Excerpt
Introduction to the issue:
Welcome to the annual cozy issue of MCM!
When I first started MCM, I wrote much more hard-boiled mysteries. I didn't really either read or write cozy mysteries.
Something happened along the way. I needed my fiction to be sweeter, softer. Funnier. Sillier. Maybe it was the plague, maybe it was just a natural progression as I grew older.
Now, I write a lot of cozy mystery stories, as well as cozy novels.
And while writing always has been, and always will be, my favorite thing to do, this past year I've also gotten into grilling.
A lot.
I have a pellet grill named Bobby. I cook on it at least once a week, frequently more than that. I've watched more TV BBQ reality shows than I want to admit to. Due to my strange allergies, I've invented a whole bunch of rubs and sauces that are quite tasty.
And I now write about BBQ. I have an entire series planned out, that's all about a group of BBQ competition contestants.
I had the theme of this issue planned out a couple years before now. It's just fortuitous that my writing turned to this direction.
So come along for the ride! But be sure to bring a snack, because these stories quite frankly are going to leave you hungry and longing for more.