Well, here is some news that I received from Carolyn Haines, which I am going to pass on to you all. (Most of you are already familiar with Carolyn’s very popular Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery Series.) Carolyn Haines (also) wrote the Fear Familiar Mystery Series years ago which featured a detective who happened to be a black cat named Familiar, who had escaped from a research facility. She wrote this series as Caroline Burnes, and you can find the entire list by clicking here to go to the Carolyn Haines page on my site. Familiar now has a son named Trouble who is featured in the new Familiar Legacy Mystery Series.
The series is going to be written by different authors. The first book, Familiar Trouble, was released in July of this year and was written by Carolyn Haines. Trouble in Dixie (written by Rebecca Barrett) was released in August, and will be followed by Trouble in Tallahassee in September which is written by Claire Matturro. Susan Tanner will write the fourth in this series, Trouble at Summer Valley Ranch, which will be released in October. Carolyn writes that they are already planning the books which will be released during 2018 – which is great news, since it means there will be more!
Obviously, I will be adding this series to the Kittens, Cats, and Cozies page of my site!
Rickee says
Do you know if Caroline will continue her Sarah Booth Delaney series? I like it a lot, so I hope she will. I’m looking forward to reading this new series, too.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Rickee, I think so! I know that this isn’t so much a new series for Carolyn Haines as it is a collaborative effort with a number of other authors, so it’s unlikely any of them are planning on dropping their regular series >>> at least, not in favor of this one.
Nan Sampson says
This sounds like fun! Thanks!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Nan, you’re welcome!
Sharon S says
Was the Fear Familiar Mystery Series written under the name Caroline Burnes?
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Sharon, yes, it was, and it is available on Kindle as a box set, if anyone is interested.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
(If you go to the Carolyn Haines page on my site, I have listed the books that are included in the box set…)
Carolyn Haines says
I will absolutely continue Sarah Booth and Pluto’s Snitch, Rickee. Thank you for asking. I have big plans for those Zinnia characters.
And yes, I did write as Caroline Burnes. I have the rights to the first 6 Familiar books back. The first three are available as digital books on Amazon for .99 cents. I’ll releaser the other 3 when I have a bit of time.
As to Bill Crider, he’s a fine writer and a really great guy–so you can’t go wrong with his books.
Joyce Ann Brown says
Carolyn,
I’m glad you were able to buy back the rights to the Familiar series and self-publish them on Amazon so people can continue to get them. More and more authors are prolonging the lives of their books by doing that. Thanks for being one of them so we can enjoy that series.
Carolyn Haines says
I have the rights back to number of books–I just have to find time to “necromance” them back to life–ha ha. I need a clone!
Susan Y. Tanner says
Thank you so much for this. Mine is the fourth book in the series and we’re all so excited about the opportunity to work with the son of the wondrous Familiar. Not to mention the wondrous Carolyn!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan, you’re welcome! I hope the books all turn out well!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
P.S. I’d be excited about these very same things, too!
Rob Jarrad says
Danna: amen, lady. I have more than started a series that I really enjoy. By Bill Crider -he has three series out now. Sheriff Dan Rhodes,
and Professors Sally Good and Carl Burns. Fun, lively, tongue in cheek anf funny. It’s a mystery series but with the way Mr. Crider writes, you seriously look forward to each installment. I recommend this author that has so much to offer and never fails to deliver the solution and several laughs along the way. I’ve ordered (from my library) some of each series and all of Sheriff Rhodes.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Rob, thanks for the recommendation! I’ve read some Sheriff Dan Rhodes, and while it isn’t completely Cozy from what I remember, it’s still a good series.
Carolyn Haines says
Thanks so much for spreading the word, Danna. We’re having a blast. Dealing with a cat as smart as Trouble makes the whole day better.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Carolyn, you’re welcome! I try to keep up to date on what site authors are up writing, but sometimes things like this just sort of slip through the cracks, so I’m glad that I was able to discuss it.
Susan* says
For those not familiar with the ‘Fear Familiar’ series (No pun intended.) they were first published by Harlequin under the ‘Intrigue’ label. I’m not sure if they’ve since been re-printed. (Hopefully, as they’re very good and old Harlequins can be hard to track down. Specific ones,anyway.)
