Mysterious Monday!

 

Could Your Dog Be a Sleuth?

by Sheila Boneham

There's something of a tradition among authors to participate in raffles or silent auctions in which the prize is a guest role or use of a person's name for a character in a book. Often these contests take place live at conferences or other events, and proceeds often go to scholarships or to support health or social causes.

 

These dogs are waiting patiently for the raffle drawings!

 

This spring I've put a twist on the tradition, teaming up with two organizations that work to benefit canine health. The winner of each of the two raffles will win a role in my second "Animals in Focus" mystery, not for him or herself but for a dog - or maybe a cat or a parrot or.... (We have at least one cat in the running because, you know, dogs are NOT all that!)  And you can buy your tickets on line - we have entries from as far away as Australia! How cool is that?

 

 

Animals in Focus

My new series features Janet MacPhail, a 50-something animal photographer, her Australian Shepherd Jay, and her orange tabby Leo.

Some of the other series regulars include

• Janet's mom, who is having some cognitive problems. She often doesn't recognize her own kids, but she remembers the Latin names for every plant in the garden. In the world, maybe!
• Tom Saunders, an athropology professor who scares the bejeepers out of Janet. Sort of.
• Goldie Sunshine, Janet's quirky neighbor.

And a host of other people and, of course, dogs, cats, and other critters.

The Books

The first book, Drop Dead on Recall, will be out in October 2012. The second book, tentatively called The Money Bird, is scheduled for October 2013, and the third for October 2014. (You can learn more about the books at http://www.sheilaboneham.com/fiction.html .) In the meantime, you can support canine health and enter to win your dog (or cat! or...) a cameo role in The Money Bird . You can enter someone else's pet, too - wouldn't a chance at a literary appearance make a great gift? (Your mom has a dog, right?)

 

The Raffles and the Causes

The two groups that I've teamed up with work for healthy dogs in different ways.

Canine Health Events is a diverse gathering of dog lovers from across the country who are dedicated to improving the lives and health of dogs. Using normal dog events, we seek to raise money for canine health research both through entry fees and additional fund-raisers, such as raffles, auctions and sponsorships.
http://www.caninehealthevents.org/CHEBookCameo.htm

LABMED is an Internet-based non-profit organization created to distribute financial aid to injured or ill rescues around the country, giving them a second chance at adoption and love from a permanent family. Since The Money Bird spotlights retriever training, and since character Tom Saunders has a Lab, LABMED was a natural choice.
http://www.labmed.org/book.html

This guy is a dead ringer for Drake, lead Labrador in Drop Dead on Recall.

All proceeds go directly to support which ever cause (or causes!) you choose. How can you lose? (Psst - pass it on. Your dog will be proud of you.)

Please come back for Writing on Wednesday - my guest C.J. West is blogging about The Writing Life.