Linda P. Kozar Books In Order

Publication Order of When The Fat Ladies Sing Books

Publication Order of Sweet Petite Mysteries Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Creative Woman Mysteries Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Linda Kozar is a speaker, journalist, and award-winning mystery and inspirational fiction novelist. She was the winner of the Mentor of the Year Award by the American Christian Fiction Writers in 2007. Her debut novel was “Misfortune Cookies,” the first of the “Until the Fat Ladies Sing Mystery” series that she published in 2008. She is also the director and co-founder of Words of the Journey Christian Writers Guild Texas chapter. Kozar has authored more than 28 independent and traditionally published books in addition to being a podcaster. She does her podcasting on the Gate Beautiful Radio Show, where she interviews budding and established Christian fiction authors. She has been married to her husband Michael for more than 29 years and together they have two children. When she is not writing, she spends a lot of time with her Jack Russell terrier, who demands a lot of her spare time.

Kozar prefers to write in the cozy mystery genre because she finds them a lot of fun and writing them comes easy. Nonetheless, she has also written novels in the historical, contemporary, romance, speculative fiction, and even nonfiction. Her sister used to call her a frustrated author given that she loved writing wacky, long, and entertaining Christmas newsletters to her far-flung friends and family every year. A lot of people looked forward to receiving these missives and she thinks it was because the majority of such letters are full of people bragging about their pets, children, and even themselves. She would later write for several publications before she decided to try her hand at book writing. The training she got while writing Christmas newsletters and for newspapers came in handy as she was well trained in keeping deadlines and time crunches. As for her fiction works, “Babes With A Beatitude” was a huge turning point, particularly given that she got to share her faith and what God had done for her. As for her fiction work, she was significantly influenced by the somewhat biographical “Food Baby,” which she found very funny. Seven years before she wrote her first novel, she had been taking care of her mother that had dementia. Sharing hilarious moments and the hard times made for a good storyline that is not only entertaining but also cathartic.

Linda Kozar’s passion for reading was evident when she was in the second grade where she used to devour every book she could find. She started with “Nancy Drew” but later on read the classics and book club novels that were to be found in her home’s bookshelves. There were instances when she would rewrite the endings to certain stories as she thought that she could do better. It was at this time that she vowed to become a professional author that would then write novels that would have endings that she liked. In 2003 and after numerous articles published in a variety of publications, she decided to move into fiction writing. In the same year, she was approached by a friend who wanted her to join and become a founding member of the highly successful “Words for The Journey Christian Writers Guild”. It was during this time that she started learning the craft of fiction writing as she met a lot of critique partners who helped critique her work and remove the kinks. By 2005, she had finished her first work, it was a nonfiction book that would never get published. While the novel got to committee at three publishing houses, she had no name or brand recognition and none of the publishers were willing to take a risk on an unknown author. Her second novel was a fiction work titled “Misfortune Cookies,” which she wrote in a real seat of the pants way. She rote for two weeks straight and surprisingly, she loved it a lot and published it under Heartsong Presents Mysteries in 2008.

Linda P. Kozar’s “Misfortune Cookies” is a fun and delightful novel that introduces the chubby southern belle that is Lovita. She is a beautician that together with Sue Jan her best friend own a very successful beauty shop in town. They often go out on the town, where they frequent Chinese restaurants during their downtimes. One day while they are out eating, Lovita gets served a fortune cookie on which is written an enigmatic message. It is a cryptic message that has Lovita and her fiends scrambling to solve a quest with a lot of ups and downs. There are a lot of refreshing references to the southern way of life even though the overarching theme is the search for love by Sue Ja and her best friend Lovita. Together they comb the southern country with sarcasm, style, and plenty of Szechwan.

“A Tisket, A Casket” the second novel of the series opens to Lovita winning a scholarship to Paris and she decides to take Sue Jan her best friend along. They thought they were going to Europe but it is Paris, Texas. Sue has relatives in town but they arrive to a funeral as one of her favorite people just died. Things only get worse when Jan loses her expensive engagement ring, which falls into her dead relative’s coffin just before he is interred. Of course, the girls dig him up to find the body missing from the casket, and the ring nowhere to be found. In the meantime, some strange fellows are running around at the cooking school and the girls are baffled when bizarre artwork appears and disappears from the walls of the school at will. They have a lot on their plate and that is before they have to deal with a murder.

“Dead as a Doornail” by Linda P. Kozar is a thrilling story of Sue Jan that recently got married to Monroe, a man running for political office that she believes is the man of her dreams. He is running for mayor against Wiley Butz who is dating a woman recently arrived in town. She had set up a fitness center though she is not that athletically inclined. Another person that is looking forward to marrying the man of her dream too is Ita. She was working on the finer details of the wedding plans when the contractor of Sue Jan and Monroe’s home is killed. The police accuse Monroe of the murder something that could severely damage if not destroy his campaign for mayor. Ita and Sue Jan decide to solve the murder mystery event though they have a lot of commitments. Missing money that was intended for the marching band and Sue Jan’s illness adds to the complexities. It gets even more interesting when Sue Jan’s relatives who are the southern version of the Beverly Hillbillies come into town. Trying to prove their value, they add drama and fun to the investigation of the murder mystery.