Many of the things that happen to my amateur sleuth Saffi Graywood in Murder at Last Chance Cove were inspired by things that have happened in my life. If you have read the first book in my Pacific Northwest Cozy Mystery series, you may recognize the setting and which part of the plot it relates…
Month: August 2025
Fire-Safe RV-ing
If you’ve read or are currently reading Murder at Last Chance Cove, the first mystery in my Pacific Northwest Cozy Mystery series, this photo may trigger a memory of one of the book’s more dramatic scenes. Smoke roiling upward. Flames shooting from the roof. Windows popping. A firefighter with an ax gaining entry to an…
The Power of Reader Reviews
Things I love about writing: It’s been such a rush to see friends, family, and many others opening up Murder at Last Chance Cove, the first book in my Pacific Northwest Cozy Mystery series, and giving it a read. I’ve heard such wonderful comments, including from a friend who swears my amateur sleuth Saffi Graywood…
Books and Steps
I was out and about today in Ashland, Oregon, connecting with our local booksellers and library, handing out the fancy postcard I designed and had printed for Murder at Last Chance Cove. Libraries and bookstores have been the great loves of my life, and they still are. Here in Ashland we have three bookstores! One…
Anticipation
If the word “anticipation” reminds me of a Carly Simon song, will I be dating myself? Or will the reference go right over your head? What I’m anticipating right now has nothing to do with the good old days of Simon’s music. It has everything to do with what happens once you turn a completed…
Story of My Life
Yesterday, my day-in-the-life story began as a tragedy with no brekkie and—far worse for a working writer—NO CAFFEINE! It’s no mystery that medical tests require sacrifices beyond those we’re willing to require of our characters. So far, I have never asked Saffi to go a day without coffee. I don’t think my readers would ever…
Synchronicity
I don’t know about you, but I find synchronous events to be both mysterious and marvelous. If you’re following Aunt Saffi’s travels you know about a recent RV journey to Santa Fe, New Mexico. The purpose? The author of all things Saffi Graywood (that would be me, Kim Griswell) was helping her daughter move there…
Home Base
RVers know that the road is only part of the journey. When you pull into a campsite there are tanks to dump. Hookups to be made—and I don’t mean the personal connection kind that come with sparks of attraction. I mean the water hose to the water spigot, the plug to the electrical outlet, the…
HOORAY! It’s pub day!
The journey from idea to publication is long. It can be exhilarating, but it’s also a slog. Kind of reminds me of the trip to Santa Fe and back my hubbie—designated RV driver—and I just took. There were SO MANY ups and downs. The twists and turns tended to be terrifying and take place on…
3 Days and counting
Has anyone else noticed just how big the U.S. is? No wonder we supersize everything! Aunt Saffi has had a day of ups and downs (many mountains, canyons and cliffs, and the Great Salt Lake Desert), twists and turns worthy of the best cozy mystery. It’s overwhelming! So is the fact that Murder at Last…
Cozies & Kim Griswell 