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Mystery Lovers' Holiday Gift Guide '24 With Mystery Manon
145 Plays6 days ago
As gift giving season approaches, Mystery Manon joins Brook and Sarah to share her annual holiday gift guide.
Discussed and mentioned
The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920) Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie's The Mysterious Affair at Styles (2024) Marci Kay Monson
The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) Agatha Christie
https://www.manonwogahn.com/mystery-book-lover-gifts-2024-holidays/
About Mystery Manon
Manon Wogahn is a publishing professional with a love for (fictional!) murder. She reads, reviews, and works with books. Her blog is dedicated to author interviews, book reviews, and the occasional gift guide.
The Cluesletter is her biweekly email newsletter for mystery lovers. Sent every other Tuesday, it includes news, new releases, eBook sales, a featured podcast, and an interview with a mystery author.
For more information
Instagram: @cluedinmystery
Contact us: [email protected]
Music: Signs To Nowhere by Shane Ivers – www.silvermansound.com
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For a full episode transcript, visit https://cluedinmystery.com/mystery-lovers-holiday-guide-24-with-mystery-manon/
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Transcript
Introduction & Guest Overview
00:00:11
Speaker
Welcome to Clued in Mystery. I'm Sarah. And I'm Brooke, and we both love mystery. Hi Brooke. Hi Sarah. um It's definitely the most wonderful time of the year when Mystery Manon releases her gift guide for mystery lovers. Would you like to introduce our guest today, Sarah? Absolutely.
00:00:37
Speaker
Mannon Hogan is a publishing professional with a love for fictional murder. Her blog is dedicated to author interviews, book reviews, and the occasional gift guide. She writes a biweekly mystery newsletter entitled The Clues Letter, which includes news, new releases, ebook sales, a featured podcast, and an interview with a mystery author. She holds the record for the most guest appearances, including mystery. Welcome back, Mannon. Thank you guys. It's great to be back on my favorite podcast.
00:01:08
Speaker
Thank you for joining us and for bringing your gift guide back to share with our listeners. Yeah, absolutely. I think, um, I feel like I say this every year, but I'm really happy with how it came together and I hope people can find something, you know, that suits this really niche interest of ours.
Creating the Mystery Gift Guide
00:01:31
Speaker
So, Manon, for people who may not be familiar with you or the list that you prepare, do you want to just give a brief overview of of what your process is?
00:01:43
Speaker
Sure, honestly, it starts a couple months in advance. I start thinking about things that I see that I might want to include. And then when it comes down to the wire, I i have a better idea of what else I need to do to fill in the gaps. So normally, like this year, I just had ah an item dump of stuff that I thought was really great. And then I figured out, OK, how do I separate this into 10 sections? Because that's how many sections I have, and each one has a theme.
00:02:09
Speaker
And then like once those are separated, I know like where the blanks are and where I could fill in extra little gifts. so And this year was a little bit different because I actually have enough like followers, I guess, for people to start sending me things. So I was getting stuff in the mail and I was thinking, wow, this is really great. And I can see it before I put it in the gift guide.
00:02:31
Speaker
ah So that was really easy not just to help make the list but to like test things out before I put it in there so that's new for this year we could talk more about that. That's really exciting and it was one of the questions that Sarah and I had if you're getting a little bit more conversation with your audience and maybe even vendors it sounds like.
00:02:53
Speaker
I don't know how they find me. I've gotten DMs and emails about this, but ah I think it certainly helps to be one of those few people who talk so specifically about this one specific thing. But um yeah, there's a few that I think are really, really great, ah really great products. and I'm happy to share them.
Themed Categories & Favorite Picks
00:03:16
Speaker
Okay. So why don't we start with you telling us a little bit about the different categories and some of the things that, um, that you're excited to share. Sure. I'll, I'll just run through all of the categories that I have this year. Cause, uh, they vary from year to year. So I start with the cozy sleuth, which has a lot of accessories to keep you cozy while reading the desk detective, which is a lot of organizational items actually has something similar last year.
00:03:44
Speaker
I have the Armchair Poirot, which is just for Christi lovers, and that originated because I had just so much Christi stuff this year that I could make it into its own category and still have leftovers for other categories. The eavesdropper, which is my club clever little way of talking about people who love audiobooks and podcasts.
00:04:08
Speaker
The Home Inspector, which I was really proud of that name. It's just for homewares and home goods. The Gumshoe, which is another great cute name to talk about, fashion-conscious detectives. The Word Snoop, which is just, and you guys will appreciate this, just for authors who write mystery. The Busy Body, which is like my gaming section. I had a similar one last year, but mystery games are like a really big ah category for mystery games.
