Murder, She Wrote: Snowy with a Chance of Murder by Jessica Fletcher & Barbara Early
About Snowy with a Chance of Murder
Murder, She Wrote: Snowy with a Chance of Murder
Cozy Mystery
60th in Series
Setting - Maine
Publisher : Berkley (March 18, 2025)
Language : English
Hardcover : 304 pages
ISBN-10 : 0593820045
ISBN-13 : 978-0593820049
Digital ASIN : B0D7G8TTLR
In a nod to Rear Window, this newest entry in the USA Today bestselling Murder, She Wrote series finds Jessica Fletcher coping with an injury that leaves her homebound—and a murder just outside her window! Jessica Fletcher has taken a nasty spill on the ice, leaving her in a wheelchair for several weeks. She tries to work on her latest manuscript but finds herself distracted by a new neighbor moving in across the street. There’s good reason for her to be distracted, because soon after unpacking his sparse belongings, Mr. Rymer is out in the front yard, building somewhat risqué (read: naked) snow sculptures. While Cabot Cove debates whether the sculptures are a protected form of art or a public display of lewdness, someone starts destroying them at night. Rymer doesn’t seem upset. He just makes new ones. No need to get the police involved over a little snow, he says. Especially when there’s plenty more of it and a blizzard in the forecast. The morning after the storm, Jessica looks out the window to see a new sculpture across the street—and the body of Mr. Rymer half-buried in the snow. Can Jessica catch a cold-blooded killer from her chair by the window?
About the Authors
Barbara Early earned an engineering degree, but after four years of doing nothing but math, developed a sudden allergy to the subject and decided to choose another occupation.
Before she settled on murdering fictional people, she was a secretary, a schoolteacher, a pastor’s wife, and an amateur puppeteer. She lives in Western New York State (Go Bills!), where she enjoys cooking, crafts, classic movies and campy seventies television, board games, and spending time with her granddaughters.
Before teaming up with Jessica Fletcher, she previously wrote the Vintage Toyshop Mystery series and the Bridal Bouquet Shop Mysteries (as Beverly Allen).
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
- When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I suppose I buck the trend. Many writers I’ve met tell the story that they’ve known they wanted to be a writer since the first time they set crayon to paper, or somewhere about that time. I find it interesting that, like Jessica Fletcher, I started writing later in life. While she began writing more seriously after her husband died, to pass the time, I started as an empty nester, when my daughter moved off to college, and even then it was more of a lark. But the more I attempted, the more serious I became and worked to improve my writing.
- How long does it take you to write a book?
Ideally, about three months to complete a draft, with a little extra time before for plotting and a little after for self-editing. Sometimes by necessity I’ve written more quickly, but a thousand words a day seems about right for me. That doesn’t mean I could write four books a year, though. More time is spent later, editing. Those pesky publishers just keep sending it back for another polish.
- What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
I feel like I’m at my best in the late morning (I wake up slow!), so generally I start the day with coffee and breakfast, check emails and social media, play WORDL and such, then maybe watch an hour of television. When I’m writing Murder, She Wrote, I’ve discovered it helps to watch an episode of Murder, She Wrote. The voices seem to come more naturally when I do.
- What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I’m not sure if this is a quirk or a challenge, but I have a chronic health condition that causes sporadic brain fog, and occasionally I’ll forget a word. (It was scary at first, but it’s temporary and not dementia.) But I’ll be writing along, and all of a sudden, I’ll know there’s a specific noun to describe that person, place or thing my mind is picturing, or a verb to best describe that action, and my brain reaches for it…but comes up short. If I stop writing to figure out that one word, I’ll lose the storytelling steam I’ve built up, so I put the next best word in its place, or explain what I’m looking for, something like, “Jessica walks (quickly but not running) into the studio.” Usually, when I’m reading back what I wrote, either the next day or during my self-edit, the right word pops immediately into my head. It’s only embarrassing if I miss one and the editor asks if that was what I was trying to say.
- How do books get published?
W Somerset Maugham is quoted as saying, “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” Right now publishing is very similar: there are so many paths to publication—traditional, self-publishing, hybrids—that it’s difficult to answer that question. Just as every story is different, everybody’s path is different. Just do your homework and be careful. There are a lot of scammers out there looking to separate aspiring writers from their money.
- Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
As a writer, it’s hard not to get ideas. They’re all around us. Things that happen in our daily lives or to people we know, a stray overheard comment from a stranger, items that flash on the news: they can all carry that seed of inspiration that when watered with a fertile imagination, can germinate into a good original story.
