Cozy Mystery Challenge

Challenge Officially Over

2011-10-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's taken me so long to get this post up! The Challenge officially ended Sept. 30th.

I am very happy I was able to offer giveaway's this year and I hope you all enjoyed that added benefit too.
Speaking of giveaways, the winner for the Challenge end giveawa is Yvonne Hodorowski. Congratulations Yvonne!!! I've notified the publisher today so hopefully you'll get the books soon.

Once again I want to thank everyone for participating and making this challenge a success. You all know I love cozies and love to spread the cozy love around.

I have updated the 2011 reads, it should be up-to-date with all the books you wonderful participants read for this years challenge. Sorry that always took me longer than expected. Things have been crazy and I was in full training mode for a half marathon and working out a ton. Changes are coming for me soon but I'm hoping that I'll still be able to host this challenge next year. Fingers crossed!

End of challenge giveaway!

2011-09-05T14:57:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to be able to offer a HUGE giveaway to one lucky winner. In order to be eligible for this giveaway the only thing you have to do is actually finish the challenge! It doesn't matter if you finished months ago or this month, as long as you finish you get an entry. Oh, and also it has to be shipped to a US address.

Once again the books are being provided by the publisher so I want to send out a huge thanks to them for offering this giveaway and most of the ones I've hosted for this challenge.

The books that will go to one lucky winner are:
Naughty in Nice by Rhys Bowen
Sleight of Paw by Sofie Kelly
Quickstep to Murder by Ella Barick
Thread Reckoning by Amanda Lee
Button Holed by Kylie Logan
The Diva Haunts the House by Krista Davis
Death in a Difficult Position by Diana Killian
Mind Over Murder by Allison Kinglsey

I don't have a fast and effective way to verify that you have finished the challenge (would have to compare to the other form submissions and I'm too busy for that), so I take it that if you fill out this form you are being honest and you have completed the challenge. Good luck everyone!

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September Books Read

2011-09-05T14:49:00.001-07:00

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Guest Post and Giveaway! Kari Lee Townsend

2011-08-01T10:54:00.000-07:00

I am happy to have Kari Lee Townsend submit a guest post for the Cozy Mystery challenge and offer her latest book as a giveaway. I have a copy of the book myself and I can't wait to get to it this month. Please sit back and enjoy this post and don't forget to enter the giveaway, info at the bottom.

Therapy for Uncooperative Characters

Ever have characters who won’t cooperate? Well, I have...and it’s nopicnic. One day while writing Tempest in the Tea Leaves, I’d finally hadenough. So I cornered my characters and dragged them kicking and screaming intoa room with four white walls, a card table in the middle, and two chairs onopposite sides.

“Wh-what are youdoing?” Sunshine Meadows the local fortune teller asked, a startled look on herpale pixie face.

“What am I doingyou ask?” I laughed harshly. “That’s a joke. I should be the one asking what you are doing. I have a deadline, youknow, yet you aren’t cooperating at all.”

“Ha! Told you thiswas all your fault, Tink,” Detective Mitch Stone responded with a smirk.

“Oh, no you don’t,bucko!” I snapped, thrusting my finger in his wide chest until he stiffenedthose broad shoulders of his. “You’re no better than she is.”

“Double ‘Ha!’,”Sunny spat. “And quit calling me Tink, Mr. Grumpy Pants.”

“Enough.” I swipedmy hand through the air. “I am going to lock you both in here until you learnto get along. Call it therapy.”

“That’s nottherapy. That’s insane.” Sunny stomped her foot and crossed her arms over her peace-signT-shirt. “I’m not the problem. He is.” She jerked her head in the detective’sdirection, her pale green eyes sizzling with indignation. “He thinks I’m aquack, and he sure as heck doesn’t treat me like an equal. I won’t stop until Imake him a true believer.”

