Monday, February 1, 2016

Kathi Daley - An Author Interview at the HBS Author's Spotlight

Today our blog puts the Spotlight on Author Kathi Daley. She is the author of the Zoe Donovan cozy Mystery Series, Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mystery series, Whales and Tails Cozy Mystery Series, and Seacliff High Mystery Series.

Newsflash: Coming in March, the start of a new series from Kathi called Sand and Sea Hawaiian Mysteries.




Author Genre: Mystery, Romance

Website: Kathi Daley
Author's Blog: Random Thoughts and Meaningless Musings.
Blog: Kathi Daley Teen Facebook
Twitter: @kathidaley
E-Mail: kathidaley@kathidaley.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Pinterest: Check Out Pinterest

Amazon Author Profile



Author Description:
Author of the Zoe Donovan cozy Mystery Series, Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mystery series, Whales and Tails Cozy Mystery Series, and Seacliff High Mystery Series.

Come for the murder, stay for the romance.

Kathi lives in the beautiful alpine community of Lake Tahoe with her husband Ken and dog Echo. When she's not writing she enjoys hanging out on the beach with her children and grandchildren. During the summer she enjoys hiking, kayaking, mountain biking, wakeboarding, and sunset cruises on the lake. During the winter she enjoys cross country skiing, snowshoeing, and curling up by a fire with a good book.

Kathi uses her mountain home as inspiration for her books, all which include appearances by the wildlife she shares her life with.


SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author

Congratulations on your book: Shamrock Shenanigans. Rumor has it that you have a novella on the horizon called Zimmerman Academy. Can you tell us the timeline for its release and give us a little tease?

The New Normal published on January 15, 2016.

Zimmerman Academy is a spinoff of the Zoe Donovan Series. The novellas are told from the point of view of the minor characters of the Zoe Donovan Series. Book 1 – The New Normal – focuses on Zoe’s best friend Ellie. Ellie has suffered several personal tragedies as of late and we get a feel for how she is dealing with things from her own perspective.

The book opens with: Have you ever had one of those moments where all the little heartbreaks you’ve been bravely telling yourself aren’t that big a deal come crashing down in one huge tidal wave of emotion, demanding that you finally acknowledge how you actually feel?

This particular Mystery is a murder mystery, although many of the mysteries in the series won’t be murders. The New Normal takes place over the same four-day period as Shamrock Shenanigans, so while Zoe is solving a murder in Ireland, Ellie is handling things in Ashton Falls.

I am launching a fifth series – Sand and Sea Hawaiian Mysteries in March.

You have a good following on twitter. Since you started before the social media buzz, what impact has social media relationships had on your current success? How did you build your following in your niche? How much has it changed your book launch process?

I published my first book in September 2013. At the time I did not have either a Twitter or Facebook account. I had to call my daughter-in-law and ask her how to do a twit. Yes, I did refer to a tweet as a twit but it sort of fits. Right? Anyway, I opened both a Twitter and Facebook account and just taught myself how to use them. I now have around 3,000 Twitter followers, and my main Facebook author page has over 12,000 likes. I also have a Kathi Daley Teen Facebook page, a Kathi Daley Books Group page, a Kathi Daley Books Birthday club, a Kathi Daley Books Recipe Exchange, and a personal page with over 1,000 friends.

I believe that social media has made ALL the difference. I made a point to get to know both my readers and bloggers on a personal level. I feel that I really am friends with these people and I share their ups and downs as they navigate their life. People also like the fact that I give a TON of stuff away. I also do fun events every month. January is murder mystery month and I have mini mysteries in each of my weekly blogs, an ongoing murder mystery with clues in each of my weekly newsletters, and a murder mystery scavenger hunt at the end of the month. As for book launches, because I publish 1 – 2 books a month, I usually just ask a few bloggers to do a feature or giveaway. If I am launching a new series, I tend to do it up big. I actually have a new series debuting in March – Sand and Sea Hawaiian Mysteries – so I will amp up the promo in the weeks before the publication of book 1: Murder at Dolphin Cove.

You do a lot of book signings, interviews, speaking and personal appearances. When and where is the next place where your readers can see you? Where can they keep up with your personal contacts online?

