Ten Things You Might Not Know About Sheila Boneham's Animals in Focus Mysteries

It's been a busy couple of weeks here in Animals in Focus Mystery Land. This morning I learned that Drop Dead on Recall, the first book in the series, has won this year's Maxwell Award for Fiction from the Dog Writers Association of America. The Money Bird, book #2, came out last September and has garnered excellent reviews, and book #3, Catwalk, is scheduled to  be released September 2014. And book #4, tentatively titled Shepherd's Crook, is underway. 

With all this going on, it occurs to me that it might be fun to share a few tidbits about the books. (Don't worry if you haven't read them -- no spoilers here!). I ran this post a few months ago in a different context, so if it looks familiar, you haven't lost your mind. But you could pass it on to your friends! 

So here we go....

1. The people in the books are not real people. Yes, yes, you're sure that person belongs to your dog-training or cat-fanciers' club, but s/he doesn't. Really. (Do be nice to me, though....)
2. The animals in the books are as real as can be! Now, this is fiction, so no one dog or cat or bird in the book is exactly like any one real-life dog or cat or bird. But Jay, the "protagdog," and Leo, the "leading cat," and all the others never do anything that I haven't seen or heard of an animal doing.
3. Janet MacPhail, who tells the tales, never intended to be an amateur sleuth. She was perfectly happy photographing animals, landscapes, and occasionally people, and wrestling with the challenges of being 50-something. But then people started dying....
4. Janet's dog Jay is an Australian Shepherd. Yes, Aussies really are that energetic and smart. Really. 

   

   My muses -- Australian Shepherd Jay (1997-2012) and
   Labrador Retriever Lily (lying on my feet as I type)
   
   

5. There are lots of retrievers in The Money Bird (2013). Retrievers come in many flavors, as you can see in the book -- Labrador, Golden, Chesapeake Bay, Flat-coated, Curly-coated, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling. Besides the "official" retrievers, there are other breeds designed to collect game birds from water and land. 
6. Winning in obedience competition really can come down to half points, as it does in Drop Dead on Recall (2012), and some people are very serious about training and winning. But I've never heard of anyone actually committing murder at an obedience trial. Still....
7. Dogs do not have a corner on exciting sports like agility. Wait 'til you see what Leo, Janet's cat, is up to in Catwalk! (But you do have to wait until September 2014. Sorry.)                                   

   

   My handsome Leo, one of the inspirations for Leo
   in the series (along with George, Malcolm, Kitty, Mary,
   Jean-Luc,Snoopy, Annie, Fred, & Simon).

   >^..^<

8. You younger readers - listen up! People in their 50s, 60s, 70s + really do have lives, complete with hopes and dreams, and physical, mental, and emotional activities of all kinds. So pay attention to Janet and her friends and lovers. (Woops! Just one of the latter at the moment!) You might learn something. 
9. I made up the endangered parrot species in The Money Bird, but a lot of real-life birds and animals are at risk from trafficking, habitat destruction, and other factors. My hope is that the limited information in the book will encourage people to learn more, and behave accordingly. Fiction is more than entertainment.                                                           
   
   
10. When you buy my books from Pomegranate Books, I will gleefully autograph your copies of Drop Dead on Recall and The Money Bird, or my in-print nonfiction books, including Rescue Matters! How to Find, Foster, and Rehome Companion Animals (Alpine, 2009) for the reader of your choice. Click here to order now!

So there you have it. What else would you like to know? 

Drop Dead on Recall has won the Maxwell Award for Best Fiction Book in the 2012 Dog Writers of America Writing Competition, and was named one of the Ten Best Pet Books of 2012 by NBCPetside blog!

Sheila's books are are available in the usual places and forms -- paperback, ebooks, large print, and Audible. If your local bookseller doesn't have them in stock, they can order them, or you can find them online or HERE.

