How to Write and Market a Christmas Cozy Mystery: A Guide to Plotting and Outlining a Murder Mystery

by T. Lockhaven

Have you ever wanted to murder someone? Do you have a murder mystery that’s been percolating and you’re dying to write it? This book will teach you how!
This step-by-step guide is written in a friendly conversational tone. It’s like having your own private tutor, sitting next to you—stealing your coffee and cookies. As a matter of fact, this book includes multiple stories that you can use as your own! Here’s what’s included:

- Why a Christmas Cozy (Hint: They are extremely popular!)
- Expectations of the Cozy Mystery Genre
- What Do Cozy Readers Really Want?
- Creating Exciting Protagonists (Includes online worksheets and graphics)
- Worldbuilding and Secondary Characters (Includes online worksheets and graphics)
- Creating The Villain (Includes online worksheets and graphics)
- How To Plot A Murder (Includes online worksheets and graphics)
- Protagonist Motivation to Solve the Murder
- Suspect Worksheet (Includes online worksheets and graphics)
- New Christmas Stories You Can Use! (Detailed stories and hooks)
- Hook and Four Act Story Examples
- Creating a Cover That Sells (Includes online worksheets and graphics)
- Formatting Your Book for Publishing (Online example)
- Writing Your Blurb and Advertising Copy (Includes online worksheets and graphics)
- Building a Series
- Marketing and Advertising (Includes online worksheets and graphics)
- Online Resources and Videos (Access to resources and private Facebook group)
- And more!

Buy How to Write and Publish a Christmas Cozy Mystery now and you’ll also get:
- Access to over a dozen online worksheets and help guides
- Access to our private Facebook group
- Links to dozens of invaluable online resources

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Mystery

200 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 15, 2021

About the author

You can blame my 7th grade English teacher, Mr. Ownby. I began writing mysteries in middle school, with gripping titles like, The Secret in the Swamp and The Ghost of Hollow Lake—Mr. Ownby, would kindly read them, and then encourage me to keep writing and reading the classics. His words, "Some day I'll be reading your mysteries with the rest of the world," inspired me.

Forty years later, I was able to fulfill my dreams and become a full-time writer. When I began writing, I decided that my books would be a safe-haven from the real world. My children's series, which I write under Thomas Lockhaven, all have strong messages of perseverance, thinking outside the box, friendship and loyalty. I have a daughter, and as I work through my manuscripts, I always try to imagine what I can say to inspire and entertain at the same time.

For my cozy readers, I spent much of my life traveling to small coastal towns in North Carolina and then later in my life to the coastal towns in New England. I've always loved the idiosyncrasies of the locals, and I've always wanted to bring them to life in a book series. My Coffee House Sleuths stories are just that. And just like my children's books, I endeavor to write stories that are clean, with very little violence and no profanity. I do my best to help people disappear from the craziness of life, even if just for a little while.

I currently live in Boston, but my dream is to move to a small coastal town, stare out over the ocean, and to let the words flow. I have an incredible wife who constantly inspires and encourages me, and an amazing daughter who is my most harsh, but loving critic. As I said earlier, my passion is to write and to continually improve and perfect my craft. For those of you who read my books, I humbly thank you. For those of you who have never read my books, I welcome you with open arms.

Reviews

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Informative

This book for authors was incredibly informative. I really enjoyed it. I love the conversational tone and it's jam-packed with useful information. The awesome part is that the author gives several cozy mystery story examples that we can use to get started. I think this is an awesome guide to cozy mystery writing. The author even goes into detail about the step-by-step process on marketing through Amazon and Facebook.

[M.A. Comley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great advice

What a really informative book this was, especially for authors who are just starting out in the business. It covers everything from how to creating likeable characters through to editing and finding the right cover artist then onto how to market your books once they are professional enough to release for the world to read. Very insightful and extremely useful information not to be missed. Highly recommended.

