1 THE INSPIRATION BEHIND B. BUCKLEBERRY
What you see here, is the majestic Panther. He’s a rescue, as the best cats are, and has an origin story that perhaps I’ll write as Buck’s one day. But suffice it to say that black cat detective B. Buckleberry is based on this mischievous little guy. He just celebrated his 10th year with us and I hope we have him for another 10, at least.
However. Where Buck is brave and courageous, poor Panther is scared and frightened. If the doorbell rings, you won’t see him for an hour — he’ll be hiding under our covers. If he hears a voice he doesn’t know, he shrinks to half his size and runs down the hallway to our bedroom, finding the furthest place to hide.
However, Panther is very curious. He’ll inspect open cabinets, or just open the cabinets himself, jump up onto shelves and closet organizers — anything he hasn’t seen before must be thoroughly examined.
Panth also has a vest, just like Buck. Tactical, believe it or not, which he wears whenever he wants to join me outside while I’m writing. It just doesn’t have pockets for snacks. But if it did, he’d fill them with his treats.
So thank you Panther, for providing me with multiple characteristics that I can use in my stories. Even if I find myself saying, “What would Panther not do in this situation?” Honestly, that’s closer to the truth.
2 MERRY CHRISTMAS, FROM PANTHER
Everyone knows how much Buck loves his tea, coffee, and cider during the fall months. For Panther however, it’s a different story. Don’t get me wrong. He loves stealing a few sips of my coffee while I’m not looking. But if it’s beer, wine or egg nog — he considers it HIS. Panther’s entire head will fit into my glass just so he can get a few licks of any alcoholic substance. Here he is stealing Grandma’s eggnog without any regrets or remorse.
There’s no question, Christmas is Panther’s favorite holiday. He loves helping set up the tree, sitting in wreaths, and getting himself covered in fake snow. And though the books don’t expressly say it, yet, it’s Buck’s favorite too. I guess you’ll have to wait until BCDA Book #4 to find that out.
So, from myself, my wife, our other kitty Oliver, and especially Panther, we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!
(Who’s Oliver? You’ll meet him in the next blog post!)
3 OLIVER, THE LITTLE GRAY MONSTER
About a year ago, a friend of my wife asked her if she wanted a cat she’d just rescued. We had lost our Locke the month before, pretty much the best cat in the world, and I didn’t really feel like adding a second cat to our family just yet. Selfish on my part. Yet my wife insisted and because I can’t turn away an animal in need, Oliver came into our home.
He had spent his life up until that point begging for scraps at a nearby brewery (which has INCREDIBLE beer by the way), and was pretty much emaciated. He quickly put on weight though, and now is a 14.75 pound monster. He and Panther kind of get along, although every day there are skirmishes, frontal attacks, and an equal number of retreats. For instance, right now they’re sleeping on the same shelf together (I have shelves constructed around my office so they can jump up to higher places and look out, play, and stalk birds). But as soon as one of them tries to step over the other, I’ll get a jiu-jitsu demonstration just above my desk. Really helps my writing.
Oliver loves to be brushed, and really needs to be brushed, because his fur is so thick. He’s a miniature bear. And we could make a second Oliver out of the fur we get from him.
If you’ve read the first two books in the Black Cat Detective Agency series and wonder why there hasn’t been a gray cat in them, maybe you should wait until you read the third…
