Photo courtesy of the author

Give me a brief summary of your life till now and how it led you to write.

I was a storyteller from a young age, crafting stories up for my younger brothers. It was a strict household, so college became my excuse to party. Still got good grades and earned a Master’s degree, but it was something else. I started my first business in 2011, Novel Publicity, and from there I honed my marketing abilities and wrote books and here I am today.

How did you come up with the idea of a paralegal who becomes a pet psychic?

When I started Pet Whisperer PI, I knew I wanted Angie to be able to talk to her cat, but I wasn’t sure how. When I finally sat down to start fleshing out the series, everything else sort of clicked into place.

Did you base Angie on anyone who knew, or did you create her from scratch?

Angie is based on Angi (without an e), my fabulous assistant. Or at least she started that way. As the books developed, so did she. And this isn’t even the first Angie that Angi has inspired. My daughter has imaginary Angis (yes, plural) that she plays with or blames on bad behavior.

Angie mentions throughout the series that she’s the only member of her family who hasn’t found her calling. However, being a pet psychic is clearly her destiny. Does this mimic any part of your life? Did you ever feel you hadn’t found your calling?

I was the black sheep of my family and for quite some time I tried to do what I thought was expected of me rather than following my calling.

How did you create Octavius Maxwell Ricardo Edmund Frederick Fulton? Did you base him on any cats you know?

Well, you can’t tell him, but he’s a mix of my cat Schrödinger and my lazy momma chihuahua, Mila. Creating him was really just trying to get into the mind of a cat. During my life I’ve been owned by many cats and really, I just push that into Octo-Cat and add a healthy helping of extra.

What prompted you to choose a coastal town in Maine as the home of the Pet Whisperer P.I. series?

Originally, Molly Fitz was going to be a secret project with multiple authors writing as her. I quickly found I had too many ideas and too much enthusiasm to be only a fraction of Molly. And thus, we expanded into a whole world called Blueberry Bay, where several authors are writing in little towns around the bay.

What’s your writing routine? Do you have a dedicated office, or do you write at the kitchen table? Do you write longhand or type everything?

I have a beautiful dedicated office in my Florida room (at least that’s what I was told it was called), so naturally, I write from the dining room table, where I type everything, usually a week before my deadline.

Do you outline your stories or let the characters take you where they want to go? Do your characters speak to you?

I outline to a point and I know where I’m going, so normally at a certain point, I let the characters have some control of how things play out.

Do you have a definite timeline for the Pet Whisperer series, or do you plan to keep writing about Angie and Octo-Cat until you feel like you’re done?

That…is a very good question. I’ve never really thought about the ending of Angie and Octo-Cat. I like writing them and I think I’d like to go until I find a natural end point.

What writers do you admire, past or present?

I got hooked into cozy mysteries thanks to Angie Fox.

What do you like best about being a writer? What do you like least?

I get to work from home, in my PJs with my chihuahua. Best thing, hands down. What I like least? The stress surrounding deadlines!

What little personal quirk would you like to reveal to your readers?

I think they know all my quirks by now, especially the ones that are subscribed to my newsletter.

Would you like to discuss your books written as Melissa Storm? They feature dogs, which would appall Octo-Cat.

Yes, please don’t tell him about them! Shhhhhh.

Visit Molly’s website, https://mollymysteries.com/, and download her app!