836: Tea, Blankets, and Murder

Once a subcategory for mysteries, “cozy” feels like the latest craze in publishing with every genre getting in on the act. Is it really a new thing? Are authors able to take sci-fi or horror and turn it into something to be read while cuddled into a warm blanket with a cup of tea at one’s elbow? Our panel discusses what makes a piece of media cozy, drafts a few books (sometimes with media tie-ins), and then throws it open to anything that gives us that cozy feeling. David includes tea pairings with his choices and Antony tells us how he ended up writing a cozy mystery series.
Cozy Draft
Host Shannon Sudderth with Antony Johnston, Annette Wierstra, Shelly Brisbin, David J. Loehr, and James Thomson.
Show Notes & Links
Annette: “A Council of War” cozy mysteries inspired by Elizabeth Peters (series with Amelia Peabody and Vicky Bliss), Veronica Speedwell mysteries by Deanna Raubourne, Jaya Jones mysteries by Gigi Pandian
David: the Gervase Fen series by Edmund Crispin
Antony: the Miss Marple books by Agatha Christie
James: The Impossible Garden of Clara Thorne by Summer N. England
Shelly: the Night Soldiers series by Alan Furst
Shannon: The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
Annette: A Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal
David: To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
Antony: the Wayfarers books by Becky Chambers
James: Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell
Shelly: the Bridgerton novels by Julia Quinn
Shannon: the Cat Who… mysteries by Lilian Jackson Braun
Annette: outdoor lights on my patio
David: the Jeeves and Wooster series by P.G. Wodehouse
Antony: Journey (videogame) by Thatgamecompany
James: Fallout 4 (videogame) by Bethesda Game Studios
Shelly: my cozy reading nook with my Incomparable blanket, Mom’s cozy furniture, various cats, and “Murder, She Wrote” playing in the background
Shannon: revisiting children’s books/media: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Colin Thompson picture books, Disney fairy tales
Antony’s rec list of fellow cozy authors:
Poppy Denby mysteries by Fiona Veitch Smith
Cressida Fawcett mysteries by Fliss Chester
The Dales Detective Agency series by Julia Chapman
The Inspector Chopra mysteries and the Malabar House series, both by Vaseem Khan
The Bloody Christmas mysteries by Jo Middleton
Various books by Janice Hallett
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