by Matt Lubbers-Moore
We are changing this column to include an interview with authors about their current and upcoming works in progress. Our first author is Rob Osler, author of the Hayden and Friends Mysteries and the upcoming mystery novel, The Case of the Missing Maid, set to be released in early January but covered in this article last month.
Q. Where do you live?
A. I split my time between San Francisco and Palm Springs, California.
Q. Without getting too personal, can you share a little about your home life?
A. I live with my husband (we’ve been together for twenty-five years) and a tall gray cat with numerous nicknames (Mr. Chomps, Noodles, and Monkey, to name a few). I spend a sizable portion of each day writing and doing writing-related activities, primarily promotions. I also try to get some exercise along the way, such as tennis, running, or biking.
Q. Writers rarely like to toot their own horns. Seriously! What would you say is your greatest accomplishment?
A. Receiving an Edgar nomination in 2024 for my short story, ”Miss Direction,” featuring a zany, cross-dressing amateur sleuth named Perry Winkle, is something I’m super proud of. (It’s a free read at robosler.com.) And Perry returns in “Not the Usual Boy,” forthcoming March/April 2025, again in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.
Q. What inspires and challenges you most in writing? And can you describe your writing
process?
A. Perhaps it’s because I’m in the throes of this right now, but it’s plotting. Hands down. Writing traditional Play Fair mysteries requires the author to deftly dole out clues so it’s all there for the reader to solve the puzzle without being obvious. On the heels of plotting is pacing. I hope readers will feel the action is progressing at a good clip but that the story also allows some needed time down so it’s not non-stop and exhausting.
Q. You’ve probably answered this question a hundred times, but please indulge our readers (and fellow writers): Do you fly by the seat of your pants when writing or plot out your storylines?
A. I am a reformed pantser. My current contract for the Harriet Morrow Investigates series requires outlines, which has been a godsend. I used to write myself into corners with too many characters and impossible-to-solve crimes. Now, my outline serves as a roadmap; I know the main characters (it’s a series, so, of course, but also the particular secondary characters for each book), the crime, the anchoring plot points, and the villain. However, within that framework, I have a lot of room to innovate. I don’t feel slavish to the outline. If I were to change something major, I’d first check with my editor, but otherwise, I feel free to invent a secondary character or plot twist or whatever if I feel it adds to the book’s overall success.
Q. How do you sustain serialized, continuing characters?
A. I must really know the characters, which includes their character flaws––which they all have. Flaws are crucial because, over the arc of the series, it’s one’s flaws that can either improve or become more of an issue. When readers “know a character,” it’s about identifying with aspects of that person, which includes their shortcomings. Over time, book after book, I believe a reader wants to see characters grow and get better at being human beings. Perfect is not relatable—nor particularly likable.
Q. Have you ever had to deal with homophobia when it comes to your books, and if so, what form has it taken?
A. I have a clear intention to write queer main characters for a mainstream audience. We talk a lot about representation in crime fiction, which is vital. But so is relatability, which cuts two ways: each queer character’s humanity is what makes them relatable to a broader readership, but it’s their queerness that makes them relatable to a queer reader. When a straight publishing professional pushed for changes that undermined a character’s queer authentic self with an argument that boils down to “that won’t be relatable to ‘most readers,’” I called bull####—loudly. Yes, this happened. I cut ties with this individual some time ago.
Q. What got you into reading and writing gay mysteries?
A. Ha! Relatability! I’m gay.
Q. Who have your role models as an author been? And what books are currently on your reading list?
A. Armistead Maupin. His Tales of the City series did something magical. He had Michael Tolliver, a gay man in San Francisco, befriend Mary Anne Singleton, a fresh-faced straight newcomer to the big city from the Midwest. Plus, Mona and Mrs. Madrigal and the rest of the splendid cast on Barbary Lane created a found family of heart, humor, and intrigue! I love these books. As for current reads, here are just three 2024 titles that I highly recommend: Rough Trade by Katrina Carrasco, Blessed Water by Margot Douaihy, and Nothing But the Truth by Robyn Gigl. Each book features a queer main character by a queer author.
Q. Last two questions: can you share with us a little about your current release, and/or Work In Progress?
A. My current release is The Case of the Missing Maid, which is book one of
the new historical mystery series Harriet Morrow Investigates. I can’t do better than Publishers Weekly (who gave the book a Starred Review!). Here’s what they say: “The first woman hired by a Chicago detective agency faces one daunting challenge after another in this excellent historical series launch from Osler. When Harriet Morrow reports for her first day at the Prescott Detective Agency in 1898, she’s determined to make a success of it and leave her dull bookkeeping career behind. Yet from the minute Harriet walks through the door, she’s met with skepticism from her male colleagues. Only the boss, Theodore Prescott, believes in her, but even he gives her an apparently toothless assignment: report to the home of Pearl Bartlett, an elderly and often confused widow, to follow up on her complaint that her maid, Agnes Wozniak, has disappeared. While Pearl has a reputation for crying wolf, Harriet believes her this time and suspects that Agnes has been abducted. As Harriet digs deeper into the case, she also grapples with escalating hostility at the detective agency, wariness among Agnes’s peers in Chicago’s Polish community, and fears that her secret life as a lesbian might be exposed and used against her. As the intrepid, bike-riding lady detective plunges into Chicago’s seedy gay clubs and criminal hangouts, Osler doles out well-placed clues that set the table for a knockout conclusion. With lush historical detail, optimistic but plausible gender politics, and an unforgettable heroine, this series is primed for success.”
Q. And where can readers buy your books? All major retailers and local bookshops?
A. I encourage readers to buy locally and support the local booksellers in their communities!
Upcoming Queer Mysteries for January 2025!!
