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Craft and Hobby Mysteries (part 2) with Reagan Davis
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In today's episode, Brook and Sarah speak with Reagan Davis, author of the Knitorious Murder Mysteries series, and discuss the overlap between crafts and mysteries.
Discussed and mentioned
About Reagan Davis
Related episodes
Craft and Hobby Mysteries (released March 3, 2026)
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Music: Signs To Nowhere by Shane Ivers – www.silvermansound.com
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For a full episode transcript, visit https://cluedinmystery.com/craft-and-hobby-mysteries-interview-with-reagan-davis/
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Transcript
Introduction and Author Background
00:00:12
Speaker
Welcome to Clued in Mystery. I'm Sarah. And I'm Brooke, and we both love mystery. Hi, Brooke. Hi, Sarah. Today, we are following up on our craft and hobby mysteries with the best part of these series that we do, and that's the author interview. Today we're going to be speaking with Regan Davis, and this is a pen name for the real author who lives in the suburbs of Toronto with her husband, two kids, and a menagerie of pets.
00:00:44
Speaker
When she's not planning the perfect murder, she enjoys knitting, reading, eating too much chocolate, and drinking too much Diet Coke. The author is an established knitwear designer who has contributed to many knitting books and magazines, and we're so pleased to have you on the show today, Regan. Thank you for joining us.
00:01:04
Speaker
Thank you for having me.
Setting and Inspiration for Notorious Series
00:01:08
Speaker
So, Regan, we have both read books in your series, but maybe we could start with you telling our listeners about the concept of your notorious murder mystery series. Okay, um so Notorious takes place in a small fictional town called Harmony Lake and revolves around um the community of a knitting store called Notorious. And the owner of the knitting store and her quirky friends and family solve mysteries and murders without dropping a stitch.
00:01:42
Speaker
Love it.
00:01:46
Speaker
Well, um you're clearly very versed in this world of knitting and probably handcrafts all all around, but which came first for you, writing, mysteries, or knitting?
00:02:00
Speaker
Definitely the knitting. I've been knitting since I was about six. My grandmother taught me, so it's been a part of my day-to-day life as long as I can remember, and the writing came out of that.
00:02:14
Speaker
You know, I i crochet, i I knit as well, but I am more likely to pick up a ah crochet hook. um And it, you know, I find it is very um soothing, right? Like you just kind of get into a rhythm. Do you find that that helps you with plotting. Brooke and I have talked in the past about Agatha Christie saying that she really liked to do the dishes and that, well, I don't know that she liked to do the dishes, but when she was doing the dishes, it would help her with figuring out, you know, intricacies of of some of her stories. Do you find the same with knitting?
Character Connections and Book Titles
00:02:50
Speaker
Knitting is meditation in motion. So I find that taking a break and picking up my needles kind of lets my brain in the background marinate on what I need to figure out for the book.
00:03:02
Speaker
And, um you know, as I stitch along, like solutions will come to me or I'll realize that something needs to happen. Like I do consider it a form of meditation.
00:03:15
Speaker
A hundred percent.
00:03:19
Speaker
I think that's so interesting to Reagan because sometimes we see your sleuth who is also a knitter and um she will then figure out the crime or the solution to the crime rather as she's knitting. So there's like a mirror going on there between you as the author and the sleuth that it's really satisfying.
00:03:43
Speaker
ah Your books, your book titles are perfectly punny. um At what point in your writing process do you title your stories? And maybe you could share a couple of those titles with with us and our our listeners.
00:03:58
Speaker
I have a title and a cover before
Real-world Links in Books
00:04:00
Speaker
I start writing. um I can give you, I'll tell you a secret. The next book, which I've already started writing, is Unraveled Alibis.
00:04:09
Speaker
I love it. What a great title. That's book fourteen And so do you just have like a notebook of potential potential titles?
00:04:20
Speaker
Literally. I have a spreadsheet. Whenever I think of a knitting pun or another pun, I just kind of put it in there. And if it doesn't become a title, sometimes it becomes a tagline or the name of a yarn in a book, or i find another way if I like it enough to all make it integrate into something.
00:04:37
Speaker
And so do you incorporate any real patterns or real yarns into your stories or is that all fictional?
00:04:48
Speaker
Yep. So the prequel, Neighborhood Swatch, and the first three books um have a pattern included at the end. And those are actually patterns that I've designed. A few books I've definitely referenced knitting magazines such as Knitty, for example.
