Christmas-Themed Mysteries for Your #TBR List

In January, my Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries launches with Sticks and Stones and a Bag of Bones. While it’s not a Christmas story, it is a mystery series set in and around a Christmas store in the fictional little beach down of Mermaid Bay.

Here’s a sampling of Christmas-themed mysteries (in no particular order) that you may want to add to your holiday TBR list.

• Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie

• The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie

• The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories by P. D. James

• The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers

• The Christmas Train by David Baldacci

• The 19th Christmas by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

• Merry Christmas, Alex Cross by James Patterson

• The Twelve Clues of Christmas by Rhys Bowen

• Away in a Manger by Rhys Bowen

• Blackmail and Bibingka by Mia Manansala

• Candy Cane Murder Joanna Fluke

• Lark! The Herald Angels Sing by Donna Andrews

• Owl Be Home for Christmas by Donna Andrews

• Twisted Tea Christmas by Laura Childs

• A Gift of Bones by Carolyn Haines

• He Sees You When You’re Sleeping by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark

• “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle” by Arthur Conan Doyle

• Blue Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews

• Deck the Hounds by David Rosenfelt

• Dachshund Through the Snow by David Rosenfelt

• Holiday Buzz by Cleo Coyle

• The Diva Cooks a Goose by Krista Davis

• A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny

• Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen by Vicki Delany

• Dying in a Winter Wonderland by Vicki Delany

• Six Cats a Slaying by Miranda James

• A Merry Murder by Kate Kingsbury

• A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette

• An Eggnog to Die for by Amy Pershing

• Christmas Cocoa Murder by Carlene O’Connor

• A Puzzle in a Pear Tree by Parnell Hall

• Sacred and Profane by Faye Kellerman

• Death, Taxes, and Mistletoe Mayhem by Diane Kelly

What would you add to the list?

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with K.C. Grifant

I’d like to welcome author K. C. Grifant to the blot for #ThisorThatThursday!

Favorite thing that you always make time for: Browsing bookstores and finding new coffee shops.

The thing you’ll always do just about anything to avoid: Car tune-ups and grocery shopping.

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave: Sugary coffee drinks and one of my dozens of curated playlists.

Things that distract you from writing: My newborn, but that’s to be expected!

The thing you like most about being a writer: Creating new worlds and not having to compromise on a vision.

The thing you like least about being a writer: How long it takes to create a clean draft. I always underestimate the time from writing a first draft to getting a piece close to final.

Things you will run to the store for in the middle of the night: Coffee if we’re out and (currently) baby diapers.

Things you never put on your shopping list: Anything with licorice.

The coolest thing you’ve bought online: Most recently, a signed print from the movie Jaws and miniature books featuring the covers of my stories from anthologies and magazines.

The thing you wished you’d never bought: Adult wheeled sneakers. They are a disaster waiting to happen.

The thing that you will most remember about your writing life: How kind and supportive friends, family and strangers can be, as well as how friendly the indie/horror community is.

Something in your writing life that you wish you could do over: There’s never enough time, so writing more, and earlier.

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: An astronaut. I was serious enough that I made plans to go to space camp and learn to pilot—neither of which came to pass.

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: I never thought I’d live in California. As someone who grew up on the east coast, the west coast seemed like a fairytale place where the scenery and weather were too good to be true.

Things you always put in your books: Diverse women characters.

Things you never put in your books: I try to avoid stereotypes as much as possible. Also, I’m too squeamish to write extremely graphic violence.

Things to say to an author: You’ll buy/read/recommend their book.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: Pointing out a nitpicky error on a published work (e.g., the scrunchie incident in Sex & The City).

The best job you ever had: Science journalist and communicator, where I get to learn about fascinating cutting-edge research every day.

The worst job you ever had: An underpaid receptionist for a sketchy chiropractor.

The one thing you cook/bake that is better than a restaurant dish: I’ve perfected my stovetop popcorn recipe so it’s on par with movie theater popcorn.

The one thing you cooked/baked that turned out to be an epic disaster: Everything else.

About K. C.:

KC Grifant is an award-winning author based in Southern California who writes internationally published horror, fantasy, science fiction and weird west stories for podcasts, anthologies and magazines. Her tales have appeared in Andromeda Spaceways Magazine, Unnerving Magazine, Cosmic Horror Monthly, Dark Matter Magazine, the British SF Association’s Fission Magazine, Tales to Terrify, the Lovecraft eZine, and many others.

