GUEST POST –Why do I write mysteries with cats in them?
Isn’t it obvious? Cats make the best characters!
Although not all of my books feature cats, most do. In fact, all but one of my 25 mysteries features cats prominently. Sometimes, the cats are the narrators – like in my Blackie and Care series. Sometimes, they’re the sidekicks, like in my Pru Marlowe pet noirs. Sometimes, the cats talk – Pru and her tabby Wallis have long discussions. Sometimes, well, they’re just cats – like in my Theda Krakow mysteries (like Mew is for Murder), where my heroine loves her kitties and sets out to save some felines in distress, but they don’t talk to her – or she to them.
And sometimes, like in my new “Witch Cats of Cambridge” series, the cats are the smart ones. Take Clara, for example. This little calico is the voice of reason in the new A Spell of Murder, looking out for her human Becca, even while her older littermaters, Harriet and Laurel, are, well, a little more traditionally feline in their self-absorption. (Don’t get me wrong, Laurel and Harriet both love Becca – and they come through in the end – but they’re really concerned with their snacks and who gets to sleep in the sunny spot on the windowsill.)
Why do I write such a wide array of kitties? Because I see them this way, each with their own unique personality. In fact, I think they all deserve their own book, don’t you?
