Good morning all you Diamonds in Fiction fans. This
week I want to again introduce you to one of my favorite authors in the whole
world—JULIE COSGROVE!!!!
Besides being
good friends, I am a super fan of this talented and magnificent author!
Julie, I’m delighted to be able to feature today not
only you, but the first book of your latest cozy mystery series
WORD HAS
IT! From the first sentence I knew this was the crème de la crème I’d
been waiting for. Welcome to the Diamond Mine dear friend!
Aww, thanks. I am blushing now. Can you
believe this is fiction work #16?? I was
first published in 2010, so I feel very blessed to have landed so many
contracts.
For those of you who don’t know, Julie is a multi-dimensional
author, a kaleidoscope of genres, many award-winning! She writes devotionals, cozy mysteries, has
written three suspense novels on human trafficking, as well as Bible studies,
and…well, Julie give our readers the cliff-note trip through your writing
successes.
I first wrote Focused in 2008,
which was a romance of a different sort. It is about an empty nest couple who
have drifted apart. Throughout the course f the book, they find out why they
fell in love to begin with by focusing on the good things. and it was picked up
in 2010. Then after reading Richard Maas’ book on to how to write a breakout
novel, I decided in 2009 to write a suspense romance, Hush in the Storm.
But by the third chapter I hit a wall and prayed on it. I wanted to convey a
message, but what?? Over the next month, three different Spirit-led scenarios
introduced me to the plight of human trafficking (at the time it was not a
household word). The plot about a young widow who begins to discover her
husband’s accident was not that at all began to quickly emerge. I got several
nibbles but no bites from agents and publishers. Then I read an advertisement about
Prism Books expanding into suspense romance and accepting queries. Within 48
hours I was under contract!
The editor in chief then contracted me
to write two sequels, then three romance novellas over the next three years,
and after that the four-book series called the Bunco Biddies Mysteries between
2015-2018. The Bunco Biddies novels are set in a 55 plus community and features
12 senior women who share recipes, play dice games, and solve a few crimes
along the way. They are light-hearted but each features a social awareness
issue, as do all my fictional works. I want to entertain but also hope my
readers leave with knowledge of ways they can act, pray, and support nonprofit
organizations that help people in tough situations. Jesus always met people in
the middle of their messes and I believe we are called to follow in His
footsteps.
Anyway, Prism was sold to a larger
publishing house, so I decide to contract with a new publisher, Write Integrity
Press, whose editor-in-chief I’d met through American Christian Fiction
Writers. At her request, I wrote three new cozy mysteries (my genre of choice
to read and write) under the Relatively Seeking Mysteries―One Leaf Too Many,
Fallen Leaf, and Leaf Me Alone. These featured three
thirty-something friends who delve into genealogies and discover family secrets
some don’t want revealed. They were written following the Hallmark formula,
which is so popular.
But my heart remained with senior
sleuths, so Write Integrity Press approved and contracted six books in the
Wordplay Mysteries. Word Has It is the first one. Books two and three
are in various stages of editing and I am starting to write book four.
I’d love to pick a favorite, but I’d be here all day
arguing with myself …I love them all! It’s amazing how God has guided you every
step of the way through your writing career. Can you share a little about how
you started writing and how you’ve arrived at this latest series?
I began writing as a freelance writer
because my late husband was transferred a lot in his career in structural
construction. Therefore, whenever I had access to the internet I could work. I
also contracted to write devotionals for several publications and did so for
ten years. I still have a devotional blog, https://wheredidyoufindgodtoday,
which has a good following in about 50 countries, and for five years
(2015-2020) I wrote and edited for a digitally-based missionary group out of
Canada, a division of CRU.
But fiction has always been my secret
passion so I gave it a try. A professor friend of my sister’s read Focused
and said I had potential but needed to hone my craft. I spent the next few
years attending writer’s workshops and conferences, and also reading “how to
write faith-based fiction” books. Like most newbie writers, I wrote many drafts
during those early years until a publisher picked me up.
I have always loved mysteries, and after
I wrote the suspense and romances for Prism, my sister asked me why I didn’t
write what I loved. Prism had never published that genre but gave me a shot
with Dumpster Dicing, the first Bunco Biddies Mystery. It won Best Cozy
Mystery in Texas 2017, and by then I had been contracted to write the rest in
the series. I have been writing cozies ever since.