In addition to a Weird West novel, MELINDA WEST: MONSTER GUNSLINGER (Brigids Gate Press, Feb 2023), she has also written for dozens of anthologies, including: Chromophobia; Musings of the Muse; Dancing in the Shadows—A Tribute to Anne Rice; Field Notes from a Nightmare; The One That Got Away; Six Guns Straight From Hell; Shadowy Natures; Beyond the Infinite - Tales from the Outer Reaches; and the Stoker-nominated Fright Mare: Women Write Horror.

Let’s Be Social:

Website:  www.KCGrifant.com

Newsletter sign-up: http://eepurl.com/hmZGVb

Book page: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BNWR19WN

Instagram: instagram.com/kcgrifant/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kcgrifant

Facebook: facebook.com/kcgrifant

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kcgrifant

#WriterWednesday Interview with Eric Raglin

I’d like to welcome Eric Raglin to the blog for #WriterWednesday holiday edition!

Favorite treat: Ginger cookies, especially this time of year. Such a cozy treat!

A treat that makes you gag: Even before I became a vegetarian, I was grossed out by pork rinds.

Something crazy you did on vacation: Climbed a fourteener in Colorado. It was brutal but 100% worth it.

Something you’d never do again on vacation: The first time I visited Sweden, I forgot to book a place to stay for my last night in Stockholm. I scrambled to find a new one as the sun was going down. I’d like to never do that again.

Best vacation memory: Jumping into the waves at Secret Beach in Hawaii. Absolute magic.

A vacation disaster that you’d rather forget: Getting sick on a cruise ship from Sweden to Finland with an annoying cabinmate. It was awful.

Most favorite place to write/edit: I love writing in a cozy coffee shop.

The worst place to try to write because of all the distractions: I hate writing when someone has a TV on loud. It’s impossible to focus.

The thing you like most about being a writer: Making friends and sharing stories with other morbid, creative weirdos.

The thing you like least about being a writer: Marketing. I’ve never enjoyed selling things.

The thing that you will most remember about your writing life: As cheesy as it sounds, the friends I met along the way. Truly lovely people!

Something in your writing life that you wish you could do over: I wish I had never worked with presses that don’t pay.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Quit my job with no other job lined up. That might sound basic, but it was terrifying.

Something you chickened out from doing: I chickened out of snorkeling the second I saw a shark. Didn’t feel like getting eaten that day!

The funniest thing to happen to you: I have a thousand hilarious stories from when I was a teacher. One that sticks out is the time a ninth grader (yes, ninth grader) attempted to shotgun an energy drink in my class and wound up spraying half of it on my face. Annoying in the moment, but so funny in retrospect. I hope that kid is doing okay now.

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: When I was a high school senior, I read a super raunchy poem I’d written out loud to the class, and I still look back on it with horror. What was I thinking?!

The nicest thing a reader said to you: A reader told me she’d never look at ticks the same after reading my story “A Most Bulbous Congregation.” I’m proud of that one.

The craziest thing a reader said to you: I don’t tend to read reviews, but I’m sure some wild comment is lurking out there somewhere. I’ll try my best not to discover it.

The best job you ever had: Teaching high school English. I got to work with so many great students. Plus, I got to teach Horror Lit and Creative Writing—an absolute dream.

The worst job you ever had: Detasseling corn. Most Nebraskan teenagers do it at some point. Waking up at 4 a.m., walking through wet fields, and getting corn rash, all for a minimum wage paycheck.

About Eric:

Here is my author bio: Eric Raglin (he/him) is a Nebraskan horror/Weird fiction writer and the editor for Cursed Morsels Press. He frequently writes about queer issues, the terrors of capitalism, and body horror. His debut short story collection is Nightmare Yearnings and his second collection Extinction Hymns will come out December 2022 through Brigids Gate Press. He is the editor of Shredded: A Sports and Fitness Body Horror Anthology and Antifa Splatterpunk.

Let’s Be Social:

Find him at ericraglin.com or on Twitter @ericraglin1992.

Have You Read the Classics? A Quick History of the Mystery

Do you ever go back and read classic mysteries? I try to sprinkle in some every so often to make sure I’m varying my reading habits. The best class I took as an undergraduate was “The History of the Mystery in American and British Fiction.”

These books are time capsules to a different era. Here are some interesting tidbits I came across when I was researching a presentation on the topic.

