Laurie Alberswerth joins us for this week’s The Cozy 52 interview. Read on to find out more about why she writes cozy mysteries, what inspires her, and how geneology factors into her stories.
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 Laurie Alberswerth
NAME: Laurie Alberswerth
LIST ALL YOUR COZY MYSTERY SERIES:
- Bones & Bloodlines, the first book in the Jude and Audie West Mystery Series
- Upcoming titles in this series: Grain & Gravestones, Kin & Curses
HOW ARE YOUR COZY MYSTERIES PUBLISHED? Indie published
The Q&A
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF
I was certain “ENG” stood for English, not Engineering, when I chose my college major. Somehow, the writing bug survived four years of Thermodynamics and Machine Design coursework, followed by a two-decade career as a Mechanical Stress Analyst.
Apparently, I enjoy confusing both the left- and right-hemispheres of my poor brain.
I’m a native of St. Louis, Missouri, and my husband, Michael, is also an Engineer/Artist. We both suffer from Severe Wanderlust. We have no pets, unless you count the deer that ate my hyacinths (and you shouldn’t).
LIST THREE FUN FACTS ABOUT YOURSELF THAT WE WOULDN’T READ IN YOUR ‘OFFICIAL’ BIO.
- Our camping trips have only ended twice with visits to Urgent Care.
- My Lithuanian, Slovakian, and German ancestry supplies endless inspiration for my family-tree book series, along with soul-satisfying (if not heart-healthy) food.
- I’ve briefly occupied the same Alaskan meadow as a wild grizzly bear. (Don’t tell my mom.)
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START WRITING? WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO WRITE COZY MYSTERIES?
“Telling a writer to stop writing is like telling the pancreas to stop producing insulin.” That quote describes me perfectly. I’ve had the urge/need to write since childhood. But the drive to make any piece really sing has always been for the payoff: reading my story or essay out loud to an audience–classmates, parents, hubby, the squirrels in the backyard–and seeing their reaction. (The squirrels are hard to read.) I want to entertain, to pull a reader in and fill their imagination with my settings and characters. Knowing I’ve done that (as early reviews of Bones & Bloodlines are showing) fills my writerly soul.
Why cozies? Mysteries are the best! (Thrillers cause me to gray faster.) And I don’t need crude language, on-page gore, or bedroom activities to keep my interest, either in reading or writing. If you hadn’t noticed yet, I also think I’m funny (your opinion may vary); cozies can handle some humor amidst darker themes. So the books I’m writing are ones I would enjoy reading, too.
WHAT SUBGENRE(S) OR THEMES OF COZY MYSTERIES DO YOU WRITE?
My series uses amateur sleuths to combine genealogy, small town settings, and camping. Hopefully, readers will have a passing interest in at least one of those!
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR COZY MYSTERY SERIES. WHAT INSPIRES YOUR SERIES?
Meet Jude and Audie West, married family-tree freelancers who travel around Missouri to help clients solve their genealogy roadblocks. Your third-great-aunt Esther married five times, then made her way to California on mad poker-playing skills? No problem. A distant great-grandfather missed the census takers because he was busy perfecting his moonshine? West Genealogy has you covered.
Our intrepid heroes think life has finally settled down for them—a cozy red-and-white camper as their home-on-wheels, visits with Audie’s sister for every holiday, a great reputation in their field (thanks to Eagle-Eyed Audie, as Jude would say). Yep, while their own histories refuse to stay in the past like they should, this is all going quite well.
Or it was, anyway. Right until they found the first body outside of the graveyard.
The series was inspired by family-tree research my husband and I have done for ourselves since our first anniversary. (A genealogy workbook fit the traditional “paper” gift to a tee.) We’ve also set up our little blue tent in the real areas that morph into the fictional places the Wests explore.
WHY DO YOU THINK PEOPLE LOVE TO READ COZY MYSTERIES?
I think it’s a combination of the challenge of a puzzle and a bit of escapism. I’m not a huge fan of the term “cozy” when we’re discussing murder, but both the reader and the writer know this is all fiction. We can escape into an intriguing yet clean story and leave the difficult stuff of “real life” behind for a while. It’s good for the mind and the soul.
ASIDE FROM BEING AN AUTHOR, ARE YOU INVOLVED IN THE COZY COMMUNITY IN ANY OTHER WAY?
Not at the moment, though I did break the cardinal rule of indie publishing: I designed my own cover. Fortunately, I’m married to an amazingly talented man who did nearly all the illustrations for it.
WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVOURITE WRITERS?
Agatha Christie is my first love. I’m a big Martha Grimes “Richard Jury” series fan, as well as John Dunning’s “Bookman” (Cliff Janeway) novels. The Douglas Preston-Lincoln Child books occupy a lot of space on my shelves, too.
IF YOU WERE MAROONED ON A DESERTED ISLAND, WHAT 3 BOOKS WOULD YOU WANT WITH YOU?
- Deserted Islands: How to Survive and Thrive
- A James Thurber collection – I’m going to need some humor to handle the marooning.
- And Then There Were None. (Irony seems like a useful coping mechanism.)
DO YOU HAVE ANY PROJECTS COMING UP THAT YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH US?
The first in my cozy mystery series, Bones & Bloodlines, was launched in May 2023! It’s available now on Amazon. Book 2, Grain & Gravestones, is planned for launch before the end of the year, assuming, as Dad would put it, “the Good Lord’s willing and the creek don’t rise.”
The Quickie 5
- FAVOURITE FOOD: Impossible to choose. Tiramisu. Pierogi. The mushroom pizza I ate in Florence 7 years ago. Grandma’s potato salad.
- BEVERAGE OF CHOICE: Water, coffee, Diet Coke
- MOST PRIZED POSSESSION: The Easter lamb-cake mold cast in iron a century ago by my Lithuanian great-grandfather, and the violin my hubby gifted me that I still can’t play.
- FAVOURITE SEASON? The flowery part of Spring (not the miserable part that’s identifying as Spring but is most definitely still Winter)
- FAVOURITE VACATION SPOT? If it’s “away,” it’s my favorite. (We just visited US state #45 on our quest to hit all 50!)
To keep up to date with Laurie Alberswerth online, you can connect with her on:
WEBSITE | GOODREADS | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | AMAZON
I enjoyed this Q&A! It was nice to “meet” Laurie. Not one, but TWO camping trips ended up at Urgent Care?! Bones & Bloodlines sounds fun!
Thank you very much, Vera! Yep, two injuries, one to each of us. Amazingly, the first was on our inaugural camp out — and yet we keep going! 🏕️ 😁
Thank you for including me in your Cozy52, Stephanie! This was much fun, and I hope folks enjoy the book! 🕵️♀️ 💀 📚
As someone whose sister nearly died from diabetes aged three years, and it was a very stressful time for the whole family, I did not find your quote about the pancreas and insulin very funny. Perhaps you could find another one to use in future.
Oh my goodness, I’m terribly sorry that came across wrong. I hadn’t intended it to be funny (nor had the original speaker), but rather to show the impossibility of telling an organ to stop doing what it’s designed to do. (It stopping on its own, of course, is a different story and as your experience shows, a very serious one.) My apologies for causing distress.
Laurie, I loved reading this segment. I am so happy for you!!
Thank you so much, Donna! 😊