00:04:39
Speaker
And then the Junior Sherlock, which is for children. Again, a repeat from Lassner with totally new gifts. And Red Herrings, which is what I'm calling like stocking stuffers. I love the titles. They are just so clever. And the little descriptions after each one, everyone's going to just love those. Thank you. So do you want to talk about a few of your favorite items from each of the categories, Mannon?
00:05:10
Speaker
Yeah, you know, it's funny. I preparing for this podcast, I brought out a lot of the stuff that I own and I realized like no one's going to see it because it's a podcast, but I'll show you guys and maybe you can do an on the good word. But some of the stuff that I've been literally using, I'm wearing at one of them.
00:05:29
Speaker
It says Shadow Ranch. This is a Nancy Drew inspired sweatshirt. And so this creator in this is an Etsy shop in um Australia and she makes these sweatshirts and she has a few designs that are inspired by the Nancy Drew video games, which is one of those really specific things that like people like me just nerd out over. So I saw this and um I had to order it and I actually got it with actually got it with custom threading, like a thread color. I got green on pink instead of ah the standard, so she was really accommodating for that. I've been wearing it ever since. um And some other things, I have this s mug.
00:06:10
Speaker
which I'll show you it has a bunch of detective objects on it and I got the pink version which is really cute and this seller on Etsy actually messaged me on Etsy saying that she followed me on Instagram or she knows about me from Instagram and that she started her so shop inspired by my page and I thought that is like the craziest coincidence because all I was doing was looking for mystery gifts so really happy to put this in my guide I thought that was so sweet That's incredible. And I yeah love that. Yeah. It was just a really lovely moment of connection and and you know meeting somebody like through Etsy of all places. And I'm really, really happy that I love the mug too. It's adorable. I've been using it every day for my tea.
00:06:58
Speaker
It's such a neat thing to think about when we're doing something we really love that we might inspire someone else to follow, you know, a hobby that they might enjoy or some sort of creativity. I just, that's very heartwarming. Yeah. I mean, my day for sure.
00:07:17
Speaker
um And then some other things, let me see what else I can show you. I have a book clip that I got from my hair, and this was ah another one of those Etsy purchases that I really enjoy. I actually love this so much. I bought one for somebody I work with, our book designer, because I just thought this was really cute. I hope she doesn't listen to this podcast before I get the chance to send it to her. Spoiler.
00:07:43
Speaker
I know but it's cute so it's you know I think it'd be a happy surprise either way and I've been using that constantly. Then the other thing I just started using is a book sleeve where you can put fit like I have a Kindle and ah actually one of the Myrtle books in here with some pencils and pens to take with me without getting it all banged up so that's very practical.
00:08:05
Speaker
And then the other items that I have are a lot of games. So I mean, i I'm sure you saw on the list the ones that I had marked with an M. That's how I've been delineating the gifts that I have myself. I have a Love Day Brooke mystery box, which is like a DIY mystery that I'm saving for the holidays to do with my family. I have the Myrtle board game, Agatha Christie trivia, and then that really cute children's book adaptation of the mysterious Affair at Styles.
00:08:32
Speaker
you know If I didn't already have that, I would ask for that as a gift. It's just absolutely adorable. and You interviewed the author of that book in the Clues Letter, didn't you, Manon? I did,
Children's Mystery Adaptations
00:08:46
Speaker
yeah. Marcy K. Monson is the author. and I was curious about the book because I wasn't sure how you might adapt an Agatha Christie murder mystery for children.
00:08:58
Speaker
But I read it, obviously, added that to my Goodreads yeah reading goal for the year, which is really easy. But um it's an absolute delight. And she rewrote the story in um like a poetry, like in verse. So it's there's a bit of a rhyme scheme and there's no violence. The poison is mentioned, but there's no you know, it's not she's not talking about strychnine and how horrible of a death that is or anything inflammatory like that. And it's got these really adorable illustrations that have um activities associated with them. So on each page, you are doing a little activity like acting out as a character or ah doing like a find the clues in the scene. So it's an interactive book. And it's I mean, I think it's appropriate for children. I think it's a great way to inspire curiosity in younger readers.
00:09:56
Speaker
Well, as a parent of a younger reader, I can't tell you how excited I am about this book. It is definitely on the list of things that I will be picking up for for my son. As you were talking about this man and I was thinking about how many people we've spoken with who their kind of entrance into mystery was Agatha Christie, often at a younger age than yeah might be appropriate.
00:10:22
Speaker
um And, you know, I will have no qualms about sharing this with my son. I was very happy to hear in your interview with um the author that she's planning a series. I can't remember which one she's working on next, but it was equally as challenging for um some of the storyline reasons.
