Truffles Interviews...Kittens Pins & Needles from Diane Vallere's Suede to Rest (w/Review & Giveaway)

Hey everybody, it's Truffles! Do you like my new "Truffles Interviews" graphic? I told Mommy that it needed a redesign to match my status as a hard-charging feline reporter, and I think she did a pretty good job!

Today I'm interviewing Pins and Needles, a pair of adorable kittens from Diane Vallere's Suede to Rest, the very first Material Witness mystery. Following the interview is our Tortie Shorties review and a chance to win your own copy!

Welcome, Pins & Needles, thank you so much for joining me today! Can you tell us a little about yourselves and how you came to live with Poly?

Hi Truffles! I hope you don't mind if we answer together. We're still a little shaken up from being abandoned in a Dumpster behind the fabric shop.

Pins: I'm a gray striped tabby, and Needles is orange striped.

Needles: We're lucky that Poly wanted to take care of us, though for awhile we were scared when we heard she couldn't have pets at her apartment in Los Angeles.

I have a guess as to where your cute names came from...is there a story behind them?

Pins: We like to play and sometimes we forget that our claws are sharp. I think Needles stabbed Poly a few times.

Needles: I think that was you, Pins! But one day Poly reached into a drawer in the fabric shop and got stabbed by a bunch of pins and needles in an open box, and, well, there you go.

What is a typical day like for you little kittens?

Needles: Mostly we stay together. I don't ever want to think about being separated from my brother. Especially after being left alone outside.

Pins: Poly found a box for us to sleep in and lined it in fake fur.

Needles: It's on the cover of the book about her! There's leopard print and zebra print and it was like sleeping in a puffy jungle.

Pins: After Poly was sure we were okay, she took us upstairs to the apartment above her shop and let us roam. Nobody's lived there for a long time so there are lots of balls of dust for me to chase!

Needles: There are about a hundred million giant stairs to climb to get to the apartment. I went down them once and got lost in the back of the store. I think I'm going to stay with Pins from now on.

Is must be fun spending time in a fabric shop...do you have all kinds of fun things to play with (and nap on)?

Pins: You know it! There's fur to curl up in and buttons to swat around and lots of dust and fabric scraps--

Needles: But Poly swept them up the day she tied the silver fabric on her head--

Pins: She'll probably drop more when she sees how much we like to play with it!

Needles: There's a dark room in the back of the fabric shop. One day she left the door open and I had to see what was back there.

Pins: That's the day you got lost, and when Poly found you, you were so dirty! You were the same color as me!

Needles: I know, but I couldn't help myself. I am a cat, after all!

What kinds of trouble do you crazy kids (and Poly) get into in Suede to Rest?

Pins: Poly gets into all kinds of trouble!

Needles: Nothing as bad as winding up in a Dumpster.

Pins: No, but she's the one who found that body by the Dumpster.

Needles: That was before we were discovered. How do you know about the body?

Pins: I heard Poly talking. She's very worried about the store, and how the rich developer is pressuring her to sell it to him, and losing touch with possibly losing what her great aunt and uncle created a long time ago.

Needles: Hey Pins, let's make a pact to not get into any trouble until Poly is settled. Okay?

Pins: I'm a cat too! Truffles, doesn't it violate the Kitten Manifesto to make that kind of promise?

Truffles: Well, I'm a couple years out of that "crazy kitten" stage, but since Poly was good enough to adopt you, it might be nice to show your appreciation by not getting into too much trouble until she gets everything under control. You can still have fun, just don't go overboard :)

Do you have any idea what your upcoming adventures are going to be?

Pins: I heard Poly talking about velvet. I brushed my face up against a bolt of the stuff and it was nice and soft, so I hope she brings us lots of that.

Needles: As soon as I'm big enough, I'm going to learn to go up and down those stairs really fast! And maybe try to go into that back room again.

Pins: I thought that back room scared you?

Needles: What can I say? I'm curious!

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

Giveaway: Leave a comment (don't forget your email address!) by noon eastern on Wednesday, November 19th for your chance to win a copy of Suede to Rest. (US entries only, please.)

About the book: With her career as a dress designer in shreds, Polyester Monroe is looking forward to a fresh start. But as it all unfolds, the pattern to a new beginning looks a lot like murder.

When Poly Monroe was little, she loved playing in her family’s textile store. But after a fatal family tragedy, Land of A Thousand Fabrics was boarded up and Poly never expected to see the inside again. Now, as inheritor of the long-shuttered shop, she’s ready to restore the family business. However her two new kittens, Pins and Needles, aren’t the ones causing a snag in her plans…

Not everyone wants Poly back in San Ladrón, especially a powerful local developer pressuring her to sell—and leave town fast. But even when the threats turn deadly, she’s not ready to bolt. Because Poly is beginning to suspect that the murder behind the shop is tied to a mystery in her family’s unsettled past that she’s determined to solve…before her own life is left hanging by a thread.

About the author: After close to two decades working for a top luxury retailer, Diane Vallere traded fashion accessories for accessories to murder. SUEDE TO REST, the first in her new Material Witness Mystery Series, comes out November 4. In addition, she writes the Style & Error Mystery Series, featuring former fashion buyer Samantha Kidd, and the Mad for Mod Mystery Series, featuring Doris Day-loving interior decorator Madison Night. Diane started her own detective agency at age ten and has maintained a passion for shoes, clues, and clothes ever since. Find her at http://www.dianevallere.com/.

Author Links
web: http://www.dianevallere.com/
Twitter: @dianevallere
FB: dianevallereauthor
GR: Diane Vallere

Purchase Links
Amazon    B&N

Tortie Shorties

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

I've been so excited to read this book ever since I saw the cover months ago featuring those darling kittens. (Didn't Pins & Needles do a purr-fect job on their interview?)

Poly, (short for Polyester...she was born in her family's fabric store), has just inherited Land of A Thousand Fabrics following the death of her Uncle Marius. What was supposed to be a quick trip to sell the property to a local developer who already owns much of street takes an unexpected turn when Poly finds herself drawn to the property. It's clear from the start that someone wants her gone because when she enters the shop for the first time in years her car is vandalized. Then the one witness on the night of Poly's Aunt Millie's murder 10 years ago is found dead behind the store.

Poly's potential love interest is unusual for a cozy mystery. It's not the local detective, it's the son of the developer who is pressuring Poly to sell! Can she trust him or not? Also in the picture is Poly's longtime boyfriend back home who I could not stand! I have no idea why it took Poly so long to send him packing. A wonderful cast of characters also includes the new friends that Poly makes in town, especially car mechanic Charlie and Maria Lopez, who runs a cleaning business and whose husband owns a bakery.

Why does Poly feel such a strong pull to the fabric shop? What really happened to Aunt Millie 10 years ago, and how do recent events tie in to Poly's family tragedy? You'll have to pick up the first Material Witness mystery to find out!