“Equal?” Mitchfrowned, his dark eyes narrowing and the jagged scar along his whiskeredjawline pulsing as he towered over her until she looked up. To her credit, shedidn’t step back. “You know nothing about detective work, and half of yourso-called hunches are pure luck. One of these days I’ll prove you’re a fraud.You’ll see.”

“And now I hopeyou both see why you’ve left me with no choice,” I butted in, then I steppedout the door, closed it behind me, and turned the lock.

“Wait!” Sunnypounded on the door. “Give us another chance.”

“You had yourchance,” I responded as I moved to the two way mirror. I could see them both,but neither one could see me.

“I can have youarrested for this,” Mitch boomed with his hands on his hips.

“I can write youout of the book,” I added. “I win.”

They both grumbledand paced the room for several minutes, then finally sat in the chairs facingeach other.

Sunny took a deepbreath and spoke first. “Look, I know you don’t like the fact that MayorCromwell up for re-election and wants us to work together to solve crime inDivinity, or that Chief Spencer and Captain Walker’s hands are tied, but that’snot my fault. None of this is my fault.”

“Says you.” Heswiped a hand through his thick, black wavy hair and then slapped it down onthe table. “If you’d kept your nose out of places it didn’t belong, we wouldn’tbe in this mess right now.”

Sunny flinched,and then snapped her spine straight, thrusting her face into his. “I don’tstick my nose into people’s business ... they come to me. If they need my help,then it’s my duty to comply. You just don’t like that I’m better than you are.”

He chuckledhumorlessly. “In your dreams, Pixie Girl.”

“Easy there,Spanky. If you don’t learn to play nice in the sandbox, then dreaming is allyou’re going to get to do from now on. Do you really think Kari is going towriter you any more fascinating cases to solve? I think not, if you continue tobe a grump butt.”

He huffed out afrustrated breath. “Fine. Truce?”

“Truce,” sheresponded, looking supremely satisfied.

“How’s that go? Oh, yeah, easy there, MissBubbles. We still have a case to solve, and you’re still my number one suspect.Kind of takes the pixie dust out of your wings, doesn’t it?”

She ground herteeth, ignoring him, and knocked on the door.

“You two ready?” Iasked as I opened the door. “Because I need answers like yesterday.”

“Don’t worry.You’ll get them. The sooner this case is put to bed, the better,” Tink said.

“Sorry, Tink, butI don’t sleep with my assistants.” Mitch tweaked her nose as he pushed past usand left the building, hollering over his shoulder, “We’re burning daylight.Let’s move it.”

Sunny just rolledher eyes and stomped off after him.

I sighed. Itwasn’t exactly what I’d had in mind, but it was a start.

A little about the author:

Kari Lee Townsend lives in Central New York with hervery understanding husband, her three busy boys, and her oh-so-dramaticdaughter, who keep her grounded and make everything she does worthwhile…not tomention provide her with loads of material for her books. Kari is a longtimelover of reading and writing, with a masters in English education, who spendsher days trying to figure out whodunit. Funny how no one at home will confessany more than the characters in her mysteries!

Kari writes funand exciting stories for any age, set in small towns, with mystical elementsand quirky characters. You can find out more about her on her website www.karileetownsend.com and also onthe group mystery blog she cohosts, called Mysteries and Margaritas, at www.mysteriesandmargaritasblogspot.com

TEMPESTIN THE TEA LEAVES: A Fortune Teller Mystery

Inthe fortune telling business there are a lot of pretenders, but SunshineMeadows is the real deal—and her predictions can be lethally accurate…

Sunny is a big city psychic who moves to the quaint town of Divinity,NY to open her fortune-telling business in an ancient Victorian house,inheriting the strange cat residing within. Sunny gives her first reading tothe frazzled librarian and discovers the woman is going to die. When the womanflees in terror, Sunny calls the police, only she’s too late. The ruggedlyhandsome, hard-nosed detective is a ”non-believer.” He finds the librariandead, and Sunny becomes his number one suspect, forcing her to prove herinnocence before the real killer can put an end to the psychic’s future.