I have a page on my website www.kathidaley.com dedicated to my appearances. I also keep everyone up to speed with updates in my newsletter – The Daley Weekly. I will be in Phoenix for Left Coast Crime in February and in Knoxville for Romancing the Smokies in March.

You have great covers. They carry a theme and your brand with them. How does your book cover creation process work? Do you hand over the basic theme or do you have more of a hands-on approach? Do you get your readers involved in its development?

I design all my own covers but I have a wonderful friend, Jessica Fischer, who makes them pretty. Basically I come up with the concept and find the graphics I want to use. I then do a rough mockup myself which I send to Jessica to layer and smooth out. And yes, readers do help. Jessica is a reader who I hooked up with over a year ago. I used to do everything myself even though my knowhow with Photoshop is limited. I was trying to combine two graphics for the cover of Haunted Hamlet, but I couldn’t get them blended smoothly. I posted my attempts on Facebook and asked my readers for feedback. Jessica saw my post and offered to help me. I let her, she was wonderful, and we’ve worked together ever since. I love my readers and I ask the folks on my group page for feedback all the time. Not just with cover design, but with names, titles, pretty much everything. My group page members are totally awesome.

You have written several novellas. Can you tell us if they had an impact on the sales of your novels? Are shorty’s one of your styles of writing or are they created to give readers a sample of your work? Do you feel short reads are a product of our email and smart phone age?

I definitely think that novellas have a place in my overall portfolio. I personally enjoy reading a shorter story if I have an hour or so that I can devote to a book but I know that I most likely won’t get back to it for a week or more due to my schedule. I like to publish often in order to keep the reader engaged with the characters in each of my series, so even my regular novels are around 45–50K in length. I do have a few novels that are longer but I feel that I can tell a complete story in 45-50K so this tends to be my norm.

I like the idea of bundling a series of novels. You have put together several of your novels into sets. What was the impact on your other sales? What was your main objective in bundling your novels?

My main objective to bundling is for reader convenience. I’ve always done the sets as a cost saving measure for my readers so I’m not really sure how book sales would differ if I didn’t do the sets. I sell a ton of books though so I’m happy I can help out those readers on a budget who can get three books for the price of two if they are willing to wait for the three book set.

Between your book writing, blogging, marketing, family and all the other things that can get in your way, how do you manage your time? Do you have a set schedule or do you sort of play it by ear?

I am a full time writer and I do treat it like a job. I usually spend a good eight to ten hours at the computer at least 5 days a week. I do take a week off every couple of months for a getaway with my husband, and I do try to take at least 1 full day off a week. I also take a few days off between finishing one book and starting the next. Having said that I do have a busy family life. Two of my grandchildren live with my husband and myself most of the time so we have to juggle school and sports. My grandson is a fantastic athlete who participates in everything so I do try to take time off to go to his games.

What has been your experience in giving your books away free? Have you been involved in any other type of giveaways and how did that work out? What was your main goal in doing this? Did you run into any obstacles?

I give away a lot of books. I have contests going on all the time, plus I run freebies for select books every few months. I have around a thousand members in my birthday club and each and every member can request a free book on their birthday. I also give away a lot of swag. I have mugs and totes as well as seasonal gift packages, and of course gift cards. My main goal in having so many contests and giveaways is to keep people engaged in my social media pages which is where I do the majority of my marketing. It’s fun and it seems to work since my readership has continued to grow each at a steady pace.

Do you maintain a reader list? What are the methods you use to find your readers and create the list and the relationship? Do you use social media, forums, newsletters and/or support groups to build your list?

No I don’t actually have a list. I suppose I should but I don’t have the time to maintain it. I do a weekly newsletter which people subscribe to so I suppose I could generate a list from that but I never have. I know a lot of authors do keep lists and perhaps if I get an assistant one day to handle the maintenance I may start keeping better track of my readers.

I noticed the image of the little white dog on some of your covers. I started looking for more information about him. Then I saw the picture of your dog. So tell us about Echo and the mystery white dog.



Echo is my real life Bernese Mountain Dog. He is my constant buddy and companion. While I am writing, which is most of the time, he lays right next to me, patiently waiting for me to finish and take him out for a romp. He is a totally awesome dog who I feature in the Paradise Lake Series.

The little white dog on the cover of the Zoe Donovan Books is a graphic which I use to represent Zoe’s dog Charlie. He is not a real dog but he is a popular dog since Charlie goes where Zoe goes so he is a main character in the series.



Author's Book List
Zimmerman Academy: The New Normal
This novella is a spinoff of the popular Zoe Donovan Mystery Series. In this first short story Zoe's best friend Ellie receives some bad news, meets a new man, and helps to solve a murder while Zak and Zoe are out of the country.


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Amazon


Shamrock Shenanigans - Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 19
Zak and Zoe travel to Ireland for their first Valentines Day as husband and wife. They have been invited to attend a murder mystery weekend in a real haunted castle. During their first night at the castle, they find one of the guests dead. Really dead. As they delve into the murder they begin to see that not only are things not as they appear, but several of the other attendees are not who they claim to be. During the course of her investigation Zoe discovers a secret about herself that is more than just a little shocking.


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Amazon
Barnes and Noble


Santa Sleuth - Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 18
It's Christmas in Ashton Falls and the entire Zimmerman household is gearing up for their first Christmas as a newly formed family unit. While Zak is busy decking the halls, Zoe is busy tracking down a killer while still taking the time to make certain a little girls Christmas wish comes true. It's funny, it's family, it's a Zak and Zoe Christmas.


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Ghostly Graveyard - Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 17
When Zoe finds a body laying across the grave of Isaac Wainwright, the man behind a hundred year old legend, she sets out to find the killer before the deputy who is substituting for Salinger, finds a way to pin the murder on her. Meanwhile, Ellie is asked to babysit her cousins baby, Levi is AWOL, and the entire Donovan-Zimmerman household is busy with Halloween activities.


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Hopscotch Homicide - Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 16
When Zoe finds the body of the lunch lady on the hopscotch course the week before the new school year, she is pulled into a mystery that will find her volunteering as soccer mom, classroom mom, and PTA board member. It's funny, it's family, it's a Zak and Zoe murder investigation.


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Amazon
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Heavenly Honeymoon - Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 15
In true Zoe Donovan fashion, Zoe ends up in jail on the second night of her honeymoon after she finds herself the only suspect in the first murder Heavenly Island has seen in a decade. Although she has been ordered to leave the investigation to a man known only as Toad, she can't help but snoop around just a bit while enjoying the tropical paradise with new husband Zak. In the midst of enjoying days at the beach and moonlit walks under the stars, she discovers a truth about the island that might very well put those she loves in danger.


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Soul Surrender - Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 14
Now that Zak and Zoe have their house, their lives, and their wedding back, things seem to be on track once again, until a man is found dead and Zoe is once again pulled into a murder investigation. The victim is a well known and liked member of the community who didn't appear to have any enemies until his secret past caught up with him. Zak and Zoe work together to find the killer while Zoe deals with the fact that Levi and Ellie seem to be imploding before her very eyes. Meanwhile Alex shares a shocking piece of news which causes Zak and Zoe to consider taking a huge step which could forever alter their future.


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Matrimony Meltdown - Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 13
After a year and a half of on again off again relationship status, Zak and Zoe are finally getting married. Not only has her own mother morphed into Momzilla, but Zak’s mother shows up a month before the wedding with plans to stay until the big day. When the mom’s gang up to undo all of Zoe’s wedding plans, things become tense. When Zak has to go out of town two weeks before the wedding, things get even worse. But when the assistant to the wedding planner Mother Zimmerman hired ends up dead in the pool, things become outright hilarious. Zoe struggles to maintain her sanity while dealing with a media circus, mom’s gone crazy, and a killer on the loose.


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Alaskan Alliance - Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 12
Zak and Zoe fly to Alaska after Zoe is asked by her dog trainer friend Peter to fly to Moosehead Alaska to deliver a search and rescue dog to a team who is desperate for some canine help after their own dog is injured during a rescue. Within twelve hours of arriving in the isolated little town, Zoe stumbles onto a murder scene where everything must be questioned because nothing is exactly as it seems. When a second body is found and a five year old cold case is reexamined, things go from complicated to bizarre. Meanwhile Levi and Ellie are home in Ashton Falls dealing with complex emotions as they solve their own thorny mystery.


