Several years ago, when my critique group, the Cozy Critters, was meeting at my house, those gentle pointers helped me a great deal in writing the Darcy and Flora and Ned mysteries. They were a fun group and I’ll never fail to be amazed at how we all found each other and the great rapport we shared. The group is one of my favorite memories and we formed friendships that are lasting.
These ladies were excellent for keeping me on track. One discussion involved murder weapons. In a Ned story, Ned ran up against not one or two, but three murders! The question was what had those vile perpetrators of mayhem and mischief used to do their foul deeds?
There we were, four gals of a certain age, not given to violence, but we bent to the task. Someone suggested a rock, another thought a piece of farm equipment would be satisfactory, somebody else thought, perhaps, a spoonful of poison stirred into a cup of coffee. A visitor would have been shocked at the way our minds worked when we really bent to the task.
The group was instrumental in many decisions about the mysteries. Their suggestions were pointed but kind. I’ll always be grateful for those Cozy Critters and our fun critiques.
It never hurts to get feedback to point out stuff that’s hard to figure out or to find errors one never notices.
In fact, a critique is a plus. Those ladies helped me many, many times. They had good insight into how a cozy should read.