Ten Things You Might Not Know About Sheila Boneham's Animals in Focus Mysteries

As I wrap up Catwalk, Animals in Focus Mystery #3 (to be released September 2014), it occurs to me that it might be fun to share a few tidbits about the books. (Don't worry if you haven't read them -- no spoilers here!). So here we go....

1. The people in the books are not real people. Yes, yes, you're sure that person belongs to your dog-training or cat-fanciers' club, but s/he doesn't. Really. (Do be nice to me, though....)
2. The animals in the books are as real as can be! Now, this is fiction, so no one dog or cat or bird in the book is exactly like any one real-life dog or cat or bird. But Jay, the "protagdog," and Leo, the "leading cat," and all the others never do anything that I haven't seen or heard of an animal doing.
3. Janet MacPhail, who tells the tales, never intended to be an amateur sleuth. She was perfectly happy photographing animals, landscapes, and occasionally people, and wrestling with the challenges of being 50-something. But then people started dying....
4. Janet's dog Jay is an Australian Shepherd. Yes, Aussies really are that energetic and smart. Really. 

   

   My muses -- Australian Shepherd Jay (1997-2012) and
   Labrador Retriever Lily (lying on my feet as I type)
   
   

5. There are lots of retrievers in The Money Bird (2013). Retrievers come in many flavors, as you can see in the book -- Labrador, Golden, Chesapeake Bay, Flat-coated, Curly-coated, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling. Besides the "official" retrievers, there are other breeds designed to collect game birds from water and land. 
6. Winning in obedience competition really can come down to half points, as it does in Drop Dead on Recall (2012), and some people are very serious about training and winning. But I've never heard of anyone actually committing murder at an obedience trial. Still....
7. Dogs do not have a corner on exciting sports like agility. Wait 'til you see what Leo is up to in Catwalk! (But you do have to wait until September 2014. Sorry.)                                   

   

   Janet's cat, Leo, is an orange tabby like my own Leo and Malcolm.
   All the cats of my life have inspired fictional Leo's behaviors,
   including Kitty, shown here studying up.
   
   >^..^<

8. You younger readers - listen up! People in their 50s, 60s, 70s + really do have lives, complete with hopes and dreams, and physical, mental, and emotional activities of all kinds. So pay attention to Janet and her friends and lovers. (Woops! Just one of the latter at the moment!) You might learn something. 
9. I made up the endangered parrot species in The Money Bird, but a lot of real-life birds and animals are at risk from trafficking, habitat destruction, and other factors. My hope is that the limited information in the book will encourage people to learn more, and behave accordingly. Fiction is more than entertainment.                                                           

   

   Sunny at 12.5 (left) and Jay at almost 13.

10. When you buy my books from Pomegranate Books, I will gleefully autograph your copies of Drop Dead on Recall and The Money Bird, or my in-print nonfiction books, including Rescue Matters! How to Find, Foster, and Rehome Companion Animals (Alpine, 2009) for the reader of your choice. Click here to order now!

So there you have it. What else would you like to know? 

Drop Dead on Recall is a finalist for Best Fiction Book in the 2012 Dog Writers of America Writing Competition, and was named one of the Ten Best Pet Books of 2012 by NBCPetside blog!

Sheila's books are are available in the usual places and forms -- paperback, ebooks, large print, and Audible. If your local bookseller doesn't have them in stock, they can order them, or you can find them online or HERE.

Where In the World is Sheila Blogging Today? Part III

I've just wrapped up the third week of my blog tour celebrating release of The Money Bird, Animals in Focus Mystery #2, which is now available. First off, a BIG THANK YOU to Lori Caswell, who arranged this tour through her Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours. Lori, you have been terrific to work with, and I know how hard you work, to thank you again! Check out Great Escapes - all kinds of wonderful books and interesting authors  just waiting there for you!

Enormous thanks, too, to the blog owners who hosted me, reviewed my book, and otherwise helped me (and many other authors!) spread the word about the books. As a blogger myself, I understand the work involved, and am grateful for the opportunities. 