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Christmas Cozy - Zoe Donovan Mysery Book 11
Christmas in Ashton Falls is always a magical time of year. The first big snow has arrived, the tree in the town square has been decorated, the window displays completed, and Hometown Christmas is just around the corner. Zoe finds herself knee deep in holiday shopping and Children’s wishes as she and Zak play host to nine year old Scooter Sherwood and his friend Alex. Although a bit hectic, the magic of Christmas is in full bloom and things couldn’t be more perfect until Zoe finds the body of history teacher Holly Jolly in the Ashton Falls High School Christmas Tree lot run by best friend Levi Denton and is pulled into a dangerous holiday investigation.


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Turkeys, Tuxes, and Tabbies - Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 10
When the cat lady of Ashton Falls is found dead in her home just days before Thanksgiving, Zoe must track down a killer while dealing with a house full of socialites who have come to Ashton Falls to bid on Zak in a high class bachelor auction.


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Haunted Hamlet - Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 9
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. When she finds that the death of three camp counselors in the same house thirteen years earlier may be linked to the ghost hunters death, she works to reveal a web of secrets and lies which could make her the next victim of Hezekiah Henderson’s House of Horrors.


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Derby Divas - Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 8
Zoe is busy juggling the demands of friends and family as the town of Ashton Falls gears up for the annual classic car show and demolition derby. When one of the members of the Derby Divas demolition team dies in a fiery crash the day before the event is set to begin, Zoe must set aside the demands of friends in crisis and wedding planning to solve a mystery that is much more complicated than it would appear.


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Amazon
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Maui Madness - Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 7
Zoe and the gang go to Maui and become involved not only in a treasure hunt for a sunken ship, but in a murder mystery with more twists than a mountain road. Join the gang as they dine in popular restaurants, go shopping, try surfing, and make new friends only to have to decide who they can trust and who may be hiding more than they are sharing.


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Beach Blanket Barbie - Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 6
Zoe suspects that something is up when Levi’s ex-girlfriend Barbie comes to town unexpectedly. When she ends up floating face down in the lake Zoe and the gang shift into full sleuth mode to find a killer. As they delve into Barbie’s life since she left Ashton Falls, they find a complex puzzle that is going to take a group effort to unravel.


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Amazon
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Big Bunny Bump Off - Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 5
Spring is in the air and with the warm weather comes an abundance of babies; human and otherwise. Things seem to be right on course until Jack Frost comes to town throwing the entire town of Ashton Falls into chaos. When Zoe sees the Easter Bunny running from a murder scene during a freak snowstorm she must track down the 'Cartoon Bandits' in order to catch a killer.


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Cupids Curse - Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 4
When Cupid comes to town it seems everyone’s relationship is in for a challenge. Not only does Zoe suspect that her dad’s new girlfriend is really a killer, but Zoe is the only one who believes that her soon-to- be evil stepmom is guilty of such a dastardly deed. Add that to the fact that Zak clearly has a secret, Jeremy’s baby mama is making his life as miserable as her pregnancy is making hers, Levi’s girlfriend Barbie is on a rampage, and Ellie is caught in a brotherly love triangle, and you have a Valentine’s Day disaster in the making. When Zoe finds not one but two dead bodies all bets are off as she works with her friends to uncover the truth before someone she loves falls victim to Cupid's Curse.


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Christmas Crazy - Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 3
Every year between the dates of December 1 and December 24, a strange and wonderful insanity hits Ashton Falls. Most refer to this phenomenon as Christmas Spirit, but Zoe has been around long enough to know that spirit usually translates to insanity, which brings on a phenomenon she likes to refer to as Christmas Crazy. After Hometown Christmas is threatened when Santa is killed four days prior to the annual event, Zoe is pulled into a murder investigation with more twists and turns then the narrow road leading to the valley below.


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The Trouble with Turkeys - Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 2
Zoe becomes entangled in a complex murder case involving a dead miser, tipsy turkeys, and an eclectic cast of edacious heirs, when she agrees to help Jeremy in his temporary job at a nearby turkey farm two weeks before Thanksgiving.


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Halloween Hijinks - Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 1
Halloween Hijinks: Amid a backdrop of zombies on the run and Halloween festivities, animal control officer Zoe Donovan is faced with losing something she loves in order to save someone she loves when she finds a dead body in the basement of a haunted house just two days before Halloween. With the help of her best friends, Levi and Ellie, and her dog Charlie, she delves into a mystery as complex and multilayered as the feelings she develops for her ex-nemesis Zak Zimmerman. Halloween Hijinks is the perfect recipe, combining holiday fun with a touch of humor, a pinch of romance, and a dollop of murder.

