Booked Up by Elizabeth Spann Craig - Book 10 in the Village Library Mysteries
Watch The Video Podcast
Meet Elizabeth Spann Craig, author of the bestselling Myrtle Clover Cozy Mysteries, the Southern Quilting Mysteries, the Memphis BBQ Cozy Mysteries and today's book is from her Village Library Cozy Mysteries.
Buy Elizabeth's new book: Booked Up by Elizabeth Spann Craig - releasing January 31, 2024 https://amzn.to/4aQ5F4s
Author Chat Questions
0:00 Intro
1:38 Tell us about your new book
4:30 Is this one mostly set at the hospital?
5:20 Is this a new character that we've introduced the murder victim or did we see him in past books?
5:54 How is this different from Book 1-9 in the Village Library Mysteries
7:10 Can readers pick this up without first reading Books 1-9?
8:06 How many more books do you have planned for the series?
8:40 Book 1 in the series: Checked Out 11:06 I’m actually surprised you never became a librarian - did you ever consider it as a career?
12:58 What’s your favorite thing about libraries?
13:52 Do you still go in person to your local library?
15:56 As a reader: Are you checking out physical books, e-books, audiobooks? 17:39 New releases - will you just go out and buy it or wait until it’s available at your local library?
19:26 Is there a trend of people returning to libraries or is Amazon = Gen Z’s library?
21:31 How alike/different is Whitby from your current town?
23:18 Does Whitby have all 4 seasons and how does weather play into this new release, if at all?
24:52 What are other fun facts/quirks about Whitby that make it very Southern?
26:22 All of your other series are set in NC except the Memphis BBQ - is that another Southern town you love?
27:55 How much are you like Ann Beckett the librarian?
29:12 Is Ann’s boyfriend Grayson supportive of her amateur sleuthing or against it?
29:54 The local authorities how do they feel like in book one versus now to book 10?
30:50 What about our cat from book #1 - still the lonely library cat?
32:17 What are your writing plans for 2024?
34:48 Book giveaway
35:54 Where can readers find you?
Listen Now [Audio Only]
Read the Transcript
Booked Up by Elizabeth Spann Craig - Book 10 in the Village Library Mysteries
Jan 23, 2024
This transcript was generated automatically by Spotify. Its accuracy may vary.
0:00
Computer is acting up now.Oh, there it is.Hi, everyone.Welcome to the Mystery Mingle.I'm here with Elizabeth Spann Craig.Hey everybody.Thanks so much for joining me.Thanks so much for having me.I'm so excited to be here.
0:16
Yeah, so this audience loves you.We read the first book in this series, which I loved.Everybody loved.Everyone thought was amazing, and that was the first in the library Village mystery.So.And since then, it's like I blinked and you're already at #10.
0:36
It's kind of weird how that happens sometimes, You know, you just get into that right in Groove and the next thing you know you've got 10 books for the series under your belt.Yeah, so you obviously like writing this series.I love it.I love it, yeah, it it was one of the ones I was just really excited about, you know, getting set up.And I love library.
0:53
So it was, it was just one of those natural kind of things for me to do.Cool.So for those of you who do not know Elizabeth Spann Craig, she has a ton of fun mysteries.They're all cozies, and they're all mostly set.It sounds like the South, right?They are mostly just because that's what I'm familiar with and so it just comes a little bit more naturally, but probably different aspects of the South.
1:14
Some of them are kind of like on the weird side of the South, which the South can be very weird.I think Village Library Mysteries is a little less southern than some of the other ones I've got, but it is still set in the South.Yeah, I mean it is in the South, but I really didn't get that Southern.It's not like your series for the BBQ that very that and Myrtle are very Southern.
1:34
Exactly.That is very true, yeah.So let's talk about this book, I guess.Why don't you tell us about this book and what's going to happen and who's going to get murdered?Sure.Of course I'm always happy to do that.There has to be a little murder.And Beckett is my librarian sleuth.
1:51
She's a research librarian in this small Southern town in western North Carolina, and she just is going about her business.She's coming back from the gym with her boyfriend and they're driving the car back and she's one of her library patrons walking his dog.It's this elderly man named with Linus and Ivy.
