Guest Post and Blog Tour for Paw and Order, A Detective Whiskey Cat Cozy Mystery by Chris Abernathy

Paw and Order: A Detective Whiskers Cat Cozy Mystery
by Chris Abernathy

About Paw and Order

Paw and Order: A Detective Whiskers Cat Cozy Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Florida
Wright on the Mark, LLC. (May 23, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 204 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8394838439
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C4FP73K1

What’s better than a K-9 cop? A feline detective. Detective Whiskers is out to prove himself, and keep his human from being framed for murder, or worse. He’ll need the help of his new animal friends and Sheila’s group of female sleuths. This cozy mystery set in a small town in Old Florida is purrfect for cat lovers and anyone who enjoys a fun beach read.

Who is really catching killers in Paradise Cove? It’s not the local police. The Paradise Cove Murder Society is getting the job done, with more help than they realize from a furry detective named Whiskers.

Sheila and her cat Whiskers are starting a new life in the perfect little Florida beach town that managed to avoid the big crowds, condos and chain stores. But as soon as they arrive the town has its first ever murder. Good thing Whiskers is a trained detective! Fred, Sheila’s husband of forty years, was a police detective who recently passed away, right before they were supposed to retire to the beach. After forty years of devoting herself entirely to being a good wife and mother she’s now left to put her life back together, but what kind of life will it be? In a fresh setting, and with some quirky new friends, she slowly begins to remember all of the dreams she had as a young woman. She has a second chance to chase those dreams, if she can stay alive and out of prison. When her next door neighbor is killed and the evidence points to Sheila, it’s time for Whiskers to step up.

Whiskers was Fred’s loyal assistant and he’ll need to remember everything he learned from his mentor to keep Sheila safe as she rediscovers herself. With the help of some unexpected new friends of his own Detective Whiskers sets out to prove to the world, and himself, that he is worthy of the shiny badge on his collar. If you love humorous cozy mysteries where pets take the lead and eccentric friends come together to solve crimes with just the right amount of suspense then the Detective Whiskers Cozy Mystery Series is exactly what you’re looking for.

Excerpt from Paws and Order

Sheila does not understand. I know we’re not supposed to play favorites with our humans, but we all do. Fred and I had a connection that was … special. I’ve tried communicating with Sheila, but— Okay this part is a little embarrassing. Every time I tap her hand with my paw, she thinks I want food or a belly rub. Which, of course, I do. I ALWAYS want food or a belly rub. Or both. But I’m trying to tell her something important, and all of a sudden, she puts those fingernails to work on my belly and I’m gone. Lost. A zombie. It feels sooooo good. Whatever I needed to say is up in smoke, my eyes are closed, and I hear a Karen Carpenter love song in my head.

Don’t judge me.

GUEST POST

How do you read books? For many people there is nothing quite like the feel of a book in their hands, turning each page as they go. For others, the convenience of eBooks has taken over. What a joy it can be to suddenly have unexpected time available to read and you have can choose from several books downloaded onto your device or download any of millions of books available online. For a growing number of readers the favorite choice is to listen. Audiobooks have been the fastest growing segment in publishing for several years and that trend doesn’t look like it will end anytime soon.

For me, audiobooks were an introduction to the insider’s view of the publishing world. I spent more than three decades of my life as a radio personality and eventually added “voice actor” to my resume. You may have heard my voice when you called a business and got their messaging service, or on a radio or television commercial, narrating a documentary about the Goodyear blimps, as a virtual host in an escape room, or even at a kiosk in your local shopping mall. I had never even considered “books on tape” as they used to be known until an author who knew about my other work asked I would be interested in narrating his audiobook. I did it, loved it, and became a full-time audiobook narrator. That experience opened doors for me to become an author, as well.

I thought some of you might be interested to learn about how books become audiobooks so I’ve typed up part of the process to let you “join me in the booth.”

When people ask me what I do for a living my wife cringes. She knows what’s coming. “I talk to myself in a padded room all day.” It used be worse. For a few years, I was also an anchor on a small television station. So after recording books during the day, I would go to the station and put on my microphone and my earpiece that allowed the producers to talk to me and give me instructions. During that period of my life. my answer to the previous question was “I talk to myself in a padded room all day then when I get out I go and do what the voices in my head tell me to.”

I no longer hear “voices in my head” so we can stick to the padded room.

My recording booth is four feet wide, four feet deep, and a little less than eight feet tall. It is built to block out noise so that the recording is clean but I also had to add sound dampening materials inside (the padding in my padded room) that absorbs reflected noises, primarily my voice. Without that it would sound like I’m in a box — which, really, I am but you don’t want it to sound like that. You want the voice to pass by the microphone one time, not multiple times as it is bounced around from wall to wall. I have carpet on the floor and ceiling, acoustic foam panels on two walls and a special sound absorbing blanket on the other two walls. The combination works well.

Speaking of the microphone, you might be surprised at which microphone I use. It’s the same microphone you see on a lot of movie sets, a Sennheiser MKH-416 Shotgun microphone. These mics do a great job of capturing sound in one small area without picking up too much from outside the specified space. It’s called a ‘shotgun’ mic because it has a long barrel-like structure.

There’s not much else in the booth with me. I have an iPad with the manuscript and a keyboard and mouse to control the computer outside the booth. And a seat. Standing for hours at a time while recording wears you out so must narrators find a seat that is comfortable but allows them to project their voices well from a good posture.

Usually my projects are “self-directed” and I work alone, Sometimes, though, I will work with a director who connects into my headphones from NYC or wherever they are and helps guide me through the reading. So the “voices in my head” do come back occasionally.

Much of the work happens before the recording. Obviously, a narrator needs to read the book first. While reading I take notes about names and words that I need to research for pronunciation. I consider characteristics of characters so I can convey those in my reading. I mark my script with notes to help me avoid too many starts and stops along the way while getting the emphasis in the right places.

I won’t get into the technical aspects — just know that a professional sound engineer adjusts the sound to make it “just right” and cleans up any noises that make it through. Sometimes this requires parts to be re-recorded. A proofer also listens to make sure pronunciations, characters and other important elements stay correct and consistent.

I hope you enjoyed reading just a little about how a book becomes an audiobook. If you want to hear one that I narrated you can search for my name on whatever platform you use to discover audiobooks. Enjoy!

About Chris Abernathy

Chris Abernathy has narrated more than 200 audiobooks and now he is writing his own stories. He has been a storyteller his entire life — around campfires at a summer camp as a counselor, on the radio for more than 30 years, as an actor with background roles on major motion pictures and TV series, as a producer of short films for social media and more. Chris is married with two sons and lives on the Gulf Coast in Alabama. He is a dual national with citizenship in the US and UK and visits family in the Scottish Highlands as often as possible.

Author Links

Webpage – http://authorchrisabernathy.com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/authorchrisabernathy/

Amazon author profile – https://www.amazon.com/stores/Chris-Abernathy/author/B07YLJPKNQ

Newsletter signup – https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/a7s6c0

Purchase Link – Amazon

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

July 17 – Nadaness In Motion – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

July 17 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

July 18 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – REVIEW

July 18 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

July 19 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – CHARACTER GUEST POST