Cathy Ace's "The Corpse with the Ruby Lips"

Cathy Ace is the author of the Bony Blithe Award-winning Cait Morgan Mysteries, featuring a Welsh Canadian criminal psychologist who sleuths her way around the world, as well as the WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries starring four female private investigators running their business at a stately home in Wales. Born and raised in Wales, Ace now lives in British Columbia, not far from Vancouver.

Her latest release is the eighth book in the Cait Morgan Mysteries series, The Corpse with the Ruby Lips. Set in modern-day Budapest, it pits Cait’s intellect against a 40 year-old cold case murder, and her nerves against a series of suspicious occurrences which endanger one of her Hungarian students – who who hails from a truly bizarre family that’s been touched by tragedy too many times – and, eventually, her own life.

Here Ace dreamcasts an adaptation of The Corpse with the Ruby Lips:

When I began writing the character of Cait Morgan I have to admit I didn’t model her on any Hollywood actresses, because I wanted her to be a “real-sized” middle-aged woman…and there aren’t a lot of them on our screens. Cait was born and raised in Wales and is thoroughly Welsh in every respect, despite the fact she’s been living in Canada for more than a decade. I’ve never heard a convincing Welsh accent from a non-Welsh person, so I’m going to hope Catherine Zeta Jones (who’s from the same place in Wales as me – and Cait – the wonderful city of Swansea) is prepared to pile on the pounds (Cait’s 180lbs – give or take ten pounds or so) and take the part. Hey - with all that extra weight and her fabulous acting abilities she might stand a chance of winning another Oscar!

Casting Bud Anderson is an easier job, because I did, in fact, have an actor’s face in mind when I was writing the first, and subsequent, books. When Canadian actor Paul Gross played RCMP Constable Benton Fraser in Due South he won a lot of hearts – mine included. He was certainly on my mind when I created the character of Bud Anderson – the controlled, intelligent retired RCMP and Vancouver Police officer who begins the series as Cait’s boss, and is now her husband. Luckily, the actor’s age is now at the sweet spot for the character as I have written him, and he’d be more than capable of portraying Bud’s calm, unflappable character in the face of Cait’s more judgmental, sharp-tongued response to situations.

Visit Cathy Ace's website, Facebook page, and Twitter perch.

--Marshal Zeringue