Looking Out The Window: Celebrating Christmas With Meow Mistletoe, Lisa Lickel's Cozy Mystery Novelette

A Warm Welcome to Lisa Lickel

Lisa will give away an eBook of Love Is...Everything About You. Read about the lighthearted romance below. To enter to win leave a comment and an email address below.

Hi Lisa, tell us about your new Christmas book.

Meow Mistletoe was an accidental story my editor suggested when we learned that a different holiday story I had begun would end up out of order in the series due to the publication schedule. It’s the first time I ever wrote a book based on the title. I’m glad it was always supposed to be novella size, meaning about a quarter the length of a full-size novel, so the amount of time researching and writing was doable in the timeline I had.

The story takes place in one evening and introduces the characters who become the amateur sleuths of the Fancy Cat series. Ivy Preston is a jilted fiancé who, after a lengthy relationship, decides to start over and moves herself and her business, personal tech services, to a new community at the invitation of her friend Donald, a fellow Egyptian Mau cat lover. The night of the Christmas party of their pet society, Ivy and another member of the society, Adam, share an attraction. Unfortunately, Ivy’s cat has long been victimized by Adam’s cat. Mistaken assumptions, a catnapping, and a jewelry heist are the latest complications in Ivy’s life. It’s a night of fun, dismay, discovery, and possibilities.

I've read it and it's such a fun story. Where do you get ideas like this for your books?

I generally don’t look too far for ideas. Local events and national news give rise to endless plots. The Fancy Cat series is a reboot of a book I wrote as an experiment in first person to see if I could write in that style. It was also the first cozy I wrote after my Buried Treasure series was contracted by Barbour over a decade ago. I love cats, although I can’t have one in the house due to family allergies. I grew up with them and have fond memories. I wanted to include a cat in these stories, but didn’t plan to feature them. My research into rare breeds led me to Egyptian Maus and their quirks. I had already used rural Wisconsin, my home state, for my first series, so I went south along the Mississippi River for a new location. I had learned about certain historical elements of the small town I once lived in from my days in journalism and incorporated those elements into the fictional town of Apple Grove. At the time, our community had been wrestling with plans and ideas for community growth, so the mystery of what might happen if city funds were misused was a fun idea to play with.

What themes do you write about?

After a couple dozen books, mysteries, romance, suspense, drama, even children’s stories, I find that family issues or family drama is the core theme. I like to explore what makes a family and how it functions. Who makes up a family? What’s traditional? Is that important? What are issues that make families healthy or unhealthy are always good sources of conflict. I think all readers can relate to something about family.

Most definitely. Are you a plotter or a pantzer?

This answer is for my acquisitions editor, Susan Banganz, who was my writing friend before she was my editor: Plotter. We once taught a workshop on Pantser vs. Plotter, and I still have the PowerPoint we used.

I like to call myself a flexible Plotter for my general novels. Like the last one I wrote took one of those turns that I still shake my head at: we went to outer space! I mean, I love science fiction, but I never planned to write about it. I had the idea for the book that became Parhelion, and a general outline, but then the travelers showed up. From Tau Ceti. What else could I do but include them? And my writing partner didn’t talk me out of it, so…they stayed. Or rather, we all went.

Mysteries really need to start with a plot, however. Serious mystery writers need to plan clues and false clues in a methodical order, or you end up with a mess. I usually plot pretty seriously with my cozies, like this new Fancy Cat series.

Adam Thompson, the hero of Meow Mistletoe, is a great cook, although Ivy won’t learn that until the next book, Meow Mayhem. Here’s his tomato pasta sauce recipe.

Adam’s Meat Pasta Sauce

¾ pound sausage or choice of meat browned in 2 T. oil
1 large diced onion
2 stalks diced celery
1 sweet pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 qrt tomato sauce
½ tsp Penzey’s Breakfast Sausage seasoning or use ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper or ½. Tsp. fajita seasoning
1 T. oregano
1 tsp. basil
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper

Remove meat from oil, leaving oil in the pan. Sauté the onion, celery, pepper, and garlic about five minutes to soften. Add the tomato sauce and spices. Reintroduce the meat and simmer until thick per taste. Optional ingredients could include mushrooms (1/2 cup), slivered carrots, or other vegetable of choice.

Yum. Thank you, Adam, for sharing that.

About Meow Mistletoe, a Cozy Mystery Novelette

Just Released

Ivy has just cause to be wary of men. Her long-time fiancé backed out of their wedding. The slow fizzle of their undramatic relationship leaves her wondering if romance is a myth. Then, Adam, an intriguing new member of her pet organization, catches Ivy’s attention. Unfortunately, his cat Isis, a beautiful purebred Egyptian Mau, prefers to pick on her cat, Memnet. Ivy would like to get to know Adam better, but with her self-esteem in the gutter and feline fights at every turn, she wonders how to proceed.

When Ivy agrees to help a clingy friend find her missing pet, she learns that true love doesn’t need theatrics. There’s hope for Adam and Ivy, if only their cats would approve.

Buy:  Amazon
Nook

Coming Soon!

About Meow Mayhem

Available January 25, 2019

After being left at the altar, Ivy Amanda McTeague Preston uproots herself and her cat, Egyptian Mau named Memnet, from her boring and lonely life to start over at the urging of Mayor Conklin, a fellow pedigreed Mau owner.

Ready to move in a fresh direction, Adam Thompson, accepts the mayor’s invitation and uproots himself and his beloved Mau, Isis, to open a branch of his trendy bookstore and coffee shop in the small town.

When Ivy takes a mysterious message while the mayor is away on business, only her criminology professor mom and Adam believe there’s something rotten in Apple Grove. Then Ivy discovers the community grant money that Adam was allotted to start the store is mysteriously being siphoned off, a dead body surfaces, and the victim’s missing Mau becomes the primary suspect. . .just another day in Ivy’s far-from-boring new life.

In love with Apple Grove and with Adam, Ivy hopes to carry on their romance while saving the town from further mayhem.

Watch for Meow Matrimony

Coming February 15, 2019

About the Giveaway Book

She needs a movie set miracle, he needs cash...can a farmer morph into a 

movie star in five days?

Bio

Lisa Lickel is a Wisconsin author who loves books, collects dragons, and writes inspiring fiction. She also writes short stories, feature articles, and radio theater, and loves to encourage new authors through mentoring, speaking, and leading workshops. Lisa is a member of the Chicago Writer’s Association, and vice president/instructor for Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp and Writing Retreat, Inc. She is an avid book reviewer and blogger, and a freelance editor. Find more at LisaLickel.com.

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