ROCCO interviews Princess Fuzzypants and Purrday from A SIDE DISH OF DEATH!

 This is Rocco and I am here this morning interviewing two of my dear friends, Princess Fuzzypants and Purrday.  They have an exciting new book coming out- A Side Dish of Death.  It comes out on February 25th so if you have not ordered your copy yet, what are you waiting for.

Good morning you two.

This is the third book in which you two star together.  How does it feel to be such a dynamic duo?

PFP:  Rocco, thank mew for the invitation today.  I am delighted that our pairing has worked so well.  But then, how else would it be.  Look at this face- *points to Purrday*. How could I fail to fall in love with him.

Purrday: And look at her face  "points to the Princess"  so beautiful.  How could I not reciprocate?  I am flattered a beauty like her would fall for an old salt like myself.




Rocco:  Can you tell us a bit about the plot of the new book?

Purrday:  Shell and her mother are having a murder mystery fundraiser, and things start to go south when the chef,  a very unpleasant person, turns up dead duirng the festivities.  Since everyone is trapped at the venue due to a hurricane, Shell and company must track down the killer before he/she strikes again! Complicating things is Shell's ex-fiancee, who has shown up with an agenda of his own that included the deceased chef.




PFP:   Of course the humans, Shell and Gary, are hopeless without our expurrt feline help.  We save the day- again.  But then, isn’t that what everyone wants to see.

Rocco:  Princess Fuzzypants, I am so glad you could join us from the Bridge.  I know Toni mentioned your passing in September but you have been anything but absent since then.

PFP:  *Laughs*. Who knew how busy my “life” would be at the Bridge.  And back on earth.  Naturally I must keep an eye on my humans, especially Momma.  She would be lost without meow.  I morph frequently and meow at them.  I miss my snuggles and cuddles but things are satisfying.  Knowing that I have achieved immortality both through the continuation of my page and my presence in the books, means a lot to meow.

Purrday: Princess, you are alive in everyone's hearts and always will be.

Rocco:  To what do you attribute your great chemistry.

PFP:  Purrday finds and rescues meow in the first book.  There is an instant attraction and when Shell see meow, she too is smitten.  Then we have a big mystery to solve and with our superior intellect and heightened senses, we are able to suss out things that mere humans could not.  What do mew think Purrday?

Purrday: I agree, we felines are far more intuitive than humans.  If you doubt that, then just ask Nick (from the Nick and Nora mysteries)  He will agree one thousand percent.


Rocco:  I hear there are more adventures on the horizon for the two of you.  Can you give us any hints.

Purrday: Well, not to say too much or the human will be mad but...our next adventure takes place at a pet show with our Princess front and center in the action!



PFP:  I don’t want to give away too much.  After all, we want mew to read all of our books.  *Giggles*

Rocco:  Thank you for being here today.  Are there any last words you want to share.

PFP:  I know my page fans have probably pre-ordered but I want to make sure they all read the books.  A Side Dish of Death is a lot of fun as are the previous two adventures.  Purrday and I are counting on mew.

Purrday: We appreciate your support.  It is what makes the Pet Shop Mysteries keep on coming!  

A SIDE DISH OF DEATH

An Urban Tails Pet Shop Mystery

Volume 5

TC Lotempio

Beyond the Page Publishing

Feb 25 2025

Chazz and Rocco interview Diane A.S. Stuckart!

 Me-Ow!  Hello, Folks!  Today we are interviewing NYT Bestselling Author Diane A.S. Stuckart!

Diane has a new short story anthology out, WHO'S BEHIND THE DOOR!  

Who’s behind the door? That and other unsettling questions fuel this compilation of previously 

published short stories from NYT bestselling author Diane A.S. Stuckart (the Leonardo da Vinci 

mystery series and the Black Cat Bookshop Mystery series written as Ali Brandon). Her tales of

 mystery and fantasy have been gathered for the first time into one volume, with each story 

prefaced by a brand new introduction written by the author just for this collection. The stories 

run the gamut in genre from paranormal to western to mystery  to fantasy, with settings both

 historical and contemporary. They feature characters as diverse as house flippers and kid wizards

, gunslingers and talking rats. But all have in common a problem to be solved, and a protagonist 

who must find the means, or the gumption, to uncover the solution. Stuckart has received starred 

reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal for her novels. Publishers Weekly has

 called Stuckart’s short fiction "clever", while Booklist says it "definitely has bite"

Diane A.S. Stuckart aka Anna Gerard is the author of the Georgia B&B Mystery series from Crooked Lane Books. Writing as Ali Brandon, she is the New York Times bestselling author of the Black Cat Bookshop Mystery series, also from Berkley. But she began her publishing career writing critically-acclaimed historical romance for Pinnacle Books and Zebra Books under the names “Alexa Smart” and “Anna Gerard”. With the advent of eBooks, Diane is thrilled to be able to bring back these timeless stories of love and adventure to a brand new readership. She is also the author of several short stories compiled into two ebooks: WEDDING BELLES and WHO'S BEHIND THE DOOR.

