Guest Post – My Top 10 Favorite Things About Cozy Mysteries By Julie Anne Lindsey

Today IRWYW welcomes Julie Anne Lindsey and her new book Apple Cider Slaying, book 1 in her Cider Shop Mystery series. After reading about her favorite things about cozies, which I am certain all of us will agree with, scroll down to click the big red button for your chance to win one of 5 copies of the new book.

My Top 10 Favorite Things About Cozy Mysteries
By Julie Anne Lindsey

Guest As you probably already know, I love reading and writing cozy mysteries. I never get tired of diving into the lives of my favorite fictional friends. From tea shops to pet groomers and yogis, cozy worlds are the best! I hope, one day, to have a life half as enchanting and delightful as the average cozy heroine, because just reading about them makes me oh, so happy! I thought I’d share a list of my top ten favorite cozy aspects then see if any of yours match up!

Small Towns – I’m obsessed with small towns, and I always seem to gravitate towards them in reading and in life. For vacations, road trips, perspective relocations, you name it. I’m always in search of a quintessential small town escape to fit the bill.
Tight Communities – Cozy small towns are the BEST. They’re the Stars Hollows (think Gilmore Girls) of the book world. With festivals and street fairs, community traditions and quirky shared cultures, I can’t get enough. The citizens of a cozy community know one another. They look out for each other and always activate the phone tree when a neighbor is hurt or in need. Who wouldn’t want to live someplace where they’re told that they matter every day, and if they ever forget, someone will show up with a bottle of cider and a dump cake?
Beautiful Settings – Whether it’s snow-topped mountains, an idyllic lake, a rolling seaside or ambling hills, cozy mystery backdrops are guaranteed to be picturesque. In APPLE CIDER SLAYING, readers are whisked into the Blue Ridge Mountains of northern West Virginia, one of the prettiest places on earth!
Best Friends – Yes! Book friends are the best friends, and cozy mystery friends are the very best! They make me laugh. They make me cry. And they ALWAYS have their best friend’s back, whether breaching a high-security area to gather clues or sharing a plate of brownies to split the calories, these friends are there when it matters most.
Fun Jobs – Cozy heroines have fantastic jobs, shops and careers. I love reading about bakeries, cheese shops, yarn shops and magical bookstores. I wish my town had all the lovely boutiques I read about in cozies. And I wish I knew all the owners in real life! I’d take a daily walk along Main Street and visit them all! Maybe then I’d finally meet my daily step goal.
New Hobbies – I’ve learned so many things from cozies, not the least of which was how to make figgy pudding, create homemade greeting cards and suncatchers. Some of these cozy heroines have hobbies I’d never even heard of. And it’s fascinating! Fencing and fudge making. Button collecting and needlepoint. It would be impossible and absolutely not affordable to have more than one or two hobbies of my own, but thanks to cozies, I can quilt, scrapbook, cook, hike and a thousand other fun things, right alongside my favorite heroines.
Great Food – The FOOD!!! Is there any other genre on earth as jam packed with delicious food?? I swear the descriptions are so spot on sometimes, I can smell the meals and taste them! I’m often left drooling onto the pages and crying, “More, please!”
Adventure – Being a full time worker, a mother of three and currently behind on my laundry by roughly 65 loads, I don’t have a lot of time for adventure. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want adventure. I do! So, I pick up a cozy mystery while the next load dries, and off I go on a wild new adventure, following cheerfully wherever the heroine leads.
The Bad Guy Always Gets What’s Coming – This might be my favorite aspect of cozies. Sadly, the bad guy often gets away in real life. And sometimes the bad guy gets away in fiction. But NEVER in a cozy mystery. The cozy heroine always makes sure justice is served, and I’m always incredibly satisfied with that!
Romance – Okay, I know cozy readers are torn on romance in cozies, but I Love Romance In Cozies! I love it! I love the idea of my smart, spunky, kindhearted heroine getting a true love match. The perfect, custom-written man for my very best fictional girl. It makes my heart swoon every time!

Well, that’s it! I could go on forever, but those are always my top ten reasons for loving this super-fun, extra-quirky genre. Did my list make your Top 10 also? What would you add or remove from mine?

About The Book:

Apple Cider Slaying (A Cider Shop Mystery)
by Julie Anne Lindsey

Apples are at the core of the family business run by Winona Mae Montgomery and her Granny Smythe. But this year’s crop is unseasonably ripe with murder . . .

One Rotten Apple

Blossom Valley, West Virginia, is home to Smythe Orchards, Winnie and her Granny’s beloved twenty-five-acre farm and family business. But any way you slice it, it’s struggling. That’s why they’re trying to drum up business with the “First Annual Christmas at the Orchard,” a good old-fashioned holiday festival with enough delicious draw to satisfy apple-picking locals and cider-loving tourists alike—until the whole endeavor takes a sour turn when the body of Nadine Cooper, Granny’s long-time, grudge-holding nemesis, is found lodged in the apple press. Now, with Granny the number one suspect, Winnie is hard-pressed to prove her innocence before the real killer delivers another murder…

Includes Recipes!

Book Links: Amazon / B&N / Kobo / GooglePlay / Indie Bound

About The Author:

Julie Anne Lindsey is a multi-genre author who writes the stories that keep her up at night. When she’s not creating new worlds and organizing the epic adventures of fictional characters, Julie can be found carpooling her three kids around Northeastern Ohio and plotting with her shamelessly enabling friends. Today, she hopes to make someone smile. One day she plans to change the world. Julie is a member of the International Thriller Writers, Romance Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime.