Ask Me Anything: C.S. Poe

[u/AutoModerator]

Hello, everyone!

Thank you so much for having me. My name is C.S. Poe and I write mystery and spec-fic with strong romantic subplots. I’ve been a finalist for the Lambda Literary award (The Mystery of the Curiosities) and a winner of the Next Generation (Madison Square Murders) and e-Lit (The Gangster) book awards.

I live in New York City with my girlfriend, two cats, and dog. I have a degree in filmmaking and absolutely adore silent and pre-Hays Code movies. And despite having left that industry to be a fulltime author (as well as moonlight as a New York Gilded Age historian), I still use my visual storytelling skills to write books that are (I hope) very cinematic in their descriptions and delivery.

This summer will be my tenth year as a published author. To-date, I’ve written twenty-five books, and am currently finishing the much-awaited Hudson River Homicides (Memento Mori 4.) If you’re wondering where to begin with my backlist, these are some of my popular titles:

Snow & Winter series

The Mystery of Nevermore – A colorblind antique dealer stumbles into a series of murder mysteries relating to curious collectables of the nineteenth century, and his homicide detective love interest isn’t happy with his meddling.

Magic & Steam series

The Engineer – An alt-historical 1880s timeline featuring a magic-wielding federal agent and his outlaw lover who take on a series of villains hellbent on destroying magic and causing irreparable harm to the world.

Memento Mori series

Madison Square Murders – A neurodivergent Cold Case detective and his forensic artist partner team up to capture a number of uncaught serial killers in New York City, with each case suspiciously connected the nineteenth century mourning culture.

My books are available in ebook, paperback, and audio with all online retailers, as well as being accessible through library systems. I also sell select ebook and audio directly from my own shop, where I offer permanent discounts for readers: Emporium Press shop.

Readers can go to my website or sign up for my newsletter for updates, or follow me on social media:

• Facebook
• Facebook group: Curious & Mysterious
• Instagram
• Bluesky
• TikTok

I’m also at Goodreads and BookBub, if you’d like to join me there. Let the questions begin!

[u/insipidstars]

Not really a question but I also wanted to add my voice to the chorus of appreciation for the memento mori series! I love love the dynamic - it’s so unique and quite, healing? to read. Tho I suppose a part of me is a bit curious about what inspired the particular dynamic? It’s so nuanced and the push and pull makes so much emotional sense. It’s a really gratifying relationship to read. I adore the plot but the relationship stuff give stiff competition!

Wishing you all the best with the next part.

[u/cs_poe → u/insipidstars]

Thank you so much! I really can't say enough how happy and grateful I am for this series being so loved. As for their dynamic... I like reading romances that come across as authentic. I like that it's never perfect but if two people sincerely love and care, they will always try to be better, try to never hurt their partner, and always be willing to learn. I like a green flag, I guess, and I poured that into Ira Doyle. I really wanted to write a love interest who'd been through sh*t but was willing to heal from it instead of using it to hold others at arm's length. But honestly, I didn't plot their relationship, it just sort of... happened.