And now, my books....

The Money Bird rejoins animal photographer Janet MacPhail, her Australian Shepherd Jay, and her orange tabby Leo, who got their start as amateur sleuths last year in Drop Dead on Recall.  You can learn more about the books on my Mysteries Page. They are both available from your local bookseller and online in paperback, and ebook and Audible.com editions. (DropDead on Recall is also available in large print. If you would like an autographed copy of any of my books for yourself or to give as gifts, you can order one from Pomegranate Books.

 I'll be giving away three books! Check it out at the blogs listed below (click the blog titles - the links are live) or on Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours. Do it NOW!

Here are my stops this past week: 

• September 15 - Brooke Blogs - review - "The Money Bird was a great way to spend my Saturday…even if it meant frozen lasagna for dinner." 
• September 17 - The Self-Taught Cook - do not go to this site hungry! Yummy!
• September 18 - Escape with Dollycas Into a Good Book - review and my guest post about the animals in the mysteries. "[THE MONEY BIRD] is a very engaging story....It can be read as a stand alone but I suggest reading DROP DEAD ON RECALL first. Both stories will leave you barking for more!!" 
• September 19 - Musings and Ramblings - my guest post (with a little help from Janet!) on traveling safely and happily with pets. 
• September 20 - A Chick Who Reads - review - "This is definitely a must read book and a must read series to follow." - 5 Flowers - Superb!

And although this stop was not part of my Great Escapes Tour, I also visited Christy English's blog on the 17th to talk about the about the romance thread in my mysteries, whose main characters have passed the half-C mark. Because let's face it - love can be murder at any age!

Here's where the Great Escapes tour bus stopped the previous week:

• September 9 - Kaisy Daisy's Corner - short review and links to the giveaway, tour stops, and more
• September 10 - Melina's Book Blog - my thoughts on plotting the individual books in a series, and the series itself, plus a synopsis of The Money Bird and a review of the book.
• September 11 -  Read Your Writes - "Ten Facts About Janet MacPhail," the 50+ protagonist of the Animals in Focus mystery series, and a review here. How well do you know Janet?
• September 12 - readalot - review and links.

And here's where we were the week before that. 

• September 2 - Shelley's Book Case - interview about my background, my inspiration for this book, and a few other things, plus a short review
• September 3 - rantin' ravin' and reading - my take on balancing serious issues with fiction meant to entertain, plus a review by Kate Eileen Shannons, who says The Money Bird is "Very, very funny. The Animals in Focus Mystery series is going to be one to follow.  ♥♥♥♥♥"
• September 4 - A Blue Million Books - interview about the book's title, characters, and more, plus what I'm working on, what I read, and the five real people I'd like with me if I were stuck in a bookstore! You can read the first chaper of The Money Bird, too. 
• September 5 - Omnimystery - interview about my 50-something protagonist, Janet MacPhail, her Aussie Jay, and her orange tabby Leo, plus my writing process and my advice to aspiring authors. 
• September 6 - Mochas, Mysteries and More - why I made my protagonist a nature/animal photographer, as well as a review from Melissa, who says, "This is one of my very favorite animal-related cozy series on the market today."

You can keep up with new adventures by following my Facebook Page, Website, and Amazon Author Page. I hope to see you there! (Comments on the blogs are always welcome!)

My books are available in print & ebook formats from the usual sources, including Audible if you like to listen.  If you would like a personally autographed copy of any of my mysteries, or my nonfiction book Rescue Matters!, you can order here. 

Where In the World is Sheila Blogging Today? Part II

I've just wrapped up the second week of my blog tour celebrating release of The Money Bird, Animals in Focus Mystery #2, which is now available. 