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan, I know this doesn’t help everyone, but it looks like they’re now available as a Kindle Box set. For people more interested in physical copies, they are also available on Amazon used – it doesn’t look like this is too hard of a series to run down if you are fine with used books.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan, if you take a look at the above-comment from Carolyn Haines, she has re-released some of them and looks forward to re-releasing more…
Susan* says
Wonderful! I did enjoy the early ones! Thankyou and thankyou Ms Haines. (You’re a talented writer under any name.)
Carolyn Haines says
I am working to move all of my books under one name–Carolyn Haines. I write in a number of genres, from cozy mystery to crime novels to ghost stories to cat mysteries! I had this idea that I didn’t want to confuse readers or disappoint a reader who expected one thing and got another. But I have learned that readers are very sophisticated. They pay attention to covers and back copy and such–and seldom spend money on something that they don’t want to read. And I made myself a promise that if someone bought a darker book–expecting a lighter book–I would be happy to refund the purchase price. My experience has been though, that even hardcore cozy book readers sometimes like to dip into a good ole Southern ghost story.
Rebecca Barrett says
I was hooked on sleuthing cats from the moment I laid eyes on Lillian Jackson Braun’s series years ago. I devoured them. Now I have a the opportunity to actually write about Trouble, our very own Sherlock, I’m over the moon. It has been great fun getting to know him through the writing process. Thanks, Danna for spreading the word. I think a lot of your readers are going to love this cat!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Rebecca, you’re very welcome, and I’m always glad to hear from authors! I hope the new series goes well!
Tammy R. Lynn says
I discovered the Familiar series when I owned a small new-and-used indie bookstore, The Book Basket, in Wetumpka, AL from 2002-2008. I kept every title in the Familiar series that came through my shop for my purrrsonal collection because I loved them THAT much.
Carolyn was gracious to come for booksigning events as the Bones books each came out. Claire Matturro (author of Trouble in Tallahassee) was another frequent visitor with her new mysteries.
When I heard that Carolyn was working on Familiar Trouble, I was thrilled. Later, I was honored to know that she gave Trouble’s owner my name and let her own The Book Basket in Wetumpka, AL. My little bookstore will live forever in the pages of a story by one of my favorite authors.
Don’t miss this series. These ladies have a bunch of detective work lined up for Trouble!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Tammy, that must be a really great feeling to have something so close to you get used as part of a series you have such a connection to already!
Carolyn Haines says
Because I like to torment my friends, I named Trouble’s fictional owner after Tammy. Boy, did I have fun (knowing that Tammy is a great sport and also a real cat lover). The setting is Wetumpka, AL (Trouble will travel extensively in this series) but I was knocked out when I learned that this small Alabama town sits on the rim of an impact crater that is 80 million years old. The history is fascinating, and few people even know about it. So I wanted to give Wetumpka (which is beautiful) a little love too.
Paula Catherine says
Danna, I hope you and your family are safe and dry. Harvey is relentless!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Paula, thanks for your well wishes! Yes, we are all safe and dry here. We’ve gotten a lot more rain than is normal for this time of year, but Harvey itself missed San Antonio. I hope all of the other site readers and commenters are likewise safe!
Carolyn Haines says
I hope everyone stays safe. Katrina is still a participant in my nightmares.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Carolyn, thanks – and I certainly hope everyone is still safe as well.
Carolyn Haines says
Yes, Katrina. I’m near Mobile,AL now and so far we have only spitting rain and clouds. I am watching the horror unfold in Texas. These big storms are becoming an annual event. I remember Camille, a cat 5 that came ashore in Biloxi,Ms in 1969. It demolished Biloxi. But it wasn’t this monster storm like Katrina that took out the whole LA/MS/AL Gulf Coast. Not like Harvey that is drowning TX and LA. And all of us on the coast know this is roulette. Our turn will come up again.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Carolyn, considering how bad Harvey has been, I can only imagine the devastation that must have followed Katrina. It certainly does feel like the last few decades have been worse than the “old days”, though I wonder if these sort of storms seem worse these days because we have so much more access to media covering them than back in the ’60s and ’70s.
KarenA says
Will Caroline Haines ever write any more Fear Familiar stories. Or is there a chance Trouble and Familiar will team up?