Rodney Strong joins us for this week’s The Cozy 52 interview. Read on to learn more about Rodney’s different cozy mystery series, how he started writing cozy mysteries, and his favourite books and authors.
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 Rodney Strong
NAME: Rodney Strong
LIST ALL YOUR COZY MYSTERY SERIES:
- Silvermoon Retirement Village Cozy Mysteries
- Ghostly Hitchhiker Series
- Sliver Lake Cozy Mysteries
HOW ARE YOUR COZY MYSTERIES PUBLISHED? Self-Published
The Q&A
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF
My name is Rodney Strong and I live in Porirua, New Zealand with my wife, two children, and two cats. I’ve been writing full time for 7 years, focussing mainly on cozy mysteries, although I also have several books in other genres. Outside of writing I’m involved in coaching my daughter’s sports teams, and attending karate with my son. I’ve just taken up roller blading, which is a bit harder in my fifties than when I first tried it decades ago.
LIST THREE FUN FACTS ABOUT YOURSELF THAT WE WOULDN’T READ IN YOUR ‘OFFICIAL’ BIO.
- I have done television extra work in the past. My biggest moment was pretending to be terrified by a seductive housewife and having to rush down a country lane on a bike.
- There is a vineyard north of San Francisco called Rodney Strong Vineyard. I visited it once but alas didn’t get a free bottle due to my name. It is nice wine though.
- I spent two years working at a summer camp in a town called Sharon in Mass. It was a wonderful time and I still keep in touch with some of my fellow counsellors.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START WRITING? WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO WRITE COZY MYSTERIES?
I’ve always written, from early school days where I’d write plays for my class to perform. Life kept getting in the way however, until the death of my parents compelled me to take action and decide to commit to giving it a go. I didn’t specifically set out to write cozy mysteries, I had the idea for a murder mystery and once it was finished I realised it fit best in the cozy genre. I like being able to tell the story without being distracted by violence and swearing.
WHAT SUBGENRE(S) OR THEMES OF COZY MYSTERIES DO YOU WRITE?
The Ghostly Hitchiker series is paranormal (hence the title), the others aren’t in specific subgenres, although if pushed I’d say one was a retirement cozy and the other a small town cozy with cats.
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR COZY MYSTERY SERIES. WHAT INSPIRES YOUR SERIES?
My most popular series is the Silvermoon series. The main protagonist is a 98-year-old retired con artist. She actually appeared in a cameo in Murder in Paint from my other series, but she was fun to write so I decided to give her a series of her own. I like writing a character that has so much life experience and yet is not your standard idea of a little old lady. Of course because she’s so old there is a finite number of adventures she can have, but I’ve written one book showing her at the start of her career so it may just be she ends up as a spin off of a spin off.
WHY DO YOU THINK PEOPLE LOVE TO READ COZY MYSTERIES?
There’s so much darkness in the world I think people like that most cozy mysteries are lighter in tone while still providing an interesting read.
WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVOURITE WRITERS?
I love David Baldacci, and Gregg Hurwitz, and I’ve just discovered the Secret Book and Scone Society series by Ellery Adams which I’m enjoying.
IF YOU WERE MAROONED ON A DESERTED ISLAND, WHAT 3 BOOKS WOULD YOU WANT WITH YOU?
Aside from anything by Bear Grylls to improve my chances of survival I’d say Lord of the Rings as multiple reads always brings new discoveries, and Raymond Feist’s Magician for the same reason.
DO YOU HAVE ANY PROJECTS COMING UP THAT YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH US?
I am currently working on a book of cozy mystery short stories which will be out towards the end of March.
The Quickie 4
- FAVOURITE FOOD: Chocolate
- BEVERAGE OF CHOICE: Coke Zero Sugar
- SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer
- FAVOURITE VACATION SPOT? Any beach
To keep up to date with Rodney Strong online, you can connect with him on:
