Why cupcakes? Why did I chose to have my Death by Cupcake series revolve around cupcakes? #cozymysterywriter #mysterywriter #amwriting

Fireworks, A Firecracker & Foul Play while being a standalone story is also book 5 in the Death by Cupcake series. The series is set in Callie’s Cakes a cupcake bakery where Anna the baker extraordinaire, Kristie the coffee-obsessed barista, and Callie the nerdy owner work. Why did I choose a cupcake bakery as the backdrop for this cozy mystery series?

Cozy mysteries can roughly be divided into three categories; animals, culinary and crafts & hobbies. My first cozy mystery series, The Gray-Haired Knitting Detectives, is of the craft & hobby variety. The name kind of gave it away, didn’t it? The problem with the knitting series was the old ladies were never knitting. To be honest they didn’t have much time to knit between investigating crimes and matchmaking their grandchildren.

Readers complained about the lack of knitting. The problem is I can’t knit. Oh sure, I’ve knitted the odd sweater or scarf, maybe even a pair of mittens once upon a time. But actual knitting? The type where you know what you’re doing and don’t have to start over about a hundred times and even then your finished product looks like a elementary school project? That I have no idea how to do.

So, when I decided to start a new cozy mystery series, I knew I had to pick a backdrop I’m actually familiar with. I started the Death by Cupcake series around two years after I stopped managing a Bed & Breakfast. One of the ways I tried to make my B&B stand out was the homemade baked products. I served homemade bread and muffins at breakfast and homemade cakes, cupcakes, and cookies at tea. An idea started to form …

I certainly don’t consider myself the best baker in the world. Not even close. But cupcakes I can do. Much better than cookies and cakes at least. I’d actually say my muffins are the best of my baked products, but muffins are simply not as fun as cupcakes. And so, the Death by Cupcake series was born.