2:09
His dog is usually so well behaved and she's such a sweetheart.And she starts like dragging Linus off, you know, towards this medical clinic.And it's still out of character.You know, he has like very little control over her and he's really worried.And so she hops out of the car and they, she and Grayson kind of wrangled the dog into Grayson's car.
2:28
And Linus in there.But and being in and being a sleuth, of course, she has to go try to see what's happening over there.She wants to.And of course, it's a body because, you know, we're in murder mystery territory and it's a doctor in this small town, in small town.Doctors, you know, everybody kind of uses them.
2:45
There's only so many that you've got, so he's a popular guy in town, but obviously somebody wants to kill him, so that's that's what happens.All right, then.And for those who are like me and, like, read book one.They love the series.I read book two.And then yeah, again, I blinked.
3:01
And we're on 10, so Grayson is the boyfriend.Yes, that's correct, he picked.Him up Like what?Around Book Five, Book 6.He, you know, he was in book one, but he wasn't a boyfriend.He was like her love interest.She was she's this really eloquent kind of person who reads a lot and she's really well spoken usually, but she's tongue tighter on this guy.
3:21
He's her new neighbor and I don't, she's not really even sure he really knows her name or you know, that she exists, honestly.And same also for book two, although they with book two, they get involved on a case together because his sister is actually the victim.But clearly he's not thinking romantic thoughts about anybody because his sister just died so.
3:41
But it gets them closer together in a different sort of way.Right.And then so for romance, in the first book, the murder victim was actually someone that another library patron was trying to set her up with.Yes, that's correct.Yes.She's this really private kind of person.
3:57
And she loves books, she loves the library, she loves her job.And she the only annoying thing is people, you know, she's single, she's in her early 30s.People keep trying to set her up on these blind days and she goes and they're just disastrous, you know, but not disastrous like this, where she finds a body because her blind date is dead.
4:15
That's a different kind of really bad first date.I mean, if you're going to be stood up, I feel like that's less than my yeah, it's not like he saw you and he's like, I don't want to date this person.He's just.True.Yeah, that's the way it happens.
4:31
Yeah, and so all of these books, some of them I noticed are set at the library.So I was looking through the descriptions, all of them.And some of them you choose new locations, like this one is set in the hospital a lot.It it is.And I know well, I know you've got in your pastry series.
4:47
The the bakery is probably what like your hub mostly in your series and in mind the the library is sort of the hub but also in cottage there's not very much change in setting usually.But you're right, there's a lot of stuff set at the at this medical clinic.
5:04
This time we have 3 suspects that are involved in medicine that could potentially have wanted this wonderful doctor that everybody loves so much to die.So we have a little bit more on the on the medical side this, this side of this particular book anyway.OK.
5:19
And is this a new character that we've introduced, the murder victim, or did we see him in Passbooks where she, like, went to the doctor or no?No, I usually just kind of get rid of the victim in terms of it's somebody completely different.OK, so it's not someone beloved Exactly.
5:36
Yeah, I'm a little worried about killing supporting characters off because I work so hard to develop them.So, you know, it's just one of those things where you put some time into it and you're like, OK, and we're just going to let this person go on and on if at all possible.Yeah.But they may be suspects sometimes.
5:52
They're just rarely victims.Got it.I mean, I love that this is in a hospital for this 10th book.Is there any other twists maybe that are different from books one through 9 that readers will find in book #10?With anybody who's familiar with the series, there's this character named Zelda who's sort of an antagonist of my sleuth, and she just kind of gets in Anne's business and she's very annoying and she always wants her to join the homeowner association and become on the board.
6:19
And Anne doesn't have time and she doesn't want to.But in this particular book, in book 10, she has a a bigger role in the book.And I'll I'll kind of leave it at that.But it does.It's a different spin and it's a slightly different, you know, a different view on their relationship friends.OK, yeah, I mean, I love the Zelda character, mostly because my great aunt is named Zelda and you rarely rarely hear, aside from that one video game, anyone ever using the name Zelda, right?
6:46
That's true.It's definitely one of those older names, and I have a collection of those because I love using them.Yeah, they're great.I mean another one for you is her sister is named Iola.Right.Yeah.And I've got Irmas.I've got like, this huge collection of old Southern names.
7:02
I've I've gone back in the family tree and looked them up and then like, oh wow, you know, there's some great names in here.Nice.And so can readers pick up book #10 without reading books one through 9?I think so.I I try really hard to make that work because I read books out of order.
