Q&A: Codi Schneider, Author of ‘Cold Snap’
Cold Snap is a witty, engaging tale of kindness, adventure, and courage. Perfect for fans of The Art of Racing in the Rain, Cold Snap is a reminder that no matter how small you are, little acts of kindness can make a big difference, all told through the whiskers of a cat.
We chat with author Codi Schneider about her debut novel Cold Snap, as well as writing, book recommendations, and more.
A sweet and often amusing animal-centered whodunit
Schneider’s clever tale opens with feline Bijou Bonanno discovering a lifeless body lying by the river. The usually feisty cat is stunned, as she immediately recognizes the face of the deceased; readers, however, don’t learn the victim’s identity until well into the novel. After this initial discovery, the story jumps back two months, recounting events leading up to the dastardly deed. Bijou, who takes her “Viking” heritage quite seriously, is an entertaining narrator, and within a few pages she’ll have readers chuckling...
5 Star Book Review: Cold Snap: A Viking Cat Mystery
Cold Snap is a steady stream of humor, suspense, and amazing antics of Bijou the Viking cat. This novel is refreshing as you never know what Bijou will do next or what other animal she will enlist as her accomplice. The author keeps you entertained with the drama animals come up with while the humans fall in love, start a business, and solve a crime. This novel was a delight to read...
Meet Codi Schneider, Author of Cold Snap
Codi Schneider’s debut novel, Cold Snap, is a funny, witty, and fierce installation in the cozy mystery genre. Led by its feisty Norwegian Forest cat protagonist Bijou, whose ancestors were Viking longship mousers, the novel explores the small village of Grey Birch, CO and the drama surrounding it when a newcomer turns a former firehouse into a bakery. On the night of the bakery’s grand opening, a murder/dognapping thrusts Bijou into the role of detective, forcing her to call upon the might of all her Viking ancestry to solve the mystery and keep her clan safe.
Interview with Codi Schneider
I love mysteries with animals as sleuths, so I was delighted to speak to debut author Codi Schneider about her book Cold Snap. It’s the first in a series about a cat named Bijou and her human Spencer Bonanno, who runs the Fox Burrow Pet Inn in their little town of Gray Birch in the Colorado mountains. Bijou is very proud of her Viking cat heritage and doesn’t hesitate to investigate when a citizen of the town is found dead near the empty collar of a dog he had been walking.
Codi and I talked about spoiling pets (both fictional and non), Vikings, and what Bijou might be up to next.
4 Myths About Writing Animal Characters
Author Codi Schneider debunks four myths about writing animal characters, including that audiences won't connect with animal characters and that they're only for children's books.
6 Cozy Mysteries Told From a Cat's Purr-Spective
In these series, cats are the real sleuths, and humans are just there to do their bidding - by Codi Schneider