Karen Rose Smith Writes Mysteries, too!

Bringing a unique spark to every book I write has been my goal since I penned my first novel.  I do that by exploring emotional issues, occupations and settings that I love the most.  The many facets of relationships fascinate me.  Of course, in a romance the main focus is on the couple.  Yet I usually include family and friend subplots in my books because they are part of everyday life.  Now I'm going to be focusing on family and friend relationships and how they mix with...murder!

I'm terrifically pleased to announce that I've sold a three-book cozy mystery series to Kensington Books.  The series idea came to me more easily than anything I've written in a long while.  I wrote up a blurb first, then an outline and finally chapters.  Writing was such fun as I used favorite elements from my personal background.  My maternal grandparents were immigrants from Italy and came to the United States in their late teens.  My grandmother was sixteen and my grandfather eighteen when they married in Pennsylvania.  My paternal grandparents emigrated, too.  So it was only natural for me to create a sleuth (Caprice De Luca) with a large Italian family, including a Nana who gives her advice.  And they all live in a fictional town between York and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

I'll be keeping most of the elements of the series under my proverbial writer's hat until closer to release time.  But I know my readers will be interested in the theme of the series.  My sleuth is a home-stager and the first book title--KNIFE-EDGED.

Writing a mystery is very different from writing a romance.  I practiced with a novella and with elements I inserted into the backlist books that I indie-published last year.  I think my subconscious knew I was headed this way.  The process of plotting a mystery came so naturally there was no doubt in my mind as I began writing the book.

I'm so excited about this new road I'm taking.  I consider it diversification.  I'm not leaving behind romance or women's fiction to write mysteries.  I'm writing all.  A friend asked me how this will affect my "brand."  Romance and women's fiction readers will hear my voice in my cozies.  Family relationships as well as a little romance will still be the focus of my novels.  We're living in a new publishing world and I hope my readers will gather 'round to enjoy more than one genre.

IN TOUCH With Karen Rose Smith e-zine

Karen Rose Smith's Search For Love series website

Karen Rose Smith's website