Q&A With Lisa Siefert 

Lisa Siefert is the USA Today Bestselling author of cozy mysteries & self-taught Graphic Designer at Pretty Fabulous. Lisa’s books are part of the Frosted Misfortunes Cozy Mystery series, and they are, Cupcakes & Chaos, Fudge & Felonies, Vanilla & Vendettas, & Bonbons & Burglers.  Lisa is also a blogger & youtuber! 

Q: Would you like to tell the readers and I about your series and where the idea for the series came from? The cover & titles of your books are so adorable! 

A: frosted misfortunes is about Ava’s adventures in running her own cupcake shop, which has been a lifelong dream of hers as a diehard dessert aficionado, and along the way she accidentally ends up adopting an adorable codependent kitty that can never be left alone, and solving some murders along the way. 

All of the stories are the life I wish I had if I were brave enough to open up my own cupcake shop back in my hometown. All of the stories are the life I wish I had if I were brave enough to open up my own cupcake shop back in my hometown. All the ideas come from my daily cupcake baking sessions.

Q: Out of all the genres out there, what is it about cozy mysteries that speaks to you that you enjoy writing in so much? 

A: everything from the friendly amateur female sleuths and their zany sidekicks to the small town busybody, the close-knit and nosy family, and all of the cute animals they call pets. Everyone is nice and helpful. Cozy mysteries are typically a world in which I would love to live in.

Q: Are you writing book 5 of the Frosted Misfortunes Cozy Mystery series, the beginning of a new series or a standalone novel?

A: I am writing bonbons and burglars, which is the next book in the series that should come out hopefully this fall if not definitely before the end of the year

Q: What advice would you give to anyone wanting to write cozy mysteries? 

A: I’m definitely a procrasti-learner so I took over 100+ writing classes to learn the craft, went to over 25+ writing conferences and used developmental editors for everything. I also read 100+ books/year so keep up with what’s being written in the genre. To say I err on the side of over-preparation is the understatement of the year. In contrast, my fellow cozy mystery friend Molly has never read a single cozy or taken a class and she does just fine: just starting is another way to go. They both work!

Q: If you were to write in another genre that wasn’t cozy mysteries, which genres would you explore and why?

A: I actually started out as a romance writer under the pen name, LISA, London, so I’d love to combine that with a murder and write a romantic mystery. I would also love to write mysteries, more focused on heists, capers, and con artists. I’m fascinated by a clever thief who can get away with stealing the impossible.

Q: How do you balance blogging, writing & having a YouTube channel? 

A: I don’t, which is why I struggle all the time. Plus I have a full-time job as Head of HR for a venture I don’t, which is why I struggle all the time. Plus I have a full-time job as head of HR for a venture capital firm. I recently self diagnosed myself with ADHD which has made life so much easier because it completely explains why I overload my schedule with way too many priorities and impossible tasks that could never be done in the amount of time I think they could and have been working really hard to streamline my life and strip away some of my responsibilities so that I can do the things that I really love which is write.

Q: What is your advice to anyone wanting to have a blog & have a YouTube channel? As a blogger myself I’m doing something I love and its worth the hard work & it’s not a get rich quick scheme.  So, I can imagine the same thing for a YouTube channel. 

A: I love doing YouTube so I am video first and video only. My podcast is simply a repurposing of a YouTube live interview and my blog is a re-purpose of YouTube videos so for me the easiest way to have both is to make sure one is always the primary which is YouTube and everything else is simply a repeat of that original content. 

Q: When I saw that you had a YouTube channel I immediately subscribed as I’m a YouTube addict as well as a book lover lol! Would you like to post the links to your YouTube and social media accounts? 

A: part of streamlining my life is leaving social media, so I’ll share my YouTube channel which is the only place you’ll find me online other than my website so that I have time to write 

https://www.youtube.com/@lisalatte Books + Writing

https://www.youtube.com/@PrettyFabulousDesigns Graphic Design + Planners

Q: How does it feel knowing that your books are on the USA Today Bestsellers list? 

A: amazing, of course!

Q: What is your process when you plot, write & edit your work? How long does it take for you to write a book?

A: I outlined everything including the weather for every single scene and do extensive character write-ups so 90% of the work is done during the plotting and then it’s just a matter of writing the book so it could take me anywhere from three months to a year to plot a book and then three months to do the actual writing and then because I’ve done so much planning I very rarely have to do any edits on my book once I get feedback from the developmental editor