Mollie Hunt's Blog, page 42
December 20, 2018
MY “CAT CAFÉ” GREAT ESCAPES VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR
MY “CAT CAFÉ” GREAT ESCAPES VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR
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The tour is just finishing up today, but I wanted to tell everyone what a wonderful experience it was! I’d been noticing the bright banners of the “Great Escapes” blog tours for a while now, and followed many of them, learning about new cozy mysteries with fun characters and interesting authors, but I never quite got it until I connected with CWA friend Debbie De Louise, who is one of the blog tour hosts. I decided to take a chance and contacted Lori, who amazingly coordinates the tours. From there it was easy- I just followed her instructions and voila! A week of cross-promotion from a group of great bloggers with sites I’m excited to discover.
Here is the full line-up of stops on the tour, and even though the last of the blogposts posted today, the sites with their interviews, reviews, character interviews, and fun with cats are still there and definitely worth taking a look. Check it out for a chance to win a signed copy of “Cat Café”. (GIVEAWAY ends tomorrow.)
The “Cat Café” Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway. Please stop by.
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
December 14 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT
The tour begins with a spotlight on Babs Book Bistro. Check it out for a chance to win a signed copy of “Cat Café”
December 14 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW
For the second stop on the “Cat Café” Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour, Laura of Laura’s Interests Blogsite writes a review. Thanks, Laura!
December 15 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
Third stop on the “Cat Café” Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour is Fuonlyknew, Laura’s Ramblins and Reviews with another spotlight and the cutest GIF of a Cat-mas Tree I’ve ever seen!
December 15 – Handcrafted Reviews – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT
December 16 – Here’s How It Happened – GUEST POST
This is a fun one, featuring my guest post, COZIES IN A DANGEROUS TIME. And don’t forget the giveaway!
December 17 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
My friend and fellow CWA member Debbie De Louise is the host of this Book Tour stop. Sneaky the Library Cat interviews Lynley’s magical kitty Mab with surprising results.
December 18 – The Pulp and M ystery Shelf – CHARACTER GUEST POST
Shannon Muir’s The Pulp and Mystery Shelf gives us a character guest post with Tinkerbelle, Registered Therapy Cat, Retired. Tink tells firsthand how she was a working cat for four years, then retired to be a mystery star.
December 19 – Socrates Book Reviews – REVIEW
Socrates Book Reviews blogsite gives a fantastic review of Cat Café.
December 19 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
This spotlight comes from Canadian blogger Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews. Did you know I lived on Vancouver Island, British Columbia for 10 years? Beautiful country!
December 20 – Cozy Up With Kathy – AUTHOR INTERVIEW & GIVEAWAY
On This final day of the “Cat Café” Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour, we visit Kathy, who did a fun interview with me. Thanks, Kathy!
December 20 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW & GIVEAWAY
Last visit for the “Cat Café” Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour, a review by My Reading Journeys.
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Opening the links each day to the “Cat Café” Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour was so exciting for me. This tour has been so much fun. I hope you enjoy it too.
Don’t forget there are still a few hours to put your name in for the giveaway of a signed copy of Cat Café. (3 chances to win)
Thanks to everyone who followed my “Cat Café” Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour. This was my first time doing a professional tour, and Lori did an exceptional job. Special thanks to all the bloggers who took the time to host, do interviews and reviews— I will be following their interesting and informative blogsites from now on! Special thanks to Lori— I don’t know how you do it! These blog tours are such a special resource for writers like me. Blessings to all for a wonderful season and fantastic new year!
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Connect with Great Escapes:
Facebook: Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours
Facebook: Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book
Google+: Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book
December 17, 2018
CAT-MAS POEM and AN ANNOUNCEMENT!
Here is my latest cat poem, “Merry Cat-mas“, published on the Fire Star Blogsite to celebrate the holiday season.
And speaking of poems and cats, I have a big surprise coming before the end of the year. It has to do with my need to organize things, to put like things together, and to present them as a collection. I have many collections: cat figurines, Star Trek Autographs, Chevron cars, Talavera plates… the list is seemingly endless.
This time it’s poetry!
