An interview with Bambino

1) Welcome, Bambino! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer a few questions for us today! Could you start out my telling us a little about yourself and how you came to live at Rudy's Rides?

Cleveland and I belonged to Servant Mavis who lived in one of the big cottages on Mackinac Island. Cottages here are not like the kind that little-red-riding-hood’s grandma lives in, they are cottages as in big houses, many floors, many porches and where the Rockefellers swill brandy with their cronies…but I digress.

Servant Mavis just couldn’t take the Mackinac cold any longer and decided she wanted to finish her golden years in the golden sun and she moved to Arizona. Word has it she strips naked from time and when the cops arrest her nsisting she’s getting her vitamin D that she’s been deprived of all these year.

Servant Mavis gave Cleveland and me to Rudy to train…and we are doing a pretty good job of it. It’s tuna for breakfast on Mondays and Fridays.

2) I understand you hang out in the side pocket of a pool table...that can't be very comfortable???

I’m little and no one bothers me and it gives me a chance to check out the other pool players and learn their moves. You should see me with a cue in my paw.

3) What is a typical day like for you?

Bambino’s off playing with Evie so it’s me Cleveland here. I keep telling Bambino he needs to knock that stuff off. He needs to dole out the fun and only respond when there are treats involved. Life is pretty darn good as long as Evie and Rudy know who rules the roost…that would be me and Bambino. We have delish food and a place by the window to watch birds and the boats out in the harbor and we sleep on Evie’s back to keep ourselves warm. 

4) What's life like on Mackinac Island?

Cleveland and I live in Rudy’s, a bike shop here on the island. Mackinac Island is one of those places stuck in time. Fact is it’s like the 1800s with no cars. Everything is horses and bikes. And there are parades for the tourists we call fudgies ‘caue they eat so much fudge.  Oink! The parades have bands and music and famous people like George Washington, Betsy Ross…you get the picture. Well, Rudy takes on the character of Mark Twain and Twain had cats named Cleveland and Bambino.  Of course the two of us are much cuter than the original Cleveland and Bambino.

5) Tell us about the new book series you star in, the Cycle Path Mysteries...

Here’s the 411 on Evie and what’s going on. To boost her chances for a promotion, Evie helps her boss’ dad with his cycle shop and Cleveland and I, of course. The good idea turns bad when dad winds up prime suspect in a murder. To save her job Evie takes over the failing shop though she’s never ridden a bike, finding a killer though she can’t find her keys in her purse and discovering why someone is out to frame Dad. Can Chicago Evie survive life on Mackinac Island without her Honda, being on an eight-mile chunk of land with horses, carriages, bikes, fudge-eating tourists, the resident sage writing her eulogy and a killer who wants her dead? Well of course she can…she has Cleveland and me around. It doesn’t get better than that.

6) Could you tell us about the other 4-legged characters in the book?

Cleveland and I hiss at the cat across the street when he comes over and tries to get Evie outside to pet him. Hey, dude, she’s ours, get lost. Got it. Cleveland and I are very protective. We got it pretty good here until Evie starts talking that we need a job stuff. Like that’s going to happen. Get real.

This place is crazy with horses. You see there are no cars on the island so everything is done with horsepower…literally. And I’m not taking ordinary horses these guys are the Budweiser variety on steroids. They are huge so we stay out of their way.

And there are the dogs, lots of dogs. We just met a new one named Meatball ‘cause he’s shaped like one. He got too close to one of those horse guys and Evie had to save his sorry furry butt.

7) I understand that your character is based upon Mark Twain's cat Bambino. What do you know about him?

He wrote books, drank good whiskey smoked cigars spouted things like It’s not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog. He spent time on the island for while and he was a pretty smart dude and of course he had cats…lots of cats. What a great guy.

8) Do you get involved in solving any mysteries in the series, and do you know what your upcoming adventures are going to be?

Well in Braking for Bodies, Rudy’s moved out and getting married and he’s left Cleveland and me with Evie. We taught Rudy how to play euchre and he got pretty good at it and now we’re going to teach Evie a thing or two about solving crimes…we have to. Another murder is just around the corner and Evie’s right in the middle of things again. This time she needs protection and Cleveland and I are up for the task if there’s enough tuna in it for us of course.