Hello, world! I'm back

This is my whine: I’ve had walking pneumonia for two weeks, the antibiotics were making me sick, and it hurt to walk because of the fall on my knee. The weather was gloomy, cold and rainy, which didn’t help at all. Yesterday was a low point in my existence.

This is the cheerful part: I woke about three in the morning and thought, “I feel better.” And this morning I felt almost like myself. The sick feeling is almost gone, though I was cautious about eating all day and I still took a long nap, my knee is better if not healed, and I’m not coughing much. The sun is bright and the day much warmer. By the weekend we’ll be in the 80s and we can all begin to moan and groan about summer.

When you’re miserably sick, you can’t imagine ever feeling better. When it’s gloomy and rainy, you can’t imagine it being bright and sunny. And when things do change, it’s sort of like seeing the world with brand new eyes. It makes you appreciative and grateful.

I’m tired of being home, cancelling lunches and dinners with friends. I want to get out in the world and pick up the normal threads of my life. Starting with the grocery store tomorrow.

I have been reading a novel just for the heck of it—something I don’t often find time to do—and I’ve come to a conclusion: I do NOT like rhetorical questions in a cozy mystery. One is too many; lots are lots too many. Shhh—I’ll never tell what I’m reading.

A reviewer and my bruised ego

An online reviewer, who shall remain anonymous, wrote a good  review of Skeleton in a Dead Space, a medium one of No Neighborhood for Old Women, and what amounts to a plot summary of Trouble in a Big Box. But he took the time and had the graciousness to explain to me that yes, I had racheted up the suspense in the third book as I promised him, but he still found that Kelly was drawn into crime-solving rather than being an active participant. He politely said my series was just not for him One of the first lesson an author learns on publication is that you never protest a review, so I wrote a short note thanking him for his honesty and his efforts on my behalf and promising not to send him any more books. But yes, my ego was a bit bruised.
And what he said went against everything I heard from the book group last week and have heard continuously from readers--they like Kelly as a person, they like knowing about her personal life and they admire her compassion. They also like envisioning all the characters and their relationship to each other--some said they could see them in their mind's eye. So do I listen to a reviewer or readers?
Of course, as I've mentioned often here before, when I need advice on writing I turn to Fred Erisman--he shepherded me through a Ph.D. in Western American Literature some forty years ago and has remained my friend and advisor ever since. He reads almost everything I write, and he's read all or part of each of my three mysteries. His take on this dilemma was reassuring and echoed what I hoped was true  He pointed out that of course Kelly is drawn into crime-solving--that's the point of any cozy mystery. The heroine/protagonist is an amateur, not a professional detective. She is going her merry way about her life, when she is drawn into solving a crime. And, he wrote, the qualities that make her interesting are the ones that compel her to poke about in a mystery--curiosity, compassion, outrage. The picture I present of her personal life helps the reader understand her in that context--a reader has to know the character to grasp the larger issues of the novel.
The reviewer was not allowing me the general characteristics of the genre in which I am writing.
Fred's parting advice? Pout a bit and then go on about your business. He, by the way, is not a fan of cozies but he accepts the genre for what it is, rather than looking for thriller touches where they would be inappropriate.
How about you? Do you read cozies with just enough mystery in them? Do you listen to other readers or to reviewers?

Some thoughts on mystery heroines

Back to work on my chili book today--still looking for recipes, so do send them along if you have them. But I'm also thinking about mysteries and their heroines--old-fashioned word, but let's use it. As I've said, I write (and hope someday to publish) cozies, not thrillers or suspense, but the more I read the more I'm finding that many heroines of cozies fall into a stereotype. I'm guilty myself in that Kelly O'Connell of Skeleton in a Dead Space can't cook and takes her kids out to eat--now why did I of all people create a heroine who can't cook? I think it's part of a pattern of incompetence for the cozy heroine--they're almost always single, usually devoted to their pets, involved in a love relationship that isn't working for one reason or another, and, worst of all, a bit flaky. They seemed to stumble into trouble and then stumble on the solution, often putting themselves and others in great peril--which, of course, adds the suspense necessary for a plot. And the law enforcement people, of whatever stripe, beg them to stay out of it--but these heroines never can.
The aspect of incompetence troubles me. I know the age of the superwoman is past--maybe she existed during the early peak of the feminist movement, when women set out to prove they could do everything and do it better than men. But often these heroines have one area in life where they are quite competent--it may be catering, journalism, the law, owning and running a business such as craft stores or bakeries or restaurants. But outside that, they are, sometimes--I hate to use the word--ditherheads. I tried to make Kelly a bit more competent by giving her two young daughters that she adores to care for, but she too has her insecure sides. One is how she looks and dresses, never reaching the air of sophistication she sees in even the casual dress of others but always settling for flannel slacks, a blazer and loafers, maybe dressing the outfit up with a silk shirt. And her hair is always unruly--common to cozy heroines. And as I said she can't cook--though I'm trying to teach her. She doesn't eat right either and her office assistant, Keisha, is always bringing her salads when she wants cheeseburgers--Keisha fills the role of sidekick. And Mike, her cop/boyfriend, begs her to stay out of crimes in the neighborhood. But she doesn't.
Don't get me wrong--I've read and thoroughly enjoyed a lot (a whole lot!) of mysteries about these ladies, but I'm puzzled by the flakiness of cozy heroines. Anybody got any thoughts? And now I'm on the lookout for capable cozy heroines. (I think I've blogged about this before, but more thoughts on the subject came my way--if I'm repeating, please forgive me.)