Lillian Jackson Braun is the author of the whimsical series of novels “The Cat Who.” She lives in North Carolina with her husband Earl Bettinger and their two cats. Braun claims her cats have never engaged in some of the activities so prevalent in her novels.
Her stories center around a retired crime reporter, Jim Qwilleran, his very smart, mystery solving Siamese cat Koko, and a loving mischievous Siamese called YumYum. While Koko is putting all his feline abilities to work to solve the crime of the day, YumYum is searching out and hiding every shiny object she can find.
The stories take place in a town called Pickax, which is located in Moose County and is “400 miles north of everywhere.” People believe that Braun is writing about the Upper Peninsular of Michigan, where she lived for many years.
Braun worked for the Detroit Free Press for 29 years as the editor of the “Good Living” section. She began sending sports poetry to the Detroit News while she was still a teenager. Before going to work for the Detroit Free Press, Braun wrote advertising copy for local department stores.
Lillian Jackson Braun has lived a quiet life away from publicity, so very little is known about her. She only finally revealed her age in an interview with the Detroit Press in 2006. She was born in 1913. She is 95 years old and still writing wonderful novels for all to enjoy for a good number of years to come.
