T.C. Lotempio, author of A Side Dish of Death, the latest novel in the Urban Tails Pet Shop mysteries series, is visiting Ascroft, eh? today.

Welcome, Toni.

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

A SIDE DISH OF DEATH is number five in the Urban Tails Pet Shop Mysteries.  It focuses on Shell McMillan, a former Hollywood actress whos relocated to Fox Hollow Connecticut after she inherits her late aunts’ pet shop.  She, her former co-star Gary Presser, and her cats, Purrday, Kahlua and Princess Fuzzypants, find a lot of dead bodies out in Fox Hollow! 

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

I have gone to dinner theatres where you had to solve a murder to win a prize and I thought that would be a good plot for a book.

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

Most of my characters are based on people (or pets) that I know.   On occasion I’ll base it on a news story – for example, the first Nick and Nora mystery is loosely based on Natalie Wood’s drowning.   Do I have favorite characters?  That’s like asking a parent who their favorite child is LOL.  I confess, though, that I do have favorites in each series. In the pet shop series it’s Gary. I find it fun to write him.

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

I always try to visualize the book I’m writing as a movie.  That definitely helps with character development, location, etc.

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

Lots and Lots of Google!

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

Only that I hope they enjoy what I write!  And I’ll continue writing as long as everyone keeps reading!

Thank you for answering my questions, Toni, and good luck with A Side Dish of Death, the latest book in the Urban Tails Pet Shop mystery series.

Readers can learn more about T.C. Lotempio by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook page.

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

 Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Smashwords

About T.C. Lotempio: 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 her cat pen the Nick and Nora mystery series originally from Berkley Prime Crime and now with Beyond the Page Publishing.  They also write the Urban Tails Pet Shop Mysteries and the Tiffany Austin Food Blogger Mysteries, also available from Beyond the Page.  A new series, Cozy Bookshop Mysteries, debuts from Severn House in July.