Encircle is having a book sale through the end of the year, just in time for long winter nights and holiday time off from work and school.

Looking for unique gifts for your family and friends? Or even a new read for yourself? Peruse our shelves at encirclepub.com and enjoy 20% Off your print book order when you enter “20Encircle2024” at checkout!

In the short, chilly days of December, the cattails have puffed, and are surrounded by snow. My husband and I still stubbornly insist on walking outdoors. Sometimes we have to penguin-walk over patches of ice.

We're definitely spending more time indoors, with no garden to tend during these winter months. I'm getting lots more reading done. If you need reading material or holiday gifts, check out the books at encirclepub.com/ and use the sale code: 20Encircle2024

​The Body in the Cattails and The Body in the Cornfield are both available during the 20% off sale.

I have attempted to grow corn in my home garden, with mixed results. Corn thrives best planted in quantity due to the manner in which the plants pollinate. That's why you typically see vast fields of corn, like the acres on the cover of my cozy mystery novel, The Body in the Cornfield. In the home garden, most of us don't have enough space to plant a large enough block to be successful.

In wind pollination, tassels at the top of the plant are male, and release pollen. The female silk on top of the ear of corn captures the pollen. If the silk doesn't receive enough pollen, you get ears of corn missing kernels.

You've probably peeled back the husk on corn from a farmer's market or grocery store, and noticed some undeveloped places on the cob. A few missing kernels, usually at the top of the ear. Now imagine the disappointment of a mostly undeveloped ear of corn with a few kernels here and there.

Home gardeners can hand pollinate their corn crop by removing the tassel and shaking the pollen directly onto the corn silk. I'm not sure I'm ready for that level of commitment, but I might try planting a patch of corn next year. Sweet or ornamental, not the feed corn shown in this photo.

​But for now, I'll have to content myself with dreaming over seed catalogs. There is snow on the ground, and planting corn is many, many months away.

On a city walking trail that runs parallel to a creek, you can see masses of cattails. They thrive here because the creek supplies the quantity of water they require, and they get maximum sunlight. They look quite different, depending on the season. 
The cattails on the cover of my cozy mystery novel, The Body in the Cattails, are at their peak. They have yet to "flower," which is when the cattails appear puffy as a startled cat's tail.

On a recent trip to South Dakota, I watched tractors and combines harvesting fields. Mostly corn, the later season "dent" variety is used for animal feed, tortilla chips, high fructose corn syrup, or corn oil.

We learned that the big piles covered with plastic sheets weighted down with tires were corn silage. The green corn is harvested, chopped up, and fermented for animal feed.

When I was a child, I remember fields being very tidy after harvest. Acres of bare dirt stretched across huge fields. The crop residue like corn stalks were removed. The current philosophy is that leaving crop residue is better for the soil. It provides a protective ground cover during winter, and returns nutrients to the soil.

Our trip was late in the harvest. We saw many fields of stubble. A few crops remained, like this photo of a cornfield in Willow Lake. 

Why am I talking about corn? Part of the action in my cozy mystery novel The Body in the Cornfield takes place in - you guessed it - a cornfield. It's late spring, and the corn is only knee high in Rose Creek, Oklahoma. It's still tall enough to hide a feral momma cat and her kittens from predators.
#cornfield
#cozymurdermystery
#SouthDakota

In our temperate climate, cattails and cornfields go through cycles of life. On the cover of my two Rose Creek novels, you see both in their full glory. The Body in the Cattails is set in late spring. The Body in the Cornfield takes place just as summer begins, and the corn is only knee high.

Now it's autumn, and cornfields are being harvested. The cattails are going to seed, their "tails" fluffing like a cat who's been startled. While some folks eagerly embrace the change, I'm a little sad at the ending of the growing season. It's just part of the cycle, I remind myself.

My characters continue with their lives, regardless of the season. Book three in the series is waiting in the wings. The Body in the Hayloft is set around Labor Day weekend, the end of summer. And book four, still in the drafting stages, takes place in October. 

