On May 14, 2020, I had the pleasure of sitting down with novelist Leah Bailey to discuss Poetic Justice, the first in the Victoria Justice Mystery series. Ms. Bailey is a cozy mystery enthusiast, and her podcast is dedicated to discovering what makes a compelling whodunit.
During our conversation, she was gracious enough to ask me about the inspiration behind the series and how I began my writing journey. As I told Leah, I chose this area of fiction because…
…a cozy mystery is an opportunity to bond with the audience not only through the head but through the heart. We want our readers to care about both the crime and the characters. And at the end of the story, we want the reader to exclaim, ‘I suspected as much, and now I look forward to returning to that town,’ or gasp and say, ‘I didn’t expect that, but it makes perfect sense in retrospect, so I wonder what they’ll cook up next.’
So if you’re interested in hearing more about my writing philosophy or want early details about Victoria Justice, the town’s kooky characters, and the reason why I chose a rural courthouse as the focal point of the story, tune into this fantastic interview.
