My recent release, The Taming of the Stew, gave me the wonderful opportunity to merge two of my greatest passions: the works of William Shakespeare and the bizarre, wonderful world of historical English culinary traditions. Setting a mystery at a revived Shakespeare Festival meant that my characters weren’t baking their usual cakes and biscuits; instead,…
A question that pops up in my inbox is how I manage to balance the lighter, mouth-watering elements of baking with the inherently dark business of writing a murder mystery. It’s a delicate tightrope walk. If a book is too dark, it loses that comforting cozy warmth that readers crave; if it’s too sugary, the…
If there’s one thing that defines a quintessentially British cozy mystery, it’s the presence of a steaming pot of tea. But in a culinary mystery, the afternoon tea table is more than just a comforting pitstop between interviews; it’s a tactical minefield. As a writer, I’m endlessly fascinated by how the polite social rituals of…
When I’m not mapping out a fresh crime scene for the Parchment Paper Mysteries, you’ll invariably find me in the kitchen, surrounded by dusting sheets of flour and the comforting warmth of the oven. For a culinary cozy mystery author, baking isn’t just a hobby; it is a vital part of the world-building process. And…
There is a common misconception that mystery authors spend their evenings exclusively with a magnifying glass and a stack of Golden Age detective novels. While I do love a classic whodunit, a significant portion of my life is spent reading far outside my own genre. If you were to peer at my current bedside table,…
Authors are frequently asked where they get their ideas. People often look for a singular moment of divine inspiration—a sudden bolt of lightning or a dream that provides a fully formed plot. For me, it isn’t quite like that. It’s far slower and subtler than that, and it’s infinitely more satisfying. Once I decide to…
After telling you about the inspiring places around it, it’s time to look at Hebden Bridge itself. While it doesn’t have historic literary stars like Haworth and Heptonstall, it has something perhaps more vibrant: a living, breathing community of writers, poets, and avid readers. A Sanctuary for Stories For decades, Hebden Bridge has been a…
While not literary in the sense of a classic novel, the story of the Cragg Vale Coiners is a legendary piece of local history that has inspired a wealth of modern literature, most notably Benjamin Myers’ brilliant and visceral novel, The Gallows Pole. For anyone interested in the darker corners of West Yorkshire’s past, this…
Just a short, dramatic drive over the tops from Hebden Bridge, where I live, lies Haworth, a village that has become synonymous with the most famous literary family in history. For a mystery writer, the Brontës represent the ultimate closed circle—three sisters and a brother, isolated in a parsonage, creating vast, tumultuous worlds from the…
I recently spent a wonderful afternoon at Belvoir Castle—pronounced “Beaver”, for my international readers! It is one of those classic English linguistic traps that we locals take great delight in. While the name translates from the French as “Beautiful View,” the earthy British pronunciation reminds us that our landscape is often far more rugged than…