Cozy mystery madness ~ by Abigail Keam

 
Hello from Abigail Keam.

I want to thank Kristine for having me. Writing is a lonely business so it was nice to be able to speak directly to readers who love books.

 


I write the Josiah Reynolds Mystery series about a woman who makes her living being a beekeeper and is an amateur sleuth in the lush Bluegrass horse country—a world of Thoroughbreds, oak-cured bourbon, and antebellum mansions.

A Josiah Reynolds Mystery is a little different from the usual cozy. While there is very little violence, sex, or swearing in the storylines, they are a tad darker than most cozies. Josiah is not your typical sweet heroine. She has a bite to her and does not suffer fools gladly.

I try to make these stories as much fun as possible and have given Josiah some quirky friends that can only be found in the South. There is Josiah’s ancient next-door neighbor, Lady Elsmere, who married an English lord and came back to live in the Bluegrass. Josiah’s daughter, Asa, who claims she is an art insurance investigator, but everyone knows she works for the CIA. There is also Baby, Josiah’s 200 pound English Mastiff, and Glory, an American Paint horse who has a penchant for throwing Josiah off.


 
As I am a beekeeper, I love weaving beekeeping facts into my mysteries as well as historical facts about Kentucky, which has a fascinating past. I made my living selling honey at a farmers’ market for ten years just as my protagonist does.

My twelfth JR Mystery—Death By Stalking—received a Readers’ Favorite Honorable Mention award in the category of Murder Mystery. I was thrilled to receive the award alongside such other talented authors and that I was the only cozy in the category. My earlier novels, Death By A HoneyBee, and Death By Drowning, both won Gold Medal awards from Readers’ Favorite. 



 
I currently released a new series—The Mona Moon Mysteries are a 1930s historical rags-to-riches series taking place during the Great Depression. Mona Moon is a cartographer and counting pennies when she learns that she has inherited her uncle’s vast wealth and a horse farm. She thinks her worries are over until someone tries to kill her. Oh, dear!

I love writing mysteries and weaving real events and people into the story. I guess I’m a frustrated teacher at heart and enjoy doing the research to make both mystery series as authentic as possible. Speaking of writing, I must beg off. Josiah is calling me!




Listen to Abigail Keam's podcast episode here.