Truffles Interviews Boo and Poobah, Canine Stars of Laura Childs' Gossamer Ghost (w/Review & Giveaway)

Truffles interviews Boo and Poobah, the canine stars of

Laura Childs' new Scrapbook Mystery, Gossamer Ghost.

Truffles: Welcome, Boo and Poobah! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer a few questions. Can you tell us a little about yourselves and how you came to live with Carmela?

Poobah: It's great to be here, Truffles. As dogs, we don't get a chance to chat with a lot of kitties (or do fancy schmancy interviews). But you seem super friendly and nice, so here goes . . .

Boo: I'm a girly-girl Shar-Pei and Carmela became my mom when I was just a little ball of wrinkles. I've lived with her (and been part of her crazy adventures) ever since.

Poobah: I was just a mutt on the street until Carmela's ex-husband found me and brought me to her French Quarter apartment. Best thing that ever happened to me - good grub, a soft bed, and someone to hug and love me.

Boo: Tell 'em what you look like.

Poobah: I'm what you'd call a Heinz 57 dog with scruffy ears. But the girls seem to love me!

Boo:

Poobah:

Truffles: Do your names have any special meaning?

Boo: I was born on Halloween, a major holiday here in New Orleans.

Poobah: And I'm a guy with a big personality who lolls away the time (up to 22 hours per day) on a plush sofa - just like a grand poobah.

Truffles: What is a typical day like for you?

Poobah: Because we live in the French quarter, we get to do walk down Royal Street (where the antique shops are) and Bourbon Street (where the wild and crazy clubs are). Sometimes we trot over to Riverwalk and bark at the big boats on the Mississippi and then walk down to Cafe du Monde and beg for beignets. (Most of the people there are a real soft touch).

Boo: But I have to be careful with sugar treats, I'm watching my figure.

Truffles: Is it fun living in the Big Easy?

Poobah: The Big Easy is totally cool. Everything here is a major party - Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, even Halloween. I mean, you should see the enormous floats!

Boo: But some of them are scary - remember the sea monster?

Poobah: Oh yeah, I had to put my paws over my eyes for that one.

Truffles: I know your latest adventure is set during Halloween. Does Carmela make you dress up in costume? I hate it when my Mommy does that!

Poobah: Rrrrf, no costumes. I mean, look at me, I'm a little goofy to start with!

Boo: I wore a grass hula skirt once at the 5K people and dog romp and run.

Poobah: You would.

Truffles: How do you feel about kitties?

Poobah: I'm cool with kitties. Our next door neighbor Ava, who owns Juju Voodoo, has a beautiful black kitty named Isis.

Boo: Sometimes the three of us chase each other around the fountain in the courtyard. We all get along really well.

Truffles: What kind of adventures do you get into in Gossamer Ghost?

Boo: When mom (Carmela) finds the owner of Oddities Antiques murdered and a Napoleon death mask stolen, she and Ava start scrambling for answers.

Poobah: We try to help, of course, 'cause we're really smart. But a Halloween investigation in New Orleans' French Quarter also means shuffling zombies, a phony French countess, and a tricked out ghost train.

Boo: I'm getting scared again.

Poobah: I'm right here sweetie, take my paw.

Truffles: Any final thoughts for your adoring public?

Boo: I think everyone who's reading this interview should also read Gossamer Ghost. I know they'll love it.

Poobah: Ditto that. Where else do you find mystery and mayhem, a great Halloween story, and verrry attractive dogs!

Laura Childs is the author of Gossamer Ghost, the newest Scrapbooking Mystery. She is also the creator of Boo and Poobah and writes the New York Times bestselling Tea Shop Mysteries and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. Find out more at www.laurachilds.com

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

Giveaway: Leave a comment by noon eastern on Friday, October 17th for your chance to win a hardcover copy of Gossamer Ghost. (US entries only, please.)

About the book: Carmela Bertrand knows that Halloween in New Orleans means a week of rabble-rousing, costumed craziness—and she can’t wait to get the party started. But when a local antiques dealer turns up dead, Carmela suddenly finds herself in a real-life danse macabre…

An evening’s work deciding on the class schedule for her scrapbooking shop has put Carmela in the mood to kick up her heels. But after some strange noises draw her into Oddities, the neighboring antiques shop, Carmela’s night is abruptly put on hold when a bloody body falls out of a curio cabinet—and into her arms.

While shop owner Marcus Joubert was known for being an eccentric with a penchant for eclectic merchandise, Carmela never thought he was the kind of man who could inspire the passion required to kill. But when Marcus’s assistant—and fiancée—Mavis reveals that a priceless death mask was also stolen, it becomes clear that murder wasn’t the culprit’s sole intention.

Carmela can’t resist the urge to investigate the growing mystery, but as the list of suspects increases, she realizes it’ll take every trick in the book to unmask the killer thief before there’s another night of murderous mischief…

Tortie Shorties

Book reviews that are short and sweet...just like Truffles!

Laura Childs' Scrapbooking mystery series has long been a favorite of mine because it is set in New Orleans, one of my favorite locales for a cozy. The vivid descriptions of the Big Easy in these books instantly makes me feel like I'm on Bourbon Street, eating a Muffuletta or beignet and sipping on a cafe au lait. The fact that Gossamer Ghost also takes place during Halloween, the most important day of the year in New Orleans, is just icing on the cake. From (crime scene) antique shop Oddities, an eclectic and macbre mix of merchandise, to the Halloween activities that Carmela and Ava participate in such as a Zombie Crawl to a Witches' Run to a Cemetery Crawl, this is a book sure to put you in the mood for all of the fun that Halloween brings. With a heart-pounding climax on a Ghost Train, this is one of the best books yet in this long-running series.