To enter the giveaway:
One entry per person. You do NOT have to read a book in order to enter this giveaway, you just have to be participating in this challenge. Contest will close on August 31st at midnight (central time).

August books read and contest entry

2011-07-31T23:18:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to be able to offer 3 books for a giveaway in August. As with the others, if you read a book from the same publisher/line you can get an extra entry.

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Challenge completed - form

2011-07-14T10:53:00.001-07:00

I do believe some of you have already finished this challenge..way to go! I know I'm incredibly late in getting this published, I apologize. Better late than never though right?

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July Books Read

2011-07-08T09:22:00.001-07:00

Sorry I'm so late getting this one up! No giveaway this month but please still let me know what you read so I can update the list!

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May giveaway winners

2011-06-10T14:54:00.000-07:00

I'm terribly sorry I'm getting this info out to you so late! It's been a very hectic for me the last three weeks both at home and at work. Without further ado....

The lucky winner of Flowerbed of State is Julie E.!

I was thrilled when I found out I was able to giveaway several copies of Following Polly by Karen Bergreen. The lucky winners are:
Stacie A.
Lori M.
Yvonne H. and Yvonne H. (What are the chances of this happening? Two different participants with the same first name and last initial.)
Carol O.
Rebecca
Julie E. (time to play the lotto Julie!)
Nancy G.
Kelly S.

Maggie Sefton - live chat on facebook today at 2pmEST

2011-06-08T10:36:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I know several of you read books by this author so I wanted to pass along this info.

Maggie Sefton will be hosting the Facebook Crime Scene’s page Wednesday June 8th at 2pmEST. She’ll be there for a full hour to chat with fans and answer any questions.

I don't believe I"ll be able to stop by but hopefully some of you can!

June Reads and Giveaway

2011-06-07T14:26:00.000-07:00

Please use this form to let us know what book(s) you have read for this challenge in June. The giveaway is only for June, so please enter by midnight June 3oth (central time) for a chance to win.

I have one giveaway this month and I'm excited about it. The giveaway is for 1 copy of Hexes and Hemlines by Juliet Blackwell. This is the 3rd in the Witchcraft Mystery Series. I have a copy of this one at home and I can't wait to get to it. If you like a bit of paranormal in your mysteries then I suggest you check out this series (if you haven't already). This is another Berkley release and since the publisher is offering this book for review, I'm once again allowing readers an extra entry if they read at least one book for this challenge (for this month) from the same publisher. So..get out your Berkley Prime Crime, Signet, and Obsidian series and get reading!

Only the first two pieces of the form are required, the rest are optional. However, if you do enter the giveaway please include a mailing address so I can give it to the publishers once a winner is selected.

Mourning Gloria by Susan Wittig Albert - Winner!

2011-05-03T09:15:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who submitted the form with the books read in April.

I just went through the list and used Random.Org to pick a winner!

The winner is....Books n'Whatnot! Congratulations!!!!!

Update on books read and giveaway

2011-05-02T10:33:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Thanks so much for getting this series off to a great start. You all read a lot of books last month. I'm working on getting the 2011 reads page updated with all the entries.

Just one word regarding the forms for the books read and giveaway. Since I'm trying to do at least one giveaway per month, I will close the form after the month ends. If you didn't get a chance to enter the books you read that month before I close the form, you are welcome to enter it on the current form however please don't mark that you want an entry for the giveaway. Please only mark that if you are listing a book read that month. So, for example, if you read a book in April but haven't filled out the form you, you won't be able to enter it on the April reads form. Instead, enter it on the May Reads form however don't enter the giveaway for May. I am closing the form because I don't want people filling it out and entering the giveaway when the giveaway is closed. Hopefully this won't confuse anybody but if it does please let me know.

