It’s Shock and Paw Release Day – giveaway!

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By Liz, celebrating the release of Shock and Paw, the 8th Cat Cafe Mystery!

It’s release day for Shock and Paw!

The 8th installment in the Cat Cafe series takes place over Christmas – and it was even more fun because I wrote it over Christmas last year, so it felt extra festive. 

Aside from the electrocution and all. 

For this installment I was excited to be able to give Becky Walsh, Maddie’s best friend and the editor of the island’s daily newspaper, a starring role. 

Becky’s boss, the publisher of the independent newspaper, is murdered after Becky overhears her contemplating selling the paper. She’s terrified about what that will mean, both for her as a an employee and for the people who need the news on the island. 

I love writing about the newspaper biz. The reality is, what’s happening on Daybreak started happening everywhere back in the 2000s. A lot of smaller papers were sold and/or folded. Staff was cut. The way news happened changed with social media.

And yet. The sentiment of journalists doesn’t change.   

I started my career as a journalist, and it’s something that I don’t think you ever stop being. The mindset is ingrained. Curiosity, one of the main drivers of the job, is a given. None of that wanes if it’s in you, even when you go on to other jobs. 

I really believe that journalism gives you so many skills that are applicable not only from a writing perspective, but from a life perspective. Things like:

Deadlines. As a journalist, we lived by deadlines. You didn’t miss them, period. It’s a helpful skill to translate to writing books. 

Interview skills. You needed to get people to talk to you, so you learned to ask questions in many different ways. You learned to ask interesting questions. You learned to ask the question beneath the question. A journalist never stops asking. It’s why we’re so annoying to family and friends. 

Relationship building. People won’t talk to you if they don’t trust you. You have to learn how to cultivate that trust by keeping your word, being fair and as objective as possible, and remembering the people behind the stories. It’s never worth it to treat someone poorly to get one scoop – because the next time you need them, they won’t talk to you. 

Writing lean. When you have 13 or 15 inches for a story, you can’t waste words. Write lean, kill your darlings, and just tell the story. 

Time management. Juggling multiple stories every day in between checking in with sources, keeping track of developing news, running around to events or locations and getting the actual writing done means you’re always on the clock. Maximizing your time and working smart is key to being successful.

I love when I get to write about the newsroom again. It’s like revisiting one of my favorite career stops along the way. 

As for the sale of the Daybreak Island newspaper? You’ll just have to read the book to find out. 

Readers, who here is still a newspaper reader, even if it’s online only? I’m giving away a copy of the new book to a random commenter!

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Published by Cate Conte / Liz Mugavero

Cate Conte writes the Cat Cafe Mysteries and the Full Moon Mysteries. As Liz Mugavero, she writes the Pawsitively Organic Mysteries, the first of which was an Agatha Award nominee for Best First Novel. She lives in the Boston area with her rescue pals.

43 Thoughts

  1. Congratulations, Liz/Cate! I love this series – and this post. I was on the school paper in high school and college and thought about journalism for a career, but then veered in a different direction. I still subscribe to two paper newspapers.

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  3. Congratulations on your new release! I used to take the paper, but it got ridiculously expensive. I honestly don’t know anyone around here that still does. I miss the crossword! lol

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  5. I still read newspapers. I prefer the print edition. 2 of the local newspapers are now part of a large conglomerate; their customer service is terrible. One of those is no longer printed in the town it was started in, well over 100 years ago,. Because of that, their cutoff/deadline time is really early, so if something newsworthy happened at 4 pm today, it wouldn’t be in the paper until Thursday. So sad. sue.stoner72@yahoo.com

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    2. Congratulations on the new release! I used to subscribe to our local newspapers. I have always enjoyed reading them! I remember my grandparents reading multiple newspapers every single day.

      Thanks for the chance!

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  6. Love the series, I just finished re-reading Nine Lives and Alibis, love Violet Mooney’s guest appearance, have those books at home, and get Cat Cafe Mystery books from my local library.
    You write great books, thank you

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  7. We still get the local newspaper. Other than that I really don’t pay attention to the news, and I’m definitely not a fan of reading it online.

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  8. I have delivered and read The Boston Globe and the Financial Times every morning. I prefer print to online. I peruse The Guardian, The Washington Post and The NYT throughout the day online. I miss our weekly town newspaper which really used to be local. I’m looking forward to reading your “Shock and Paw”!

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  9. Congratulations! I love Christmas stories. Especially when it’s still warm outside. They get me in the mood.

    I read 2.5 newspapers, The New York Times, Miami Herald, and local only section of the Bangor Daily News. All online. Much as I’d love the NYT in person – at least the Sunday edition – there’s no delivery up here.

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  11. For many years I read the newspaper from cover to cover as this was something to look forward to and receive all the current news. I saved newspapers and my parents read them avidly. Now I don’t bother and I cannot read them online at all. It has lost its lustre.

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  12. We used to read the newspapers every single day and especially the Sunday paper which was filled with interesting articles and larger so it could take all day which was enjoyable. Now I have put that aside ans the newspaper has deteriorated and I am up to date with the news online.

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  13. Congratulations on the new book! Our newspaper got smaller and smaller and the price got bigger and bigger so we cancelled. ckmbeg (at) gmail (dot) com

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  14. I was a reporter, too, back when Jon Bon Jovi had long hair. 🙂 I covered “cops & courts” and features, too, plus I carried my own Nikon. Believe it or not, “cops & courts” got me a death threat.

    Soon afterward, we changed our home phone number to unlisted. My bosses offered to move me to a different town–except I’d be working nights. So, I took what precautions I could and then laughed it off Murphy-Brown style.

    I only recently realized what an impression it left on my “lizard brain.” Writing was not safe.

    Recently, while mentioning it to friends, my hubster also cited other situations where I hadn’t been safe while on the job, but I’d forgotten them. Like, when a defendant in a case I was covering showed up as a landscaper at our apartment complex.

    Didn’t mean to go on so, but covering news is so important. And I worry about the vitriol spewed at journalists.

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  16. Congratulations, Liz! I do read the newspaper, but I have to ration my consumption to keep my blood pressure down. The old “my desire to be well-informed is at odds with my desire to be sane” meme.

    I was a college journalist, so I know exactly the mindset you mean.

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  17. Cate Conte/Liz Musgavero
    I couldn’t agree more. Former journalist. I get it. Great book. Congrats. Maddy Addison/Michelle Lovato

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  20. Congratulations on your new release. I’m looking forward to reading the book. I used to enjoy reading the paper when it was in print form. I quit taking the paper when they went mostly digital and not much in the print edition and it wasn’t worth the price they wanted for three days of the print edition.

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  21. Congratulations on the new release. Cannot wait to catch up with these characters! I read the paper once in awhile, if I am near one. Mostly don’t read one anymore because do not enjoy the digital format.

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