Carol Knudtson is the winner of Mimi Lee Gets A Clue! Watch for an email from Jennifer!
I am so delighted to welcome Jennifer J. Chow to the Wickeds blog! Look for a giveaway at the end of the post! Mimi Lee Gets A Clue is the first book in the new Sassy Cat mystery series. I’m reading this right now and it’s a balm for all that’s going on in the world! Mimi and her cat Marshmallow are so funny. I love the premise for this series: Mimi Lee is in over her head. There’s her new Los Angeles pet grooming shop to run, her matchmaking mother to thwart, her talking cat Marshmallow to tend to—oh, and the murder of a local breeder to solve…now if only Mimi hadn’t landed herself on top of the suspect list.
When Marshmallow exposes local breeder Russ Nolan for mistreating Chihuahuas, Mimi steals some of her cat’s attitude to tell Russ off. The next day the police show up at Hollywoof. Russ has been found dead, and Mimi’s shouting match with him has secured her top billing as the main suspect.
Hoping to clear her name and save the pups Russ left behind, Mimi enlists help from her dreamy lawyer neighbor Josh. But even with Josh on board, it’ll take Mimi and Marshmallow a lot of sleuthing and more than a little sass to get back to the pet-grooming life—and off the murder scene.
My Love for Talking Animals:
Hands down, the best Christmas present I ever got as a kid was a stuffed pig. The fact that he was bigger than my entire body only added to his appeal. I promptly named him Wilbur because I was fanatical about Charlotte’s Web at the time.
I liked dragging him all over the house. We would even have dinner together. For a while, I boycotted eating pork. My mom, though, figured out a way to get around my picky eating. She’d cover Wilbur’s eyes with a cloth whenever she served anything that might be offensive to him.
The thing I liked the most about Wilbur was (just like in the book) his ability to talk. I’d tell him about my rough days at school, and he’d totally understand and give me comfort.
Sometimes I’d play superheroes with my brother, and we’d get to choose our own powers. I’m sure he picked something exciting like super strength. I wanted to be able to speak with animals (well, that or the power to fly).
When I grew a little older, well-meaning adults would ask me that most important of questions: “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
“A vet,” I said because I loved all things feathered and furry. And although I’d grown out of believing that animals could speak, I still thought they might have a language of their own—if I could only crack it.
Spoiler alert: I didn’t grow up to be a vet. Instead, I’m a writer. However, I’ve come full circle and am writing stories featuring animals that can talk to each other—and one sassy telepathic cat who can speak with his owner, Mimi. He’s also the cat’s pajamas in the sleuthing department. He pairs up with Mimi when she gets implicated in a murder and needs to clear her name.
So, who says you can’t keep your childish wishes? I’m living mine out right now.
Readers, how have you kept your childhood hopes going in your life? Giveaway: A physical copy of MIMI LEE GETS A CLUE (US only) through random selection from a comment on the blog. Ends one week after the post (April 2nd).
Bio:
Jennifer J. Chow writes the #ownvoices Sassy Cat mystery series (Berkley/Penguin Random House) and the Winston Wong Cozy Mysteries under J.J. Chow. She’s active in Sisters in Crime and Crime Writers of Color.
Connect with her online at www.jenniferjchow.com.