7:18
I'm reading Terra French's mystery series out of order right now just because mostly some of the books were available at the library and some of them were not.You know, I was going to have to wait and I started reading them.I was like, no, I just want to keep on reading them.I don't want to have to wait for book two.
7:34
I'll just go ahead and read book 4.And that's that's the way you do if you're an avid library user like I am.And so I I just try with my books.I make sure I I limit the number of characters.I reintroduce them when they've been off stage for a while.I try to make sure that people who've been reading the stories for a while are not going to be bored by the descriptions.
7:56
And kind of like my little quick little note saying who the person is and how they relate to the story, but also so new readers won't be confused when they step in.OK.And then I guess, how many more books do you have planned in the series?For the series, I probably just going to let it go on as long as I feel like readers are interested.
8:17
I'm doing book 24 in one of my series right now, I would say, you know, definitely in the 20s.I can go beyond that.If if you know there's reader interest, I'm definitely interested in it.So hopefully, you know, I can sometimes write books, even if nobody's interested, because I just have fun in the story world, you know?
8:36
I'm just thinking the story world's a lot of fun.Yeah, for sure.And I guess so if you're listening to this now and you're like wondering like where to start, I mean, I definitely would start with book #1 'cause it helps establish everything.And after you read it, you can watch the book club Cozy Escape where we all talked about it.
8:54
But I guess is there anything if you want to bring people up to speed really quickly as they go into Book 10, like the lay of the land for them?In terms of the books, I would say the recurring storyline is going to be Anne and Grayson's relationship and it's continuing.
9:11
I'm going off screen a little bit, sorry.It's sort of continuing on.It's obviously you've got drawbacks, you've got different things that happen, relationship changes.That's going to be the main story arc.But every other book, I think you can jump right in.
9:26
I think it's going to be one of those things where we have, we have our aunt, she's going to be at the library.She's very public facing, even though she's a private kind of introspective person, but she's dealing with the public a lot with her job.And so she gets all these tidbits of information.
9:42
She learns a lot from the public, She listens to a lot of gossip and that's how she solves these cases.And that's that's probably mostly what you need to know going in.OK, and there was a little bit of romance, like hints and clues and mystery in the book too, right?
9:59
Yes, that's correct.Absolutely.Yeah.How much of that is incorporated in other books like the romance or love causes?Or do you just kind of touch on that in each book as a possible motive?Yes, plenty of that.Yeah, definitely.Because of course when you're writing cozy mysteries, you don't have like huge motives for murderer.
10:20
You've got things like that are very small town kind of stuff, especially so you've, you know, for me it's like interpersonal relationships.You know, people having affairs with other people, people making their husbands or wives upset, brothers and sisters sometimes not getting along, neighbors definitely not getting along with each other, just these very small town motives.
10:42
But yeah, love is often a reason that somebody is going to want to murder somebody else.Either they're jealous or they're after revenge or you know, they've been the spurned lover.But all of those things make for great motives and cozy.All right.
10:57
And just so you know, so whenever we have like a book themed cozy, the library usually ends up being everyone's first choice.People just love libraries.And when I read, So I read the 1st 2:00 and I was surprised when I found out I was like, Elizabeth must have been a librarian and you're not a librarian, right?
11:15
I'm not.I'm not.You would think so.In fact, I've had librarians to write me and be like, oh, what library did you work for it?I'm like, I am just a patron who has spent a lot of time in libraries.Over the years, so good.Because I'm like, she knows everything about the library and how it works and the inner workings and also the board of directors, right?
11:34
And how they work and how that's true.Yeah, yeah, I I just observe a lot.You know, I've sat in there, I mean, I was a kid and my dad and I would go biking over to the library and he was a high school English teacher, so he was grading papers and I was reading Nancy Drew books and kind of, you know, listening and looking and seeing what was going on.
11:53
Daddy was also a trustee on the board.So I had kind of that perspective a little bit going in, which did help.But mostly it's just me just hanging out there and seeing everything going on.And did you ever consider a career as a librarian?I I always wanted to be a writer, but if that didn't work out then that was one of the careers that was definitely, you know, in my back pocket.