I hope you're enjoying colorful fall leaves, pumpkins, and cooler temperatures. The shorter daylight hours of autumn and winter are perfect for relaxing with a cup of tea and reading a good book.

Corn is cultivated for human and animal food, as a biofuel additive (ethanol), and for its oil. In autumn, paths may be mowed in fields, creating corn mazes. Fields of corn may also be used to hide bodies.

When a feral mama cat seeks help to rescue her kittens, Makenzie discovers The Body in the Cornfield.
​
https://www.amazon.com/Body-Cornfield-Rose.../dp/B0CL2QH85X
#cornfield
#thebodyinthecornfield
#cornmaze

Cattails are in the plant genus Typha. They grow in marshy areas. The cattails in my photo are permanent residents of a creek bank. They grow fuzzy brown spikes inspiring the name cattail. A vital wildlife habitat, stands of cattails may also hide bodies.

The newly formed Rose Creek Reads book club stumbles on a real life mystery when they discover The Body in the Cattails.
​
https://www.amazon.com/Body-Cattails-Rose.../dp/B0C24KTZXB
#thebodyinthecattails
#cattails
#cozymurdermystery

Rose Creek Reads bookstore owner Emily believes cats and mysteries go together. She just might be right.  

In book one, The Body in the Cattails, Emily's butterscotch tiger cat Mitch makes a horrifying discovery that pushes the newly formed book club into solving a real life mystery.

The cat connection in The Body in the Cornfield, book two in the series, is a new mother and her litter of kittens. The feral gold and white cat reveals another mystery to solve, and steals the hearts of the book club members.

Book three is still in the publication process. The Body in the Hayloft will feature Winston, a pampered Persian cat that's a pawn in a human plot.

I love cats, but I currently don't have a kitty companion. I get my cat fix by visiting my grandcats, two beautiful tuxedo sisters. There may be a cat in my future, but until then, I spend time with my fictional mystery kitties.

​The Rose Creek Mystery series is available on Amazon, at Barnes & Noble, and directly from publisher Encircle Publications.

Writing a novel is in process. From idea to publication may take many years. The fun thing about writing fiction series is that the plot changes with each book, but the author doesn't need to reinvent the setting and characters. Once a series is established, with a defined world and familiar characters, the writing process may speed up.

The idea for the Rose Creek series began five years ago, in 2019. It took time to develop the world, and settle on the story tone. Then finding a publishing home for the series took more time. The Body in the Cattails was born in May 2023. The Body in the Cornfield followed quickly in November.

Work on Rose Creek Mystery number three began in earnest back in August 2023. Brainstorming the plot started with the birth of the series, but I actually began outlining and writing The Body in the Hayloft six months ago.

At the beginning of a novel, I typically tell myself to pick a plot requiring little research. Then a spark hits me, an idea, and I'm combing the internet for information on interesting technology, potential murder weapons, and in this book, the average age of a hunter-jumper horse in Olympic competition.

Now that I've written The End, The Body in the Hayloft will be reviewed by my critique partners. Whether in a critique group or by using beta readers, authors almost always rely on these early readers to catch everything from continuity mistakes to typos. I return the favor by reading their manuscripts. We provide mutual aid to one another in an effort to make our books the best they can be before approaching agents, editors, and publishers.

Not just the book must be completed. I fill out an extensive document with blurbs, synopses of different lengths, author bio, and other information needed by the publisher.

By March I hope to send my novel to my editor at Encircle Publications. If she recommends it for publication, she will make her own edits and comments. She will catch what my critique partners miss. A publication date will be set.

From there, the book will receive cover art. And we're off to the races! Readers will see the novel pre-release and release notices, unaware of the years that may have preceded the birth of the book. And that the author has most likely already begun work on their next novel!

Mark Baker at Carstairs Considers reviews book two in the Rose Creek Mystery series. ​https://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2023/11/book-review-body-in-cornfield-by.html

"So many cozies focus on one lead character.  I enjoy the fact that this one features a team working together to solve the mystery.  It adds a balancing act, and author Catherine Dilts pulls it off well.  I was also impressed that she was able to spread out motives to investigate to the group."