Hang onto your tails everybody, because today I'm interviewing *gasp* a dog!!! Don't worry about my safety...I found him to be very well-behaved. (I'm just glad it was his Mommy's keyboard that he slobbered all over and not mine!!!) Make sure you leave a comment for us because one lucky person will win ebook copies of both of Gnarly's (err...Lauren Carr's) new releases, The Murders at Astaire Castle and The Lady Who Cried Murder. Enjoy...purr!!!
Thank you so much for joining me today, Gnarly! Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you came to live with Mac?
Well, I started out in the Army, though they refuse to talk about me. I don’t have much nice to say about them either. Do you know they actually gave me—ME—a dishonorable discharge? But we won’t talk about that.
Then, I went into the private security field. I ended up living with Katrina Singleton, this rich lady in Spencer, Maryland. She was being stalked. But would she listen to me when I said someone was outside watching her? No. She kept locking me in the garage because she thought I was a nuisance. But the lady who lived next door was real nice to me. She was a mystery writer. Her name was Robin Spencer. When I ended up almost dying trying to save Katrina’s life, Robin Spencer saved me. Sadly, she died a couple of months later and her son, Mac Faraday, a retired homicide detective, moved into her mansion. (see It’s Murder, My Son) It’s taken me a while to break Mac in with how I run things at Spencer Manor, but he’s coming along. What's a typical day like for you?
There is no typical day at Spencer Manor. But I’ll try.
I like to get up at the crack of dawn. First thing I do is stomp on Mac’s chest to wake him up. The lazy slug doesn’t understand that perpetrators like squirrels and birds never take a day off. After I check the perimeter to make sure all is clear, I come in, and Mac serves breakfast and tries to go back to bed. For some odd reason, Mac thinks that because he’s a multi-millionaire that he should have a life of privilege. I don’t think so. But it does work out. Sometimes, if he’s not fully awake yet, I manage to get some of his breakfast, too. Then, I go back outside to do my dog thing. Then, I come back in for my mid-morning nap. Then, I need lunch and go on another check of the perimeter—Mac really needs to invest in a dog door.
If I’m lucky, Mac will catch a case with the spencer Police Department and take me for a ride along. But it isn’t just fun and games living among the rich and famous. I have a job to do and I’m always on-duty. My job is to watch Mac’s and Archie’s backs. Archie Monday is Mac’s lady love. She’s wonderful.
In our last book, a burglar broke in and I played tag with him all night long. It was great. Of course, he was a bad loser, on account that he lost. He actually told David O’Callaghan, the chief of police, that I cheated and didn’t obey the dog rules. He threatened to sue. The nerve!
You have to tell me about Irving the skunk cat...
You have to tell me about Irving the skunk cat...
Irving is trouble with a capital “T”. Mac has this friend named Cameron Gates, a homicide detective with the Pennsylvania State Police. Irving is her Maine Coon. Talk about a big cat! He weighs in at twenty-five pounds. Plus, he’s black with a white stripe down his back from the top of his head to the tip of his tail—just like a skunk. So, when people see him, they scream and Irving doesn’t like it that people scream at him. But hey, do you blame them? He looks like a giant skunk.
Actually, I feel sorry for Irving. You see, Cameron understands him but right now she’s in love. For years, it was just the two of them. Irving rode everywhere with her. He had a bed under her desk at the police station. Then, Cameron met him—Joshua Thornton. Hey, I like Joshua. He’s a great guy, for a lawyer. He’s the county prosecutor in Hancock County. That’s in West Virginia, across the state line from Hookstown, Pennsylvania, where Cameron works. Suddenly, Irving isn’t the center of Cameron’s life. So you can imagine when they got married. They are now the Lovers in Crime.
Irving’s not taking it well. Don’t get me wrong. He’s not a bad cat. He has his good points. Even after Archie threw a hissy fit during his last visit, Irving stepped up to bat when he was needed and saved her life. He’s just got some adjusting to do to his new situation and, being a cat, that’s hard for him.
How do you feel about cats in general? Cats are like politicians—manipulative and self-centered. Only cats have more common sense.
What's the biggest trouble you've ever gotten into?
That’s a hard question to answer. There’s so many incidents to choose from. The latest always seems to be the biggest.
The last time Irving visited Spencer Manor, he managed to talk me into raiding the kitchen. Why I listened to him, I don’t know. Archie was so mad that she sent me out with Mac to work on their case. It was a good thing I was there because I saved David’s life, but I almost lost my own in the process.
I understand you have 2 new books this year...can you tell us about them?
In The Murders at Astaire Castle, I meet the Wolf Man. Honest to God, I’m serious. Mac and I watch all those vampire/werewolf movies, but I never dreamed they were real. But sure enough, I met one and he didn’t like me at all. He almost killed me—ME! I’m not easy to kill.
It all started when Mac found out that he owned Astaire Castle, which is associated with two suicides, three mysterious disappearances, and four murders since it was built almost a century ago. Mac owns this place! Of course, he can’t resist unlocking the gate to see the castle that supposedly hasn’t seen a living soul since his late mother, Robin Spencer had ordered it closed up after the double homicide and disappearance of Damian Wagner, a world-famous master of horror novels.
But, as always when it comes to Mac, what starts out as a quick tour of a dusty old castle turns into another mystery when it becomes the scene of even more murders.
So then, just as things settled down after that, The Lady Who Cried Murder came back to town. Three years ago, determined to get her pretty face in front of the cameras, Khloe Everest faked an abduction only to make a grand entrance in the midst of a press conference held by Spencer's Police Chief David O'Callaghan.After failing to catapult her notoriety into a long-lasting celebrity, Khloe Everest returned to Spencer upon her mother's sudden death and seemingly found another weapon to propel her into the spotlight. Unfortunately, someone killed her before she could make this entrance. That was when Mac and I ended up on the case.
Any idea what your upcoming adventures will entail? Oh, yes! In Twelve to Murder, Lenny Frost, a former child-star and teenybopper idol, is suspected of killing his agent and business partner. He takes Mac and a group of innocent bystanders in a local pub hostage. Mac has twelve hours to prove find the real killer and prove Lenny is innocent before the desperate former star kills all of the hostages and himself.
Since Mac is unable to leave the bar, on account that he’s a hostage, it is up to us, the police and me, to run around to collect the evidence to help him.
Final thoughts for your adoring public?
Sure! You can read all about my adventures with Mac, Archie, and all of my friends in the Mac Faraday Mysteries. Visit best-selling mystery author Lauren Carr’s websites and blog at:
E-Mail: writerlaurencarr@gmail.net
Lovers in Crime Facebook Page:
Acorn Book Services Facebook Page:
Twitter: @TheMysteryLadie
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