AN INTERVIEW WITH MYSTERY AUTHOR KATHY KRAVAT'S GOURMET CAT MYSTERIES SLEUTH

Today we sit down for a cha with Colbie Summers from mystery author Kathy Krevat’s

Gourmet Cat Mysteries.

What was your life like before your author started pulling your strings?

I was focused on raising my wonderful son Elliott and making my business a success. My company, Meowio Batali Gourmet Cat Food, was inspired by my cat Trouble. She has digestive issues, so I started making her organic, human grade food. When I found out other cats had the same problems, Meowio was born. 

I’d just moved back in with my father – his second bout of pneumonia really hit him hard right at a time when I had a little difficulty with my day job. We’re trying hard to make it work. After being a city person for so long, leaving San Diego for small town Sunnyside takes some getting used to.

And stumbling over my new friend’s dead body was not something I ever expected. 

What’s the one trait you like most about yourself?

I’d have to say my stubbornness, which I need to succeed at business, and life in general. Being a single mom at a young age was never my plan, so I had to push hard to find, and keep, jobs to support us. 

What do you like least about yourself?

My stubbornness. It kept me from having much of a relationship with my father when I left home at eighteen. He’s pretty stubborn too, which is why twelve years went by with infrequent visits.  

What is the strangest thing your author has had you do or had happen to you?

Did I mention the stumbling over dead bodies stuff? Besides that, she made me get a treatment for lice! Yes, it was part of an investigation, and I didn’t actually have them, but my head was itchy for days. She’s also forced me to have encounters with chicken poop, fight a rabbit over my strawberry patch, and get head-butted by a baby goat. 

Do you argue with your author? If so, what do you argue about?

She likes to say I do what she tells me, but you should see what happens between the outline and the finished book. I control plenty of the action; she just doesn’t realize it yet. 

What is your greatest fear?

Something terrible happening to my son or father because of my investigations. 

What makes you happy?

So many things! Seeing Elliott singing and dancing on stage in his junior theater musicals, when he’s at his most joyous. Having coffee with my father on the porch during a quiet morning, before we start our day. Hanging out with my cat Trouble, even if she’s complain-meowing while waiting to taste-test a new recipe.

If you could rewrite a part of your story, what would it be? Why?

I definitely wish I hadn’t fought with my dad and moved out when I was eighteen. We missed out on so many years of family because of pride. 

Of the other characters in your book, which one bugs you the most? Why?

I’d have to say Gina Pace. She’s a personal trainer who puts me through a punishing workout to get any information from her, and she keeps reminding me that I should get rid of my “paunch.” 

Of the other characters in your book, which one would you love to trade places with? Why?

Besides Trouble, who lives like a queen, I’d choose Elliott. He’s twelve, at that wonderful age where so much is new, and he’s figuring out who he is in the world. He’s surrounded by love at home and has great friends. His whole life is in front of him, and I just know it’s going to be wonderful. 

Tell us a little something about your author. Where can readers find her website/blog?

Kathy Krevat is the only one I know who’s busier than me. She’s the author of the Gourmet Cat Mystery series, the Chocolate Covered Mystery series (under the name Kathy Aarons), and the short story, “One Flu Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” in the Crossing Borders Anthology. Learn more about her and her books at her website.

She also performs stand-up comedy, usually in San Diego clubs, but now online via Zoom. 

When she’s not writing, she’s volunteering for the CCA Writers’ Conference (the only free writing conference for high school students in the US), Left Coast Crime 2020, and more. 

What's next for you?

Kathy is working on a young adult mystery series, where I’m sure to have a cameo.

The Trouble With Talent

A Gourmet Cat Mystery, Book 3
 

Sunnyside’s most gifted students have been at the mercy of a shadowy network of college fixers—including an abusive oboe teacher whose recommendation is necessary to get into Julliard and a school secretary who alters grades for cash. When they turn up dead, Colbie has to untangle a cat’s cradle of suspects and motivations—from livid parents and students whose dreams have been crushed to an entire secret Facebook group of spurned lovers.
 

Suddenly, holiday preparations just got a lot hairier. With the big re-order now on hold and the real killer still at large, Colbie discovers that someone has been grading on a very dangerous curve—and it will take all her newfound sleuthing talent to land safely on her feet.

