I
am so excited to have T.C. LoTempio here at Mystery Thrillers and
Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight, Guest Post and Giveaway.
Thanks T.C. and Goddess Fish Promotions for allowing me to join your Crime and Catnip Blog Tour!
Please take it away, T.C.!
Guest Post
My Love Affair with Nancy Drew (and Others)
I’ve
had a love of mysteries ever since I was ten years old and I read my
first mystery: The Secret in the Old Attic, a Nancy Drew mystery! That
sparked a lifelong hobby of collecting antique children’sseries books,
which has culminated in the six banker’s bookcases full of series books
that I have in my apartment today!
Nancy,of course,
was the first one I read, the one (as with so many other writers) that
inspired me to write my own mysteries. I loved all of her books. The
thing that drew me to her in the first place, I’ll admit, were the
covers – that skull peeping out at her from the wardrobe in the darkened
attic set off many ideas in my ten year old mind! When I started
reading the books, they had come out with what is referred to as “yellow
spine”, and for years that was how I thought the books orginated. As I
got older, though, and into collecting, I frequented the used book
shops that used to be plentiful in NYC (a dying breed now – SO sad!) and
soon learned that there were many, many other incarnations of Miss
Drew!
For
example: The first 34 Nancy Drew books in the original texts published
from 1930 to 1956 contain 25 chapters and around 210 to 225 pages each.
The first group were thick books with blue covers and the title in
orange lettering. These books had a frontispiece illustration, and also
what was referred to as “Internals”. Usually three internal drawings
scattered throughout the book. The first editions ( or first printings)
also had what was referred to as “blank” endpapers, the papers just
inside the cover of the book. Later on I would learn that books like
this are considered very rare indeed – a pristine copy of the first
volume, THE SECRET OF THE OLD CLOCK, with a dustjacket in excellent
condition (no rips or tears) with blank endpapers can sell for thousands
(yes, you heard me right – THOUSANDS) OF dollars!
Through
the years, Grosset and Dunlap, the original publisher, put Nancy
through many incarnations. The thick blue books got thinner, and the
internals were reduced from three and the frontispiece to just the
frontispiece; the blue cloth cover was replaced by a blue tweed one; in
the late fifties/early sixties the dust jackets were abandoned
altoghether in favor of a yellow-spined one piece book. And still later
Nancy evolved into a paperback heroine! Applewood Books also issued
reprints of the first twenty-two original Nancy’s with reproductions of
original cover art and internals where applicable, which are also
considered collector’s items.
There were other series
that also had the dust jackets and internals, which I also collected as
my mystery reportiore expanded – The Dana Girls, Hardy Boys, Judy Bolton
to name a few. Later series were developed, with tweed books and dust
jackets, focusing on gals with careers that I also found enjoyable:
Vicki Barr, Flight Stewardess and Connie Blair, who worked in
advertising. And who could forget Cherry Ames, Nurse?
This
is just a brief listing of all the series books that I have tucked away
in those six, five shelf banker’s bookcases. Mind you, these are the
complete series of each one:
Nancy Drew, original
hardcover with dustjackets, tweed hardcoverwith dustjackets and yellow
spine- also Applewood reprints one through twenty-one.
Judy Bolton, original hardover w/dust jackets and green spine
Vicki Barr, original hardover with dustjackets
Kay Tracey, original hardcover with dustjackets
Connie Blair,orginal hardcover with dustjackets
And others too numerous to mention!
Most
of the books are the ones that I bought when I was a child, either at
the regular store or the used bookstore; however, a lot ofthem were
acquired through Ebay (in the later years). And my collection isn’t
finished by a long shot – I’m always on the lookout for a good, old YA
mystery book!!!!!!! Plus, let’s not forget those foreign editions!
For those of you interested in finding out more about these vintage series, here are a few good resources:
http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/
http://www.series-books.com/
About the Author
While
Toni Lotempio does not commit – or solve – murders in real life, she
has no trouble doing it on paper. Her lifelong love of mysteries began
early on when she was introduced to her first Nancy Drew mystery at age
10 – The Secret in the Old Attic. She (and ROCCO, albeit he’s
uncredited) pen the Nick and Nora mystery series from Berkley Prime
Crime – and in Spring 2017, the new CAT RESCUE msyteries from Crooked
Lane! She, Rocco and company make their home in Clifton, New Jersey,
just twenty minutes from the Big Apple – New York. Catch up with them at
www.tclotempio.com and
www.catsbooksmorecats.blogspot.com
Crime and Catnip
by T. C. Lotempio
GENRE: cozy mystery
BLURB
While
catering a gala for the Cruz Museum, Nora Charles agrees to look into
the disappearance of director Violet Crenshaw’s niece, a case previously
undertaken by her frisky feline friend Nick’s former owner, a private
eye whose whereabouts are also currently unknown.
