Christina Romeril is a southern Alberta “cozy” mystery writer who “believes in serving up deadly fun, because every homicide deserves a happy ending.”
Growing up, Romeril longed to become a detective like Nancy Drew and sleuth out criminals. She believes in the power of a good book, a cozy blanket and a generous piece of chocolate.
Romeril’s latest book in The Killer Chocolate Mysteries is Deck the Halls of Homicide, released last month.
The book is available on Amazon and locally at Analog Books, where the author will be hosting an evening of entertainment Wednesday from 6-8 p.m., which will include a book signing.
“We’ll be having a true crime-style murder mystery you can solve yourself. There’s a murder board, clues and red herrings – the whole bit,” Romeril notes. “There’s a selfie wall with props, so people can take lots of fun pictures. It’ll be a fun night.”
According to Romeril, who now lives in Stirling, the new book is the third instalment in the series, which she started writing during the pandemic. “I have wanted to write since I was a teen. When I was in my 40s, I took a Creative Writing course at Lethbridge College. I wrote for a little bit, then I put away my ramblings.”
“It wasn’t until about 2018 I pulled out my notebooks and decided I really needed to fulfill this dream of mine and started writing. It was still very sporadic. It was during the pandemic I actually realized I had no more excuses of not having enough time,” she adds. “I sat down and literally wrote the whole book from pretty much start-to-finish between April and August. Then I was sending it out on submission by September and got an agent right away.”
A “cozy” mystery, Romeril explains, means there’s no graphic violence in the books. “It’s very tame and there’s always a happy ending.”
“The series is set at Christmas, thus far. And it really is a great way to get into the holiday spirit, where you get to sit down with a cozy blanket, a cup of hot chocolate and just lose yourself in another world. Where you get to solve a few crimes, have some fun and enjoy the quirky characters in the book. And just enjoy a light holiday read,” says Romeril.
For more information about the author, and her books visit online at christinaromeril.com.
