There’s a special kind of magic in writing stories for children. The mysteries don’t need to be sprawling or overly complicated; the worlds don’t need to be vast or glittering. What matters most is the feeling—the way a story makes a child lean in closer, turn the page faster, or hug the book tighter because they can’t wait to see what happens next.
When I began writing Boris Katloff and the Whispering Clock, the second book in my Spooky Sphynx Mysteries series, I wasn’t just creating another ghost story. I was writing to keep a memory alive. The series exists because of one very real, very special cat: Boris. My Boris.
Honoring Boris’s Memory
Boris was a Sphynx cat with an outsized personality. He was clever, mischievous, affectionate, and endlessly curious—the kind of cat who could walk into a room and make it feel different, alive, as though you were part of some secret adventure he had already mapped out.
When Boris passed away, I knew I wanted to honor him. The ache of losing a pet is something every animal lover understands; they take up so much space in our hearts and our homes, and when they’re gone, there’s a silence that feels too heavy.
For me, writing became a way to fill that silence with something meaningful. I decided that Boris’s adventures weren’t over—they just needed a new page. And so, The Spooky Sphynx Mysteries were born.
In this series, Boris Katloff is not just a cat. He’s a fearless detective, a sensitive soul who can sense spirits, and a steadfast friend who refuses to turn away from mysteries that others might be too frightened to face. Through him, my Boris lives on—curious, brave, and always ready to help.
From the Haunted Mill to the Whispering Clock
The first book in the series, Boris Katloff and the Haunted Mill, introduced readers to Boris and his reluctant sidekick Whiskers, a tabby cat who would really prefer to stay out of spooky situations. Together, they solved the mystery of a ghostly baker searching for his missing recipe.
When I sat down to write the second book, I wanted to deepen the mystery and expand the world. Ghosts, after all, are not just about chills and scares—they’re about memory, unfinished business, and the stories we carry forward.
That’s how The Whispering Clock began.
This time, the setting is an old clock tower in Bluebell Harbor, a place that has been silent for decades—until, one night, its bells suddenly chime at midnight. For Boris, that’s all the invitation he needs to investigate. For Whiskers, it’s yet another reason to sigh, complain, and ultimately tag along (because even the most reluctant friends can’t walk away when they’re truly needed).
Inside the tower, they discover not just gears and shadows but the ghost of a clockmaker, trapped in time and memory. What follows is a story about riddles, lost letters, and the power of remembering what matters most.
The Joys of Building a Mystery for Children
Writing a mystery for children is like building a puzzle where every piece needs to delight. You want just enough spookiness to make them shiver—but not so much that it keeps them awake at night. You want clever riddles and clues that reward their attention, but also characters they can love enough to follow anywhere.
For me, the joy comes in layering these pieces. In The Whispering Clock, the mystery isn’t just about a tower that won’t stay quiet. It’s about memory: the things we carry, the things we forget, and the things that refuse to let go. Children understand these ideas more than we sometimes realize. They know what it feels like to miss someone, to hold onto a memory, to wonder if something important might be lost forever.
And yet, children also approach the unknown with curiosity. Where an adult might feel only fear, a child often feels wonder. That’s exactly the spirit Boris embodies—he’s cautious, yes, but he leads with curiosity and care. And he’s always willing to look a little closer at what others might turn away from.
Writing Boris and Whiskers
One of my greatest joys is writing the relationship between Boris and Whiskers. Boris is confident, intuitive, and unafraid of ghosts. Whiskers is skeptical, practical, and would much rather stay home by the fire.
But together? They balance each other perfectly.
Whiskers’s dry humor keeps Boris grounded. Boris’s bravery nudges Whiskers forward. And, as readers, we get to see how even the most reluctant of cats can grow braver when a friend is beside them. Their banter adds humor to the spookiness, and their loyalty adds heart to the adventure.
I often imagine what my Boris would think of Whiskers. I think he’d find her exasperating, but secretly endearing. (And I suspect Whiskers would never admit how much she admires Boris, but she’d follow him into every dark corridor anyway.)
A Story for Young Readers—and for Me
Writing The Whispering Clock wasn’t just about creating a mystery for children ages 7–12. It was also about creating something for myself.
There’s healing in writing about memory and loss through the lens of a children’s story. I got to explore big emotions in a way that feels hopeful, gentle, and even fun. The tower in the story doesn’t just hold ghosts—it holds unfinished grief, unspoken words, and the weight of things forgotten. And, in the end, Boris and Whiskers help restore balance not by fighting or defeating, but by remembering and releasing.
That’s a lesson I needed, too.
Carrying Boris Forward
Every time I write Boris’s name, I smile. Every time I imagine him curling his tail around a clue or lifting his ears at a ghostly whisper, I feel closer to the cat I loved and lost.
The real Boris will never pad across my desk again. He won’t nudge my hand when I’ve been typing too long, or curl up in the sun while I scribble notes. But in these stories, he’s alive. He’s adventuring. He’s helping. And he’s still teaching me what it means to be brave.
That’s the greatest joy of all.
What Comes Next
Boris Katloff and the Whispering Clock will be available as an ebook on June 25, 2025, and the paperback will follow soon after. It’s the second book in the Spooky Sphynx Mysteries, but it can be enjoyed as a standalone adventure, too.
I hope children (and the grown-ups who read with them) will find the same joy in Boris’s adventures that I do in writing them. I hope they’ll laugh at Whiskers’s complaints, shiver at the ghostly clues, and feel a warm tug at their hearts when the final mystery is solved.
And most of all, I hope they’ll come to know Boris the way I knew him—curious, clever, and always ready to follow a mystery wherever it leads.
Because even though this story is fiction, the love behind it is very real.
Closing Thought
Writing this series is my way of saying: Boris mattered. His story isn’t over.
And if, through these books, children learn that even the spookiest mysteries can carry warmth, or that even reluctant heroes like Whiskers can grow brave, then Boris’s spirit has done exactly what it was always meant to do—make the world a little brighter, one pawprint at a time.
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