Nora Charles doesn’t believe in fate, even if she is a crime reporter who shares a name with a character from The Thin Man. In fact, she’s moving back to Cruz, California, to have a quieter life. But after finding an online magazine eager for material, and a stray cat named Nick with a talent for detection, Nora’s not just reporting crimes again. She’s uncovering them…
Back in her hometown, Nora reconnects with old friends and makes some new ones, like Nick, the charming feline who seems determined to be her cat. But not everything about Cruz is friendly. Writing for a local online magazine, Nora investigates the curious death of socialite Lola Grainger. Though it was deemed an accident, Nora suspects foul play. And it seems that her cat does too.
Apparently, Nick used to belong to a P.I. who disappeared while investigating Lola Grainger’s death. The coincidence is spooky, but not as spooky as the clues Nick spells out for her with Scrabble letters—clues that lead her down an increasingly dangerous path. Whether fate put her on this case or not, solving it will take all of Nora’s wits, and maybe a few of Nick’s nine lives.
ROCCO has interviewed many authors on his blog, but
no one to date has ever interviewed him!
So now…it’s his turn. I interview ROCCO!
TLT: Hey,
ROCCO! For all our interested readers
out there, describe a typical day in your life.
R: Thank
you, my Human. Well, I’m usually very busy as you know, what
with coming up with authors to interview for the blog, as well as ideas for
that new mystery series you have coming out in December. That takes up a great deal of my time. My morning usually begins at around 3 a.m.
when I start knocking everything off your dresser so you are sure to get up and
feed myself and my siblings: brother Maxx and sisters Trixie and Princess. Once that’s done, I usually bother you whilst
you are getting dressed to go to your day job and once you’re out the door, I
take a mid-morning nap to regain my strength.
Later,
if I am so inclined, I amuse myself by playing with my favorite toy – my
ballies! I love to lose them underneath large pieces of furniture so that you
can get on your hands and knees and find them for me! Then when you come home, I meow loudly to
remind you that we all still need to be fed! Once that’s done, I trot myself
into the den where you are working on one of your (our!!!) books and finagle
you into spending at least twenty minutes playing “catch”. After that, I take my evening nap (usually at
the foot of your bed, sometimes next to you) until it starts all over the
following day!
TLT: How did you become the spokescat for KIDS NEED
TO READ?
R: You and I
were surfing the web one day and came across the charity. It looked worthwhile, and you were travelling
to Arizona that year on vacation, so you set up a meeting with Denise Gary and
then we hit upon the idea of having an Ebay auction, publicized by moi on my
blog, every summer. So far we have run
two very successful ones and will be doing our third this September.
TLT: What’s the story behind your name? Are you a
Sylvester Stallone fan?
R: Ah, my
name has nothing to do with the ROCKY movies.
The lady at the Clifton Animal Shelter, where you adopted me, named my
sister Pebbles and me ROCCO. Even then she could see I was a feisty devil.
TLT: I’ll definitely agree with the devil part…..
R: Moi?
Devilish????????? You betcha!
TLT: What do you love most about me? Dislike most?
R: Love is an
extreme term. I love the fact that you
know to feed us on time. If I had to
hone in on one dislike, it would be you do not play “catch” enough with me.
TLT: Now, suppose you explain how you became the “inspiration”
for our new mystery series debuting in December.
R: With
pleasure! If you will recall, my Human,
I have meowed many times to you that you should concentrate on writing stories
about a cat such as myself and give up on the vampires and other such
supernatural creatures. After your
supervisor concurred with my assessment one day, you came home and after
watching a “Thin Man” movie on Turner Classic, got all fired up and started
calling me “Nicky”. Thus was born the
Nick and Nora mysteries! My only regret is it had to be rewritten to eliminate
my “talking”, MOL! (Meow Out Loud)
And I did come up with the title…MEOW IF ITS
MURDER…although to date I have received absolutely NO credit for doing so,
hisss!!!!!!!!!
TLT: Just for
fun…
Catnip or scratching post? Scratching the arms of
your couch!
Tabbies or Tuxedos? Both
are equally fine.
Fish or Steak? Sardines
TLT: Rocco, where can readers find out more about
you and our mysteries?
R: My human has a website www.tclotempio.com and one can always check my blog, www.catsbooksmorecats.blogspot.com Not only do we have at least 3 author
interviews/giveaways per month, we also post news about the Human’s upcoming
books!
The
first Nick and Nora mystery, MEOW IF ITS MURDER, for which I am the inspiration
for the tuxedo cat Nick, will be available December 2 from Penguin/Random.
TLT:
Any last words?
R: Pad softly and carry a big fish.
I can't wait for book #2, and hope that it'll bring just as much joy as this one!
Rating: 4.5 stars
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All conclusions reached are my own.
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