The Cozy Chicks

Those of you who follow me on goodreads know that I've been making my way through a bunch of cozy mysteries lately.  For those not familiar with the genre, cozies are a specific subset of mysteries, and while people tend to have their own definitions (and your mileage may vary), here's my definition: cozies are mysteries where the protagonist is generally an amateur PI/detective.  There won't be a lot of gore or violence; any murders usually take place "backstage" and then are stumbled upon.  And loose ends are all tied up by the end of the book.  No sinister partners still lurking around to scare the good citizens of Village Whatever.

So, back to my story now...

I originally got turned on to one cozy series by Kate Collins, the Flower Shop Mysteries.  As the name implies, these cozies are set around a flower shop.  Specifically, Bloomers, which is run by Abby, who flunked out of law school and subsequently became a florist.  As in most cozies, she isn't really a private investigator of any kind, she just sort of stumbles into these mysteries and then always manages to have some kind of motivation for solving them.

But what's really clever is that several cozy writers have banded together to form this nifty site: The Cozy Chicks.  Among other things, there's a daily blog.  Each writer is responsible for writing in the blog on a certain day.  For instance, Kate Collins is "The Monday Chick."  And Maggie Sefton (who some of you knitters/crocheters may recognize as the author of the Knitting Mystery series) is "The Tuesday Chick."

They have some great perks there, too.  Each month, they have a random drawing from those who have commented on their blog posts.  The winner gets a $10 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble.  And the more times you reply, the better your chances to win!  Also, they have a link on their site for you to email them to get a free bookmark.  When I emailed, I expected to just get a simple bookmark "Who Are the Cozy Chicks?" bookmark, which I wanted so I could have it as a handy reference for taking to the library/bookstore with me.  But when a thick-ish envelope arrived at my house less than a week later - boy, was I surprised!  I got a pack of six, laminated bookmarks, one of which was autographed by the author who had sent me the pack!

While I obviously understand that the bookmarks are advertising and promotional materials, I also think it's great that these authors support each other in this way and reach out to their readers.  I also think it's great when people who are NOT 20-something utilize social media in some way to reach out to their fans and expand their fan base.

Here's hoping you, too, might enjoy some cozy-ness!