In the early writing days, I was always advised,
don’t change genres. Those established writers, “Each time you change genres
it’s like beginning to build your fan base again.” Any truth to that statement?
There is some truth to that. But in
actuality, I have more migrated than switched. With Prism, I wrote romance,
even though some of it was suspense. The
leap from suspense to mystery is not a huge one, and I include a flavoring of
romance in the mysteries to add depth to my plots and characters.
I think it would be hard to, for
example, write historical romances and then switch to sci-fi or fantasy. Genres
that far apart rarely have carry-over audiences. I do know some mystery writers
who write various genres under several pen names, though. Still, it take a lot
of marketing efforts to keep your name in front of so many audiences.
And can I gather that cozy mysteries are your
favorite genre?
Without a doubt. I feel I have found my
niche so I plan to keep writing them. If I am not writing them, I am reading
them or watching them, especially the British series. I don’t mind reading historical
novels and Biblically based ones, and a few YA’s (there, now I have confessed
that!) but as a widow in her late sixties, romances just do not hit my hot button
like suspense and mysteries. I prefer cozies because they are clean, have fun,
quirky characters you get to know and love, and concentrate on solving the
crime rather than committing the crime itself.
For those new Diamond Mine followers, can you share
just a few words about how God called you to write? Did you always know you were
meant to write?
Three friends from three different
states suggested I try writing for a living. They said my articles for church
newsletters and even my personal letters showed a propensity for creative
writing. I had taken that in school and excelled at it, winning a few awards. I
prayed on it and felt somewhat confident God was leading me this way.
Now, I know the Holy Spirit “sits on my
shoulders” when I get in my writing zone. Still working full-time, I must carve
out writing time on weekends. I get antsy when I feel that prompting in my
soul. My family understands when that happens, I am not available unless it is
an emergency. Often times, I’ll sit down at the computer with a cuppa in the
morning and then look up, astonished that it is after supper time. I am a
panster, which means I have a vague idea of the overall plot but create the
twists and turns as I go.
As I write, I marvel at where the Spirit
leads me. Unraveling the mystery along with my main character is so much fun. I
wouldn’t write any other way. By God’s merciful grace, the plot seems to always
resolve, red herrings and all. That is when I know I have been steadily in His
will.
I’m sure we have many visiting the Diamond Mine
today who are familiar with your work but haven’t heard from you recently. It’s
obvious you survived the winter Texas storm of 2021, how rough was that storm
in Ft. Worth?
Not bad in my neck of the woods. Other
than seven inches of ice and snow layered upon each other, we never lost power
or water. I was able to work remotely the whole time. Others in Fort Worth were
not as lucky, but all I know survived and that is a blessing.
And now for the truly good part…what’s next? Will
there be more books featuring Scrub Oak, Texas, Wanda Lee Warner, and her
rookie cop nephew, Todd? I sure hope so.
Absolutely. As I said, six are under
contract. It is up to my publisher when they will feature over the next 3-4
years, though. Write Integrity Press has fourteen faith-based authors of all
genres, fiction and non-fiction, and is now closed to adding any new ones. But
they are still determined to produce one work a month, so I fit in the queue
somewhere in all of that. They let me know the release month by the second edit
and a firm date along with the author’s copy for a final proof. Anyway, the future
books are:
Word Gets Around, In Other Words, Away with Words, A Loss for Words, Hang on Every Word
To wrap this up, I always like to ask successful
authors to share a word of encouragement or a “get outta Dodge” comment for all
new writers joining us today.
Write for One person and let Him decide
who reads the books. Never get caught up in the numbers game. If one soul is
comforted or encouraged, so be it. You have done your job. God will do the
rest. As the old hymn says, “Trust and obey, there is no other way.” Otherwise,
you will become frustrated, envious, and stressed. A myriad of other unfruitful and stifling
emotions will creep inside of you, too, eating away at your creativity and
enthusiasm.
Jesus’ followers had to learn from Him
in order to serve Him well, therefore so must you. Keep an open mind and heart
as you grow your talent. Don’t let pride get in the way and do not let the
devil steal your joy!
There you have it, folks! Thank you for sharing with
us Julie. And I highly recommend WORD HAS IT! You won’t be disappointed!
'Til
Next Time…Keep reading and writing!
DiANE
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