Butterfly Betrayal: A Seneca James Mystery
by Ruth J Hartman
I am delighted to welcome Ruth J. Hartman
to Escape With Dollycas today!
Hi Ruth,
Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
My husband and I live in rural Indiana with our three spoiled cats. We love to hike on a nearby trail, read, and watch old movies on TV.
What is the first book you remember reading?
Three Little Kittens. I still have it!
What are you reading now?
The Housemaid’s Secret by Freida McFadden
What books have most inspired you?
I love reading and re-reading any mystery by Mary Higgins Clark. She started writing books way back in the 50s, but her stories are still gripping to this day.
What made you decide you wanted to write mysteries?
Part of it was because I read so many mysteries, but I’d spent years writing romances and felt I’d come to the place where I needed a new challenge, so I wrote my first mystery about a dental hygienist (Ring of Death) and loved it so much I kept writing!
Do you have a special place where you like to write?
We built a small enclosed porch on the back of our house. I love to write in there. Actually, I’m sitting there, now. There are large trees with bird feeders right outside the windows, so the cats and I love to watch them eat and play in the trees.
Where do the ideas for your books come from?
My first mystery came from my time working in a dental office as a hygienist. After that, I explored different ideas of where a mystery could happen. I have a series that takes place in a cat café, one that surrounds the life a of mobile pet groomer, a series about a bookshop, and my most recent series takes place at a butterfly farm.
Is there anything about writing you find most challenging?
Coming up with new story ideas within a series can be a challenge. Also, editing!! Some editors don’t require very many changes, but others want a lot! It can be frustrating sometimes, but the books are always better after the editor makes suggestions.
What do you think makes a good story?
For mysteries, there needs to be a fun background, like where the story takes place and what the protagonist does for a living. And all of my books have a least one cat in them. For the cat café and the cat groomer mysteries, they each have lots. Also, making sure that the killer isn’t someone the reader might expect.
Which, of all your characters, do you think is the most like you?
I think that Ellie Warren, the owner of the cat café in my Kitty Beret Café Series is most like me. She’s friendly and funny, but also caring and clumsy. When cats are involved, she goes the extra mile to make sure the kitties are safe, loved, and well cared for.
What makes your books different from others out there in this genre?
I think it’s the cats angle. There are many other authors who write with cats in their stories, but sometimes the cats are only in the background. In my stories, the cats help the protagonist search for clues and discover the identity of the killer. They make the stories more fun!
What’s next on the horizon for you?
Butterfly Betrayal (Book 1 in the Seneca James Mysteries), was just released on November 21 and I have another book coming out on February 6th, Murder She Meowed (Book 2 in the Bookshop Kitties Mysteries).
Also, I’m working on book 4 in my Kitty Beret Café Series, Claws and Conflict.
Thank you, Ruth, so much for visiting today!
Keep reading for more information about Ruth’s new book, Butterfly Betrayal.
About Butterfly Betrayal
Butterfly Betrayal: A Seneca James Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Rural Indiana
Level Best Books (November 21, 2023)
Print length : 289 Pages
Digital ASIN : B0CKJ16LXB
Raising butterflies is peaceful and calm, until someone dies.
Majestic Monarch Butterfly Farm might flitter away forever. That is, unless Seneca James acquires the property next door. She and Winifred, her costume-wearing cat, have a fight on their hands. Their land sits next to a milkweed-covered field, essential for monarchs. If she’s unsuccessful in buying it, her precious, winged friends won’t survive. When people end up dead on her farmland, Seneca is suspected of murder.
What is it about the milkweed field that’s worth killing for? And who’s the murderer?
More About Ruth J. Hartman
Ruth J. Hartman spends her days herding cats and her nights spinning mysterious tales. She, her husband, and their cats love to spend time curled up in their recliners watching old Cary Grant movies. Well, the cats sit in the people’s recliners. Not that the cats couldn’t get their own furniture. They just choose to shed on someone else’s.
Ruth, a left-handed, cat-herding, farmhouse-dwelling writer uses her sense of humor as she writes tales of lovable, klutzy women who seem to find trouble without even trying.
Ruth’s husband and best friend, Garry, reads her manuscripts, rolls his eyes at her weird story ideas, and loves her despite her insistence all of her books have at least one cat in them. See updates about her cozy mysteries at Ruthjhartman.com.
Author Links
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ruth.j.hartman
Facebook Author Page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063631596817
BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/ruth-j-hartman
Website https://www.ruthjhartman.com/
Purchase Link
Amazon
Also by Ruth J. Hartman
Find More of Ruth’s books here.
TOUR PARTICIPANTS -Please visit all the stops.
November 21 – Cassidy’s Bookshelves – SPOTLIGHT
November 22 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT
November 22 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
November 23 – THANKSGIVING U.S.
November 24 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT
November 24 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
November 25 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
November 25 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
November 26 – Cozy Up WIth Kathy – REVIEW
November 26 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT
November 27 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
November 27 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT
November 28 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
November 28 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
November 29 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
November 29 –Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT
November 30 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – SPOTLIGHT
November 30 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT
November 30 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT
December 1 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT
December 1 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT
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This sounds wonderful! I love cat stories. Thanks for the article.
Thank you, Carolk!
Thank you for the tour, Dollycas! 🙂
I love cozy mysteries with cats. This sounds like a book I’ll have to read.