The publishing world can be EXTREMELY hard to navigate. Many authors, especially when they’re starting out, feel like they need to fit neatly in a box and meet traditional expectations with their work in order to get published at all.

But not today’s guest.

I am so excited to bring you Rob Osler, a fellow mystery author who you are just going to adore. Rob writes the contemporary comedic series Hayden & Friends Mysteries, featuring a gay and lesbian amateur sleuth duo. He calls these books “comedic romps” and let me tell you - they really are.

Book one, DEVIL’S CHEW TOY, was a 2023 Best Debut Mystery Finalist for the Anthony, Macavity, Agatha, and Lefty Awards and was a 2022 Year’s Best by Crime Reads, BOLO Books, Book Riot, and POPSUGAR. Rob coined the term “quozy” as a way to highlight queer characters in the cozy world.

His new book, THE CASE OF THE MISSING MAID, the first in the new historical series, Harriet Morrow Investigates,” featuring a Chicago-based queer female detective in America s Progressive Era is out in late December.

He’s also a short story writer, and his story MISS DIRECTION is a 2024 finalist for mysteries most prestigious prize, the Edgar Allan Poe Award from Mystery Writers of America. His debut mystery short story, ANALOGUE, won the Mystery Writers of America 2022 Robert L Fish Award for best debut short story by an American Author.

We talked about everything from:

• Turning the traditional cozy on its head

• Rob’s wild path to publication - a story I just love because as I’ve said often on the show,

there is no one path to publication and often things happen in ways you could just never anticipate

• How to create secondary characters your reader loves just as much as your protagonist

• What the future holds for the cozy genre

I had so much fun chatting with Rob - I hope you love our conversation!

You can find out more about Rob and his books here, and check out his free short story:

https://robosler.com/

And make sure you’re following me on IG @lizmugavero for the latest episodes!

There are some episodes I truly can’t wait to bring you, and today’s is one of those. I have someone who is such a core piece of our mystery community on the show today - get excited.

Dru Ann Love, of the blog Dru’s Book Musings, is here with me today. And if you don’t know her, that’s all about to change.

Dru Ann Love is a true friend and advocate of cozy authors—well, all authors really. She and her award-winning blog have been a name since I started writing. She launched in 2011 and has had a solid following ever since.

I remember the first time she featured me—I was ecstatic. The main focus of her blog is the “day in the life” feature where a lead protagonist or any other character gives readers a glimpse into their day.

Today, the blog is probably the most well known in the cozy mystery world, and Dru is a face that everyone looks for at our favorite conferences, including Malice Domestic and Bouchercon.

She’s also an award-winning author! Her 2024 short story cowritten with Kristopher Zgorski, Ticket To Ride, won the Agatha Award for Best Short Story and was also nominated for an Anthony Award. And her blog has been nominated for multiple awards.

During our conversation, we cover:

• How the blog started

• What it takes for a book to stand out for her

• How a Beatles song prompted her foray into writing - and an Agatha award

• Why she doesn’t actually want to write

Dru is a true love. And if you are someone who’s always looking for new mystery fiction to read, go follow her blog right now - as soon as you listen to this episode. Tune in wherever you get your podcasts.

You can find Dru’s blog here: https://drusbookmusing.com/

And on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/DrusBookMusing

I’m on @lizmugavero - follow for info on the latest episodes

I’m kind of predictable in the sense that I’m usually going to be talking about crime or mysteries on this show. It’s just my nature—and the place I’m usually living.

But every now and then I like to branch out and bring someone on the show who writes in a totally different genre. So today I’ve got a fantasy author for you who has a really cool story about how she got started.

Danielle Orsino is an award-winning fantasy novelist whose lifelong vision is to create whimsical realms that her readers can escape to. The creative spark of storytelling has been with Danielle ever since she was a child, but martial arts and her nursing career took center stage into adulthood—until an unlikely event that reignited her creative fire.

But I’ll let her tell you about that.

We had a really fun conversation about writing, the world of fantasy, and so much more. We cover:

• How an encounter with a patient during her nursing years got her back to the writing desk

• Why she’s on the cover of her own novels

• Her obsession with creating strong women characters and how she approaches creating them

• The role her Yorkie plays in her books

This was a really fun conversation—I learned so much about a genre I don’t typically spend a lot of time in. If you’re a fantasy fan—or curious like me what draws people to the genre—you don’t want to miss this episode. Tune in wherever you get your podcasts.

You can find Danielle on Instagram @birthofthefae_novel/

I’m on @lizmugavero - follow for info on the latest episodes

You may not know this about me, but I have a dark little heart. I love thrillers and psychological suspense and anything that keeps me on the edge of my seat wondering what’s going to happen next.

So of course I love Edwin Hill’s books. Edwin is the author of the critically-acclaimed Hester Thursby mystery series, which have been nominated for multiple awards, as well as the standalones The Secrets We Share and Who to Believe. His books are wild rides of twists, turns and surprises and if that’s your jam, you will definitely love them.

And of course, because we’re writers, we can’t help but talk about our processes—and of course, plotting or pantsing.

