An Interview with Rupert the Cat, Star of Rebecca M. Hale's Cats and Curios Mystery Series

HOW TO PAINT A CAT: Author Rebecca M. Hale facilitates a rare interview with Rupert the Cat

HOW TO PAINT A CAT is the fifth book in the Cats and Curios mystery series featuring fictional versions of my two cats Rupert and Isabella. In the books, the cats don’t talk – at least, not out loud – but they’ve agreed to make an exception for this month’s blog tour. Today, I bring you excerpts from an interview with Rupert the Cat.

RMH: The Cats and Curios mysteries are set in San Francisco, where you and your sister Isabella once lived. A few years back, we all moved to Colorado. How’s that transition going for you?

Rupert: Well, I’m a California cat, so it’s been an adjustment, especially in the wintertime. I spend a lot of time curled up in fleece blankets or sprawled on top of the heating vents.

RMH: You’re a Heater Hugger.

Rupert: I prefer the term “Airflow Reallocation Technician.”

RMH: I would have thought you’d get too hot after having hot air blasted on your stomach for forty-five minutes at a time.

Rupert: Oh, no. Trust me, you can never have too much hot air warming your chest and tummy. It helps the digestion process after a big meal.

RMH: It certainly blocks the heat from being disseminated to the rest of the house.

Rupert: Why would the rest of the house need to be heated?

RMH: Okay. Let’s move on. Speaking of food, you’re known for your love of fried chicken. That seems to be an important side story in each of the cat books. Can you share any food or fried chicken related tidbits about the upcoming book, HOW TO PAINT A CAT?

Rupert: The plot in the fifth cat book takes a very disturbing turn. The author (he pauses and glares at Rebecca) puts me on a diet. It was a traumatic experience.

RMH: To be clear, it was just the fictitious Rupert that went on a diet.

Rupert: Those passages were painful to read – imagining myself going through such desperate deprivation. I have to tell you, I’ve never been so hungry.

RMH: I don’t know. You look pretty well fed to me…

Rupert: (swooning) I thought I might starve.

RMH: Um, don’t you think you might be exaggerating a bit?

Rupert: Quite frankly, it was the worse half-hour of my life.

RMH: You’re a quick reader. How ever did you recover?

Rupert: I set down the book, paid a visit to my food bowl, and then took a long nap on top of the heating vents. It was a challenge, but I soldiered on. Hey, isn’t it about time for another serving of fried chicken?

***********************************

Blurb: San Francisco isn’t the biggest city in the country, but it feels pretty vast when you’re canvassing its neighborhoods looking for clues to your missing uncle’s hidden location. Aided by my two cats, Rupert and Isabella, I try to follow Uncle Oscar’s painted clues on a trail that leads from Coit Tower’s famous murals through San Francisco’s New Deal art—all while hoping my uncle’s sudden disappearance is unrelated to the murdered intern at City Hall.

Just when it seems our search has hit a wall, we receive some surprising help from beyond. But will it be enough to save us from our own brushes with death? Here’s hoping we don’t paint ourselves into a corner…

Giveaway: Leave a comment (don't forget your email address!) by noon EST on March 10, and you will be entered to win a copy of How to Paint a Cat. U.S. entries only.