The Cozy 52: Q&A with author Sherrill Joseph

Sherrill Joseph, author of the Botanic Hill Detective series, joins us for this week’s The Cozy 52 interview. Read on to find out more about why she writes mysteries for Middle Grade kids, how many years worth of family photos she has, and who her favourite authors are.

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 Sherrill Joseph

NAME: Sherrill Joseph

LIST ALL YOUR COZY MYSTERY SERIES:

The Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries series for Middle Grade kids (age 9 – 14) have four books published to date: 

• Book 1—Nutmeg Street: Egyptian Secrets
• Book 2—Eucalyptus Street: Green Curse
• Book 3—Walnut Street: Phantom Rider
• Book 4—Saffron Street: Island Danger

HOW ARE YOUR COZY MYSTERIES PUBLISHED? Books 1, 2, and 3 were hybrid published via Acorn Publishing; Book 4 was indie published via my own imprint, Quince Street Press.

The Q&A

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF

Kids have been my life. I am a mom, grandmom, and a retired grades K-12 literacy teacher. After working with kids for thirty-five years, I missed them when I left education, so I become a published children’s author of the Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries to stay connected and to fulfill a lifelong dream of being a writer. My sweet poodle-bichon Jimmy Lambchop passed over the Rainbow Bridge last March, so I’m still dealing with his irreplaceable loss. But when all else fails, writing, reading, long walks, Perry Mason, popcorn, and dark chocolate sustain me!

LIST THREE FUN FACTS ABOUT YOURSELF THAT WE WOULDN’T READ IN YOUR ‘OFFICIAL’ BIO.

1. I have a fraternal twin sister
2. like one of my characters, I have lexical-gustatory synesthesia
3. I am the proud grandma, aka, “Gigi” of a granddaughter and grandson
4. I am mad about vintage staircases;
5. I am a proponent of the Oxford comma.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START WRITING? WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO WRITE COZY MYSTERIES?

As a fourth grader, I discovered Nancy Drew Mysteries. Right then, I decided that I wanted to write mysteries someday. Nancy Drew is still my muse and best friend! During my career, I was inspired by my responsible, role-model students, who proudly possessed various abilities, disabilities, races, cultures, and interests. I strongly believe that kids need to find themselves and others unlike themselves in books if every child is to become an accepting, anti-racist world citizen with a respectful, broad worldview. Those goals guide my writing.

I write cozy mysteries because I enjoy reading them. I consider Nancy Drew mysteries cozies, so I have been steeped in the genre for decades. As with many other cozies, mine feature relatable, amateur sleuths, culinary elements, eschew gore and grotesque violence on stage, embrace escapism, have mostly kind, supportive characters, and tend to be set in small, socially intimate communities. Kid cozies offer children a safe place to try on problems and work out solutions amidst helpful adults. I feel that my books have powerful lessons for kids but are delivered in a “sugar-coated-vitamin” manner.

WHAT SUBGENRE(S) OR THEMES OF COZY MYSTERIES DO YOU WRITE?

My realistic fiction cozies are contemporary detective mysteries with a twist of history and contain some humor, culinary treats, and pets.

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR COZY MYSTERY SERIES. WHAT INSPIRES YOUR SERIES?

My Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries series is an updated Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys remix. There are two girl and two boy detectives, all aged thirteen. They are smart, respectful, tech-savvy, resourceful teens who value doing good deeds within their community. They take on cases involving serious crimes that have stumped law enforcement. Some of their mysteries, however, are just emerging but take on consequential aspects as the cases progress.

My Book 4, Saffron Street: Island Danger, just released. I am currently researching for Book 5 in the series that, I hope, will eventually contain twenty-six books. Botanic Hill is a charming neighborhood in the fictional resort town of Las Palmitas on the Pacific Ocean in Southern California. Its prototype is my hometown and current residence of San Diego, CA. The streets on the Hill are named, A- Z (hence, the twenty-six books), after botanicals, e.g., Nutmeg Street, Eucalyptus Street, Walnut Street, and so on. They were inspired by some of the street names in my own neighborhood. My stories are mostly set in town, but the detectives also travel to solve mysteries (as in Book 4). 

WHY DO YOU THINK PEOPLE LOVE TO READ COZY MYSTERIES?

Because like mashed potatoes, cozy mysteries are soft, warm, and comforting when you need them most; hence, the name cozy. The reader knows that truth and justice will prevail, and the good-guy heroes will be all smiles at the end. So, cozies are satisfying and reaffirming.

ASIDE FROM BEING AN AUTHOR, ARE YOU INVOLVED IN THE COZY COMMUNITY IN ANY OTHER WAY?

I participate regularly in the Cozy Mystery Village Facebook group and have done an Author Takeover and interview there. It’s a very supportive, friendly community of readers and writers. I am also a member of Blackbird Writers. We are four-and-twenty authors (really!), and some of us are cozy mystery authors.

WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVOURITE WRITERS?

I really enjoy Steven K. Smith’s Virginia Mysteries series, which are ten kids’ cozies wrapped in historical fiction—much like mine. As previously mentioned, I love the Nancy Drew mysteries and have read each volume four times—could that be a world’s record? Having earned a B.A. in English, I still reach for the 19^th and 20^th century British and American classics from my home library shelves, especially works by Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, mysteries by Wilkie Collins, works by the Bronte Sisters, Dracula by Bram Stoker, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and stories and poetry by Edgar Allan Poe to name a few.

IF YOU WERE MAROONED ON A DESERTED ISLAND, WHAT 3 BOOKS WOULD YOU WANT WITH YOU?

Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island, Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, and John E. Traister’s How to Build Your Own Boat from Scratch

DO YOU HAVE ANY PROJECTS COMING UP THAT YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH US?

I am currently researching for Book 5 in my series. It will be another cozy mystery with a twist of history and the tentative title of Jacaranda Street: Gravestone Image. I hope to have it ready for readers in late 2023. My goal is to write and publish one new book in my series every year.

The Quickie 5

• FAVOURITE FOOD: dark chocolate and popcorn are tied for 1^st place
• BEVERAGE OF CHOICE: expensive champagne
• MOST PRIZED POSSESSION: 140 years of family photos
• SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer (I dislike snow and being cold.)
• FAVOURITE VACATION SPOT? Wherever my grandchildren are

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To keep up to date with Sherrill Joseph online, you can connect with her on:

WEBSITE | NEWSLETTER | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM

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