Let's Talk with Lois Winston

With apologies to Jane Austen, it’s a truth (nearly) universally acknowledged, that cozy mystery sleuths should be in possession of at least one pet. Usually, but not exclusively, a cat or dog. And if the cat or dog possesses abilities that aid the sleuth in figuring out whodunit, all the better.

I once read a book about an unlikable woman who died suddenly and came back as a crime-solving dog. (Here’s where you picture me doing an eye roll.) Although I can buy into a well-written time-travel and do love me a good Star Wars or Marvel movie (stressing good here), I draw the line at people being reincarnated as sentient animals. Feel free to disagree, but I’m too much of a realist to suspend disbelief that much (says the woman who has no problem with Iron Man, the Hulk, or Thor!)

However, I’ve seen plenty of instances in real life where pets have been instrumental in coming to the rescue. The nightly news often showcases dogs who have found people lost for days or even weeks in the wilderness or buried under the ruble of a natural disaster. Researchers are discovering that cats can sense some cancers in people prior to symptoms showing up. Parrots have “testified” in court cases.

When I first set out to write my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, I knew I should include a pet, but I wanted neither a placid one used only as window dressing nor one that readers would have a hard time believing. Cozy readers suspend disbelief enough in accepting amateur sleuths who not only solve cases faster than law enforcement but stumble across more dead bodies than the average homicide detective during an entire career.

Since I was writing a humorous series, I not only wanted the non-human inhabitants of Anastasia’s world to reflect that humor, but I also wanted them to be characters in their own right, while still being believable pets.

In my series, Anastasia is saddled with her communist mother-in-law, a woman who has never had a kind word for her. Her multi-married mother, who often moves into Anastasia’s home when between husbands, claims to descend from Russian nobility. The two women get along…well, like cats and dogs. So, I gave Anastasia’s mother a corpulent white Persian cat named Catherine the Great and gave her mother-in-law a French bulldog named Manifesto (after the communist treatise.) Catherine the Great and Manifesto get along as well as their owners. I live by the motto that zany characters + conflict = humor.

I wasn’t done, though. Years ago, I read a memoir about a family who had owned an African Grey parrot, a species known for its intelligence and amazing language skills. I decided Anastasia would inherit Ralph, an African Grey, from her great-aunt, a Shakespearean scholar and professor. Because Ralph spent most of his life in classrooms and lecture halls, he’s developed an uncanny knack for squawking situation-appropriate quotes from the Bard of Avon.

However, as I previously mentioned, I didn’t want pets as window dressing to the series. The pets in my books not only provide comic relief, but they’ve also become integral to many of the plots in the series—while still being believable pets. As such, both Manifesto and Ralph have saved Anastasia on more than one occasion.

As for Catherine the Great, so far, she’s content to ignore the foibles of the humans in her life. She’d rather spend her days grooming herself, eating, and sleeping—not necessarily in that order. She does a lot of all three. However, some day, she may find herself in a situation where she’s called upon to act, and I have no doubt she’ll be up to the challenge. After all, I’m the author, and her fate is in my hands.

How do you feel about pets in cozies? Are you in the “Yes, please! Always a Pet” camp? Or don’t you care as long as the book is well-written with engaging characters and a great mystery? Post a comment for a chance to win a promo code for a free audiobook of one of the first 10 Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries.

Our July contest is closed, but the August contest will open on August 1. Be sure and check back to enter the two-book giveaway.

Want to learn more about author Lois Winston? Visit her WEBSITE