Carmen Radtke joins us for this week’s The Cozy 52 interview. Read on to find out more about her books, her favourite authors, and how she stays involved in the Cozy Community.
Who or What is The Cozy 52? Each week I will be sharing an interview with someone involved with Cozy Mysteries – an author, blogger, Facebook Group host, podcaster, cover designer – so that we can showcase this amazing community! I hope you’ll discover some new authors, plus learn more about what goes on behind the scenes with the people who write, publish and promote cozy mysteries!
Introducing Carmen Radtke
NAME: Carmen Radtke
LIST ALL YOUR COZY MYSTERY SERIES:
- The 1930s Golden Age Jack and Frances mysteries
- The Victorian age Alyssa Chalmers mysteries
- The contemporary Eve Holdsworth mysteries
- The Genie and Adriana Darling ghost mysteries
HOW ARE YOUR COZY MYSTERIES PUBLISHED? I’ve switched this year from being hybrid (small press and self-published) to fully self-published.
The Q&A
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF
This is where I usually go wide-eyed and panicky like a deer caught in the headlights. I used to be a newspaper reporter, so I’m a lot more comfortable with writing about other people …
I’ve been reading and writing since I was little. My dad brought home an ancient typewriter when I was six or seven. It took a mighty effort to work those keys, but I’d soon figured them out and was merrily pounding away on the machine.
To this day I haven’t shed the habit of using only two or three fingers to type, because that’s all I could do as a kid. It took me a lot longer to realise that I could be a writer!
Watching “All The President’s Men” when I was 17 did it for me though. I knew I wanted to be a reporter, although I can’t remember if I saw myself in Dustin Hoffman’s or in Robert Redford’s role.
Movies played a huge part in my life, second only to books. They introduced me to tap-dance, gave me apartment envy (can you watch a show like Castle, Sherlock, or Only Murder in the Buildings without wanting to live in those sets?), and they help my eyes relax from the strain of typing and small screens.
LIST THREE FUN FACTS ABOUT YOURSELF THAT WE WOULDN’T READ IN YOUR ‘OFFICIAL’ BIO.
- I tend to give all the abilities I wish I had and don’t to some of my characters. I really really wish I could paint or draw …
- During my reporter days I interviewed Ken Follett on one of his book tours, and was allowed to stay ten minutes longer than the allotted time, until we’d finished discussing Jane Austen and quoting “It is a truth universally acknowledged …” together.
- I start the morning with bargaining with my cat to be allowed to stay in bed just another five minutes. Every morning! Sometimes I win.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START WRITING? WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO WRITE COZY MYSTERIES?
Like I said, I’ve always been writing. As a young reader, I loved the camaraderie of the Famous Five and Trixie Belden and her friends, the ingenuity of Agatha Christie, and the wit and sophistication of Dorothy L. Sayers and Ngaio Marsh.
Cozy mysteries are an escape into a world where bad things happen, yet you know everything will turn out well. It’s a world where friendship and community matter, and the truth prevails, even in those rare occasions when a wrongdoer is allowed to go free because they deserve it.
WHAT SUBGENRE(S) OR THEMES OF COZY MYSTERIES DO YOU WRITE?
I am a huge history fan, so I started with historical mysteries. Nowadays I write whatever intrigues me enough to make me want to spend months or years with certain characters or return to them after a break. The Genie and Adriana Darling series is my first foray into light paranormal, and since Adriana is a pet-whispering flapper who died in 1929, the series combines a bit of everything I adore.
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR COZY MYSTERY SERIES. WHAT INSPIRES YOUR SERIES?
It’s a little like a snowball effect, whenever I stumble upon a fact or idea that makes me either angry or happy.
My first mystery was The Case of the Missing Bride. I wrote it after reading about a boatload of young women who were sent to be married to prospectors in the new colony of British Columbia, Canada, in 1862. During the research I stumbled upon a few facts about the Great Depression in Australia and the 6 pm liquor ban, about which I knew nothing. Thus, the Jack and Frances series came to be.
Adriana is the result of watching and remembering screwball comedies, including “Topper” with Cary Grant. Now I’m letting my glamorous ghost live her best life. Or is it afterlife?
WHY DO YOU THINK PEOPLE LOVE TO READ COZY MYSTERIES?
I think it’s the familiarity. We come for the mystery and stay for the characters. It feels like coming home to friends who are always there for you. They also restore a certain order to a chaotic world and cheer us up. At least they do for me.
ASIDE FROM BEING AN AUTHOR, ARE YOU INVOLVED IN THE COZY COMMUNITY IN ANY OTHER WAY?
I’m part of a Facebook Group – the Mystery Book Nook – where we all have a dedicated day to post. I’m also active as a member in many other cozy groups where we just have fun as readers, and writers, and virtual friends.
WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVOURITE WRITERS?
How many am I allowed to list?
Terry Pratchett, Bill Bryson, Agatha Christie, Rex Stout, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Josephine Tey, Margery Allingham, Tony Hillerman, Alistair MacLean, Elizabeth Peters, Joan Hess, Rhys Bowen, Janet Evanovich, Dorothy Gilman, P.G. Wodehouse, Georgette Heyer, Fiona Leitch, Rita Mae Brown, Kerry Greenwood, Miss Read … for a start.
IF YOU WERE MAROONED ON A DESERTED ISLAND, WHAT 3 BOOKS WOULD YOU WANT WITH YOU?
- Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett
- Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
- The Jeeves Omnibus by P.G.Wodehouse – that’s not cheating, because it is one massive book I have in my bookcase.
DO YOU HAVE ANY PROJECTS COMING UP THAT YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH US?
I’m busy with the third Genie and Adriana Darling mystery, Ghost Stirs The Pot. It’s scheduled for release on 25 December. I’ve got a few ideas already for possible new mysteries in the series.
Then I’ll return to Jack and Frances, who’ve been stuck in a foggy February day for a while, and to Alyssa Chalmers. Because I constantly need to recreate the New World in the early 1860s for her, these take a long time for plot and research.
The Quickie 5
- FAVOURITE FOOD: Chocolate
- BEVERAGE OF CHOICE: Coffee/sparkling water
- MOST PRIZED POSSESSION: A battered copy of The Best Plays of 1938, including Dorothy L. Sayers’ “Busman’s Honeymoon” and Clare Boothe Luce’s “The Women”
- FAVOURITE SEASON? Depends on my location!
- FAVOURITE VACATION SPOT? London for a city trip and the seaside for relaxation
To keep up to date with Carmen Radtke online, you can connect with her on:
A pet-whispering flapper who died in the ’20s? Adriana sounds like a fun character!
I think so 🙂