Japanese Mysteries and Self-Discovery for Amateur Sleuths with S.J. Pajonas

This was the first cozy mystery series I'd ever heard of that's set in Japan. I had to talk to Stephanie (SJ) Pajonas about her Daydreamer Detective, Mei Yamagawa. Mei has moved back home to the rural community where her mother lives, after failing at life in the big city. But, as so often with life, that's probably for the best because Mei's daydreaming ways make her an instinctive and insightful amateur sleuth. Stephanie and I chat about what led to her fascination with Japan, learning Japanese, and practicing her language skills on her visits to that island nation. You can find out more about today's guest, S.J. Pajonas, and all her books on her website SPajonas.com. You can also find her on Twitter @SPajonas. Links and resources mentioned in this episode Click on any of the book covers to go to Stephanie's books on Amazon Stephanie also writes Science Fiction with a Japanese twist. You can learn more here. More about Kotatsu, the Japanese heated floor table Stephanie mentions. Press play (above) to listen to the show, or read the transcript below. Remember you can also subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts. And listen on Stitcher. You can also click here to watch the interview on YouTube. Transcription of Interview with S.J. Pajonas Alexandra: Hi Mystery readers, I'm Alexandra Amor. It's a mystery podcast, and I'm here today with S.J. Pajonas. Hi, Stephanie! Stephanie: Hi. How are you today? Alexandra: Very well. How are you? Stephanie: Doing great. Alexandra: That's good. All right, well let me give our listeners an introduction to you. Stephanie (S. J) Pajonas is the author of several books series including the, Miso Cozy Mystery series, which we're going to talk about later today. Stephanie is a writer, a knitter, armature astrologer, Capricorn, and Japanophile. We're gonna talk about that as well. She loves foxes, owls, sushi, yoga pants, Evernote, and black tea. When she's not writing, she's thinking about writing o