[Jo · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is an ok guide to writing a mystery book. It’s marketed as write a Christmas mystery but it would have worked (possibly better) as write a cosy mystery with a chapter on Christmas books. The last third of the book I ended up skimming as it was an extremely in-depth look at self-publishing through Amazon’s platform complete with step by step instructions in excruciating detail.

Also for a book which talks a lot about editing there were a fair few grammatical and formatting errors.

Ultimately, most of the information given here is available free on the internet. It didn’t offer anything new or original about the writing craft.

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fast read. The authors’ writing is playful but straightforward. They lay out rules to writing the genre and include writing exercises to stimulate the reader’s own writing, going through different parts of the book, from coming up with a catchy title to the physical traits of the main character to the blurb on the book’s back cover. They provide many examples and include useful links to writers’ resources. The authors describe the four-act structure for writing and then the many steps leading up to publication including cover design, marketing and posting on Amazon. The final section is on advertising & quite technical; it includes screen shots to walk you through the process. It lost me, but I was far more interested in how authors generate their stories anyway. The Christmas aspect was a minor element to the book.

I am not a writer and have not read other how-to-write books or taken a writing class, so I may not be the best judge here. But I was fascinated with learning about the writing process, mostly because I hadn’t thought of it in such a step-by-step, cookie cutter way before. I assume that much of this may be old news to experienced writers. (?)
Thank you to the authors and publisher for the complimentary copy of this book; my review is an honest one.

[Mishael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay book, but it really wasn't about how to write and market a Christmas cozy mystery. It was about how to write and market a cozy mystery, in general, with a little Christmas-y stuff thrown in. Some helpful information, but a lot of confusing stuff at the end about ads, etc. It would have been nice to know, upfront, what a negative keyword is. It gets defined later, but at first mention, it's really unclear.

Basically, the last 40% of the book is an ad for Publisher Rocket (complete with affiliate link). So, I have to believe that the ending was intentionally vague. "Oh, not sure what all this stuff means and what you're doing? Buy Publisher Rocket with our link."

Also, for all the talk of how important good editing is (there's A LOT - more than there is about actually writing a good mystery), there were quite a few typos sprinkled throughout, along with repeated misuse of the word "tenant" for "tenet."

Still, I found this book and decided to read it because of a Facebook ad, so something this author is doing works.

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won the Kindle Edition in a Goodreads giveaway and didn't have high expectations. I haven't had the best luck with Kindle books, so it took me awhile to get around to reading it. But the joke is on me. It's very readable, a clear guide with follow-along steps. It is well-organized and well-edited, and takes you by the hand to walk you through the process. If you have any desire to write a Christmas cozy, or really any cozy, this a resource to get you started. I'm looking forward to going through the book a second time, doing the exercises this time.

[Jeanie Wolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

There were many things to like about this book. The cover was irresistible, for starters. Then when the book arrived, I was delighted to find it's nice and big (approx. 9 x 7.5 inches) and with large, easy to read print. The content is fantastic, too. It's written in a friendly voice and filled with excellent ideas for how to craft a Christmas Cozy. Another nice thing is that there is room to write notes. I highly recommend!

[Steph Elias · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has some really good advice. While it isn't anything you could not find on your own, it is all in one place and the author does all the digging around and researching for you. I thought it contained some great ideas.

[Lacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not a bad read at all, especially if you yourself may try writing a cozy mystery. I think the book would have been more interesting if it wasn't just all about Christmas Cozy mysteries. I think it would have been better if it touched on all holidays.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun how to book

I liked this one. As with all writing books, there are things that writers have to figure out themselves, but I did like the details pointed out. I thought it was well written and a good starting point to writing all cozy mysteries.

[Jen Dodrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very thorough!

I got this as an ebook but I'm buying a physical copy now because it is so thorough. Very step by step with lots of exercises and tips. I've already got ideas rolling around for a Christmas novella to follow my cozy series!

[Roxann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this e-book through goodreads giveaway

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy read. Great advice given.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great information, well organized. Gave me a kick in the pants to start writing!