Ruth J. Hartman is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about Brushed up on Murder, her first novel in the Mobile Cat Groomer Mystery series.

Welcome, Ruth. 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.

“Brushed Up on Murder” takes place in Whitewater Valley, Indiana. The main character is Molly, whose occupation is a cat groomer. It’s Book #1 in the Mobile Cat Groomer Mysteries.

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

I loved the idea of a woman who works as a mobile cat groomer finding a body while working for one of her pet parents. It seemed like a really cool way for the heroine to discover trouble happening in the midst of her normally quiet work day.

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

In “Brushed Up on Murder”, Molly has a very close, loving relationship with her Uncle Russ, who becomes a murder suspect when he’s falsely accused by the sheriff. Molly’s uncle in the books is based on my own Uncle Russ, who I adore.

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

Many times, my main female character will be a lot like me. Nice, friendly, but also quirky and more than a little clumsy at times. And the main characters are always cat lovers.

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

I like to incorporate people, places and occupations that remind of the small town I live in. Also, the subjects the characters talk about and often the way they speak, will turn up in my books. And since there are always cats in my books, I include a lot of their behavior too.

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

It was fun doing research for “Brushed Up on Murder” since it was about a mobile cat groomer. I love everything to do with felines, and learning about the profession of a groomer was fascinating. Especially the ones who have mobile grooming stations and drive their vans to regularly visit their furry clients at their homes.

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

It’s a fun, witty story with lots of quirky characters and an abundance of cats. It was a joy to write!

Thanks for answering my questions, Ruth, and good luck with Brushed up on Murder, the first book in Mobile Cat Groomer Mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Ruth and her writing by visiting her website and her Facebook and Goodreads pages. You can also follow her on Twitter.

The novel is available online at  Amazon 

About Ruth J. Hartman: Ruth spends her days herding cats and her nights spinning mysterious tales. She, her husband, and their cats love to spend time curled up in their recliners watching old Cary Grant movies. Well, the cats sit in the people’s recliners. Not that the cats couldn’t get their own furniture. They just choose to shed on someone else’s.

Ruth, a left-handed, cat-herding, farmhouse-dwelling writer uses her sense of humor as she writes tales of lovable, klutzy women who seem to find trouble without even trying.

Ruth’s husband and best friend, Garry, reads her manuscripts, rolls his eyes at her weird story ideas, and loves her despite her insistence all of her books have at least one cat in them.