Before I head right into my thoughts on cozy as promised, I have some very exciting news: my private discord channel is now up and running!
JOIN KIM MCDOUGALL'S INBETWEEN DISCORD
Creating the discord is my way of branching out in social media. I chose discord because I feel it is the platform best suited to group discussions. It's not perfect, and I am a complete newbie at it, but there it is. The server will be a place you can go to discuss my books and get updates on new releases, sales, etc. I have also set up general discussions channels for books, critters, food and more. I hope you'll come join the fun!
And now, let's talk cozy!
I’ve been thinking a lot about cozy fiction lately. That is, of course, because Black Annis Year is in its final stages of editing. Black Annis Year is a cozy fantasy, but as of writing this, there is no actual category for that genre on Amazon, and yet, it is one of the fastest growing genres. I suspect Amazon will catch up at some point and create a category, but in the mean time, cozy fantasy must be classified as contemporary fantasy, folklore, women’s fiction or other cozy-adjacent categories.
Cozy mystery is an established category that has been around for a long time. Agatha Christie is considered the mother of cozy mystery, thought the term wasn’t coined during her time. In modern fiction, the idea of cozy has grown to include cozy romance (romcoms) and cozy fantasy.
There are many elements to making a cozy. Including setting, characters and plot. Here are my thoughts on each, with a look at how Black Annis Year fits into them.
In cozy fiction, settings become characters in their own right. They are often small towns with quirky residents. Cafes, bakeries, book stores, or some other intriguing business often feature prominently. These are settings that readers have dreamed about owning or visiting.
In Black Annis Year, the town of Mullarkey plays an important role in Elenna’s life. It is a healing place where she learns to find joy. It’s full of quirky characters and history. She also runs an animal rescue farm, which is home to a pack of adorably frustrating animals residents.
Cosy also means ordinary people on the pages. In other words, no super heroes or princesses or CIA agents, etc. Often the sleuths are amateurs who stumble through solving the mystery. The reader may see bits of themselves or their families in the characters. There will be lovable side-kicks, BFFs and allies who readers fall in love with. Villains are often misunderstood, rather than purely evil, or their evilness is of a milder variety.
In Black Annis Year, Elenna is a bit of a loner, but she comes out of her shell when the townsfolk rally around her during a disaster. She reluctantly makes new friends and learns to appreciate the old ones.
In cozy fiction, the plot is low-stakes. There are no world-ending catastrophes, no civilization-shattering wars. If a crime is featured, there is no bloodshed, and the murder usually takes place “off camera.” A Happily Ever After (HEA) is a must. In Black Annis year, Elenna faces three plot strings that get tangled throughout the year. She’s facing the prospect of coming out of her grief (which can be more frightening than grief itself), she’s caring for the aging animals on the farm and all the heartache that entails and she discovers that a whole fairy realm has been living right under her nose, a realm that challenges the safety of her rescues and her neighbors. Each of these plot strings come to a satisfying outcome, with our intrepid MC gaining the upper hand through hard work, ingenuity and help from her friends. It takes a village to raise a cozy right.
So, if plot if the stakes are low and an HEA guaranteed, what is the appeal of cozy fiction? There is a lot of market research on this topic, but I did a bit of my own informal polling through my Inbetween Group on Facebook. I wanted to know what readers consider cozy and why it is growing in popularity. I’d love to hear your thoughts too. You can reply right to in the comments.
What I found echoed again and again is that readers love the safety and comfort that cozy provides. When the news of the world seems so overwhelming lately, readers prefer to retreat into a story that soothes, rather than one that ramps up the heart rate with thrills and chills. Think of cozy as mac and cheese in a book form. Many readers also use cozy fiction as “palate cleansers” between more action-packed books.
I thoroughly enjoyed writing Black Annis Year. Even editing it was a cozy experience for me. The story of Sadie, the old plow horse, is taken right from my experiences as an animal rescue volunteer, and it’s one I have wanted to write for years. Readers of my past newsletters and blog will recognize stories about my horse, Booker and Luther, the angry llama in the pages of Black Annis Year.
I had no problem creating a unique, unusual setting. The village of Mullarkey Mills is fictional, but it is based on several of the villages near my home in rural Quebec. And the quirky characters? I’ve got those covered. The only element of cozy I struggled with was reining in my natural tendency to burn everything to the ground. Readers of the Valkyrie Bestiary series may remember some of the books as being fast paced “page turners.” There are strategies as a writer to create this break-neck pace and feel of suspense. I worked long and hard to develop those techniques. I studied writing manuals, and I wrote countless short stories and other novels as practice. For Black Annis Year, I had to unlearn some of those techniques while still keeping the story engaging.
I hope I succeeded and I’m really excited to bring you this new cozy fantasy. Black Annis Year is now pre-ordering with a release date of April 17, 2025.
JOIN KIM MCDOUGALL'S INBETWEEN DISCORD
Creating the discord is my way of branching out in social media. I chose discord because I feel it is the platform best suited to group discussions. It's not perfect, and I am a complete newbie at it, but there it is. The server will be a place you can go to discuss my books and get updates on new releases, sales, etc. I have also set up general discussions channels for books, critters, food and more. I hope you'll come join the fun!
And now, let's talk cozy!
