Today the Chicks welcome the marvelous Molly MacRae, author of the Haunted Shell Shop Mysteries, the Highland Bookshop Mysteries, and the award-winning, national bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries. Today she talks pets–both in her home and in her books. And there’s a GIVEAWAY of one of her Haunted Shell Shop mysteries to one lucky commenter!
The Cats, the Dogs, and the Purring Chicken
I come from a family of six kids so spread out in age that there was a MacRae in high school every year for a span of twenty years. Can you imagine? I’m the fifth of the six and remember my mother, looking worn, saying about our dog, “At least Koyen isn’t sarcastic.” She was right. Several of us were, but not Koyen. He was nothing but a happy, loving, good boy. He could also crack open walnuts and pecans and eat them, and snap pesky flies right out of the air if they flew past his nose. I’m pretty sure Mom thought Koyen was a more civilized person than some of her offspring. I’m glad he was there for her during those years of tempestuous teens. He was a noble guy.
We were also a family of many pets. Large, medium, and small. Warm-blooded, cold-blooded, furry, scaley, feathery, and some with flickering tongues.
One summer we tried to tame butterflies. Mom and Dad encouraged it all. For people who love animals, animals are some of the best people in the world.
For people who write, animals make some of the best characters, too. I love it when animals add something to a story, when they aren’t someone’s accessory or just part of the scenery. Although, if a human character treats them as either, then the reader learns something about that character (and it isn’t very nice). I’ve mostly stayed with cats and dogs in my stories, but not always, and recently wondered how many animals I’ve played around with through 22 books. Here’s the catalog: 2 fire-bellied newts, 2 hermit crabs, 2 horses, 2 military macaws, 9 dogs, 13 cats.
The newest dog on the list is Ben (short for Benjamin Franklin). He appears in All Shell Breaks Loose, Haunted Shell Shop book #3. Ben is a bulldog (and based on a bulldog by that name that belongs to a friend of mine). Ben in the book is an unlikely, stolid hero figure who drools. Ben in real life could very well be the same and, if given the chance, I bet he could sniff out a haunted, antique sword at the beach, too.
There’s one animal missing from my pet catalog. That’s Purl the chicken. Purl and her person, Deanna, are joining me in a new series I’m just starting to work on. I won’t let details out of the bag, yet, except to say that Purl is the purring chicken referred to in the title of this piece. Did you know that chickens can make a purring sound? Deanna, a real person, once brought a chicken named Red to visit me. Red purred when he sat on my lap and I fell in love. Red has since passed on, but now there’s Purl and, whether or not Purl purrs in real life, she will in the new series.
AND NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY: Readers, what pets have you loved having in your life? Let me know in the comments. I’ll pick a name, at random, to win a copy of book 1, 2, or 3 in the Haunted Shell Shop Mysteries, winner’s choice.
About All Shell Breaks Loose, book 3 in the Haunted Shell Shop Mysteries coming June 30:
On North Carolina’s Ocracoke Island, Maureen Nash sells exquisite seashells to locals and tourists—with Bonny the shop cat and the ghost of a Welsh pirate for company. And when needed, she steps in to help the police solve a murder . . .
Dr. Irving Allred is boasting around town that he’s about to get his hands on an authentic haunted sword. But minutes after Maureen hears the story, a woman walks into the Moon Shell, sword in hand. She found it while walking her bulldog on the beach—and its blade is stained with what looks like blood. Looks like it’s time to call the sheriff’s department.
Allred is furious that his prize is now in police custody—and even more agitated that an unknown buyer was trying to outbid him. He’s convinced the sword will lead him straight to the ghosts he’s been hunting. He’s not the only one on the Outer Banks who’s been searching for spirits, though. An odd visitor also showed up at Maureen’s shop claiming the ability to sense them . . . though somehow she didn’t seem to notice Maureen’s spectral friend hanging about.
When a man who’d been camping nearby is found cut down along the shore, Maureen starts providing some unofficial assistance to Captain Rob Tate by digging into the island’s maritime history. But it’s not the only mystery she’s facing—because the shop’s resident ghost is seeing ghosts himself . . .
Molly MacRae writes the Haunted Shell Shop Mysteries, the Highland Bookshop Mysteries, and the award-winning, national bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries. Visit Molly on Facebook and Pinterest, connect with her on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky.
Chicks on the Case 