Tara Interviews Miss Marple from Lorna Barrett's Booktown Mystery Series

MEOW! Hey everybody, Tara here with a very special guest! I'm so, so excited to have had the opportunity to interview one of the most popular felines in mystery fiction...Miss Marple from Lorna Barrett's Booktown mystery series. I think it's super cool that we both have literary names...she from the famous Agatha Christie sleuth, me from Gone with the Wind.

Mommy asked me to make sure I let you know that the 7th book in the series, Not the Killing Type, will be in stores on July 2nd, and the paperback edition of Murder on the Half Shelf will be released the very same day!

Miss Marple, how did you come to live with Tricia?
I came from a kill shelter. I was very glad that Tricia came and rescued me before I could be euthanized.

What is your day typically like?

I start the day on Tricia's bed. Once we get up, she feeds me and we go down to the shop. It's an exhausting job working in a bookstore, and I need to take eight or ten naps a day, but in between I'm working just as hard as my human counterparts. (Being amazingly cute is a difficult job.)

Do you like being a bookshop mascot?

It's my duty to all I can to make our customers feel welcome. When I'm not napping, I try to greet them individually. Sometimes I even deigned to sit on someone's lap, but of course that doesn't mean I'm disloyal to Tricia. She must come first in my affections.

Did you know we have something in common...literary names! My name comes from Mommy's love for Gone with the Wind! Do you think you share any characteristics with Miss Marple the sleuth?

I have gray hair, that's why Tricia gave me the name. But I think it's my sense of curiosity that makes my name perfect for my personality.

How is Angelica's pup Sarge doing? Do you two get along?

Ick. He's a DOG. He's yappy. He steals my food. I won't go into his more loathsome traits.

What kind of mischief do you get into in Not the Killing Type?

Mischief? I never get into mischief. I'm a dignified cat. We don't do mischief.

Do you know what's coming up for you and Tricia?

There are dark times ahead in the next book, BOOK CLUBBED, which comes out in July 2014. Very dark times indeed. But ... I have faith that things will work out in the end.

Lastly, can you tell me a few of your favorite things?

The red bug taunts me. I will catch it one day. It will NOT beat me. I do NOT like being rubbed on the tummy. Those who do so risk my fangs. I eat wet and dry food. But if I had my way, it would be shrimp 24/7. I like sleeping best on Tricia's down duvet. It's warm and soft and comfy.

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About Not the Killing Type:

It’s November in Stoneham, New Hampshire, and that means it’s time for the Chamber of Commerce elections. The race is already a bit heated, as the long-standing Chamber president is being challenged by a former lover—Tricia’s own sister, Angelica. Then local small business owner Stan Berry throws his hat in the ring.

Unfortunately, it’s not there for long when he’s found murdered in the Brookview Inn. The murder weapon is a brass letter opener belonging to the inn’s receptionist. Tricia knows there’s no way the receptionist is a killer. And when Angelica asks Tricia to help clear her name and win the election, she sees little choice except to start snooping.

She soon uncovers a ballot box full of lies and betrayals, and a chamber full of people who had grudges against the victim. But were they serious enough to lead to murder? And who truly had something to gain? Tricia will have to do some serious sleuthing before she pulls the lever on a killer.

Author Bio:

The immensely popular Booktown Mystery series is what put Lorna Barrett’s name on the New York Times Bestseller list, but it’s her talent -- whether writing as Lorna, or L.L. Bartlett, or Lorraine Bartlett -- that keeps her there. This multi-published, Agatha-nominated author pens the exciting Jeff Resnick Mysteries as well as the acclaimed Victoria Square Mystery series and the Tales of Telenia saga, and has many short stories and novellas to her name(s). Check out the links to all her works here:http://www.lorrainebartlett.com/index.html