When I was a small child, I had a favorite TV show called Annie Oakley. I absolutely loved that show, and my whole family knew it.
It starred Gail Davis as Annie. Once when my cousin who’s just a few months younger than me was visiting, Annie’s show was about to start. To tease me, Grandma said, “Well, it’s just Annie Oakley. Turn it off.”
My (stupid) cousin did just that. I jumped up and attacked! I didn’t actually attack her. I pushed her out of the way and turned it back on. She screeched something, and I yelled back. Mom and Grandma intervened (saved my cousin’s hind end) and explained that Grandma was just kidding. (And my cousin was never that dumb again.)
Why did I love Annie Oakley? Because she was a tomboy. She was strong and able to take care of herself. She had a younger brother named Tag, and they worked together a lot! She even had a boyfriend she had to rescue from time to time.
It was good stuff. Sadly, she wore a skirt most of the time, which I didn’t (and still don’t), but I knew she couldn’t be perfect.
Imagine my disappointment when I read the real-life biography of Annie Oakley and she wasn’t like that at all. She was a dead-eye shot, but didn’t have a younger brother. She was “loaned” to a couple with several children and treated like a slave.
Fast forward to last week. I found the original TV show, Annie Oakley, and watched several episodes. Talk about a dorky awakening! The thing starts with her standing in a saddle and shooting at a target. Why would the real Annie ever need to do a trick like that–except maybe when she joined the wild west show?
Annie fed her family when she went hunting.
And in the show, when she shot at someone, she shot the gun out of his hand, but never hit him. I’m fairly certain she would have shot to kill!
Sigh. Another childhood memory crumpled to dust.
So I’m still at it–writing that is.
Right now, I’m working on the third story in a series of Cozy Mysteries set in a tearoom called Something Old, Something Brewed, owned by Melia Sheldon in (naturally) a small-town world.
The stories all happen around holidays. Well, sort of holidays. The first one is Christmas, the next is spring break, and the third is Easter.
After Easter, there’ll (probably) be Father’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Halloween, and Thanksgiving.
Of course, there may be a few more or less. You never know how my brain is going to work. 🙂
QUESTIONS: Have you ever read a cozy mystery? Care to share the title and author?
If so: What did you like about it?