I am so excited to have Mollie Hunt here at Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight and Guest Post.
Thanks Mollie and Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for allowing me to join your Cosmic Cat Blog Tour!
Please take it away, Mollie!
Guest Post by Mollie Hunt, author of Cosmic Cat and the Crazy Cat Lady cozy mystery Series
It’s always exciting to launch a new book, and Cosmic Cat is no exception. I had a woman rush up to my table at a book fair last weekend, point to the violet cover with the gray and white cat, and say, “Oh, you have the new one! I’ve been waiting!” That was a stellar moment, and one I will long remember, but strangely, for me the most exciting part of the writing journey is not the end but the beginning. For me, the first draft of a story is pure joy, with limitless possibilities and great potentials.
When it comes to writing, I am what they call a “pantser” as opposed to a “plotter.” That means, instead of making planning and outlining my story, I just write, “flying by the seat of my pants.” I have the title; I have the idea of what that will entail. I sit down at my laptop (which, by the way, is not connected to the internet) and begin.
I tend to hear the words in my head, as if I were reading, and I write them down. I visualize scenes as if they were a movie and describe them. I move ahead quickly, and without editing. I make notes — lots of notes — and color code things like duplicated words or places I need to research. I push through from beginning to end, writing for hours each day. When I’m done, I sit back and get ready for the real work.
As fun and exciting as that first draft might be, there is a long way to go to make it a book. I revise several times before even my editor sees it, and then a few times more before it goes to press.
Cosmic Cat evolved out of my own love for sci-fi-fantasy and the conventions that have come out of that genre. Anyone who has attended a comic-con or Star Trek convention knows it as a world outside of the norm. The feeling of comradery that comes from being around people who love the same things we do; the sale items based on all our favorite characters; the panels on things that interest us; the guest stars who tell tales no one else may know. It’s a wonderland for people like me, and I wanted to put a little of that into a Crazy Cat Lady mystery.
I had the initial layout and a hint to the characters. Then came the “what if?” What if’s are essential to fiction writers. That’s where it all begins.
What if a cosplayer is murdered at a comic-con? And what if his name is Captain Cat and he is leader of a tribe? And what if the tribe has a vigilante faction, trying to save the world like their comic-book heroes? And what if...?
The main character of my series, Lynley Cannon, is a sixty-something cat shelter volunteer with many interests and a cat-like curiosity that won’t quit, so it’s easy to put her in all sorts of circumstances. Since she, herself, is a Trekkie, she fit right in with the comic-con crowd. She even has her own uniform!
So next time you read a book, think for a moment about what led up to that bundle of words that so excites your own imagination. What takes you mere hours to read may have taken the writer and their team months and even years to create.
Thank you, Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews, for having me over to your blog! I lived In Victoria BC for 10 years, and plan to set a Crazy Cat Lady cozy mystery in the wilds of Vancouver Island sometime soon.
Cosmic Cat (Crazy Cat Lady Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
6th in Series
Independently Published (September 28, 2019)
Paperback: 306 pages
ISBN-10: 1726419339
ISBN-13: 978-1726419338
Digital ASIN: B07X4BK75S
When a superhero cosplayer falls to his death at a comic con, Lynley is left holding the bag – and a cat!
Who killed Captain Cat? His tribe wants to know.
When the Captain is murdered at Bridgetown Comic-con and philanthropist Esmae Westhouse is arrested for the crime, sixty-something cat shelter volunteer Lynley Cannon steps out of her comfort zone and dons her Star Trek uniform to expose the real killer.
A decade-spanninglove triangle, a band of vigilante cosplayers, a shady pharmaceutical company,and an ancient black cat named Kitty tie into a puzzling plot that has Lynley running in all directions. The death of Captain Cat is only the beginning, and Lynley must stay one step ahead of a ruthless hit man if she is to make it out alive.
About Mollie Hunt
Mollie Hunt: Native Oregonian Mollie Hunt has always had an affinity for cats, so it was a short step for her to become a cat writer. Mollie is the author of THE CRAZY CAT LADY COZY MYSTERY SERIES, featuring Portlander Lynley Cannon, a sixty-something cat shelter volunteer who finds more trouble than a cat in catnip. The 3rd in the series, CAT’S PAW, was a finalist for the 2016 Mystery & Mayhem Book Award, and the 5th, CAT CAFÉ, won the World’s Best Cat Litter-ary Award in 2019.
Mollie’s sci-fantasy, CAT SUMMER (Fire Star Press) is the first in her CAT SEASONS TETRALOGY where cats save the world from an evil older than history — twice! Mollie also published a non-cat mystery, PLACID RIVER RUNS DEEP, which delves into murder, obsession, and the challenge of chronic illness in bucolic southwest Washington. Two of her short cat stories have been published in anthologies, one of which, THE DREAM SPINNER, won the prestigious CWA Muse Medallion. She has a little book of Cat Poems as well.
Mollie is a member of the Oregon Writers’ Colony, Sisters in Crime, Willamette Writers, the Cat Writers’ Association, and NIWA. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and a varying number of cats. Like Lynley, she is a grateful shelter volunteer.
Author Links
You can find Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer on her blogsite: www.lecatts.wordpress.com
Amazon Page: www.amazon.com/author/molliehunt
Facebook Author Page: www.facebook.com/MollieHuntCatWriter/
Fire Star Author Page: http://prairierosepublications.com/authors_2/mollie-hunt\
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7768987.Mollie_Hunt
Twitter @MollieHuntCats
Sign up for Mollie’s Extremely Informal Newsletter at http://eepurl.com/c0fOTn.
Purchase Links – Amazon Kindle – Amazon Print
Please follow the rest of the tour here, thanks:
https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/great-escapes-virtual-book-tours/books-currently-on-tour/cosmic-cat-crazy-cat-lady-mystery-by-mollie-hunt
Thank you for hosting me (and Lynley) on your blogsite!
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