabout Bookstore to talk about my series, the secrets behind its setting, and my love for a good cozy thriller. I’ll be joined by fellow novelist V.M. Burns who will also talk about her latest release in the RJ Franklin Series, Steal Away.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE VIRTUAL EVENT!

Tea With Jess Montgomery

Earlier this fall, I had the opportunity to sit down with historical mystery author extraordinaire, Jess Montgomery, who pens the Kinship Series and hosts the very cozy vlogcast “Tea With Jess.” She invited me to chat about Poetic Justice and my love for the mystery genre. During our conversation, she asked what led me to create a heroine who is overcoming past demons, all while attempting to solve the murder of her mentor. As I told Jess, I figured…

“…putting a character who has a water phobia in a town that is on the water brings a very clear conflict to the beginning of the story and increases the tension—the will she solve the case or won’t she element of the tale—giving the audience a reason to lean forward and stick with the story. Plus, the fear of water, the aquaphobia, makes Victoria relatable and allows the audience to very quickly feel empathy for her and take her side during the challenges she faces as the story progresses.”

If you’re interested in hearing more about the Victoria Justice Court Reporter Mystery series or the other works I have on the horizon, click this link to hear me spill the tea.

Delmarva Life Appearance

Readers will be surprised to learn that the fictional town of Bickerton, Delaware, where the Victoria Justice Mysteries take place, is based on a real area called the “Delmarva Peninsula.” The term refers to the area of the East Coast where Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia meet. That section of land is boarded by the Chesapeake Bay on the west, and the Delaware River, Delaware Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean on the east.

The culture of Delmarva vastly differs from the rest of the Mid-Atlantic region because it is driven by agriculture and commercial fishing, so there’s a sense of Southern hospitality throughout the community. The area also boasts unique traditions such as Return Day and the Apple Scrapple Festival. Watch the video below to hear me discuss them with Delmarva Life host Jimmy Hoppa. We also cover how region’s unique traditions play a role in the stories that unfold throughout the new series.

The Cozy Corner Interview

Earlier this summer, I had the pleasure of sitting down with the author of the Gethsemane Brown Paranormal Mysteries and the host of The Cozy Corner Podcast, Alexia Gordon, to talk about my new killer courthouse whodunit—Poetic Justice! During our conversation, she was kind enough to ask me why the book is marketed as a cozy thriller. As I told Alexia, we all know…

…cozies can be a lot of things, but I think the default mindset on the genre is that it’s all light and kooky, completely unserious with talking cats and relatively easygoing storylines. And while there is absolutely nothing wrong with any that, I didn’t want readers coming to my novels with those expectations because they’d be disappointed. Yes, my books have humor, but they deal with dark subjects in a very serious way. The first two books in the series open with a trial and for that reason it may feel like a legal thriller to some people. So I call them ‘cozy thrillers’ to temper expectations. I want readers to know that the courthouse and court reporting are going to be significant backdrops for the stories, BUT audiences are still going to get some of the other aspects of a good cozy like a difficult puzzle, a small town with a tight-knit community, high morals, no foul language—I even incorporate many of the genre’s tropes like Victoria falling for a guy in uniform and discussing her suspects over tea…but again, each storyline has bite.

If you’re interested in hearing more about my new Victoria Justice Court Reporter Mystery series or the other works I have on the horizon, tune into this riveting interview.