Truffles Interviews...Eddie from Lending a Paw by Laurie Cass

Hey everybody, Truffles here and I'm purring like crazy today because I'm interviewing Eddie from Laurie Cass' Lending a Paw, the first Bookmobile Cat Mystery. (Isn't he cute??? *blushing*) Make sure you leave a comment with your email address because we're going to be giving away a Kindle copy of the book to one lucky winner! (Mommy!!! That hadn't better be coming out of my cat food budget!!!) Sorry, we'll have to work that out between the two of us, but I hope you enjoy the interview!

Welcome, Eddie! Can you tell us how you came to live with Minnie?

Hey, Truffles. Thanks for inviting me on your blog. You’re okay, no matter what they say you did to the fringe of that rug. To answer your question, I chose my person very carefully. My first couple of years were a little rough, so I made sure to find someone who would take care of me the way I deserve. In a stroke of sheer brilliance on my part, I figured only nice people would visit a cemetery, so I hung out at the local one for a few days, watching and waiting, but it was cold and wet and windy. Did you know that hardly anyone visits a cemetery when it’s like that? It worked, though. The sun came out, and so did Miss Minnie. I knew the second I saw her that she was the person for me. It took a little convincing on my part – I had to do that winding thing, you know, walking around her ankles in a figure eight? – but she soon saw the sense in taking me home.

What's a typical day like for you?
On days that Miss Minnie works at the library, I get to sleep as long as I want. In the summer, we live on a houseboat, which is good for me because I can sit on the boat’s dashboard and watch the seagulls fly past. I keep trying to convince Miss Minnie to leave the front door open so I can go out at my leisure to catch one of them, but so far she hasn’t figured out what I’m talking about. On bookmobile days, I get dragged out of bed long before I’m ready to wake up.

Is it fun being the co-pilot on a bookmobile? 
Very much so. At the stops, I like to jump up onto the headrest of the passenger seat. That gives me an excellent view of the entire bookmobile. I can see who’s coming in and who’s going out and keep an eye on all of it. Everybody that comes on the bus knows my name and I give everyone who pets me a small gift of cat hair. Generosity is second nature to cats, as I’m sure you well know.

Tell us about your first adventure, Lending a Paw...how do you assist Minnie in solving a murder?

See, here’s the thing. Miss Minnie has no idea I’m doing anything other than being a cat; ripping up paper, running outside when I’m not supposed to, howling and yowling at odd times. I suppose there’s an outside chance I’m nothing special, but honestly, that doesn’t seem likely.

Since we are both cats, after all, let's get into some kitty details...do you have a favorite toy, food, sleeping place?
Currently, my favorite toy is Miss Minnie’s favorite pen. She hasn’t been able to find it for about a week now. This isn’t a surprise to me because I’ve batted it underneath the houseboat’s small refrigerator. I’ve been trying to get it out, but it’s just a little too far underneath. I’ll try again tomorrow. Maybe using my claws to dig into the linoleum will help me get that extra distance. If anyone has any suggestions, I’d be happy to hear them.

Do you know anything about your upcoming adventures?
Things happened at the end of last summer that I’ve heard are going into a book. There was this artist who had a stroke, and Miss Minnie rushed him to the hospital in the bookmobile. Then there was something about a celebrity chef, and a baseball pitcher and…or was it a celebrity pitcher and a baseball chef? I don’t know for sure; it was a long time ago. The details are a little fuzzy, but I hear the name of the book is “Tailing a Tabby,” and my picture is on the cover, so it’s bound to be good.

Any final thoughts for your adoring public?

I’d like to tell people to try and understand their cats when they do innocent little things like claw up a brand new couch, or hack a hairball onto the middle of the kitchen counter, or tip a full glass of red wine onto white carpet. The sooner people understand that everything, absolutely everything, is a potential cat toy, the happier we’ll all be.



About Lending a Paw: With the help of her rescue cat, Eddie, librarian Minnie Hamilton is driving a bookmobile based in the resort town of Chilson, Michigan. But she’d better keep both hands on the wheel, because it’s going to be a bumpy ride….

Eddie followed Minnie home one day, and now she can’t seem to shake the furry little shadow. But in spite of her efforts to contain her new pal, the tabby sneaks out and trails her all the way to the bookmobile on its maiden voyage. Before she knows it, her slinky stowaway becomes her cat co-pilot!

Minnie and Eddie’s first day visiting readers around the county seems to pass without trouble—until Eddie darts outside at the last stop and leads her to the body of a local man who’s reached his final chapter.

Initially, Minnie is ready to let the police handle this case, but Eddie seems to smell a rat. Together, they’ll work to find the killer—because a good librarian always knows when justice is overdue.

 

Author Bio:

Laurie Cass grew up in Michigan and graduated from Eastern Michigan University in the 80’s with a (mostly unused) Bachelor of Science degree in geology. Currently, Laurie and her husband share their house with two cats, the inestimable Eddie, and the adorably cute Sinii. When Laurie isn’t writing, she’s working at her day job, reading, yanking weeds out of her garden, or doing some variety of skiing. Laurie also writes the PTA Mystery Series under the name Laura Alden.