On occasion, I run a 6Ws feature to give fellow authors and their books a bit of promotion. Shannon Symonds is the next. (With a nod to my former life as a journalist, I opted for the 6Ws of the business: who, what, when, where, why and how, which counts as it ends in W.) I will let her tell you about her writing, including her new release, Murder by the Book, the second in her Balefire Bay Cozy Mystery Series. She also released a small cookbook with recipes from the series. How interesting. By the way, this post is part of the Bittersweet Book Tours.

Who is Shanon Symonds?

Shannon Symonds writes in an old house by the sea and in the Utah desert. She is the proud mother of six children and Nana to 18. She loves her Savior, time with her family, writing, laughter, a good mystery, walking the beach, clamming, and bonfires.

Shannon is an indie author and a Cedar Fort Publishing & Media Author. Shannon’s professional training began at age eight, when she found an Agatha Christie novel and read it on a rainy day at the family beach house. That was it. She was addicted to mysteries.

Shannon worked for over 15 years as an advocate serving survivors of violence alongside law enforcement, and on other causes that she is ridiculously passionate about. In 2018 Shannon was nominated for the Storymaker’s Whitney Award. She was awarded the Author to Watch Award for her By the Sea Cozy Mystery YA series, and in 2023 her book, Booked for Murder, was a finalist for the Indie Cozy Mystery of the Year award.

Her books and audiobooks have been available at Costco, Deseret Book, Barnes & Noble, Audible, Amazon, Target, and other retailers, as well as online. Link to my long and dry professional bio.

What is your latest book?

I released Book 2 in the Balefire Bay Cozy Mystery Series, Murder by the Book, in November 2025. It can be read as a standalone. I also released a small cookbook, Balefire Bay Recipes, with the recipes from the series! Links are below.

When did you begin writing?

My first well-read publication was in the 1960s. I slipped my mother an apology note. She insists that this was my first work of fiction.

I was very close to my grandfather. I wrote my first poem at age 9, after he passed away. I was 20-ish when two of my poems were chosen for an annual publication called Utah Sings.

Later, when I quit a job working with survivors of intimate partner and sexual violence, I still had things to say. I contracted with Deseret Digital Media to write pieces for the Deseret News online magazine. Some of my pieces were later syndicated and published in large papers across the country.

I have been a professionally published author since 2014. I have 10 published books, written 263 articles for Deseret Digital Media (which were periodically syndicated), and blogged weekly for Hilary Weeks’ Billion Clicks project.

I published my first book, “Safe House,” with Cedar Fort Publishing in 2017. In 2023, I was nominated for the Latter-day Saints in Publishing, Media & the Arts Praiseworthy Award. In 2021, I was awarded the Author to Watch Award for her “By the Sea” Cozy Mystery YA series. In addition, my debut novel was a Whitney Award nominee in 2017.

In 2023, Booked for Murder, a Balefire Bay Cozy Mystery, was a finalist for the Indie Cozy Mystery of the Year award.

My first cozy mystery, “Murder Takes a Selfie,” was sold at Costco (who knew having one’s book in a big-box store would be the mark of success?).

My books continue to be available at Deseret Book, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Cedar For, Spotify, and my favorite beach town bookstores.

How do you write?

A lot, and not as much as I want to!

I wrote four books the first summer I spent in lockdown. The house was full, and life was crazy. I sat down in the middle of it all, put on my headphones and wrote.

If you’re asking if I am a plotter or a pantser, I am both. I plot down to the last detail, and then my characters pants me and take it over in the end. I decide who was killed, the motivation, the name and complete picture of the killer, and what was done.

I give the killer an arch or a serious flaw, a major motive, and a relationship with the protagonist. I give the protagonist a stake or an undeniable need to solve the mystery — no fluff — a relationship with the killer, a Yoda character, flaws she must address and overcome in order to solve the mystery, and a messy life!

Then, I create a relationship chart which includes the protagonist, other main characters, supporting characters, everyone’s backstory or the motivation for their choices, a Yoda or wise mentor, love interest, friendships for the protagonist, and at least five red herrings and map it out using a relationship chart. I find at least three possible love triangles, increasing motive, and the main characters’ stake in the outcome.

I use Story Genius, Save the Cat Writes a Novel skills and lay out the plot carefully. Then, as the story progresses, characters become more real and occasionally exert their power to change the plot!

Where do you write?

I love writing at a picnic table in the cove overlooking the ocean. After that, I love writing on my deck when the weather is good and the flowers are blooming. I have a small secretary desk in my office and a yoga ball that I use when it rains. And when I am editing or taking care of business, I use my grandmother’s reading chaise in my office.

Why do you write?

Why do I breathe? I don’t remember a time when I didn’t write or want to write. I can’t remember a time when I couldn’t read.

I was raised in Oregon. On rainy days, while still in elementary school, I read all of the Agatha Christie books in our family beach house. That was it. I was hooked on mysteries.

I wrote my first book after I left a job as an advocate serving survivors. I still have things to say and a deep desire to help others see the strength and beauty I witnessed as they rose from the ashes.

I am a survivor. Of what isn’t important. What it led to is. A passion for writing about flawed protagonists doing heroic things as they heal their own broken hearts. I worked with thousands of people. I’ve witnessed the hero’s journey again and again.

BLURB:

If you enjoyed Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club, Agatha Christie’s Murder is Announced or The Secret Book & Scone Society by Ellery Adams, you won’t be able to put down Murder by the Book, a cozy mystery, suspense, with a taste of romance.

Welcome to Balefire Bay, Oregon. Here, the cinnamon rolls are hot, the book club is loyal, and murder is just a plot twist away.

Ivy Kelly has finally found peace in the coastal town she now calls home. Not only does she have a book club that feels like family, she’s entered an exciting new romance with her handsome boss.

But then someone drops dead at the Book and Tea Shop.

Ivy’s gut insists it’s murder. She even thinks the real target might be her boyfriend’s prickly mother. Everyone else thinks past trauma is clouding her judgment … until a celebratory boat ride turns deadly.

With a killer on the loose and danger hitting way too close to home, Ivy recruits her book club back into sleuthing mode. But solving the mystery means confronting feelings she’d rather keep buried and facing a past that never really let her go…

This cozy mystery is perfect for fans of small town whodunits, quirky book clubs, and scrappy amateur sleuths with heart!