I’ll confess right now, I’m a crazy cat and dog lady (I even wave to cats I see in windows,) even though I only have one of each. (Cat and dog, not windows.) Jocko my black Labrador is preparing to become a therapy dog, following in the pawprints of my late, greats Rupert and Oski, also black Labs, who spread love and laughter at nursing homes and hospices for many years. Ambrose, a (slightly) cross-eyed blue point Siamese, is an alumnus of the Cathouse on the Kings in Parlier, California, one of the largest cat rescues and sanctuaries in the country. Animals have always been my love, and have blessed me and those I know in countless ways. In fact, you can read some of those stories in my FurRensics Team Bulletins.
Jocko and Ambrose are my ‘FurRensics Team.’ They are the models for the animal sleuths in my books, ensuring I do justice to my animal characters. They also spur me to study the amazing abilities and intellectual powers of our animal companions. Since most of my stories are set in the Regency and Victorian periods, I'm often asked how I can get evidence 'on the page' in the time before modern forensic science. With their senses of smell, hearing, sight and magnetic field sensitivity, dogs and cats are natural detectives. (Plus they're excellent psychologists. I can't be the only one hypnotized into sharing my meals--and my bed--because of a pleading set of puppy or kitty eyes.) I don’t have to make up the detective abilities of my animal characters. I only have to observe and report them!
I’m a life long reader, especially of Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte and Agatha Christie. I’m a life member of the Jane Austen Society of North America [JASNA] and have been a US delegate for The Bronte Society. (Funny story about two delegations almost coming to blows--ask me when you see me!) I visit the locations I write about, so I can immerse my readers in the taste, smell and feel of the place. I'm retired from law enforcement, which gave me an appreciation for the amazing, wild, often tragic but equally often bizarrely humorous criminal side of life. And I'm a follower of Jesus who has found strength in the joy of the Lord.* I strive to honor Him by sharing that joy through my family friendly cozy mysteries.
Wrap those things all together and you get my ‘Fatally Fun’ historical pet cozies! My Fur-rensics Team and I hope they will transport you, entertain you, charm you--and perhaps, even, inspire you.
All the best,
Hillari, Jocko and Ambrose
*Nehemiah 8:10