Welcome Kelly!
How did you come to write paranormal cozy mysteries?
My family drove me to it 😊 Actually I moved from Queensland to Tasmania when my husband discharged from the army after 20 years. I took some time to reassess what I liked to write. I looked at what I was watching on TV and reading. Turns out cozy murder with the odd witch or vampire hit the top of the list. I browsed some premade cover sites to see what a popular cover style was and found one featuring a library. It sparked some ideas and here we are now. 20 plus books later.
What attracted you to the genre? Are you a plotter? Panster? Or somewhere in-between?
I love the twists and turns of a cozy and the fact it’s closed door. No graphic sex or violence. It’s a warm hug on a bad day. Add in a cackling witch and mouthy feline and it’s my idea of relaxing.
I am definitely a plotter. I have a book bible for each story which has questions written in it e.g.: Heroine, villain, victims, suspects, secondary characters, red herrings, setting, weapons and mode of death. And fun fact…I write my blurb before I write my story. Then I plot the entire book out. Normally 2 or 3 paragraphs per chapter. After that I am ready to crack on and write.
You have a long running series with the Point Muse Mysteries. Can you tell us about them and the sub-series?
I adore Point Muse. It’s chaos and mayhem and I love it. Think talking, karaoke loving cats, an always hungry, mouthy pug and a hypochondriac cursed Viking Raven that won’t stop talking about tumours. Oh, and witches, including my librarian heroine and her grandmother who is the wicked witch of the town. She’s shifty and always has a money making, generally illegal, plan in place that she drags the whole family into. I have two spin-off series that feature my main heroine’s cousins as well. I love crazy and anything magical or mythological so Gods, Goddess and zombie dragons may or may not pop up too 😊
You continue to publish despite having chronic health conditions. How do you manage to do this?
I have completely slowed down in the last two years. Initially when the series first came out, I was publishing every two months. Because I plot the story out, I could write fast. But since being diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis that has slowed down. I now publish around 3 full books and maybe a novella a year. I write by hand and then dictate. Typing is too painful on my finger joints whereas writing doesn’t seem to bother my hands. I also only have limited time sitting upright at my main computer, so I need to schedule most admin, creative tasks during the morning in short bursts of 30 minutes. Also, the plotting helps my brain fog. Between the RA and the drugs I need to take, I tend to forget specific points or words so having it in front of me works.
Do you have advice for aspiring writers?
I’ll paraphrase the great Nora Roberts…You can’t edit a blank page. If you think you have that story in your head get it down on paper or the computer. Look for writing groups or organisations that can help you hone your craft like the Romance Writers of Australia. They have an amazing conference every year which helped me find my feet in the publishing world. Having a support framework around you like your family also helps. My mother also writes so I am very lucky. And fun fact…something about using pen on paper sparks your muse. I am far more creative with a pen in my hand.
What else can we expect from you in the future?
I am busy beavering away on the final two books in my Point Muse world then I am off to fresh worlds. I have three new cozy paranormal series planned and I am also plotting out a Paranormal Woman’s fiction book as well as an Urban Fantasy series. Different to my cozy books but all will be clean and closed door as that’s the way I roll.
What are you currently reading/watching?
Watching: I am almost finished with season ten of The Brokenwood Mysteries. A quirky police procedural that has a cozy feel set in New Zealand. I love it.
Reading: I just finished the Usual Witchspects by Amanda M Lee. A fabulous cozy paranormal mystery featuring mouthy witches. I also auto buy R.J. Blain under any of her pen names as I adore her writing. I’m about to re-read Whiskers on Kittens which is book 27 in her Magical Romantic Comedy with a Body Count series.
What other ways do you fill the creative well?
When my hands are up to it, I love drawing, using pen and ink and painting with watercolours. I have a little station set up on my couch so I can paint and draw without hurting my joints. I also have a digital art program called Procreate on my iPad. So, I enjoy digital drawing and painting too.
Tell us about your latest release.
I have just had a Christmas story that came out in Dec 2024 titled The Wicked Witch and the Killer Grinch. Think sabotaged Christmas events, a killer grinch stalking the town, and a nosy librarian turned sleuth.
I am also editing the 2 and 3rd book in my last Point Muse trilogy. The books will be out sometime this year. At the same time, I am slowly writing my brand new story which is a Dragon cozy mystery. So always busy lol.
Kelly Ethan
No matter the genre, Kelly loves kick-ass and sarcastic heroines who like to save the day and the hero.
Writing is her outlet for madness. She has worked as a library assistant and reviewed category romance novels. She moves regularly around Australia every few years and is a supernatural/paranormal TV junkie.
She inhales cozy paranormal mystery, paranormal romance, urban fantasy, science fiction and fantasy, middle grade, young adult, and military spy thrillers.
She has many influences but loves Amanda M Lee, Michael Anderle, Sherrilyn Kenyon, David Weber, Matthew Reilly, Jennifer Estep, Kelley Armstrong, Cassandra Clare, Ally Carter, Gini Koch, Rick Riordan and Illona Andrews to name a few.
Visit kellyethan.com
So glad you have found a way to continue to write despite your arthritis. Good luck with the final two books of the Point Muse books.
ReplyDelete"The Wicked Witch and the Killer Grinch" sounds like a hoot! And I'm impressed by your perseverence with writing despite the pain. Kelley Armstrong is one of my favourite authors, too, and I was lucky enough to meet her in Canberra at a book signing. She's a super lovely person.
ReplyDelete