• “Three Apples” in Arabian Nights is often cited as the first mystery story. (However, the hero didn’t solve the murder.)

• Edgar Allan Poe is often called the Father of the Modern Detective Story. (If you’ve never been to the Poe Museum in Richmond, you need to add it to your bucket list.)

• In 1868, Wilkie Collins wrote Moonstone, which is credited as being the first English detective novel.

• Anna Katherine Green is the Mother of American Detective Fiction. She wrote The Leavenworth Case in 1878.

• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes in 1890.

• The Golden Age of detective fiction in Great Britain was roughly 1914-1945.

• Agatha Christie published The Mysterious Affair at Style in 1920, and she earned $125.

• Winnie the Pooh creator, A. A. Milne, wrote The Red House Mystery in 1922 for his father.

• In 1928, a group of detective fiction authors (including Christie, Sayers, and Chesterton) created the Detective Club to define the rules for fair play in mysteries.

• After World War II, the police procedural as a subgenre became popular. This is often attributed to the surge of patriotism and the return of the war heroes in uniform.

Here’s alist of classic mystery and detective fiction authors you should check out. They’re in no particular order.

• Edgar Allan Poe

• Anna Katherine Green

• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

• Agatha Christie

• Dorothy L. Sayers

• G. K. Chesterton

• E. C. Bentley

• Margery Allingham

• Freeman Wills Croft

• Josephine Bell

• Philip MacDonald

• Dashiell Hammett

• Raymond Chandler

• Ellery Queen

• Erle Stanley Gardner

• Mickey Spillane

• Rex Stout

• Carroll John Daly

Who would you add to the list?

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with James Hill

I’d like to welcome James Hill to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

A few of your favorite traditions:

BBQ, I love to cook outdoors over charcoal or wood fires. I also love fishing, freshwater or saltwater fishing is a relaxing pastime.

Something that you’ll never do again:

Driving cross-country is a grueling undertaking that turned out to be less fun than imagined.

Favorite treat:

Rum floats. For those who don’t know what this is, it’s ice cream (any flavor but I like chocolate), a little Coke Cola (although Cherry Pepsi works too), and a good brand of rum (I like Captain Morgan or Bacardi Black).

A treat that makes you gag:

If it makes you gag, I will not consider that a treat, but milk.

Best memory:

Sailing on the Nile River on a felucca. That trip made it into my novel Killer With Three Heads.

Something you’d rather forget:

Hitting a patch of black ice and crashing my car into a traffic pole.

Funniest summer story:

We were having a firework war with some guys. They were firing rockets from their third-floor window, and we fired from a porch across the street. We unleashed a barrage of twenty-five-ounce rockets and set their curtains on fire. We won the war.

Something embarrassing that happened to you:

I went swimming at the beach and the lifeguard thought I was drowning. He rushed in and pulled me out. I wasn’t drowning but was drunk and doing handstands in the water.

Best thing you ever grilled:

I grilled a turkey for a homecoming for my son.

Your worst kitchen or grilling disaster:

I took a pan out of the oven with my bare hands. For some reason I didn’t think it was hot. It was.

Your favorite thing to get from the ice cream truck:

Super Deluxe Banana Split.

Some dessert that you wish you’d never bought:

Cheesecake, bad cheesecake feels like you ate rocks, and good cheesecake taste better but feels the same.

Best vacation memory:

Was a working vacation at the Miami Book Fair and we stayed on South Beach. It was a nonstop party.

A vacation disaster that you’d rather forget:

The time we went fishing and I got hit in the head with a rock. My brother and I were playing war, he told me to run, and he was going to throw a hand grenade at me. He had impeccable aim.

Best summer vacation ever:

Scuba diving in the Caribbean.

Somewhere where you don’t ever want to return:

There isn’t any place I would not go to again.

Most favorite place to write/edit:

On my boat in the marina, Ummagumma is a floating bar most of the time and very laxing.

The worst place to try to write because of all the distractions:

The beach, too much to look at and sand gets everywhere. Also never take a laptop to the beach.

The thing that you will most remember about your writing life:

Finishing my adult urban crime series, Killer With A Heart, Killer with Three Heads, Killer With Black Blood, and Killer With Ice Eyes.

Something in your writing life that you wish you could do over:

Start publishing my stories earlier. Waiting to get published was a huge waste of time.

About James:

James L Hill, a.k.a. J L Hill, is a native New Yorker from the South Bronx, Fort Apache, of the turbulent 60’s.

