Confession time: mysteries weren't my first book love. Gasp! I know, I know. But truly, it was Jane Austen who first brought to me a love for all things romance. By the time I was 13, I had read all of her books, along with Charlotte and Emily Brontë and Louisa May Alcott, moving on to Danielle Steele and other authors that no teenager should have been reading blush
But then while babysitting my nephews one summer, I picked up my sis in law's copy of Carrie by Stephen King. It didn't take me long to go through her entire King collection (though I distinctly remember having a lot of trouble sleeping during that time!)
After plowing through The Stand, I realized I was hooked on the mystery/horror genre. Dean Koontz was the next author I devoured. But truthfully, Night Chills ruined me for the horror genre. It was just… just… EEK! ????
I turned to much tamer books after that, devouring all the collection of Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys. But as I got older, I wanted something… meatier.
Joseph Wambaugh and Tom Clancy to the rescue. Hello boys… winky winky
Even to this day to say my reading is eclectic would be a big understatement. As a writer, however, I've stayed in the Christian Fiction lane. My most popular series are about the end times, the "Tribulation Period." Honestly, it's really hard to write books where just about everyone dies.
I needed a break. Needed something fun, but not boring, to write about. Something clean (Christian author here) but still exciting and a bit funny.
And that, my friends, is how I decided to try my hand at penning cozies!
As a Christian author, I’ve been asked the question of why in the world I would want to try my hand at writing cozy mysteries. “You write end-times series!” they argued. “Cozies aren’t inspirational. Or Christian!”
They aren’t? Well, why not?
I am sure there was some proverbial pearl clutching going on when I announced I was heading off in the direction of murder, mayhem and mouthy mavens. But to be honest, after writing eight books that dragged my characters through battles both physical and spiritual, I needed something a bit different. Something less intense.
So, murder it is!
I mean, after killing off countless characters as they struggled to survive the Tribulation, I figured it would be a nice change to just off a non-essential character, you know? While my new cozy series might not be a fit for my seasoned “pretty much everyone dies in the end, yet we still win” readers, I’m hoping that others will find my quirky “Church Lady” characters, Maggie and Maddie, funny.
Or, at least, entertaining. Fingers crossed.
Frankly, I find the gals pretty hilarious. Maggie, with her penchant for using mixed euphemisms, to Maddie with her ever-increasing exasperation for her giggly friend, they always keep me guessing what they’re going to do next!
Yes, this is a writer’s life ????
While I might be the only one who ever thinks The Church Lady Mysteries are fun reads, I’m happy to be writing something that makes me smile instead of crying. I’ve bawled an entire pond’s worth of tears over the past six years as I’ve killed off character after beloved character and honestly, it’s just too hard. This world is pretty tough right now and I’m hoping I might be able to add some happiness to the universe.
This is the dream anyway ????
VJ Dunn
