I'm pleased to welcome Patricia Fry to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Patricia writes the Calico Cat Mystery series. Oh! Olivia is the first book in the series and was released earlier this year.
Kathy: In Oh! Olivia we meet Parker Campbell, an investigative reporter. She's been summoned to help save a long-standing cat colony site from the grips of eager developers. I support several cat rescue organizations and I am constantly in awe of the dedication of volunteers who work with cat colonies, TNR programs, and more. Is this a personal cause for you?
PF: Absolutely it is. I support and adopt from cat rescue organizations as well and I promote them through my daily Catscapades blog. It’s heartening to see the good work that the directors and volunteers do to protect and save cats. They work hard under some difficult situations. I have friends who care for cat colonies and several friends who foster kittens—preparing orphans for a meaningful life with good people. Such bittersweet work.
Kathy: Olivia is a cute and sassy calico cat. Seneca was my first calico cat. She crossed the Rainbow Bridge many years ago, but I currently have another calico cat named Annabella, along with several other cats. Do you have a calico cat? Is Olivia based on a real cat?
PF: Olivia is based on a real cat. When we lost our precious tabby, Lily, to kidney disease in 2020, we were blessed to find an adorable calico at one of my favorite rescue shelters, ResQcats in Santa Barbara. We adopted her sight unseen (because of pandemic restrictions). She came to us in July of 2020 at 3 months old after three weeks of ringworm treatment at the shelter. What a delight she was and a challenge—well she is a calico, after all. There was a lot of laughter in our house with Olivia during isolation. I enjoyed her so much that I began documenting her antics and personality through photos and stories, which I shared in my blog and on FaceBook. When I realized that Olivia had attracted a following, I decided to include her in one of my Klepto Cat Mysteries. That story was so well received that I decided to star her in her own series—The Calico Cat Mysteries.
Kathy: Mass murder, cults, and unexplained phenomenon are hot topics. Do you enjoy researching these subjects? Is any one of particular interest to you?
PF: I do delve into the unexplained occasionally in my cozy mystery series—both the Klepto Cat Mysteries and the Calico Cat Mysteries. Yes, the research is fascinating. As far as mass murder—I write cozy mysteries so mass murder might simply be a theory—never a reality in my stories.
Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?
PF: Over 45 years ago I established a career writing articles for magazines. I also wrote books along the way—all nonfiction. When I entered into what are normally one’s retirement years, I decided to retire from my consulting and editing business as well as the article-writing and try writing fiction. I enjoy reading what I called light mysteries, and thought I might try my hand at writing something like that. But I needed a theme. I didn’t have to look far to come up with a theme—my stories would feature cats. But what “super power” or quirk or habit would my starring cat have? I’d always been fascinated when hearing about a kleptomaniac cat, and I thought that theme would fit in well with a cat who helps solve mysteries. So the Klepto Cat Mysteries was created. It wasn’t until I’d published a few of the Klepto Cat Mysteries that I learned my books fit into a new sub genre—cozy mysteries.
Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?
PF: While I used to write poetry and nonfiction—how-tos, instructional, informational, educational, historical—now I no longer write anything but cozy mysteries. I’ve always enjoyed the process of writing, but never as much as I do now. Who knew?
Kathy: Tell us about your series.
PF: The Klepto Cat Mysteries feature Rags, an ordinary cat with a lot of confidence and curiosity. He can’t keep his paws off other people’s things, and very often the things he takes are clues to the current mystery or crime. My inspiration for this cat character was Lily, my sweet tabby who constantly brought me her stuffed toys and my slipper socks. She wasn’t the type of cat I wanted to feature in my series, however, so I chose, as my model, Smokey, my mother’s large, interestingly confident cat. This thrilled my mother, as you can imagine.
The Calico Cat Mysteries feature Olivia, a sweet and sassy calico who is an escape artist and an exceptionally curious and spunky cat. Because of her inquisitiveness and intuitiveness and daring she finds herself in some of the most interesting and sometimes perilous situations. Her super power is her quirkiness and she’s so intuitive at times it’s almost spooky. Rags and Olivia are friends, so occasionally you will find them working or being mischievous together in a story.
In my stories, the cats do not have a speaking part. They do not have a point of view, except that as observed by the human characters. These stories are light, fun, and touching. Sure there’s conflict and suspense, but also warmth and humor—always humor.
Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?
PF: The cats are by far my favorite characters and the more character they have the better. I often bring in a “guest” cat or human character and have fun fleshing them out—giving them their own, often, unexpected personality (or purrsonality).
Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?
PF: I’ve been publishing for so many years. I wrote my first book in 1978 (on how to care for a backyard horse). Hints for the Backyard Rider was published by a New York publisher. I established my own publishing company, Matilija Press in 1983 in order to produce a comprehensive, illustrated history of the Ojai Valley in California. I’ve since written books on a variety of topics, including publishing and book marketing. Publishing is in my blood. Why bother to write something if you aren’t going to publish it? In my career I’ve published hundreds of articles, maybe thousands and 97 books, including 52 books in the Klepto Cat Mystery series and 2 in the brand new Calico Cat Mystery series.