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY ON A WEDNESDAY--3 CHARACTER INTERVIEWS FROM AN ANTHOLOGY OF 15 MYSTERIES

Crossing Borders is an anthology featuring fifteen stories that capture moments before, during and after characters cross borders and find themselves stumbling around strange lands that abound with saints, sinners, and monsters. Today we welcome three characters from three of the stories to chat with us All three answer the same set of questions but with very different answers.

Our first chat is with Tanya, from “Manipulations” by Barrie Summy.

What was your life like before your author started pulling your strings? 

So completely different. I was working at Costco and living with my ex-boyfriend in a divey one-bedroom apartment. We’d been broken up for almost a year, but neither of us could afford to move out. Basically, I was enjoying my going-nowhere life. Once Barrie got involved, I ended up behind bars for murder.

What's the trait you like most about yourself? 

Weirdly, because I never had much practice, I’m a good friend. I met Machelle one rainy night when I walked right into her. Turned out she lived across the pathway from me. We hit it off right away. I’d paint her nails and clean her apartment and sometimes run errands for her. Anthony, my ex, called me a pathetic doormat, but his idea of friendship was playing videogames with a guy from work. In the end, it didn’t work out so great with Machelle. I mean, here I am behind bars while she’s free, living a normal life. 

What is your greatest fear?

THAT I WON’T GET OUT OF HERE! I’m innocent. Yeah, I know every prisoner says that, but I really am innocent. I was framed. Deviously framed. I have a plan, but those can backfire.

Tell us a little something about your author. Where can readers find her blog/website?

Honestly, I was a little nervous about getting involved with Barrie. She writes middle-grade mysteries. Middle grade! She’s the author of The Disappearance of Emily H. (now featured on AppleTV+’s Ghostwriter show) and the I So Don’t Do mystery series. “Manipulations” is her first foray into (writing) adult crime. Anyway, she’s a hard worker, and I feel like she got my story right. Now I’m reading her kid mysteries. Good stuff. Learn more about Barrie and her books at her website.  

Our second chat is with Antonio from “I Killing in Bogotá —1995” by Carl Vondereau

What was your life like before your author started pulling your strings?

I am twelve years old. I’ve been living on the streets since I was ten. Mama’s new man used to beat me so the street is better. That's where I met Piojo and the others in our pandilla. It’s cold in Bogotá so we sleep together on newspapers or in the sewers. The shop owners and cart vendors hire police to take gamines into the mountains at night. That’s where they shoot us. Sometimes I see Mama. Once I stole an orange and gave it to her when her man wasn’t home. She cried. But I didn’t.

That gringo author, Carl Vonderau, gave me a chance. He introduced me to Gustavo, who gave me the gun. All I have to do is shoot a man in an ugly foreign car and Gustavo will buy me new clothes. Someday Mama’s man will be afraid of me. All the shopkeepers will be afraid. Even the police will be afraid.

What is the trait you like most about yourself?

I am a good person. Mama’s man said I wasn’t. But Mama cried when he yelled that. She cried when he took off his belt. Mama knows I’m good.

What is your greatest fear?

That something will happen to Mama. Other than that, I don’t have fears. Maybe, if Gustavo lets me stay with him, I’ll still be alive at twenty. Then the girls will see my suit and nice shoes and I can be afraid. I’ll have something someone wants to take.

Tell us something about your author. Where can readers find his website/blog?

My author is some gringo banker who's decided he wants to be a writer. He wrote down my story like a movie. It’s called "A killing in Bogotá: 1995.” He also wrote some book called Murderabilia, whatever that is. In the future, Gustavo says you’ll find my author on something called the Internet and a website. If I’m still alive then, tell everyone you know that you’re afraid of me.

Our third chat is with the demigod of Flu from “One Flu Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Kathy Krevat.

What was your life like before your author started pulling your strings?

I’m a demigod of Flu so our definitions of life are very different. I’ve existed for centuries, causing varying amounts of havoc wherever I find myself. I travel extensively, as you might expect. I analyze human behavior – the good, the bad and the incredibly ugly. It used to entertain and horrify me in equal amounts, but I’ve grown so bored lately. Luckily, I now have a mystery to solve. 

What's the trait you like most about yourself?

There are just so many – it’s very difficult to choose. Perhaps my leadership capabilities. I successfully marshal billions of my kind to follow my directions without much effort. You might not like my goals, but my ability to achieve them is quite remarkable. 

What is your greatest fear?

Clorox. The very thought makes me shiver. 

Tell us a little something about your author. Where can readers find her blog/website?

