Hello and Meow, Mr. Cat. What is your name and your author’s name?
Dirty Harry here. My friends just call me Harry. Are you my friend? Oh, and my author is Mollie Hunt, cat writer.
MOL (Meow Out Loud). My author has a cat named Harry. Debbie is also a friend of your author’s and a cat cozy mystery writer, too. It’s mice to meet you.
What book(s) have you appeared in? Please list them and their genre.
I’m front and center in all my author’s Crazy Cat Lady Cozy Mysteries, beginning with book one, Cats’ Eyes. Well, maybe not front and center in all ten of them, but I’m always there in my cubby by the TV or sitting on my human’s lap to dry off after a rain shower in the catio.
That’s pawsome. I’m also a key character in my author’s Cobble Cove cozy mystery series.
Please give information about your series.
The Crazy Cat Lady Cozy Mystery Series features Lynley Cannon, a sixty-something cat shelter volunteer who finds more trouble than a cat in catnip. She lives with me and the clowder—or I guess I should say we live with her in a big house in Portland Oregon. Humans think women her age are sedentary, but not Lynley. She’s attended an exclusive art retreat, chased ghosts during a television shoot, saved her mom from certain death in a cat café, broken up a cat counterfeiting ring, and of course helped to roust more than a few murderers.
What a spunky main character, you lucky kitty. Alicia, the librarian, is pretty spunky herself, but I am always happy to lend a paw helping solve the town’s mysteries.
Are you based on a real cat such as your author’s? If so, please give further details.
I am indeed the one and only Dirty Harry, but alas, I crossed the Rainbow Bridge some time back. Before that I lived with my author for many wonderful years.
Awww. I’m loosely based on Oliver, the Siamese, who was also a cat of Debbie’s but has been on Rainbow Bridge for six years now.
Can you share an excerpt from one of your books that features you in an important scene? If so, please include it.
Sure! Here’s one from the new book, Cat House, where everybody is celebrating my seventeenth birthday. BTW it has a little preview about the theme of the next book at the end.
“Is the birthday boy ready?” Carol called, emerging from the kitchen with a tray of nicely browned squares. Sprigs of parsley rested decoratively at each end.
“Ta-da!” she announced, placing the tray on the ottoman. “Home-baked tuna treats, all cooled off and ready to eat.”
Dirty Harry, awakened by the smell, gave a sniff, then another. Without further ado, he rose from my lap and stepped over to the fare. He licked at a particularly delicious-looking cracker, then began crunching enthusiastically.
“You’ve got a hit,” said Fredric, standing behind Seleia who was watching the old cat with unabashed love.
Carol beamed. “Maybe I should start making them commercially. I could sell them at the Pet Pantry. Homemade and organic? Small, senior woman-owned business? Why, that could be my new career.”
Harry seemed to agree, and as Carol passed out the treats to the other cats who had been drawn to the enticing scent, she received even more rave reviews.
Harry had finished his cracker and went hunting for more. Carol placed another in front of him, then retired the tray to a high shelf. “That’s enough for now, Harry. We don’t want you to yak all over your birthday gifts.”
“Speaking of…” I announced. “Seleia, will you grab that box from behind you?”
Seleia passed me the flat cardboard box. I removed the lid revealing a layer of white tissue paper. Pulling up a corner, I showed the humans the bounty.
“It’s a Treasure Box—toys, rattle balls, sparklies, and kicker pillows, all dusted with catnip. A volunteer at Friends of Felines makes them, and the proceeds go to the shelter.”
I tucked the tissue back in place and set the box on the floor. Harry was down to inspect it in a heartbeat. With unabashed enthusiasm, he clawed through the flimsy paper, rubbed against it, then rolled over in a kittenish fashion, one of the bright catnip kickers grasped between his paws. Everyone laughed to see the old cat playing like a kitten.
Harry picked out each toy in turn, then when all that was left in the box was a dusting of catnip, he stalked over to his favorite bed in the TV cabinet for a well-deserved nap, and the party was over.
Seleia and Fredric put on coats and retired to the garden to enjoy the moment of sunshine the Weather Kitty had promised. Carol, Frannie, and I sat in the remains of birthday chaos, talking about nothing in particular.
Finally Frannie rose and gathered her things.
“I’m sorry, Lynley, I have to take off. My quilting group is meeting in an hour, and I need to pick up some squares from the fabric store.”
“I didn’t know you were a quilter,” said Carol.
“Beginner. I do know how to sew, but I’ve never tried quilting before. A friend thought I might be interested in this group. They work exclusively on feline designs.”
“Cat quilting? That sounds like fun.”
“There’s still space open in the class,” Frannie hinted.
“Even if I could make it off this couch,” I replied, “there’s no way I’d be ready in an hour. But it does sound tempting.”
