By Joanna Campbell Slan, @joannaslan
Writing Through the Pandemic:
Why I Decided to Include COVID-19 in My Cozy Mysteries
By Joanna Campbell Slan
When I began writing Mask or Raid: Book #17 in the Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series, I faced a dilemma that many authors have grappled with since 2020: should I acknowledge the pandemic that had dramatically reshaped our world, or should I create an alternate reality where COVID-19 never happened? This wasn’t just a practical question about setting and timeline—it was a deeper consideration about the responsibility of fiction to reflect, process, and preserve our shared experiences.
A Personal Connection
My decision crystallized when my grandson was born in 2021, during the height of the pandemic. Looking at this new life entering such a changed world, I wondered: How will I ever explain to him what this extraordinary time was like? The fears we faced, the misinformation that spread almost as quickly as the virus itself, the political divisions that emerged, and the everyday heroism of ordinary people? I realized then that my writing could serve as a time capsule—not just for my grandson, but for all future readers who might wonder what living through this period was really like.
Why Cozy Mysteries Are the Perfect Vehicle
Cozy mysteries might seem like an unlikely genre for addressing a global pandemic, but I’ve come to believe they’re uniquely suited for the task. These stories are fundamentally grounded in the quotidian details of everyday life—the very things that changed so dramatically during COVID. The canceled book club meetings, the makeshift home offices, the shortage of toilet paper (why? I still don’t know!), the sourdough starters, the neighborhood walks that became lifelines—these small details became the texture of our pandemic experience.
In cozies, these everyday elements often become clues or important plot points. By incorporating pandemic realities into my mystery, I could document this extraordinary moment while still delivering the comfort and escape that cozy readers seek.
Showing Multiple Perspectives Without Judgment
One aspect of writing Mask or Raid that I found particularly rewarding was the opportunity to present multiple perspectives on the pandemic without passing judgment. Cozy mysteries typically feature tight-knit communities with diverse personalities, making them perfect for exploring how different people responded to the crisis.
Through my characters, I could show the cautious neighbor who hadn’t left home in months, the small business owner desperately trying to stay afloat, the conspiracy theorist, the exhausted healthcare worker, and the pragmatist just trying to follow the changing guidelines. Rather than presenting one perspective as “correct,” I tried to humanize each response, showing the fears and reasoning behind different reactions.
As one reader noted in their review: “Absolutely loved the way the book related things that were going on at the time without judgment. I think we all took sides of true or false, and still aren’t really sure which is which.”
Historical Context in Real Time
Fiction has always played a role in helping us process historical events. When future generations look back at the COVID-19 pandemic, they’ll have news reports and statistics—but fiction written during this time will give them something equally valuable: the emotional truth of the experience.
By incorporating the pandemic into my cozy mystery, I’m participating in a literary tradition as old as storytelling itself. From Daniel Defoe’s Journal of the Plague Year to Albert Camus’ The Plague, writers have always used fiction to make sense of widespread disease and social upheaval.
Advice for Writers Facing Similar Decisions
For writers still debating whether to include COVID-19 in their work, I’d suggest considering these questions:
- Does acknowledging the pandemic serve your story, or would it create unnecessary complications?
- Can you incorporate pandemic elements without allowing them to overwhelm your narrative?
- How might your genre’s conventions help you address the pandemic in unique ways?
Whatever you decide, remember that there’s no single “right” approach. Some readers seek escape from current realities in their fiction, while others appreciate seeing their experiences reflected and validated.
Conclusion
In the end, my decision to include COVID-19 in my cozy mysteries wasn’t just about historical accuracy—it was about connection. Connection between generations, connection between diverse perspectives, and connection between readers seeking to make sense of an unprecedented time.
As another reviewer wrote: “Having lived through the Covid 19 pandemic, this is a realistic view of the troubling and divergent stances taken by the general populace… Covid has permanently changed our world as we knew it.”
Through fiction, we can explore those changes together, finding meaning and even comfort in our shared experience of extraordinary times.
About the author—
Joanna Campbell Slan is a New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon bestselling author who has penned nearly 80 books. Specializing in women’s fiction and cozy (traditional) mysteries, her work celebrates female friendships, fur babies, families, and amateur sleuths. Joanna strives to create a better world, one story at a time, by including social issues in her work. Contact her at jcslan@joannaslan.com or learn more at linktr.ee/jcslan.
Fiction serves as a time capsule. Through cozy mysteries, @JoannaSlan documents our pandemic experience for future generations. Read why she included COVID-19 in her Kiki Lowenstein series. #CozyMystery #WritingThePandemic Share on X
Image by Mircea Iancu from Pixabay
Presenting it without taking sides would be the biggest challenge, but sounds like you managed to to that. Well done.
It was a challenge but I kept going back to real life.
Thanks for this post, Joanna! Cozies are comforting reads and it makes sense to me that they would be excellent tools (almost therapeutic tools) for talking about the pandemic.
Hey, Elizabeth—Thanks for including me here.
These are some really well-taken points! The pandemic is woven through people's memories and through our shared experiences. So it makes sense, for all the reasons you bring up, to include it.
Hey, Elizabeth—Thanks for including me here.
I can see why deciding whether to include COVID could be challenging. Thanks for sharing tips on how to decide whether to include it in a story.
I knew I could mess up badly but I felt I had to try.
Great post, Joanna.
I think that we all struggled with that question during peak Covid times.
For me, I wrote 2 Sgt. Windflower Mysteries during lockdown and none of them referenced Covid.
Maybe it was too close then.
In a subsequent book in the series I talked about it, but only peripherally, as required.
Still kind of hard to think about all that, isn't it?
Mike Martin
Author of the Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series
Since most remember it well, it makes sense to include it in a story set during 2020-2022. I imagine as there grows distance, it won't factor in as much. Look at any film set during WWI and the late teens – not one mention of the Spanish Flu which had an even higher death rate.
I really appreciated Joanna’s decision to include COVID-19 in her cozy mystery. It felt honest and grounding—those little pandemic details, like walks and shortages, brought back so many emotions. Her approach to showing different perspectives without judgment was powerful. It reminded me how fiction helps us heal, remember, and feel seen during uncertain times.
Hi Elizabeth and Joanna – what a perfect common sense approach to including Covid-19 in your cozy mystery series … the Spanish Flu was included in many authors' writings after WW1 … 1918 period. Yes – we're still learning about the Plague, Camus' book is recommended reading … also you're broadening others ideas – cheers … Hilary