Hey, there, Kitty. Welcome to my blog. What is your name and your author’s name?
My name is Nick Charles, and the human who chronicles the adventures of myself and my human, Nora, is T. C. Lotempio.
Mice to meet you both.
What book(s) have you appeared in? Please list them and their genre.
To date I have appeared in six books: Meow if It’s Murder, Claws for Alarm, Crime and Catnip, Hiss H for Homicide, Murder Faux Paws, and our most recent adventure, A Purr Before Dying. All are cozy mysteries.
Wow, Meow! We have something in common, as I’ve also appeared in the six books of the Cobble Cove cozy mysteries.
Please give information about your series.
The Nick and Nora Mysteries chronicles the adventures of myself and my human, Nora Charles. Nora is a former true crime reporter from Chicago who returned to her hometown of Cruz, California, to take over her late mother’s sandwich shop. But in between slicing pastrami and roast beef we always seem to stumble upon a body or two.
That sounds pawsome and delicious. Lucky you. There’s not too much food in the Cobble Cove library for a hungry cat like me, but I do manage to get some scraps from the library staff and Alicia, of course.
Are you based on a real cat such as your author’s? If so, please give further details.
Yes, my character is based upon T.C’s cat Rocco. Rocco is a feisty tuxedo, much like myself, who even writes his own blog. He gave Toni, or T.C., the inspiration for the series when he jumped up on her lap while she was watching The Thin Man movie.
How wonderful. I’m based on my author’s Siamese cat, Oliver, who, sadly, passed five years ago. I’m honored to carry on his memory and have to admit I do a great job doing it.
Can you share an excerpt from one of your books that features you in an important scene? If so, please include it.
Excerpt from Nick & Nora 5, Murder Faux Paws:
I felt a soft breeze as the bullet whizzed past me, narrowly missing my cheek. I hit the floor face-first, narrowly missing Nick, who’d arranged himself into full Halloween cat mode—back arched, eyes slitted, lips curled back to reveal sharp fangs that gleamed white in the room’s inky blackness. I reached out and dug my fingers into his ruff, pulling him toward me. He didn’t resist. His back lowered and he curled himself against my side, but the fangs were still bared. We stayed that way for a few minutes, waiting for another shot to ring out, but the only sounds in the room were the rapid thudding of my heart and Nick’s panting. When nothing else happened, I relaxed my hold on the cat. “Hey, Buddy. You okay?” I whispered.
“Merow.”
He sounded almost indignant as he pulled away from me and started inching further into the room. “Nick,” I hissed. “Get back here.”
He paused and turned his head, fixing his golden stare on me. His lips parted and he emitted a loud hiss. Translation: Stupid human, I know what I’m doing. Haven’t I saved your life before? Tail upright, he padded forward, ignoring me. Swell.
I waited a few more minutes, and when no more shots were fired, raised myself cautiously up on one elbow and peered into the blackness. The outline of a desk was visible, near a window that stood half open. I picked myself up and moved slowly toward it, every muscle tensed, ready to drop back down at the slightest movement. I reached the window and glanced quickly out. A fire escape was just outside. Whoever had taken that shot must have used it as a quick escape route. I stepped back and jumped as my ankle brushed against soft fur. “Er-ow,” said Nick.
“Sorry, Nick. Did I step on you?” I glanced down and saw that he had his paw on a rather large object. A flashlight. I leaned over, picked it up and flicked it on. It was pretty dim, but at least there was some light. “Good find, Nick.”
He puffed his chest out and cocked his head at me, the corners of his lips tipped up in a kitty smirk.
Footnote: Murder Faux Paws won the Firebird Award last year for best cozy mystery of 2022
Great excerpt. Concatulations on your award!
What do you like most about your role in your author’s books?
I enjoy the fact that I give Nora pivotal clues to solving the mysteries through the use of Scrabble tiles! Also that I have rescued her more times than we both can count!
Nice job!
Are you a talking cat in your books or just a silent one like I am, who just meows occasionally?
Ah, funny thing . . . in the original manuscript I did talk, but the powers that be at my then-publisher didn’t want a talking cat, so henceforth I became silent. But I think volumes.
