If you’d asked me five days ago whether the main character in my Southern Sewing Circle mystery series was anything like me, I’d have said no. After all, Tori Sinclair is a twenty-something librarian who loves to sew. And while I must confess to an occasional fantasy regarding the first part, I opted to follow a different career path while simultaneously managing to avoid anything that even slightly resembles a needle and thread…
See? We’re nothing alike.
Or are we?
Just this past weekend I had the opportunity to attend Malice Domestic 22 in Arlington, Virginia where I spent three glorious days catching up with friends. Some of those friends were fellow writers and some were fellow readers. But regardless of which camp they inhabit, they’re friends I’ve made because of mysteries…
Would I have crossed paths with Jan K. from Chicago if it weren’t for our shared love of the genre? Probably not.
Would I have spent hours plotting and giggling with Hannah Dennison and Clare Langley Hawthorne if we’d pursued a different career? Probably not.
Would Dru Ann Love have thought I was nuts for practically hopping up and down as I waited for Mary Higgins Clark to sign my book if she, too, didn’t love books and the people who write them? Probably.
But here’s the thing. Jan and I did cross paths…and I did laugh away an entire afternoon with Clare and Hannah…and Dru did get it…
Because we have a common passion that binds us together in a way that wouldn’t have happened without the glue that—for all of us—is mysteries.
The same holds true for Tori.Would Tori have been able to fill the costume trunk in the Sweet Briar Public Library’s new children’s room as quickly as she did if it weren't for Rose Winters and Margaret Louise Davis? Probably not.
Would Tori have found herself an unwilling accessory in a bunny-napping if it weren't for Leona Elkin’s newfound kleptomaniac tendencies? Probably not.
Would she have been by Debbie Calhoun’s side when the woman walked into her home and found her husband missing…and his blood all over the house? Probably not.
Yet she did and she was…
Because of a common glue that brought them together. And no matter what the glue may be (bunko, books, sewing, golf, coffee, etc), one thing is certain. When it sticks, it sticks.
I, for one, wouldn’t have it any other way.
And neither would Tori.
Elizabeth Lynn Casey is the national best selling author of the Southern Sewing Circle Mystery Series with Berkley Prime Crime. Sew Deadly—the first in the series—debuted last August. Death Threads—the second in the series—releases in bookstores nationwide today.
To learn more, visit her website.
5 comments:
I can't wait to read this book and I definitely got it standing in line with Laura as she waiting patiently or did she for MHC to sign her book, as I waited not so patiently for my favorite authors to sign my book.
So I'm sticking with my love of all things mysterious.
Soooo jealous of your Malice miscapades... but you hit it on the head of why I love cozies.
They are made of the friendships I love and sometimes miss. Women get it. And it doesn't matter if you see your friend every day or a few times a year, the fun just takes off from where you left off.
Thanks for telling us Tori's stories.
In Sew Deadly, I was struck by the bonds between the characters. As in real life, when a group of people stick together long enough, they become less like friends, more like family. The ladies of Sweet Briar had this kind of relationship. I look forward to seeing Tori's place in the sewing circle change, and grow, as she settles into her new community--and steps into a new mystery.
Laura--I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of your newest book. :) And check out all of your friends...Happy launch day!
Laura -- I had so much fun with you and Clare. I am still chuckling away and dare I say ... woof? Before I started writing mysteries, I had no idea what wonderful new friends I would make. You are right - when they stick - they stick!
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