Mollie Hunt is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about Ghost Cat on the Midway, her latest novel in the Tenth Life Mystery series.

Welcome, Mollie. Let’s get started, shall we?

Tell us about your novel. Is it part of a series? If so, please tell us about the series too.

Ghost Cat on the Midway is the second book in the Tenth Life Cosy Mystery Series featuring septuagenarian Camelia Collins who recently moved from her city home to the small coastal town of Ocean Cove. What she pictured as a quiet retirement is soon disrupted by an unexpected presence. Her property comes with a ghost cat! Thankfully Soji is a gentle if spritely spirit who helps Camelia out of a few fixes, some of which involve murder.

Where did the idea for the mystery that is central to the story come from?

As a cat person, I’ve often contemplated the possibility of ghost cats. As I asked around my cat-people friends, I found I wasn’t the only one. A great number had experienced what they considered to be visitations from their felines who had crossed Beyond. I knew I wasn’t the only fiction writer to create a ghost cat character, but once Soji came to me and showed me her potential, I had no choice but to build a story around her.

The mystery for this particular book came to me as ideas always do—bit by bit as I got to know the new characters and their situations. In other words, they tell me what’s going to happen, not the other way around.

Is there a theme or subject that underlies the story? If so, what prompted you to write about it?

Unlike my Crazy Cat Lady Series which, with the central character being a cat shelter volunteer, follows the theme of cat rescue and advocacy, the Tenth Life series is blissfully benign. But that in itself is the underlying premise, one of easy reading as a respite in a difficult world.

How do you create your characters? Do you have favourite ones? If so, why are you partial to them?

As I mentioned, my characters tend to come to me. They walk, run, jump, leap, or swager into the story and demand my attention. Sometimes they look and act like someone I know or have seen on TV; other times they spring from my imagination, and who am I to say no? The cats tend to be my favourites.

How do you bring to life the place you are writing about?

As I am the same age as Camelia, I’ve been around a bit. I’ve done some traveling and tend to remember those places with an artist’s eye. Most of Ghost Cat takes place in a small town on the Oregon Coast, an area I’ve toured all my life. Ocean Cove is fictitious, but it could be one of many on that route. I use colour, scent, sound, and touch along with visual descriptions to create a complete picture.

What research do you do to provide background information to help you write the novel?

Even for the lightest fiction, some research is required. If I don’t know about something, I’ll find out before committing it to the page. Sometimes that entails online work and others I need to go farther afield.

In Ghost Cat on the Midway, one character, 17-year-old Yui Smith, is involved in 4-H and horses. Though I have experience with county fairs, I had to get an expert to help with that subject. Big thanks to Reagen Richey and her mom Kari for the fun and helpful information about 4-H, horse competitions, and horses in general.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about the book?

Thanks for reading, or even thinking about reading my book! It means so much to me to share my stories. Though I would still write them if I were the only person on Earth, there is a special bond between an author and their readers that is as satisfying as petting a purring cat. (Well, almost.)

Thanks to Ascroft eh? for asking thought-provoking questions, as well as for spotlighting me and Ghost Cat on the Midway

Thanks for answering my questions, Mollie, and good luck with Ghost Cat on the Midway, the latest book in the Tenth Life Mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Mollie and her writing by visiting her website and her Facebook, Goodreads, and Instagram pages. Readers can also sign up for her extremely informal newsletter.

The novel is available online at  Amazon

About Mollie Hunt: Cat Writer Mollie Hunt is the award-winning author of two cozy series, the Crazy Cat Lady Mysteries and the Tenth Life Mysteries. Her Cat Seasons Sci-Fantasy Tetralogy features extraordinary cats saving the world. Mollie also pens a bit of cat poetry.