Cynthia Baxter

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Author of the Reigning Cats and Dogs Mystery Series Published by Bantam Books Upcoming Events

Dear Reader, There’s only one thing I love more than reading – and that’s writing. So creating The Reigning Cats and Dogs Mystery Series, featuring veterinarian Jessica Popper, has been both fun and extremely rewarding for me. While there’s nothing more intriguing than a mystery, I’ve also tried to incorporate humor into my books, since to me, that’s always the icing on the cake. To make the books even more fun, I always add in the antics of Jessie’s menagerie: her rambunctious Westie, Max; his sidekick, Lou the Dalmatian; aging pussycat Catherine the Great; newcomer Tinkerbell, a tiger kitten with the personality of a diva; mouthy Prometheus, a Blue and Gold Macaw with attitude; and last but not least, the silent yet seemingly wise chameleon Leilani.

There are now four books in The Reigning Cats and Dogs Mystery Series, and I just finished writing the fifth, which will be published in March of 2007. Here’s a quick summary of their plots: DEAD CANARIES DON’T SING After finding a body in the woods at a horse farm, veterinarian Jessica Popper is determined to find the murderer – and almost becomes a victim herself. PUTTING ON THE DOG Jessie Popper investigates the murder of an unpopular photographer at a posh charity dog show in Long Island’s celebrity playground, the “Bromptons,” modeled after the chic Hamptons. LEAD A HORSE TO MURDER While helping a reporter investigate the murder of a dashing polo player, Jessie Popper is thrown into the world of the rich and felonious. HARE TODAY, DEAD TOMORROW When Jessie Popper’s close friend is suspected of murder, she delves into the intrigues of Long Island’s wine country to solve the crime. RIGHT FROM THE GECKO While attending a veterinary conference on Maui with her boyfriend Nick, Jessie Popper gets swept up in investigating the murder of an ambitious reporter. WHO'S KITTEN WHO? When a member of Betty's theater group is murdered, Jessie not only takes on a killer; she also takes on a role in the Port Players' latest production. Most of the books are set on Long Island, and readers who are familiar with the area often ask me why I chose to fictionalize the names of many of the places I refer to in my books. While I originally used the real names, my editor suggested that fictionalizing them would give me more flexibility. It didn’t take me long to realize that she was right. While Long Island is very long – and often clogged with traffic – the ability to be flexible with its geography enables me to send Jessie zipping from town to town with remarkable speed. This often comes in handy in terms of the plot! (I also find it fun making up names for towns – like combining “Medford” and “Cutchogue” and coming up with “Metchogue.”) I always enjoy hearing from readers, so please don’t hesitate to write and say hello. In the meantime, I hope you continue to enjoy the series! Best wishes, Cynthia Baxter AUTHOR BIO: I was born and raised on Long Island, on the South Shore. After going away to school in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, then living in Manhattan for ten years, I moved back to Long Island, this time living on the North Shore. Long Island is unique because it’s in New York City’s shadow, but it still has its own mishmash of distinct personalities – from farmland to small cities, from ugly industrial parks to wineries, from endless rows of tract houses to the luxurious mansions of the Gold Coast and the Hamptons. The variety of settings give me lots of flexibility – and it’s fun introducing the different areas to readers who might not be familiar with them. Cynthiab1@optonline.net