Author Spotlight: Honor Brightwell
Author of the Sam Holliday Mysteries
Honor Brightwell is the author of Dying to Draw. Image credit: Honor Brightwell
Honor Brightwell worked in publishing for over 30 years, marketing children’s and educational books before turning to a life of cozy crime. She writes the Sam Holliday series, an entertaining mystery series featuring a bookish amateur sleuth who solves mysteries with her friends in the Cotswolds.
Cozy Crime Reads Interview with Honor Brightwell
What attracted you to the cozy mystery genre?
I’ve read a lot of crime books, enjoying the plots and the characters, but not so much the gory details. Of course, I’ve always read what we call ‘cozy mysteries’ although I hadn’t heard the term until a few years ago. Once I realised it was a genre, I looked for more cozy mysteries to read, and eventually started to write my own. For me, books in this genre offer escapism, relatable characters, and the knowledge that all will be solved in the end … which might require reading the next book in the series. Yes, that’s another bonus – there’s usually a series to get stuck into!
What are a few of the essential elements that make a cozy stand out to you as a reader?
The characters. If I don’t care what will happen to them, I don’t want to read about them. The storyline has to be credible, and as the reader, I want to feel as though I’ve got a chance of working out what’s going on. I like to feel I’m in the hands of a writer who knows their craft.
Do you have a favorite amateur sleuth?
I really enjoy Elly Griffiths series with Dr Ruth Galloway. Ruth is clever yet fallible, not always making the wisest choices in her life. It makes her a more rounded character. I also like that there’s a core cast of characters who also evolve with each book. The setting, in a county I don’t know very well, also interests me.
What inspired your first cozy mystery?
I’d toyed with a number of ideas for a long time but always reached a brick wall in trying to develop the characters and the storyline. Once I discovered cozy mysteries, it took away my anxiety about how I would write about police procedures, autopsies, etc, because I didn’t need to! I realised I could use a setting for my stories which is very familiar to me: a publishing company that produces children’s books. I worked in educational publishing for over 30 years, and I also wrote a series of stories for my grand-daughters with a character called Granny Fi. Once I’d decided on genre and setting the ideas for both plot and characters just seemed to fall into place. And being able to weave my Granny Fi series into the storyline seemed an obvious thing to do.
Sam Holliday Mystery Books 1-3
How do you research and create the "cozy" elements in your books, like the settings and community?
Having worked in publishing, I could draw on my experience of the different stages of publishing, the author/illustrator relationship, and the dynamic between the sales and marketing teams. Everything in my books is fictitious, but I believe my writing comes across as authentic because of my experience of the publishing world. I’ve set the books in a small town, inspired by one I know well. My amateur sleuth, Sam Holliday, enjoys walking and I’ve taken her to different parts of England for these walks. Again, I’ve drawn on areas I know well.
What is one key step in your writing process that helps you transform an idea into a finished book?
Asking ‘why’. Why is the character doing or feeling something. Why does something matter? Why will the reader want to read this? And if it means revising, or cutting, then so be it.
I often resolve these questions while out walking. Thoughts have a funny way of whirring away in the background, and I’ll often return home thinking ‘yes, that’s why …’.
What advice would you give aspiring cozy mystery authors who want to start writing their first novel?
Read widely, and think about what you’re reading. How did the author convey a sense of place, emotions, characteristics. Were their techniques effective, and if so, why?
Think through your storyline and the characters you need to tell the story before you start writing. Is there a central character, and if so, why is this their story to tell?
Get writing, and re-read and revise the next day or so. Share your writing with friends or a writing group, and give the feedback you receive some consideration. Hopefully it will give you food for thought but you don’t have to act on it. However, if your writing didn’t land in quite the way you wanted with a reader, is that okay or do you need to revise? One piece of feedback I found really helpful was that I tended to give characters names that started with the same letter, which was confusing. Even in my third book, I realized I had created a character called Gina who was having coffee in Gino’s café!
Where can readers connect with you online?
You can subscribe to my newsletter via www.honorbrightwell.com, and you can also follow me on Facebook: Honor Brightwell Cozy Crime author.
Honor Brightwell Bookshelf
Use the arrows on either side of the images shown below to see the books in Honor Brightwell’s Sam Holliday Mystery Series. Click on any book to see a description, reviews, and an excerpt on Amazon.
Dying to Draw
Dying to Write
Dying to Speak