The Money Bird rejoins animal photographer Janet MacPhail, her Australian Shepherd Jay, and her orange tabby Leo, who got their start as amateur sleuths last year in Drop Dead on Recall.  You can learn more about the books on my Mysteries Page. They are both available from your local bookseller and online in paperback and ebook editions. (DropDead on Recall is also available as an audio book from Audible.com and in large print. If you would like an autographed copy of any of my books for yourself or to give as a gift, you can order one from Pomegranate Books.

Before we get to the nitty gritty of my virtual tour, I'd like to thank Lori at Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours again for arranging these visits for me last week. Check out the other tours on her calendar, and her own blog, too, while you're at it. At the end of the tour, I'll be giving away three books! Check it out at the blogs listed below (click the blog titles - the links are live) or on Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.

Here's where the tour bus stopped this past week:

• September 9 - Kaisy Daisy's Corner - short review and links to the giveaway, tour stops, and more
• September 10 - Melina's Book Blog - my thoughts on plotting the individual books in a series, and the series itself, plus a synopsis of The Money Bird and a review of the book.
• September 11 -  Read Your Writes - "Ten Facts About Janet MacPhail," the 50+ protagonist of the Animals in Focus mystery series, and a review here. How well do you know Janet?
• September 12 - readalot - review and links.

And here's where we were the week before. 

• September 2 - Shelley's Book Case - interview about my background, my inspiration for this book, and a few other things, plus a short review
• September 3 - rantin' ravin' and reading - my take on balancing serious issues with fiction meant to entertain, plus a review by Kate Eileen Shannons, who says The Money Bird is "Very, very funny. The Animals in Focus Mystery series is going to be one to follow.  ♥♥♥♥♥"
• September 4 - A Blue Million Books - interview about the book's title, characters, and more, plus what I'm working on, what I read, and the five real people I'd like with me if I were stuck in a bookstore! You can read the first chaper of The Money Bird, too. 
• September 5 - Omnimystery - interview about my 50-something protagonist, Janet MacPhail, her Aussie Jay, and her orange tabby Leo, plus my writing process and my advice to aspiring authors. 
• September 6 - Mochas, Mysteries and More - why I made my protagonist a nature/animal photographer, as well as a review from Melissa, who says, "This is one of my very favorite animal-related cozy series on the market today."

You can keep up with new stops on the tour by following my Facebook Page, Website, and Amazon Author Page. I'll be doing a few other guest posts, too, that are not part of this tour, but little side trips. I hope to see you there! (Comments on the blogs are always welcome!)

My books are available in print & ebook formats from the usual sources. Drop Dead on Recall is available in audio format from Audible.com, with The Money Bird to follow soon. If you would like a personally autographed copy of any of my mysteries, or my nonfiction book Rescue Matters!, you can order here. 

A Synergy of Image, Text, and Dogs, Part 2

Dogs Days continue with part 2 of two posts about how texts and images featuring dogs have been combined since human beings began to do such things. You can find Part 1 here. Thanks for being here - comments welcome!  ~ Sheila

A Synergy of Image, Text, and Dogs, Part 2

by Sheila Webster Boneham

Medieval and Renaissance artists often depicted saints in the company of faithful dogs. Saint Roch (Rocco) is a case in point. Legend holds that Saint Roch was born into a wealthy family in 1295 but gave away his earthly possessions twenty years later when both his parents died, and soon became known for miraculous cures. When he himself became ill with an unspecified “plague,” he was banished from human society. A dog, it is said, found him dying in the woods, licked his wounds, and brought him bread. The healer was healed. As the patron of dogs and of people who love or work with them, Saint Roch is often portrayed with a dog at his side or licking his wounds. Even today his image holds power and appears on medals given in many traditional “Blessing” ceremonies. Originally meant to secure safety for hunters, especially riders following hounds, such Blessings are now commonly held for pets of all kinds in religious and secular ceremonies around the world, and in my experience, dogs are far better represented at such events than are other animals.


