Blog Tour – Meowmoirs of a Klepto Cat Book Review

Yvonne at Socrates Book Review reviews Meowmoirs of a Klepto Cat this morning. Read her take on the book and compare it with yours. Spoiler alert: Not one reviewer or reader to date has given this book less than 5-stars. http://socratesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2018/07/review-meowmoirs-of-klepto-cat-by.html#more

NEW BOOK Announcement

Thank you for coming along with me on my 2018 blog tour. As a special gift to you, I’ve published Book 30—Revenge at Its Felinest. So far only the print book is available. Watch for my announcement here and at my Klepto Cat Mystery facebook page for the launching of the Kindle version.

In Book 30, Rags answers the call to action with paw-some results.

Family and friends are stunned when Savannah and Rochelle disappear without a trace. Is this a random abduction or an act of revenge? While everyone scrambles to find answers, Rags stumbles upon possible clues to their whereabouts and he leads the charge to find them. At the same time, Iris searches for answers to an ancient curse that has disrupted the peace in their new home. What odd omen was left there and why are strangers threatening to bulldoze their property? Can Rags help untangle this eerie mystery and bring harmony to the neighborhood?

Does it sound interesting, intriguing, exciting? You bet it is. Be among the first to read this book. Order the print copy here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999472461/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1532177900&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=revenge+at+it%27s+felinest

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Blog Tour – My Curious Transition From Journalist to a Major Cozy Mystery Author

Today’s blog stopover is at Babs Book Bistro where I discuss something few authors have ever experienced—my crossover from a career as a nonfiction writer to a successful novelist in the cozy mystery field. How does an author maintain a career as a writer—that’s an anomaly by itself. But then to step out of a successful career writing articles and nonfiction books to a lucrative and exciting stint writing cozy mysteries with cats—come on, who does that?

This author does that. Learn how and why at Bab’s Bistro. And sign up to win a FREE copy of Meowmoirs of a Klepto Cat https://babsbookbistro.net/meowmoirs-of-a-klepto-cat-by-patricia-fry-guest-post

Disclaimer: No one was stepped on in order to make this transition. No glass ceiling needed to be broken. There are no bodies left in the wake of my success.

Michele at Miki’s Hope will run her contest into August–so there’s still time to sign up to win the FREE copy we’re offering there as well.

http://www.mikishope.com/2018/07/e-book-ww-print-book-us-meowmoirs-of.html

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Blog Tour – The Klepto Cat Mysteries Dissected—Where Do the Stories Really Come From?

Miki’s Hope is our blog stop today. Michele gave me an interesting assignment—to share how I come up with all of those story ideas. I mean, I publish an average of 6 cozy mysteries per year. There are 29 Klepto Cat Mysteries to date. And, as most of you know, each story features more than one mystery. Yes, there’s a lot going on in the Klepto Cat Mysteries and today I’ll reveal some of my secrets to writing them.

Here’s another enticement to visit Michele’s blog—we’re giving away a copy of Meowmoirs of a Klepto Cat! Sign up and receive a copy for yourself or, if you already have your own copy, win one to give as a gift. http://www.mikishope.com 

Note: No animal was harmed in this photo shoot. This is Lily bringing me her baby possum toy.

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Blog Tour – Never-Before-Revealed Facts About Me—the Author and Cat Lover

I’m in the limelight today. If you think you know all there is to know about me, think again. What are some of my most unorthodox writing techniques? What five words would I use to describe myself? Do you know what my favorite real life story about cats is? How, exactly, do my cats help me in my office? To find out and just for fun, you must visit Mollie Hunt’s LeCatts blog. Here’s the link to my interview with Mollie. https://wp.me/p3rtQm-YT

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Blog Tour — Day One – Tortie-to-Tortie Interview (A Cat Behind the Scenes)

It’s an exciting day here in our household as we celebrate Sophie. Mudpie, over at Melissa’s Mochas, Mysteries, and Meows, has interviewed our look-alike tortie. Sophie meows about her precarious feral beginnings, her adjustment to living indoors with a human family, and her relationship with the other household cats. Sophie reveals some of her super cat powers and shares a secret very few people know about her. She even talks about one of her most frightening life experiences—that is after being rescued from the streets where she ran feral for 10 weeks.

Don’t miss this pawsitively amewsing, and sometimes hissterical account of a cat who lives quite comfortably in the shadows of a diva-cat. You’ll find it here at http://www.mochasmysteriesmeows.com only on July 17, 2018.

