Today our blog puts the Spotlight on Author Mollie Cox Bryan. She is the author of the Cora Crafts Mysteries, and the award-nominated Cumberland Creek Mysteries. Mollie writes Mystery & Thrillers novels, poetry and cook books.
Author: Mollie Cox Bryan
Author Genre:
Mystery & Thrillers, Cooking, Food & Wine
Website:
Mollie Cox Bryan
Author's Blog:
Mollie Cox Bryan
Twitter:
@molliecoxbryan
E-Mail:
molliebryan@comcast.net
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Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Mollie Cox Bryan writes cozy mysteries with edge and romances with slow, sweet burn. She wrote the Agatha-award nominated Cumberland Creek Mysteries. Several of the books in that series where short-listed for the Virginia Library People's Choice Award.
The first book in her new mystery series, "Cora Crafts Mysteries." is DEATH AMONG THE DOILIES, which was selected as "Fresh Fiction Not to Miss" title. She's also penned a historical fiction: MEMORY OF LIGHT: AN AFTERMATH OF GETTYSBURG, the Kindle World's bestselling romance novella, THE BEEKEEPER'S BRIDE, A ST. HELENA VINEYARD KINDLE WORLD novella, and the soon-to be released, EVERY FIBER OF YOU, A ST. HELENA VINEYARD KINDLE WORLD novella.
She makes her home at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Shenandoah Valley, Va.
SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author
Congratulations on your book: No Charm Intended. What do you have on the drawing board next? Can you tell us the timeline for its release and give us a little tease?
The next book in the series is "Macrame Murder." It comes out August 29. Cora, Jane, and Ruby, are guest teachers at a beach resort.
Here's the official blurb:
As the head of a bustling crafting retreat, Cora Chevalier could use a break of her own. So she and her creative cohorts temporarily swap small-town Indigo Gap for the Sea Glass Island Craft Retreat, where they teach classes and create beachy crafts like shell mosaics and sea glass chimes. Cora and her boyfriend Adrian are enchanted by their surroundings—especially the stunning wedding and blissful newlyweds they encounter on the beach. But awe becomes shock when the bride turns up dead the next day . . .
The woman’s death appears to be the result of a severe jellyfish sting. But when it’s revealed that she was murdered and Adrian becomes a suspect, Cora must hitch the real culprit to the crime—and fast. Because it just might take everything she has to crack a case more twisted than her most complex macramé knot!
You have a good following on twitter. Since you started before the social media buzz, what impact has social media relationships had on your current success? How did you build your following in your niche? How much has it changed your book launch process?
You know, it's hard to measure this kind of thing. But my cookbooks came out before social media was a big thing and it seems to me that social media has made a big difference for me, in terms of building community. It's a great way to reach readers. I'm changed my tactics awhile back, as far as finding reviewers. I leave the professional reviews to my fabulous publicist at Kensington and focus on reader reviews. I've started asking my newsletter subscribers to read ARCs, for example. I have a small but growing group or readers who have stepped up.
I'm not sure how it's change my book launch process--except that now I'm sending a lot more more books out from my local post office!
You do some book signings, interviews, speaking and personal appearances. When and where is the next place where your readers can see you? Where can they keep up with your personal contacts online
I’ll be leaving on Thursday for Malice Domestic, which is held every year in Bethesda, Md. It’s a mystery fan conference and it’s fabulous. It goes from April 27 to 30 this year.
On May 6, I’ll be at the Waynesboro Public Library Author Fest.
On May 21, My launch party will be held at Stitch Amore in Waynesboro, Va., which a is sweet little yarn and fabric store. We’ll be hosting a “Craft and Connect..”
The best way to keep up with me is social media--Facebook and Twitter. I'm also on Pinterest and Instagram. Also, my newsletter subscribers are often the first to get any news.
You have great covers. They carry a theme and your brand with them. How does your book cover creation process work? Do you hand over the basic theme or do you have more of a hands-on approach? Do you get your readers involved in its development?
We don't get readers involved in it. My publisher takes care of the book covers. I give them the themes and images to work with. I find it's best to leave it up to the pros. Kensington has a fabulous team and I'm grateful for it.
Several of your novels have been converted into audio books. What has been the impact on your regular sales? Has the audio books gained a new audience for you?
Yes, I wish we'd do more. I've heard from several blind people, for example, that they want more. But this is out of my hands. The publisher deals with all of this.
You have written several short stories and novellas. Can you tell us if they had an impact on the sales of your novels? Are shorty’s one of your styles of writing or are they created to give readers a sample of your work?
If you're talking about the novellas in my scrapbooking series, it was a way to keep connected with my readers between books. I write faster than the publisher can publish books. And readers expect more these days, so it was a win-win for everybody.
I think it's hard to measure how much impact they've had on the sale of my books. I think that it helped to keep my readers in the loop and maintain that importan connection with them.
If you're talking about my foray into writing light hearted romances in Marina Adair's St. Helena Vineyard Kindle World, that was a fun way for me to spread my wings a bit. Of course, I hope to find more readers for my series. And I have to say, there's a lot of romance readers who love cozy mysteries. Romance readers are voracious readers.
