Monday 9 May 2016

Murder Most Foul! A to Z Reflections Post - Cozy Mystery #AtoZChallenge 2016



Thank you to everyone who dropped by during the A to Z Challenge. My theme this year was Murder Most Foul, which meant that I was sharing an episode a day of my murder mystery, The Case of the Cursed House, or rather the bare bones of it. 

Everyday, I revealed more about my developing Cozy Mystery: descriptions of scenes; character details; locations; clues to the mystery. And, at the end of each post, I gave everyone a chance  to vote on whodunnit. So, I thought I'd share some of the results of the votes, revealing no details on who the murderer actually is...


I excluded any character who got 1 vote or less, and, as you can see, Alice Rigden, the superstitious housekeeper, was a strong contender early on and maintained her lead, with Lord Michael, the charming, but snooty Lord of the Manor, and Bethany Mortby, possibly the spurned ex, began to catch up later in the plot. This kind of info is going to be really useful to me for when I turn the notes into the full novel, because it's giving me hints as to whether I'm giving away too many clues or not enough, so thanks to everyone who popped by and voted.

All parts of the mystery are linked below if you want to go back and read it (I'm not revealing here whodunnit, so it'll still be a surprise ;P):


A to Z Reflections
This year I found the A to Z tougher than previous years, and there was but one reason - I didn't finish my posts before the start of the A to Z, which meant I was trotting to keep up. I had finished my posts for FB3X Drabblerotic, which was a minor mercy, but I dropped the ball on our other blog, the Wittegen Press posts, so I have to give a BIG THANK YOU to my sis, Tasha, who picked up that ball and did all but 2 of the Literary Smackdown posts.

Because I was running to keep up, this year was lot more stressful than others and I didn't get round as many blogs as I would have liked, but the ones I did are below. It was still a lot of fun, I made some new friends and rejoined some old! I never quite know which blogs are going to catch my attention, which ones I'll be going back to day after day, but there are always some, and there are also the lovely ones that I just popped by, but that didn't make me enjoy them any less.

The A to Z is a source of myriad wonders :).

A to Z Shout Out!

I had great fun bouncing around blogs this year. I kept a list of those I visited so I'd like to share with you some of the blogs I have enjoyed:

Curling Stones for Lego PeopleMarsGlass Beading Journeyhttp://www.curlingstonesforlegopeople.com/
The Cynical SailorEllen & ScottSailing Nancy Drew Mysteryhttp://thecynicalsailor.blogspot.co.uk/
Yolanda ReneeYolanda ReneeMurder and Obsessionhttp://yolandarenee.blogspot.co.uk/
Jingle Jangle JungleMary BurrisWomen in Musichttp://www.jinglejanglejungle.net/
Patricia Lynne AuthorPatricia LynnePhobiashttp://www.patricialynne.com/
The Old ShelterSarah ZamaJazz Agehttp://theoldshelter.com/
Multicolored DiaryZalka Csenge VirágDiversity in Folkhttp://multicoloreddiary.blogspot.co.uk/
Stephanie FarisStephanie FarisUnsolved Mysterieshttp://stephie5741.blogspot.co.uk/
Djinnia and the English LanguageDjinniaGhost and monstershttp://djinniaandtheenglishlanguage.blogspot.co.uk/
Megan Morgan AuthorMegan MorganAwful Romancehttps://meganmorganauthor.com/2016/03/21/the-a-to-z-challenge-theme-reveal/
Murderous ImaginingsYolanda ReneeSerial Killershttp://murderousimaginings.blogspot.co.uk/
Mop DogZalka Csenge VirágCrazy Hungarian Cartoonshttp://hungarykum.blogspot.co.uk/
The Quiet WriterRachelJWalkleyCastleshttp://thequietwriter.com/
Making Life An ArtGail ParkExplaining British Thingshttps://seezooeyrun.wordpress.com/
Deena's DaysDeenaThe 80'shttp://deenasdays.com/
A Bench with A ViewBettySights & Sites of Arizonahttp://viewsfrombenches.blogspot.co.uk/
Darla M SandsDarla M SandsMusichttp://darlamsands.blogspot.co.uk/
Poetry Penned in MoondustLeslie MoonPoetryhttp://moondustwriter.com/2016/04/05/mans-best-friend-atozchallenge-haiku/
Flash FictionLisa VooghtA Slightly Fictionalized Memoir http://lisavooght.blogspot.co.uk/
Back PorchervationsLuAnn BradleyNew versions of songshttp://backporchervations.blogspot.co.uk/
Stepheny Forgue HoughtlinStepheny HoughtlinHistoric Hotelshttp://stephenyhoughtlin.com/
The Faux Fountain PenSarah FosterRevisionhttp://thefauxfountainpen.blogspot.co.uk/
A Creative MindDianne RigginsWritinghttp://a-creative-mind.com/
My Life in RetirementDeniseWhy book is on shelfhttp://msdeniseh553.blogspot.co.uk/
What Are TheyJ Lenni DornerFiction Tipshttp://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/
~