Again, though, darker aspects of humanity are frequently embodied in images of dogs and in language. The unflinching loyalty that makes dogs “faithful” in human eyes also makes them appear to some as cringing cowards. For stray and feral dogs, survival often depends on scrounging for food in garbage dumps and other unsavory places, and malnourished, parasite-ridden dogs have been used to symbolize depravity, cowardice, thievery, and other negative human traits. Some Medieval and Renaissance artists were obvious in their use of the dog as a negative symbol. Titian, for one, is said to have included toy dogs in many paintings of female nudes to symbolize female seductiveness and infidelity, and Flemish artists often used dogs to denote treachery and persecution. In modern American culture, these negative associations are primarily linguistic; calling a person a dog, bitch, son of a bitch, cur, or pup is rarely well received. Images of dogs used to provoke negative responses seem to involve specific breeds rather than dogs as a species, and which breeds are held in negative public regard changes over time. 

As secular works emerged during the Middle Ages, and as Europe drifted toward the Renaissance, interest grew in understanding the natural world. Books on animals appeared, usually with an emphasis on husbandry and hunting. The fourteenth century Livre de chasse (Book of the Hunt) by Gaston III, also known as Gaston Phoebus, is perhaps the most famous and most lavish of medieval hunting books. The work, which is “organized in four parts and written in a clear narrative voice” (“Gaston Phoebus”), covers a range of topics, from training and handling hunting dogs to their selection and care to methods and equipment for hunting various types of game. According to the Phebus Historical Foundation, it was a book ahead of its time, “present[ing] an impressive knowledge of the natural sciences—long before the age of modern empirical science—with detailed observations on the various animal species” (“Gaston Phoebus”). Like its counterparts today, Gaston’s Livre de chasse is illustrated with exquisitely detailed miniatures, and it is easy to imagine the book’s select few readers scrutinizing the dogs in the pictures while their own dogs slept at their sides.

From The Book of the Hunt by Gaston Phoebus. I love this
illustration - the images could be from a modern book on canine
care, or from someone's website or social media page!

Invention of the printing press in the mid-fifteenth century spurred a publishing surge. Although religious texts dominated early press publications in Europe, by the following century tales of strange places and creatures brought home by explorers had captured the popular imagination, and “scientific” bestiaries and herbals became ever more popular. Woodcuts were used for illustrations in early printed works, but during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, technological advances gave rise to better methods of printing illustrations. Eighteenth-century printers developed copperplate etching and engraving methods that further improved the quality and detail of printed images. 

Illustration from Robinson Crusoe,
1893 Czech edition

As books became affordable and literacy in Western countries increased, secular fiction and nonfiction books became more popular. It seems natural that our best friend the dog should appear in many of them, whether in a minor or major role. In fact, illustrations sometimes elevate dogs to larger roles than they enjoy in the texts of certain books. In Robinson Crusoe (originally published in 1719), for instance, Daniel Defoe barely mentions his hero’s dog, but illustrated editions of the book often include the dog in at least one image (Britton). Other classics such as Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz feature dogs as prominent if not central characters, and show them in cover and internal illustrations. Novels with dogs as central characters, including such classics as Beautiful Joe (1893) by Margaret Marshall Saunders and the Sunnybrook Collie books (1919-1940s) by Albert Payson Terhune, first appeared in the nineteenth century, and judging by the sixteen thousand titles listed under “Fiction and literature: dogs” on amazon.com, the genre remains alive and well.

