#WriterWednesday with Ruth J. Hartman

I’d like to welcome my friend, the fabulous Ruth J. Hartman, to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Favorite thing to do when you have free time: Read, walk, watch a movie with Garry.

The thing you’ll always move to the bottom of your to do list: Mopping the floors or dusting!

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave: Cats (if they’re sleeping!), chocolate, and other assorted snacks- to be determined on that writing day.

Things that distract you from writing: My cat, Molly, leaping over my computer to get my attention. And music. And people talking near me.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Writing the synopsis and that first line of the book!

Easiest thing about being a writer: When a reader says they loved your book!

Things you will run to the store for at midnight: Chocolate

Things you never put on your shopping list: Beets!

The coolest thing you’ve bought online: An old-fashioned-looking lamp that went perfectly in our guest room, since our farmhouse is over 150 years old.

The thing you wished you’d never bought: The wrong size underwear!

Something you’re really good at: I’m a Cat Whisperer.

Something you’re really bad at: Doing more than one thing - anything - at a time.

The funniest thing that happened to you on vacation: My dad and I went on a trip to the Holy Land when I was 17. I got three marriage proposals in Egypt, and one involved 52 camels.

The most embarrassing thing that happened to you on a vacation: When on a school field trip to Washington D.C. I tripped on the sidewalk and ended up doing a somersault right in front of the most popular boy in our school.

The most exciting thing about your writing life: Getting to spend time with my writer friends in person!

The one thing you wish you could do over in your writing life: I wish I’d started way before I did, which was at age 45.

Best piece of advice you received from another writer: Surround yourself with writer friends who will be there for you throughout your whole writing journey.

Something you would tell a younger you about your writing: Don’t compare yourself to other writers. Everyone has a different writing voice. Use yours!

Recommendations for curing writer’s block: Take a walk, get a snack, text a friend.

Things you do to avoid writing: Laundry, dishes, and the most dreaded job – dusting!

About Ruth:

Ruth J. Hartman loves a good mystery. That’s probably why she happily gave up a life of cleaning other people’s teeth to write books. With several cozy mysteries under her belt, her main problem is keeping the characters straight – sometimes they have a tendency to hop on over to a different series, just for laughs.

Over forty books later, consisting of romances, a children’s book, women’s fiction, and now cozy mysteries, Ruth still enjoys the thrill of taking the thoughts and images of her characters from her imagination to her computer screen.

She lives in rural Indiana with her husband, Garry, and their family of spoiled cats. Because of Ruth’s love for felines, every one of her books has at least one cat in it. Her cats, who’ve deemed themselves her editors, act like they’re supervising her writing, even though they’re often loafing off or napping.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: http://www.ruthjhartman.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruth.j.hartman

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/ruth-j-hartman

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/ruthjhartman

Meet the Fuzzy Sidekicks...

Our two crazy Jack Russell terriers (Disney and Riley) are part of our family, so it’s natural that my characters would share their stories with their fuzzy friends. Here are the furry and fluffy sidekicks in my series.

Margaret Thatcher Reynolds is Delanie Fitzgerald’s partner’s English bulldog. She has two speeds, slow/steady and napping. She’s a log with legs, but she’s a great companion. She loves treats, snacks, and rides in Duncan’s yellow Camaro. She’s also helped save the day in several of the Delanie Fitzgerald Mysteries.

Bijou is a feisty Jack Russell Terrier who lives and works at the Fern Valley Camping Resort in the Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries. She’s the official greeter, and she loves long walks, treats, and riding in Jules’s Jeep Wrangler. Bijou is modeled on my JRT Disney.

Chloe is the white French bulldog in the Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries. The butterball of a dog works at the shop and loves hanging out at the beach in her free time. Her arch-frenemy is Neville the Devil Cat.

Neville the Devil Cat was a Mermaid Bay stray who made himself at home at the Christmas Shoppe. He spends his time napping, checking out the new Christmas ornaments, and annoying Chloe. He’s a tuxedo cat who takes his job as the store’s mouser seriously.

Elvis is a Chihuahua mix in my new Pearly Girls series (March 2025). He is a fixture in the office, and he takes his jobs as ambassador and official greeter seriously. He loves long walks in the mountains and car rides. He may be tiny, but he has all the charisma of his namesake.

Pet Sidekicks

Pet Sidekicks.png

I love pets, and I'm drawn to mysteries and thrillers that have pet characters. My sidekicks are two crazy Jack Russell Terriers, Disney and Riley. Disney's been the model for Darby in my story, "Moving On," and Bijou in a cozy mystery that I'm working on. I started listing authors who have pets in their mysteries. I found lots with cats and dogs. And only one with a hamster. And I found lots to add to my TBR (To Be Read) piles.

Dogs

  • Robert B. Parker's Sunny Randall and Rosie the miniature American Bull Terrier

  • Ellery Adams' Olivia Limoges and Captain Haviland the Standard Poodle

  • Robert B. Parker's Spenser and Pearl the Wonder Dog

  • Rita Mae Brown's Mrs. Murphy and Tee Tucker, a Corgi

  • Spencer Quinn's Chet and Bernie Mystery Series

  • Dashiell Hammett's Nick and Nora Charles and Asta the Terrier

  • Judith Lucci's Michaela McPherson's Angel the German Shepherd

  • Waverly Curtis' The Barking Detective Series with Pepe the Chihuahua

  • My Delanie Fitzgerald Series with Margaret the English Bull Dog

Cats

  • David Baldacci's John Puller and AWOL the cat

  • Lorna Barrett's Tricia Miles and Miss Marple

  • Lilian Jackson Braun's Jim Qwilleran's Koko and Yum Yum

  • Rita Mae Brown's Mrs. Murphy and Sneaky Pie Brown

Lots of Pets

  • Krista Davis' Pens and Paws Mystery Series

  • Sparkle Abbey's Pampered Pets Mystery Series (Their pen name came from their pets.)

  • Bethany Blake's Lucky Paws Petsitting Mysteries

  • Annie Knox's Pet Boutique Murders

Hamster

  • Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum and Rex the Hamster

Who else would you add to the list?