Furbaby Friday with James DiBenedetto!

I am glad to have James DiBenedetto here to share his much-loved writing kitties and exciting Dream Doctor Mysteries.

James: Like most people who have cats, I’ve gotten very used to my four-legged friends “helping” me when I write. Daisy (the beautiful tortoise-shell who we had for ten years) loved to sit herself on the desk, right in front of (or on top of!) the keyboard. I can only assume that she had ideas for my books that she just couldn’t wait to share with me.

Danny (the handsome white cat we’ve had since 2014) has a different approach. He’s obviously read all the stories that talk about how bad it is to sit for an extended period, so he makes sure I get up from the keyboard frequently to get some exercise. He does this by jumping on the bookshelf and trying to knock items off. Catching them before they hit the floor helps to hone my reflexes, so clearly this is a coordinated fitness program for me!

It’s probably no coincidence that animals feature in almost all my books, too. In the Dream Doctor Mysteries, Sara, our heroine, has a dog throughout the series. When we first meet her, she’s the owner of a Golden Retriever named Lumpy, whom she got as a puppy when she was ten. Later, after she’s graduated medical school, she adopts a Labrador-Retriever mix named Chrissy, and at the end of the series, when she’s about to see her daughter graduate from college, she’s got a Beagle named Bucky.

Speaking of the Dream Doctor Mysteries, I’ve just relaunched them, with new covers (which I think look really cool). I already mentioned that Sara is the heroine, and the reason they’re called that is, Sara has the gift (or curse) of being able to step into other people’s dreams, which causes her no end of trouble!
The first book of the series is Dream Doctor, and it opens with Sara preparing for her wedding, until another supernatural dream threatens to upset everything.

A short excerpt, from Dream Doctor showing Sara’s relationship with her beloved dog:

So why do I want to tear off my beautiful dress, jump in the car and drive away as fast and far as I can?
I know exactly why.
“I need a minute,” I mumble, and I go upstairs to my room and lock the door. Lumpy’s sitting on the bed and I’m grateful. I’m going to need someone beside me who loves me unconditionally to get through this.
I pick up the phone and dial. Brian’s mother answers on the first ring, sounding very harassed. “Is Brian there? I need to talk to him,” I say without preamble. She can hear the panic in my voice, and I can hear the tiny note of hopefulness in hers as she calls out to Brian to pick up. It’s a year and a half and she still hasn’t really warmed up to me. She never, ever will, either. That’s fine – she’s about to get her wish.
As I wait for Brian to pick up, Lumpy nuzzles against me, licks my right hand. After this is done, he’ll be the only one who won’t think I’m horrible or stupid or crazy – or maybe all three. I hear a click as Brian picks up the phone. He’s panting. “Sara? What’s wrong?” He must have run to the phone. I can’t even guess what he thinks might be going on with me. I hate that I’m doing this to him, but what choice do I have?
I don’t know how to begin, so I just blurt it right out: “I love you – you know that. But I think I – we – you shouldn’t marry me. It’s not fair to you.”

Book Description from Dream Doctor:

Between adjusting to life as a newlywed and trying to survive the first month of medical school, Sara Alderson has a lot on her plate. She definitely doesn’t need to start visiting other people’s dreams again. Unfortunately for her, it’s happening anyway.
Every night, she sees a different person and a different dream. But every dreamer has one thing in common: they all hate Dr. Morris, the least popular professor in the medical school, and they’re all dreaming about seeing him – or making him – dead.
Once again, Sara finds herself in the role of unwilling witness to a murder before it happens. But this time, there are too many suspects to count, and it doesn’t help matters that she hates Dr. Morris every bit as much as any of his would-be murderers do.

Dream Doctor is the first book of the Dream Doctor Mysteries.

Follow James at:

His website – www.jjdibenedetto.com
Facebook – www.facebook.com/jjdibenedettoauthor
Twitter – http//twitter.com/jjdibenedetto
Youtube book videos – www.tinyurl.com/jjdvideo
Audiobook samples – www.tinyurl.com/jjdaudio
Amazon Author page – http://viewAuthor.at/JJDiBenedetto