A new word has taken root in the publishing industry to name a genre of popular fiction, call cozies.

quote:

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Victoria Houston's books fall squarely into a genre as clearly defined as thrillers or mysteries or romance novels or science fiction. Readers don't have a name for the genre but the book industry does: She writes "cozies."

You know you're reading a cozy when an amateur sleuth helps solve the murder, when nobody swears and when oddball characters abound but are seldom frightening. People are killed, but only off the page. Cozies often unfold in small towns, and they frequently dole out information about hobbies[:] ... quilting, crossword puzzles, tips about stripping paint from radiators and fixing gutters.

As for sex, there's very little of that. "Cozies are successful because they appeal to women who can feel secure passing them on to their 14-year-old daughters," says Otto Penzler, a mystery publisher.
-Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg, 'Cozy' readers get a story minus the gory, The Wall Street Journal, reprinted elsewhere

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Besides the obvious definition of cozy, I always associate it with a teapot covering.

quote:

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Otto Penzler, a mystery publisher.

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What's mysterious about him?

Danger - Sharp Curve Ahead

A mystery publisher Otto,
Whose voice was both sharp and staccato,
Said "According to Plato
"The word is 'Tomato'
"Though I still prefer it 'Tomato'."


Ever have one of those days where everything seems to inspire a limerick?

I've fiddled with the punctuation of that last word for several minutes now and even though the rulesrulesrulesrules say the period (full stop) should probably be right next to the O instead of where I have it here, I'm going to keep this slightly more awkward formation.

PLUS I refuse to spell that last word as "to-mah-to." If I have to take you by the hand and lead you through it, it's not that enjoyable a limerick.

Hoo, all these limericks are great! I am not having one of those days, and I just spent about 15 minutes staring at my computer trying to write a limerick.

Somehow I have better luck with DDs which makes very little sense!