Zoe's Treasure Hunt: Zoe and Charlie meet a mysterious stranger at the hospital while doing therapy dog rounds. The man is in town to look for a 70 year old treasure. When he is unable to continue the journey into the past himself, Zoe and Charlie take over the quest with the help of Pappy and a few of his friends.


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The Grudge - Seacliff High Mystery Book 5
Alyson and the gang head to a ski resort in the Colorado Rockies the week after Christmas. Before they even make it to the house they will be staying at for the week, they stumble across a body in the snow. When they realize that the body is one incident in a series of unusual occurrences, they decide to throw a little sleuthing in with their holiday plans.


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The Conspiracy - Seacliff High Mystery Book 4
The annual Christmas Carnival is in town and Alyson and the gang volunteer to help out. When strange things begin to happen at the carnival, they wonder if the events might be related to the body they found in the cemetery earlier in the month. When Alyson has a potentially fatal accident on the Ferris Wheel, the gang is convinced that someone is out to make sure they don't discover the cover up that runs so deep that even highly respected town residents are involved.


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The Relic - Seacliff High Mystery Book 3
When a long dead ghost leads Alyson to a treasure map days before Thanksgiving, she enlists the help of her friends to follow the clues. As they dig into the century old mystery, they discover a legend regarding a relic that many believe once possessed life sustaining power.

The search for the relic leads Alyson and the gang deep into the system of caverns that exists beneath the small town of Cutter's Cove. They face huge obstacles and must overcome personal fears to follow the clues they find along the way.

Meanwhile, Alyson tells Mac the truth about her past. She reveals the reason she is involved with witness protection and the danger she continues to live with every day of her life.


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The Curse - Seacliff High Mystery Book 2
Alyson Prescott moves to Cutters Cove, Oregon, after being placed, along with her mother, in the witness protection program. In her previous life, Alyson was an A-list heiress with the excitement of a trend setting lifestyle and the security of old money. After witnessing a murder executed by two members of a powerful gang family, she is forced to leave her old life behind and become a middle class girl, living in a middle class town. Alyson struggles with the duplicity in her life as she strives to reconcile her new life with the old.

In book two of the series, two Seacliff High students turn up missing just days before Halloween. The police believe that they have simply run away, but when strange and unexplained things begin to happen at the annual Haunted Hayride, Alyson begins to suspect there may be more going on than the adults in town would like to believe. After they the props and decorations for the annual event turn up missing, Alyson and the gang decide to look into the case of the missing students. Could the two events be connected? And what about the symbol found splattered in blood in the barn where the annual Halloween party is to take place? Could it be connected to the gypsy curse that most believe to be simply a legend?


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The Secret - Seacliff High Mystery Book 1
In her previous life, Alyson was an A-list heiress with the excitement of a trend setting lifestyle and the security of old money. After witnessing a murder executed by two members of a powerful gang family, she is forced to leave her old life behind and become a middle class girl, living in a middle class town. Alyson struggles with the duplicity in her life as she strives to reconcile her new life with the old.

In the first book in the series, The Secret, Alyson and her mother buy a dilapidated old mansion on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Alyson soon finds that the house holds a secret that only the recently deceased resident of the property seems to know the answer to. Alyson and the new friends she meets at Seacliff High, set out to find the answer to a fifty-year old mystery that will reveal a trail of murder, embezzlement, lies, and deception. As the journey intensifies, friendships are forged that will last a lifetime.


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The Cat of Christmas Past - Whales and Tails Mystery Book 6
It's Christmas on Madrona Island and Cait and friends have plans to embrace the magic of the season. The only dark spot on their celebration is the fact that a miserly old landlord is set on evicting an apartment building full of tenants just days before Christmas. Cait makes it her mission to save the old building and is aided by a cat named Ebenezer as they try to convince the old man to change his mind. Things look hopeless when she realizes that an unsolved mystery may be behind the man's gruff exterior. Cait vows to solve the mystery as a means of softening the man's heart and saving the apartments. An impossible task? Maybe. But Cait knows that miracles are real and anything can happen at Christmas.

