It started with being asked by my wonderful publisher to write a cozy (cosy) crime series. I found myself doing lots of research, from the philosophy and structure of this genre to reading lots of successful books. Boldwood Books has so many good crime writers, Mary Grand, Ross Greenwood, Debbie Young, Kelly Oliver, TA Williams – many more. I discovered and reread all the classics and modern ones, from Agatha Christie to Richard Osman. I worked out what resonated with me and what would resonate with readers.

I like MC Beaton’s novels a lot – I enjoyed the Agatha Raisin character, how she is a sort of ‘everywoman’: mischievous, flawed, fun. I like the humour, how Agatha is so feisty and determined. She’s also in her fifties, forward looking, and she doesn’t let her past hold her back. She’s a sleuth by default rather than skill or desire, which I also like. And she gets into scrapes. That was the sort of protagonist I want to write.

My brilliant agent had just come back from a holiday in Cornwall; she knows how fond I am of the place and the people, so she said ‘why not set your crime series there?’

Seal Bay is very roughly based on Falmouth, although I’ve allowed other Cornish places to influence the location. It’s a place where the locals have beach parties; where they can ‘wild swim’ in the sea, a perfect environment for the sleuth to be inspired with solutions.

From the location came the protagonist. Morwenna Mutton (a great Cornish name – I had a good friend called Morwenna) is in her sixties, a mum, from a generation of strong single women. In the mornings, she works in the local library, which is haunted by the sad ghost of Lady Elizabeth Pengellen, a tragic Victorian woman. In the afternoon, she does her shift in The Proper Ansom Tearooms, owned jointly by Morwenna, her daughter Tamsin and her mother, Lamorna, each independent women in their own right. Add to the mix Elowen, Morwenna’s mischievous five-year-old granddaughter, always in trouble at school, partly due to Lamorna’s bad influence. Morwenna often finds herself picking up the pieces and trying to hold her family together.

Morwenna lives in Harbour Cottages, overlooking the bay. Her ex, handsome fisherman Ruan Pascoe, Tamsin’s father, lives across the road. Although they are no longer together, they cannot deny the elastic that keeps them coming back to each other. But there are other suitors on the scene as the series develops…

Morwenna rides her bicycle everywhere in Seal Bay, although nowadays the hills appear steeper and longer. She is recognisable to all the locals by her long silver mane and her zany choice of clothes. She is strong, comfortable in her owns skin, fiercely loyal. By the end of book one, she adopts an animal. She finds herself in situations she hasn’t expected; she gets into scrapes.

In the first book of the Seal Bay series, it is autumn and the holiday makers have left Seal Bay. A local entrepreneur predicts a hard winter and tries to buy the tearooms; he is later discovered at Tamsin’s beach engagement party with a breadknife in his back. By the end of the story, Morwenna solves the crime and has to admit, she is slowly becoming a sleuth. She has met new friends; the wild swimming group becomes a regular thing and the ghost of the library is resolved. Or is it…?

By book two, it is spring time. Morwenna finds herself in another situation where she is asked to solve a murder. The police believe it is a coincidence but Morwenna and her mother know better. But I’ll just leave it there for now.

I do hope you’ll enjoy the Seal Bay series as much as I’m enjoying writing the stories. I already have a soft spot for Morwenna and I hope you will too.

As ever, thanks so much for reading, reviewing and enjoying my books. A story without readers is a world without sunshine.

Sending warmest wishes, always.  

J xx