Well said. I went the other way. I was quiet except for normal cat sounds in the first four books of my series. Since then, I’ve been able to communicate with the other pets and understood by readers but not the human characters.
What advice would you give other cat characters?
Meow softly and carry a big stick of catnip.
(MOL). Meow Out Loud! I love that.
Do you have any new books coming out? Please give dates and details.
A Purr Before Dying, Nick & Nora #6, came out February 21st. Nick and Nora #7, Bell, Book and Murder, will be out around October of 2024 (it’s a Halloween-themed mystery).
Ooh, I love Halloween-themed mysteries. I especially enjoyed my role in No Gravestone Unturned where I witnessed a murder in a graveyard on Halloween. I also met Salem, the black cat, who was a guest in that book.
Are you and/or your author on social media? If so, please list your links.
Absolutely! We can be found on twitter at @RoccoBlogger,
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/toni.lotempio.5
Website: https://www.tclotempio.net
Blog: https://www.catsbooksmorecats.blogspot.com
Thanks so much for the interview, Nick, and best whiskers to you and your author on your new release. I’m sharing the blog tour with more information about it below.
A PURR Before DYING: A Nick and Nora Mystery
by T.C. LoTempio
About A Purr Before Dying
A PURR Before DYING: A Nick and Nora Mystery
Cozy Mystery
6th in Series
Setting – California
Beyond The Page (February 21, 2023)
• Number of Pages 256
More details to come
No one’s who they seem in the thrilling new Nick and Nora Mystery, and someone’s playing the part of a clever killer . . .
When a nighttime soap opera comes to town to film an episode, no one’s more excited than Nora Charles, who’s landed the contract for catering the shoot. But if she thought the show’s plotlines were full of drama and intrigue, that’s nothing compared to what she witnesses among the cast and crew, who are sneaking off for secret liaisons one minute and at each other’s throats the next. It’s all a titillating behind-the-scenes look for Nora—until she stumbles across the body of the show’s slain director.
It’s not long before the local authorities finger the brother of Nora’s good friend for the evil deed, and it’s up to Nora and her sidekick Nick to get him off the hook. As she begins to sort out the cast’s romantic entanglements and professional rivalries looking for a motive, she also discovers that the victim was involved in the mysterious death of the show’s previous director.
And then another member of the crew is found murdered, and Nora knows she’ll have to act fast to figure out who’s playing the part of the killer, before she’s cast in the role of the next victim . . .
About T.C. LoTempio
While Toni Lotempio does not commit – or solve – murders in real life, she has no trouble doing it on paper. Her lifelong love of mysteries began early on when she was introduced to her first Nancy Drew mystery at age 10 – The Secret in the Old Attic. She and her cat pen the Nick and Nora mystery series originally from Berkley Prime Crime and now with Beyond the Page Publishing. They also write the Cat Rescue series from Crooked Lane and the Pet Shop series, originally published by Midnight Ink and rebranded last year as “Urban Tails Pet Shop Mysteries.” Book six in the Nick and Nora mysteries, A PURR BEFORE DYING, is released this February from Beyond the Page. There is also a new series, Tiffany Austin Food Blogger, coming out in April.
You can cat-ch up with them at ROCCO’s blog, www.catsbooksmorecats.blogspot.com or her website, www.tclotempio.net
Blog Website Facebook Twitter: @RoccoBlogger
Purchase Link –
Amazon – B&N – Apple – Google Play – Kobo – Smashwords
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
February 27 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
February 28 – I’m Into Books – AUTHOR GUEST POST
February 28 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT
March 1 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 2 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
March 3 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – AUTHOR GUEST POST
March 4 – Lisa Ks Book Review – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 4 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
March 5 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST
March 6 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT
March 6 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW
March 7 – Jane Reads – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
March 7 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 8 – Socrates Book Reviews – REVIEW
March 8 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT
March 9 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
March 9 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT
March 10 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 11 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
March 12 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT
Have you signed up to be a Tour Host? Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!
Welcome, Mr. Big Dog. What is your name and your author’s name?
Hello, Mr. Big Dog. What is your name and your author’s name?
Sneaky The Library Cat's Blog 