A Cosy Corner that feels like home
I’ve always loved a good cosy mystery. If you’re not familiar with the genre never fear. Just think Agatha Christie. Some of my favourites are M.C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin series and Laura Levine’s ‘Jaine Austen’ series.
If you’re like me, you like the way a cosy mystery whisks you off to a different world, one where things are gentle, charming and fun. There can be intrigue, intellect but still romance and often a snazzy outfit or two. Sometimes, there are even cats or delicious food! Cosy crime is deeply human, about things like loneliness, grief and change but also sweet things like love and community.
And the best thing about it? There’s always a happy ending.
It turns out I like writing cosy mysteries too.
let me take you back a little
For well over a decade, I worked as a criminal lawyer. I originally started as an intern in the Deep South of the United States. There, I worked on appeals for inmates wasting away on Death Row. When I returned to Australia I made the trip out to far Western New South Wales, where I worked in communities like Dubbo, Wilcannia and Broken Hill. Eventually, I made it back to the coast, where I ended up living in an apartment in Bondi Beach (the place where my current novel is set). Bondi is where I met my mad scientist of a husband - although we aren’t legally married. It’s also where we had our first baby.
In my time as a criminal lawyer, I defended everyone from vulnerable young children to grown up murderers and everything in between. I also advocated for victim’s rights too, like when I worked as part of a government enquiry into abuse in our Defence Forces.
Eventually, pregnant with my second baby, I decided it was a good time to study for the bar exams, which is something more senior lawyers in our profession sometimes do. Soon I had my very own wig and gown, a “costume” I always liked wearing very much. It felt like my armour.
But all the while I was writing . . . because a writer is what I’ve always been. I desperately wanted to write my first novel. So I studied creative writing part time, I read lots of books and I wrote a terrible "gritty crime" novel. In truth, I didn’t like writing gritty crime at all. It felt too much like the real world I was seeing in the courts. I wanted to write something happier and more escapist. So, next I tried my hand at a romantic comedy. That was more fun, but it still didn’t feel like I’d found my writerly ‘voice’. Then I realised what I’d been trying to do all along.
Eat toast and escape into cosy crime!
I realised there was a world where I could write about crime and still have fun.
Life is short. Follow your dreams.
Once I had our third baby, I realised things were getting a little too busy, even for me. That elusive dream of being a novelist felt like it was slipping away. So I made some changes. Now I work a job that allows me more time to write. I still have to write in the cracks of my day, between my paid work, the bottom-wipes and the school runs, but my dream is getting a little bit closer.
Meanwhile, my cat now thinks my wig is a very comfy place to sleep.
I’m working hard to bring you the very best novel I can.
In the meantime, take a moment to relax, enjoy a cup of tea, send me a hello and don’t forget to sign up to receive my digital publication THE COSY.
THE COSY is a quiet place in a noisy world. It’s full of fabulous snippets about reading, writing, food and more. I can’t wait to see you there!
Lucinda XO