As
Nora and her curious cat Nick pull at the string of clues, they begin to
unravel a twisted tale of coded messages, theft, false identities,
murder, and international espionage. Nora dares to hope that the
labyrinth of leads will not only help them locate the missing young
woman, but also solve the disappearance of the detective. That’s if Nora
can stay alive long enough to find him.
Excerpt
I
twisted the knob and the door swung inward, almost hitting another
furry shape crouched behind it. The cat that charged at me out of the
darkness had a white body and an orange and white face. It’s fluffy
white tail waved like a flag signaling surrender. It landed on all four
paws and stood, back arched, bright blue eyes glittering.
“Yowl!”
I
looked at Nick who’d sat back on his haunches and was calmly regarding
the newcomer. “Is this what you wanted me to find, Nick? You wanted me
to let this cat out of here?” I made an impatient gesture. “I told you I
had things to do.”
I could swear that Nick shook his head. “Meeoow,” he yowled.
The
other cat turned around twice, echoed Nick’s cry, and then shot like a
guided missile back through the door. I peered cautiously inside. The
room beyond was black as midnight, and I had no flashlight – nor did I
have the cat’s extraordinary range of night vision. I felt along the
wall and found a switch, which I flipped. Illumination revealed a flight
of steps leading downward into what was most likely a basement or a
storage area. Nick and the other cat were halfway down the stairs. Both
paused, turned and looked at me and meowed plaintively.
“I
do not have a good feeling about this,” I muttered. I cautiously crept
down the stairway, emerging into what appeared to be the museum
storeroom, filled to overflowing capacity with boxes, cabinets and
trunks of varying sizes. I walked over to one and read the white and red
printed label:
PROPERTY OF MEECHAM EXHIBIT
“Oh
great,” I muttered. This was obviously the place where the packing was
stored for the exhibit articles. The cats were dashing madly around the
room – off to a large trunk on the left side, then back to me, around in
a circle, and then back to the trunk. The orange and white cat began to
mew pitifully as Nick chased a few red threads on the floor. Fighting
the tingling feeling inching up my spine, I moved forward and saw a
black Mary Jane dangling over the side, partially obscured by a swath of
red satin.
With a sinking feeling, I walked all the way around, stopped and bit back a scream.
Daisy
Martinelli sat sprawled in the trunk’s center, her neck cocked at a
rakish angle, the red scarf tied around it pooled like a puddle of blood
in her lap. One finger was caught in the scarf’s frayed edge, almost as
if she were pointing. Her sightless eyes stared straight ahead, and a
little bit of drool trickled out of the side of her mouth. Her arms were
tangled in the folds of a scarlet cape looped carelessly around her
shoulders.
I didn’t need to feel her pulse to see that she was quite, quite, dead.
AUTHOR Bio and Links
While
Toni Lotempio does not commit – or solve – murders in real life, she
has no trouble doing it on paper. Her lifelong love of mysteries began
early on when she was introduced to her first Nancy Drew mystery at age
10 – The Secret in the Old Attic. She (and ROCCO, albeit he’s
uncredited) pen the Nick and Nora mystery series from Berkley Prime
Crime – the first volume, MEOW IF ITS MURDER, debuted Dec. 2, 2014.
Followed by #2, CLAWS FOR ALARM. #3, CRIME AND CATNIP, is out this
December. She, Rocco and Maxx make their home in Clifton, New Jersey,
just twenty minutes from the Big Apple – New York. Catch up with them at
www.tclotempio.com and
www.catsbooksmorecats.blogspot.com
Where to find them:
ROCCO’s blog:
www.catsbooksmorecats.blogspot.com
Website:
WWW.tclotempio.com
Amazon - Crime and Catnip
http://www.amazon.com/Crime-Catnip-Nick-Nora-Mystery/dp/042527022X?ie=UTF8&qid=1458231177&ref_=tmm_mmp_swatch_0&sr=1-1
Amazon: All Books Page
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=T.C.+LoTempio&search-alias=books&text=T.C.+LoTempio&sort=relevancerank
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Toni-LoTempio-125764404163823/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/roccoblogger
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION
T. C. Lotempio will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
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http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f1943/
Please follow the rest of the tour here, thanks:
