Cozy Moment Friday: The Red Laptop

The day I bought the red Dell laptop, it was a cold, blustery day in November. By that time, I'd been working at the local newspaper as a news assistant for several months, and had finally saved up enough money to buy something that I'd always dreamed about getting - my very own laptop.

I'm not sure why I'd never had a computer of my own before. In college, I'd gotten away with just working on homework at computer labs. The prospect of buying such an expensive item (at least it was to me back then) didn't make sense to me at the time. But after college, when I was bitten by the writing bug, I started dreaming of buying a laptop of my own so that I could start writing seriously. I know it probably sounds silly now in this age of smartphones and cheap, affordable computers that we've suddenly found ourselves in. But back then, a laptop always just seemed slightly out of reach. 

Until that November day, nearly six years ago, when I finally bit the bullet and bought one. A shiny red one that to me, looked kind of Christmasy and festive and fun. 

I didn't know it at the time, but it was the best purchase I've ever made. 

The laptop has seen me through 13 books now, and several unpublished, half-finished drafts. It's been with me through thick and thin. It's seen numerous first chapters, rough drafts, bad writing, and the occasional good sentence :). And like a good friend, it's never judged me for any of it. It's just chugged along, like a trooper. 

Anyway, my cozy moment this week wasn't exactly something typically cozy, like reading a good book with a cup of tea. But it was a meaningful moment to me when, while finishing up the last few edits of Bulldogs & Bullets, I realized just what a journey this laptop has allowed me to take these past six years. And as I'm about to hit the "publish" button for the thirteenth time this upcoming week, I feel so grateful to it for giving me the tools to do what I love doing the most.   

What about you? What was your cozy moment this week? Comment below for a chance to win a digital copy of Bulldogs & Bullets: A Dog Town USA Cozy Mystery (Book 2). The winner will be chosen at random, and will receive the book Tuesday when it hits digital shelves. Good Luck! 

Cozy Moment Friday: Lilacs & Adobe

"Lilacs & Adobe"

I returned home to Santa Fe this week to find that the whole city has come to life. Everywhere you look, trees and plants are in full-bloom, showing off their beautiful fresh green leaves and vibrant flowers. 

There's a row of leafy shrubs outside one of my Casita windows. I had never given them much thought, honestly. Not until returning home this week, when, to my surprise, I found them to be full of beautiful and fragrant purple flowers. I had no idea I had a row of lilac trees outside of my house! How lucky! The flowers make the air smell sweet and magical. I've been in the middle of some work-intensive editing of Bulldogs & Bullets, but when I take a break and look outside the window by my desk, I get to see those beautiful blooms. And they make me so happy! 

That's my cozy moment of the week. How about you? Share your cozy moment below! 

#CozyMoment Friday: A Cozy Welcome

"A Cozy Welcome"

Lately, I've been splitting my time between my home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and my sister and brother-in-law's lovely house in Colorado. I'm lucky to be able to have a job that allows me to travel so frequently like that. But often times when I travel, I find it hard to buckle down and get to work. There's just something about being away from the Santa Fe home office that makes me want to do just about anything but work. I swear - my mind actually seeks out distractions to keep me from writing! 

However, I've been getting some great work in during this visit to Colorado. And much of that is because of this wonderful desk area my very thoughtful sister has set up for me here in the office of her house. It has a window with a view of several flowering trees outside in the backyard -- and a view of all the wind, rain, sun, and snow that has descended upon Denver this past week, too. The work space also has a vase of fresh orange tulips and a beautiful handmade wooden planter filled with bright green succulents. It's such a serene and peaceful area, and I've been able to enjoy all the beauty of spring while I write. And consequently, I've been zipping along on my next book, Bulldogs & Bullets!

It's really special when somebody's so thoughtful and makes you feel so welcome in their home. It's been a highlight of the past few days for me, and that's why I've entitled this week's cozy moment "A Cozy Welcome." 

What about you? What was your cozy moment this week? Comment below or on my Facebook page, and enter for a chance to win a free copy of Menace in Christmas River, the most recent book in the Christmas Cozy Mystery series! Winners will be drawn at random, and will be announced on Monday. Good Luck!

The New #CozyMoment Feature

Often times when somebody asks me what I do for a living and I tell them I write cozy mysteries, a look of confusion comes across their face. They usually pause for a moment, and follow the expression up with the same old question: 

"What's a cozy mystery?" 

The mystery part is clear, but the cozy part is what many folks who are unfamiliar with the genre don't get right away. And sometimes, I'm not even sure how to describe to them what "cozy" is. Because yes - in most ways, the cozy mystery genre is straightforward and easy to explain. Usually the mysteries take place in a small, charming town. The main character is fun and quirky and likable. There's a love interest. Everything is great and running smoothly until... suddenly, a shocking crime occurs and the main character is forced to put on her amateur detective hat and solve the mystery. 

That's cozy in a nutshell. But to me, that description in no way shape or form describes what cozy mysteries are really all about. 

"Cozy" is a lot more than a generic formula. The thing that it really boils down to, for me anyway, is feeling good. Cozy means feeling warm and happy and safe inside. Of course, there's lots of murder and mayhem in cozy mysteries, but a big reason why the genre is so popular is because at the end of all that ugliness, there's a feel-good, heartwarming, spirit-lifting, and life-affirming moment that leaves you with a feeling of peace and reminds you that all works out right in the end. 

That's what cozy means to me - feel-good moments. I think all of us could use more of those in our lives. And that's why I'm starting this new segment on my blog here. I'm calling this weekly posting #CozyMoment Friday. Every Friday, I'm going to share a little feel-good something from my week that's lifted my spirits somehow - whether it be a picture, an item, a recipe, or a story of some sort. It seems to me that much of the time, we get so busy in our lives - with work and family and responsibility. It's terrifyingly easy to let your life pass by without taking a moment to appreciate or reflect on the little things that make it worth living. So in a way, I look at this new feature on my blog as a way to stop, drop everything, and appreciate those feel-good moments that often don't get the recognition they deserve. Because a funny thing happens when you start looking for the good things in your life - you start finding more and more of them that you didn't know existed!

 I hope that you'll all join me in this Friday feature and share some of your own cozy moments from the week either on the comments section of the blog here, or on my Facebook page. Cozy moments can be absolutely anything that made you feel good during the week, and can be shared in the form of pictures, videos, or stories. They can be humorous, serious, or profound. There is no such thing as a wrong cozy moment! 

And for the first few weeks of this feature, I'll be giving away some free digital copies of my books at random to those who leave a comment, so be sure to check back in on Friday.  

With that, I'm going to spend this week continuing work on Bulldogs & Bullets (it will be out in a few weeks!) while hunting for my #CozyMoment of the week.

Let's compare notes Friday! :)

MM