Nonfiction books about dogs, both narrative and informational, are also published by the hundreds each year, and most of them are generously illustrated. Although line drawings are still used, most illustrations these days are photographs selected not only for their ability to convey information (“here’s what a well-trimmed toenail looks like” or “here’s a portrait of Skippy”) but also for their emotional appeal. Readers like images that tug at their heartstrings. Even highly regarded narrative nonfiction books in which dogs are central, such as Mark Doty’s Dog Years, include at least a few photographs. 

~~~

And then, of course, there are books like these! Available from your local bookseller and online. Personally autographed copies available here. 

Equal parts mystery and dog appreciation, with a dash of romance thrown in for good measure, this second case for Janet and her pals (Drop Dead on Recall, 2012) is accessible to fans of all three." ~ Kirkus Review

"The intricate plot [of Drop Dead on Recall] has plenty of surprises, red herrings, and interesting details about animals. Fans of Laurien Berenson or Susan Conant will especially enjoy this pet-centered mystery." — Amy Alessio for Booklist.

Rescue Matters! How to Find, Foster, and Rehome Companion Animals "...should be in the library of any serious animal lover and any library catering to them."  — Midwest Book Review

Guest Author Laurien Berenson Confesses - She's Out of Control!

It's my great delight today to welcome one of my favorite authors of doggy mysteries today. I was reading her long before I ever thought of trying to write a mystery of my own, and she set a high standard. So here she is - sit! stay! and help me welcome Laurien Berenson!  ~ Sheila

Confessions of an Out of Control Author

by Laurien Berenson

I can’t control my characters. There, I’ve said it. I feel much better now. I have no idea how this happened. Maybe it was when they began to seem more real to me than some members of my own family? Or perhaps when I began to wonder what they were doing when I put the book aside and went away?

I write a cozy mystery series about a woman named Melanie Travis. She’s a busy person: a mother, a teacher, and a breeder and exhibitor of Standard Poodles. I began the series with what was meant to be a small, manageable, cast of continuing characters. There was Melanie, her young son, Davey, and her formidable Aunt Peg, the dog show doyenne whose dead husband and missing champion stud dog were the focus of A PEDIGREE TO DIE FOR, the series debut. Melanie and I have been together for sixteen books now and in that time, her entourage has grown exponentially. Not only that, but somewhere along the way I’m pretty sure that I lost control of her life.

A writer should start with a plan, right? An outline or synopsis would be great, but even the most disorganized among us can come up with a general idea of where the plot might reasonably be expected to go. And yet somehow, I’m always finding myself taking unanticipated detours. I’ve been writing these characters for years and the longer I know them, the less they feel inclined to listen to me. I’m pretty sure that there’s something wrong with that system.

In my new book, GONE WITH THE WOOF, Aunt Peg introduced me to a character whose existence I’d never previously suspected. And once she arrived on the scene, that new character quickly became integral to the plot. In other books, characters have gotten pregnant, quit jobs, and broken up relationships, all without my prior permission. And don’t even get me started on their penchant for road trips! These are all life—and series—changing events. So how is it that I never see them coming? And why can’t I do anything to rein those people in?

Each time I start a new book, I purposely introduce a handful of new characters whose  problems and dramas will form the nucleus of that book’s plot. I fully expect those characters to do what they need to do, then go away quietly at the end. But often they refuse to do so. Even though I’m quite certain their roles are finished, they somehow manage to hang around and pop up again in later books. In this fashion, Melanie has gained a husband, a new sister-in-law, and a gay friend who makes me laugh every time he appears on the scene. For some reason, these characters are determined to be part of the series’ larger story. And faced with their firm resolve to remain involved in Melanie’s journey, how can I say no?

I have to confess there are times when I find this trend a little alarming. Especially on those occasions when my characters reveal unexpected tidbits of information that send the plot spinning in a whole different direction. How do they do that? How do they know what to say? I’d like to believe that it’s my subconscious mind at work but, sadly, I’m afraid that’s not what’s going on.

My characters are beginning to think for themselves.

Pretty soon they’ll hardly need me at all. I’ll simply be their scribe, the only person in the vicinity who has fingers to hit the keys. Thank God I have the opposable thumbs. Otherwise it might just be chaos around here.

Laurien Berenson is the author of twenty eight  novels that have sold more than a million copies worldwide. Her current mystery series revolves around the world of dog shows, a mileu she knows well as her family has been involved in the sport of dogs for three generations. There are now sixteen Melanie Travis canine mysteries, the latest of which, GONE WITH THE WOOF, comes out this month.