12:15
That or probably an English teacher because I was your typical writer you know English major person.That would have been something I would have been interested in for sure.I mean still even now when I'm at the library, I feel like, oh, this would be so much fun.You know, I can work over at the tech desk, you know, and help people with the printer something.
12:32
I mean, I don't know.It just, it seems really appealing to me, obviously.But then when I write these stories and I'm talking all the disasters going on, that can happen in the library.But I think that's what the most of the librarians are relating to.And they're like, Oh yeah, you know, you know exactly what's happening, you know, the restroom, toilet overflowing and whatever it is, I'm like, yeah, I mean, I've just been there and seen y'all deal with that.
12:55
That's the net.Yeah.So I guess you know, because there's always a choice when you're writing about books.You can write about bookstores or you can write about libraries.So what do you love about libraries?Maybe even more so than bookstores.Yeah.Well, I love bookstores too, of course.
13:10
I think it's mostly the hangout aspect.I mean, you go to the library and nobody is looking for you to leave.I mean, you can spend all day there.And at the bookstore.I might feel a little guilty about that, or I might feel a little worried that I need to definitely make a purchase, which is great, and I love making purchases and supporting my local bookstore, but at the same time, I may not want to do that every single day.
13:32
Or, you know, obviously you could end up broke doing that.You know, the library, they don't expect you to buy anything.You just, you just show up, you hang out there, you've got your laptop, you can do some writing.You know, you can just enjoy, enjoy life, get stuff done and when they close then they'll kick you out, but before then you can hang out there all day.
13:52
So obviously you're a member of your local library, are you?How often are you going there?I mean, actually I've got a book that I need to return to the library probably today.I may, I may do that this afternoon or tomorrow for sure.So I'm going regularly.But I'm also kind of a digital power user, so I'm I'm using it from OverDrive.
14:14
I use OverDrive.I use Libby for audiobooks.I take classes through the local library, virtual classes that I've needed help with.Things like spreadsheets before, because obviously English majors don't learn a lot about spreadsheets.I'm about to Start learning Spanish through one of their software programs, so I'm somebody who uses it a lot.
14:36
I also watch TV that way.I've got Hoopla and I've got Canopy for movies, and both of those programs just show amazing art house kind of films or international films, and I love that kind of stuff.So I'm definitely a power user for the library.
14:53
Yeah, that's a really great point.I think people forget there are many free resources that people are paying for that they probably already get for free through their taxes through their local library, exactly.Yeah, I'm a big library promoter too, so I'll be like, yeah, well my books should be at the library.
15:08
If they're not, you know, ask them and they'll usually make a purchase of a patron ass.Yeah, sometimes you see the, I almost said the word card catalog.You see the inventory of books and you're like, they don't have it.Like you could just ask and most people just don't bother.
15:27
It's true.Or you could make a request online as well.I do that all the time.If my library doesn't have a book that I'm interested in in reading, then I'll I'll just make a you know, they have a suggest a purchase tab and I just click that and I suggest whatever book that I'm interested in reading that I don't want to buy.
15:43
But not to say I don't buy books, but the library makes it a lot easier on my budget for me to read.I mean, usually I'm reading probably 5560 books a year, so that obviously is a helpful thing to be able to do that through the library.And what's your format of choice like physical paperback, ebook, audio?
16:02
Mostly ebook.I will have audio for things like if I'm exercising, but I have a hard time following fiction on audio for some reason I did.I did follow.I read read Damon Copperhead which was great on audio.
16:17
I love that audiobook.I just the way that I do audio is usually just when I'm exercising.I do exercise every morning, but it's for some reason.With fiction, I have a harder time keeping the thread.With nonfiction, it's easier for me if I'm, you know, reading a bio, listening to a bio or something.
16:34
It's a little bit easier for me.I haven't gotten in the habit of listening to an audio book, like when I'm doing housework or driving or something like that, and I think I'm just too.My brain's just going too much.So I need to probably figure that out better 'cause that would give me even more reading time if I did that.
16:50
Yeah, maybe.I mean, there was a year I did.I read 300 books in one year 'cause I was.Just Oh my gosh.Audio all the time.Like when I'm vacuuming, brushing my teeth.It like there was not a single moment that I wasn't streaming in words.But I would say it wasn't as enjoyable as just sitting with a book with a cup of tea and a hot cherry, you know, and some just relaxing so.
