About:Nancy J. Cohen

Website: https://nancyjcohen.com Profile Nancy J. Cohen writes the Bad Hair Day Mysteries featuring South Florida hairstylist Marla Vail. Titles in this series have been named Best Cozy Mystery by Suspense Magazine, won a Readers' Favorite gold medal, placed first in the Chanticleer Book Awards and third in the Arizona Literary Awards. Nancy’s instructional guide, Writing the Cozy Mystery, was nominated for an Agatha Award. A featured speaker at libraries, conferences, and community events, she is listed in Contemporary Authors, Poets & Writers, and Who's Who in U.S. Writers, Editors, & Poets. When not busy writing, she enjoys fine dining, cruising, visiting Disney World, and shopping.

Posts by Nancy J. Cohen :

Living with the Land

On our most recent visit to Disney’s Epcot theme park, we headed over to the Living with the Land ride in The Land pavilion. This is probably my favorite attraction in this park. I miss the old “Listen to the Land” song that still plays in my head as the boat winds through various displays. This tour teaches about the role of agriculture in our lives and alternative methods for growing fruits and vegetables and for farming seafood. I wish our plants would grow so perfectly like these.

It’s a very soothing ride, first inside through a series of dioramas, then outside to see the hydroponic plants and through the fish tank section. It’s always an inspiring ride and made me want to research tilapia which ends up being in my book, Body Wave.

Next we went to lunch with Sue and Mark Bernstein at the Coral Reef Restaurant in Epcot’s Living Seas pavilion. Loved their specialty bread, the hearty New England Clam Chowder, and the grilled mahi mahi with jasmine rice. The views of the aquarium were remarkable. For dessert, we headed outside to the Swirled Showcase where I got a salted caramel soft serve ice cream in a cup. No pix – I ate it before it melted. Clear skies and sunny, warm temps made for a perfect day.

GIVEAWAY

Enter Here to win two free books at Booklovers Bench in our monthly giveaway!

PODCAST

Go Here to listen to my author interview on Episode 126 of the Sisters in Crime Writers’ Podcast.

Hi Res Box Set Six

Sisters in Crime Writers Podcast

Bad Hair Day Box Set Six Preorder

I am pleased to announce that The Bad Hair Day Mysteries Box Set Volume Six: Books 16-18 is available for preorder.

Bad Hair Day Mysteries Box Set Volume Six: Books 16-18
Release Date: January 23, 2024
Published by Orange Grove Press
Digital ISBN: 978-1-952886-35-5
Cover Design by The Killion Group, Inc
Digital Layout by Formatting4u.com

BOX SET SIX

A deadly Easter egg hunt, a remodeling project gone awry, and a Fourth of July murder at a living history village make for a sparkling cozy mystery collection.

EASTER HAIR HUNT

An Easter egg hunt at historic Tremayne Manor leads hairstylist Marla Vail to discover more than just dyed eggs. The dead man in the bunny suit is definitely not having a good hare day. Marla’s husband, homicide detective Dalton Vail, knows she finds solving mysteries to be irresistible, but she may have found a basketful of trouble this time. Can Marla use her egg-cellent sleuthing skills to crack the case?

Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal Winner

“This story will fill your reading basket with entertainment, charming characters, plot twists, tasty recipes, and a cozy murder mystery to solve.” Thoughts in Progress

STYLED FOR MURDER

When salon owner, Marla Vail, gets a frantic call from her mother that there’s a dead body in her shower, Marla realizes this wasn’t part of the home remodel plans. The victim turns out to be the project manager, who had a shady reputation in town. Disgruntled customers, unpaid suppliers, and the design company’s staff are among the suspects, but Marla is more concerned about her stepfather’s connection to the victim. Reed is keeping secrets and he won’t come clean about what he knows. Can she flush out the clues and nail the killer before he strikes again?