Berenson is a four time winner of the Maxwell Award for Fiction from the Dog Writers Assoc. of America and a winner of the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award. She is also an Agatha and Macavity nominee. Her work has  appeared in The New York Times as well as numerous magazines. She is a graduate of Vassar College, and she and her husband live on a farm in Kentucky, surrounded by horses and dogs.

Her website is www.laurienberenson.com and she loves making friends on  Facebook.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please come back Monday for Part 2 of "A Synergy of Image, Text, and Dogs" ~ see Part One here. And in the meantime, why not scroll back through some of the previous posts? August has been Dog Days, July focused (loosely) on history, and June was covered in cats! ~ Sheila

Doggie Lit for Dog Days with Guest Lois Winston

Dog Days continue today with author & agent Lois Winston, who has some observations on the rise of genre "doggie lit." Welcome back, Lois!  ~ Sheila

Doggie Lit?

by Lois Winston

Over the last few years there have been many sub-genres of lit-fic cropping up. It started back in the late nineties with an onslaught of chick lit. These were stories not about furry yellow-beaked farm critters but about twenty-somethings with jobs they hated, serial bad dates, a tendency to indulge in too many margaritas, and an obsession with designer shoes and handbags. Chick lit led to lady lit, lad lit, mom lit, hen lit, boomer lit, and geezer lit.

And now we have doggie lit. I’ve noticed over the last few years that no matter the genre, whether romance or mystery or straight fiction, a huge percentage of books have dogs in them. It’s not just that the protagonist has a pet pooch. These dogs are becoming major secondary characters in many books. Sometimes they even have a point of view in the story.

I’m not sure how I feel about giving a point of view to a pet, but I do like the trend of making dogs in books more than just window dressing or a convenient way to get a character from Point A to Point B.  (Dogs do have to be walked several times a day.) If done well, dogs can add quite a bit of texture and color to the story because they have distinct personalities.

In my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, Anastasia’s mother-in-law Lucille, a die-hard nineteen-fifties style commie, owns a French Bulldog she calls Manifesto (after the communist treatise.) Everyone else calls him Mephisto or Devil Dog. He’s got that kind of personality. Since the best stories always have characters who are polar opposites, thus creating conflict, I’ve given Manifesto his own nemesis, a corpulent white Persian by the name of Catherine the Great.

Catherine the Great belongs to Anastasia’s mother Flora, a former social secretary of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Lucille, Manifesto, Flora, and Catherine the Great all live with Anastasia, her two teenage sons, and their pet parrot in a small suburban rancher where Lucille and Flora (and therefore Manifesto and Catherine the Great) are forced to share a bedroom. Not only do Flora and Lucille fight like cats and dogs, but so do their cat and dog. Conflict, conflict, conflict—the basis for all good stories, right?

Another component of a good stories is character growth. So I wondered, why should that growth be limited to the two-legged characters in a story? Revenge of the Crafty Corpse, the third book in my series, presented the perfect opportunity to delve into this subject. Because Lucille is in a rehab center convalescing from surgery, the rest of the family must care for Manifesto. The results are quite surprising, but I won’t spoil the fun for you. You’ll just have to read the book to find out for yourself.

Revenge of the Crafty Corpse

Anastasia Pollack’s dead louse of a spouse has left her with more bills than you can shake a crochet hook at, and teaching craft classes at her mother-in-law’s assisted living center seems like a harmless way to supplement her meager income. But when Lyndella Wegner—a 98-year-old know-it-all with a penchant for ruffles and lace—turns up dead, Anastasia’s cantankerous mother-in-law becomes the prime suspect in her murder. Upon discovering that Lyndella’s scandalous craft projects—and her scandalous behavior—made her plenty of enemies, Anastasia sets out to find the real killer before her mother-in-law ends up behind bars.  

  

Buy links:

paperback 

ebook 

Award-winning author Lois Winston writes the critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series featuring magazine crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack. Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun, the first book in the series, received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist. Kirkus Reviews dubbed it, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” Other books in the series includes Death By Killer Mop Doll, Revenge of the Crafty Corpse and the ebook only mini-mysteries Crewel Intentions and Mosaic Mayhem.

Lois is also published in women’s fiction, romance, romantic suspense, and non-fiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. In addition, she’s a literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer. She often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry.

Visit Lois at www.loiswinston.com, visit Emma at www.emmacarlyle.com, and visit Anastasia at the Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog, www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com. Follow everyone on Twitter @anasleuth.