17:11
Yes.I think I have a.Harder time when I'm listening, staying still.Like I have to be moving or I don't know, my brain's just wired that way or something.Or maybe it's just that I used to listen to music, you know, when I was exercising or walking the dog or whatever.
17:26
And then if I switch it to audio, I'm still just doing the, you know, I've got to do the activity.Right.Otherwise you feel like you're being lectured at.Right, right.Exactly.Yeah, that's true.All right.So as an avid library goer and patron and user, how do you decide when a new release comes out that you want to read?
17:46
Do you wait in the queue for, like, sometimes I know with mine I'm like queue 40.It'll tell me I'm you're like #49 or 87, right?Or do you buy it?Like, how do you make that decision?It's hard.I mean, usually I will wait, but sometimes if it's book, whatever in a series that I'll just go ahead and buy it because I'm like, there's no way I'm gonna wait because people read a lot slower than we do, apparently.
18:10
I don't know.I'm just like, are they going to really have it for 21 days, the whole 21 days?And then because I always hit return, you know, I'm usually I'll start something and I'll read it in a couple of days and then I hit return because I'm thinking about the poor next person in the queue.He really wants the book, you know.
18:26
So yeah, I don't have patience sometimes for it.And some of the series I'm like, oh, I've got to, I've got to read this right away.So I I'll just go ahead and buy it.How about you?Do you do the same or?Yeah, well, I will check Everan too.So I don't know if you have that So script Everan, you pay $10 a month and it's like a it's like a library membership kind of.
18:47
That's very cool.Have to check that out.I need.I probably need more than one source, I'm thinking.Yeah, I will check that.And then so that year I was reading a crazy amount of books.I also, I had like a schedule.I'd check that, then I'd check CHIRP books and then I'd check there were all these different services because sometimes they go on sale for like a dollar and then you're like, wow.
19:05
That's great.I might.As well.Just get it then.Yeah.Or like Bookbub or place like that.Yeah, Yeah, for sure.That's a good plan.I need to do that more.Yeah, well, I guess with when you're at the library, I just feel like, and again, I'm old, I'm 49, so I feel like maybe I just like libraries, 'cause I grew up with them.
19:25
I don't know.Do you see, like when you're at the library, is it mostly older Gen.X or do you see younger Gen.Z people showing up?That's, you know, and I've, I've thought a little bit about that.My kids are Gen.Z, they're in their 20s, and my daughter used to go to the library a lot to study.
19:42
It was like a steady place for her.So she used it as a space.My son is a big reader, but he, I think he's more of a digital user and he's much more of an Amazon Kindle buyer.I think in terms of Kindle ebooks, I'm going to say I think probably Gen.
20:01
Z might use Libby for audiobooks.That's my guess because I know audio is pretty big format for that generation.But I don't, I don't see them a lot unless they're doing group projects for the high school or something like that and they're at the library in the afternoon and I'll see them there.
20:19
But it's more, again, it's more of like a space, which is fine, and the library is also functioning that way too.So they're mostly using it just to collaborate.Operate on a project or something like that when I've seen them there.OK, got it.All right.What do you?What do you think?
20:35
I mean what's your view on it?I think they have way more choices than we ever had, right?Like if I went to listen to something on tape, I'd have to, first of all, I'd have to check out the tape, which is kind of weird, or just listen to it there.And also, who knows if I would even be as into books now if I grew up now?
20:54
Because there's YouTube and there's podcasts, and there's so many things streaming, I might never even bother reading a book.It's so true.It's so true.And I, you know, obviously that's something the longevity of reading is something that that writers worry about a lot.
21:11
I do see a lot of interest in on Wattpad, but that's all pretty much Gen.Z somebody younger.So, you know, there's maybe it's just, I don't know, maybe it's just not a library thing.But maybe maybe they're going to be reading, but they'll be reading on different formats.
21:28
Right.Different platforms possibly.So let's switch gears and talk about Whitby, which is the setting for this book.So how much is Whitby like your current town?It, you know, it's kind of an amalgam of a couple of different places.
21:45
One of them is Anderson, SC, which, which is where I grew up, and the town of Asheville, NC, which is about 30 minutes from where I am.But Asheville more of like the way it was when I was a kid, which has been a while because I'm 52, so it's been a while.