He earned a degree in computer programming, his other love. A multi-genre author, his experiences seasoned his novels and the worlds he imagined.

James started RockHill Publishing LLC to publish his own work and give others access to the literary world.

The four-part adult urban crime series, The Killer Series, is complete. Killer With A Heart, Killer With Three Heads, Killer With Black Blood have all received five-star reviews. Killer With Ice Eyes, the final chapter of the boys from the Bronx, is available now.

He is currently working on a three-part historical fantasy Gemstone Series; The Emerald Lady is in publication to rave reviews. The Ruby Cradle and the third book, The Diamond Warrior, is coming soon.

Then there’s the psychological dystopian science fiction thriller, Pegasus: A Journey To New Eden for your reading pleasure.

Let’s Be Social:

Readers and Writers Podcast:

https://anchor.fm/rockhillpublishing

YouTube Channel:

 https://bit.ly/RockHillYouTube

RockHill Publishing Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rockhillpublishing

Author J L Hill Facebook:

 https://www.facebook.com/jlhill57

#WriterWednesday Interview with Joyce Woollcott

I’d like to welcome Joyce Woollcott to the blog for #WriterWednesday.

A few of your favorite traditions: I usually like to make a Christmas Eve supper with special treats. Smoked salmon, nice cheeses and tasty hors d'oeuvres, and champagne of course!

Something holiday-related that you’ll never do again: Shop at Ikea on Christmas Eve.

Favorite holiday song: I love Silent Night, sung by King’s College Chapel choir.

Holiday song that always gets stuck in your head for the wrong reason: Feliz Navidad.

Favorite holiday treat: (Not traditional) but Banoffee Pie and Sticky Toffee Pudding.

A holiday treat that makes you gag: Royal icing and Christmas cake in general, always too sweet and dense for me.…

Favorite holiday show or movie: A Christmas Story.

A holiday show or movie that you’ve seen too much: Wizard of Oz.

Favorite holiday beverage: Wine 

A drink that gives you a sour face: I don’t like sweet colas, Dr. Pepper, and pop like that. And sherry is too sweet for me.

Favorite holiday smell: Oh, roast beef! And Turkey of course. Although I find turkey can be dry sometimes.

Something that makes you hold your nose: The smell of burning just before Christmas dinner––and we won’t go into that!

Favorite holiday candy: Always chocolate, I know it’s sweet…

A holiday candy that gives you a pickle face: Those holiday tray bakes with cherries and icing and marshmallows and cool whip.

Best holiday memory: Waking up to a winter wonderland of snow on Christmas morning. It had snowed late on Christmas Eve.

Something you’d rather forget: Going to a friend’s house for Christmas long ago. When we arrived, there was no smell of cooking. We sat and chatted and finally her mum disappeared to the kitchen. Half an hour later she served dinner. She had cooked the turkey the night before to save time and all the veggies too. And had reheated everything… Oh dear.

Best holiday gift ever: When I was a young girl in the N. Ireland my parents always bought me lots of books for Christmas, I loved Enid Blyton. The Famous Five and the Secret Seven. When I was very young, I used to get the Rupert The Bear Annual, and the Judy and the Bunty! Girl’s annuals. I loved them.

Something you wished for but never received: A dog!

Best holiday gift you gave to someone: A lovely, dove grey linen dressing gown.

A gift that needs regifting: A wine cork remover the size of an engine block.

A tradition you share with others: On Christmas Eve, the whole family listen to Dylan Thomas read a Child’s Christmas in Wales.

A tradition that can be retired: Cooking Christmas dinner for the whole family by myself.

Best thing you ever cooked/baked for the holidays: A big prime rib with all the trimmings, gravy, Yorkshires, roast potatoes, gravy–– and a breast of turkey, with everything, cranberry sauce, gravy, sprouts and stuffing.

Your worst holiday kitchen disaster: The kitchen after that meal…

Favorite place you spent the holidays: At home.

The worst place to spend the holidays: On holiday.

About Joyce:

J. WOOLLCOTT

J. Woollcott is a Canadian writer born in Northern Ireland. She is a graduate of the Humber School for Writers in Toronto. A Nice Place to Die won the RWA Unpublished Mystery/Suspense Daphne du Maurier Award in 2019 in New York, was long-listed in 2019 and 2020 in the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence and was short-listed in 2021. A Nice Place To Die is published by Level Best Books.

She is a member of Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and the Suncoast Writer’s Guild.

