I’m so happy to have author Kathi Daley with me here at the Girl with Book Lungs blog today! She’s visiting several blogs in the month of August promoting her new release, HAUNTED HAMLET, the ninth Zoe Donovan mystery.

I asked Kathi one of my favorite questions for her visit: what are the top three questions you are never asked? Here’s what she had to say:

1. Are the animals in your books based on real animals? Yes and no. In the Zoe Donovan series Zoe’s best buddy and sleuth sidekick is a dog named Charlie. I had a dog named Charlie when I was a kid. He was a terrier looking mix, as is Charlie, and was sweet and sensitive to my moods, as Charlie is to Zoe. While I wouldn’t say they are exactly the same, my Charlie did inspire Zoe’s Charlie. As for Tj, she had a Bernese Mountain Dog named Echo and I currently have a Bernese Mountain Dog named Echo. Tj’s dog is trained in search and rescue and mine is just a huge lap dog, but other than that they are very similar. And finally if you are wondering about the cats, I have owned many in my life but none have been named Marlow, Spade, or Cuervo.

2. Where did you get the idea for Zoe’s Zoo? I live in Lake Tahoe. My home is in the county rather than the city and it is surrounded by national forest on all sides. I get a lot of visits from the wildlife in the area including our bears, coyotes, raccoons, and even an occasional mountain lion. About a mile from my home is a facility called Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care. They, like Zoe’s Zoo, care for sick, injured, or orphaned wildlife, including bears, mountain lions, and other local wildlife. Zoe started off working in animal control for the county but when she was fired and opened the Zoo I used LTWC as inspiration for the wild animal side of Zoe’s Zoo.

3. Although you currently write two cozy mystery series you also wrote a mystery/romance, Road to Christmas Past. Will you write other standalone romances? I actually planned to write a mystery/romance titled Back Roads to Christmas this holiday season but since I am currently developing two new cozy mystery series in addition to trying to keep up with Zoe and Tj I doubt I will have time to get to it. If I do find the time I’d love to do another mystery/romance. I really enjoyed spending time with Ben and Holly in Road to Christmas Past and would love to go on another road trip.

As you can see, Kathi is a very busy writer, so I’m really excited that she took some time to stop at the blog today. 🙂 Not only is she visiting for my Top Three Questions feature, but she’s offered to do a giveaway for a paperback copy of Haunted Hamlet as well as a mug!

Enter using the Rafflecopter link below. Drawing will be held on Tuesday, August 19th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Haunted Hamlet

When a ghost hunter is found dead in a haunted house just days before Halloween it looks like the killer may be living impaired. Zoe must juggle the annual Zoe Donovan Spooktacular with zombies on the run, the annual pumpkin carving contest, a haunted hayride, a relationship in crisis, and a little behind the scenes investigation.

About Kathi Daley

Kathi Daley lives with her husband, kids, grandkids, and Bernese mountain dogs in beautiful Lake Tahoe. When she isn’t writing, she likes to read (preferably at the beach or by the fire), cook (preferably something with chocolate or cheese), and garden (planting and planning, not weeding). She also enjoys spending time on the water when she’s not hiking, biking, or snowshoeing the miles of desolate trails surrounding her home.

Kathi uses the mountain setting in which she lives, along with the animals (wild and domestic) that share her home, as inspiration for her cozy mysteries. Stay up to date with her newsletter, The Daley Weekly. There’s a link to sign up on both her Facebook page and her website, or you can access the sign-in sheet by clicking here.

Visit Kathi:

• Facebook at Kathi Daley Books
• Twitter @kathidaley
• Webpage at www.kathidaley.com
• E-mail kathidaley@kathidaley.com

Books by Kathi Daley – Come for the murder, stay for the romance.

Buy them on Amazon today.

Paradise Lake Series:

• Pumpkins in Paradise
• Snowmen in Paradise
• Bikinis in Paradise
• Christmas in Paradise – September 2014

Zoe Donovan Mysteries:

• Halloween Hijinks 
• The Trouble With Turkeys
• Christmas Crazy
• Cupid’s Curse
• Big Bunny Bump-off
• Beach Blanket Barbie
• Maui Madness
• Derby Divas
• Haunted Hamlet
• Turkeys, Tuxes, and Tabbies – October 2014
• Christmas Cozy – November 2014

Road to Christmas Romance:

• Road to Christmas Past