Sandbakkels and Sin by George Robstad
Out January 3, 2025
As a high-level consultant at an investment firm, Cash Kristiansen is used to the isolation of big-city corporate life—and the growing distance from family. So when his estranged aunt makes a series of desperate calls, urging him to return to Salt Cliff Isle, he reluctantly agrees to visit. But what was supposed to be a short family visit quickly spirals into a dark mystery when Cash arrives to find the island shaken by a brutal death.
Rebellious Grace by Jeri Westerson
Out January 7, 2025, Severn House
1536, London. The gruesome murder of a servant in the king’s palace, his throat savagely cut, has brought fear to the court of Henry VIII. When the man’s body is then dug up from the churchyard and disemboweled two weeks later, Will Somers, the king’s jester, is horrified. What terrible mischief is now afoot under the king’s roof?
Murder in the Dressing Room by Holly Stars
Out January 14, 2025, Berkley
By day, Joe is a hotel accountant, invisibly sitting behind their desk and playing by the rules. By night, donned in sequins, they take to the stage as Misty Divine, a star of the London drag scene. But when Misty’s drag mother, Lady Lady, is found dead in her dressing room beside a poisoned box of chocolates, Misty and her fellow performers become the prime suspects. Heartbroken by the loss, and frustrated by the clear biases of the police, Misty must solve the crime before the culprit strikes again.
Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto
Out January 14, 2025, Harper Voyager
Edie is done with crime. Eight years behind bars changes a person—costs them too much time with too many of the people who need them most. And it’s all Angel’s fault. She sold Edie out in what should have been the greatest moment of their lives. Instead, Edie was shipped off to the icy prison planet spinning far below the soaring skybridges and neon catacombs of Kepler space station—of home—to spend the best part of a decade alone. But then a chance for early parole appears out of nowhere and Edie steps into the pallid sunlight to find none other than Angel waiting—and she has an offer. One last job. One last deal. One last target. The trillionaire tech god they failed to bring down last time.
The Betrayal of Thomas True by A. J. West
Out January 14, 2025, Orenda Books
This American first printing takes place in the year 1715, and Thomas True has arrived on old London Bridge with a dangerous secret. One night, lost amongst the squalor of London’s hidden back streets, he finds himself drawn into the outrageous underworld of the molly houses.
Meanwhile, carpenter Gabriel Griffin struggles to hide his double life as Lotty, the molly’s stoic guard. When a young man is found murdered, he realizes there is a rat amongst them, betraying their secrets to a pair of murderous Justices. Can Gabriel unmask the traitor before they hang? Can he save hapless Thomas from peril, and their own forbidden love?
Murder, Mayhem, and Sex on the Beach by Alicia Gael
Out January 21, 2025, Bella Books
Probation Officer Riley Reynolds has never been good at staying in her lane. Her reckless determination both infuriates and captivates Detective Tate Walker, whose professional cool is constantly tested by her impulsive girlfriend’s knack for finding trouble. When a stolen vehicle incident collides with Tate’s arson investigation, their carefully balanced personal and professional worlds collide. As evidence points to a vengeful arsonist targeting Riley, the stakes climb higher with each new blaze. Now Riley must juggle her demanding caseload, her complex feelings for Tate, and a killer determined to make her his final victim.
A Lethal Walk in Lakeland by Nicholas George
Out January 21, 2025, Kensington Cozies
Chase has two compelling reasons for returning to England—a group walk along the famed Coast to Coast trail in the picturesque Lake District, and a chance to further his relationship with Mike, the handsome Devonshire coroner he met on his last trip. The walkers, including Chase’s dear friend and fellow Anglophile Billie Mondreau, assemble at a Cumbrian hotel and begin their adventure with the traditional “baptism of the boots” in St. Bee’s Bay. But they’ve barely begun traveling eastward with their genial guide than the group dynamic turns unexpectedly rocky. The problem is the Uptons—a wealthy family who have arrived from Texas, and whose squabbling antics continually overshadow the bucolic surroundings. When one of the Uptons is fatally poisoned, years of secrets and grudges emerge, along with a decades-old family mystery.
A Spark of Something by Shelby Rhodes
Out January 29, 2025
I’m Oliver ‘Ollie’ Cross, owner of the Cross Heritage Private Library, and I have a problem. Several actually. To explain the full weight of my conundrum, I feel I have to put out there that I am skeptical of all paranormal ‘things’, and always have been. Mostly, I just find the supernatural a bunch of nonsense. At least…I did…until ghosts started appearing…and my cat started talking to me… And if that weren’t enough, there is a book that constantly insults me while claiming that I’m a witch! What’s a few life altering events…some breakdowns, and…multiple people trying to kill me.
Other Releases:
Rogue Wind Rumble by Jessie Kwak, out January 14, 2025
A Simple Mistake by Alice Winters, out January 14, 2025
Ride or Die by T. S. Ankney, out January 17, 2025
Searching for the Prince by Rebecca Cohen, out January 23, 2025
The Little Shop of Curiosities by Vawn Cassidy, out January 23, 2025
Dearly and Lovesick Lorraine by L. A. Kaye, out January 24, 2025
Redeemed Wolf by Trisha Linde, out January 26, 2025
Shadow Game: The Silent Scream by F.O.N: Wulf Lovelace, out January 28, 2025
The Captain’s Claim by Katie Tripp, out January 28, 2025
Midnight Whispers by April Kelley, out January 30, 2025
Protecting the Witness by Kimberly Knight, out January 31, 2025
Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. Also listen to our new mystery podcast where mystery short stories and first chapters are read by actors! They are also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Spotify.
Click on this link to take you to Mysterious Galaxy’s website where you can purchase many of these books & a portion will go to help support KRL:
Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.
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