May Reads and Giveaway

2011-05-02T10:26:00.000-07:00

Please use this form to let us know what book(s) you have read for this challenge in May. The giveaway is only for May, so please enter by midnight May 31st (central time) for a chance to win.

I'm happy to report that I have two giveaways this month! Anybody who reads at least one book is ellligable for both giveaways.

The first one is for Following Polly by Karen Bergreen. I haven't read anything by Karen Bergreen before but Following Polly sounds good and I thought cozy readers would enjoy it.

The second one is for Flowerbed of State by Dorothy St. James. This is another Berkley release and since the publisher is offering this book for review, I'm once again allowing readers an extra entry if they read at least one book for this challenge (for this month) from the same publisher. So..get out your Berkley Prime Crime, Signet, and Obsidian series and get reading!

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Food With a Side of Murder

2011-04-19T12:15:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Stepfordmomto2 for bringing this article to my attention.

CNN had an article titled "Dig In: Food with a Side of Murder" where they talk about culinary mysteries. How fun to see CNN giving the cozy genre a nod.

I thought the article was rather interesting and wanted to create a post and share with you since I know several of you like the culinary mysteries (as do I).

April reads and giveaway

2011-04-05T14:58:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I'm so excited this challenge has officially started and I hope you all are too.

I'm going to list the books read this year, similar to last year only hopefully quicker. If you finish a book for this challenge please come back to the challenge blog and let us know what you read.

As mentioned in the post I have giveaway's this year and I'm happy to start things off with one. This month I'll be offering a copy of Mourning Gloria by Susan Wittig Albert. Mourning Gloria is the latest in the China Bayles series. While I admit to being way behind on this series myself (but made it a goal to catch up on this year) it is one of my first cozy series I really got into and one of my favorites. If you haven't read any of them I highly recommend checking them out. Since the publisher is offering this book for review, I'm giving readers an extra entry if they books they read for this challenge (for this month) are from the same publisher. So..get out your Berkley Prime Crime and Obsidian series and get reading!
Update 4/19/11 - Signet Mysteries will count for an extra entry too!

Only the first two pieces of the form are required, the rest are optional. However, if you do enter the giveaway please include a mailing address so I can give it to the publisher once a winner is selected.

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Miss Marple comes to life..maybe

2011-03-31T09:05:00.000-07:00

While I haven't read an Agatha Christie book in years and don't remember being a big fan (although I think I should give her books a try again), I know several cozy readers love her books so I wanted to pass this tidbit along.

I read a post on the Omnimystery News blog that says Disney has bought the rights to the Miss Marple character.

The article had this to say:
Disney has acquired the film rights to Agatha Christie's character Miss Marple, and envisions creating a comtemporary setting for the amateur sleuth. Mark Frost (Hill Street Blues,Twin Peaks) will write the screenplay, which is expected to be an original story, not one adapted from one of the many Christie novels.

And an article the following day updated us with this info:
Now we're reading that Miss Marple will be played by Jennifer Garner, clearly a significant departure from reader (and viewer) expectations.

It will be interesting to see how this project progresses.

Cozy Mystery giveaway's on my other blog

2011-03-16T12:57:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon everyone! I wanted to do a really short post to let you know I have 2 giveaways on my other blog, Not Enough Books, for 3 cozy mysteries. If you are interested..please head on over!

Beaglemania by Linda O. Johnston

Fruit of All Evil by Paige Shelton and A Touch of Gold by Joyce and Jim Lavene

Cozy Mystery Challenge 2011 - Rules and Sign-up form

2011-03-01T01:04:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again, time to sign up for the annual Cozy Mystery Challenge and start thinking about the books you'll want to read for the next 6 months.

Last year we had a great turn out and I hope we do just as well, if not better, in 2011.

For those who might wonder what a cozy mystery is, here's a great website that explains it and is a great resource for series: Cozy-Mystery.com I also have the 2010 list of read books still available on this blog, so feel free to browse through the list to see what members read last year.

