Trapper - The Cyber Snoop - BREAKING NEWS

Trapper – The Cyber Snoop

Breaking News – New Chapter Two for

 “Serial Doesn’t Start with a C”

How Maddy and Patty came to be known as “The Twins”

I was patrolling one of my favorite locations around noon today.  It‘s in the old part of the city, still, the most desired location to live in or been seen in for the trendy and young professionals.  I liked it because there were a number of bistros with outside seating, which also meant lots of young women. Most of them were more than happy to give a devilishly good-looking cat some loving, along with the occasional offering of food.

I slipped through the bars of the railing, not the least bit interested in the sparrows.  I had spotted my target for now and was hoping that I was in for a treat, and maybe even a good story.  I looked around just to make sure, but I couldn’t see either Jas or Street, so they must be home with Jim.  That’s okay by me, I’ll just have to suffer through getting all of the attention from three beautiful redheads. 

I worked my way through the maze of legs, and gently rubbed against Maggie’s leg. I felt her hand slip under my tummy, and as I let her lift me into her lap, I heard her say, “Girls, this is Trapper, he is Street-Fighter’s boy, and lives with our author. “

“Ohh he’s so cute.” Maddy quickly looked around and added, “I don’t see the author anywhere, does this guy come here on his own?”

“Yeah, he does, since they live just around the corner. Oh, and careful what you say, Trapper has his own by-line on our series blog. “

Patty reached across and patted my head, “So you are Trapper the Cyber Snoop?”

My answer was to lift mY head so that she could scratch me under my chin.  While at the same time I settled into Maggie’s lap and thought. You girls just talk, I’ll find a story in here somewhere. And what a story I got.

Maggie – “Girls did you get any more grief from that person that thought you were breaking the law?”

Maddy – “Thankfully no Maggie we didn’t. “

Patty – “They were satisfied after they read the letter the author sent them.”

Maddy – “Maggie thanks for getting my mother and the author back in touch. I understand she told him the full story, of how we came to be known as “The Twins”, even though we’re not related in any way.”

Maggie – “Glad I could help. You were such a great help in Malice, and from what I have heard, we are going to have some fun in book five as well.”

Patty – “Maggie, do you know how much of the story the author added to Chapter Two in Serial?”

Maggie – “Girls, he basically wrote a new Chapter Two, from the point where Mrs. Carson begins to tell me about you two girls.  It is really quite a story, and I think that the readers will like the change.  It is a touching story, and nobody will think that you are breaking the law now when they read the book.”

Maddy – “He didn’t change our characters’ or personalities did he?.”

Maggie – “Not at all, you’re still the same two girls that are so tightly bonded, that it would take a bomb to separate you. Plus, you’re both zany and crazy.”

Maddy/Patty (In Unison) – “Great, because that is exactly who we are.”

Trapper – Ah, now that was a very comfortable and profitable lunch. Oh, and I also learned that whatever you buy or read on Amazon Kindle, has the new chapter two in it, and the Paperback should be available today.  (The two bites of poached salmon that I had didn’t hurt either.)

Trapper - The Cyber Snoop - The Boss Needs Help...

Trapper, I need your help with something buddy.”

“Sure thing boss, all you have to do is ask.”

“Book 4 of the Jasper, Street-Fighter, and Me series has not taken off as I expected it to.  You know that it was a great big “fupah” by the group of us involved in selecting the title settled on M is for Malice.  Two of the three of us had never read any books by Sue Grafton, and I was completely unaware of her Alphabet Series.  The third member of the group simply forgot about that book.”

“I can’t argue with you there boss. So adding the “Revised Edition” to the title hasn’t really helped then.”

“No not really, I was checking on Amazon yesterday, and when I brought up the series, and then looked at M is for Malice, I saw that the only other book that people have looked at was Sue Grafton’s M is for Malice.  I had originally thought that the association might help me out, but I think that it has gone the other way.” Link to book on Amazon 

“So, are you thinking of changing the title to the book … Isn’t that a bit risky?”

“It does have its risks Trapper, but I am considering it.  My problem is that the letter “M” and the malice felt towards Maggie are central to the story.  I have a couple of ideas running around in my head.  What do you think? (“Malice Always Starts with M”) (Malice + M’s = Murder) (Malice & Murder both begin with M).”

“Damn Boss, I like all three of them. The first one ties into book 3 as does the story, and if you put Malice along with those M’s it definitely equals both murder and attempted murder.  There is no arguing with the logic of the last title. Hey, I just got an idea; let me put this out onto the web, with my Trapper the Cyber Snoop by-line.  Maybe we will get some votes one way or the other.”

“Go for it, Trapper!...”