She’s the bestselling author of the Chocolate Covered Mystery series and the Gourmet Cat Mystery series. When she’s not writing, she’s volunteering for youth arts education organizations or performing stand-up comedy. You can learn more about her and her books at her website. 

Crossing Borders

Good stories start with characters crossing borders and finding themselves in worlds filled with hurt, harm, and danger. In Crossing Borders, the first anthology from Partners in Crime, the San Diego Chapter of Sisters in Crime, fifteen stories capture moments before, during and after characters cross borders and find themselves stumbling around strange lands that abound with saints, sinners, and monsters. 

Crossing Borders explores that liminal space—the place where people cross from not just from one place to another, like national boundaries, but the dividing line between life/death, stability/insanity, or innocence/guilt. This anthology contains stories that look at the duality of our lives, as we cross borders between people, values, and beliefs. 

Join us as we explore crossings, where a character, involved somehow in a crime, must pass over a border, literally or figuratively. As Rachel Howzell Hall says in our foreword: “Be prepared to hold your breath” as we enter that special space of crossing, transitioning, change, and death. Welcome to the border. 

Contributors: Lauren Avenius, Greta Boris, Pam Clark, Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, Cornelia Feye, Cheryl Garrett, B. J. Graf, S.J. Haworth, Kim Keeline, Kathy Krevat, Melinda Loomis, Gerald Martin, Jo Perry, Barrie Summy, and Carl Vonderau.

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#COOKING WITH CLORIS--GUEST AUTHOR KATHY KREVAT

Kathy Krevat is the author of the Gourmet Cat Mystery series and the nationally bestselling Chocolate Covered Mystery series under the name Kathy Aarons. Learn more about Kathy and her books at her website.

Easy Quiche for Holiday Visitors

The holiday season in Southern California means that we can usually entice some friends and relatives to visit and enjoy the sunshine.

Even without visitors, the holidays mean lots of get-togethers. One of my favorite recipes for low key dinners and potlucks is the easy quiche recipe below. We’ll be serving them at our annual New Year’s Day Brunch. We make it more of an open house, so that people can stop in once they’ve recovered from their New Year’s Eve parties.

This recipe can be modified for more or less vegetables, additions of sausage or other meats, low calorie cheese, and even low carb. The one in the photo is crustless!

For this New Year’s Day, I’m going to make this recipe – some with and some without crusts – and one with imitation crab meat and grated Swiss cheese instead of the broccoli and cheddar. It goes very well with mimosas!

And as a side benefit, leftover quiche tastes even better the next day!

Ingredients:

Frozen deep-dish pie crust

4 eggs

1 c. milk

1 T. flour

½ lb. turkey bacon

½ med. onion, chopped

½ lb. cheddar (or other) cheese

½ cup broccoli

Preheat oven to 350^oF. 

Thaw pie shell, prick bottom with fork and cook at 350 degrees until slightly golden brown, approximately 7 minutes. 

Cook bacon until crisp and break into little pieces. 

Sauté onion in margarine or butter until soft. 

Steam broccoli as desired. 

Mix eggs, milk and flour well. 

Place onions, bacon and vegetables in bottom of pie shell. Add half the cheese. Pour in egg mixture until almost full. Place remaining cheese on top. 

Cook on a cookie sheet for 35 minutes. Check to see if done by inserting fork in center. If it comes out dry, the quiche is done. If not, keep checking every 15 minutes until done.

The Trouble With Murder

Single mom and gourmet cat food entrepreneur Colbie Summers thought she’d escaped her tiny California hometown forever. But when her father needs her, she packs up her adolescent son, their finicky feline, Trouble, and her budding business. She knows change is tough—but she doesn’t expect it to be murder . . .

Between dealing with her newly rural life, her grumpy, sports-obsessed father, and preparing to showcase her products in the local Sunnyside Power Mom’s trade show, Colbie has more on her plate than she bargained for. Luckily, she has her official taste-tester, Trouble, by her side to vet her 

Meowio Batali Gourmet Cat Food line. Things look promising—until one of the Power Moms is found dead—with an engraved Meowio specialty knife buried in her chest. 

As the prime suspect, Colbie needs paws on the ground to smoke out who had means, motive, and opportunity among the networking mothers—including a husband-stealing Sofia Vergara lookalike. And the cat’s still not out of the bag when a second violent death rocks the bucolic community. Trouble may have nine lives, but Colbie’s only got one to clear her name and stop a killer from pulling off the purr-fect crime . . .

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