00:10:43
Speaker
I think it's the mystery of the blue train, I want to say, and I believe there's an affair in that and that's what she referenced being like, how do I talk it about how do i talk about an affair in a children's book? And I thought I don't envy you for that, but she seems very creative and I'm sure she'll pull it off and it'll come out really nicely. Yeah.
00:11:06
Speaker
We've talked about this in the past, manon but once again, this year you have lots of different price points. um You know, everything from about $15 and up. So I think that's really nice. It's very, it makes it very accessible to people to be able to remember someone in their life who, you know, loves our little niche, but might not want to spend a lot.
00:11:30
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's important to have that range. I know it's frustrating when you find something maybe like this list that seems so wonderful for you and then you can't find anything on it that you actually would buy or or you might not feel comfortable sending an expensive list to somebody. So there's a lot of different things on there. I think like there's some tech that's like the free write alpha. the The keyboard that I use is a little bit more expensive, but then there's some like stickers and things.
00:12:00
Speaker
And um i I hope that somebody can find something that they want to enjoy. And I do the same thing when I think about where the products are purchased from. It's very easy to pick things on Amazon, but I try to just limit that as much as possible. And um finding a range of stores both here and I actually found a few in the UK.
00:12:24
Speaker
that ah I hope ship worldwide. And so just having it be as accessible as possible is really important to me while also keeping it thoroughly on theme. Well, and I think you've got things on there that someone who may not be as fierce a mystery fan as us would still appreciate.
00:12:51
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's the the beauty of the section themes is where I can get a little crazy with, you know, I have a few things that are very mystery oriented. And then I have some things like a tea kettle. That's just a really cute tea kettle that looks, you know, it's a checkerboard pattern. and I thought that was mystery adjacent. So a lot of times for me, it's just picking things that are visually and, um, you know,
00:13:16
Speaker
what kind of thing they are just feel like they could go with mystery books really well and that also just adds a little bit of like padding to the guide where it's not on me to find all these mystery gifts. I will say it's I think I said this last year it is so hard to find mystery themed gifts that aren't Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie themed because there's so much of that already, like that's where the fandoms are. And I really appreciate that and I love that obviously, but I do try to find things that are broader mystery gifts that are still mystery themed but aren't tied to those really famous people or characters.
00:13:56
Speaker
Yeah. Cause they, and I mean, not everybody loves Sherlock or Agatha Christie, right? But they still might like mystery. So I think that's great that you're recognizing that and kind of accommodating all of the different levels of interest that people might have. So man, and do you share this list with your family in the hopes that they might select one or two of the items for you?
00:14:21
Speaker
I don't, but they definitely see it because they all follow me. But I'm trying to think. I i might have gotten something from my brother last year from the list, but I can't remember um because he's he's very good at getting me mystery themed gifts, which is really sweet. But this year, you know, I think people know me pretty well. And and I would probably get these gifts whether they knew about it or not. i just I feel very lucky to have a lot of it already. and so You know, I don't feel the urge to share the guide. But um it's so funny being a reader and I'm sure you'll get this where I have a lot of people not know what to get me because they think they should get me books. And I say, please, no, don't get many more books because you have no idea how many I have.
00:15:12
Speaker
and So it's nice to have a gift guide that kind of, you know, isn't book related because it is kind of disappointing to get somebody a book and and have them already have it. So I hope people, if they're shopping for a reader in their life, they can feel a lot more comfortable getting them something that's not a book because a lot of pressure on that kind of gift.
Writing for Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
00:15:33
Speaker
Definitely. Oh, man. And you mentioned that you use the Freerite Alpha that you have under the word snoop category. And um I want to extend some congratulations. I heard that you had a story accepted by Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.
00:15:53
Speaker
Thank you. Yes, I did. ah That was a big thing for me this year. um And it made me feel like more of a writer. And I know that that's just imposter syndrome talking because I do write habitually, but that felt like a really good sense of accomplishment. So thank you. i' That's ah like I'm really looking forward to that. And it's actually coming out It's the January, February 2025 issue, but it's on newsstands on December 10th. So that's like a little holiday gift to me. Oh, that's so exciting. Yeah. And such an iconic, you know, I mean, that's just a really great nod to you, Manon, to be an Ellery Queen. Can you share just a little bit about the story with us without giving too much away?
00:16:40
Speaker
Yeah, it's so funny talking about a short story because it's this one's really short. I think it's like 20, 2300 words or something like that. It's very short, but it's funny. I started writing it in 2021.
