Tag Archives: Cozy Murder Mystery

Story Behind the Story: Crazy, Stupid, Dead by Wendy Delaney

The truth and memory are two important parts of all writing, especially so in the mysteries of Wendy Delaney. The seventh novel in her Working Stiffs mystery series confronts Delaney’s heroine with a death that may not be what it seems to be. Her goal as a mystery writer is to provide the reader with a story that keeps them guessing as they follow her “human lie detector” heroine all the way from the first clue to the solution. (And it kept me going, too, as her editor.)

What’s the theme behind your story? 

The theme behind Crazy, Stupid, Dead (Working Stiffs Mystery #7)—and all the books in my Working Stiffs Mystery series—is that things are not always what they seem. So the truth can take some time to reveal itself, even when you’re a deception detection expert (a.k.a. “human lie detector”) like my amateur sleuth, Charmaine Digby.

What’s the logline?

Drowning in your own bathtub is a stupid way to die—the recurring line that causes Charmaine to question how such a thing could have happened to a friend of her grandmother who was in relatively good health.

Nothing is as it appears in a Working Stiffs Mystery by Wendy Delaney, even with a “human lie detector.”

What were you thinking about when the idea occurred to you?

I’m always on the hunt for ways in which a well-motivated person could get away with murder. One afternoon, while combing through dozens of news stories on the subject (yes, I have an interesting search history!), I read a detective’s comments about how murder by drowning can be easier to get away with. If there are no witnesses and no evidence to suggest that it’s anything other than accidental… So it’s a murder that doesn’t necessarily look like a murder? Perfect! I already had the title I wanted to use—a twist on the movie title, Crazy, Stupid, Love—so all I had to do was to drown my story’s victim in her bathtub so that Charmaine and several other characters could think it was a crazy and/or stupid way to die—and maybe just a little bit suspicious! 

How did you conceive of your characters for this story?  

My mystery series is set in Port Merritt, a fictional popular retirement town located an easy ferry ride from Seattle, so I typically populate my stories with senior citizens whose middle-aged children live close by, and this story was no exception. The whole gang of recurring characters introduced in book 1, Trudy, Madly, Deeply, is back, so it’s always fun to explore those interrelationships as well as come up with likely suspects for them to interact with. I often draw on personal experience when I populate my stories. In Crazy, Stupid, Dead I feature a secondary character with dementia. That wasn’t my original intention, but seven years of caring for a mom with a failing memory taught me that similar nice old ladies can serve as delightfully unreliable witnesses—perfect for a light-hearted mystery. 

Are you pleased with the results, or do you wish you had done anything differently in the story?  

Overall, I’m very pleased with how the story turned out. Many of my readers commented about how I kept them guessing, so mission accomplished in terms of the main plot. Really, what fun would it be to read a mystery that is easy to solve? On a personal note, I love my main characters and want to do right by them in their personal lives. Char has some emotional wounds from the past that need to heal, and I feel like good progress was made in this story for her personal growth—something that leads nicely into book 8, A Kiwi Before Dying, which will be coming soon.  

Who would play your leads in the movie if you make a deal? 

That’s a tough one. I have pictures up on my wall of actors and actresses whom I’ve “cast” for my earlier books. I’d need a time machine for some. For example, Jill St. John. In her fifties, she would have been perfect as Charmaine’s actress mother. Same with Lou Diamond Phillips—the thirty-five year-old version could have been a great fit for Detective Steve Sixkiller. As for Char, since she looks a lot like her mom, the casting could present a challenge, but if Emma Stone would like to gain twenty pounds to play her, fantastic!

What else do you want readers to know?

Since Crazy, Stupid, Dead is the seventh book in my cozy mystery series, I always suggest that readers start with book one, Trudy, Madly, Deeply, not only for a good introduction to Char and her special ability as a human lie detector but because story threads run from book to book. And, yes, her ability is steeped in real science. I became interested in Dr. Paul Ekman’s work way back when and interviewed one of his test subjects, who was kind enough to help me when Char’s character was at the “what if my sleuth could do this” stage. I’ll always be grateful that she was so generous with her time.  