A native Texan with a degree in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma, Diane now lives in South Florida, though she’s still a Westerner at heart. She’s a member of Mystery Writers of America and the Florida Chapter of MWA; Sisters in Crime and the Cat Writers Association.

Hello Diane and welcome!  It's been awhile!  Can you tell us a bit about  what you’ve been doing.

Hi Kitties! Well, let’s see. 2024 was not a good year for me because I
faced some major health challenges which pretty much left me unable to write
or do much of anything. But I think I’ve kicked all those problems and am
jumping back into everything writing for 2025.



Your short story anthology is very diverse.  Which of the stories was your
favorite and why?

Of course, my favorite “tail” is ONCE WE WERE WORSHIPPED. It features two
sassy and clever Edwardian-era cats who steal a cat mummy from their
archeologist caretaker. They hope to raise the mummy from the dead and learn
its magical secrets. Of course, things go very wrong. Now, our two protags
must figure out how to outsmart an ancient Egyptian feline and her small
army of stray cats. I just love talking kitties mixed with magic.

ROCCO:  I like to think we kitties are magical too!

Which of the stories did you find the most challenging to write?

I’d say it was THE FACE IN THE LEAVES, just because the story was written
in epistolary style with all the action happening via letters or journal
entries. But I think I did a pretty decent job of it.



What made you decide to self publish a story anthology versus a full length
book of fiction?

Actually, I’d published the WBTD anthology awhile back as an ebook, but I’d
had enough requests for it in paper that I figured at end of last year that
now was the time to move. I’m not that techy so it took me a bit to get the
formatting right, but I finally did. It’s great to hold an actual copy of
the book in my hand.



Your Tarot Cat series was so  much fun! Any chance of more in that series?

You bet! I’m several chapters into MAGICIAN’S QUARREL, book 2 in the
series. I hope to finish no later than June and find a publisher so it can
hit the shelves by December.



That said, we all miss Hamlet and the Black Cat Bookshop Mysteries! If the
series were ever to be reprised, where do you see it going?

As I don’t have the story rights to Hammy and the gang (a long story that
you can find on my website), I’d have reimagine the series in order to
revive it. I’ve actually done a bit of notetaking on the bookshop now being
located in St. Augustine, Florida, with Hamlet now dubbed Omelet the Cat!
But this will have to wait until I have a couple more Tarot Cat and Georgia
B&B mysteries published.

Chazz:  We all miss Hamlet!  And we wanted to see if Darla and Reese ever got together!

What do you consider more important, plot or character?

For cozy mysteries like I write? Definitely “character”. Readers will
forgive a thin plot if they already love the characters who populate that
world. But a complicated plot with no likeable characters tends to equal a
“did not finish” for them.



What are you working on now and what are your future writing plans?  This
is pretty well addressed above.



Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

You can find me at www.dianestuckart.com <http://www.dianestuckart.com>
where you can also sign up for my monthly newsletter and see my upcoming
appearances virtually and in person.


ROCCO and Chazz’s Fast Five.  One sentence answers, please  :)\

*       If you won the lottery, what’s the first thing you would do 

After  paying off the house I’d make donations to my two favorite local cat
rescues!!
*       What celebrity are you dying to meet (or have met)

 I’d be thrilled to meet Keanu Reeves who, by all accounts, is a hecka nice guy.
*       Saturday night:  go out or stay in Eh, stay in.
*       Holidays: Party at home, or go out for a glam dinner 

U prefer anyplace where I don’t have to cook or clean up!
*       What is something you are really bad at? 

I am baaaaad at sports (with my wonky knee I can barely even walk!).

GIVEAWAY TIME!

Diane will give away a copy of WHOS BEHIND THE DOOR to one lucky commenter!

Winner's choice of either trade paperback or  e-book (foreign entrants - e-book only).

Just leave a comment in our comments section with your email address!  the winner will be chosen by Chazz at random.  Contest closes February 13th!

SPOTLIGHT ON THE WAGTAIL MURDER CLUB

 ROCCO AND CHAZZ SPOTLIGHT 

THE WAGTAIL MURDER CLUB

Holly Miller is on her way home to Wagtail, Virginia when she spots something in the grass not far from her car. It turns out to be an adorable black Labrador in a cage with a note attached to his collar. My name is Squishy. I am a very good boy. Please take good care of me. Holly takes Squishy home to the Sugar Maple Inn, which she owns with her grandmother, who also happens to be the mayor of Wagtail. They decide to foster Squishy at the Inn. Days later, Holly is surprised to see her ex-boyfriend Ben checking in with a group of his attorney colleagues who all seem to think that he and Holly are still an item!

Aided by Squishy, Holly's rascally dog and cat find one of Ben's fellow attorneys who has died from a 

non-accidental fall. Is the fiend a resident of Wagtail or a visitor? Holly bands together with her mom, 

grandmother, and beloved elderly Inn butler, Mr. Huckle, to uncover the killer and the truth about Squishy. 

Because nothing brings a town together like murder

Review:

This is the tenth entry in another of Krista Davis' series that never seem to run out of steam!  Squishy is adorable,

and Mr. Huckle is a hoot!  Also it's good to see Holly standing up to Ben!  four and a half paws!

The Wagtail Murder Club is available today February 4.