Hello! And, Happy New Year!

It’s goodbye to 2025 and welcome to 2026. The decorations are packed away, gifts exchanged, and the calendar has opened up again, ready for whatever comes next. I hope the year ahead brings all of us exciting adventures and positive experiences.

Although Christmas is behind us, I’ll be in the holiday spirit for a while because my first “cozy mystery” that I’m writing is set at Christmas time, entitled A Very Mistletoe Murder. It is the opening book in my Starfire Silver Sleuth Mysteries. A cozy mystery is a light crime story with an amateur sleuth, minimal violence, and a strong sense of community - think Murder, She Wrote.

One of the fun parts of creating a story is to decide on its setting and how it will become almost like its own character in it. Here's a little “BTS” (Behind The Scenes) on my writing process for A Very Mistletoe Murder.

When I started imagining my setting, I pictured it being in the foothills of the North Georgia Blue Ridge mountains in Georgia' Dark Sky region. This area has minimal light pollution that protects naturally dark skies. I know from personal experience whenever visiting this area that the clear night sky, with its constellations and blazing stars, takes your breath away.

I created the town of Starfire, where my main character, Lottie Harper - retired Atlanta realtor and widow - moves into a charming mountain-style bungalow in the town’s active retirement community called Skyview Village.

Starfire has made stargazing part of its identity, with a small observatory, planetarium, and Winter Solstice festival that draws tourists. This gives Lottie the opportunity to plug into the quirky town scene through her volunteering at the observatory and at the festival.

I hope you enjoyed learning how I created the setting and the premise of the Starfire Silver Sleuth Mysteries. I’ll share more “BTS” details in upcoming newsletters as I continue writing A Merry Mistletoe Murder.

Take care!

Until next time,

TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STARS

LEARN MORE ABOUT STARGAZING!

Did you know that 48 of the 88 official constellations, as listed by the International Astronomical Union in 1922, are based on the ancient Greek star patterns recorded by an astronomer called Ptolemy in the 2nd Century?

Ptolemy cataloged the constellations named after figures from Ancient Greek mythology in his work, The Almagest.

Intrigued and want to learn more?

Visit We the Curious and In-The-Sky.org

Visit WanderNorthGeorgia.com

for the best star gazing spots in north Georgia!

TRY YOUR HAND AT "SLEUTHING" -

Scroll down for the answer! Good luck!

'Twas the Bite Before Christmas

by David Rosenfelt

An Andy Carpenter Mystery

(An Andy Carpenter Novel, 28)

I read this delightful cozy mystery for my library book club and loved it. Written in first person in Andy's point of view, the book is a delight. I haven't read any of the previous books in the series before reading this one, and that's okay. I fell right into Andy's world without a problem. However, my book club members did explain in our discussion that Andy's rich, having gotten a huge payout from a previous case, and that let's him pretty much do as he pleases - which explains how he can do pretty much what he likes including picking up the daily lunch bill for his mates, take cases for people he doesn't know much about, and rescuing dogs - a lot of dogs.. All this makes for a great time for the reader. If you like twisty mysteries, courtroom scenes, and of course, dogs, you'll love to enter into Andy's world. And if you aren't crazy about reading books set at Christmas time, don't worry. There's nothing Hallmark-y about this - Christmas is pretty much kept to a minimum in it!

Here's the Amazon description and link:

In National Bestseller David Rosenfelt’s ‘Twas the Bite Before Christmas, all through the Carpenter house, five dogs are stirring, and not even Andy can get out of working this next case at his door.

Reluctant lawyer Andy Carpenter is at the Tara Foundation’s annual Christmas party. The dog rescue organization has always been his true calling, and this is one holiday tradition he can get behind because every dog that’s come through the rescue―and their families―are invited to celebrate.

This year’s party is no exception. But before the stockings can be hung by the chimney with care, homicide detectives ruin the evening. Derek Moore, one of the foundation’s best foster volunteers, is arrested for murder.

There isn’t much Andy likes about this case, but he likes Derek, who he discovers is really Bobby. If he’s innocent, Andy wants to help. Before Andy can settle down for his long winter’s nap, he has a client’s name to clear, a murderer to catch, and two new dogs to look after: a golden and a Dalmatian. Andy’s golden retriever, Tara, will have to adjust to not being the only golden at the house while Andy gets to the bottom of this one…

Learn more about the author and all his books here

Interested in cozy TV shows I recommend and cozies I've read ?

Visit my website HERE