22:03
So but it's, it's pretty similar.I moved a year and a half ago from Charlotte, NC, which obviously is a big town.It's got the Metro is over a million people to Hendersonville.And now where I'm living is very similar to the place I was writing in 2019 when I started the series.
22:24
And so I don't know if that's something that appealed to me when I was looking over here where my husband and I are both, you know, looking at just, you know, the kids are out of the nest, different place to go.And so, yeah, it's got a nice little downtown.It's got a great library.
22:41
There's a lot of aspects of it that are similar, but it was like completely accidental.And usually, I'm sure you're the same way.It's like if I'm picking a fictional town to write about, which I usually am, then I like to make it so I know where I'm going in my head.So I might have certain aspects of it be similar to a place I'm very familiar with.
23:02
So that way, I mean, I can't draw a map.I'm not one of those kind of writers who can accomplish something like that.So that way at least I don't get lost in my own towns.But it's interesting when you end up moving to a town that's very similar to the place that you imagine it makes it interesting.Oh, cool.
23:18
And so are there all Four Seasons where you live.And in our imaginary Whitby.Yeah, there are, which is, which is very nice.In fact, the town I live in, Hendersonville, is City of Four Seasons, which is kind of funny.And Whitby has all Four Seasons too.So it's because it's the mountains of North Carolina.
23:35
You get all kinds of weather there.And so when you go to write each of these books, is there a particular season that you like more than others?Or do you just kind of do try to match up the season with what's going on in that book?I do to a certain degree and sometimes I'll think about when the book is going to release because then you're like OK well it's going to come out and I mean obviously winter time now but in booked up which is booked ten of the series, it's it's not winter then but there is a storm that comes through and causes like a lot of confusion during a block party that that Poran is trying to help Zelda with.
24:12
So you know weather is very impactful.The South, I I often don't write summer scenes because it's just it's not quite as cozy, I don't know with air conditioning.I mean I think when you're reading cozy, sometimes you want to just kind of cuddle up with your your tea or your coffee and you want to read and be in this really kind of chilly setting, which the South can be.
24:37
But it's it's kind of nice if you do that in the fall and winter.So I have quite a few fall and winter books or early spring.OK.Yeah, that's true.I When I think in the South, I think in the summer it's going to be hot and sticky and humid in mosquitoes, right?So knowing that this is the South, are there other parts of Whitby?
24:56
I did say it's less Southern, but it's still in the South.Are there like Southern quirks or cultural things you've tried to incorporate into the Whitby town?I think with a small town in the South, gossip is just huge.There are people who just, that's what they do is they kind of collected at the beauty parlor or they collected at their their bar that they go to and then they kind of spread it around.
25:19
And it's very helpful with a murder mystery if you have gossip going around.Because that's how your sleuth, who is obviously a, you know, a gifted amateur, is going to figure out who did this because she doesn't have access to a lot of the forensic stuff.And if you're writing a cozy, you're not writing forensic stuff anyway, So that that aspect is helpful.
25:39
I would also say that I love doing Southern funerals.It's like my probably my favorite thing to to write about because they're so over the top.I mean, often you'll have like a big service, you'll have this this huge spread at a reception afterwards.
25:55
And you've got church ladies who are kind of doling out casseroles and just really, really heavy Southern Comfort food, fried chicken, ham biscuit, stuff like that.And it's a lot of fun.It gives also a nice opportunity for the sleuth to speak with maybe one or more of the suspects, you know, who is at the funeral.
26:13
They're trying to prove that they really cared about this victim that they might have killed.So and then you've got the cops in the background because they have to go to the funerals too.Got it.So Memphis, you're the Memphis BBQ series.I mean, Memphis is the actual real city, right?Memphis.Are there other cities in the South, like through your travels or visits, that you like, really love Or we might possibly see future cozy mystery sat in?
26:37
Yeah, I mean, honestly, I would love to do at some point a Beach series.I think that would be a little, a lot of fun.Folly Beach is a great place near Charleston that's fun to write.Memphis was one of those.I was kind of assigned to write for a Penguin Random House.I went over and visited Memphis with my family.