Suspense Magazine “Best Cozy Mystery”
Readers’ Favorite Bronze Medal Winner

“A charmingly funny whodunit!” Woman’s World Magazine

STAR TANGLED MURDER

Hairstylist Marla Vail and her detective husband Dalton are having a blast visiting a Florida living history village over Fourth of July weekend. But when a battle reenactment turns up a real dead body, it sets off fireworks among the villagers. One of the cast members has gone off script to murder the town marshal. As Dalton takes charge of the investigation, Marla determines to help him solve the case. Soon it becomes clear that every one of the villagers is a suspect. Instead of spending the holiday chilling and grilling, somebody’s mind is on killing. Marla needs to find the culprit before she becomes the next victim.

FAPA President’s Book Awards Silver Medal Winner

“Star Tangled Murder shines with excellent plotting, lots of twists and turns, and a satisfying ending. Highly recommended.” Suspense Magazine

BUY LINKS

Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJ59FT7S/
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6466620054
BN Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1144075697?ean=2940185892756
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-bad-hair-day-mysteries-box-set-volume-six
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=vU7XEAAAQBAJ
Books2Read: https://books2read.com/u/boBNo0

Indie Author Day 2023

I was thrilled to be invited as keynote speaker and panelist at the Ponte Vedra Beach Library’s celebration of Indie Author Day.

While in St. Augustine the day before, my husband and I lunched at AlA Ale Works at the end of King St. facing the bay.

Across the wide grassy square outside was The Treasury on the Plaza, where our daughter got married five years ago. We found a cute mini donut place down the street from this location. Then we strolled down Saint George St. to window shop. The weather was windy and drizzly so we headed to our hotel to huddle in for the night.

The next morning, we drove north along Rt. A1A toward Ponte Vedra Beach. This was a half hour trip along a two-lane road with occasional glimpses of the rough surf to our right. I had been craving a view of the ocean and wished we could have lingered but we didn’t have time.

The library staff were very welcoming. The room was crowded as I gave my speech talking about my career struggles and how to conquer the doubt demons that plague all authors.

A panel followed where we answered questions about self-publishing. My fellow panelists, Melody Pendlebury and Ken Overman, write in entirely different genres, so it was interesting to hear their responses. Vic DeGenti, an eminent member of Florida Writers Association, moderated.

We sat at tables next to sell and sign our books, while the Friends of the Library supplied sandwiches for lunch.

The rest of the day included a book fair with other indie authors. As I did not partake in this, we ducked out to head home. I was glad to meet the friendly library staff and so many inquisitive writers. I hope they gained what they’d come to learn.

GIVEAWAY

Enter to win two free books at Booklovers Bench in our monthly giveaway: https://bookloversbench.com/contests/win-two-free-books-nov-2023/

A Spooky Halloween Read

Happy Halloween! If you’re looking for a spooky read, check out my Halloween novella titled Haunted Hair Nights. This book won Third Place in the IDA Contest in the Suspense Short category. The story falls between Peril by Ponytail and Facials Can Be Fatal in my Bad Hair Day mystery series.

Digital ISBN: 978-0-9970038-3-3
Print ISBN: 978-0-9970038-4-0
Cover Design by Boulevard Photografica
Interior Design by www.formatting4U.com

When history teacher Bill Ripari offers his property for a Halloween school haunted house project, hairstylist Marla Vail volunteers to help put the scare factor into the place. She joins her stepdaughter along with other students, parents, and teachers to transform the wooded estate into a creepy attraction. She’s busy creating decorations when a splash of red on the estate grounds catches her eye. Upon a closer look, she realizes the dark stain isn’t fake blood meant to be part of the scene. The trail leads to the history teacher’s dead body.

Worried about the kids, Marla puts on her sleuthing hat to investigate. She discovers that every one of the volunteers present that night had a possible motive. Between slacker students, helicopter parents, unexpected heirs, and a stonewalling school administration, Marla has her hands full in solving the murder and keeping her stepdaughter safe. Can she sift through the suspects and unmask the killer before Halloween fright night turns into reality?