Frannie said her goodbyes and went off to the class. Carol slipped into the kitchen to clean up. Harry moved from his bed to my lap. I lay back on the couch pillows and closed my eyes. As I started to drift, I envisioned swaths of cat print fabric swirling like banners in the wind. Then they came together, a hand-stitched quilt with the center design of a beautiful black and white cat.
Excellent excerpt. Thanks for sharing it, Harry.
What do you like most about your role in your authors’ books?
That’s a sneaky question, Sneaky. I guess I appreciate my role as the rock of the story. “Role” and “Rock,” get it? But seriously, I am always there, ready to comfort, console, and generally make the world turn in our cozy little home.
Good answer.
Are you a talking cat in your books or just a silent one like I am who just meows occasionally?
I do not speak human, and I’m not overly psychic like my fur-sister Mab either. But don’t worry. I can communicate my wants and needs just fine.
Nice to know.
What advice would you give other cat characters?
Be gentle with your author. They work really hard to bring our stories to life.
I agree.
Do you have any new books coming out? Please give dates and details. We sure do! We are currently celebrating the release of the tenth Crazy Cat Lady mystery, the aforementioned Cat House. My author is already working on the next one, called Crafty Cat.
Wow, Meow! Your author is on a roll. I also know she won a Muse Medallion and special award from the Cat Writers’ Association recently. My author won a Muse, as well, for my short story, “Sneaky’s Supernatural Mystery” that appeared in her latest Cobble Cove book, Sneaky’s Supernatural Mystery and Other Cobble Cove Stories. We’re honored to be their cat characters.
Are you and/or your author on social media? If so, please list your links.
I don’t have time for all that stuff—too busy napping and overseeing the house—but my author does:
You can find Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer on her blogsite: https://molliehuntcatwriter.com/
Follow Mollie’s Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/molliehunt
Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/MollieHuntCatWriter/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/molliehuntcatwriter/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7768987.Mollie_Hunt
Purr-fect. I will share those with the readers of this blog. Thank you for the interview, Harry, and best whiskers to you and your author on your new release. I’m sharing the blog tour for the book below.
Cat House (Crazy Cat Lady Mystery)
by Mollie Hunt
About Cat House
Cat House (Crazy Cat Lady Mystery)
Cozy Cat Mystery
10th in Series
Setting – Portland, Oregon
Independently Published (October 29, 2023)
Number of Pages: 255
Digital ASIN : B0CGSXLYTP
This Halloween, the cats are hiding, and the monsters don’t wear costumes.
Young men from the Portland-Seattle area are going missing. It’s just another sad headline to Lynley Cannon—until she starts her new cat sitting job for an enigmatic neighbor Darla, that is.
An off-limits room, a suspicious phone message involving drugs, and the sudden appearance of a missing man’s cat peaks Lynley’s interest, but how far can she go before her cat-like curiosity turns deadly?
About Mollie Hunt
Cat Writer Mollie Hunt is the award-winning author of two cozy series: the Crazy Cat Lady Mysteries featuring a sixty-something cat shelter volunteer who finds more trouble than a cat in catnip, and the Tenth Life Paranormal Mysteries involving a ghost cat. Her Cat Seasons Sci-Fantasy Tetralogy presents extraordinary cats saving the world. She recently released a COVID memoir which she calls, “a tale of a plague and politics, of depression and inspiration, and an ode to the very real and healing presence of cats.” In her spare time, she pens a bit of cat poetry as well.
Mollie is a member of the Oregon Writers’ Colony, Sisters in Crime, the Cat Writers’ Association, Willamette Writers, and the Northwest Independent Writers Association (NIWA). She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and a varying number of cats. Like her cat lady character, she is a grateful shelter volunteer.
You can find Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer on her blogsite: https://molliehuntcatwriter.com/
Follow Mollie’s Amazon Page: www.amazon.com/author/molliehunt
Facebook Author Page: www.facebook.com/MollieHuntCatWriter/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/molliehuntcatwriter/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7768987.Mollie_Hunt
Book GoodReads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/198121913-cat-house
Purchase Links – Amazon
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
November 1 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
November 1 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
November 1 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW
November 1 – StoreyBook Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST
November 2 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
November 2 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW
November 2 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
November 3 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
November 3 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT
November 4 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT
November 4 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
November 4 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
November 5 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – SPOTLIGHT
November 5 – Lady Hawkeye – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
November 6 – Bigreadersite – REVIEW
November 7 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
November 7 – Cozy Up WIth Kathy – AUTHOR GUEST POST
Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?
Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!
Sneaky The Library Cat's Blog 
Thanks, Sneaky (and Debbie) for the fun interview with my character Dirty Harry, and for the mention of the CWA and our awards! I’m still aflutter!
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It was our pleasure, Mollie. Best “whiskers” and “wishes” on your new book.
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