Maggie Pill Mysteries

 The second book of the Cats & Crimes Mysteries is with the editor, so I had time to think about covers and such. Before I forget, we chose Esmeralda as the new cat's name, and we'll call her Esme for short. Thanks to all who made suggestions. Somewhere, I have the name of the person who suggested Esme, and she will get a free copy of the book when it's available. Now, as for the cover. Please tell me what you think, because I can ask for changes if something doesn't look right.

  My upcoming project introduces a woman who has 8 cats. (It doesn't have a title yet, so ideas would be appreciated.) She gets involved in solving a murder (of course), so it's almost a textbook example of a cozy mystery: amateur sleuth, humor, pets--you know the drill. The first completed draft is currently with a beta reader. After that will be revision, edit, revision, edit, etc. for months, so the "when?" is up in the air. The book was fun to write, because I used cats from my own past--not that I ever had eight at once. Some pics below are representations; others are real cats from my life. The Professor, a very ornery character, is based on my daughter's cat Taz, who was kept in a box for the first year of his life and never got over it. He lashed out at anyone who got close (except for her), so we all learned to give him a wide berth. Taz was black, but he had the same look on his face as this guy. Albert is completely black and...large. He's an amalga...

Releasing May 30, 2016 Since E. A. Poe wrote the first mystery, the genre has been popular with readers. Though most of us will never deal with murder and wouldn't want to, we like peering over someone's shoulder as he or she pokes into a crime, unearthing secrets and eventually the perpetrator. We began with police officers, whose involvement is logical, since they're paid to find out whodunit. The genre soon picked up private investigators, who also get paid but aren't as hemmed in by rules as the coppers. Then came the amateur detective, someone who should be doing something else, like writing novels (Jessica Fletcher) or Miss Marple (making tea?). They're often just plain nosy, but they can also be clever and fun. Of course there are those who are falsely accused, or connected to someone who is, but that usually works only once (unless you're Jessica Fletcher's nephew). Today's mysteries spread across all those lines. There are lots of police ...