While the weather was so cold and snowy, I was taking advantage of the time to get more writing done. Outdoor activities (beyond the necessities) were out of the question. But this last few days has been so much milder and it makes me feel like spring is coming soon.

NEW BOOK RELEASE!!!

Airwaves & Alibis is now available on Amazon. Both paperback and e-book versions. Also available to read for free on Kindle Unlimited. 😊 So grab your copy today and find out what happens next in Blueberry Falls!

Click on the book to go directly to the sales page 😊

In the quiet northern town of Blueberry Falls, Sydney Jones finds herself once again thrust into a murder investigation after discovering the body of Annie Hardwick at Hunter’s Bay Radio, leading her to enroll in a private investigator course and accept a commission from the station’s board to find the truth. In the second book of the Sydney Jones Cozy Mystery Series, Airwaves and Alibis, Sydney navigates professional tension and a burgeoning romance, uncovers evidence of financial embezzlement involving a phantom account, and is aided by a stray dog.

If you liked the fast pace of Perilous Pins, you will love the newest whodunit in the series. Available today.

In Case You Are Curious:

I am starting to work on book 3 in my Sydney Jones Mystery Series.

People have asked me how I come up with my story ideas, so I decided I would map some of it out here. The details become more and more involved as I get further into the outlining, so this is just a basic list of my first first few steps of outlining my novel. The ones I am working on at present.

4 basic steps I start with when I begin to flesh out my story idea:

Location:

The first thing I do is decide on a location. The location needs to have some unique qualities and I need to be quite familiar with it,. For this book, the location is already decided now, and I know it very well.

Major Incident:

The next thing I think about is the details of where the body is found. Most times, I haven’t yet figured out how the body got where it is, or who was involved, but I think about a place within the location. For example, a body found in a bowling alley behind the bowling pins.

Motive:

After I have figured out the location and the major incident, I make a list of motives for the murder. Note: Since I am currently writing a cozy mystery series, there will almost always be a murder (even though it won’t be gory, since it is a cozy and clean read)

Finding a motive that will work in the specific scenario I have started to create in my plan can be difficult because there are so many things that must work with it. It cannot be too obvious. It must make sense. It must fit into the story I am trying to create with my cast of characters.

Character List:

After I have the basic premise of the murder, I then must make a list of characters. I choose who will be brought into the new story from the prior books. There will always be a few that appear in every book in the series, even if just small parts. And obviously, Sydney Jones will be the star in every story, since the series is called The Sydney Jones Mystery Series lol.

I will take into account the location and major event that will occur when thinking about who needs to be carried forward.

I will also take note of reader feedback about characters. For example, I have a reader that told me who her favorite character was from Perilous Pins. This character was not one that others had mentioned and they are not in book 2 – Airwaves & Alibis. BUT….the character will be back in book 3. The reader gave me a list of reasons why this was her favorite character and I had to agree. So, if that reader knows who I am talking about, I hope it makes them happy 😊

I also must develop a list of brand new characters to introduce to the story. This is time consuming but fun. They must have a reason for being in the story. Then I must come up with a name. Then, I start developing their character details. Although, I must admit, I often only have a name, age and basic reason they are in the story. The rest of the characteristics I often leave until I reach the specific scene are in. Then I have to go back and add to my outline.

Soooooo, that is just the very basics of how I begin each novel. The steps may change slightly depending on how the initial spark of a story came into fruition, but I tend to repeat what works, and this is what works for me.

If you have a favorite character from either Perilous Pins or Airwaves & Alibis, I would love to know who it is, and why they are your favorite. If you have any feedback I would love to hear about it. Please feel free to send me an email to books@gracebowenbooks.ca and let’s chat! You are what fuels me when the writing gets hard. So, fuel me up!!! 😃

🎯 Please Leave a Review

Book reviews are important. If you have read Perilous Pins and have not yet left a review, please, help me out, and leave one. It would mean the world to me.

On Amazon, I think that if you have purchased $50+ in the last year, you are able to leave a review. I will add the direct link to the review below.

If you don’t use Amazon, a personal email with a review is also helpful. I truly do want your input.

​Amazon Review Link for Perilous Pins​

Thanks so much 😊

5 Facts About Whodunits

A whodunit is a novel, movie, or play about a murder that does not tell you who the murderer is until the end.

1.The term “whodunit” was coined around 1930 during the peak of the genre’s popularity, known as the “Golden Age” of detective fiction (1920s–1940s).

2.Whodunits are designed as a game for the reader. Authors provide clues throughout the story, challenging readers to solve the crime alongside, or even before, the detective.

3.“Red herrings” are false clues deliberately placed to mislead the reader. However, they should be logical conclusions based on incomplete information, not arbitrary distractions.

4.Detective fiction dates back to the mid-1800s. Edgar Allan Poe wrote The Murders in the Rue Morgue in 1841, and in 1868, Wilkie Collins wrote the first detective novel, The Moonstone.

5.A whodunit is characterized by a closed set of suspects, each with plausible motives and opportunities. These stories are structured around gathering and analyzing clues, misleading the reader with red herrings, and ultimately revealing the murderer or thief in a surprising twist.

Your next whodunit, Airwaves & Alibis is coming soon! I mean really soon 😊

In the quiet northern town of Blueberry Falls, Sydney Jones finds herself once again thrust into a murder investigation after discovering the body of Annie Hardwick at Hunter’s Bay Radio, leading her to enroll in a private investigator course and accept a commission from the station’s board to find the truth. In the second book of the Sydney Jones Cozy Mystery Series, Airwaves and Alibis, Sydney navigates professional tension and a burgeoning romance, uncovers evidence of financial embezzlement involving a phantom account, and is aided by a stray dog.