Note for mystery purists: This story involves a cold case mystery which is linked to a modern day problem but does not contain a present day murder.


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The Legend of Tabby Hollow - Whales and Tails Mystery Book 5
A cozy mystery series set on Madrona Island, a fictional island within the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State. As a fourth generation islander Caitlin Hart is struggling to make her way as the economy and culture of the island evolves toward a tourism based industry. Cait lives in a cabin on her aunt's oceanfront estate where she helps her aunt run Harthaven Cat Sanctuary. When she isn't working with the cats, she helps best friend Tara, operate the coffee bar/bookstore/cat lounge they own, named Coffee Cat Books. In the fifth book in the series, Cait and Cody join forces to track down a killer when a body is found in the hollow.


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Much Ado About Felines - Whales and Tails Mystery Book 4
A cozy mystery series set on Madrona Island, a fictional island within the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State. As a fourth generation islander Caitlin Hart is struggling to make her way as the economy and culture of the island evolves toward a tourism based industry. Cait lives in a cabin on her aunt's oceanfront estate where she helps her aunt run Harthaven Cat Sanctuary. When she isn't working with the cats, she helps best friend Tara, operate the coffee bar/bookstore/cat lounge they own, named Coffee Cat Books. In the fourth installment in the series, the body of a long time island local is found buried in her own grave. Cait and the gang set out to investigate the strange occurrence and along the way they uncover the truth about the mysterious man who arrived on the ferry every week and is followed everywhere he goes by a black and white cat.


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Grimm's Furry Tail - Whales and Tails Mystery Book 3
A cozy mystery series set on Madrona Island, a fictional island within the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State. As a fourth generation islander Caitlin Hart is struggling to make her way as the economy and culture of the island evolves toward a tourism based industry. Cait lives in a cabin on her aunt's oceanfront estate where she helps her aunt run Harthaven Cat Sanctuary. When she isn't working with the cats, she helps best friend Tara, operate the coffee bar/bookstore/cat lounge they own, named Coffee Cat Books. In the third book in the series Cait’s friend Cody buys the old newspaper and discovers a previously unpublished edition that details a murder that occurred decades ago. The fact that the story was written but never published piques the curiosity of the friends, who decide to delve into a cold case that reaches back fifty years. When the truth is discovered they struggle with the ramifications of what they have uncovered. They know that revealing it will rock the small island community to its core.


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The Mad Catter - Whales and Tails Mystery Book 2
When a cat named Alice comes into her life, Cait begins to suspect that Alice may hold the answers to the mystery surrounding the body she found in the church as well as the person behind her aunt's illness. Join Cait and her feline and human friends as they track down a killer and save a community.


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Romeow and Juliet - Whales and Tails Mystery Book 1
Romeow and Juliet is the first in a cozy mystery series set on Madrona Island, a fictional island within the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State. As a fourth generation islander Caitlin Hart is struggling to make her way as the economy and culture of the island evolves toward a tourism based industry. Cait lives in a cabin on her aunt's oceanfront estate where she helps her aunt run Harthaven Cat Sanctuary. When she isn't working with the cats, she helps best friend Tara, operate the coffee bar/bookstore/cat lounge they own, named Coffee Cat Books.

In the first installment to the series Cait and her dog Max find the body of a member of the island council dead in the back room of the old fish cannery. As Cait delves into the murder she finds herself with an unlikely sleuthing partner that might just lead to a relationship of a more personal kind.

Meanwhile, Romeo, as stray cat that followed Cait home, is causing all sorts of problems for Cait as, in spite of dire warnings from the neighbor next door, he refuses to stay away from her very expensive show cat, Juliet. Could Romeo really be trying to tell Cait something about the neighbor that she initially refuses to see?


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Halloween in Paradise - Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries Book 6
In the midst of the annual Halloween frenzy, Tj finds herself pulled into a series of events that occur at the high school where she works. She not only must help one of her girls deal with the increasingly popular pastime of cyber bullying, but she must help a student who has recently suffered a personal tragedy. And if Tj wasn't busy enough, in walks Samantha Colton, a reporter for Second Look; a television series which takes a second look at unsolved murder cases. The case that Ms. Colton is in town to investigate is the death of a popular student after the homecoming dance ten years prior. To make matters worse, or maybe more convenient, the graduating class Holly was part of is in town for the ten year reunion of their own homecoming. In other words, all the suspects in Holly's murder, just happen to have converged on Serenity for the weekend. When Samantha turns up dead Tj realizes that someone has a secret they don't want revealed.


