Discover the Charming World of Dublin in Geraldine Moorkens Byrne's Cozy Mysteries

Step into the enchanting world of Dublin with author Geraldine Moorkens Byrne, as she takes readers on a journey through the streets of this historic city in her cozy mystery novels. From the quaint village-like suburbs to the bustling city center, Byrne's stories are filled with rich history, vibrant communities, and mysteries to be solved. In this interview, Byrne hares insights into her writing process and the inspiration behind her beloved series, including The Music Shop Mysteries and The Old Bat Chronicles.

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

I am an Irish writer and poet from Dublin, Ireland. I live there with my husband, mother and two boys. I write traditional mysteries and cozy mysteries - my cozies are set in Dublin, so far, but Dublin isn’t like other cities! It’s made up of a small but very historic city centre, and the suburbs are really old villages that have been overtaken by the growth of Dublin in the last century. So it’s very much a place of communities and stories and long history.

One of my series is The Music Shop Mysteries, set in Dublin city centre and based on my family’s real 150 year old music shop 1870-2021.

I also write The Old Bat Chronicles under the pen name Nina Hayes: they are set in Bramble Lane, a fictional version of the many charming old places to be found in any of the suburbs here, crescents of artisan cottages .

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

I am drawn to older female sleuths, although I also have younger characters in the stories. I’m in my fifties and when I look at my generation and my mother’s, I see such amazing, strong, capable women with so much to offer! Yet… so many books depict older women as silly, technologically challenged, behind the times. I want to write the women I know who are fun, strong, modern.

I also like characters to be realistic- even the best of us have flaws, make mistakes, and even bad people have redeeming qualities. I firmly believe in my readers. They know if a character is too sweet or too villainous. They respond to authenticity. For me, a good story should have characters who grow and learn – and even minor figures should be interesting.

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?

“On the Fiddle!” under my own name Geraldine Moorkens Byrne was a labour of love! I wanted to set a book in a community but not the generic small town setting. Instead I used the re al city centre of Dublin, but using a business community of small shop owners in one historic street. Because I worked in this very setting for 30 years I know firsthand how tightknit and genuine your relationship is with neighbouring shops. We relied on each other, and my parents set a huge example to me. They were the backbone of that community.

And of course over the years we saw every type of musician - classical, traditional, and pop/rock – from amateurs to world famous professionals. So they wander through the pages of On the Fiddle! and will of course continue to do so in subsequent books. I love to write about instruments and music, but most of all I love to share the funny, eccentric, wonderful characters that made 150 years of the music shop such fun.

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

There is always the danger of making a cozy formulaic or predictable. On the other hand, readers love certain things about cozies and you don’t want to disappoint them. So the challenge is to be fresh and realistic but also serve up a twisty mystery that’s fun and has real heart and where justice is served.

I try to be as authentic as possible and to keep in mind that reader should feel as if they’ve had an experience. They’re travelling to Ireland with a real Irish person as their guide. They’re meeting real people with real feelings – and there’s a puzzle to solve. They picked up a cozy mystery because they want to be entertained and feel better at the end of it. My job is to deliver that.

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

Well, we have a saying in Ireland: life is often desperate but rarely serious. We use humour to overcome even the worst things in life. A good cozy can make you smile without trivializing the crime. For me, it’s important that the reader is laughing at the right people – it should never be mean or cheap laughs. Poke fun at the villains, laugh affectionately at and with the hero.

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

In my traditional mystery series, The Caroline Jordan Mystery series under Geraldine Moorkens Byrne, I’m deep in research for book three. My heroine visits a prison here in Dublin and luckily I have a great friend who worked there…so we had coffee, spent hours discussing her visit, I learned so much about how a prison is run that I never would have guessed.

For another book, I researched nicotine poisoning and then realized my Google search history looked very suspicious…

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

Read a lot. And listen to readers – cozy mystery readers are the most generous, friendly group in my experience. They give great feedback, they embrace new authors, they are passionate about the genre.