A Crepe Myrtle Summer

This summer, for some reason, the crepe myrtle has been unusually striking and vivid. I've noticed it while out doing my roadwork (i.e., walking) around our neighborhood. You might know it better as summer lilac. There might be other names for the flowering bush, too. We had a crepe myrtle bush at our previous house, and I remember the Japanese beetles loved eating it. Actually, it can grow to more than just a bush, as I've seen the crepe myrtle as large as a small tree. Our present yard is much smaller, and I don't have enough real estate to plant anything new in it. The crepe myrtle flower seems to bloom in different shades of red and purple. I don't remember it as being a high maintenance bush, so maybe that is part of its appeal and popularity. Many of our neighbors have it growing in their yards. I suppose you may be able to buy it at your local plant nursery. If we get our lot cleared off any, I may look into buying a plant or two of it to enjoy next summer. And the summers after that.
   
Photo credit: Public Domain.

The Funny Puns Used For Cozy Mystery Titles

One of the interesting trends seen in mysteries has been the increasing use of colorful, humorous puns for the titles of cozies. I'm writing two such series at the moment, and, so far, I've resisted adopting a pun for any of my titles.

Puns are fun, however, I'm not really good at coming up with clever puns. The good ones make you chuckle at first reading them. Well, that will change with an upcoming Isabel & Alma Trumbo cozy mystery title. But more about that in my later blog posts.

I often find puns coming up while I'm writing my books's drafts. The puns just sort of arise in the flow of the prose I'm writing. Sometimes I don't see the puns until later on while I'm revising my work. I usually strike out the puns unless I can use it in a refreshingly humorous way.

The other problem I've encountered with using puns for titles is the number of characters in the title grows longer. When you're looking at thumbnail-sized ebook covers, a long title becomes a more difficult problem in making it all fit in the small space along with the author's name. My name (ED LYNSKEY) uses ten characters. Anyway, those are my thoughts today on puns.

My Lady Sleuths Are Also Big Mystery Readers

My sister sleuths Isabel and Alma Trumbo who live in the small town of Quiet Anchorage, Virginia, are also big mystery fans and readers. They have a personal library containing all the mysteries they've ever read on its bookshelves. They keep the mysteries in case they ever want to reread one. I don't know how their library is large enough to hold the mysteries they've read since it must run in the thousands, but we're talking about fiction, so I can take a few author liberties for the sake of telling a story.

I include throughout my cozy titles the parts where Isabel and Alma enthusiastically talk about the mysteries they're currently reading. Readers like to discuss their favorite books. Isabel and Alma have pretty wide tastes in their favorite genre, but they tend to stick with female authors from the past and are now deceased. One such author is Dorothy Uhnak. You can click on her name which is a link to the interview I conducted with her a couple of years before her passing away in 2006. Margaret Millar (1915-94) and Dolores Hitchens (1907-73) are two mystery authors Isabel and Alma discuss. I won't mention the other authors here.

I don't include too many book discussions to interfere with Isabel and Alma's sleuthing adventures. After all, they're solving crimes more than they're reading about them. But their book discussions are an extra bit of fun. Isabel and Alma's sleuthing and reading adventures begin with Book #1 in the cozy series, Quiet Anchorage.

Photo credit: Martha Rosler Library. Public domain.

Makeover Cover Reveal to My Latest Cozy Mystery Series Title

This week I spiffed up my front cover to my latest ebook, The Amber Top Hat: Book 4 of the Isabel & Alma Trumbo Cozy Mystery Series, and released its new front cover. It depicts the murder victim's crayon drawing as a kid of a taxicab's roof sign, also known as the top hat in the cabbies's trade lingo. Ralph Blue dreams of driving his own taxicab, and when he grows up, he buys one to serve the good folks of Quiet Anchorage, Virginia, the small town where he lives. When he's found murdered inside of his taxicab, it's time for Isabel and Alma, our feisty and funny sister sleuths who live in the brick rambler on Church Street, to get busy with their proven detective skills. Of course, they also have to deal with their bumbling and often contrary Sheriff Fox. I included more small town humor in The Amber Top Hat because Isabel and Alma never take themselves too seriously while they snoop for the right clues and leads to unmask Ralph's killer. All of my cozy mysteries are fair play and clean reads. Here's a sample taken from Chapter 1 of The Amber Top Hat:

Alma was quick on the nod, thrilled the chase was on again. “Righter than rain, Isabel,” she said.

“Don’t forget three Trumbos sleuth on your behalf.”

“That’s right.” Blue smiled for the first time. “I get three for the price of one.”

“You didn’t let me finish,” Alma said. “We’ll also call on Sammi Jo and Phyllis Garner as well as Petey Samson. He’s getting his beauty rest but don’t let that mislead you. He’s a ball of fire bloodhound when he’s called upon.”

“Is Petey Samson a bloodhound for real?” Blue asked. “I could’ve sworn he’s a mixed breed, what my folks used to call a pound mutt.”

“Oh, brother,” Alma said. “I wished you hadn’t said that.”

“I’ll have you know Petey Samson is no pound mutt,” Isabel said, shaking her finger at Blue. “His best breeding lies in his bloodhound line,” she said.

“I didn’t know that,” Blue said.

“Pay no mind to Isabel,” Alma said. “She’s just overprotective of her fur baby.”

I hope you enjoyed reading my sample. Please consider reading The Amber Top Hat with your other summer books. Thanks for your interest in my cozy mystery series.

Ed Lynskey
Author of the Isabel & Alma Trumbo Cozy Mystery Series