00:05:03
Speaker
um And almost every book references a knitting related charity. i have the knitting group working on a charitable project. Sometimes it's knitted knockers for breast cancer. Sometimes it's loose ends, which is knitters who pick up deceased knitters knitting to finish projects for family members. Sometimes it's charities. I try to go as national as I can because I have readers everywhere, right? And I want them all to be able to participate. I think I also reference Hands Across America or something, which is knitting mittens and hats for most people. So yeah, I try to integrate as much real knitting as I can. But the yarn names and such are made up because I don't want to run around asking permission from everybody for for names. But I always try to link to the charities that they're working for in the book.
00:05:56
Speaker
I love that. Oh, that's so interesting. I love it. Yes. Yeah. and And I think that provides, you know, as a reader, it's it's nice to see something something that you recognize or something that you know um it exists in the real world. It's nice to see that in the the books that we're that we're reading.
00:06:18
Speaker
I get quite a few knitters who email saying, thanks for
Mystery Novels and Knitting Community Appeal
00:06:20
Speaker
the link. Now I'm knitting for Knitted Knockers or now I'm, you know, finishing a baby blanket for a great grandmother who died or whatever. That's so lovely. Oh, Reagan, that's so wonderful. yeah It's such a full circle thing, which I think is part of what is so satisfying with craft and hobby mysteries. We spoke in our earlier episode about um these are like generational activities.
00:06:46
Speaker
So Reagan, do you think that readers come to this subgenre for the hobby and stay for the mystery or the other way around? I definitely have a lot of knitters who seek out knitting specific mysteries. Definitely. When I was knitwear designer, I chose a pen name, which I kind of now regret because I think there would have been a lot more crossover readership than I think between people who actively knit and people who enjoy reading. And I think I underestimated that.
00:07:14
Speaker
But that being said, I think that people show up for the feeling. They come for the sense of community. They come for the sense of found family. They come for the sense of warmth and justice and, um I think the knitting is just a ah byproduct for most people. Like I think Megan could be doing anything. I think she could be, you know, walking dogs or writing or it doesn't matter. I think people are chasing a feeling.
00:07:39
Speaker
Mm hmm. It sounds like you are doing a great job, though, of building community by incorporating, um you know, those those real charities in your books. And um by providing the, you know, you mentioned the first couple of books, having knitting, knitting patterns, you know, you you're, it sounds like have really established this, um this community, or do you think it's more just building on a community that already existed?
00:08:11
Speaker
it's yeah You know knitters. It's a community that already exists. And it's like ah a specific kind of mindset. And I think that I'm just appealing to those people who see the value in handmade goods, who see the value in community, who see the value in friendship. Like, I think it's it's just catering to them or appealing to them. Sprinkling in a little bit of mystery. Yes.
00:08:35
Speaker
yeah Happy little murders. Yep. Yep.
00:08:39
Speaker
Brooke and I have talked before about how professionals such as doctors or lawyers who write mysteries have to balance their expertise while keeping their stories accessible for an average reader.
00:08:51
Speaker
This is true, I think, as well for someone who's skilled at a craft or hobby. So how do you balance, you know, you've talked about a lot of your readers are already really familiar
Reader Engagement and Future Writing Plans
00:09:00
Speaker
with mysteries.
00:09:02
Speaker
that craft, but how do you make sure that your books continue to be accessible to people who are not serious knitters and and find that balance to maintain the interest of of both groups?
00:09:14
Speaker
I probably overwrite the knitting and then I have a really great editing team that helps me edit it down because they are not knitters. So they help me keep the knitting that's pertinent for the plot and the knitting that is pertinent for the cozy feel. and they helped me get rid of the rest, but I also want to leave enough in there so that the crafters that are reading it feel seen.
00:09:36
Speaker
Like understand what I'm talking about if I talk about unraveling or dropping a stitch or what frogging means and how frustrating it can be. Like I want those Easter eggs in there for them, but not at the expense of other people saying, what does this mean?
00:09:49
Speaker
Why are there frogs, right? yeah Yeah, you don't want frogs. Yeah. And have you heard from any readers who have picked up knitting as a result of reading your books?
00:10:08
Speaker
I don't think so. I do get a lot of emails that say one day I'm going to try it. Right? Or it's it's but it's on my list. It's on one day I'll try. I'll do it. But I've never had anyone say thanks for inspiring me to knit. Although I've had a few say thanks for inspiring me to pick up the needles again.
00:10:24
Speaker
or to remind me that I really like knitting and i you know, reading about her doing it or them doing it has inspired me to want to start a new project cast on.
