Today we are pleased to speak with our Cat Person of the Month, award-winning author Robert J. Smith.Ā
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Robert is the talented creator of the whodunit series Petectives, featuring the wise-cracking, mystery-solving cats Yoshi and Gatsby. In Book 1, the felines must face down a gang of criminal pit bulls and the neighborhood dog police to help a pretty young cat. Yoshi and Gatsby must find the young catās missing brother while shutting down a dog fighting operation. The seriesĀ continues with Petectives: Christmas Party, Petectives: Under Fire, Petectives: Stalking Horse, Petectives: The Fourth Cat, and, published in 2021, Petectives: Rainbow Bridge,
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In Rainbow Bridge, literal cat burglars are on the loose, but the challenge they pose toĀ Yoshi and Gatsby is nothing compared to the new threat in the catsā lives: their humans have just adopted a dog!
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Petectives: Rainbow Bridge was awarded the 2022 āWorldās Best Cat Litter-Ary Awardā from the Cat Writerās Association. Awards for other books in the series include the Wattpad “Watty” Award, the Cat Writers Association Certificate of Excellence, and the Stephen Memorial Award for Distinctive Cats.Ā
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And now it’s time to hear fromĀ Robert, who lives in Columbus, Ohio with his wife, two children, and pets.
Mewla:Ā Welcome to our website Robert. We are honored to have you!Ā Tell us, what are you working on these days?
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Robert:Ā Hi Mewla, it’s an honor to be had. Thank you for the opportunity. Right now, Iām hard at work on the latest Petectives mystery. The premise of the series is Agatha Christie meets The Secret Life of Pets.
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Two house cats want to alleviate the boredom of lives as pets so they act as private detectives for the other animals in their neighborhood. Yoshi is an intellectual black cat who prefers to be an indoor cat and enjoys reading and taking naps, while Gatsby is a smart-mouthed ginger cat who loves to go outside and have adventures. One cat is an introvert and one cat is an extrovert. One cat specializes in thought while the other is action-oriented. They make a great team, even if they do occasionally like to take the hiss out of one another.
Mewla: Such fun! Yoshi and Gatsby sound like a great pair of sleuths! So tell us, what inspired you to create the Petectives series?
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Robert: I was sitting on my porch late one night when I saw a cat walk by my house with such intensity and purpose that I had to wonder where he was going. I pictured him as a private eye on his way to meet a client about his latest case. That sparked my imagination to write a classic mystery with cats as the investigators. At the time I thought that a mystery with cat detectives was unique. Since then, Iāve learned that there is a legion of cat sleuths.
Mewla: I love that story! I can just imagine that cat creeping past your house with a determined look on his face, lol. We readers are so lucky that you were inspired to turn your thoughts into a book, and then a series!
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Iām also curious about the other cats you mentioned are out there investigating crime. Can you tell us more?
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Robert:Ā Ā Sure, thereās a grand literary tradition of cats solving mysteries. The most prominent examples are the Mrs Murphy novels by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown about a cat who helps her human solve murders in a small town in Virginia. In the German literary novel āFelidaeā by Akif Pirinicci, Francis is a cat who not only investigates murders but also probes existential questions.Ā
Thereās a series of mysteries by Carole Nelson Douglas about a tough-talking cat named Midnight Louie who teams up with his human to solve murders on the streets of Las Vegas.Ā The No. 2 Feline Detective Agency series by Mandy Morton is about two female cats who operate a detective agency in a very quaint and cozy British world where cats, not humans, are the dominant species. There are tons more: Joe Grey, Leger the cat sleuth –Ā I could go on and on. Cat mysteries are quite a burgeoning genre.
Mewla: We are happy to know many cat mystery stories are out there! Also, we were so sorry to hear that sweet Gatsby, who inspired the fictional Gatsby, passed away this year.
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Would you tell us a little about the real Gatsby?