Between your book writing, blogging, marketing, family and all the other things that can get in your way, how do you manage your time? Do you have a set schedule or do you sort of play it by ear?
I get up in the morning between 4 and 5 and write before the day begins. I have a couple of part-time jobs, one is working as research and fact check for a media company and I also offer author services. So, I get my writing in early. I'm not much of a night owl.
How do you manage your plots, characters and timelines to keep your stories going? Do you use any software to keep track of your books
No, I don't use software. I'm a linear writer. One chapter right after the next. It's odd because in the rest of my life, I'm not what you'd call a linear person. But my writing is very orderly--well, at least to me. sometimes my editor switches chapters around during edits, but usually not. My first draft is very messy. The second draft is where I worry about if things make sense and shore up any dangling threads.
Do you maintain a reader list? What are the methods you use to find your readers and create the list and the relationship? Do you use social media, forums, newsletters and/or support groups to build your list?
I have a newsletter and ask readers there if they are interested in receiving ARCs. I also have a reader group on FB where I check in almost daily while I'm writing, giving them hints on my project, process, and so on. Now, we also chat about what we are reading. There's no promo in that group. I save the promo for my newsletters, and my author page. the reader group is much more intimate and active than an author page.
What is your method of getting reviews for your novels? Do you seek professional reviews, use social media or do you rely on your reading audience to supply them?
I don't seek professional reviews. My publisher does that--thank goodness. I do use social media, for example, to let bloggers know when net galley has one of my books available. I rely on my readers for reviews and to spread the word about my books.
Author's Book List
No Charm Intended
- A Cora Crafts Mystery
Settling into her new life and career in small-town Indigo Gap, North Carolina, Cora Chevalier is preparing to host a “wildcrafting” retreat at her Victorian home. But a specter hangs over the venture when beloved local nanny Gracie Wyke goes missing. Amidst leading their guests in nature hikes, rock painting and making clay charms, Cora and her business partner, Jane, team up with Gracie’s boyfriend, Paul, to launch their own investigation into her disappearance when the local police prove unhelpful.
Cora and her crafters take Paul in, believing he is in danger and not the suspect police have made him out to be. However as they uncover new clues and a body turns up at a local abandoned amusement park, Cora and Jane begin to question their decision. With more questions than answers arising, is Cora crafty enough to untangle a knot that could put an innocent in jail—and permanently destroy her reputation?
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Death Among the Doilies
- A Cora Crafts Mystery
For thirty-something blogger Cora Chevalier, small-town Indigo Gap, North Carolina, seems like the perfect place to reinvent her life. Shedding a stressful past as a counselor for a women’s shelter, Cora is pouring all her talents—and most of her savings—into a craft retreat business, with help from close pal and resident potter Jane Starr. Between transforming her Victorian estate into a crafter’s paradise and babysitting Jane’s daughter, the new entrepreneur has no time for distractions. Especially rumors about the murder of a local school librarian . . .
But when Jane’s fingerprints match those found at the grisly crime scene, Cora not only worries about her friend, but her own reputation. With angry townsfolk eager for justice and both Jane’s innocence and the retreat at risk, she must rely on her creative chops to unlace the truth behind the beloved librarian’s disturbing demise. Because if the killer’s patterns aren’t pinned, Cora’s handiwork could end up in stitches . . .
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Memory of Light
- An Aftermath of Gettysburg
Jefferson Coates signed on for the War Between the States, ready to give his life for his country. He wasn’t prepared for blindness.
He lost his eyes. He lost his livelihood. But he never lost the stubborn grit that kept him upright. From the Battle of South Mountain to the bloody fields of Gettysburg, through the daily struggle to live as a blind man on the unforgiving American frontier, this Medal of Honor winner never flinched.
Rachel Drew was no ordinary woman. In a world when girls grew up quickly, she left home to forge her own dreams. She never expected to marry or raise a family . . . not until she met a broom maker named Jefferson Coates.
Based on a true story, “Memory of Light” is about two independent souls forging their life and love on the Nebraska frontier.
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Tempting Will McGlashen
Mathilde Miller wanted to be a good daughter and marry the son of a long-time family friend, Joshua Bowman. But she didn’t want to be the wife of a Pennsylvania farmer. She loved her life, cooking on the Virginia frontier at her family’s ordinary. The minute blacksmith Will McGlashen walks into her kitchen, her restlessness focused on him. Fresh from Scotland, with a voice “like a song” and thick coppery hair, her heart belonged to him. Was it possible for the daughter of a Pennsylvania German to marry a hired man from Scotland? What did she really know about Will McGlashen and his secret past?
Will McGlashen needed to keep his own counsel. A man with a past full of violence and loss in Scotland, he was grateful for this chance to rebuild his life as a blacksmith in Virginia. He’d have to ignore the undeniable pull he felt toward his boss’s eldest daughter. When Joshua Bowman showed up and claimed her, instead of providing resolution for will, it burns like the fire he wields in his blacksmith shop. As events unfold, Will wonders if the signs she’s sending him are all in his head and prays that he has the strength not to find out.
