Lois Winston's Holiday Cozies for #WriterWednesday

I’d like to welcome Lois Winston to the blog for #WriterWednesday. She has a guest post on her holiday cozies. Perfect timing for this season. Check these out and add them to your collection.

Christmas with Anastasia

By Lois Winston

My amateur sleuth, Anastasia Pollack, makes no bones about her feelings toward me. I suppose her animosity is justified. After all, I write cozy murder mysteries, which means I’m constantly placing her in life-and-death situations.

Most cozy mysteries feature busybody amateur sleuths who make a habit of sticking their noses where they don’t belong. Anastasia is more a reluctant amateur sleuth, forced to investigate because I’m always writing her into situations where I don’t give her any choice.

And much to her dismay, I don’t even let up at Christmas. I tried explaining my reasoning for this to her, that readers love holiday books. Her answer? I should go back to writing romances and leave the solving of murders to the professionals. What fun would that be, though?

And speaking of fun, I had so much fun setting Drop Dead Ornaments, the seventh book in the series, days before Christmas, that I decided the eighth book in the series, Handmade Ho-Ho Homicide, should pick up where Drop Dead Ornaments left off. That means I have two holiday mysteries available this year. And better yet, the ebook version of Drop Dead Ornaments is currently on sale for only .99 cents through Christmas Eve.

Drop Dead Ornaments

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 7

Anastasia Pollack’s son Alex is dating Sophie Lambert, the new kid in town. For their community service project, the high school seniors have chosen to raise money for the county food bank. Anastasia taps her craft industry contacts to donate materials for the students to make Christmas ornaments they’ll sell at the town’s annual Holiday Crafts Fair.

At the fair Anastasia meets Sophie’s father, Shane Lambert, who strikes her as a man with secrets. She also notices a woman eavesdropping on their conversation. Later that evening when the woman turns up dead, Sophie’s father is arrested for her murder.

Alex and Sophie beg Anastasia to find the real killer, but Anastasia has had her fill of dead bodies. She’s also not convinced of Shane’s innocence. Besides, she’s promised younger son Nick she’ll stop risking her life. But how can she say no to Alex?

Buy Links
Paperback https://amzn.to/2s1VYii

Kindle https://amzn.to/350ueJq

Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/drop-dead-ornaments

Apple Books https://books.apple.com/us/book/drop-dead-ornaments/id1431548050

Nook https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/drop-dead-ornaments-lois-winston/1129345148?ean=2940161937181

Handmade Ho-Ho Homicide

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 8

Two and a half weeks ago magazine crafts editor Anastasia Pollack arrived home to find Ira Pollack, her half-brother-in-law, had blinged out her home with enough Christmas lights to rival Rockefeller Center. Now he’s crammed her small yard with enormous cavorting inflatable characters. She and photojournalist boyfriend and possible spy Zack Barnes pack up the unwanted lawn decorations to return to Ira. They arrive to find his yard the scene of an over-the-top Christmas extravaganza. His neighbors are not happy with the animatronics, laser light show, and blaring music creating traffic jams on their normally quiet street. One of them expresses his displeasure with his fists before running off.

In the excitement, the deflated lawn ornaments are never returned to Ira. The next morning Anastasia once again heads to his house before work to drop them off. When she arrives, she discovers Ira’s attacker dead in Santa’s sleigh. Ira becomes the prime suspect in the man’s murder and begs Anastasia to help clear his name. But Anastasia has promised her sons she’ll keep her nose out of police business. What’s a reluctant amateur sleuth to do?

Buy Links

Paperback https://amzn.to/2OXfaqu

Kindle https://amzn.to/3594OJC

Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/handmade-ho-ho-homicide

Nook https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/handmade-ho-ho-homicide-lois-winston/1132607263?ean=2940163093748

Apple Books https://books.apple.com/us/book/handmade-ho-ho-homicide/id1473711082

About Lois:

USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry.

 Let’s Be Social:

Website: www.loiswinston.com

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Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog: www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/Anasleuth

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/722763.Lois_Winston

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lois-winston

What's Your Favorite Type of Sleuth?

There are so many sleuths out there: professional, amateur, female, and the list goes on and on. Do you have a preference? I've grouped some of my favorites by type, but they're in no particular order. What other authors and sleuths would you add to the list?

Hard-boiled Detectives - This character type is usually male and tough. He can survive in the gritty world, and he often works in a big city. This type solves mysteries by stick-to-itiveness and street smarts. He usually is a private detective or some sort of fringe law enforcement who solves crimes because the police are ineffective. This subgenre came from the pulp fiction magazines in the early 1900s.

1. Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade
2. Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlow
3. Robert B. Parker's Spenser

Cozy Amateur Detectives - The Cozy subgenre derived from the British mystery traditions. Originally, they were set in pastoral or smaller settings. There was an amateur sleuth who solved the crime because law enforcement was bumbling. There was a small circle of suspects, and violence and sex happened outside of the plot and not in full view of the reader. This subgenre was often called soft-boiled, and it has evolved into all kinds of themed mysteries. Many of the sleuths have interesting jobs or hobbies.

1. Agatha Christie's Miss Marple
2. Diane Mott Davidson's Goldy Bear
3. Ellery Adams' Molly Appleby
4. Donna Andrews' Meg Langslow
5. Sherry Harris' Sarah Winston
6. Maya Corrigan's Val Deniston
7. Rhys Bowen's Lady Georgiana

Private Eyes/Bail Bondspersons - This subgenre has a sleuth who has some training in law enforcement, but he or she is not with the police. The stories can be hard-boiled or softer.

1. Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum
2. Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes
3. Michael Crais' Elvis Cole/Joe Pike
4. P. D. James' Cordelia Gray
5. Rhys Bowen's Molly Murphy
6. Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot
7. Carolyn D. Hart's Max Darling
8. Edgar Allan Poe's C. Auguste Dupin
9. Spencer Quinn's Chet the Dog
10. My Delanie Fitzgerald

Police/Military/Federal Law Enforcement - There are mysteries or thrillers with law enforcement and/or retired officers as the sleuth. Some have a military or federal investigative jobs.

1. John J. Lamb's Brad Lyon
2. Bill Crider's Dan Rhodes
3. Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch
4. P. D. James' Adam Dalgleish
5. Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire
6. David Baldacci's John Puller, Michelle Maxwell, and Sean King
7. Lee Child's Jack Reacher

Lawyers - I like legal mysteries and thrillers. These sleuths are either lawyers or investigators in law offices.

1. Michael Connelly's Mickey Haller
2. Lisa Scottoline's Roato and Associates
3. John Grisham's Many Stand-alone Thrillers

What other types of sleuths would you add to my list?