Crafting Cozy Mysteries with Barbara Emodi

Barbara Emodi is a Nova Scotia resident who crafts delightful paranormal cozy mysteries. Drawing from her rich experiences as a political communicator, journalist, and sewing teacher, Barbara brings the charming town of Gasper’s Cove to life. Her stories feature the inquisitive Valerie Rankin, a sewing teacher turned sleuth, who unravels mysteries with wit and warmth. Discover the unique blend of humor, local culture, and intricate plotting in Barbara's tales that celebrate the extraordinary in everyday women.

Could you share a little about yourself and the cozy mysteries you write?

I live in Halifax Nova Scotia in Canada, right up there on the North Atlantic. I have worked as a political communicator, journalist, and prof. Currently I also do some work with CBC Radio. In my other life I teach sewing classes. I enjoy the people around me and have mentally been collecting funny stories for years. My cozy mysteries give me a place to unload them and to express my one observable truth – there is nothing ordinary about ordinary women.

How do you develop your characters, particularly your amateur sleuth?

I see them in my mind. My main character Valerie Rankin has a lot of me in her. She is also a sewing teacher, although she also runs a crafter co-op in the upstairs of her family store in Gasper’s Cove, which is something I have never done.

When I develop a character I start with an element of someone I know and work out from there. Valerie’s cousin and best friend, Darlene, is based on my own best friend. They have the same loyalty and crazy confidence. I never told her I was doing this, but one day got a text from this friend when she was away on vacation. It asked “I’m Darlene, aren’t I?” Of course, now she wants a love interest and has decided who it should be.

The third book of the series, Crafting with Slander, draws a lot on my experiences working with politicians in election campaigns. That was fun.

Cozy mysteries often feature unique settings or themes. Can you tell us about the setting/theme of your latest book and what drew you to it?

Nova Scotia is spectacularly beautiful and quirky and not a lot of people know about it. You could stand on the corner in any small coastal town in the province and chat with the folks and by lunchtime have enough material for a book. It is also a very trusting, well-meaning culture, strong sense of family, high value placed on humor and wit, so it seemed to be a good location for a cozy mystery. Plus, I live here and am part of that whole scene myself.

What do you find most challenging about writing cozy mysteries, and how do you overcome it?

The cozy part is easy if you have the location right. The characters are easy if you are a connoisseur of people. Coming up with the crime part is hard. The murderer can’t be obvious and the solving process can’t be obvious. So far no one had ever told me they had it all figured out before the end. I always hold my breath about that, because I have stretched my brain to capacity to make that happen.

Cozy mysteries often incorporate humor and wit. How do you balance the lighter elements with the seriousness of the mystery?

Wit can still be expressed even in a dire situation. I recently used the term “lies like a carpet” which is a local expression, to describe the villain. It helps too to establish a secondary character to deliver this material. Humor is critical to include in my view. People read cozies for a smile and entertainment after all, not to read anything dark. Subplots that are essentially humorous are a good device. They are like park benches on the trek through the story where the reader can rest and recover from all the drama.

Can you share any interesting research experiences or fun facts you discovered while researching for your books?

So much. My book two, Crafting Deception, is based on the true story that exactly when Churchill was intoning “We’ll fight … and never give up” he was loading the entire gold reserves of the British Treasure into secret ships to send them to Canada (landed in Nova Scotia, funny thing that, and one of the planes on deck was washed away and never found…) for safe keeping. He fully expected Hitler to invade Britain successfully. Check it out. It was called Operation Fish. You can’t make this stuff up and I didn’t have to.

Do pets play a role in your cozy mysteries, and do they reflect any real-life pets or experiences?

I have a rescue Golden Retriever and grey cat in my books. These are based on real family animals and are there for emotional support and because nothing I ever do is not animal centered.

Is there anything else you’d like to share that I haven’t covered in the interview?

No, I think these have been excellent questions actually.

Finally, what advice do you have for aspiring cozy mystery writers?

First, be authentic. Don’t let yourself get tied up too much in the tropes or formulae. If the characters feel real to the reader, if the setting is a place where the reader wants to live, and if there is no gore or sex (slow burn attractions are fine) you’re good. Don’t feel you have to write anyone else’s book. Write your own. You want to write a satisfying book not a disposable one, I think, to be worth the inner resources you will spend to write. And if you want to improve your craft read good books, not craft books (Stephen King says this and I agree with him), books that are better than anything you think you could ever write yourself. You will absorb writing skills almost through your skin this way. And pay attention to what kind of writing seems easiest to you and build around that. I like dialogue more than I like description. So, I start by writing what my characters would say to each other at various points of the story then cut it up and drop the pieces into chapters and build around that. Let your forte be the foundation of your structure.