Mudpie Interviews...Emerson the Cat from Amanda Flower's Crime & Poetry (w/Review & Giveaway)

Meows from Mudpie!

Today I'm so excited to introduce you to my new friend Emerson, the feline star of Amanda Flower's brand new Magical Bookshop mystery series. 

Emerson is a very handsome tuxedo kitty who lives in a really cool shop. I think you will enjoy meeting him as much as I did!

Mudpie: Welcome Emerson, thank you so much for chatting with me today. Could you start by telling us a little about yourself and how you came to live with Daisy and Violet?

Emerson: Well, I am a very dapper tuxedo cat. I don't mean to toot my horn, but you should really have the true facts, you know. I was born in the woods behind Charming Books, Daisy's bookstore. One day, I got lost and wandered up to her back door. She took me in. She has a soft spot for all animals, you see. She convinced Benedict, her boyfriend, to adopt me. Benedict was a carriage driver. He and I had the best time taking tourists around Cascade Springs. I really loved that man. He died recently. He was murdered! Daisy's granddaughter adopted me after that. I think I will be very happy with Violet, but I do miss Benedict.

Does your name have special meaning?

I didn't have a name until I met Daisy, but when I came to her bookshop, Ralph Waldo Emerson's book appeared next to me. She said that meant that I was to be called Emerson. I do like the name very much. It goes with my dapper style. Because of the name, Daisy believed that there would be a connection to Violet. Turns out she was right!

What is a typical day like for you?

Now that I live with Violet, the day begins with walking her up with a couple of paw smacks to the head. She is NOT a morning person. Then, we work in the bookstore together. Violet is still trying to figure out what it means to be the Caretaker of Charming Books. I help where I can. And then there are the murders that keep seeming to happen... we stick our noses into those too.

Is it true that Charming Books has a talking crow and a tree that grows inside???

Yes. Sigh. The crow would be Faulkner. He and I are on shaky ground. I believe he means well, but really isn't a cat a better bookstore mascot? And yes there is a birch tree that grows in the middle of the shop. It has been there for ages, back before the War of 1812 when Violet's ancestress Rosalee Waverly built the house that it now Charming Books around it. The bookshop would not be charmed without that tree. The tree is essential to the magic.

Do you have any magical powers of your own?

I do sense things, and if Violet misses something the books are trying to tell her, I try to lead her in the right direction. I think the longer I live in Charming Books, the more I will be able to help her...

Tell us about Crime and Poetry, the first Magical Bookshop mystery that you star in?

In Crime and Poetry, Daisy tricks her only grandchild Violet into returning to Cascade Springs, a village just outside of Niagara Falls, New York, by pretending she is dying. Grandma Daisy has to go to this extreme because twelve years before Violet left the village and swore that she would never return. Violet is not to happy when she returns to the village and finds her grandmother in perfect health and says she will leave the next morning. Unfortunately, she finds Benedict dead in his carriage that next day and the police declare Grandma Daisy the number one suspect. Violet must stay in the village to clear her grandmother's name.

Because you knew this shot was coming, and author person never let's you down. #editortummy #tuxedocat #catsofinstagram #crimeandpoetry

A photo posted by Cats of Amanda Flower (@amandaflowerauthor) on Mar 9, 2016 at 6:37pm PST

I heard a rumor that your character is based on one of your author's real cats. Can you confirm that?

It is true! I am based on Amanda Flower's beloved Mr. Tumnus, a dapper tuxedo cat in his own right. Of course, he is known better to his fans as Editor Tummy. He and his brother cat, Reepicheep (AKA Editor Cheeps) help Amanda write all her books. You can follow their adventures on Instagram.

Anything you can tell us about your upcoming adventures?

My next adventure is Prose and Cons releasing in December. In this tale, Violet and Daisy are hosting a Poe-try Reading of Edgar Allan Poe's works during the Cascade Springs Food and Wine Festival with the help of the Red Inkers, a local writers' group that meets in the bookshop. Unfortunately, one of the Red Inkers is murdered during the reading! Violet is on the case, and I lend a paw where I can. We soon learn how many secrets writers keep hidden...

From the publisher: Rushing home to sit by her ailing grandmother’s bedside, Violet Waverly is shocked to find Grandma Daisy the picture of perfect health. Violet doesn’t need to read between the lines: her grandma wants Violet back home and working in her magical store, Charming Books. It’s where the perfect book tends to fly off the shelf and pick you...

Violet has every intention to hightail it back to Chicago, but then a dead man is discovered clutching a volume of Emily Dickinson’s poems from Grandma Daisy’s shop. The victim is Benedict Raisin, who recently put Grandma Daisy in his will, making her a prime suspect. Now, with the help of a tuxedo cat named Emerson, Violet will have to find a killer to keep Grandma from getting booked for good...

Tortie Shorties Review: The cover of this amazing book perfectly illustrates the magic contained within it's pages.

When our heroine Violet receives a phone call from her Grandma Daisy stating that she's dying, Violet rushes to Cascade Springs even though she hasn't stepped foot in town for 12 years following a devastating experience in high school. Grandma is actually healthy as a horse, but she needed to lure Violet home because the time has come for her to become "Caretaker" of her magical shop Charming Books. A birch tree grows inside the store and gets it's water from the town's magical springs, and the books inside have guided Violet's family for generations. Violet can't believe what she's hearing and is beyond perturbed by Grandma's deception. Then the next morning Daisy's beau Benedict is found dead in their driveway, strangled with her very own scarf, and Violet has no choice but to stay in town and clear her grandmother's name.

Along the way Violet meets an enchanting cast of characters including two possible love interests, the police chief and mayor, Emerson the tuxedo cat and talking crow Faulkner, and those involved with Benedict's workplace at the livery (he was a carriage driver). I only wish Benedict hadn't been the murder victim so we could have gotten to know him better in life!

This debut ended up being everything I was hoping for and so much more. The second book in this series will be on store shelves in December with a spotlight on Edgar Allan Poe...I'm practically counting the days!!!

Giveaway: Leave a comment by noon eastern on Friday, April 8th for your chance to win a copy of Crime & Poetry. (US entries only, please.)