Author Spotlight: Tracy Gardner

Multi Award-Winning Author

Tracy Gardner is the author of the Shepherd Sister Mysteries

Tracy Gardner is a multi award-winning author. Her mystery series include the popular Shepherd Sisters Mystery Series and the Avery Ayers Antique Mystery Series. Her book, Ruby Red Herring, was a New York Public Library Best 100 book and a Mary Higgins Clark Edgar Award Finalist. She also writes award-winning women’s fiction under the name Jess SInclair.

Cozy Crime Reads Interview with Tracy Gardner

What attracted you to the cozy mystery genre?

I love a good character-driven story. The best cozy mysteries are really just stories about people like us, ordinary people thrown into wild circumstances and compelled to figure it all out. I’ve been reading cozy mysteries all my life, but never realized that’s what the genre was called until a few years ago. So it’s no surprise that I gravitated toward writing what I enjoy reading!

What are a few of the essential elements that make a cozy stand out to you as a reader?

I have to feel a connection to the characters for a book – cozy or otherwise – to hook me. Cozy mysteries are known for their small-town vibe, but I think it’s less about the geographic place, and more about the community. Close-knit communities can be found even within large cities. A story with a set of characters who know each other and can play off of each other, whether in a friendly way or with animosity, provides a great cozy mystery set up.

Aside the sense of community, I look for cozies with beloved pets, a main character with insatiable curiosity, and at least three or four plausible suspects to keep me guessing.

Do you have a favorite amateur sleuth?

Nancy Drew is still an all time favorite amateur sleuth. Her modern television counterpart, Veronica Mars, a plucky amateur sleuth who instantly reminded me of Nancy Drew, is another favorite.

The first three books in the Shepherd Sisters Mystery Series

What inspired your first cozy mystery?

Between the influence of Nancy Drew, Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, and my deep love of the Charlie’s Angels movies, I’ve always loved mysteries with strong female friendships. Creating a cozy mystery pitch based on an art expert trained to spot hidden clues and her close relationship with her two sisters seemed like the perfect way to indulge what I love most about cozy mysteries, while adding an art-themed spin.

How do you research and create the "cozy" elements in your books, like the settings and community?

I use a combination of real places and landmarks as well as fictional locations, giving me a little more creative freedom. I’d never want to set a pivotal scene in a real town and get major details wrong. When I use actual places, I either visit, have visited in the past, or do a deep dive online to research vital information.

Also, I’m lucky to have lived in a variety of settings myself, from urban to rural and everything in between, giving me a clear picture of the relationships that spring from small communities.

What is one key step in your writing process that helps you transform an idea into a finished book?

When I first started writing, I rebelled against using an outline or structured plot plan. I know some writers who use this technique with great success, but I’m not one of them. My pacing was off and characters had a tendency to run off in wild directions with my tenuous storyline.

Now, after I’ve come up with at least a short synopsis, I allow myself to write the first one or two chapters, but then I hit pause, stopping long enough to create a point by point plan for the major plot milestones and when each will happen. There’s still something a little rebellious in me, as I can’t consider this an outline. I think of it as a chapter breakdown, with a sentence or two on what events will happen chapter by chapter, laid out on the story’s timeline, based on real dates I set for pacing.

Without fail, once I’ve taken the time to do this, the words come so much easier throughout, until I’ve finished.

The first two books in the Avery Ayers Antique Mystery Series

What advice would you give aspiring cozy mystery authors who want to start writing their first novel?

Read a lot within the genre you want to write. Start writing. Even if you don’t have the whole thing figured out, even if you don’t have the first page figured out, as long as you have the glimmer of an idea, just write. See where it goes. Stop focusing on the end goal, on market trends, on which authors are already living your dream-writing life. Focus on the work.

If you really want to write a novel, start writing, keep going, and don’t give up. When you’ve finished your novel, let it rest while you start your next one, and then go back to that first one and edit, revise, and fine tune it.

If you want to write to be published, do your research, query agents and editors, and keep in mind how incredibly subjective the publishing world is. A “No” from one industry professional may be a resounding “Yes” from another.

My advice to anyone who wants to write a book is to read widely, start writing, and don’t stop.

How can readers connect with you online?

I love interacting with readers! I’m often online on Instagram and Facebook and try to respond quickly to messages. And I love saying thanks to readers with giveaways and freebies!

Readers can find me here:

tracygardnerauthor@gmail.com

jesssinclairwrites@gmail.com (women’s fiction account)

www.tracygardnerbeno.com

https://www.instagram.com/tracygardnerbooks/

https://www.instagram.com/jesssinclair.writes/

https://www.facebook.com/TracyGardnerBeno/

Tracy Gardner Cozy Mystery Bookshelf

Use the arrows on either side of the images shown below to cycle through all of the books in the Tracy Gardner Cozy Mystery Bookshelf. Click on any book to see it on Amazon.