“Halloween, mystery, dead body, oh my! This novella, although short, was filled with lots of twists and turns, interesting complex characters and a great storyline!” Charlene’s Reviews

“This standalone novella will keep you flipping pages wondering who done it until the end. For those of us who don’t want bad dreams for Halloween, this entry into the Bad Hair Day series is an excellent alternative.” Reader by Night

“This is a good cozy mystery that can be enjoyed by young adults on up. It was a pleasure to read this story.” Readers’ Favorite

“I love this series so much. It’s especially nice to read how Marla is progressing with her new family. A haunted mansion is the perfect setting for a Halloween read.” Socrates Book Reviews

Click Here to Get Your Copy Now

Happy Halloween!

Florida WritersCon 2023 – Day Three

This continues my recap of the Florida Writers Association Conference with a report on Day Three. We started the morning with a continental breakfast followed by two workshop sessions. The first one I attended was on creating emotional impact in your writing.

We were told to think about characters in a book that we’d follow anywhere. What was their appeal? Now think about your own protagonist. What obstacles do they face? What are their weaknesses? What would help them or hurt them? And what do they need to complete their journey? Do the same for your villain. Also, what universal truths do you want to resonate in your story? These become the themes in your novel. Tap into the strong emotions you’ve experienced in your life when writing your book.

The second workshop was a panel on AI (Artificial Intelligence), a popular topic at this conference. Many issues were raised, such as putting clauses in our book contracts against having our work used in AI training. Generative AI can be useful for tasks as a collaborative assistant. AI detection tools are in the works. For cover artists, AI can be helpful for research but not for creativity. AI generated art cannot be copyrighted because there’s no human element involved. And yet … AI generated art is winning against traditional art in competitions that are judged objectively. Is it not a creative act between the machine and the prompt engineer? You can have both, and that’s how the creative world might survive. For a writer, AI can be another tool in our arsenal for book marketing and generating story ideas.

The potential threat to humanity posed by the rise of AI was discussed. One fear is humans using AI for their own profit more so than AI itself taking over humanity. Manufactured myths are a danger, i.e. false news and social media manipulation. Artificial evolution means AI is changing fast.

How to get around AI in the classroom where it might be used by students to write papers would be to ask for opinion pieces.

Another issue … How will AI keep learning once it consumes all the data it’s fed? It may spit back generated (i.e. made-up) data or inaccurate information.

This is all food for thought. Personally, I’ve found ChatGPT to be helpful for certain tasks in book marketing and in generating specific storylines. You have to design a detailed prompt to get the desired response.

Disclaimer: These summaries are my interpretation of what I heard. Any errors are mine alone.

Join me at my next appearance on Nov. 4, 2023, 10:30 am EDT, Indie Author Day, Ponte Vedra Beach Library, 101 Library Blvd, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082. I’m proud to be a panelist and keynote speaker at this event. Free registration: https://sjcpls.org/event/indie-author-showcase/

Oct. 1 – 31, Kobo Paranormal Romance BOGO
Paranormal Sci/Fi Romance Sale at Kobo Oct. 1-31 – Buy One Get One Free! My book, Circle of Light, is included. If you don’t own a Kobo e-reader, you can download the free app. Start reading now: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/circle-of-light-9

Oct. 16 – Nov. 1, BookSweeps Paranormal, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Romance Giveaway
Enter to win 45 exciting Paranormal, Scifi & Fantasy Romances from a great collection of authors AND a brand new eReader! My book, Warrior Prince, is included. Enter Here: https://bit.ly/paranormal-romance-oct23

Florida WritersCon 2023 – Day Two

This continues my recap of the Florida Writers Association Conference with a report on Day Two. After a buffet breakfast on Saturday, bestselling author Lisa Black gave her keynote address. Then we dispersed to various workshops.

As a faculty member, I had a booksigning slot that morning. This meant I couldn’t attend the morning breakout session. I hung around until lunch, which was a buffet barbecue meal. Awards were presented to members of the youth group in attendance.

Since I’d had computer issues the day before, I sat in the workshop before mine that afternoon to get my program up and running. I’d updated Office 365 that morning at home and hooked into the hotel’s WiFi. Whatever I did had worked, because this time I was able to bring up my file. I spoke on Book Marketing on a Budget to a rapt audience.

