Author Spotlight: Christine Wellert
Author of the Summer Jenkins Mystery Series
Beach Club Bloodshed is Christine Wellert’s debut cozy mystery. Image credit: Christine Wellert
Christine Wellert is the author of the Summer Jenkins Mystery Series. This series is set on Hawaii’s Kohala Coast and features amateur sleuth and lifeguard Summer Jenkins.
Cozy Crime Reads Interview with Christine Wellert
What attracted you to the cozy mystery genre?
While I read almost every genre, cozy mysteries are the books I always come back to. They’re like a warm hug to me—fun, with a puzzle to solve, and I always know things will work out in the end. Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys were my ride or die books when I was a kid, then as I got older, I started reading Agatha Christie, Mary Higgins Clark (although some of her books were intense!), Dana Stabenow, and Janet Evanovich.
What are a few of the essential elements that make a cozy stand out to you as a reader?
Strong protagonists, a unique setting, a tight community, and a feeling at the end that the good guys came out on top.
Do you have a favorite amateur sleuth?
Oh, this is so hard-I have so many! Gun to head I guess I would pick Stephanie Plum. Everything about her life is a mess in some way, and she doesn’t have any formal training (other than a few days with Ranger, when she was checking out his butt more than paying attention!), but her gut instinct is top tier and what helps her succeed in the end. Well, that and some serious luck. And she’s a badass without knowing she’s a badass!
What inspired your first cozy mystery?
The character Lani in Beach Club Bloodshed is based on a good friend of mine, who does or would do most of the things Lani does in the book. She’s a larger than life personality, and I love hearing about her latest exploits when we get together. One day I jokingly told her I was going to make a book about her, and she just laughed. I’m looking forward to handing it to her in person next week and seeing the look on her face when she realizes I was serious...
How do you research and create the "cozy" elements in your books, like the settings and community?
Beach Club Bloodshed was easy—I live part time on the Big Island. The element I researched the most was how to add in Hawaiian cultural aspects without overstepping or exaggerating. The pidgin used in the book is how my friends speak, but I tried to keep most phrases pretty basic and recognizable.
What is one key step in your writing process that helps you transform an idea into a finished book?
Perseverance! That and really treating writing time as non-negotiable. My method is mostly pantsing with a smattering of plotting. For the next book in this series, Waikoloa Warfare, I started with a rough outline to follow and a few key scenes, but normally, my characters just take over and tell the story their way.
What advice would you give aspiring cozy mystery authors who want to start writing their first novel?
Do it! Enjoy your first foray into the writing world and pick up some books about the writing process: plot, structure, dialog, etc. to help guide you.
How can readers connect with you online?
You can check me out on any of the social media sites, but I’m normally most active on Instagram!
Beach Club Bloodshed
Beach Club Bloodshed is the first book in the Summer Jenkins Mystery Series by Christine Wellert.
This cozy mystery features amateur sleuth Summer Jenkins, a lifeguard on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island.
When a body is found on the beach and Summer’s best friend Lani goes missing and becomes a person of interest, everyone starts looking to Summer for answers, including the cute detective investigating the case.
Summer gets drawn into the mystery and manages to land herself in hot water with a Yakuza boss, a Russian oligarch, and her feisty Auntie Miriam.
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