Book Name and Description: The Crazy Cat Lady cozy mystery series, including

“Cats’ Eyes” (#1), “Copy Cats” (#2), “Cat’s Paw” (#3) and the non-cat not-so-cozy mystery, “Placid River Runs Deep” which delves into murder, obsession, and the challenge of chronic illness in bucolic southwest Washington.

Interview:

What gave you the idea for (your cat mystery books)?

My Crazy Cat Lady cozy mystery series features Lynley Cannon, a retiree and cat shelter volunteer who manages to find more trouble than a cat in a catnip patch. I have a lot in common with Lynley, including my old home in Portland, my “certain” age (early sixties), and most of all, my work as a grateful cat shelter volunteer. Though in no way autobiographical, my stories come straight from my furry little heart.

What got you into writing horror cat mysteries?

I’ve always had an affinity for cats so it was a short step for me to become a cat writer. I love mysteries, and I read what I write.

How long have you been writing?

If we don’t count the cat novelette I wrote in Mrs. Wilson’s fourth grade class, I began writing seriously in 1994 when my husband went to work in Japan for 3 months. He left me alone with his computer. The rest is history.

Tell us about your past books and stories?

Before I got hooked by the catley escapades of Lynley Cannon, I wrote several other mysteries, both dark and light, and a cat sci-fantasy tetralogy which I am in the process of publishing.

What is the writing process like for you? What is your writing day like?

I write best in the morning when no one is awake except the cats. That’s when I love to push on with a new story or a second draft. Later I tackle the confusing world of marketing, editing, promoting, communicating, blog-writing, Facebook posting, cover designing, reading querying, and television research. By then I’m tired and ready to take a nap with a cat.

What is your favorite book (other than your own book, of course) and why?

I have several that I go back to many times. These include anything from my cat-writer heroes, Shirley Rousseau Murphy and Lillian Jackson Braun as well as Louise Penny with her brilliant non-cat mysteries. The one book I read every few years is “Titus Groan”, first (1946) of the “Gormenghast” series, a trilogy of strange fantasies by British author Mervyn Peake. I find the setting, characters, and voice instantly transporting to a dark mirror reflection of what this world once was or still may be.

What are you doing next?

I’m working on “Cat Call”, Crazy Cat Lady #4 (When a friend suffers a bizarre accident, Lynley takes over her job as cat handler for a television pilot, only to find  a mysterious “hex” has been sabotaging the set with deadly intent.) and “Cat Café” (A body is found in the cat café, and all the black cats are missing), Crazy Cat Lady #5.

What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Write every day. If you don’t want to do this much, you may not be a writer.

Write what you love, however strange, gross, inane, senseless, or beautiful.

Write prolifically expecting nothing in return; after all, the first million words are just practice.

bio:

Mollie Hunt is a 60-something crazy cat lady, cat shelter volunteer, Trekkie, and writer who is not afraid to be by herself and enjoys her life in the Cat Lane. She recently quit her day job to write full time. Mollie lives in Portland’s eclectic Hawthorne district with her sympathetic husband and a varying number of cats.

Links:

Mollie’s Website: http://www.lecatts.wordpress.com/

Mollie’s Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/molliehunt

Mollie Hunt’s Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/MollieHuntCatWriter/