Love Mysteries? Meet Anastasia, the Crafty Sleuth

Who doesn’t love mysteries that involve crafts? Author Lois Winston, my Sisters in Crime sister, combines crimes of passion, murder, with passions we love, crafts. Welcome to my blog, Lois.

Talk about the mysteries you’ve written. What was the first seed of an idea you had for these books? How did it develop?

The Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series came about when my agent asked if I could write a craft-themed amateur sleuth series. She knew an editor looking for one and also knew that in my day job, I worked as a designer in the consumer crafts industry. Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun, the first book in the series, was the result of that conversation.

Anastasia is a born and bred Jersey girl, just like her author. However, two years ago, my husband and I made the move from New Jersey to Middle Tennessee to be nearer one of our sons and his family. Ever since, many of my readers have asked when Anastasia would be moving to the South. Never, I told them. But the seed was planted. In A Crafty Collage of Crime, the recently released twelfth book in the series, I decided Anastasia and her husband Zack Barnes, photojournalist (and possible spy), would journey to Tennessee wine country on a working vacation.

How would you describe your writing process? Do you outline? Let the muse lead you? Or something else?

I’m a diehard pantser. I never outline, but I do jot down a paragraph or two of my basic idea to use as a springboard as I write. Most of the time I know the victim and whodunit from the onset but not always. In A Crafty Collage of Crime, I was three-quarters of the way through writing the book before I settled on a killer. I had several options and kept going back and forth until I finally made up my mind. So in this book, the killer was as much a surprise to me as I hope it will be to readers.

What is the research process for your mysteries like? Do you enjoy it?

I enjoy reading historical novels, but I’d never want to write one. I’d probably get lost in the weeds of research. Writing contemporary cozy mysteries requires much less research. Many of my plots and subplots are inspired by actual events I read about or see on the news. I’m a news junkie and keep a binder of news stories that I often refer to when I’m looking for an idea for my next book.

Because I set my books in real towns and cities, to avoid making mistakes, I only have my characters frequent places where I’ve lived or traveled.

Since I don’t have a background in the law, law enforcement, or medicine, I often consult experts to make sure my writing on these issues is correct. For instance, in A Crafty Collage of Crime, I needed to make sure my knowledge of the parole system was accurate, so I consulted the experts on CrimeSceneWriters.

What is the best piece of advice about writing that you have ever heard or read? What would you tell aspiring writers today?

The best piece of writing advice I was ever given (and which I’m happy to pass along) came from my agent’s husband, the owner of the agency. He said every scene in a book and every piece of dialog must do one of two things—either advance the plot or tell the reader something she needs to know AT THAT MOMENT about the point-of-view character. If the scene or dialog does neither, it’s filler and doesn’t belong in your book.

What is the biggest chance you’ve taken as a writer? How did that work out?

Several years ago, I walked away from two additional contracts from my publisher, one for more books in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series and one for what was to become my Empty Nest Mystery Series. The publisher was demanding onerous changes to several clauses in the agency-negotiated contracts. These changes sent up red flags for both my agent and me. With my agent’s blessing, I decided to jump into the scary world of indie publishing. I’ve never looked back.

For your nonfiction book, what most inspired you to write this book?

After I sold my first book, the head of the agency that repped me invited me to join the agency as an associate. I had frequently been asked for my input on some submissions they received, and he saw that I would be an asset to the agency. I began by tackling the slush pile, working my way up to having several clients of my own. From my twelve years of experience at the agency, I realized that most manuscripts were rejected for one or more of a handful of reasons. I decided to write Top Ten Reasons Your Novel is Rejected to help writers identify these reasons in their own novels and increase their chances of receiving representation and selling their books.

A Crafty Collage of Crime

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 12

Wherever crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack goes, murder and mayhem follow. Her honeymoon is no exception. She and new husband, photojournalist (and possible spy) Zachary Barnes, are enjoying a walk in the Tennessee woods when they stumble upon a body on the side of a creek. The dead man is the husband of one of the three sisters who own the winery and guest cottages where Anastasia and Zack are vacationing.

When the local sheriff sets his sights on the widow as the prime suspect, her sisters close ranks around her. The three siblings are true-crime junkies, and thanks to a podcaster who has produced an unauthorized series about her, Anastasia’s reputation for solving murders has preceded her to the bucolic hamlet. The sisters plead for her help in finding the real killer. As Anastasia learns more about the women and their business, a host of suspects emerge, including several relatives, a relentless land developer, and even the sisters themselves.

Meanwhile, Anastasia becomes obsessed with discovering the podcaster’s identity. Along with knowing about Anastasia’s life as a reluctant amateur sleuth, the podcaster has divulged details of Anastasia’s personal life. Someone has betrayed Anastasia’s trust, and she’s out to discover the identity of the culprit.

Craft project included.

Buy Links

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3NX6O13

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/a-crafty-collage-of-crime

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-crafty-collage-of-crime-lois-winston/1143442079?ean=2940161008225

Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/a-crafty-collage-of-crime/id6448801378

About the Author

USA Today and Amazon bestselling author Lois Winston began her award-winning writing career with Talk Gertie to Me, a humorous fish-out-of-water novel about a small-town girl going off to the big city and the mother who had other ideas. That was followed by the romantic suspense Love, Lies and a Double Shot of Deception.

Then Lois’s writing segued unexpectedly into the world of humorous amateur sleuth mysteries, thanks to a conversation her agent had with an editor looking for craft-themed mysteries. In her day job Lois was an award-winning craft and needlework designer, and although she’d never written a mystery—or had even thought about writing a mystery—her agent decided she was the perfect person to pen a series for this editor. Thus, was born the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, which Kirkus Reviews dubbed “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” The series now includes twelve novels and three novellas. Lois also writes the Empty Nest Mysteries, currently at two novels, and one book so far in her Mom Squad Capers series.