Does 'Cozy' Make You a Lightweight?

Where I Am: family room

What I'm Listening To: My family watching 'Phineas and Ferb' in the background



I've been thinking about subgenres lately. Of course, my current project is a mystery. That much is easily identifiable. I'm thinking the dead body appearing in chapter one probably clinches it. You might think this enough but it turns out, it's really not. Agents do, in fact, want to know where your book would appear on the shelves of a bookstore. So, I've been trying to figure out just where my protagonist, Ellen, and her pals would sit.

First of all, I eliminated the obvious. It isn't true crime. It isn't thriller, either. Not enough gore for that. Is it YA? Well, I'm not 100% sure. I think not. There are some definitely adult things going on, even if they're off camera. The next thought was that it is, perhaps, a cozy mystery.

Hmmm...

Well, in the strict, traditional definition of the subgenre, it doesn't quite qualify but the argument can still be made. For one thing, we do see a murder occur, right there 'on camera', so to speak. Admittedly, this is not the case for all of the deaths. Nor does all the violence occur in the presence of the reader. Some does, other instances are discovered after the fact. The main characters are, in fact, amateur. I will also concede that sex, which doesn't play a super huge role in the story in the first place, happens behind the Mother of All Fade To Black moments. Still, there is no question in the reader's mind about what has taken place.

So, is it cozy or is it amateur sleuth? I guess that is going to be up to the interpretation of the agents I query. This leads me to my big question, though. Is a cozy mystery a bad thing? Is it less of a mystery, less of a book because it lacks the level of violence and bloodshed to allow it to be called a thriller?

For myself, I'd say, no. Certainly, thrillers are pretty popular and if that's the sort of story that sends your pulse racing, there are plenty of books available to you. However, thrillers aren't to my taste. I'm what my friends fondly (I hope it's fondly) call a 'big cheese weenie'. Gory stuff gives me nightmares.

Side note: As proof, I'll offer a quick anecdote. When my husband and I saw "The Mummy" in the theater years ago, the rampaging scarab beetles gave me a case of the Galloping Willies. The memory still makes me shiver. To offset that creepy crawly feeling, I came home and watched the Disney version of "Cinderella." That night, I dreamed I was chased by scarab beetles all singing 'Cinderelly' in squeaky mouse voices. Ugh.

So, give me a cozy mystery any day. I love a good Miss Marple tale. But the market in general? Well, I honestly don't know. As you might imagine, I'm researching to learn what I can and I'll certainly be watching for agents who express interest in amateur sleuthing and cozy mysteries.

But I have to ask myself, does it matter? Even if I discovered that my manuscript is woefully unmarketable, would I rewrite it with plenty of blood, guts, and psychotic violence to help it find a publishing home? In truth, I don't think I could. To do that, I think I'd destroy some very important parts of my characters. No, I think I'd put the manuscript away for the time being and begin a new story, instead. I've put my beloved Ellen Keely and her friends through quite a bit as it is and such a massive alteration in the story would be too much.

So, lightweight or not, I think I'm going to have to stay the course on this one. If this isn't what the publishers are after right now, so be it. Perhaps the market will change in the future and give Ellen her time in the sun. But, in my heart of hearts, I think there will always be a market for the light, fun, bumbling sort of amateur detective. Therefore, Ellen and I do not despair but wear our Featherweight badges with pride.