With BLEEDING HEARTS due out in another month and the tour on the near horizon, I've been interviewed several times recently: newspapers, a magazine, a couple of radio shows. Somehow, the subject always gets around to cozies: what they are, why people read them, and why the China Bayles mysteries aren't quite as cozy as they may seem at first blush. I thought I'd write about this, since I'm thinking about it. (This is a double post: you can also find it on my Amazon blog--scroll down to the bottom of the Profile page.)
The "cozy" mystery, as you probably know, features an amateur sleuth whose "official" job has nothing to do with crime-solving, is set in an environment removed from urban dark alleys, and is mostly free of graphic violence, sex, and profanity.
The China Bayles mysteries generally fit the description of cozies. China is an herbalist, with a full-time interest in the green life. The books are set in a small town, generally (but not always) in Texas. The bloodshed, profanity, and sex is kept to a minimum. The relationships within the ensemble of main characters are generally positive, the books are lightened with humor and (inevitably) recipes.
But in each of the books, I've tried to remind us that "cozy" is a dangerous myth. Even the most pastoral environment has its dark side, and the hidden personal violence that takes place in our homes and communities can be even more vicious and destructive than any random violent mean-street mugging. Indigo Dying, for instance, is about the violence that humans do to the earth, and how eco-violence can lead to human violence and to the death of our communities.
When I set out to write Bleeding Hearts, I chose another tough topic: the sexual violence that takes place in our schools. I took my cue from a series of articles in the Houston Chronicle, detailing the very real problems we've had here in Texas. But Texas is no different than your state, and Pecan Springs is no different than your home town--what happens here goes on everywhere. I hope that Bleeding Hearts will raise your awareness of this issue, and call your attention to a kind of violence that you may not have noticed, unless it has happened to you or someone you love. And that, I'm afraid, is becoming all too likely.
If you'd like to read the first chapter of the book, you can go to our website, click on "China Bayles" and follow the links to the Bleeding Hearts page. It's a pdf download.
Reading Note, from Bleeding Hearts (the headnote to Chapter 3):
Dicentra cucullaria, Bleeding heart’s white-flowering cousin, was used by Menominee Indians as a powerful love charm and aphrodisiac. The blossom was thrown by a young man at the girl he fancied; if it hit her, she was bound to fall in love with him. The young man chewed the plant’s root and then breathed on the object of his affection. It was believed that the fragrance of his breath would charm her, even against her will.