Author Spotlight: Cindy Quayle
Author of the Claire O’Keefe Mysteries
Cindy Quayle is the author of Death on Cozumel Island. Image credit: Cindy Quayle
Cindy Quayle is the author of the Claire O’Keefe Mysteries. This fun and adventurous cozy mystery series features an English teacher amateur sleuth who dives into mysteries in a variety of scuba diving destinations.
Cozy Crime Reads Interview with Cindy Quayle
What attracted you to the cozy mystery genre?
I’ve always loved mysteries. Growing up, I read Nancy Drew and Encyclopedia Brown, but I really fell in love with cozy mysteries when I discovered Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen series. I loved that the mystery was at the center of the story, but there was also this wonderful community of characters you got to know from book to book. There’s something comforting about returning to a familiar place and familiar characters, even when someone inevitably gets murdered!
What are a few of the essential elements that make a cozy stand out to you as a reader?
For me, it’s the characters and the setting. I want a mystery that keeps me guessing, but I also want characters I’d enjoy spending time with. I love humor, friendships, a little romance, quirky side characters, and a strong sense of place. The best cozies make me want to visit the fictional town, coffee shop, bakery, or bookstore, even though the murder rate should probably convince me otherwise! 😂
I also love a mystery that gives readers enough clues to play detective along with the amateur sleuth. I want to be surprised by the solution, but I also want to be able to look back and realize the clues were there all along.
Do you have a favorite amateur sleuth?
Hannah Swensen will always have a special place in my heart because Joanne Fluke’s books were some of the first cozies I read. I also love the characters in Lillian Jackson Braun’s The Cat Who... mysteries. I think what attracts me to amateur sleuths is their curiosity. They aren’t investigating because it’s their job. Something pulls them into the mystery, and once they realize things don’t add up, they simply can’t leave it alone.
That trait has definitely found its way into my own characters!
What inspired your first cozy mystery?
My first book, Death on Cozumel Island, was inspired by a family scuba diving trip to Cozumel. 🤿🌴 I remember looking around and thinking it would be a fantastic setting for a murder mystery. It had everything I wanted: beautiful scenery, interesting people, scuba diving, and plenty of possibilities for secrets and suspects.
That idea eventually became the Claire O’Keefe Mysteries. Claire is an EFL teacher and scuba diver, and travel plays an important role in the series. Her mysteries have taken her from Cozumel to Monterey, Miami, and eventually Osage Springs in the Ozarks.
It’s funny because Osage Springs itself was inspired by the numerous small towns in Arkansas with “Springs” in their names. I wanted to create my own fictional Arkansas town that captured the charm and personality of those communities while giving me the freedom to fill it with my own businesses, residents, secrets, and, of course, murders! That fictional town eventually grew beyond the Claire O’Keefe Mysteries and inspired my upcoming Osage Springs Sentinel Mysteries.
Claire O’Keefe Mystery Books 1-4
How do you research and create the "cozy" elements in your books, like the settings and community?
Setting is really important to me. With the Claire O’Keefe Mysteries, I draw heavily on places I’ve traveled and experiences I’ve had. I love incorporating the atmosphere, food, scenery, and little details that make each destination feel different. My own experience as a scuba diver also helps when Claire’s adventures take her underwater.
The Osage Springs Sentinel Mysteries are a little different because I’m creating a fictional Ozarks community. Osage Springs has a town square, local bakery, newspaper office, hardware store, florist, vintage shop, community theater, and plenty of residents who know one another’s business. 🏡☕️📰
I live in Northwest Arkansas, so I’m able to draw inspiration from the towns, landscapes, and communities around me while still having fun creating my own fictional version. I want readers to feel like they know where everything is and recognize people when they show up again. My goal is for Osage Springs to eventually feel like a place readers are coming back to visit.
What is one key step in your writing process that helps you transform an idea into a finished book?
For me, it’s knowing where the mystery is going before I get too far into writing. I need to know who the victim is, who killed them, why they did it, and what clues and red herrings I want to plant along the way.
That doesn’t mean everything stays exactly as I planned it. My characters have a habit of changing things on me! But having that basic mystery structure gives me something to work toward.
I also revise a lot. My first draft is about getting the story onto the page. Then I go back and strengthen the dialogue, descriptions, clues, character interactions, and humor. That’s when the story really starts feeling like the book I imagined.
What advice would you give aspiring cozy mystery authors who want to start writing their first novel?
Start writing it! It sounds simple, but I think we can spend so much time worrying about whether an idea is good enough, whether we know enough about publishing, or whether anyone will want to read our book that we never actually write it.
You don’t have to know everything when you begin. Give yourself permission to write an imperfect first draft.
I’d also tell new cozy writers to think beyond the murder. Of course, you need a good mystery, but readers are also coming back for your characters and your world. Create a sleuth readers want to spend several books with and a community they’ll want to return to.
And read lots of cozy mysteries! Reading within the genre is one of the best ways to understand what readers love about it.
How can readers connect with you online?
I love connecting with readers! ❤️📚 I’m on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube as @authorcindyquayle.
My website is www.cindyquayleauthor.com, although it’s currently undergoing some updates as I get ready for the Osage Springs Sentinel Mysteries.
Readers can follow me for book news, behind-the-scenes looks at my writing life, cozy mystery fun, travel, coffee, and probably more pictures of my beagle than strictly necessary. 🐶☕️🔎
Cindy Quayle Bookshelf
Use the arrows on either side of the images shown below to see the books in Cindy Quayle’s Claire O’Keefe Mystery Series. Click on any book to see a description, reviews, and an excerpt on Amazon.
Death on Cozumel Island (A Claire O'Keefe Mystery Book 1)
Betrayal in the Bay (A Claire O'Keefe Mystery Book 2)
South Beach Scandal (A Claire O'Keefe Mystery Book 3)
Lies Are Better at the Lake (A Claire O'Keefe Mystery Book 4)