It has been a blast watching the ranking for Catnapped rise, rise and rise. Catnapped is the first in my Klepto Cat Mystery series. I consider it a cozy mystery and it involves cats. One cat, in particular, steals things and this interesting trait of his, while it sometimes gets him in trouble, also serves to help in murder investigations from time to time.
Reviewers say they enjoy the story and love the characters—especially Rags, the klepto cat. Check out the book here: http://amzn.to/14OCk0W
How do my own cats feel about Rags getting all the attention these days? Lily doesn’t miss a beat. She’s at my side no matter what project I’m working on. As long as I stay where she can see me and she gets her meals, a few treats, plenty of petting and her kitty water fountain is turned on, she’s happy.
Sophie and Max are oblivious. They’d just as soon not be in the limelight—let Rags be the star. These two are just contended to have a bed to hide under and someone to count on when they need some human contact.
Rags is patterned after my mother’s cat, Smokey. His mother is a ragdoll and his father an unknown participant. Mama hoped for a lap cat who would keep her company inside for all of her days. Oh Smokey likes a lap, but only occasionally throughout the day. His passion is hunting and prowling the neighborhood. He’s an adventurer for sure. He also loves riding around on Mama’s walker seat or in a personal shopping cart. A baby or doll stroller would probably do, as well.
Is he a klepto? Nah, I made that up. That’s why I didn’t use his real name—don’t want to end up in feline court. Smokey and I already have a shaky relationship. I’m the one who has to take him to the vet and sometimes lure him inside where he stays at night. Rags’s demeanor is patterned after Smokey—his exuberance for life—his confidence—his curiosity, creativity and his way of commanding attention.
The smaller cat on the cover of Catnapped is Layla. She is modeled after Lily—soft, quiet, unassuming, cuddly, adaptable and just about as sweet as they come. Only, while Layla is a light tangerine fluff-ball, Lily is a tabby with some orange shading.
When you write fiction, you can’t help but incorporate yourself, your experiences and people/animals that you know into your story. My family members get a kick out of reading my stories because they recognize snippets of me and my life throughout. Some of them find aspects or essences of themselves woven through the story. One of my daughters is (jokingly) demanding royalties because she gave me the basis for the catnapping story. Catnapping was actually going on in her community and her cats were snatched. I took that concept and created this mystery.
Can’t wait to read Catnapped? It’s on Kindle only at this point. Download your copy here: http://amzn.to/14OCk0W