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Robert: Gatsby was a quiet, well-behaved little guy who had a bed on the end of my desk where he could supervise my work. I should say āhe has a bedā as I havenāt had the heart to put the bed away yet. He liked to jump on me and run up my back so he could perch on my shoulder and sometimes at midnight, he liked to sit in the kitchen and scream my name. (āWRRROOOOOOOB!). I miss both him and the real-life Yoshi but Iāll always be glad that they were a part of my life.
Mewla: Ā Oh, I canāt hear about a cat passing over the Rainbow Bridge without getting weepy. My heart goes out to you, Robb. Gatsby sounds like a very wise cat who knew what he wanted in life and how to get it, too. Iām so glad that you took him in and gave him a wonderful, long life. A question I love to ask is, when did you first fall in love with cats, and what was it that made you fall in love with them?
Robert:Ā I didnāt have pets as a child (except for the occasional ill-fated goldfish). When I started dating my future wife, she was totally in love with her big Maine Coon cat, Monte. Monte totally held me in disdain and although he and I eventually came to an understanding, he was not going to cause me to fall in love with cats and he liked it that way.
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However, one day my wife came back from a pet store with a little black kitten that we named Yoshi. Yoshi was a neurotic, highly opinionated ball of energy and he and I clicked immediately. Then a few years later after Monte passed away, we went to a local shelter where a little orange kitten decided right then and there that I was going to take him home and be his human for the next seventeen years.Ā
Between the real-life Yoshi and Gatsby, I never had a chance to not fall in love with cats.
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Mewla:Ā I suspect that there are quite a few men who, perhaps reluctantly at first, came to love cats when a spouse comes into their lives with a cat in tow, lol.
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And who are the animals that share your home today?
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Robert:Ā We have a big good-natured mutt named Sparky Jones, a black cat named Nero, and a gray tabby cat named Magic. I donāt really have a cat of my own anymore as both of the cats in our current household vastly prefer the company of the kids over me (unless it’s breakfast or dinnertime). I think that a visit to the local cat shelter may be in order.
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Mewla:Ā Iām excited to hear about an upcoming visit to the cat shelter! You must let us know if your special family gets a little bigger anytime soon.
Thank you forĀ visiting with us Robert! I know our visiting friends would love to read about Yoshi and Gatsbyās escapades. To find out about Robert J. Smithās fun mystery novels, go to:
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Thank you Mewla for bestowing this honor on me. I had a great time with the interview!
I had so much fun interviewing you, Robert! I’m thrilled to let others know about your fantastic Petective mystery novels.
Thank you for this article about Cat Person of the Month Robert Smith! I will plan to read his books.
Thank! I hope you enjoy them šŗ
Wow that was truly interesting action pact and very intense story writing i think i might have met some detective cats in my lifetime but mums the word cause they work under cover only i can’t reveal their names but the stories they tell this Robert’s pettectives would surely want to bring in on some cases lol what an amazing pet person of the month sounds like he knows a lot about cats sensational job Robert blessings the cats and me keep up the great job sounds amazing indeed
Thanks!
I smiled while reading this story. Robert has brought to life, in full living colour and action, everything we have always suspected about cats….they are sleuths, highly motivated and extremely intelligent. Crafting such tales must require a sense of humour, vivid imagination and a profound love for all felines. Sounds like stories every devoted cat person will appreciate. Congratulations to Robert on his success and I wish him even more accolades with time. Great story!
We’re glad you liked the story, Celinne. Wishing you a great month of May.
Thanks for the kind words!
I love a good mysteries series! Thank you for this article and for sharing about Mr. Smithās books!
Thank you DR. Wishing you a great month of May.
Great interview! Always glad to see our Cat Writers’ Association members getting noticed!
So glad you liked the story, Lynne. Here’s to Cat Writersā Association and its amazing members! Happy May.
Thank you Mewla for this interesting article and congratulations, Robert, on being Cat Person of the Month! I will check out your books!
Weāre glad you liked the story, Lori. Happy May!
Thanks, I hope you enjoy them!
Such an interesting interview, Mewla! I enjoyed reading about how Robert came to love cats and how the books developed from his experiences. Those sound like intriguing mysteries!
Thank you for letting us know you liked it, Leah. Wishing you a great month of May.
Thank you, Leah.