We cover:

• Writing character-driven mysteries

• When writing turns dark and it’s kind of a surprise

• How we as writers tend to overcomplicate stories - and what happens when we chill out

• The role animals play in his books

This was such a great conversation. If you’re a thriller fan or if you just love hearing writers talk about writing—because we all do it so differently—you don’t want to miss this episode. Tune in wherever you get your podcasts.

You can find Edwin at https://www.edwin-hill.com/

And on Instagram @edwinhillauthor.

I’m on @lizmugavero - follow for info on the latest episodes!

What’s better than a writing career? Doing it with a group of besties, for sure. On the podcast this week, I have my OG writing friend - one of the first people I got connected with when my career started to take off - Edith Maxwell, also known as Maddie Day.

She is part of the Wicked Authors blog with me, there are six of us total, and we all got started roughly around the same time. We became blog mates, and most of all friends and 11 years later, here we are.

Edith and I started out with the same agent, same publisher, same dreams. I’ve lost count of how many books we have between the two of us all these years later. Maddie Day’s series have really taken off. She also writes historicals, and won an Agatha for one of her Edith

Maxwell books. And she’s a prolific short story writer.

We cover:

• Writing multiple series at the same time

• Pantsing vs. plotting (because when DON’T we talk about that?

• Our favorite research trip and how we almost got (mock) killed

• Traditional vs. self-publishing

It was so much fun to have a conversation with Edith/Maddie in this setting. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to have a tight-knit group of writers navigating life and publishing together, this episode is for you. Tune in wherever you get your podcasts.

You can find her at https://edithmaxwell.com/maddie-day/

And make sure you’re following me on IG @lizmugavero for the latest episodes!

I may sound like a broken record, but I’m going to keep saying it for everyone in the back:

Mindset is a critical tool that can make or break your success as a writer.

It almost doesn’t matter how talented you are if your mind is working against you. If every move you make is subverted by an inner critic that is just running amuck. And most of us come to the page with preconceived notions about the “right” way to write, what is and isn’t productive, how our process “should” look—even if we’ve been doing this a long time.

We have to stop that. Our brains all work differently, and that’s something to be celebrated and nurtured, not beaten down.

In this episode, Trisha and I break down some of the biggest mindset barriers to success and how to start coaching yourself in a kinder, more productive way.

We cover:

• Where mindset blocks come from and how to start shifting our thinking

• How each writer’s process is highly individualized and why we shouldn’t compare ourselves to anyone else

• The inner work and introspection necessary to understand yourself, which will help you understand your writing style

If you’ve been feeling down on yourself as a writer because you’re thinking you’re not as productive as other writers, or lost in processes that feel like a slog, this episode is for you.

Tune in wherever you get your podcasts.

If you’re not following Trisha yet, you can find her at https://www.trishajennreads.com/.

And make sure you’re following me on IG @lizmugavero for the latest episodes!

If you’re not sure which genre you want to write in—or you feel like your book doesn’t fit neatly into a specific genre—this episode is for you.

I have a lot of conversations with writers about rules, and what you are “supposed to do” and “not supposed to do.” A lot of people just starting out have heard there is absolutely a right and a wrong way to write a book, to tell a story, to fit into a genre.

I think we block ourselves from so many things if we approach writing in this way. We block ourselves from inspiration, from the actual magic that occurs when we just sit down and write something without putting it in a box, or putting ourselves in a box. Most importantly, we end up blocking our own voice - the voice that really wants to come out and be heard.

But here’s the good news: Genre-bending fiction is on the rise. And my guest today is going to tell you how she does it.

Lale Davidson is an author and writing teacher who pushes the boundaries of magical realism in her novels. And we talk about how to do that in today’s episode.

We cover:

• How she created a world she wanted to work with before she had an actual plot—and why that worked for her

• Why it makes sense to write in “layers” or phases and write out of order if that makes sense to you

• The ONLY writing rule she follows

• How to bring readers along with you on any journey—even in a nontraditional genre

If you love pushing the envelope in your writing and creating something that is authentically YOU, this is the episode you don’t want to miss.

You can find out more about Lale and her work at https://laledavidson.com/

And make sure you’re following me on IG @lizmugavero for the latest episodes!

I’m coming to you solo this week to talk about writing conferences. It’s timely, since conference season is starting—April and May are always prime conference time, and I’m just back from my very first Left Coast Crime.

I love talking about conferences. I credit the way my writing career unfolded to getting started so early finding the right ones, networking and making connections. When I made the decision to focus my writing career on mysteries and crime, the first thing I did was go online and search mystery writing conferences.

And one popped up right in my backyard. The New England Crime Bake.

I’m going to tell you all about this one and more in the episode, and also my top three reasons why writers should make conferences a part of their strategy.

I cover:

• The top conferences for mystery writers and readers in the US

• How to think about which ones are right for you, at whatever stage of your writing career you’re in

• My personal favorites and why

If you’ve been wondering if conferences are something into which you should invest time and money, definitely tune in to this episode so you can make the decision that’s best for you.

And make sure you’re following me on IG @lizmugavero for the latest episodes!

Conferences I mention:

Left Coast Crime

Malice

The Edgars

ThrillerFest

Bouchercon

Killer Nashville

Sleuthfest

New England Crime Bake