00:16:55
Speaker
because my family went on a family trip to southwestern Utah. And then we took a detour to this ranch that my I think my great my great uncle owned. And my dad spent a summer there in the 70s. And we went back to it. And I started thinking about that in a very creative way. And I wrote this story about this man that goes back to this ranch where he spent a summer as ah as a teenager. and kind of his relationship with that place and it turned into a bit of a paranormal suspense story and I had no idea how to end it because I just wasn't there yet in my writing skills and so then I came back to it this year I rediscovered it and I was like oh this could be good if I just didn't do any of the endings I thought I needed to do
00:17:42
Speaker
and just had it a lot more open. So I finished it and that's that was a lesson for me and just persistence and just sometimes literally putting something in a drawer far away and then not thinking about it, which I know as authors you understand that same sentiment. Yeah, absolutely. I think there's something about a little bit of distance and revisiting something and and kind of seeing it in a new light that can just make it so much better.
00:18:11
Speaker
And it's always a pleasure when you read it and you think, wow, this was pretty good. I want to finish it. This wasn't half bad. I'm not as bad as I thought I was when I wrote it. It's funny how a little distance and time just makes all the difference there. Well, I'm, I'm looking forward to December and getting my hands on a copy. Thank you guys. Thanks so much.
00:18:34
Speaker
Sarah asked you, man, and whether you'll be giving your list to your loved ones. And I definitely have a few items on your list that I have my eye on. um Sarah, you won't be surprised that I'd really love the the Raven microfiber cleaning cloth. So cute. I hope that shows up in my stocking.
00:18:54
Speaker
And I really want the wireless keyboard. It's the retro style wireless keyboard. It's not a lot of money, but I just imagine it has some really good clicky keys. And so I'd i'd kind of like to get that ah started at the first of the year.
00:19:11
Speaker
Yeah, I think a keyboard is a really great gift for any writer and i I mean honestly I use one with my laptop pretty frequently because my keyboard here is kind of busted so it's a practical gift and that one I picked because it looked like a little detectivey, a little retro. And that's kind of the vibe that I go when I pick out these gifts that aren't mystery specific. I go for retro, I go for plaid, I go for something that seems like it'd be in Sherlock study maybe. And um yeah, I'm glad you mentioned the keyboard because I thought that was really cute as well.
00:19:47
Speaker
Well, I love all of the um things that you've got in the busy body category. um I don't have a copy yet of the Myrtle board game, but that is definitely on my list. um And I think the, you know, the the puzzles are also know perfect for the holidays.
00:20:09
Speaker
I know when I think about those kind of gifts, I mean, those are collaborative gifts, those puzzles. There's like a puzzle, ah the Myrtle board game, the um there's a book nook that you can put together. And I think getting those around Christmas time is a really sweet way to, is a really sweet thing to receive because you can do them with the people that you're spending the holidays with. And I've definitely done that in the past with those kinds of games.
00:20:37
Speaker
And that's what I said. I mentioned the Love Day Brooke mystery box, and I am going to open that on camera for TikTok, but I'm not going to do it. I'm going to be very, very strict with myself. I'm not going to do it until I think Thanksgiving when I have my family or some people who might be interested in doing that with me, um because that's a great opportunity to spend time with people. Oh, that sounds lovely.
Where to Find the Gift Guide & Podcast Closing
00:21:03
Speaker
So, Manon, where can people find your list and when will it be available? Thank you for the question. I am on Instagram at mysterymanon and TikTok under the same username. I'm a little bit more active on TikTok right now in case You don't see me too much on Instagram. That's where I've kind of been living. But I also have a website, maninwogan.com, and I'm sure that'll be in your show notes linked. And that's where the gift guide will be live. It'll also come out in my ah newsletter, the Clues Letter. So the guide will come out the same day as the Clues Letter on November 12th next Tuesday.
00:21:46
Speaker
and um I'll be sending the link out in the clues letter and then I'll have the Instagram posts go live that day as well, I think. But stay tuned and I will keep everyone, I'll be pretty active on socials actually because of this. So if you have any questions, you can shoot me a DM or or just keep an eye out there for the catalog.
00:22:09
Speaker
Fantastic. Well, thank you so much for joining us, man. And this is always a highlight of our year, I think, if I can speak on behalf of Brooke ah and to just see this amazing list of gifts that you put together and get some ideas for what to give to other mystery lovers.
00:22:32
Speaker
It is a highlight, and we hope it's a highlight for you as well, listeners. so Thank you again for joining us today on Clued in Mystery. I'm Brooke. And I'm Sarah, and we both love mystery.
00:22:46
Speaker
Clued In Mystery is written and produced by Brooke Peterson and Sarah M. Stephen. Music is by Shane Ivers. If you liked what you heard, please consider telling a friend, leaving a ri review, or subscribing with your favorite podcast listening app. Visit our website at cluedinmystery.com to sign up for our newsletter, The Clued In Chronicle, or to join our paid membership, The Clued In Cartel. We're on social media at Clued In Mystery.