I’ve compiled all my cat poems into a little collection called, somewhat obviously, “Cat Poems.” It started as a little OCD venture, but has blossomed into something that truly excites me.
I don’t have a publish day yet, but I do have a cover!
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Stay tuned for more information soon!
December 10, 2018
Purrfect Landlords Campaign to Help Give Renters Chance to own Cats — Katzenworld
The post Purrfect Landlords Campaign to Help Give Renters Chance to own Cats appeared first on Katzenworld – Welcome to the world of cats!. Hi everyone, Many of us have probably been in the same situation before… we can’t afford to buy a place, so rely on renting a place but many landlords not just in…
via Purrfect Landlords Campaign to Help Give Renters Chance to own Cats — Katzenworld
December 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW: A Spell of Murder, by Clea Simon
A Spell of Murder: the first Witch Cats of Cambridge mystery, by Clea Simon
Clea Simon’s new cozy paranormal mystery, A Spell of Murder, is as captivating as a puzzle ball, a satisfying cat mystery in the truest sense.
“Magic is for felines,” says Clara as she tries to dissuade Becca from becoming embroiled in things beyond her ken, but the young woman doesn’t understand. Alas, Becca is only human, where Clara is a cat!
Clara is one of three feline sisters, descended from the witch cat of Salem, but Becca doesn’t know that. She’d only yielded to a whim when adopting the trio— little did she suspect that the cats had chosen her, taking on her welfare as their covert duty.
Clara, especially, will go to any lengths to keep Becca safe, but when the young woman begins to investigate the murder of a coven member, things get complicated. Can the little calico save her person without giving their secret away?
Murder, magic, and romance abound, but the cats are the stars of this story. Clea has woven a rich tapestry of real and imagined qualities for her feline heroines that cat people will find authentic and humorously familiar.
—Mollie Hunt, author of the Crazy Cat Lady cozy mystery series and fellow member of the Cat Writers’ Association
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I’ve recently had the pleasure of reviewing Clea Simon’s newest book, A Spell of Murder: a Witch Cats of Cambridge mystery. A Spell of Murder is the first of the new series which I foresee to be purringly successful. Clea is a cat writer, and what I love about all her cat-themed stories, is the overwhelming presence of the cats. They come alive on the page, as strong as any of her human characters. All too often, a so-called cat mystery will have only a passing cat, a hint of cat, or possibly a cat picturesquely placed on the cover. But in my opinion and that of the Cat Writers’ Association, grandma’s kitty appearing briefly in the third chapter, then vanishing into thin air for the remainder of the book, does not a cat book make. With Clea’s work, there is no such fear. Her cats are front and center, believable and catlike, even though they may work magic now and then.
Clea Simon grew up in New York, before moving to Cambridge, Massachusetts to attend Harvard. She fell in love with the city and lives there still with her husband and their cat, Musetta. Clea is a prize-winning member of the Cat Writers’ Association and the author of the Theda Krakow, Dulcie Schwartz, Pru Marlowe, and Blackie & Care cat mystery series. She also wrote the rock ‘n’ roll noir WORLD ENOUGH and a handful of nonfiction books.
Disclosure: I received an ARC copy of A Spell of Murder in exchange for an honest review.
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November 30, 2018
CATS AT COMIC-CON: Part 3, Cat Fans
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Last but not least on my tour of all things cat at Rose City Comic-con are the fans! I wish I’d taken more pictures, because the variation of comic-con clientele wearing cat-themed clothing was beyond my wildest expectations. Some were costumes of cat characters, where others were mash-ups, and still others wore cat print tees, dresses, or leggings, just because cat. Unfortunately I was too busy having fun to get all the shots I could want.
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The many incarnations of the Cat Woman character went from authentic to comical.
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Artist Abby Denson wore this fashionable black cat print scarf.
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This guy had created his own character, Captain Cat!
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A Doctor Who mashup tee with, the cat box in place of the police box.
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Alien riding a kitten tee on a big guy accompanied by a princess.
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A goth, witchy, black cat vest.