That evening’s social mixer came next, followed by the Royal Palm Literary Awards banquet, which I’d won previously for Writing a Cozy Mystery. The dinner was very good and the service by the hotel was excellent. Congrats to all the award winners! This is a great contest for writers to enter because you get feedback on your work. First picture below shows me with my critique partners, Janice Hardy and Ann Meier.

And so ended a full day on a high note.

Florida WritersCon 2023 – Day One

I had a great time at the Florida Writers Association Conference this past weekend. Giving presentations, meeting new/old friends, attending workshops, and eating too much … it all made for a productive and meaningful event.

On Friday, I attended a talk on newsletters. I’ve already heard that drip campaigns can be effective, and I have been following what other authors do in this regard. This speaker gave some useful tips on content regarding these automated email sequences. Aside from a welcome letter, these included product launches, behind-the-scenes peeks, post-purchase follow up, bonus content, and sales discounts. Pop up newsletter signups are effective, too.

Segmented lists bring higher open rates and lower unsubs. And don’t forget to add at the end, Please Forward to a Friend. My takeaway? I need to work on a newsletter drip campaign and bolster my landing page. As for a popup sign-in form, I find these annoying and prefer where I have mine in the sidebar. What do you think?

I also gave a presentation on Self-Publishing Made Simple. This was a step-by-step guide on how to get started for original works or for reissued backlist titles. I posted some of this info in earlier blogs. The only snafu was that my computer wouldn’t open my PowerPoint file, and I had to borrow a laptop from the tech guy.

Disclaimer: These summaries are my interpretation of what I heard. Any errors are mine alone.

That night was a social mixer where I got to hang out with friends and meet new people. Networking is the best part of any writers conference.

Club Lake Plantation Fall Festival

Club Lake Plantation is a 43-acre site in Apopka, FL that serves as a wedding venue and fall festival site. The owners call it Agritourism, where farmers and ranchers host weddings and other events. The lakeside vista is graced by moss-draped oaks and tall pines. It looks more like a tree farm, with rows of potted trees shown during the hayride.

We went to their Fall Festival and our grandson had a blast. Admission costs $16.95, although the country store and pumpkin patch out front are free. The store had more pumpkins for sale along with jams and honeys. Concession stands sell hot dogs, chicken wings, and burgers so you won’t go hungry. This place has real restrooms, too, rather than portable ones.

Our grandson was amazed by the number of slides and bounce houses for kids. Various games abound around the site, too, like ring tosses or get the ball in the hoop type of contests. From this site, we strolled along the lake.

The lakeside setting was lovely with clever Halloween decorations scattered throughout.

There’s a corn maze for the adventurous. We chose to do the hayride. This journey took us past rows of potted trees. We laughed during the Cow Wash, which was like a car wash with a spray of water, as we ducked to not get too wet. Otherwise, it’s a tranquil ride and not very bumpy.

We each selected a pumpkin at the pumpkin patch after browsing in the store. This completed the day with perfect blue skies and balmy weather.

DEALS OF THE DAY

Booklover’s Bench
What’s the difference between bisque and chowder? Check out my post at Booklovers Bench and leave a comment there for a chance to win my Halloween novella, Haunted Hair Nights.

Giveaway
Oct 1-22 Booklover’s Bench
Enter Now to win two free books at Booklovers Bench in our monthly giveaway. Also check out our new puzzle feature while you’re there.

BOGO
Oct. 1 – 31, Kobo Paranormal Romance BOGO
Paranormal Sci/Fi Romance Sale at Kobo Oct. 1-31 – Buy One Get One Free! My book, CIRCLE OF LIGHT, is included. If you don’t own a Kobo e-reader, you can download the free app. Start Reading Now

Booksweeps
Oct. 16 – 25, BookSweeps
I’ve teamed up with 45 authors to give away a collection of Paranormal, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Romances from Booksweeps to two lucky winners! AND the Grand Prize winner gets a brand-new eReader. My book, WARRIOR PRINCE, is included. Enter Here