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Mindful Monday –The Cat’s Amazing Tongue

They all have one and we humans actually find the cat’s tongue to be rather interesting with its coarse barbs and lapping and grooming abilities. In fact, the cats tongue is made for grooming, which is highly important to a cat. Not only does licking help keep the cat cool in warm weather, but it’s quite a handy tool for removing loose fur (so it doesn’t mat and tangle) and dirt particles. If you have a cat, you probably sometimes find odd-looking tubular brown squishy things lying around your house. Those are fur balls your cat has coughed up after a vigorous grooming session.

Cats also groom after eating and usually after petting. Why are cats so fastidious about cleanliness? According to the experts, this is a throwback from their ancestors. Cats are small and they’re prey to many larger animals. If they were to run around the jungle or the backstreets smelling of mouse blood, they’d be detected by their hungry enemies and probably invited to supper.

As cute and interesting as that little tongue is, it can also create danger for your cat. When he licks something, it’s liable to get stuck on his barbed tongue. If he can’t get it loose, it’s going to be swallowed and we do not want our cats swallowing yarn, string, ribbon, or Christmas tree tinsel, for example.

My gorgeous Persian cat, Crystal, once swallowed a needle. Looking back, I’m sure I know how that happened. Crystal loved to help me sew. She’d sit next to the sewing machine and watch the process as I made clothing or worked on a craft project. The day of the incident, I’m sure that she must have sat too close to the pin cushion. She was always grooming herself. Imagine this—she licks herself and happens to pick up a piece of thread (green) with her tongue. She tries to spit it out, but her tongue is designed to take it in, so she does. At the end of that piece of thread was a needle and it went down and got caught in her throat. Thankfully, we were able to identify the cause of her discomfort and the veterinarian removed the needle and thread without incident. Now when I sew, there are no cats allowed anywhere near the pin cushion.

Here are a few sites I found quite fascinating about the cat’s tongue. Enjoy: https://www.catster.com/lifestyle/5-cat-facts-anatomy-tongue-awesome

https://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/your-cats-tongue/

Announcement

Tomorrow starts our 5 day blog tour. Watch this blog each day to see where we’ll be and what fun we’ll have. Spoiler alert: Tomorrow our behind-the-scenes tortie, Sophie, will be in the limelight. In fact, she’s being interviewed by another tortie, Mudpie. This is a rare appearance you won’t want to miss. I’ll post the details and the link here tomorrow morning.

 

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Frivolous Friday – Blog Tour Extravaganza

Have you ever been on a blog tour? I invite you to curl up with your favorite cat-friend and a cup of coffee and join me next week on a whirlwind adventure. I can guarantee there will be a lot of cats. Each day next week, I’ll post the link to that day’s stop on the tour. Please plan to visit. I think you’ll enjoy the trip. Here’s a schedule of events:

Tuesday Mudpie, the tortie at Melissa’s Mochas, Mysteries, and Meows will post her interview with our Sophie, also a tortie. And Sophie reveals a secret. This, you don’t want to miss. She also describes life with an author and a spoiled little sister named Lily.

Wednesday Mollie, at LeCatts interviews me. Among the questions I’ll answer are, “Tell me your favorite cat story,” and “What do you see as your greatest accomplishment in the cat world.” So you think you know everything there is to know about me? Maybe not.

Michele, at Miki’s Hope is planning a giveaway Thursday. She’ll offer the latest Klepto Cat Mystery, Meowmoirs of a Klepto Cat FREE. So be sure to visit and enter the contest. She’ll also post my guest blog on how I come up with so many ideas that keep the Klepto Cat Mystery series fresh and intriguing. From what others tell me, this is a real mystery. Readers can’t imagine how my imagination works. Let’s see if I can unravel that mystery.

Friday, read about my path as an author and how I came to make the transition from a staunch nonfiction author to writing fun cozy mysteries. This post will appear at Babs Book Bistro.

Monday, Yvonne, at Socrates Book Reviews will post her review of Meowmoirs of a Klepto Cat

So that’s the blog tour itinerary. I hope you will join us in the festivities and that you’ll take the time to leave a comment at the blog stops. Bloggers appreciate comments. It gives us an idea as to who’s visiting and which of our posts are resonating with our followers.

See you next week on the tour!

 

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Thoughts for Thursday – Where is Your Cat From?

I think most of us know that the Siamese cat originated in Siam—now Thailand, and the Persian is from Persia—now Iran, the Turkish van is from Turkey, the Savannah has roots in Africa, and the Abyssinian comes from Abyssinia–now Ethiopia.