If you missed the previous parts of this blog, THE CATS OF COMIC-CON, here they are:
CATS AT COMIC-CON: Part 1, The Art
CATS AT COMIC-CON: Part 2, Cat Stuff
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And yes, I already have my tickets for next year!
November 26, 2018
CATS AT COMIC-CON: Part 2, Cat Stuff
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Though I’ve attended my share of Star Trek conventions, it wasn’t until last year that I went to my first comic-con. Since I’m not really into comics, graphic novels, or gaming, I never considered what it could offer me. Then I began to hear about the other element of the comic-cons: celebrity guests. Suddenly I was interested! I love meeting the actors behind the characters I watch on television and in movies. Last year, I went for one day; this year I bought myself a 3-day pass!
What I hadn’t realized until I got into the crowd and began really looking around was how much feline representation there was. In my previous blogpost CATS AT COMIC-CON Part 1: The Art of the Cat, I introduced several cat artists. This is the second installment of my 3-part blog about Rose City Comic-con, we’ll go through the vendors’ room and check out all the cat-themed merch.
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The first cat-themed merchandise I came across was Tentacle Kitty, a family of cute little plush toys that combine the head of a kitty and the body of an octopus. I talked to John Merritt, creator of the product, and asked him how such a thing came about. He told me it had begun when he wanted to make his wife something for their wedding anniversary. He combined the two things they each loved the most (besides each other): cats for him, and tentacles, representing her career as a marine biologist, for her.
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A start-up tee shirt company I ran into by the name of the Cat Gang had some fun items. Their cat designs are bold and colorful, and come on pins, hats, hoodies, stickers, and without a doubt, tee shirts.
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Several vendors who didn’t specialize in cat-themed merchandise still carries their share of cat cell phone cases, sparkly cat ears, cat jewelry, and cat print clothing.
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And what would a comic-con be without at least one poster of Cat Woman!
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Stay tuned for CATS AT COMIC-CON Part 3: Cat Fans!
November 12, 2018
IAMMOSHOW, THE CAT RAPPER meets ARM & HAMMER SLIDE
He’s the Cat Rapper, and he lives in my town!
A few weeks ago I had the privilege of interviewing Cat Rapper Moshow for the Katzenworld Cat Blogsite. We talked about his life, his passion for music, and his new collaboration with Arm & Hammer cat litter. It was great fun, and here it is!
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Source: IAMMOSHOW, THE CAT RAPPER meets ARM & HAMMER SLIDE
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November 1, 2018
The Cat Café Book Launch Blog Hop
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I can’t believe the week is nearly over! It’s been quite a ride. On Saturday, I had a Cat Café pre-launch party at Another Read Through independent bookstore here in Portland, and all this week, my friends from CWA have been hosting a Cat Café Book Launch Blog Hop. I got to do character interviews with Lynley’s cats, answer interesting questions about Lynley, my books, and my process of writing, as well as tell a bit about my adventures at some real cat cafés.
Here is the blog hop lineup:
Oct. 29th- National Cat Day.
The 1st day of the hop starts with Dusty Rainbolt’s Jeffy Jeffy Bad Boy interviewing Lynley’s oldest cat, Dirty Harry. Old cats have all the secrets!
Dusty Rainbolt’s Universe
http://dustycatwriter.com/nv_dusty/2018/10/29/an-interview-with-the-cat-cafe-senior-dirty-harry/
Oct. 30th: Melissa Lapierre’s cat Mudpie interviews Lynley’s kitties, all 8 of them! (Little, Lynley’s favorite feline sleuth, is the spokes-cat)
Blogger, Mochas, Mysteries and Meows
https://www.mochasmysteriesmeows.com/2018/10/mudpie-interviewslittle-from-mollie.html
Oct 31: Why Cat Café? Patricia Fry wants to know.
Catscapades
https://www.matilijapress.com/catscapades/?p=3043
Nov. 1: Fun Questions with Amy Shojai, CABC
Amy Shojai, CABC
https://amyshojai.com
https://amyshojai.com/mollie-hunt-crazy-cat-lady/
Nov. 2: Kathleen S. Mueller reviews Cat Café, and we chat about writing, muses, and old photographs from secret boxes in the attic.
