So my final Seal Bay novel is out now,(23^rd August,) just in time for the big Christmas rush!

It’s the fourth in the series, titled Mince Pies and Murder. I had a great time writing it, wrangling with the characters, tying up all the loose ends. And I’ve had some really lovely comments from readers, who couldn’t guess who the killer was or what would happen next. And so many people have said they are looking forward to the next Morwenna escapade. Book Five.

Of course, there probably won’t be one. Although as I writer, I’ve learned never to say ‘never.’

You see, I’ve been asked to write another cozy series. I’m a few novels ahead in terms of what I’ve written, and I relish the idea of something new. So I jumped at it.

This blog post is about my initial research before I start writing. I need thinking time, to understand what I want to write and how to approach a new idea. I want to find out whose books I enjoy reading and why, and which ones appeal less on a personal level and why. It’s good to analyse who influences me and how I’ll write. I’ve read a huge pile of crime novels now, watched TV episodes, and had discussions with a lot of people.

Of course, I always love to hear what readers think about cozy crime novels.

Some people just don’t like them. I appreciate that. Cozy crime and Marmite have  a lot in common. I’ve read all of Richard Osman’s now and I think he’s a very smart writer. I love how his sense of fun, how he creates fascinating characters and how the murderers are finally revealed, like peeling fruit, layer after layer, piece after piece. He writes confidently – I like that style, the ‘safe hands’ thing. He’s very good at leading the reader slowly to the denouement. I’ve guessed the right person once or twice though.

People love guessing ‘who dunnit.’ Some readers like to be taken on a journey of red herrings and be misled and confused. Others like signposts, to analyse and guess, and to be proved right. I love how the character of Ann Cleeves’ Vera unravels crimes, how we are offered a succession of plausible murderers and how so many characters have motives and incriminating past history.  

I liked the character of Ludwig, and how his mind worked: despite the improbable story of mistaken identity of twin brothers, it was fascinating, and the tension and twists and turns were exciting. I enjoy how Mary Grand writes her crime novels with so much precision, allowing the reader to weigh the probability of who is reprehensible. And for Mary, setting is really important. Her Isle of Wight backdrop is wonderful.

I’ve read a lot of Stephanie Austin’s books for the same reason. The two things I love about her stories are the Devon scenery, particularly the Dartmoor descriptions, and the central character of Juno, written in the first person, who’s a lot of fun.

It’s for that reason that I enjoy MC Beaton. Agatha Raisin is hilarious, and I like how the sleuth is human and flawed, and that to offset the murder, there are moments of humour, tension, danger, scrapes and mischief.

I’ve read a lot of TA Williams, and I believe his strength is in the Italian setting, the food, the sunshine, the culture. And the way his crimes unravel.

All these elements were important in the creation of Morwenna, her family and the Seal Bay setting. I love Cornwall, and it’s a great location to place a cozy crime.

As I wrote Seal Bay, I became aware of how much fun planning a series is. Writing four books gives a writer many things to resolve, whether it’s relationships, romance, ghosts, or how characters evolve. Someone who starts off in one place has the potential to develop and change. The past can catch up. New horizons beckon. I love that about a series. Nothing stands still.

It’s also important to me that novels are written in a way which is kind, positive and fair. I’ve come across some novels which contain examples of misogyny, homophobic, fat shaming: some descriptions of characters’ appearances that aren’t nice, and there can be a tendency to kill a character off because they are somehow ‘less important’ than the rest of the characters in the book, as if they won’t be too badly missed. Based on this, I’m interested in the relationships between characters, and each one’s potential to change, to grow. I’m learning all the time how to hone my craft.

 As a writer, I read widely, to consider what readers enjoy. I recently read two great pacy books, Joy Wood’s Whatever It Takes and Jane McParkes’ A Deadly Inheritance, and I was blown away.

So, in September, I’ll start writing a new series. There will be a different location. A new protagonist or maybe two. A whole different set of crime scenes and characters. I think I know where I’m going, but you can be assured it will change as I write.

A brilliant writer once told me that if I know for sure of my plot’s direction, then so will the reader. I’ve never forgotten those words. (Thanks, Matt!) So my planning is loose, like a plotted graph with no lines drawn.

And the ending of a crime novel can always change. Sometimes I don’t know ‘who dunnit’ myself until very late on in the story.

But watch this space. There will be the chance to meet my new protagonist and to join him on his journey very soon.

And I hope you’ll love him.