If you liked the fast pace of Perilous Pins, you will love the newest whodunit in the series. Stay tuned for more info………..

5 Surprising Life Lessons from a Cozy Mystery and how Perilous Pins Illustrates These Lessons

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The Deceptive Comfort of a Cozy Crime

There’s a unique comfort in the world of a cozy mystery. We love their charming small towns, their casts of quirky characters, and the implicit promise of solving a satisfying puzzle without the lingering trauma of excessive gore. It’s a genre that offers a fantasy of order in a chaotic world, a puzzle box that always clicks shut by the last page.

The novel “Perilous Pins” is a perfect embodiment of this appeal. Set in the welcoming town of Blueberry Falls, the story invites us into the warm, communal glow of the Riverbowl bowling alley. But beneath this comforting surface, stories like these offer something more profound. They are sharp, often surprising, explorations of human nature, the masks of deception, and the quiet strength of resilience. They use the genre’s familiar framework to deliver resonant truths about the world we actually live in.

This post distills the five most impactful takeaways from the novel—lessons that resonate far beyond the last page.

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The Five Surprising Truths Hidden in “Perilous Pins”

​1) The quaintest places hide the darkest secrets

From Cabot Cove to Stars Hollow, pop culture has taught us that the most idyllic towns often conceal the most tangled secrets. “Perilous Pins” masterfully employs this trope, presenting Blueberry Falls as a haven of harmony. Its central hub, the Riverbowl bowling alley, is a place of genuine warmth, friendship and fun.

This idyllic setting, however, isn’t just a backdrop; it’s a narrative engine. Creating a powerful sense of community with the motto “You Belong Here” making the eventual revelation of darkness feel like a profound violation. The novel argues that no place is as simple as it seems. The thematic power of the cozy mystery lies in this very tension: the discovery of conflict not in a dark alley in a sprawling metropolis, but in the one place that promised us we were safe.

2) The “Flaw” They Warned You About Might Be Your Superpower

A trait she has spent her life trying to suppress defines the protagonist of Perilous Pins: she is “overly curious and overly inquisitive.” Her mother, whose warnings became a recurring refrain in her life, consistently framed as a character flaw, particularly this quality.

“Sydney, you just mind your own business, young lady!” she’d say. “How many times do I have to remind you that curiosity killed the cat?”

But in Blueberry Falls, this lifelong ‘flaw’ is not a liability; it is an investigative tool. Her inquisitive nature is precisely what enables her to notice the critical inconsistencies that others overlook, like the extra, still-warm coffee cup at the crime scene. Here, the novel argues that our perceived weaknesses are often context-dependent strengths waiting for the right crisis to reveal their power. In her new life, keen observation replaced her nosiness, turning it into her most valuable asset.

3) The quietest person in the room is often the most Dangerous

When the killer is first introduced, he is the definition of a background character. The killer is the classic unassuming archetype. This quiet facade is a masterful piece of narrative misdirection. The author skillfully directs our suspicion toward more conventional suspects. These characters are flamboyant red herrings, designed to appeal to our genre-trained expectations. By making the killer less noticeable, the novel subverts a classic trope and offers a chillingly realistic lesson. It plays on our real-world bias to associate danger with loud, aggressive displays, reminding us that the greatest threats often come from those who have perfected the art of being underestimated.

4) The tiniest clue can unravel the biggest lie

At the heart of any great mystery is the immense power of small, seemingly insignificant details. “Perilous Pins” shows this principle, demonstrating how clues that most would dismiss as trivial can bring down the entire edifice of a killer’s deception.

The investigation hinges on a series of overlooked details:

• The extra, still-warm Tim Hortons coffee cup found near the body, suggested another person was present.
• The people that saw the mysterious black pickup truck leaving the alley just before they discovered the body.

Then, there is the final clue. It serves as the irrefutable piece of physical evidence linking the killer to the violent scene. This serves as more than just a plot device. It is a potent metaphor. We are often forced to interpret the tidbits of evidence in our own relationships to understand the larger, unstated truth, just as detectives piece together the crime from disparate clues.

5) You can find your tribe at a bowling alley

At the start of the novel, protagonist Sydney is emotionally adrift. Recently divorced, she feels like a “recluse” and is struggling with her confidence and her new status as a divorced woman. Her isolation is so pronounced that her best friend, Natalie, laments that she “misses the old Syd.”

The catalyst for her transformation comes from an unlikely source: reluctantly joining the bowling league at the insistence of her neighbor, Harry. This single decision becomes the key that unlocks a new, supportive community. She forges a “found family” with key members of her team, particularly Harry, the caring but “cranky old man,” and Sandra, her warm and unfailingly encouraging teammate. The final, heartwarming takeaway is that genuine community is essential for healing and can emerge in the most unexpected of places. It is this rediscovered connection that gives Sydney the strength to start her life over in Blueberry Falls, and to also solve a murder.

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Conclusion: The Stories That Shape Us

Even stories designed for comfort, like “Perilous Pins,” serve as powerful mirrors. They reflect fundamental truths about our world, revealing how the idyllic surfaces of our communities are often maintained by complex secrets, and how the quietest people can be the most disruptive. The novel shows us that uncovering these truths often requires embracing our supposed flaws and paying attention to the tiniest clues. And ultimately, it reminds us that navigating these challenges is only possible when we find our tribe, even in a place as unexpected as a bowling alley.

It makes you wonder: what small, seemingly insignificant detail in your own life might be trying to tell you a bigger story?

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Cheers, Grace