Savannah's Blog

My favorite cozy mystery series! Author Amy Vansant writes this fast-paced, hilarious series. I have read each of these books from Pineapple Lies to Pineapple Turtles and I have to say that these are some of my very books. I love these fun and light-hearted mysteries. Take a twenty-something young woman, put her in the middle of a retirement community, add in a dead body here and there and you have the makings of a terrific series. Charlotte (twenty-something, prone to disaster) lives among the elderly. Dead bodies appear and hijinks ensue. She meets a local hottie (Declan, the Irish heart throb) and his suave uncle, and Declan’s ex, who may or may not be from a serial killer family herself.       Check out the first book, Pineapple Lies, here on Amazon! (I am in no way benefiting from this shout out.)

Readers, I have a question for you. Do you typically choose the books you read based on the genre alone? So, here's why I'm asking. I have a soft mystery series (two books) in revisions right now. But like many of my other novels there is a bit of a hybrid nature to it. Many of my books straddle the line between cozy mystery and just plain ol' soft mystery. But these books have a bit more of a romance element to them. So, how would you describe the genre then? And does it really matter when you plan on a new purchase? At some point as an #indieauthor the book requires a specific genre description. When I go to check that box (or category) I'm not sure if this belongs under mystery or romance. But I have to wonder, does it really matter that much to the reader? Of course it matters in terms of the platform I pick to sell the novel. But for the reader themselves, I want to know how much the genre plays into their choices. I read a lot. For me, the genre doe...

I just figured out a title, and there isn't anything exceptional about it. I've settled on "Stetsons and Strangers." There we go. It's a title. And sometimes, it just has to be finished. My best friend's little boy made that statement once and it has stuck with me since. (Out of the mouth of babes?) It doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be done. And sometimes, done is better than perfect. Perfect is a demanding master. Perfect makes it difficult to a place where you can look back on your accomplishments, because nothing ever gets accomplished. So I have a title, and while it doesn't necessarily "pop" it is sufficient. On another note, I have reached a point in the revision of the novel that I can smile and think to myself: "You know, this isn't half bad." Perfection isn't all it's cracked up to be.

I am struggling to name the book I am currently revising. I wrote it int he last six months. There is even a second novel in this short series. And since I wrote this untitled novel? I have written a novella, two novels, and started on a third for another series. Yup, got titles for all of the books in the new series. But this one? I came up with the name of the series. (Middle South Mysteries.) I tried to be cute. "Cowboy Jake Me Away." That lasted about two minutes before I knew it sounded off. I even tried those gimpy online title generator websites. That was a bust. I got: "The Captured Roses." <no roses in the whole entire book> "Nothing in the Snake." <wut?> "The Lonely Spark." <I have nothing for this one> Right now I think I'm going with "Stetsons and Strange Corpses." Because why not? Only problem? I still have to figure out a title for Book 2.

I sort of think this is adorable. Incidental Nomads, to be released. Soon.

So, I have this little mystery series in the works. So far I'm one novella and two novels in with a third one on the way. (I feel like i just gave a pregnancy announcement. Which I absolutely would not be giving. Not even. So there. Hear that, Universe? NO. Just no.) Back to the new series. I'm calling it "Incidental Nomads" because the main cast find themselves living the nomadic life in their RVs. But don't think there isn't plenty of mystery to go around, but there is! (Hard as I tried that was the best I could do with that sentence.) So I thought I would share a few of the little gems I have found in my <ahem> dogged and time-consuming <ahem> research. It was RESEARCH, I tell ya! All in the name of research! Oh, those colors! And this!