Hey Gang, How Do You Like My New Cubicle in the office

Trapper - The Cyber Snoop - Part 2 of the Interview

TRAPPER - The Cyber Snoop

Trapper - The Cyber Snoop

More of my Interview with Author, Richard Nurse, (aka, Dad) the creator of the Jasper, Street-Fighter, and Me series.

"Jasper, Street-Fighter, and Me" series

Trapper – I’ve heard people say that you never have any conflict or disagreements in any relationships that you put into a tales.  Some say that that isn’t natural, or realistic.

Dad – Trapper, you live under the same roof with me.  How often do you hear your mom and I argue? We have been married almost fifty years, and you don’t reach that mark with constant arguing or bickering. There is enough antagonism in this world without bringing it into the home. We don’t always agree on everything, but instead of fighting about it, we talk about it and work things out before it becomes an overblown issue.  We both grew up in houses that worked the same way, so it is what we knew.  The foundation of a marriage, or any relationship for that matter, is friendship and communication, and trust, blended with a lot of sharing and give and take. No one is always right; there are many compromises made throughout the length of the relationship for any relationship work.  

Trapper – So that is why, whether it is a mystery series or a romantic story, everyone gets along.

Dad – Yes, it is Trapper. I guess some might think that it is a fantasy world, but I’m pretty sure you mom would frown upon me going out and doing field research.  Besides, my stories border on fantasy anyway. I mean how many other cats do you personally know that can mentally talk to a dog, or with their humans for that matter. Heck, how many humans do you think that there are like Maggie and Jim? Or dog and cat partners light Jasper and Street-Fighter. 

Trapper – But there make believe character’s, well except for my dad, Street-Fighter, you could have them behave any way you want them to.

Dad – You’re right little buddy, but your dad was a special cat, so I had to make him a special cat in the series. I mean how much more special can a cat be than to be one that has a dog for a best friend. Plus, being able to talk with him, and with his humans.  The rest of the character’s in the series, are pretty average, well except for the SarMajor. The cases they solve are intense and exciting enough, without adding in a bunch of extra tension or arguing between our team of four.  A team has to work together to work effectively and efficiently, and that brings me back to; friendship, communications, and trust.

Trapper – Thanks, Dad, I guess that is why of the seven of us cats live together without one of us having so much as a nicked ear.

Trapper the Cyber Snoop - New Interview

Trapper the Cyber Snoop

An Interview with Author Richard Nurse

How did you Decide on the Breed for Jasper?

Hi, Trapper the Cyber Snoop here.

I sat down with my human today, author Richard Nurse, the creator of the “Jasper, Street-Fighter, and Me” series.  Actually is was like most days where I curl up on him, he pets me, I purr, and both of us have been known to fall asleep.  However today was different, I wanted to know why when he started writing the series, why he chose for Jasper to be a Border Collie and not a German Sheppard, like the majority of military working dogs are.

Trapper – What was behind your choice of the breed for Jasper when you started writing the series?

Mr. Nurse (Dad) – I wanted a breed of dog that was intelligent, loyal, known for having an above average sense of smell, the ability to detect a safe route, and highly protective, yet social also.

Trapper – How much did the fact that Border Collies have the highest rating for learning vocabulary, especially now that you have established the mental link between the members of the team?

Dad – When I began the series, I had no idea that the ability to communicate mentally was going to develop as the series progress.  I felt the ability that a Border Collie possesses for understanding speech would be very beneficial for a military working dog, especially one that specialized in sniffing out IEDs and then us his herding ability to lead the unit safely around it.

Trapper – Is there another reason you chose a collie breed over a shepherd or retriever?

Dad – Trapper, when I was young, there were three dogs on TV that we all loved Rin Tin Tin, a German Shepherd, Ole Yeller, a yellow lab, and Lassie, a standard Collie.  I loved them all, but Lassie was so smart and could do almost anything. Besides my Uncle, Ed and his family had a Collie named Yosemite, or Yosie for short.

Trapper – Okay, back to Jasper, when Bob trained Jasper for Maggie, was he trained as a bomb-sniffing dog or a police dog since Maggie is also and MP.

Dad – He started out being trained as a search and rescue dog, and then his incredible sense of smell, the one which allows him to detect smells that don’t belong.  That led to Jasper being trained to detectives explosives, and since Maggie was an MP, he needed to be prepared to act as a police dog also.  Another reason why I selected the Border Collie, they love to work, and they love a challenge.

Trapper – Thanks, Dad. Is it nap time now?

Dad – Sounds like an excellent idea to me.  Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Trapper the Cyber Snoop - Early concept for Episode 6

Trapper the Cyber Snoop

Here with another Scoop

I was helping the boss with his writing this afternoon, by laying in his lap and watching.  I like what he wrote, so he said that I could put it out under my name.