- When did you write your first book and how old were you?
My first published work was a novella in 2011 when I was in my forties. I had written a novel just prior to that, which remains unpublished, but did interest an agent who offered representation.
- What do you like to do when you're not writing?
It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that like most writers, I enjoy reading. I also love television way more than most care to admit, especially British mysteries, but also comedy and science fiction. And I have two young grandchildren that I adore.
- What does your family think of your writing?
I think they’re proud of me. I know my husband has asked for bookmarks and other promotional materials that he can share with his coworkers. He’s very supportive in picking up the slack when I’m rushing to meet a deadline. My six-year-old granddaughter has become very interested lately. She's not ready for murder mysteries, so I’ve been scrambling to explain to her what my story is about, and I’ve been describing Jessica Fletcher as a woman who helps the police catch the people who do bad things.
- What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
I still marvel at the process. I start with a few kernels of ideas, generate fictional characters, then engineer a skeletal plot. I then flesh out that skeleton in smaller bits over the period of months. It shouldn’t work. At best, a novel should be an inglorious combination of distinct parts that only vaguely fit together—a Frankenstein’s monster—that if it animates at all should only take a couple of clumsy steps before falling on its face in a convoluted lump. But somehow, readers can see and hear the characters moving organically through the world I cobbled together. They perceive it as real, just for a time. It’s a miraculous thing, heady and humbling at the same time.
- How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
I have now written nine novels (three in the Bridal Bouquet Shop series as Beverly Allen, three in the Vintage Toyshop series, Snowy with a Chance of Murder and then another Murder, She Wrote in the pipeline, and the first unpublished in a drawer somewhere), and two novellas. Picking a favorite is like choosing a favorite child. Although I will say that being entrusted to write new stories for such a well-loved character as Jessica Fletcher was quite a treat.
- Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?
My advice comes with a warning of unintentional side effects. Read critically. Tear everything you read apart. Note what you think works and what didn’t and what could have been better, and then apply those lessons to your own writing. (But then keep it to yourself. Hypercritical writers write horrible reviews. It comes out all prima dona. Early on, I naively started out posting my critiques online on a blog I thought nobody read—and was horrified that some of the authors I tore apart were finding it!) And here’s another downside: hypercritical reading is difficult to turn off. I find less pleasure in reading when my inner critic is active, and no more so than in my own writing, which can never quite measure up to what I had hoped to achieve. On second thought, you might want to ignore this advice completely.
- Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
Well, yes and no. Occasionally readers may post on my website or email me. Generally, that’s been positive, wanting to tell me how a character or plot point touched them. Sometimes it’s a request to see a particular character again. I do have a lot of readers who sought me out on Facebook, and basically they’ve become friends. Since this series, I’ve discovered some exceptions. I’ve encountered a few people who seem to enjoy telling me, and pointedly so, how much they’ve enjoyed other writers in the series. Frankly, that’s fine. I read and enjoyed their books, too. And, with the exception of Jon Land, have met each one. But at times, I feel like a new stepmother with a lot to prove, lol.But that’s the exception and not the rule. Most readers have been gracious and enthusiastic in welcoming me to the Murder, She Wrote team.
- Do you like to create books for adults?
Yes, I do. I’ve given some thought of writing books for younger readers, maybe something my grandchildren might enjoy, but I’m not entirely sure that’s in my wheelhouse. Then again, there’s only one way to find that out, so I’m not ruling it out.
- What do you think makes a good story?
I think a good story is one that transports the reader to a different place, engages their mind and emotions, maybe even challenges their point of view, at times.
- As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
I grew up during a time where the career options available to women were limited. My family told me I could be a nurse or a teacher. I thought maybe a librarian, and I put cards in the backs of all my own books. I was the first in my family to go to college, and in the early 80s if you were a female good at math and science, guidance counsellors dragged you—sometimes kicking and screaming—toward engineering. I was still in college when I realized it was not a good fit for me. I needed something a little more creative.
- What would you like my readers to know?
Books can be good friends in troubling times. They’ve helped me through some very difficult periods in my life, and I don’t think that it’s escapism or running away. One of my goals in writing has always been to have my books be there for someone who needs a respite, a chance to get away from a harsh reality, just for a while, like books have been there for me.
Author Links
Websitehttps://www.barbaraearly.com/
Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/AuthorBarbaraEarly
Purchase Links - Amazon - B&N - Kobo - Bookshop.org - Penguin Random House
Great interview, thank you.
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