Here are the rules:

1. The challenge runs April 1st, 2011 through September 30, 2011.

2. The goal is to read at least 6 cozy mysteries, one for each month. You can choose to read more, but you must read 6 in order to complete this challenge. You don't have to read 1 each month, you can read them whenever you like, you just have to read at least six.

There are three participation levels for this challenge:

Only the required amount - 6

I think I can do better - 7-10

Feeling very ambitious - 11+

3. While you can overlap with other challenges, please try to have at least 2 of the books only count towards this challenge. However, if you are doing a challenge such as 100 Books in 2011 or similar, where you are working towards a page count or book count, it's ok to count these books towards that challenge.

4.Sign-up using the dedicated form. While it would be great if you signed up before April 1st, you can sign up anytime between now and September 1st.

5. You do NOT need a blog to participate. If you do have a blog, I would love to see a dedicated post linking back this post, but that's not required either.

6. You do NOT have to list the books you plan to read ahead of time, although you can if you want to (and the list can change throughout the challenge).

7. Prizes!! Everyone loves a prize! Everyone who completes this challenge will get a bookmark made by yours truly. My goal is to use the challenge button this year for the bookmark! That will probably help me mail them out a bit faster

This year I am also happy to announce that I'll be able to offer giveaways! I think most of us cozy fans are aware that Penguin has two divisions with some awesome cozy series, Obsidian and Berkley Prime Crime. I'm going to be able to offer a multi-book giveaway in September and possible one or two books before that. I don't know what books will be offered yet, just that I've been in contact with a wonderful person who works for them and they have been nice enough to allow me to do the giveaway(s).

Due to the publisher providing the books for the giveaway, I'm going to put a twist on the giveaway entry. Every person who completes the challenge will be able to fill out the giveaway form and earn 1 entry. However, on top of that, for each Berkley Prime Crime and Obsidian book you read, you earn an extra entry. I'll have more details towards the end of the challenge when the giveaway is announced. ( I want to disclose that the publisher did NOT request I do this, rather I came up with the extra entries as a way to help promote their books since they were kind enough to allow me to do the giveaways. )

Please let me know if you have any questions and most importantly....HAVE FUN!

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Pssst - There is another cozy challenge going on this year, Crusin' Through the Cozies, being hosted by Socrates' Book Review Blog. If you signed up for that one (heck..I did), you are more than welcome to sign up for this one as well. The only thing I ask is that you do pay attention to rule #3 and read at least 2 cozies specifically for this one..that you don't count for the other one.

Help needed!

2011-01-12T14:15:00.000-08:00

I'm planning on something really cool (or at least I think it will be) for the tag for this years Cozy Mystery Challenge but I need your help.

I need themes and words that are common for cozies, what do you think of when you think cozy mystery?

I've come up with these so far, but I need more!
cozy mystery
cozy
amateur
detective
cat
dog
food
cookies
cupcake
bakery
paranormal
witches
ghosts

I know there's lots more, but I'm drawing a blank. If you think of others, please leave a comment with them.

Thanks!

Cruisin' thru the Cozies Reading Challenge 2011

2010-12-14T14:54:00.000-08:00

Socrate's Book Reviews is hosting a Crusin' thru the Cozies Reading Challenge in 2011. The challenge runs January - December.

Even though she will be hosting a cozy challenge for the full year, I still plan to host the Cozy Mystery Challenge April - September like I have in previous years. In fact, I think I'll even sign up for Socrate's challenge myself!

If you cozy fans are interested in participating in 2 challenges next year (because of course I hope and pray you'll still participate in mine) please visit her blog for more info on the challenge.

psst...I'll even let you count cozies that you read for my challenge for her's too...isn't that nice of me?

Books list is complete!

2010-10-19T09:20:00.000-07:00

Thank you everyone for filling out the form and letting me know what books you read for this challenge and including a link to your review (when there was one).