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Puppies in Paradise - Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries Book 5
When a friend of Tj's is injured in a car accident during a blizzard, Tj takes responsibility for the litter of puppies left behind. Meanwhile she works with Kyle, Jenna, and the gang to catch the killer responsible for the death of a close Jensen family friend. When it turns out that the main suspects are also close family friends, Tj must face one of the most difficult decisions she's ever had to make.


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Christmas In Paradise - Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries Book 4
Christmas in Paradise is a magical time of year that Tj has always looked forward to with happy anticipation. This year her holiday spirit is marred by the impending arrival of two new men in her life. When one of the men ends up dead, Tj must juggle community plays, Christmas tree cutting, sleigh rides, and holiday shopping, with a complex murder investigation. As the facts start to unravel Tj realizes that she must risk it all to save someone she loves.


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Bikinis in Paradise - Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries Book 3
When the Tropical Tan Corporation descends on Maggie's Hideaway, the lakeside resort where Tj Jensen lives, she must juggle a bikini contest, BBQ cookoff, missing model, and dead chaperone while her father is out of town. Lead deputy Dylan Caine is on vacation while his sister is in town leaving assistant deputy Roy Fisher in charge. When Roy asks Tj for her help they find that there may be more going on than anyone realized. With Kyle and Jenna's help they dig into the lives of those involved to find a motive for murder.


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Snowmen In Paradise - Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries Book 2
Winter Carnival comes to Serenity and with it Tj finds her schedule busier than ever. Not only is her ski and snowboard team heavily involved in demonstrations and local competitions, but her rag tag choir is about to debut in their first live performance. To make matters even more complicated Maude and Mille are in town for their wedding to Abe and Andy, and someone has killed Travis Davidson, a favorite town son, world-class snowboarder, and Olympic hopeful. Tj is determined not to get involved in the subsequent investigation until she finds out that the prime suspect in his murder is Chelsea Hanson, high school boyfriend Hunter Hanson’s sister. Although there is no shortage of Sereninites with a grudge against the hometown hero, even Tj has to admit that there is good cause to suspect Chelsea of the murder. Everyone saw Chelsea and Travis arguing just an hour prior to the discovery of his bloodied body. Everyone saw Chelsea storm off in the same direction in which Travis left the scene of the argument. The murder weapon turns out to be Chelsea’s ice axe, the same one she’d used just that afternoon for the ice climbing competition. To make matters worse Chelsea has no alibi for the time of Travis’ death. In spite of the fact that everything points to Chelsea Tj knows she couldn’t have done it. Balancing bridesmaid duties, Winter Carnival obligations, and show choir duty, with after-hours investigation, Tj sets out to prove Sheriff Boggs wrong.


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Pumpkins in Paradise - Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries Book 1
Between volunteering for the annual pumpkin festival, and coaching her girls to the state soccer finals, high school teacher Tj Jensen finds her good friend Zachary Collins dead in his favorite chair. When the handsome new deputy closes the case without so much as a “why” or “how,” Tj turns her attention from chili cook-offs and pumpkin carving to complex puzzles, prophetic riddles, and a decades’ old secret she seemed destined to unravel.


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4 comments:

  1. I loved this feature. It really shows how prolific a writer Kathi Daley is. With so many series going, each is still so distinctly different. WTG!

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  2. I enjoyed this post so much!Kathi Daley is just amazing! How she manages to turn out so many books in so short a time, while maintaining quality writing is phenomenal! I am a happy follower and I am especially hooked on the Whales and Tails series and the devotion that Kathi has to her readers!

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  3. Great interview. There are so many books to read and so little time.

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  4. I enjoyed this alot it was interesting to see how she juggles being a grandma and also taking the part of mom with the 2 grandkids plus that she takes off to see one boys games which is wonderful. She is a wonderful writer,friend,mom,grandma and best part a dog lover! That is why there are alot of committed followers such as myself.

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