In addition to judging books by their covers, we judge them on so many other things—most of which have nothing to do with the stories written.
For years, I refused to pick up a book by Dean Koontz. I thought, “Dean Koontz writes horror. I don’t like horror novels.” So I didn’t check out the back cover blurbs or the reviews of his books because I assumed I already knew enough about the books to make a decision. Then a friend said, “You have to read Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. You’ll love it.”
To humor her, I read the book. She was right. I loved it. I was surprised by this love…so surprised that I told another friend at lunch about the experience.
“Oh, you’ve got to read Watchers,” she said. “It’s wonderful.”
Now convinced that Mr. Koontz could weave a mighty fine story that didn’t have me sitting in bed with the covers pulled up to my chin while I bit my fingernails and waited for some unknown evil lurking in the dark to attack me, I read Watchers. I can now assure you that I’m a full-fledged Dean Koontz fan, eagerly awaiting the next installment in the Odd Thomas series (which I’ll likely have read by the time this is published).
When I wrote In Her Blood, the consensus among my editors was, “This isn’t a cozy!” As both Gayle Trent and Amanda Lee, I’d been corralled into 
the cozy mystery niche. Don’t get me wrong—I love writing cozy mysteries and have just been contracted to write a new cozy series. But in this case, it was working against me. To those within my current publishing circle, In Her Blood wasn’t right for them because it wasn’t a cozy mystery. To those outside my current publishing circle, the book and, for all intents and purposes, its author, was an unknown entity. I was fortunate that an editor I’d met was willing to take a chance on the book and on me.
I enjoy reading psychological thrillers, so I wasn’t surprised when this book began seeping into my subconscious in that form. While a book like In Her Blood could possibly lend itself to a sequel, it isn’t likely to spur a series in the way a cozy mystery can. There’s no small town, no cast of endearing characters…just one dysfunctional girl, with a majorly messed up family, dealing with a crazed killer.
As I said, I enjoy thrillers. I enjoy suspense. I love a good cozy mystery. In fact, I like a lot of books that fall within different genres. I simply urge you not to disregard “bodice rippers” or “horror novels” or “sweeping family sagas” just because you “don’t like that sort of thing.” You might be missing something really, really good.
The latest embroidery mystery, WICKED STITCH, is now available for pre-order in paperback and ebook forms! Release Date: 4/7/15
For most small-business owners in Tallulah Falls, the upcoming Renaissance Faire is a wonderful way to promote their specialty shops. For Marcy’s nemesis, Nellie, and her sister Clara, it’s an opportunity to finally put Marcy and her shop, the Seven-Year Stitch, out of business. Apparently the sisters like to keep their grudges all in the family and have set up a competing booth right next to Marcy’s at the Faire.
When Clara is discovered dead in her own booth—strangled by the scarf she had almost finished knitting—Marcy becomes the prime suspect. Now she has to do whatever it takes to keep her reputation from unraveling and get to the bottom of a most deadly yarn…
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