Cat on a Hot Trash Route

 

Book #4 of the Cats & Crime series is satisfying in that we get to know Lorilee's second ward, Wendy (once known as Birdy) better and find out more about her past. One of the joys of writing a series is finding characters that stand up and holler, "More about me, please!" 

In the Sleuth Sisters series, a guy who was supposed to be only a goon sent to harass Barb and Faye became an ongoing character. With guidance from the sisters, his behavior improved immensely, and he became both helpful and likable. In this series, Greg, the neighbors' kid, is a brat, but he too changes as he matures.

I don't know about other writers, but these are seldom planned events for me. I invent characters as needed for one story, but some of them seem to want to stick around for later episodes. Sometimes readers comment that they like this one or that one, which leads me to include them in later books. 

Most, maybe all, of my characters begin as a hazy version of someone I've met. It helps me to have a mental image of their looks, their behavior, and their way of speaking. That is NOT to say that anyone "is" anyone in my stories. As soon as a character is created, that person becomes real to me and no longer associated with the real person. Mitzi is a great example. We all know Mitzi-like people, ones who think they know what's best for everyone else and consider themselves undiscovered geniuses. We've all had them lay a hand on our arm and give absolutely dumb advice with the air of sharing great wisdom. And, like Lorilee, we've all formed retorts that are never spoken, because we know it wouldn't do any good.  

Cat on a Hot Trash Route finds Lorilee helping Wendy find out why her mother was murdered several years ago. In the process, they uncover a nasty contemporary secret, illegal dumping. This book is available here for $3.99.