If you’re looking for an all-American breed, consider these cats: Maine coon, ragdoll, Himalayan, Bengal (believe it or not), and the American bombay. Here’s an interesting site showing some of America’s favorite breeds.

https://www.bhg.com/pets/cats/cat-breeds/all-american-cat-breeds/

Announcement

We have a blog tour coming up next week!! I’ll post the schedule tomorrow so you can cruise along with us and peek into some of the fascinating things that go on behind the scenes here in the Klepto Cat Mystery workshop. Even our tortie, Sophie, is taking the limelight and she’s sharing a rarely-before-told secret. There’s a hint in this photo.

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Wild (and Sometimes Crazy) Wednesday – Does Your Boss Offer Paw-ternity Leave?

The times, they are a changing. And I love seeing some of those changes involve kindness, concern, and appreciation for the human-animal connection. It’s refreshing to see some of of the world’s largest companies showing compassion for our pets. Some companies even provide what they call paw-ternity leave for employees.

Whether you’re a cat breeder, you’ve adopted a kitten or puppy and it’s socialization time, you’re training a young animal, or you have a sick one you’re doctoring back to health, it’s a rare boss that would be sympathetic and give you time off. Can you just imagine getting paw-ternity leave? Maybe, if you work for a staunch pet lover who understands the bond. Believe it or not there are companies with such a huge heart for animals that they provide time off when employees adopt a pet to aid in that all-important bonding period. Here are a few of them. You might note that none of them are in the US. http://www.businessinsider.com/companies-give-employees-pawternity-leave-2017-3?r=UK&IR=T

Yes, the idea of paid paw-ternity leave is a reality in the UK. But it doesn’t seem to be flying yet in the US. However, there certainly are America-based companies with a huge heart for the human-animal bond. More and more companies here allow employees to bring their pets to work for various reasons—while they’re recovering from an injury or surgery, on “bring your dog to work” day and other special occasions. Patagonia in Ventura, California fosters one employee’s passion for rehabilitating injured and ailing birds by allowing her the freedom during the workday to work with birds.

You may be surprised to learn that some of America’s major companies are also on board with their employees’ love for their pets. Some even provide employees pet insurance and the option to bring their dog to work. Included in this list are Mars—yes, the candy company. Did you know they also make pet food? Eighty percent of this company’s volunteer projects are centered around animal causes. Many California companies allow employees to bring their dogs to work, and some of them provide some amazing perks—dog beds, toys and such. They include Genetech and Salesforce in San Francisco, VMWare in Palo Alto, and Activision Blizzard in Irvine, which claims that 397 dogs come to their workplace. In Missouri, the Build-a-Bear company is dog-friendly as is the New Jersey hospital, Atlantic Health. They have the Soothing Paws therapy program. Other huge companies that are pet-friendly are Google and Go Daddy.

If you love your pet and you’re seeking employment, you might look into one of these giants in the industry who have a huge heart for animals.

Announcement

Sandy Penny at Sweet Mystery Books reviewed Meowmoirs of a Klepto Cat yesterday. I’d like to invite you to visit her site and see what she has to say about it. So far all 5-star reviews for this book. YAY!!! https://sweetmysterybooks.blogspot.com/2018/07/meowmoirs-of-klepto-cat-by-patricia-fry.html?view=flipcard

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Newsday Tuesday – Cat-Friendly Plants

The question is not which plants and flowers are dangerous for cats, it’s more like which ones are safe. That’s what it came down to for me when I went in search of a plant for my newly decorated office. Every plant I chose turned out to be either seriously or at least mildly toxic for cats. And unfortunately the nursery owners and those working there don’t have the answers. Most of them do have a reference guide or they (or you) can go online to research plants. Always double check with a reliable expert or site before investing in a house plant.

Now not every cat will chew on live plants. But many do and some cats that typically stay away from plants, may at some point decide to take a bite. You might recall my recent post on the deadly lily. I reported that a cat even just rubbing up against a lily and later licking the flecks of pollen off her fur can become ill and even die.

So which plants are safe around cats? Maybe artificial plants—unless the cat is prone to eating them, too. I can’t imagine that plastic would be good for a cat, either.

If you must have live plants in your home, here’s a great site to learn which plants to consider. https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/cats-plant-list

For those of you who prefer simplicity—this site is brief and to the point with specific ideas showing which plants will work in your home environment with cats. https://pets.thenest.com/indoor-plants-safe-cats-4074.html

 

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