00:10:36
Speaker
That's great. Oh, besides knitting, are there any other crafts or hobbies that might someday become a backdrop to one of your mystery series?
00:10:48
Speaker
Uh, knitting is my biggest hobby. I really enjoy reading. um But the last couple of years, I've been really, really immersed in the heart failure community. i don't know if you know, my husband's waiting for a heart transplant and currently is an artificial heart. So weirdly, I'm thinking that there might be some medical cozy mysteries coming up.
00:11:07
Speaker
um I spent so much time in that space that it's almost feeling comfortable to write it. And I think a lot of people, both on the patient side and on the caregiver side would feel seen.
00:11:22
Speaker
Well, and it's a a little bit of an untapped market. We don't necessarily think of medical and cozy. Most of the medical um mysteries go into the thriller side of things. Or procedural, yeah.
00:11:35
Speaker
So I think that's a wonderful way, Reagan, because we do know that so many of our cozy mystery readers... say that it's those books that got them through the long waits in the hospital or when that they had a sick loved one that, you know, they dove into a mystery. So I think that's ah a wonderful idea.
00:11:59
Speaker
yeah it's just a matter of finding ah a balance between immersing someone in something that they're like, I spend enough time in hospitals, but feeling seen and appreciating maybe some
Latest Book and Personal Experiences
00:12:10
Speaker
aspects of the time they've had to spend.
00:12:12
Speaker
um you know, in a in a medical community. Wow, that's lovely.
00:12:21
Speaker
Regan, you mentioned um that you've got 14 in this series so far. Do you want to tell us about the latest one? ah So in Disturbing the Fleece, um there's a huge fiber festival in town called Woolstock, but it's actually inspired by a real-life festival called Rhinebeck.
00:12:40
Speaker
i don't know if you've heard of Rhinebeck, but it it happens every year in upstate New York and it's a massive national um fiber and farming festival. So they have everything from people selling and showing sheep to you can buy yarn and find places to knit. And I went a few years ago and it's very cool. And it's kind of a Mecca in the knitting community, especially on the more Eastern side of of the continent.
00:13:04
Speaker
Um, and of course a world famous dyer turns up dead in a vat of her own dye called be still my bleeding heart B L E A T I N G.
00:13:14
Speaker
ah It's awesome. And have you ever, uh, dyed your own wool? I have. I've dyed quite a bit of yarn.
00:13:25
Speaker
That is a task. It's, uh, yeah, and onto to itself it really is an art. Like it really, really isn't. It's science. It's also very sciencey, but it's not something I like particularly enjoyed doing, but I'm really glad I tried it. And it was cool to say that I dyed the yarn and knit the thing. um But I'm more of a knitter than a dyer. Yeah.
00:13:50
Speaker
Fascinating. um So would you ever ah run your own wool store? Take after your character? So about 10 years ago, because the community I lived in did not have a yarn store. Everyone had to travel into Toronto to get yarn. And I did look at it and I seriously considered it. And I even mocked up a business plan. And honestly, it was so hard to make the thing profitable.
00:14:18
Speaker
I considered a mobile yarn store, like buying an old UPS truck and outfitting it with shelves and calling it mobile unit. you e w e k n i t um but again like it's it's just crafting is just a hard space to make a profit huh yeah yeah same with book selling because i think many of us readers and writers dream of having a little bookstore but there again it's it's pretty difficult yeah and people are buying yarns online now and they're buying supplies online now and it's difficult to compete with huge sellers like nitpicks, for example. and Yeah.
00:14:59
Speaker
Right. Yeah.
Challenges in Creative Industries and Book Availability
00:15:00
Speaker
It's a fine balance between making something accessible so that, you know, lots of people have the opportunity to participate, but then also being able to support yourself doing that. Right.
00:15:15
Speaker
Yeah. So Regan, can you share where our listeners can find you?
00:15:23
Speaker
Sure. My books are all on Amazon. Regan Davis. You can find me online at ReganDavis.com. Sometimes, but not often, I hang out on Instagram and Facebook as Regan Davis writes and um Audible. I'm on Audible because a lot of my readers like to knit while they listen. So I learned pretty early on that there was a big demand for audiobooks in the crafting mystery sector.
00:15:49
Speaker
Well, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you so much for having me. And thank you for joining us today, listeners, on Clued in Mystery. Until next time, I'm Brooke.
00:16:01
Speaker
And I'm Sarah. And we both love mystery. Clued in Mystery is written and produced by Brooke Peterson and Sarah M. Stephen. Music is by Shane Ivers.
00:16:12
Speaker
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00:16:26
Speaker
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