June Lucas is the pen name of Dr. Laurel Standley, a scientist and author living in northern California, though her heart remains in the misty forests of Oregon, especially Portland, which is where the Madeline McPhee mysteries take place. To learn more about her cozy mysteries and the associated cookbook, 50 Shades of Scones, visit www.authorjunelucas.com and follow @junelucasauthor on Instagram.

The idea for the Madeline McPhee mysteries began when a light-hearted story Laurel wrote about her cat was accepted for publication in Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Cat Did That? Laurel decided to try her hand at writing cozy mysteries with a strong feline presence. And, of course, she loves all things Scottish—tea, scones, plaid, the accent. Many of the antics of the fictional cat Angus in the stories were inspired by Wall-E (see picture), a big orange kitten Laurel adopted from a shelter in the winter of 2019.

The titles for the McPhee mysteries were inspired years ago by Laurel’s Aunt Gail when she nicknamed Laurel’s sweet but grumpy cat Teacake “The Wreck of the Hiss Purr Hiss,” a play on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, The Wreck of the Hesperus. Thus, titles for the McPhee mysteries are created in the spirit of lines from Longfellow’s poem with a feline twist.