Hello. My name is Delia James, and I write mysteries. Specifically, I
write mysteries with magic and cats with plenty of attitude. This is no surprise
to anybody who knows me.
I grew up on mysteries. Summers at my grandmother’s in the country, I discovered
her Agatha Christie books and was immediately fascinated by Hercule Poirot. TV
was filled with mysteries and we never missed them, Colombo, MacMillan &
Wife, McCloud, The Rockford Files, Quincy…and of course I was in love with
the Hardy Boys as played by Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson (for the
record, I was a Parker Girl, all the way). Of course I could quote Sherlock
Holmes, chapter and verse. In college, I got introduced to, and fell in
love all over again with, Lord Peter Whimsey.
Despite this, when I started writing, mysteries were not my first choice. I was
(confession time) also a major science fiction nerd and it was science fiction I
gravitated to first. I don’t regret it at all. Science fiction is fun, and it
teaches you a lot about how to build a fictional world along with the characters
that fit into it, or don’t. This can be valuable training for a mystery writer
who has to construct solid, interesting puzzles the size of small towns, or big
bad cities. And of course, along with science fiction, I was also a fan of its
sister genre, fantasy, with its elves and hobbits, and witches, and plenty of
magic. I learned to read from The Wizard of Oz and had Alice in
Wonderland practically memorized.
With all this swirling around in the background, when I got the chance to write
a story featuring a witch and a magical cat in New England, you know I jumped at
it. And I am having an absolute blast.
First of all, it’s given me an excuse to spend more time in New England, which
is one of my very favorite places. I love the landscape, the coast and the
rivers. I even love the weather, especially the autumn. I love the old cities
and towns and all the history tucked up in their streets and odd (some of them
very odd) corners. Of course there are mysteries here. Lots of them,
some of them old, some of them brand new.
Cats were another natural for me. I’ve been owned by one cat or another since I
was born. From our grumpy old indoor-outdoor tortoiseshell Buttercup, to Isis
the Siamese, to our current long-haired gray Buffy the Vermin Slayer, they all
at one time or another shared my home, sat on my lap, or curled up on my
shoulders, or gotten in between me and…whatever I was doing at the moment. I
swear, some of them have in fact been able to vanish and reappear at will, just
like Alistair in A FAMILIAR
TAIL. Of course they couldn’t be kept out of anyplace they really wanted to
get into, including the bedroom, the closet, and once, much to everybody’s
surprise and embarrassment, the fridge. Again, just like Alistair.
So, like I said at the beginning, I’m Delia James. Welcome to my world!
Born in California and raised in Michigan, Delia James writes her
tales of magic, cats, and mystery from her hundred-year-old bungalow home. When
not writing, she hikes, swims, gardens, cooks, reads, and raises her rapidly
growing son.
Magic and meows meet in the first enchanting Witch’s Cat
mystery!
Unlucky-in-love artist Annabelle Britton decides that a visit
to the seaside town of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is the perfect way to
get over her problems. But when she stumbles upon a smoky gray cat named
Alastair, and follows him into a charming cottage, Annabelle finds herself in a
whole spellbook full of trouble.
Suddenly saddled with a witch's wand and
a furry familiar, Annabelle soon meets a friendly group of women who use their
spells, charms, and potions to keep the people of Portsmouth safe. But despite
their gifts, the witches can’t prevent every wicked deed in town....
Soon,
the mystery surrounding Alistair’s former owner, who died under unusual
circumstances, grows when another local turns up dead. Armed with magic,
friends, and the charmed cat who adopted her more than the other way around,
Annabelle sets out to paw through the evidence and uncover a killer.
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