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24 comments:

  1. I never got around to Wittegen Press as much as I wanted for the challenge. It was a theme I thought was cool too. I'll have to try to remember to visit later. I just had so many blogs during the challenge I wanted to read. Next year, I think we all need Time Turners or TARDISes for it. LOL

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    1. I know what you mean! We all need 3 days for every one :)

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  2. Sophie, I enjoyed your challenge a lor (well, I'm a mystery reader and fan, guess what ;-) )
    I think your challenge was super. But I hear you, I had a hard time in April for family matters and my challenge wasn't the one I'd planned either, but hey, as you say, it's always great fun.

    Thanks for sharing, it was a great ride!

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    1. Thanks for keeping up with the mystery - I'm glad you enjoyed it :) I had fun with your blog too.

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  3. Thank you so much for the mention! Again, I'm really sorry you fell ill during the challenge. It almost makes one want to start writing now for next year. I had a difficult time following the mystery, and now that I know you havent revealed the whodunnit, I look forward to a book coming out so I can read it in full :)

    Mary
    Jingle Jangle Jungle

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    1. I know what you mean about wanting to start for next year! The year I felt most in control, I started planning the previous August :)

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  4. Hi Sophie - hope you're feeling better - tasha covered your tracks well.

    Love the way you've set out the sites you've visited too ... and congratulations on finishing - by fair means or sisterly help ... cheers and take care - Hilary

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    1. She did, didn't she :)

      Hope to see you in next year's A to Z!

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  5. Thanks for the shout-out! There are a number of interesting blogs on your list that I missed during the challenge. Looking forward to checking them out. I really enjoyed your theme - it was a lot of fun. Can't wait to see what you come up with next year :-)

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    1. Thanks for stopping by so regularly - every year is a new adventure :)

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  6. Thank you for the mention. It's been a fantastic year for the challenge and worth all the effort.

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  7. Sophie I don't think I came across your blog this time but what a fantastic idea for your theme - will be stealing :)

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    1. I found it really fun theme to do this year - although I had to keep biting my tongue and not giving away more clues than were in the text ;P

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  8. Thanks for the shout out :) You had a very interesting theme; I didn't read them all but I like all you all pulled it together and the work it took to lay them out and organize them!

    betty

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    1. Thanks for popping by when you did, and I enjoyed popping in and out of your theme as well :)

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  9. Well you must have guessed by now that I LOVED your theme! It was so well done and really interesting to see your votes graph, I did wonder how the voting was going and often clicked on the results button after I voted to see what others thought.

    Sorry you were ill, that sucks, but Tasha obviously did a grand job, I got to Wittengen less times than I intended as I had too many "everyday" blogs on my list for the time I had to spend!

    I will definitely be interested in reading your novel version of this in the future!

    Mars xx
    @TrollbeadBlog from
    Curling Stones for Lego People

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    1. Thank you, as a writer I am grinning all over my face that your enjoyed it so much :)

      I'll be posting updates as I get on with the novel :)

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  10. I love your book covers, you should send me some information... I would love you feature you in the book section and also the cover the books too, not just the covers. Wow I think that makes sense... well maybe.

    We made it...Hope you had a great time, thank you for your Reflection!
    Jeremy [Retro]
    AtoZ Challenge Co-Host [2016]

    T-SHIRTS, MUGS, FREE MAGAZINE... OH MY!

    HOLLYWOOD NUTS!
    Come Visit: You know you want to know if me or Hollywood... is Nuts?

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  11. That's one of the main things I love about this challenge - that moment when you visit a new blog and just click with it and know you are going to love every post!
    Debbie

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    1. That is so good, isn't it! There are just some posts you don't want to miss :) But I also love the ones where I can dip in and out as well.

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  12. Hi Sophie. I didn't discover your blog during the A-Z but you were mentioned during the Reflections post and I'm very interested in reading your Murder Most Foul theme. I love a good mystery and The Case of the Cursed House sounds great. I'm glad to have discovered you now!

    Michele at Angels Bark

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Thanks for stopping by - I'd love to hear from you. :)