Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Christmas and Mysteries

Up until now I've never written a mystery around a major holiday. Never even considered it. I do know there are many out there and that promoting a book for a gift that has Christmas in it, is quite a good idea.

The next Deputy Tempe Crabtree book, Invisible Path, which won't be out until the fall of 2010, happens during the Christmas holidays. It wasn't done on purpose, it just happened that way. Because of what I was writing about, I wanted snow--and what better time for snow than December.

I also wanted Tempe's son Blair to be home and since he's in college, the time needed to be during the school holidays.

So, for the first time I wrote a mystery that incorporated Christmas. It's way too soon to be promoting that particular book, but I wanted to write something about Christmas and mysteries and this was what came to mind.

How many of you have a favorite Christmas mystery? Or perhaps have written or are planning to write a Christmas mystery?

Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com

6 comments:

Donna Lea Simpson said...

I definitely intend to do that... I've written Christmas themed romances before, and they were among my and my readers' favorites, so I look forward to writing a Christmas mystery like a special treat I'm saving for myself... sugarplums and all!

Mark Troy said...

My book, Pilikia Is My Business, begins two weeks before Christmas and ends in church on Christmas Eve, but it's not a mystery about Christmas. Christmas simply frames the story. A few poinsettia plants suffere collateral damage in the fight at the end.

Jacqueline Vick said...

I love Christmas mysteries. I have two books of holiday mystery shorts and I read them every year!

Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredith said...

Like Mark, Christmas is only the time of the year for my latest.

Dana Fredsti said...

I love reading books set during holidays, especially during the autumn and winter. I'm a sucker for lots of food and atmosphere and Christmas mysteries always provide those! I will definitely be writing one in the future...

The Daring Novelist said...

I'm not sure I have a favorite Christmas mystery - but I think the holidays are a great time for a mystery plot. All that family getting together and rubbing elbows a little too hard.

Plus there's the food and weather.

I am planning a book for further along in the series I'm starting that takes place at thanksgiving.

(Now that I think about it, I do think that Charlotte MacLeod's first Peter Shandy mystery was a great Christmas cozy. "Rest Ye Merry", if I remember right.)