Life is sweet for high school senior and ice cream slinger
Genevieve Winterland. Her father owns Sweet Dreams Ice Cream Parlour, the
cutest confectionery shop in their little town of Pinewood, Arizona. Genevieve
loves her job, but when her father hires a broody newcomer with a dark past to
provide extra security on her closing shifts, Genevieve bristles. Is this part
of her father’s plan to send her away to college, when all she wants is to stay
in Pinewood and run the family business? Meanwhile,
everyone’s favorite new teacher at Pinewood High, Miss Love, is receiving death
threats, and then she goes missing. Genevieve suspects the crabby substitute,
Ms. Pierce, who seems murderous about being passed over for the position. Or is
the culprit Mr. Garcia, the longtime instructor who Miss Love replaced after he
was fired for assaulting a student? Just when Genevieve thinks she knows the
answer, she stumbles across the dead body of another missing faculty member. Can Genevieve find the killer terrorizing the
teachers in her beloved hometown—before someone else gets iced?
Murder by Milkshake is available in print and as an ebook at Amazon. You can add it to your GoodReads reading list as well.
5 Key Ingredients to Creating a Cozy Mystery
Amateur Sleuth and
Pet: A cozy mystery is not a police
procedural; the sleuth is always an amateur. Mysteries are puzzles that are
solved by piecing together clues through interviews with several suspects.
Additionally, every amateur sleuth has a pet, and pet care must be shown.
Bookstore cats are common, but I happen to be a dog person, so the Sweet
Dreams pet is a golden retriever. She’s amazing; you’ll love her.
PG rating: In a cozy mystery, there cannot be gratuitous violence,
profanity, or sex. Deaths tend to be discovered, often by the main character in
sometimes amusing circumstances, and murder scenes are not described in detail.
During confrontations or showdowns with the killer(s), the MC is rarely in any
real danger for long. Most importantly, there must always be a happy ending.
Motive: The murders in cozies are based on motives like greed and
jealousy, and typically the killer commits these murders in a fit of passion.
These aren’t serial killers or sociopaths who enjoy the act of killing, but
everyday people with relatable motives who are often part of the community.
Likewise, when apprehended they tend to explain their crimes in petulant
monologues: think Scooby-Doo.
Puns: In cozy mysteries, puns are definitely intended. Titles are
clever and cute. Some recent examples are Mocha,
She Wrote, Partners in Lime, Thread on Arrival, and Game of Cones. I tossed around several
ideas before settling on Murder by
Milkshake.
Happy writing!
About the Author
Elizabeth
Maria Naranjo is the author of The Fourth Wall, The House on Linden
Way, and What Was Never There. Her stories and essays have been
widely published and nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best American
Essays, and Best of the Net, and her short story, “Windows,” was
selected for Best Microfiction 2023. She lives in Tempe, Arizona, with
her husband and two children.
Elizabeth and Murder by Milkshake can be found online:
https://www.elizabethmarianaranjo.com
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8124819.Elizabeth_Maria_Naranjo
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