I’ve been thinking a lot about cozy fiction lately. That is, of course, because Black Annis Year is in its final stages of editing. Black Annis Year is a cozy fantasy, but as of writing this, there is no actual category for that genre on Amazon, and yet, it is one of the fastest growing genres. I suspect Amazon will catch up at some point and create a category, but in the mean time, cozy fantasy must be classified as contemporary fantasy, folklore, women’s fiction or other cozy-adjacent categories.
Cozy mystery is an established category that has been around for a long time. Agatha Christie is considered the mother of cozy mystery, thought the term wasn’t coined during her time. In modern fiction, the idea of cozy has grown to include cozy romance (romcoms) and cozy fantasy.
There are many elements to making a cozy. Including setting, characters and plot. Here are my thoughts on each, with a look at how Black Annis Year fits into them.
In cozy fiction, settings become characters in their own right. They are often small towns with quirky residents. Cafes, bakeries, book stores, or some other intriguing business often feature prominently. These are settings that readers have dreamed about owning or visiting.
In Black Annis Year, the town of Mullarkey plays an important role in Elenna’s life. It is a healing place where she learns to find joy. It’s full of quirky characters and history. She also runs an animal rescue farm, which is home to a pack of adorably frustrating animals residents.
Cosy also means ordinary people on the pages. In other words, no super heroes or princesses or CIA agents, etc. Often the sleuths are amateurs who stumble through solving the mystery. The reader may see bits of themselves or their families in the characters. There will be lovable side-kicks, BFFs and allies who readers fall in love with. Villains are often misunderstood, rather than purely evil, or their evilness is of a milder variety.
In Black Annis Year, Elenna is a bit of a loner, but she comes out of her shell when the townsfolk rally around her during a disaster. She reluctantly makes new friends and learns to appreciate the old ones.
In cozy fiction, the plot is low-stakes. There are no world-ending catastrophes, no civilization-shattering wars. If a crime is featured, there is no bloodshed, and the murder usually takes place “off camera.” A Happily Ever After (HEA) is a must. In Black Annis year, Elenna faces three plot strings that get tangled throughout the year. She’s facing the prospect of coming out of her grief (which can be more frightening than grief itself), she’s caring for the aging animals on the farm and all the heartache that entails and she discovers that a whole fairy realm has been living right under her nose, a realm that challenges the safety of her rescues and her neighbors. Each of these plot strings come to a satisfying outcome, with our intrepid MC gaining the upper hand through hard work, ingenuity and help from her friends. It takes a village to raise a cozy right.
So, if plot if the stakes are low and an HEA guaranteed, what is the appeal of cozy fiction? There is a lot of market research on this topic, but I did a bit of my own informal polling through my Inbetween Group on Facebook. I wanted to know what readers consider cozy and why it is growing in popularity. I’d love to hear your thoughts too. You can reply right to in the comments.
What I found echoed again and again is that readers love the safety and comfort that cozy provides. When the news of the world seems so overwhelming lately, readers prefer to retreat into a story that soothes, rather than one that ramps up the heart rate with thrills and chills. Think of cozy as mac and cheese in a book form. Many readers also use cozy fiction as “palate cleansers” between more action-packed books.
I thoroughly enjoyed writing Black Annis Year. Even editing it was a cozy experience for me. The story of Sadie, the old plow horse, is taken right from my experiences as an animal rescue volunteer, and it’s one I have wanted to write for years. Readers of my past newsletters and blog will recognize stories about my horse, Booker and Luther, the angry llama in the pages of Black Annis Year.
I had no problem creating a unique, unusual setting. The village of Mullarkey Mills is fictional, but it is based on several of the villages near my home in rural Quebec. And the quirky characters? I’ve got those covered. The only element of cozy I struggled with was reining in my natural tendency to burn everything to the ground. Readers of the Valkyrie Bestiary series may remember some of the books as being fast paced “page turners.” There are strategies as a writer to create this break-neck pace and feel of suspense. I worked long and hard to develop those techniques. I studied writing manuals, and I wrote countless short stories and other novels as practice. For Black Annis Year, I had to unlearn some of those techniques while still keeping the story engaging.
I hope I succeeded and I’m really excited to bring you this new cozy fantasy. Black Annis Year is now pre-ordering with a release date of April 17, 2025.
PRE-ORDER BLACK ANNIS YEAR
Valkyrie Bestiary Audiobook Sale
Book Fairs & Events
This week the book fairs are all about slow-burn romance without all the sweaty sex ;) If you like closed-door romance or sweet romance, these fairs are for you!
Spotlight Books
Never Ends
(Shifter Vengeance Book 7) Kindle Edition
by Silas Reames
Revenge is sweet, but vengeance is sweeter.
The Bone Reader’s siblings know that she’s a Reaper, and they’re after Never and her friends. The Riziks are determined to make themselves more powerful than the gods, and only someone like Never can stand in their way.
When her preparations to face the siblings get off to a rocky start, Never is set on a turbulent path. Is she really willing to put the safety of her chosen family in jeopardy, or will she have to go back to doing things alone?
Her friends are gathered and ready to fight, but the cost for saving the supernatural world may be a price that’s too high to pay.
Never Ends is the action-packed conclusion to the twisty and fast-paced Shifter Vengeance urban fantasy series.