Traveling Dog Lady
www.travelingdoglady.blogspot.com
There may be only one day of the hop to go, but the blogposts will be around forever because such is the nature of the internet, and you’ll be sure to find other cool stuff on these cat bloggers’ sites.
It’s so exciting to put out a new book! Find out more or buy Cat Café here:
October 25, 2018
THERE’S MORE TO CAT CAFÉ: The Fabulous 1950s: Pony Tails and Poodle Skirts
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Most of us think of the Fifties with nostalgia, as a simpler time defined by “I Love Lucy” fun and “Leave it to Beaver” innocence. The air was clearer; the sky was bluer; the cities, smaller. Crime was nothing like it is now, though the oldsters still thought the world was going to the dogs back in those days.
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Coming out of World War II, many US residents were high on prosperity and hope. Charles M. Schulz began his comic strip, Peanuts. The Tournament of Roses Parade was televised in color. The first credit card was introduced, changing the financial lives of Americans for generations to come.
Movies, though leaning toward Westerns, were all over the map, from Sunset Boulevard to Cinderella.
Women still wore dresses and men wore suits, with hats! The teenage fashion of peddle-pushers for girls was just beginning, but skirts were more common, and the famous “poodle skirt” came into being. (Not all poodle skirts displayed dogs! Yay to the kitty skirt!)
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When Lynley attends the opening of the newly remodeled Blue Cat café, she discovers a vintage photo from that era hanging in the foyer, starkly at odds with the ultramodern decor:
…The foyer, which currently housed a lavish buffet and open bar, was packed full. As we worked our way through, holding to the wall opposite the food and drink, I paused to look at a framed vintage photograph hung in a small alcove evidently designed with it in mind. The faded sepia tones seemed out of place in Arthur’s ultra-modern chrome and Plexiglas environs—he must have deemed it significant to have given it such a prominent spot.
The eight-by-ten matte-finish photo showed a group of youths gathered around an old pickup truck, six teens and a child, circa 1950. I peered closer, and from out of the unfocused monotone, a familiar face began to emerge. The teens had autographed the sky above their heads, and I had to check that I wasn’t seeing things, but sure enough, the name in the faded scrawl read Carol MacKay.
“That’s my mother!” I exclaimed to Frannie, pointing at a wavy-haired girl in bobby socks and a poodle skirt.
She leaned in to study the photograph. “But isn’t MacKay her married name? She wasn’t married at that age, was she?”
“No. She couldn’t be much more than sixteen here. It’s a funny story. Carol MacKay married Collin Mackey and became Carol MacKay Mackey. A double clan whammy. That’s one reason she’s so obsessed with her Scottish ancestry.”
“And she passed that torch on to you.”
“Yes, but it’s a good torch. I’ve traced our family back to the fourteen-hundreds.”
I scanned the other names and gave a little start when I picked out a girl in a ponytail and pedal pushers. “There’s Bea, Bea White back then.”
“Oh, just look at her sweater!” Frannie ogled the cardigan with a big sequined cat on the front. “She was a cat lady even then. Do you recognize anyone else?”
The signatures were hard to decipher, but above a lanky boy who slumped against the truck with cigarette hanging from full, youthful lips, was the moniker James John Melvin. “I can’t be sure, but that might be Melv, the FCC volunteer who helps with the TNR work. He’s the right age, and he mentioned he and Bea had been old friends.”
“This would certainly qualify as old,” Frannie agreed.
I gave one last glance at the photograph and noticed a detail about the truck that I’d missed before. The Dodge must have been a company vehicle because on the door was a big disk with the name ‘Copeland Lumber’ curving across the top. I remembered the logo from when I was a kid. I’d loved it because within that bright orange circle was a depiction of a cat. A black cat.