I do have the list of books read for the Cozy Mystery Challenge 2010 updated and complete. Feel free to browse through it next time you are in need of a good cozy read.

Here's a LINK but you can also get it by clicking on the tab towards the top of the page.

We have winners!

2010-10-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

Thanks again to everyone who participated in this challenge! You all did so great and I'm so happy to see so many cozy mystery lovers out there.

I finally have the winners for the books. Congrats to everyone who won!

Beth C.won Souther Ghost.
Trudy M.won Bookmarked for Death
Carol A.won Death of a Party.
Vickie B. won The Christie Caper and Last Writes.

I'm hoping to mail the books this weekend, along with the bookmarks.

Sticky post for Forms

2010-10-01T12:38:00.000-07:00

If you completed the challenge and are ready to complete the form, please click HERE.

After you fill out the form above, please fill out this form to be entered into the giveaway.

If you want to enter your SEPTEMBER books read, please click HERE.

To view the complete list of books read , please click HERE.

**This is a STICKY post and will remain at the top**

Cozy Mystery Challenge is now over!

2010-10-01T09:56:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's that time already..time for the challenge to be over!

I bet you all did great!!!!

I'm going to leave the September reads form open through the 15th. This gives people a chance to link up all their reviews. If you want to link reviews for other months, please just link them all on the September form since I won't be checking the other forms to see which are new additions to the list. After the 15th I will then update the page that has all the books read and links to your reviews.

Please make sure you also complete the form for having completed the challenge and for the give-aways! The last chance to sign-up for the give-aways is 10/15 at midnight, central time. I'll use random.org to pick a winner and will post the info that weekend.

I'm going to start making the bookmarks and getting those sent out too. Everyone is going to get the same one this year. I finally came up with a design this week and I'm hoping to make most of them this weekend. I hope you like it..it's a surprise until you receive it!

I want to thank all of you for participating this year! I had so many more from last year. It's exciting to see this one grow each year. Of course, as of right now I plan to host this one again in 2011. Same place, Same time. Hope to see you all come back and feel free to bring a friend.

I know that for me personally, I had started to drift away from cozies even though I love them and this challenge made me read more and fall back in love with the genre.

Last month of the challenge!

2010-09-14T12:20:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we are already at the end of the challenge! This one always seems to go by so fast. You all have read an amazing amount of cozies this year. I should know, I just spent 3 or 4 days entered them all on the new page. I admit to be way behind in reading all your blogs, rest assured I will get to it so I can see your challenge wrap-up posts and read all those reviews that you linked too.

We have already had 7 people completed the form showing they have completed this challenge...way to go!

For those of you who have completed the challenge or as you complete the challenge this month don't forget to fill out that form. Don't forget that those who do will get a bookmark as a prize for completing this challenge.

I'm also giving away several used books I've come across that are cozies. Once you complete the challenge, don't forget to fill out that form as well to be entered into the giveaway.

Good luck everyone!

Complete list of Books read for this challenge

2010-09-14T12:14:00.000-07:00

I created a page for this blog where I listed each of the books read for this challenge and links to all reviewed.

I did have this on the side bar, but with blogger making pages so much easier now, I decided to switch it over because it would be easier for you (especially if you were wanting to print off a list) and me.

All books read April - August are listed. I'll update the September books read once the challenge is over.

I added a link at the top of this blog, and also on the right, however if you use google reader or a similar program, here's the link.

Enjoy!

September - Books read

2010-09-05T04:27:00.000-07:00

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August - Books Read

2010-08-31T01:08:00.000-07:00

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August Books Read

2010-08-30T10:44:00.000-07:00

July - Books Read

2010-07-31T17:51:00.000-07:00

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July Books Read

2010-07-31T01:53:00.000-07:00

Giveaways for the challenge participants

2010-07-27T10:55:00.000-07:00

As promise all participants who complete the challenge will receive a bookmark (which still hasn't been designed or made my yours truly).

