Breaking the Boxes: How Vale & Stone Became My Cozy Gothic Murder Baby

There’s something people don’t tell you when you decide to write a “cozy gothic murder mystery.”

Namely: Everyone has an opinion about what that phrase is supposed to mean.

Cozy readers expect warm drinks, low stakes, and the guarantee that the cat survives. Gothic fans want decaying manors, ancestral curses, and at least one scene where someone drifts dramatically down a hallway with a candle. And mystery diehards… oh, they have spreadsheets.

Meanwhile, I’m over here like: “How about none of the rules and all of the vibes?”

Because Vale & Stone: Consulting Detectives didn’t come from a checklist. It wasn’t built from a genre bible. It wasn’t meant to slide neatly into a pre-existing shelf.

It was the story that grabbed me by the collar, whispered this one, and refused to let go.

A Series That Refused to Fit the Mold

When I started writing Vale & Stone, I wasn’t trying to replicate anything. I wasn’t attempting a perfectly balanced 50/50 blend of cozy and gothic—like some kind of spooky-but-snuggly latte.

Nope.

This series is not 100% cozy. It’s not 100% gothic. It’s not even a mathematical compromise.

It’s whatever happens when you take:

• atmospheric dread,

• character-driven banter,

• foggy graveyards,

• razor-sharp observation humor,

• candlelit libraries,

• sarcastic consulting detectives,

• petty uppercrusters,

• small-town gossip—

—and throw them all into a cauldron to see what simmered.

What came out wasn’t a formula.

It was a story I needed to write, for the reader who needs to read it.

A Beta Reader Once Told Me I Ruined Their Life (But Nicely)

One of the greatest compliments I’ve ever gotten from a beta reader went something like:

“I had to stop reading, go back three chapters, and find the moment you hinted at this. Because I KNOW you did. I just didn’t catch it.”

Listen. I cackled. I cackled like a Southern auntie in a rocking chair.

Because here’s the thing: I love a good detail.

Not the flashy ones. Not the “look at me!” foreshadowing. I mean the quiet stuff. The things you catch only if you’re paying attention. The lines that seem innocent at the time and then come back later like— Surprise! I mattered.

That’s the joy of writing (and reading) mystery: the slow burn of revelation, the breadcrumb trail you didn’t notice you were following, the puzzle that rearranges itself when you tilt your head.

I don’t want readers to skim. I want them to lean in.

So What Is Vale & Stone, If Not a Cozy Gothic Mystery?

Short answer: It’s a cozy gothic mystery.

Long answer: It’s my take on a cozy gothic mystery, which is… not the same thing at all.

Think:

• Fog-shrouded Blackvale where every porch swing creaks for reasons no one questions.

• Cressida Vale, whose observational skills could strip paint off a door.

• Miles Stone, who responds to chaos with dry wit and a look that says “I did not sign up for this,” yet here he is anyway.

• Cases that begin with lost heirlooms or suspicious letters and the Sheriff going, “Oh… you two again...”

• Haunted estates, candlelit séances, masquerade balls where every guest has a mask under their mask.

• Tension you feel but don’t fear.

• Banter sharp enough to cut cheese.

• Mystery first, always. Romance? Maybe, thanks for asking.

It’s creepy in the way an empty hallway is creepy. Cozy in the way a warm mug feels safe during a storm. Funny in the way only two childhood-best-friends-turned-detective-partners can be.

If You Need a Comparison, Here’s the Closest I’ll Get

Imagine if:

• Agatha Christie wandered into a Southern gothic ghost story,

• Knives Out decided to tone down the chaos (but only a little),

• and a cozy mystery said, “We can have atmosphere and vibes, thank you.”

That’s the neighborhood Vale & Stone lives in.

But even then? It’s still doing its own thing. Blackvale doesn’t play by anyone else’s rules, and neither do its detectives.

The Best Part? We're Just Getting Started

I’ll talk more about tone, texture, and the overall aesthetic when I announce the release date ( I know, I know, it’s so very soon, let me breathe).

For now, I just want you to know this:

Vale & Stone isn’t a genre checklist. It isn’t a formula. It isn’t an imitation of anyone else’s cozy gothic murder mystery.

It’s a story with fog in its lungs, secrets in its walls, and detectives who keep accidentally stumbling into murder.

And if you’re the kind of reader who loves atmosphere, clever clues, sharp dialogue, and mysteries that reward paying attention?

Then I think you’re going to feel right at home in Blackvale.

Just… keep your eyes open.

You never know what detail you might need later.

Until next time,

Indigo