I'm pleased to welcome Mollie Hunt to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Mollie writes the Tenth Life Cozy Mystery series. Ghost Cat at the Mystery Hotel is the third book in the series and will be released this week.
Kathy: Camelia Collins meets an old friend for a murder mystery weekend in Ghost Cat at the Mystery Hotel. Have you ever been to a mystery weekend? I've attended a murder mystery dinner, but not a whole weekend.
MH: I haven’t been to a Murder Mystery Weekend, but like you, I did attend a mystery dinner some many years ago. When I started writing a book that takes place within such an environment, I needed to do some research. It turned out there are many choices. They’re not cheap, but they sound like participants get a quality experience and opportunities for lots of fun.
Kathy: Camelia has a ghost cat companion named Soji. Would you like to have a ghost cat, or other type of ghostly companion? Do you believe in spirits? Have you ever had a ghostly encounter?
MH: On occasion, I have seen/heard the spirits of my cats who have passed. I find the encounters poignant and fulfilling. However, I don’t think I’d want one of them to stick around, showing up at the most inconvenient times and creating all sorts of mischief like Soji does.
Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?
MH: I first began reading cozy mysteries when I was very young. My favorite author was Mary Stewart, and she still is one of the best in my estimation. Now, I read them because I want to relax from the trauma of life in 2024 and know with a cozy that I can look forward to a happy ending. But not all cozies are created equal. I prefer ones that have scenery, description, and color. And of course a cat or two.
Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?
MH: I am working on a sci-fantasy tetralogy and have completed the first three. Though they all have different plots, the theme is the same: cats saving the world because humans don’t know how to do it. I also wrote a COVID memoir, and occasionally I dabble in cat poetry.
Kathy: Tell us about your series.
MH: I have three series going at this time. The Tenth Life Paranormal Mysteries features septuagenarian Camelia Collins. When Camelia retires from Portland, Oregon to her dream cottage on the coast, she finds it’s already occupied—by a ghost cat! Ghost Cat at the Mystery Hotel is the third book in that series. My original cozy series, the Crazy Cat Lady Cozy Mysteries, follows the adventures of Lynley Cannon, a sixty-something cat shelter volunteer who finds more trouble than a cat in catnip. I’m currently working on book 11. The sci-fantasy I described earlier in this interview is called the Cat Seasons Tetralogy.
Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?
MH: Though I love my Lynley character because she’s a cat shelter volunteer and cat advocate like me, if I had to choose a favorite, I’d skip the humans altogether and say Soji. Being of a paranormal nature, I can have fun with her. She can do anything I want her to do. And in true ghost cat fashion, she often surprises me with things she comes up with all on her own.
Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?
MH: Nothing specific. The books tend to write themselves.
Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?
MH: When I finished my first novel, a ponderous tome of 450 pages, I couldn’t wait to share it with the world. Publishers thought differently, and it wasn’t until ten manuscripts later (approximately 1,000,000 words) that I felt my writing had finally caught up with my imagination. It was then I began publishing independently.
Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?
MH: Shirley Rousseau Murphy, author of the Joe Grey cozy mystery series; Lillian Jackson Braun, the queen of cat cozies; science fiction author Ursula K. Le Guin; and William Shakespeare.
Kathy: What are you currently reading?
MH: “Fronds and Enemies,” an English Cottage Garden Mystery by H.Y. Hanna and “Abaddon's Gate” of the Expanse sci-fi series by James S. A. Corey.
Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?
MH: I crochet cat mats that I donate to a cat shelter for their annual auction. I also like to take photographs of anything and everything, but especially of patterns in nature.
Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.
MH: Red miso, lemons, genmai cha tea, oatmeal. (Not to be eaten all at the same time.)
Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?
MH: Yes, the series go on. I had considered ending the Crazy Cat Lady series at ten, published last October on National Cat Day, but then I got a new idea and was off on book 11. The Tenth Life series has only just begun. No new series at the moment.
Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?
MH: Being an author gives me a feeling of self-worth, which is so necessary to the human spirit, especially as I get older and cannot do many of the things I used to. As with any creative endeavor, no matter how famous or how obscure, writing my particular stories is something only I can do. It also amuses me to explore my darker side when I’m writing a villain.
***********************************************************************
Ghost Cat at the Mystery Hotel (A Tenth Life Cozy Mystery) by Mollie Hunt
About Ghost Cat at the Mystery Hotel
Ghost Cat at the Mystery Hotel (A Tenth Life Cozy Mystery)
Cozy Mystery 3rd in Series
Setting - Oregon Coast
Independently Published (May 30, 2024)
Number of Pages: 246
The game is murder at the Mystery Beach Hotel.
When Camelia Collins meets her old college friend Anne Pine for a murder mystery weekend at the coast, death becomes more than a game.
Accompanied by her ghost cat companion Soji, Camelia begins to discover clues that have nothing to do with the role-playing storyline. A lurking stranger spies on Camelia from the house next door. A vengeful spirit haunts the hotel. A winter storm rages outside, threatening the old building, while a murderer roams the halls, threatening those within. Will Camelia's keen senses and Soji's feline wiles be enough to catch the killer before they kill again?
About Mollie Hunt
Cat Writer Mollie Hunt is the award-winning author of two cozy series, the Crazy Cat Lady Mysteries and the Tenth Life Mysteries. Her Cat Seasons Sci-Fantasy Tetralogy features extraordinary cats saving the world. Mollie also released a cat-themed COVID memoir. 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 Northwest Independent Writers Association (NIWA). She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and a varying number of cats.
Author Links:
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
GoodReads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/210323563-ghost-cat-at-the-mystery-hotel
Purchase Link - Amazon
Hi, it's Mollie. I'm traveling and can't log in on my phone, but I wanted to thank Kathy for the fun interview and for spotlighting my new cozy mystery on her wonderful blog site!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by!
Delete