Let’s Be Social:

Website

Twitter: @JoyceWoollcott

A NICE PLACE TO DIE

The body of a young woman is found by a river outside Belfast and Detective Sergeant Ryan McBride makes a heart-wrenching discovery at the scene, a discovery he chooses to hide even though it could cost him the investigation – and his career.

The victim was a loner but well-liked. Why would someone want to harm her? And is her murder connected to a rapist who’s stalking the local pubs? As Ryan untangles a web of deception and lies, his suspects die one by one, leading him to a dangerous family secret and a murderer who will stop at nothing to keep it.

And still he harbors his secret ...

Book and Ebook available on Amazon and to order from most major booksellers and sites.

See my website for quick links.

BLOOD RELATIONS

Due for release August 2023

Retired Chief Inspector Patrick Mullan is found brutally murdered in his bed. Detective Sergeant Ryan McBride and his partner DS Billy Lamont are called to his desolate country home to investigate. In their inquiry, they discover a man whose career was overshadowed by violence and corruption. Is the killer someone from Mullan’s past, or his present? And who hated the man enough to kill him twice?

Things to do before You Query

Writing and publishing are a business, and you need to do some research before you send out queries to agents and publishers. Here are some things you may want to consider.

Agents

• Is this agent accepting queries at this time? If not, it will be a quick “no.”

• Does the agent represent your genre?

• What has the agent sold recently in your genre?

• If there is more than one agent at the firm accepting queries, did you look to see who closely matches your project?

• Did you follow all the submission requirements and instructions? Don’t get eliminated on a technicality.

Publishers

• Does this firm accept unagented queries?

• Did you follow all the submission instructions?

• Does this firm publish your genre?

• Does this firm already have a book that is similar to yours? They may not want another one.

• How many books do they publish a year?

• Does your manuscript meet the word count and other genre standards?

• Have you talked to anyone published here for a recommendation?

Sometimes, you only get one shot with an agent or publisher. Make sure you’ve done all you can to make your query and your manuscript the best it can be.

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Emmie Caldwell (Mary Ellen Hughes)

I’d like to welcome Emmie Caldwell (Mary Ellen Hughes) to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

A few of your favorite things: I like gardening, chocolate ice cream, and amazing sunsets.

Things you need to throw out: Clothes that looked frumpy ten years ago but are still usable.

Things you need for your writing sessions: A window, a bottle of water, oh, and a laptop.

Things that hamper your writing: Phone calls, Amazon deliveries, hunger.

Things you love about writing: I love creating a new character – good or evil.

Things you hate about writing: I hate discovering plot holes that require major rewriting.

Hardest thing about being a writer: The hardest thing is reading other books and not mentally editing them as I do my own writing.

Easiest thing about being a writer: The easiest thing about being a writer is writing a scene when I know exactly how I want it to go. The words just flow!

Favorite music or song: I lean toward classical music after studying piano for some years.

Music that drives you crazy: The kind that is all drums and shouting and no melody.

Things you always put in your books: An animal, well, almost always.

Things you never put in your books: Violence to an animal

Favorite places you’ve been: I love northern climes and particularly enjoyed trips to Alaska, Montana, and Norway.

Places you never want to go to again: Airports, only because of too many miserable delays and cancellations. I may change my mind, but for now I’d rather drive.

Favorite things to do: A game of doubles tennis; planting a flower garden

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Cleaning out a file cabinet

Things that make you happy: Being with family or friends.

Things that drive you crazy: Movies based on a book that don’t follow the book.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Landed on a glacier via a helicopter.

Something you chickened out from doing: Riding Space Mountain at Disney World

The nicest thing a reader said to you: One reader told me that the problem one of my characters dealt with helped her with her similar problem.

The craziest thing a reader said to you: “I thought you wrote children’s books!”

About Emmie:

Emmie Caldwell, author of the Craft Fair Knitters Mystery Series, is the pseudonym for Mary Ellen Hughes, the national bestselling author of the Keepsake Cove Mysteries, the Pickled and Preserved Mysteries, the Craft Corner Mysteries, and the Maggie Olenski Mysteries. A native of Wisconsin, Mary Ellen has lived most of her adult life in Maryland, which has inspired many of her stories.

Let’s Be Social:

http://www.emmiecaldwell.com

http://www.maryellenhughes.com

http://www.facebook.com/MaryEllenHughesauthor

Mary Ellen Hughes/Emmie Caldwell (@mehughesauthor) / Twitter