However, I also have several books I'm offering as well! I hope you like them. I acquired all of these at a huge used book sale that was in my town in May. A couple of them I bought because I thought I needed them for series I'm reading, only to find out I already owned them. A couple I bought because I thought cozy readers would enjoy them and they were the right price for a giveaway. I can't promise that they didn't come from smoke free or pet free homes though, so please keep that in mind if have you any major allergies. I don't notice any smoke or pet smells, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. I also have a dog, but these books have been in my library since I got them and the door is always closed so my dog is rarely in there. Most are in like new condition, only 2 of them have enough wear to them that you would know automatically they were used.

If you are interested in any of the following books, please fill out the form (after you have completed the challenge). I'll use random.org to pick the winners once the challenge is over. You can pick more than one book and you are eligible to win more than one book.

(I ask for the first and last name so that if you win, I can find your address from when you submitted the completed challenge form. I don't want there to be any confusion if I only ask for first name and last initial)
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June - Books Completed

2010-06-30T21:53:00.000-07:00

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June - Books Read

2010-06-29T09:58:00.000-07:00

Completed Challenge - form

2010-06-28T12:34:00.000-07:00

For those who haven't participated before: please know that I don't share your mailing address and full name with anybody. I am asking for this info so I can mail out the bookmarks and prizes. It's much easier for me to gather the info this way instead of emailing each participant and hoping the emails don't go to spam or are lost, etc. This is secure as well. The form goes to my account and I'm the only one who has access to it.

If you prefer not to fill this out, you do have the option to contact me/email me your address or I'll just assume you were not interested in receiving a bookmark or being entered into a drawing for a price (post to come later regarding the prices).

I will create a list of those who have finished the challenge (first name only) along with a link to their wrap up post (if they have one) and the number of books completed for this challenge.

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How one writes a mystery (although a bit more gory than a cozy)

2010-06-16T10:57:00.001-07:00

I saw this on Kittling Books and just had to share.

List of books read on sidebar

2010-06-03T12:56:00.000-07:00

I wanted to let you know that I'm working on listing all the books read (at least those submitted) on the right sidebar of this blog. If a link to an online review is provided, I will link the review. You can see that there are a couple that are indented a bit, those are linked. Otherwise just move your mouse over the list and if the courser changes to a finger point, you can click and go to a review. Also, if you see a number behind the list, that indicates how many times it was read (obviously if there is no number that indicates it was read only once). If we had more than one person read the book and also review it online, I'll have to list the book and link each review individually.

I'm just getting started with this, so the list will grow slowly but surely. I also won't plan on putting any books for the current month until the current month is over.

Keep up the good work, you all are doing awesome with this challenge!

May Reads - Please let us know what books you completed for this challenge in May

2010-05-31T17:02:00.000-07:00

****Updated 6/10/2010****

I have removed the form so it doesn't accidentally get updated with the June reads. If you read a book in May and didn't get a chance to submit it before I took the form away, please leave a comment and I'll manually add it.

Also..all books read in May are now listed on the sidebar!

Books read in May

2010-05-29T05:12:00.000-07:00

April was an impressive month!

2010-05-03T05:08:00.000-07:00

You all had a great month in April! I believe 90 books were read for this challenge...I'm impresssed!

Thanks everyone you filled out the form. I know I link the form so all can see what books have been read and by whom, but I do plan to list them all on the sidebar. It's probably going to take me a bit to get it done, but I'll get it done. If you reviewed the book online and included a link I'll try and include that too so we can all read your review.

I hope May is just as impressive!!!

(Oh..and I sent the form to stop accepting entries for April, however if you do need to add a book, please either email me or leave a comment and I'll add it for you. Thanks!)

Did you finish a book (for this challenge) in April?

2010-04-30T22:40:00.000-07:00

If you do, please let us know what you read! The form isn't required but I always think it's fun to see what othe cozies everyone is reading for this challenge.

