Amy S. Foster is a celebrated songwriter, best known as Michael Bublé’s writing partner, and has collaborated with Beyoncé, Diana Krall, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban, and a host of other artists. She is also the author of the novel When Autumn Leaves. When she’s not in a studio in Nashville, she lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family.Foster applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, The Rift Frequency, and reported the following:
Okay, here’s the thing, I adore a cozy mystery. I am currently reading Lemon Pies and Little White Lies by Ellery Adams. It has everything I love in a cozy mystery. The protagonist is A) magic. The protagonists in these novels doesn’t always have to be magic but if she isn’t, she creates a homey space that feels magical. B) It takes place in a pie/tea shop. Most of these settings are businesses of this nature: yarn, book, fabric orVisit Amy Foster's website.vintage clothing stores, apothecaries, or they are self employed in some sort of supernatural job. Alternately, they do a lot of estate shopping for some reason? C) The victims are never anyone the protagonist knows very well. They are strangers or they were jerks who sort of deserved it. Either way, the reader isn’t too bummed about the dead body and it’s never a kid. D) Finding said dead body is not a particularly gruesome or traumatic ordeal. E) The protagonist is almost always single and without children. She is classy, sassy and (quietly) bad ass-y. As a busy mother of three, I never get to have any sleuthing adventures (unless you count all the times I can’t find my keys). I rarely get to spend much time in tea, knitting or vintage stores. For me, a cozy mystery is the ultimate escape. It’s not heady reading or overly intellectual. It’s not gory or bombastic. There are stakes, but, they aren’t very high, which is what I need when I want to just curl up by the fire and get away from it all.
The Page 69 Test: The Rift Frequency.
--Marshal Zeringue
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