How a Thriller Writer Wrote a Cozy Mystery in Four Weeks

Have you ever had an idea you loved so much you couldn't shake it, but you had no idea what genre it belonged in?

That's where author Dina Santorelli (who writes the Salem Spirits series as Dina Marie) found herself. She'd been writing thrillers for about 14 years. Then a fall 2023 trip to Salem, Massachusetts, a vacation she describes as "purely personal and for fun," started something. A couple of months later, sitting at a publishing conference, she came up with a character: Clara Kelly, who runs away from a bad situation in New York and holes up in a historic Salem mansion. The mansion is already occupied by the ghost of a Civil War Union soldier.

We welcomed Dina to the very first Confetti Club, our new Writers With Wrinkles segment celebrating authors and their brand-new books. Here are a few of the most useful things she shared.

Treat a new genre like an experiment

Dina's first plan was a paranormal romance. It didn't work. "For whatever reason, it just wasn't working," she told us. She realized she wanted to follow Clara and the ghost, William, over many books, and romance usually wants a happily-ever-after in every one. So she tried a cozy mystery instead.

She finished book one in four weeks. She also kept notes on what the project was for, and they're a good model for any writer testing something new:

"Number one, see if I like it. Number two, see if I'm good at it, and three, see if readers like it too."

What surprised her most was how much she loved it. A light, fun series with no violence, sex, or profanity on the page turned out to be, in her words, something she had "a knack for."

Starting at zero? Don't rush

Her thriller readers weren't interested in cozies, so Dina started over. "I started with zero readers," she said. She had a lot to figure out, including book length, titles, covers, Kindle Unlimited, and whether to rapid release. She gave herself a good nine or ten months before publishing, wrote in January, and launched in October. Along the way she began building a readership through newsletter swaps.

Let readers shape the series

One thing that stood out was how quickly she responded to her audience. After book four, reviews started to repeat the same request: more William. Dina took it seriously. He's now in every trip outside Salem, and she says he's the most popular character in the series "far and away."

Why a cozy about murder feels good

Dina's ghost world has rules. Newly dead ghosts can't sit, open doors, or walk through walls, and the longer they stay, the more physical skills they develop. Those rules also shape the tone. In her world, souls move on, and that, she says, is what makes the books comforting:

"I know it sounds strange to say that a series of murder mysteries are feel-good stories, but I really do intend them to be."

Her ideal reader is anyone looking for something light, maybe on a rainy day, or while cleaning the house or painting a room. Her daughter's review might be our favorite: "Mom, I feel like I'm talking to you."

And yes, we got sidetracked by ghost stories

You'll have to listen to hear Dina's white orbs at a haunted hotel and our own spooky stories.

Listen to the full episode

The new book is Grateful Ghost, Book 8 in the Salem Spirits series, which came out in August. If you're stuck between genres, or you just need a feel-good ghost story, hit play on the full episode of Writers With Wrinkles. You can find Dina's books and purchase links in the show notes at writerswithwrinkles.net.