Kathy: What are you currently reading?
PF: I produced 9 books last year. I average 6 in a typical year. Who has time to read? But when I do, it is usually for research purposes or it is a sweet cat story that makes me smile.
Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?
PF: The hobbies I’ve engaged in over the years help to enrich the stories I write now—my adoration for cats, my many years riding and caring for horses, my love affair with the out of doors, my sense of humor, my close family ties with my growing family (I have 11 great grandchildren), my writing career, and the traveling I’ve done. I’m an advocate for daily exercise and have taken my exercise in many forms, playing softball, tennis, racquetball, hiking, jogging, aerobics, and horseback riding. I walk every day and have for the last nearly 50 years. Cats are a big part of my life and I’ve always had at least a couple. I also enjoy photographing cats—my own and those I see while out walking and I often couple my daily walks with wildlife photography.
I’ve lived a full and eclectic life. I’ve learned a lot and I’ve paid attention, which I think makes for greater depth and interest in my fiction writing.
Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.
PF: Dark chocolate, cat treats, cat kibbles, canned cat food.
Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?
PF: I plan to continue writing the two series—the Klepto Cat Mysteries and the Calico Cat Mysteries. Rags and Olivia have a following and I feel responsible for keeping them alive and well for those readers who have grown to love them.
Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?
PF: The process of writing—fleshing out a story, massaging it, and finally fine-tuning it. I do adore the accolades as well. I’ve lived a blessed life being an author, being able to teach other authors the business side of authorship and the grand finale, writing cozy mysteries. I had no idea, while I was so embedded in writing “give-me-the-facts” type articles and books that fiction could be so much fun, especially when there are cats involved.
https://KleptoCatMysteries.com
https://CalicoCatMysteries.com
https://Matilijapress.com/Catscapades (daily blog)
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About Oh! Olivia
Oh! Olivia: A Calico Cat Mystery
Cozy Mystery 1st in Series
Publisher: Matilija Press (May 19, 2021)
Paperback : 254 pages
Olivia proves she’s not just a pretty face.
Parker Campbell, an investigative reporter, and her calico cat, Olivia, have been summoned to help save a long-standing cat colony site from the grips of eager developers. They arrive on scene to discover that the property has become enshrouded in a most unsettling mystery. The feral cats are digging up personal items belonging to missing persons who vanished years earlier. Was this the site of a mass murder, a cult ritual gone wrong, or an unexplained phenomenon? Parker teams up with Detective Judson Caldwell, who has taken a personal leave to secretly investigate the mystery, and soon learns what drives his obsession with this case.
Olivia, the sweet and sassy calico, struts her stuff in this story. She locates a lost toddler and ends up getting herself arrested. She isn’t about to take this insult lying down, however. She escapes from custody and trashes the police station. Olivia alerts Parker to trouble when they visit her aunt’s home and find that the woman has detained a burglar in a most unusual way. Olivia also finds major clues in the convoluted cat colony mystery, one that promises a glimmer of hope for a long-grieving parent.
About Patricia Fry
Patricia has been writing for publication for over 45 years. The first Calico Cat Mystery will be her 94th published book. But she didn’t start out writing fiction. She had a passion for writing nonfiction articles, and she wrote hundreds—maybe thousands—of articles over her career for around 300 different publications including, Woman’s World, Entrepreneur, The Toastmaster, The World and I, Western Horse, Cat Fancy, Cats Magazine, Los Angeles Times Magazine, Your Health, Writer’s Digest, and many, many others.
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s she wrote columns, articles, and books for authors teaching about the business of writing. She presented workshops for authors and gave presentations in dozens of cities throughout the US.
In 2010, she wrote her first cat book—Catscapades, True Cat Tales. The following year she shifted from writing nonfiction and teaching, counseling, and mentoring other authors and she wrote the first in the award-winning Klepto Cat Mystery series, CATNAPPED. This series is 51-books strong as of April 2021 and counting.
Patricia is past president and director of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists, and Writers Network—now WPN, The Writers and Publishers Network). She is a professional member of the Cat Writers Association since 2009, and she has been writing a daily blog—Catscapades since 2009.
Patricia has almost always had a cat at her hearth and in her heart, loving many mixed breed cats as well as a Himalayan, a Persian and a Siamese. She prefers the long-to medium haired cats, but she has also shared her home with short-haired cats over the years. All but two of the cats she’s had over the years were adopted. Several of them were rescues and some of those came from feral beginnings. Every one of her cats had a story and those stories sometimes appear in the mysteries she writes.
Currently, Patricia shares her home with Sophie, a seventeen-year-old classic formerly feral tortie, and Olivia, the gorgeous diva calico featured in the Calico Cat Mystery series.
Author Links: Website https://CalicoCatMysteries.com
Purchase Link - Amazon
I love this we have 2 indoor cats that used to be outdoor cats and they are brothers. I also have outdoor cats that we feed every day water,dry food and wet food we grind from our leftovers. This book is one that I would read and review on a few sites. peggy clayton ptclayton2@aol.com
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