Patricia Fry is guest blogging today !

I want to welcome Patricia Fry author of the of the Klepto Cat Mystery series to WV Stitcher! 

I hate Halloween. I don’t know why. I used to love dressing up as an Arabian harem girl, gypsy, or princess. In fact, my favorite playtime activity was dress-up. With the change of clothes, I could become a cowgirl, a queen, or an Indian maiden. Maybe it was the lights-out neighborhood party I attended when I was around ten that soured me on Halloween.

            I remember it vividly. All us children stood in a circle around a sheet that was strung up taut like a trampoline. While eerie music played, an adult told a spooky story and someone passed around icky-feeling items related to the gruesome tale. Remember it was pitch-black dark and the kid to my left kept screaming, then handing me what were supposed to be raw eyeballs, guts, bloody limbs, human hair that had been scalped and so forth. I was horrified. Of course, when the story was over, the lights came on and we could see that we’d handled nothing more frightening than peeled grapes, cooked spaghetti, chicken legs, a wig, etc. To this day, however, I can’t get past what I thought I was handling. Maybe that’s why Halloween spooks me.

            Or is it because my mother instilled so deeply in me the dangers of approaching certain houses in our neighborhood when trick-or-treating. I didn’t just walk past those homes, I crossed to the other side of the street to prevent something terrifying flying out at me—like a witch or worse. While other kids seemed to thrill at the scary stuff, it flat out scared me and not in a good way.

            The idea of dangerous items showing up in your trick-or-treat bag didn’t come to light until I had children of my own. This only helped to deepen my dislike of the holiday.  

            It recently occurred to me, however, that my hyper-sensitivity to the concept of Halloween and the imagination that kept me from enjoying it, is probably the same stuff that has caused me to become such a prolific writer of fiction. I use huge doses of imagination and hyper-sensitivities in my writing. Knowing this, maybe finally, I can come to terms with Halloween this year.

            I’m the author of 54 books, 13 books from the Klepto Cat Mystery series. Today, we’re introducing Mansion of Meows.

Mansion of Meows didn’t start out to be a Halloween story and I’m not sure that it is. However, the cover certainly depicts an eerie theme. And the ghoulish story will cause any fright-night fan to quiver in his costume. While no cats were harmed in the telling of this story, I suggest that you read it at your own risk. I suggest that you leave the lights on and the shades drawn.

This is the 9^th in the Klepto Cat Mystery series. The series features Rags, an ordinary cat with a most unusual habit. He steals things. Often these items turn out to be clues in local crimes. He has been instrumental in helping to paw killers, locate missing persons and animals, and discover secrets that may have otherwise been forever hidden.

In this story, a documentary featuring Rags premiers in San Francisco. His owners, Savannah and Michael Ivey, along with several friends expect to enjoy a luxury weekend at a mansion there, but Rags has other plans. He goes exploring and then he goes missing. Savannah and her Aunt Margaret find themselves knee deep in danger when they launch out to find him and he discovers something that shocks the entire community—someone with a ghastly secret living in the belly of the mansion.   

To follow up with the eerie happenings at the mansion, you must also read the 11^th book in the series—PAWsitivitely Sinister. In this story, the mansion begins to belch even more secrets of the ghoulish and grisly kind. Savannah and Michael travel with Rags to San Francisco to help put the horrors of the mansion to rest. Little do they know how deeply this place is embedded in the spirit world—and vice versa. This is by far the most PAWSitively Sinister story in the series. 

Purchase Mansion of Meows here.

The documentary featuring Rags, the cat who helps the local sheriff’s department solve tough crimes, premieres in San Francisco. Savannah, Michael and friends expect to enjoy a luxury weekend at a mansion there, but Rags has other plans. He goes exploring and goes missing. Savannah and Aunt Margaret find themselves knee deep in danger when they launch out to find him and he discovers something that shocks the community. What ghastly secret does the mansion hold?

Purchase Pawsitively Sinister here.

The Ivey family travel to San Francisco to help Arthur and his long-time friend, Suzette, clean out the mansion. News of the massive estate sale lures a variety of people, including former residents and long-ago visitors, each carrying stories of bizarre activities occurring there in the past. 
When the klepto cat, Rags and his pawtner Koko make some ghastly and ghostly discoveries, everyone goes into research mode and they’re stunned by what they uncover - evidence of people gone missing, a treasure-trove of loot, and spirits unable to rest. This is by far the most PAWSitively Sinister story in the series.

About Patricia Fry:

Patricia has been writing for publication since 1973. Her articles have appeared in hundreds of magazines, including Cat Fancy, Cat’s Magazine, I Love Cats, ASPCA Animal Watch, PetAge, Horse of Course, Western Horse, Writer’s Digest and many others. She is also the author of 39 books. Her published books include Catscapades: Tales of Ordinary and Extraordinary Cats and Catnapped, a Klepto Cat Mystery. Many of her books are published through Matilija Press, established in 1983. Watch for additional titles to be added to the Klepto Cat Mystery series.

Patricia is the executive director of SPAWN (Small Publisher, Artists and Writers Network), a professional member of the Cat Writer’s Association and a member of the independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

She has shared her home with numerous precious felines over the years and currently lives with Max, a handsome brown and white boy, Sophie, a tortie and Lily, a dilute tabby—all formerly feral kitties.

Check out Ms. Fry's blog Catscapades here.  Connect on Facebook