The story is set in the Virginia frontier in 1765, a time when Native Americans still lurked in the hills, bandits and robbers were handed swift justice, and enterprising men and their families attempted to live in and tame the wild western edge of the new colonies. An ordinary offering good food, a bed, and company for travelers along the way was a much welcomed respite. Mathilde and Will's story is woven into the history, adventure, and danger of the time period.
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Scrapbook of the Dead
- A Cumberland Creek Mystery Book 5
Halloween means spooky scrapbooks for the Cumberland Creek Scrapbook Crop, but what's been happening around town is truly frightening. First a dead woman is found in the freezer at Pamela's Pie Palace, and the next day a second woman is found murdered by the river. Reporter Annie Chamovitz learns the victims were sisters and is certain their deaths are linked. Most bizarre of all, both women were found clutching scrapbook pages.
As their Saturday night crop quickly becomes an opportunity to puzzle out the murders, the ladies begin to wonder if Pamela is hiding more than her secret recipes for delicious pies--or if the crimes are related to the startling discovery that there are gangs in Cumberland Creek. As All Hallows Eve approaches, the crafty croppers must cut and paste the clues to unmask a deadly killer.
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A Crafty Christmas
- A Cumberland Creek Mystery Book 4
Christmas is just around the corner, and the ladies of the Cumberland Creek Scrapbook Crop are thrilled when Sheila wins the first place prize in a scrapbooking design contest: a ten-day scrapbook-themed cruise in the Caribbean. Vera and Paige decide to tag along, which should pose the perfect opportunity to learn some new techniques, mingle with fellow croppers, and get in some rest and relaxation before the chaos of Christmas. But when Sheila finds a famous crafter dead, and investigators determine she was poisoned, the luxury cruise veers toward disaster as Sheila becomes the number one suspect--or was she really the intended victim? Just as the croppers begin un-wrapping the truth, a storm strands them at sea, and they'll find it's harder than ever to survive the holidays with a killer on deck. . .
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Audible
Death of an Irish Diva
- A Cumberland Creek Mystery Book 3
Spring is in the air, but the ladies of the Cumberland Creek Scrapbook Crop hardly have time to stop and smell the roses. Not when famed Irish dancer Emily McGlashen is found murdered in her studio just after the St. Patrick's Day parade--and one of the Crop's own members is the prime suspect. Vera's dance studio may have suffered when Emily waltzed into town, but the croppers know she's not a vengeful murderer. Lucky for her, co-scrapbooker Annie is a freelance reporter eager to vindicate her friend. What she discovers is a puzzling labyrinth of secrets that only add question marks to Emily's murder. Just when it seems they've run out of clues, an antique scrapbook turns up and points the croppers in the right direction--and brings them face to face with a killer more twisted than a Celtic knot. . .
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Scrapped
- A Cumberland Creek Mystery Book 2
The ladies of the Cumberland Scrapbook Crop are welcoming an eccentric newbie into their fold. A self-proclaimed witch, Cookie Crandall can whip up a sumptuous vegan meal and rhapsodize about runes and moon phases with equal aplomb. She becomes fast friends with her fellow scrapbookers, including freelance reporter Annie, with whom she shares shallow roots in a community of established family trees. So when Cookie becomes the prime suspect in a series of bizarre murders, the croppers get scrappy and set out to clear her name. . .
Annie starts digging and discovers that the victims each had strange runic patterns carved on their bodies--a piece of evidence that points the police in Cookie's direction. Even her friends begin to doubt her innocence when they find an ornate, spiritual scrapbook that an alleged beginner like Cookie could never have crafted. As Annie and the croppers search for answers, they'll uncover a shockingly wicked side of their once quiet town--and a killer on the prowl for another victim. . .
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Scrapbook of Secrets
- A Cumberland Creek Mystery Book 1
Having traded in her career as a successful investigative journalist for the life of a stay-at-home mom in picturesque Cumberland Creek, Virginia, Annie can't help but feel that something's missing. But she finds solace in a local "crop circle" of scrapbookers united by chore-shy husbands, demanding children, and occasional fantasies of their former single lives. And when the quiet idyll of their small town is shattered by a young mother's suicide, they band together to find out what went wrong. . .
Annie resurrects her reporting skills and discovers that Maggie Rae was a closet scrapbooker who left behind more than a few secrets--and perhaps a few enemies. As they sift through Maggie Rae's mysteriously discarded scrapbooks, Annie and her "crop" sisters begin to suspect that her suicide may have been murder. It seems that something sinister is lurking beneath the town's beguilingly calm façade--like a killer with unfinished business. . .
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Scrappy Summer
- A Cumberland Creek Mystery
Summer's in full swing, and it's time once again for the Cumberland Creek County Fair Pie Competition. DeeAnn Fields just knows this is her year to finally win with her brilliant apple green chili pie. But after the judges take one bite and spit it back out, ordering DeeAnn to leave at once, she's baffled as to what went wrong. . .until she discovers someone sabotaged her pie.
Banding together to find out who hated DeeAnn enough to ruin her chances of winning, the ladies of the Cumberland Scrapbook Crop scrap their summer plans to get to the bottom of this mystery so that they can return to what they do best--cropping and crafting!
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Author Recommended by:
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