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  1 package (6 oz.) cream cheese

  Mix the ingredients together until smooth, frost the cooled pupcakes, and serve.

  Caro’s Homemade Kitty Cookies

  This recipe uses shredded chicken (don’t tell Walter) but you can use beef or fish, if your cat prefers it.

  You’ll need the following ingredients:

  1-1/2 cups of cooked chicken, shredded into small pieces

  1 cup of whole wheat flour

  1/2 cup of chicken broth

  1/3 cup of cornmeal

  1 teaspoon of margarine, softened

  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

  Mix the chicken, margarine, and chicken broth in a bowl. Then add the cornmeal and flour.

  Knead the dough into a ball and roll it out to about 1/4 inch in thickness.

  Cut into one inch pieces and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes and let cool.

  This recipe makes 18-24 cookies.

  Remember, these treats contain no preservatives and so unlike commercial treats, you need to make sure to store them with that in mind.

  Caro recommends refrigerating unused portions and labeling them with the date they were made.

  Acknowledgements

  We knew we were out of our league after a marathon night of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Let’s be honest here, what do two gals from Iowa know about drag queens? The Internet is an amazing tool, with a plethora of information at our fingertips, but every writer knows the best research is what you learn in person. We did our best to represent the drag queen community with humor and respect, and we hope that shows.

  Jason W, thank you for explaining drag terminology, loaning us books we’d have never found on our own, and encouraging (okay, dragging,) us to visit Des Moines’ very own drag show at The Garden. It was a night we’ll never forget, and we have the photos to prove it. We hope we captured the fun we experienced that night.

  To the ladies at The Garden who performed the night of our visit, thank you for a fabulous show. We sang, cheered, danced and handed over a few dollar bills. You were the muse for our “ladies.”

  A big Thank you to our critique group, who were more than willing to brainstorm drag queen names, some of which will never be spoken again.

  Karen M, thank you for sharing your zany Grandma Maxine stories. May your Maxine live forever in Betty.

  Thank you to the amazing team at Bell Bridge Books, who continues to support and encourage us, even when we come up with crazy ideas like Pampered Pet Bingo. We love working with you!

  As always, to our families, Thank you will never be enough. We love you.

  And lastly, to our readers. You humble us with your enthusiasm for more Caro and Mel stories. It’s because of you that we get to do what we love. Thank you. We love hearing from you and we love your pet stories. Keep them coming!

  —Mary Lee and Anita, aka Sparkle Abbey

  www.SparkleAbbey.com

  About The Authors

  Sparkle Abbey is the pseudonym of two mystery authors (Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter). They are friends and neighbors as well as co-writers of the Pampered Pets Mystery Series. The pen name was created by combining the names of their rescue pets—Sparkle (Mary Lee’s cat) and Abbey (Anita’s dog). They reside in central Iowa, but if they could write anywhere, you would find them on the beach with their laptops and depending on the time of day, with either an iced tea or a margarita.

  Mary Lee

  Mary Lee Salsbury Woods is the “Sparkle” half of Sparkle Abbey. She is past-president of Sisters in Crime—Iowa and a member of Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Kiss of Death, the RWA Mystery Suspense chapter, Sisters in Crime, and the SinC internet group Guppies.

  Prior to publishing the Pampered Pet Mystery series with Bell Bridge Books, Mary Lee won first place in the Daphne du Maurier contest, sponsored by the Kiss of Death chapter of RWA, and was a finalist in Murder in the Grove’s mystery contest, as well as Killer Nashville’s Claymore Dagger contest.

  Mary Lee is an avid reader and supporter of public libraries. She lives in Central Iowa with her husband, Tim, and Sparkle the rescue cat namesake of Sparkle Abbey. In her day job she is the non-techie in the IT Department. Any spare time she spends reading and enjoying her sons and daughter-in-laws, and four grandchildren.

  Anita

  Anita Carter is the “Abbey” half of Sparkle Abbey. She is a member of Sisters in Crime—Iowa, and a member of Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Kiss of Death, the RWA Mystery Suspense chapter, and Sisters in Crime.

  She grew up reading Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew and the Margo Mystery series by Jerry B Jenkins (years before his popular Left Behind Series.) Her family is grateful all the years of “fending for yourself” dinners of spaghetti and frozen pizza have finally paid off, even though they haven’t exactly stopped.

  In Anita’s day job, she works for a staffing company. She also lives in Central Iowa with her husband and four children, son-in-law, grandchild and two rescue dogs, Chewy and Sophie.