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Books completed in April

2010-04-29T23:10:00.000-07:00

Holy Guacamole! Somebody already finished the challenge!

2010-04-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

First off....I'm excited and surprised by the number of books you have all read for the challenge this month! Very impressive. I just knew Cozy Mystery readers were the best.

I'm especially surprised that Deborah from Books, Movies, and Chinese Food has already finished the challenge with, get this, 10 books! Holy Smokes and Congratulations Deborarh! I think you deserve a round of applause.

I suppose this means I need to create the post for the Challenge winners, er I mean, finishers, so I can start collecting mailing addresses for the bookmarks huh? Hopefully I'll have that up by the end of the week.

Congrats again Deborah!

It's time to sign-up for my annual Cozy Mystery Challenge!

2010-04-01T00:56:00.000-07:00

What is a cozy some of you might ask? Good question! To make it brief: a cozy mystery is a mystery that doesn't normally have any rough language, sex scenes, or gruesome details about the killing, and the main character is normally an amateur detective. Many times you will notice that a cozy mystery series also revolves around food or a hobby, although this isn't a requirement. The Cozy-Mystery website does a great job of listing what a cozy mystery is and also contains a list of authors who write cozies (you can also browse series by theme! Seriously! I just noticed that and they have a section for paranormal..I'll be checking that out soon.).

This year the challenge means a bit more to me than in past years. My friend Barbara (she went by Heidi on her blog) passed away last April. She had signed up for the challenge but never had a chance to participate in it. Barbara is the one who got my hooked on cozies. Since she has passed I haven't read as many cozies as I would like, partly because I don't have her to talk to about them all the time and partly because reading her descriptions and what she read always kept me abreast of the cozy mystery world and excited about starting new series. I'm hoping that by hosting the challenge this year I get back in the swing of reading more cozies.

Now, without further ado, the rules:

1. The challenge runs April 1st, 2010 through September 30, 2010.
2. The goal is to read at least 6 cozy mysteries, one for each month. You can choose to read more, but you must read 6 in order to complete this challenge. You don't have to read 1 each month, you can read them whenever you like, you just have to read at least six.
3. While you can overlap with other challenges, please try to have at least 2 of the books only count towards this challenge.
4. Prizes you ask? Everyone loves a prize! Everyone who completes this challenge will get a bookmark made by yours truly (even if I don't mail them in a timely manner - I will mail them.)
5. Sign-up using the dedicated form. The form can be found in another post or here's a direct link. While it would be great if you signed up before April 1st, last year I had several people who wanted to join but didn't learn about the challenge until after it had started. Therefore you can sign up anytime between now and September 1st.

Questions? Leave a comment and I'll answer them.

oh..and the picture you ask? That's a picture of part of my bookcase (I only have one right now). These are almost all my mysteries, it is all my cozy mysteries. I'm actually kinda out of room and that's why it looks so messy.

Sign Up Form!

2010-03-31T07:00:00.000-07:00

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Thanks and Good luck!

2010-03-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

First, don't forget that the challenge officially starts on Thursday! I can't wait! I have several cozies I want to read and have been waiting to read during the challenge months.

Good Luck everyone!

Also I just wanted to thank everyone for signing up for this challenge. I think I have a record breaking number this year, 53 of you signed up! Wow! I never thought I would have that many participants..I'm giddy with excitement. I'll have to come up with a super cool bookmark this year.

I still need to visit many of your blogs, I've been a bit busy lately and haven't had time. I hope to do that soon though.

Cozy Mystery Challenge Participants

2010-03-01T10:00:00.000-08:00

Future Site for the annual cozy mystery challenge

2009-08-25T14:07:00.000-07:00

I have created this blog for my annual cozy mystery challenge. The challenge runs April-September. It is currently going on and to keep things simple I will NOT be moving it to this blog right now. I will wait until next year to use this one.

Currently the challenge is being hosted here.

So stay tuned!!!!!!