  

It sure looks like there will be a book 6 in the series

"Jasper, Street-Fighter, and Me" 

Episode 6 - Concept

It felt funny to me to be running with Jasper and Street-Fighter and without Jim at our side.  Jim had been staying at his dad’s house for the last two days.  His father had had his right knee replaced, and had been released from the rehab center.  Jim and I had re-arraigned his dad’s house so that he didn’t have to use the second floor for any reason, but Jim wanted to be there for a couple of days to make sure that his dad was going to be good and not try to go upstairs. 

I had decided today to run at the city’s running park, where I had run with Jasper and Street-Fighter on many occasions. Jasper was running at my side, and Street-Fighter was riding in his new backpack, with his head out of the bag, and watching the world go-by.  We had already made the turn at the 5-K point and were just about back to the parking lot when Jasper let out a sharp warning bark.  I quickly looked for any sign of danger, but the only person I saw was the young man who had just run past us on the outbound side of the trail.  I kept my eye on him, but he never looked back towards me, and just appeared to be running and listing to music on the headphone he was wearing.

Jasper had only let out a single bark and had not slowed or changed his pace.  Even though no one else was within earshot, I mentally asked Jasper, “Why the alert bark Jasper?”

“Bad smell, I smelled explosives.”

“On the ground; or somebody on the trail?”

“No, the smell came from the runner that just went by.”

I let my head swing to the left and looked behind me at the runner that had gone past. He was still running at a normal joggers pace, and not looking around at all.  There was nothing to indicate that he was carrying any type of explosive device on him since he was just wearing a tee shirt and shorts.  I let it go, considering that, he might be a contractor that uses explosives as a part of his job, and continued towards the cut-off on the trail to where the truck was parked.

Once we got to the truck, I let Jasper and Street-Fighter free. As usual, they headed for the tree line to take care of nature’s calling, while I did my normal cool down lap around the lap of the parking lot. I was about half way when I heard Jasper let out a sharp warning bark once again. I looked towards where they should be and saw Jasper with Street-Fighter by his side, close to an unmarked pick-up truck.

I didn’t even have to ask, as I heard Jasper tell me, “Same smell as on the trail, no bomb, just residue. Street is going to walk under the truck, just to make sure.”

Before I could say no, I saw Street-Fighter, drop his tail into a submissive position and walk under the back bumper of the truck.  I didn’t hear any exchange from either Jasper or Street-Fighter as he made his inspection of the bottom of the truck until he emerged from under the front of the truck, “Bottom is clear, no wires, no flashing lights, no single light, noting taped.”

As I walked over to the truck, I couldn’t help but say, “You two have been busy, when did you develop this?” 

Street-Fighter was the one to answer, “After you thought Jeep, might be booby trapped that night on the trail.”

“Tell me Street-Fighter, how do you tell if something is attached to the bottom of a vehicle, that is not supposed to be there?”

“Mom, don’t forget I was a street cat before I found you and Jasper.  I spent a lot of time under cars and trucks. Good place to get out of the sun or the rain, or find warmth in the winter.  They all look pretty much the same from the bottom. I look for something different, something with a light, or something with silver tape.”

“How often do either of you get to check out the bottom of vehicles.”

I had gotten to know the sounds that they made when they thought something was funny, and I heard it from both of them in my head. Then it dawned on me, we have three vehicles at the house, The Truck, which we were using today, my 325i and Jim’s Yukon, at which point I heard Street-Fighter’s voice in my head. “She’s seen the light, Jas.”  I bit my tongue, as I memorized the plate number, and told the boys that I would call Jim and have him run the plate.  “Now, let’s get you both back in The Truck before somebody complains about you being off of your leashes.”

I heard their laugh sound again, and then Jasper telling Street-Fighter, “They wouldn’t complain about us, were famous, besides everybody loves us.” 

“Almost everybody Jas. the bad guys, now they don’t like us at all. Hey, you think we might have just found our next case?”

“Could be Street, we’ll have to wait until Jim runs the plate for mommy.  Like she said, it might just be a contractor that uses explosives, it’s not a strong smell, but it is there.”

“I’m betting that we have Jas. That truck was so clean underneath; it almost looked new, or just washed man.”

©February 11, 2017

Richard Nurse

Kindle Countdown Deal - "A Diamond in the Ruff"

Kindle Countdown Deal

"A Diamond in the Ruff"

Book 2 

"Jasper, Street-Fighter, and Me" 

 February 7th - 14th

Starting as low as $0.99

Don't miss out on the great opportunity!

Trapper the Cyber Snoop - Sneak Peek

Trapper the Cyber Snoop

Here with a Sneak Peek

First Peek at the Cover 

for Book 5 in the series

Jasper, Street-Fighter, and Me 

Another great cover by Paul Potiki