Sandra Carey Cody

Sandra Carey Cody is the author of the Jennie Connors mystery series, published by Avalon Books. Put Out the Light, Consider the Lilly and By Whose Hand are currently available in book stores and libraries.  These stories explore the challenges facing a single mother as she learns to balance independence with family and career responsibilities.

Sandy’s latest novel, LOVE AND NOT DESTROY, examines the ways in which destiny is shaped by family secrets. It is set in a museum of antique tools and folk art in a small town near Philadelphia. The new protagonistg is Peace Morrow, a young woman who was found in a basket as an infant. Twenty-two years later, a homeless man is murdered in exactly the same spot. Peace can’t believe it’s a coincidence and thus begins a search for identify that explores the nature of family, of loyalty and responsibility.

www.sandracareycody.com

Sandy was recently interviewed for the Bucks County Women’s Journal. The text of the article appears below:

LEGAL SECRETARY TURNS TO CRIME (FICTION)

by Linda C. Wisniewski, Bucks County Women’s Journal

www.buckscountywomensjournal.com

Sandra Carey Cody is making a name for herself in the world of crime fiction. After a career as legal secretary to a tax attorney “where fiction of any sort was frowned upon,” Cody has found her niche writing the “cozy” style mystery, with no profanity or overt violence.

Although she loved to read as a child, “I never thought that books were produced by mere humans,” she says with a laugh. First dabbling in short stories, she read a book by John Gardner which suggested genre writing as a way to learn to write a novel. “I grew up on Nancy Drew,” Cody says, and soon abandoned her plan to write the Great American Novel.

Her Jennie Connors/Riverview Manor series is set in a Memphis retirement community. Cody wanted to challenge two stereotypes: that all single mothers hate their ex-spouses and that elderly people are dull and boring.

“I wanted to show older people as vital and interesting,” the author says. The “tea ladies” in her books are a group of savvy and sassy women who help Jennie, their activities director, solve mysteries in the three published books of the series. “Put Out the Light” was first in 2005, followed by “Consider the Lily” in 2008 and “By Whose Hand” this past spring. Cody plans to write two more in the series. She is also working on a mystery set at the Mercer Museum in Doylestown, called “Love and Not Destroy.”

Calling herself a late bloomer who started writing in her fifties, Cody says that first book took a long time to finish. “Be persistent and don’t give up,” she advises beginning writers. “And don’t obsess over the first chapter. Just finish the book. You will always find something to change. As you write, the story takes on different forms, so just keep going.”

Cody has appeared on panels at the Deadly Ink conference in New Jersey for mystery writers and fans. She is also a member of Sisters in Crime, whose mission is to increase the number of reviews given to female mystery authors.

The busy author is co-president of the Friends of the Doylestown Library, edits the group’s newsletter and is responsible for its speaking series by local authors. She grew up in St. Louis and came to Bucks County with her husband’s job transfer. She has lived in Doylestown Township for thirty-four years, has two grown sons and three grandchildren.

Sandy Cody’s books are marketed to libraries and independent bookstores, and can be ordered online through Amazon. More information is available on her website, www.sandracareycody.com. She also blogs at www.avalonauthors.blogspot.com and www.birthofanovel.wordpress.com.