Interview with the Pooper Scooper

My guest this week is Elaine Faber, author of The Black Cat Mysteries, the Mrs. Odbody Mystery Adventures, and now, her newest release, The Spirit Woman of Lockleer Mountain. I’ve read and enjoyed the book, featuring protagonists Lou (short for Lulu Jane) Shoemaker and Nate Darling (I haven’t had time to review it yet, but I will). I thought it would be fun to have Elaine interview Lou and Nate so you can get to know them a little.

Welcome, Elaine, Lou, and Nate!

Questions for Lou

How did you come to own a sewer truck called The Pooper Scooper? This was my husband’s business, but he died in a car crash a little over two years ago. I had to learn the business, get a Waste Management license, and learn to drive a stick shift pretty quickly. In a rural community like Lockleer Mountain, the homes have wells and septic tanks. With all the bells and whistles on the sewer truck, it wasn’t too hard to learn how to operate and clean septic tanks. It may not be a very ladylike occupation, but it keeps the roof over my head and my two cats in Kitty Crunchies. We make it work.

How familiar are you with the Native American reservation near Lockleer Mountain? I know many of the Native Americans and many are my customers. Chief White Feather has been a family friend for years. He told us the legend of the Spirit Woman when we were children. The story line includes a Pow-Wow on the reservation where a shocking event occurs. He also told us that a White Man was selling drugs to his teenagers and if the tribe caught him first, we’d never see him again! Oh my!

As a recent widow, how did you know the time was right to seek love again? I’m only twenty-three. As much as I loved my husband, Steven, life goes on. As it happens, I’ve also known Deputy Nate Darling for years. He was my husband’s best friend and helped me following my husband’s death. When his sister disappeared three months ago following a motor vehicle accident, I was able to help him grieve. We grew closer with our shared grief, and friendship turned to love.

Do you think the Spirit Woman is a real person or just a legend? When our troubles began, folks started to see the mountain lion and glimpses of a woman, sightings that resulted in helpful circumstances. We all know the legend of the Spirit Woman coming to help the community, and with the recent unrest in town, it’s not hard to believe she came to lend a hand. When strange gifts from the forest begin to turn up in my friend’s yard, questions arise. Is the Spirit Woman leaving the items, or is someone from town playing tricks?

Questions for Deputy Sheriff Nate Darling

As a deputy sheriff, are you concerned about the community unrest regarding the government’s plans to build an undisclosed facility and infrastructure near Lockleer Mountain?  Recent news of a mysterious government facility being built nearby, with a big box store and a housing tract has the town in an uproar. The merchants fear the competition will ruin them, and what will happen to the charm of our small town? Threats have been made. I have to take them seriously, but how can we fight the government, already moving forward with their plans without even consulting the city fathers?

How do you feel knowing that someone in town is selling drugs to the teens on the reservation? As if we didn’t have enough problems, my heart sank when White Feather announced drugs being sold on the reservation. I told the sheriff I wished I had about 90 days of vacation time on the books, which I don’t.

Do you believe in the Spirit Woman, or is the mysterious woman in the woods with the mountain lion really your sister, Suzanna? We’ve searched the mountain high and low for three months since Suzanna’s disappearance. I’ve seen the mountain lion and glimpses of the woman. I’m sure it’s Suzanna, suffering from amnesia. I’ve heard the legend of the Spirit Woman, but spirits don’t leave footprints. On the other hand, how could Suzanna survive for three months in the forest…with a mountain lion? Friends say it’s not Suzanna. So, does that mean they think a Native American spirit has become real? What am I do believe?

I guess for the answers to these and other questions, you’ll have to read the book. The Spirit Woman of Lockleer Mountain is available in e-book and paperback at Amazon.  http://tinyurl.com/y82t4xsh

Elaine’s Bio

Elaine Faber lives in Elk Grove with her husband and four feline companions. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Cat Writers Association, and Northern California Publishers and Artists. She volunteers at the American Cancer Society Discovery Shop in Elk Grove. Her short stories have appeared in national magazines, have won multiple awards in various short story contests, and are included in at least 16 anthologies. She leads a critique groups in the Sacramento area.

Elaine’s Mrs. Odboddy and Black Cat Mystery series’ have won top awards with Northern California Publishers and Authors annual writers’ contests. Black Cat and the Secret in Dewey’s Diary and All Things Cat, an anthology of cat stories, won 2018 and 2019 Certificates of Excellence with Cat Writers’ Association. Elaine enjoys speaking at public author venues and clubs sharing highlights of her novels and her writing experience. She is currently working on two fiction novels to be published in 2021 and 2022.

Elaine’s Books

Black Cat Mysteries: With the aid of his ancestors’ memories, Black Cat helps solve mysteries and crimes. Partially narrated by Black Cat, much of the story comes from a cat’s often humorous and poignant point of view.

Mrs. Odboddy Mystery/Adventures: Elderly, eccentric Mrs. Odboddy fights WWII from the home front. She believes war-time conspiracies and spies abound in her home town. Follow her antics in these hysterical, historical novels as a self-appointed hometown warrior exposes malcontents, dissidents and Nazi spies…even when she’s wrong.

The Spirit Woman Mystery/Paranormal/Adventures

The Native Americans believe the legendary Spirit Woman ‘protects the community.’ When Govt. demands create social unrest in a small mountain town, and drugs threaten the lives of their youth, the Spirit Woman and her mountain lion companion come to their aid.

Black Cat’s Legacy: http://tinyurl.com/lrvevgm

Black Cat and the Lethal Lawyer: http://tinyurl.com/q3qrgyu

Black Cat and the Accidental Angel: http://tinyurl.com/y4eohe5n

Black Cat and the Secret in Dewey’s Diary  (NCPA Cover and Interior Design Silver award 2019): http://tinyurl.com/vgyp89s

All Things Cat (anthology of short stories): http://tinyurl.com/y9p9htak

Mrs. Odboddy-Hometown Patriot (NCPA 1^st Fiction 2017): http://tinyurl.com/hdbvzsv

Mrs. Odboddy – Undercover Courier (NCPA 3^rd Cover and Design 2018): http://tinyurl.com/hdbvzsv    

Mrs. Odboddy – And Then There Was a Tiger (NCPA 2^nd Fiction 2019): http://tinyurl.com/yx72fcpx

The Spirit Woman of Lockleer Mountain: http://tinyurl.com/y82t4xsh

Thanks to all my guests today!

Until next time,

Amy