26:53
Loved it.Absolutely great place.But they asked me to write it and they said, can you do that?We just needed to be set in Memphis and set around a BBQ restaurant.And I said yes, even though I had never been to Memphis and I was a vegetarian.But you know, everybody tasted the BBQ for me and told me how it was.
27:15
And it's just an amazing place.I mean, I did the whole thing.I did.Beale Street, loved seeing BB Keys, King's Place, Graceland, just a great a great city.But it's it's unusual for me because I don't usually write about real places and yeah, I don't usually write about real places.
27:34
That's that's a big thing.That's.A major cities.Yeah, exactly.So I was just, I was following, you know, what they asked me to do and then I think it turned out well.But I probably even if I do a beach, I would probably make it anonymous and just similar to the places that I've been, yeah.
27:52
All right.And so including in the places you've been like the characters, I know you said Myrtles very much like you.Is Anne at all like you, or is she totally different?Or someone you aspire to be, or someone you kind of know?She's she's similar to me in some ways.
28:10
She's also an introvert.She loves books.She loves the library, but she's more I guess public facing obviously than I am.I get to stay at home and make stuff up and Anne has to go out into the public and and do things.But she enjoys that part of her job a lot.
28:26
She's also more curious than I am.I would say we're both observers because of, you know, obviously most writers are we where we kind of just take stuff in, we're watching and listening.I mean not saying that everything goes into a story, but it just impacts I think the way that we write about things or our ideas or inspirations.
28:45
So in in that regard she she is similar to me, but in a lot of ways she's not.She's obviously a lot younger.She's definitely a more intrepid kind of person.She's chasing down killers and things like that.And she went off and, you know, decided to find out why that dog had, you know, tried to drag its in or ever, you know, to the medical clinic.
29:05
And I never would have done that.I would just been like, let me call the cops.There's something strange going on.Exactly.Well, I guess Grayson's with her.Is Grayson a supportive, like part of Team Sleuth or is he like, don't get yourself into this, let's just go ahead and leave.
29:23
He's very supportive.He really just has to be.I would be irritated with him.That's just I I think that's important for sidekicks.And he's kind of becoming more of a sidekick.He is editor and actually publisher of the local paper, so they're actually working together a little bit.
29:41
You know, he's able to kind of find tidbits for her and she's finding tidbits for him that he can check out for for stories, articles he writes.So it seems to be a pretty symbiotic relationship right now.Nice.And then so the local authorities, how do they feel like in book 1 verses now to book 10 with her kind of like doing their job?
30:02
Yeah, I I I think they kind of accept it.It's that's one of those things where I think you have to when you're reading mysteries.There's a little bit of suspension of disbelief that has to happen there because I have a feeling a lot of southern police departments would not at all be happy with an amateur sleuth that's helping out.
30:21
At the same time she to make it better and I think for writers to make that a little bit more acceptable, she checks in with him.So she's not like this rainbow that goes off on her own to to sleuth and there's a little bit of exchange of information there.
30:37
He's not going to be able to tell her things that he shouldn't in the course of his investigation, but he's he's also, you know, realizing she is a gifted amateur and maybe trying to help her out a little bit.OK, nice.And then let's talk about the most important character in the book, the cat.
30:53
So, and book one.It's probably a spoiler, but she she gets cats.She finds cats in the first book.Where are they by the time we get to book 10?Since it's still there, he's part of the story.He goes to the library during the day.He comes home with her at night.
31:09
He's sweet and cuddly when they go on road trips for the series he comes along to, and he's just kind of a nice comfort animal.He hangs out at the library.There are people there that seemed to me the like a little bit of TLC and he makes sure to provide that.
31:26
I think you have an orange and white cat in in your pastry series too, don't you?Yeah, I have.Well, it's my yeah.And it's an Abyssinian Lucky.And he's actually named Lucky.So.That is so cool.He's the star of the series of.Course, But my cat the unlike the library cat, would totally run away if the door was open.
31:46
So he's not.He's not a chill, relaxed cat.Right.Yeah.This is like a very dog like cat that I have written.I also have an orange and white cat and she wouldn't do that either.So are you?Do you have a cat?A dog too?Or are you just cats only?
32:01
I have got 2 cats and a corgi and the corgi is part of the Southern Quilting series.So the animals are all participating, you know, and helping, giving me inspiration for all their little feline and canine activities for the books.OK, dude.All right.
