Ready for his Close-up
by Leslie Budewitz
Anyone who’s ever lived with a
cat knows they have a love-hate relationship with attention. They love it when
they love it, and they hate when they hate it.
It’s no surprise that animals in
cozy mysteries are often closely related to the author’s own pets. In my Food
Lovers’ Village Mysteries, my protagonist Erin Murphy lives with Mr. Sandburg,
a Burmese cat she inherited from an elderly friend. Mr. Sandburg, or Sandy,
bears a strong resemblance to Ruff, our own little guy, now nine years old. (I
told the story of how Erin met Sandburg, and how we met Ruff, last year on the
blog. LINK:
http://www.mochasmysteriesmeows.com/2013/08/whiskers-behind-words-cat-in-book-club.html)
Mr. Ruff’s gotten a lot of
attention in the past year. First, he made the cover of Death al Dente, my first book. As a result, he received several
invitations to blog, which he accepted. As you might expect, he drafted me as
his secretary—that no-thumbs thing has its advantages—and dictated his posts.
He also made several appearances on Facebook, but declined all requests that
require him to leave the property or put on socks. (Can you blame him?)
Our celebrity spent the winter
napping and sitting on my desk as I wrote the second in the series, Crime Rib, which he refers to as his
second adventure. By day, his counterpart Sandy chased squirrels and watched
birds, no doubt working on his lifelist. In the evenings, he supervised Erin as
she sorted papers left behind by a dead woman, sniffing out clues.
Like Ruff, Sandburg is also an
artist’s model. In Sandburg’s case, it’s for Erin’s painter sister, Chiara, who
incorporated him into a mural in her shop. And of course, he makes another
cover appearance on Crime Rib (out
July 1 from Berkley Prime Crime).
Both cats enjoy relaxing with
their humans in a comfy chair, preferably with a glass of sauvignon blanc or a
bowl of ice cream drizzled with Erin’s new favorite, Cabernet-chocolate sauce.
But both also relish their privacy, curling up on a pile of warm laundry or
sneaking through an open closet door to sleep on a favorite sweater. Both can
often be heard making noises in their sleep that surely mean they’re hot on the
trail of a tasty mouse.
All this attention can go to a
guy’s head, if he doesn’t get his rest.
From the cover:
“Gourmet food market owner Erin
Murphy is determined to get Jewel Bay, Montana’s scrumptious local fare some
national attention. But her scheme for culinary celebrity goes up in flames
when the town’s big break is interrupted by murder…
Food Preneurs, one of the
hottest cooking shows on TV, has decided to feature Jewel Bay in an upcoming
episode, and everyone in town is preparing for their close-ups, including the
crew at the Glacier Mercantile, aka the Merc. Not only is Erin busy remodeling
her courtyard into a relaxing dining area, she’s organizing a steak-cooking
competition between three of Jewel Bay’s hottest chefs to be featured on the
program.
But Erin’s plans get scorched when one of the contending
cooks is found dead. With all the drama going on behind the scenes, it’s hard
to figure out who didn’t have a motive to off the saucy contestant. Now, to
keep the town’s rep from crashing and burning on national television, Erin will
have to grill some suspects to smoke out the killer…”
Bio:
Leslie Budewitz is the national best-selling author of Death al Dente, first in the Food
Lovers' Village Mysteries set in northwest Montana, and winner of the 2013
Agatha Award for Best First Novel. Crime
Rib, the second in the series, was published by Berkley Prime Crime on July
1, 2014. Also a lawyer, Leslie won the 2011 Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction
for Books, Crooks & Counselors: How
to Write Accurately About Criminal Law & Courtroom Procedure (Quill
Driver Books), making her the first author to win Agatha Awards for both
fiction and nonfiction.
For more stories of life in the wilds of northwest Montana,
and bonus recipes, visit her website and subscribe to her newsletter.
Facebook: LeslieBudewitzAuthor
Giveaway: Leave a comment by noon eastern on Friday, July 18th for the chance to win a copy of Crime Rib. (US entries only, please.)
