Introducing Delia James, and the Witch's Cat Mysteries

Born in California and raised in Michigan, Delia James writes her tales of magic, cats, and mystery from her hundred-year-old bungalow home.  She is the author of the Witch’s Cat mysteries, which began with A Familiar Tail. When not writing, she hikes, swims, gardens, cooks, reads, and raises her rapidly growing son.

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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 Wimsey.

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!

Cozy Monday

A Familiar Tail (Witch's Cat #1) by Delia James (Obsidian mass market paperback, 2 February 2016).

Annabelle Amelia Blessingsound Britton, a freelance artist, goes from Boston to Portsmouth, New Hampshire to visit her best friend, chef Martine Devereux.  
Anna has only been in Martine's restaurant The Pale Ale, a few minutes when she's approached by an elegantly dressed woman who recognizes her as the granddaughter of Annabelle Mercy Blessingsound Britton (fondly known as Grandma B.B), a former resident of Portsmouth.

Anna is surprised.  She knew that Grandma B.B. was from the area, but didn't realize that she had any acquaintances left there.  

When Anna goes back to her car, there is a cat sitting in the driver's seat of her car.  This is disconcerting because the car is locked and the windows are closed.  She eventually learns that the cat,named  Alastair, had disappeared after the recent death of his owner Dorothy Hawthorne, a much-beloved local woman.

Dorothy's fatal fall down her basement stairs had been deemed an accident, but there are those who believe she was killed. Once Alastair accepts her, Anna finds herself involved in an unofficial investigation into Dorothy's death.  

Delia James has an unusual approach to the concepts of magical mystery cats and familiars, but it's absolutely credible.  

Both her main and secondary characeters are well-conceived and authentic. I look forward to seeing how this series develops.



The publisher has generously offered a copy of A Familiar Tail to one of my readers. Please comment below by 12:01 a.m. on Monday, February15. Please don't forget to include an email address where I can contact you if you win. Entries from the U.S. only, please.


FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this book.