32:17
So let's just talk about 2024 and what other books are you planning to release this year and in what series?I think I've got four more coming out.I might have 1/5 this year, so I've got a new series just because I didn't have enough to do.
32:34
I'm not sure what happened there.So I've got a new series that's starting.I think it's going to come out in April along with a Myrtle Clover.I'm going to release those at the same time because if I start a new series, it helps if it releases at the same time as book 20 something in a series in terms of visibility.
32:52
So that's the plan for that.So there's it's called Type A Guide to Solving Murder and it's going to release at the same time as a Myrtle.And then in August I'll probably release another Village library mystery out of circulation.And then I have got a Southern quilting Christmas coming out in the fall and might be able to squeeze another Myrtle Clover out as well.
33:13
We'll just see how how life goes.OK, so continuing in the current series.Not starting a new series this year, though.Starting one new series, 11 new series, yes, Yes.So I'll have four active series.So yeah, that's that's a lot of bouncing around.
33:29
That is a lot.Yeah.Well, that's exciting.I mean, well, I guess now that you're an empty nester, do you feel like you have way more free time than before?I do.It's one of those things though I think you have to, if you do have that kind of free time, you have to still schedule it because otherwise it's very easy to put it off.
33:46
You know what I mean?Because it's not like you have to squeeze it in between carpool or whatever, whatever else you have going on is one of those things.You have to do it right then, at least for me.So I get up in the morning and I get right on it and then I try to write some more in the afternoon.
34:02
But as you know it's it's also like a lot of business related stuff.So maybe do some of that in the afternoon and less creative work then.For me, anyway, I don't know.If you're a reader, just so you know, this is how I actually found Elizabeth Bancouk.She is so generous with her knowledge and her time, and there are so many blog.
34:19
I think there's more blog posts about writing cozy mysteries from you than I've ever seen, really, from anywhere.Even Writer's Guide, that's.Great.Now I yeah, I love to to share tips on it because I enjoy reading books.I don't read as many cozies because I'm just kind of worried about cross pollination.
34:37
So I'm reading a lot of police procedurals, but I just love them.I've always loved them so much.MC Beaton got me hooked on them.So yeah, I'm glad.I'm glad that those are helpful for people.Nice.And I guess I've been ignoring everyone here.We have Sherry.Here we have Diane.
34:53
Interesting to learn what some of what is considered in writing a book.Rabbit Underground.Karen.Sherry, how do you start plotting a cozy?That's already on your blog, right?Yeah, I if you look up my website, iselizabethspancrag.com and if you look up writing, the cozy mystery is the tag.
35:15
And I think there'll be like 15 or 20 posts that'll come up.So.Or you can always e-mail me, yeah.Yeah, sorry, sorry.I understand.Not being able to listen to audiobooks while doing something else at the same time.It's one or the other for me.Yeah, that does happen Robin.
35:30
Your animals can be tax write offs.That would be nice.No, that's it's tax time.That's a good idea.Did you start starting at night?Did you plot out much of your series ahead of time, or just one book at a time?I.Do one book at a time, because I really don't have too much of an arc that continues from book to book.
35:50
So for me, I just do mostly one at a time.All right.And then Tasha.All right.And then oh, so where can readers find you?You can find me at my website, elizabethspanncraig.com.I'm on Twitter.Slash X Elizabeth S Craig.
36:06
I'm on Facebook as Elizabeth Spann Craig author and anywhere else you want to find me.If you just go to my website, you can find my e-mail address and everything else there.So just reach out and get in touch.Always happy to talk to readers or other writers.Great.And then time for the book giveaway.
36:21
So if you can pick a number from 1:00 to 7:00 for me.Elizabeth, let's see at 7:00.Seven.OK, seven is That's Tasha.So, Tasha, thanks for showing up.You have won a free copy of Elizabeth's book #10 in the series, which, it doesn't matter.
36:38
You can start reading book #10, but I highly recommend going back and reading book number one too.Absolutely.All right.Well, thank you so much for being on here.I think everyone loved it and I hope to talk to you again later this year for another one of your new releases.
36:55
Well, thanks so much to you Lisa, and good luck with 2024 for your writing.Thanks.All right.Bye everyone.Bye.
More Video Podcasts You Might Like…
