More often than not, when I explain that I write "cozy mysteries," people respond with a polite -- but blank -- expression.

Hopefully, this description will help clear the confusion.

Cozy mysteries are the perfect genre for those who love mysteries, but shy away from blood and gore. They offer all the puzzling pleasure of more traditional crime thrillers, without the profanity, sex, or violence.

Impossible, you say?

Not so.

Authors have been serving up cozy mysteries since the late 20th Century. They became popular as mainstream "mysteries" when Agatha Christie, and others, wrote dozens of them during the Golden Age of crime fiction in the 1920's and 30's. In those early years, their novels emphasized the plot, and the puzzle. They contained no graphic language, sex, or violence.

Still, it wasn't until the 1980's that this style of storytelling became known as a "cozy mystery." While the cozy authors in the 80's stayed true to the "no sex, no violence" rules, their style focused more on character-driven novels with everyday sleuths the reader might consider a friend. Writers gravitated toward stories featuring close-knit communities and the balance of justice -- in part, because female authors and fans felt the gritty, hard-boiled mysteries of those days were demeaning to women.

As a result, today's cozy mysteries are far more diverse than their predecessors. Some feature main characters with interesting careers or hobbies. Others incorporate elements of the paranormal, or crime solvers with hidden "special powers." Many cozies fall into a "culinary" category. Often, pets play a major role in the plot. Romance, if it exists, is G-rated.

Always, cozy mysteries rely on an amateur sleuth to solve the murder. The stories take place in fascinating settings, like charming small towns or touristy villages. Despite twists and tuns throughout the plot, each mystery comes to an agreeable conclusion, where everything is right with the world.

Two important organizations founded in the 80's helped propel cozy mysteries into the limelight. Sisters in Crime, created in 1987, became a voice for women mystery authors who weren't being reviewed or nominated for awards in proportion to their numbers. And, Malice Domestic, formed in 1989, began to celebrate and promote traditional mysteries that best typified Agatha Christie's works (mysteries with no explicit sex, excessive gore, or violence).

I'm proud to be a member of Sisters in Crime, and thrilled that my publisher, Level Best Books, is the sponsoring organization for Malice Domestic. it makes me feel that I'm walking in the shadows of many talented female authors who pioneered the way for the rest of us.

And that's a happy ending for all.