Bio 

Wendy Delaney writes fun-filled cozy mysteries and is the award-winning author of the Working Stiffs Mystery series. A longtime member of Mystery Writers of America, she’s a Food Network addict and pastry chef wannabe. When she’s not killing off story people she can be found on her treadmill, working off the calories from her latest culinary adventure. Wendy lives in the Seattle area with the love of her life and is a proud grandma.

Buy Link

Crazy, Stupid, Dead is available at Amazon and is free to read for Kindle Unlimited subscribers: 

Story Behind The Story: A Christmas Carol Murder by Heather Redmond

Meet Heather Redmond and the story behind her story, A Christmas Carol Murder. This is the third novel in her series of cozy murder mysteries featuring Charles Dickens as the protagonist. As Heather explains, it’s just a natural to use A Christmas Carol if you’re writing about Dickens and his fictional sleuthing. Especially at Christmastime! So meet the spirit of Christmas murders to be, Heather Redmond.

What’s the theme behind your story?

Christmas is a season of renewal.

Cover to A Christmas Carol Murder by Heather Redmond

What’s the logline?

Bah. Humbug. Murder…

What were you thinking about or what was happening when the idea occurred to you?

I was planning the first three books of the A Dickens of a Crime series with my editor. The series stars Charles Dickens as an amateur sleuth and takes inspiration from his novels. We knew one of the books had to feature Dickens’s A Christmas Carol since it is his most famous work.

How did the original idea change as you went along?

I learned that Dickens had done some great reporting on the Hatfield fire that happened a few weeks before Christmas, so I started the book there. It gave me a great chance to include a Christmas child that I could keep a secret from his fiancée Kate. The problem became how to keep her integrated into the story when she didn’t know what was going on. My editor also wanted to be sure there was no paranormal element to the book, so I had to solve any ghostly encounters with real life explanations.

How did you conceive of your characters for this story and how did they change?

My two main characters, Charles and Kate, were real people and as much as I can, I keep them true to life. The biggest change in my characters in this book was to finish the process of moving my mudlark characters off of the Thames foreshore and into the next phases of their lives. The girl, Lucy Fair, has entered service and most of the boys went to school. Dickens himself believed that some boys were simply natural, unredeemable criminals so I did leave one or two of the boys behind.

Are you pleased with the results, or do you wish you had done anything differently in the story? Why or why not?

I’m quite happy with this one as it worked out. As a writer I still tend to have to re-solve the mystery for myself at the end and make sure that the reason for the murders is truly justified. As I recall, I didn’t know what had happened to the missing corpse for quite a while.

Who would play your leads in the movie if (when!) you make a deal?

The main characters are very young so even though the series is less than three years old, I think the actors I might have envisioned have already aged out of the roles! I suspect unknowns would have to play roles, with a 23-year-old hero and a 20-year-old heroine. Maybe these roles would make stars!

What else do you want readers to know?

Dickens’s original novella A Christmas Carol is an amazing mix of comedy and horror and brilliant storytelling. I can’t account for the brilliant storytelling, but I did my best to include comedy and horror in my homage, while still being focused on telling a great mystery story.

The Heather Redmond Bio

Heather Redmond is an author of commercial fiction and also writes as Heather Hiestand. First published in mystery, she took a long detour through romance before returning. Though her last British-born ancestor departed London in the 1920s, she is a committed anglophile, Dickens devotee, and lover of all things nineteenth century.

She has lived in Illinois, California, and Texas, and now resides in a small town in Washington State with her husband and son. The author of many novels, novellas, and short stories, she has achieved best-seller status at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple Books. Her 2018 Heather Redmond debut, A Tale of Two Murders, reached #1 in Historical Mysteries at Amazon as well as being in the Top 100 on Amazon, Barnes & Noble (Top 20), and Apple Books (Top 40). It is also a multi-week Barnes & Noble Hardcover Mystery Bestseller and a Historical Mystery bestseller on Kobo Books.

Her two current mystery series are A Dickens of a Crime and the Journaling mysteries. She writes for Kensington and Severn House.

She is the 2020-21 President of the Columbia River Chapter of Sisters in Crime (SinC).

To buy A Christmas Carol Murder, click here.
For more about Heather Redmond, visit Heatherredmond.com.