Cat Café, chapter 16
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Rag Mop by the Ames Brothers, White Christmas by Bing Crosby, and All My Love (Bolero) by Patti Page were on the top ten charts, along with Vaughn Monroe’s original incarnation of (Ghost) Riders in the Sky. Lynley’s mom Carol is reminded of that song as she studies the old photo, which has a much darker meaning to her than to her daughter:
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“The day that picture was taken, something terrible happened,” Carol began softly, as if, even after all this time, she was afraid someone might overhear. “It hadn’t happened yet when a friend snapped that shot. We had no idea, couldn’t have guessed. You’d think a thing so awful would be foreshadowed, wouldn’t you? But that’s not how it works. We were blissfully ignorant, terribly naive. We didn’t have the slightest clue that our lives were about to be changed forever.”
I squirmed in my chair, wishing she would get on with it, get to the good part, but it was her saga and she needed to tell it in her own time.
“I mentioned before about the black cat emblem, how we chose it because we considered ourselves to be rebels. It was really the boys’ idea. We girls, Bea, Olivia, and I, couldn’t care less about anarchy or rebellion, but like anyone else that age, we enjoyed breaking a few rules. And we fancied the boys—she had a crush on Melv and I rather liked Terrance, though it never came to anything. None of us were nearly as fractious as we pretended to be. For the most part, we had fun driving around listening to music on the truck radio.” She hummed a few tuneless bars of Vaughn Monroe’s Riders in the Sky. “Not all that much different from teenagers these days, I suspect.”
“How old were you then?”
“Seventeen. Nearly eighteen. We were all around that age. Rorie was twenty, Olivia only sixteen.”
“And the child?”
Cat Café, chapter 22
Yikes! What child? Find out in Cat Café.
Launch date for Cat Café, the 5th Crazy Cat Lady cozy mystery is October 29th, National Cat Day. Pre-order your copy now !
I grew up in the fifties, before they were fabulous, and so did Lynley Cannon. Let’s just say, there is both good and bad in any time. Carol remembers…
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October 22, 2018
THERE’S MORE TO CAT CAFÉ: Cat Ears, Cat Socks, and Feline Fashion Statements
Coming soon! Cat Café, a new Crazy Cat Lady cozy mystery by Mollie Hunt
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If you went into your closet right now, how many cat-themed articles of clothing and accessories would you find there? Cat tee shirts? Cat dresses? Cat print skirts? How about cat leggings? Cat scarves? Cat hats? Yes, yes, yes, and yes. If this search includes animal print as well, I personally have a leopard spot vest, blouse, shirt, and just recently, bathrobe. Jewelry is another matter. How easy is it to collect cat pins necklaces, and earrings? I have ceramic art cats, Laurel Burch cats, fine jewelry cats, bead cats, and that’s just the beginning.
But let’s talk about one article of clothing in particular: socks.
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No, not that kind of Socks! Socks that we put on our feet!
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As Lynley, the sixty-something cat shelter volunteer hero of Cat Café, zips through town on her way to a TNR outing with Special Agent Denny Paris, she goes by a sock shop:
…We passed a shop that sold novelty socks. Briefly I wondered if they carried any cat socks I didn’t already own.
Cat café, chapter 13
That brings to my mind images of a sock drawer filled to the brim with cute and colorful kitty print.
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Cat-themed socks come in many flavors, from Hello Kitty to le Char Noir. Cats in space, cats in glasses, cats on books, cats with tails like a mermaid. You can even get your own cat’s face on a pair of custom-made socks for around $24. There are cat footies, ankle socks , and over the knee socks with pointed ears at the hem.
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But why? What makes it important for us to display our feline affinity on our feet? I don’t know about anyone else, but I can tell you why Lynley Cannon likes them: because they are both impressive and subtle at the same time. You can be wearing cat socks and no one has to know. Or conversely, everyone will know— it all depends on the length of your skirt or pants. You can cover them, up or flash them discriminately (or indiscriminately!) You have the capability of showing off your feline affinity with mere a flick of the foot.
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If we were cats, we would have our coat determined by our genes, but since we’re human and society dictates we wear clothes over our furlessness, we might as well have fun at it. What is your favorite piece of cat-themed clothing?
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Launch date for Cat Café, the 5th Crazy Cat Lady cozy mystery is October 29th, National Cat Day. Pre-order your copy now !
