SPA Girls Podcast – Episode 219 – Christmas and Our Favourite Guests of 2019
It’s always Christmas in the SPA!
Let’s clear the air!
All our lovely guests are special and they resonate in different ways with each of us. But, if we had to choose . . .
Here they are, the ones who made us really think about what we do. The ones who push us to do better. And the ones who inspire us.
SPA Girls Podcast – EP188 – Cozy Mysteries With Morgana Best
SPA Girls Podcast – EP197 – Hack Your Muse With Kelly McClymer
SPA Girls Podcast – EP182 – Facebook Ads with Maria Luis (Part One)
SPA Girls Podcast – EP214 – Interview with Lindsay Buroker
SPA Girls Podcast – EP187 – Interview With Forensics Expert Geoff Symon
SPA Girls Podcast – EP191 – Seven-Figure Success With Skye Warren
SPA Girls Podcast – EP210 – Slow & Steady to Six Figures with Serenity Woods
SPA Girls Podcast – EP189 – Pantsing with Patricia McLinn
We thank them all. And also, thank you for being here and giving us added encouragement to do this thing we love.
Merry Christmas!
SPA Girls Podcast – EP185 – Interview with the Writer’s Detective, Adam Richardson
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
It’s the start of Mystery May, and we have a doozy to start you off!
The SPA Girls spent time with Adam Richardson, an American cop who helps authors and screenwriters with their crime-fiction questions through his website and podcast called the Writer’s Detective Bureau. He knows his stuff – Adam spent seventeen years of his 20+ year law enforcement career as a detective – and he was able to answer all our silly/strange/just-plain-dumb questions about being a cop in the US.
We talk about everything from what writers need to know about law enforcement in the US, how the police and sheriff departments’ work, how detectives approach a crime scene and deal with witnesses and suspects, and a myriad of other interesting details.
Whether you write romance with a mystery subplot, or are a fully fledged suspense or mystery writer, this episode is for you.
Learn more from Adam at: https://www.writersdetective.com where you can sign up to his All Points Bulletin for writers.
Don’t miss his facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WRITERSDETECTIVE/
Adam’s podcast Writer’s Detective Bureau: https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/writers-detective-bureau/id1418826910?mt=2
Self-Publishing Workshops with the Spa Girls
Hold onto your hat, we’ve got something exciting coming…
The last few years have seen us holding super popular, fun and informative (if we do say so ourselves 😉 ) in-person workshops. And we’ve loved every minute of running them!
BUT….
There’s a whole lot of our lovely listeners and community members who can’t just whisk down to New Zealand to attend them.
The Spa Girls are going Global!
No, we haven’t got a Netflix special (yet).
It’s better!
We’re going to be producing our very own Spa Girls Online Workshops.
In 2020, you’ll be able to learn from us from the comfort of your own lounge!
Over the last few years our live Get Started In Self-Publishing Workshops have been sell-outs 🙂 We’ve had amazing writers from all over New Zealand attend to learn about successful self-p ublishing, and we had a blast teaching them.
We’re now going to take our knowledge, our experience, and our Kiwi humor, online and bring you some of the best, most affordable and most easy-to-understand self-publishing workshops especially aimed at beginners.
So when do our online workshops launch?
We’re working on them right now and aiming for a Q1 2020 launch – but stay tuned and make sure you’re signed up to our email alert and we’ll let you know the minute registration starts. PLUS you’ll get a subscriber sweetener as a wee thank you from us for supporting the Spa Girls, just for subscribing!
Learn more about the workshop and registration details at: www.selfpublishingworkshop.co.nz
SPA Girls Podcast – EP133 – Interview With Sara Rosett: Writing Cozy Mysteries
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
This episode we are thrilled to talk with USA Today bestseller, Sara Rosett, about the wonderful, (sometimes) wacky and hugely popular sub-genre of Cozy Mysteries. Cozies have a rabid audience, but writers need to be sure that they’re meeting reader expectations and delivering a great puzzle, compelling characters and intriguing setting.
Sara has not only been writing a number of successful cozy-mystery series since 2006, but she also teaches an online How To Outline A Cozy Mystery course – so she’s the perfect person to talk through crafting cozies.
So what defines a cozy versus “normal” mystery?
The elements/tropes of a typical cozy mystery:
- Mystery is the main component, usually a murder
- A female amateur Sleuth
- Usually a small town or a contained setting like a cruise ship or a resort
- A side-kick. Often the same one but not always.
- A vocation like cooking, needlework or something that lends itself to a group.
- A pet, very often a cat
- Quirky friends / community
- A romantic thread
- Covers should reflect the genre. Usually quirky, light, with a mystery element, and the animal.
- Cozies are “clean” – ie no swearing, no sex, no gore, no violence (murder takes place off the page)
- The mystery is solved at the end of the book – no cliffhangers.
- Also very popular are paranormal cozy-mysteries (witches, warlocks, were-creatures)
Sara also talks about her launch process and her advice on wide distribution versus Kindle Unlimited /Amazon exclusive for new writers.
Enjoy the episode!
About Sara
A native Texan, USA Today bestselling author Sara Rosett grew up reading and dreaming of writing books. Her stories and essays have appeared in Chicken Soup for the Military Wife’s Soul, Georgia Magazine, The Writer, and Romantic Times Book Review.
She is the author of the Murder on Location series, the On the Run series, and the Ellie Avery series. Sara also teaches an online course, How to Outline A Cozy Mystery.
Publishers Weekly called Sara’s books, “satisfying,” “well-executed,” and “sparkling.” Sara is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and NINC. You can find her on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads, or Litsy.
Sara’s Online Course: How To Outline A Cozy Mystery
Sara’s non-fiction books for writers (click on cover to learn more):