~~~~

The dogs & cats in my Animals in Focus series are certainly not window dressing. And the books are Lab (and Golden!) approved, too! ~ Sheila
Drop Dead on Recall - Animals in Focus Mystery #1
The Money Bird - Animals in Focus Mystery #2

by Sheila Webster Boneham

Golden Retriever Sunny (left) & Labrador Retriever Lily
checking out my advance copies of The Money Bird.
Available from your favorite bookseller, or to get your
personally autographed copy, click here

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Are you a fan of canine mysteries? Come back Thursday ~
Laurien Bereson will be my guest !
Woof! 

Dog Days with Linda O. Johnston

Dog Days continue! Welcome to today's guest, Linda O. Johnston, author of mysteries and romances, including the Pet Sitter and Pet Rescue series. Join Linda and her dogs and be inspired. ~ Sheila

Dog Days and Me

Linda O. Johnston

I’m really happy to be blogging here at Write Here, Write Now, especially with the focus on August’s Dog Days! 

 

I love all animals, but most especially dogs.  I write the Pet Rescue Mystery series for Berkley Prime Crime, which is a spinoff from my Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter Mystery series.  I’m also working on a new series for a different publisher.  Can’t talk about it yet, except to say that, yes, it involves dogs!

 

My most recent full-length Pet Rescue Mystery is OODLES OF POODLES.  It centers around some rescued poodles playing the roles of rescued poodles in a movie that’s being filmed.  I also have an e-novella available in the series, NONSTOP SPANIELS, which features NKLA--“No Kill Los Angeles”, which is an initiative of Best Friends Animal Society.  And my next Pet Rescue Mystery will be TEACUP TURBULENCE, featuring rescued pets that are moved from a part of the country where new homes are hard to find for them to other areas where they’ll find loving owners right away.

 

I also write for two Harlequin series: Harlequin Nocturne and Harlequin Romantic Suspense.  For one of them, my stories involve canines a lot.  Which?  Well, I write the Alpha Force miniseries for Nocturne--about a covert military unit of shapeshifters.  And most of them shift into... you guessed it.  Wolves!    

 

My most recent Harlequin book, a Nocturne, was UNDERCOVER WOLF, a February 2013 release.  And yes, it does happen to have at least one werewolf in it.  And suspense.  And a whole lot of romance.  My next will be COVERT ATTRACTION, a Harlequin Romantic Suspense story, to be published in December.  It was fun to write, but it’s one of my few stories these days that does not include dogs.

 

And how do I do it all?  I owe a lot to my two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Lexie and Mystie.  They keep me grounded.  They give me orders.  In fact, I’m usually at their bark and call.  They insist on snuggling on my lap as I write or edit--fortunately, one at a time.  They inspire me.  They give me unconditional love, and having extra love in my life, in addition to having a wonderful husband and human family, can only help me write the conflicts and happily-ever-afters of romance!

 

In fact, both Lexie and Mystie are pawing at my arm as I write this.  Oh, yeah.  That’s because it’s their dinner time.  I’ll go feed them... then return to the manuscript I’m currently writing. 

 

Of course, my dogs aren’t always supportive of my writing.  Mystie has been known to flick the electrical switch that turned off the computer while I was writing.  She loves to chase sunbeams and reflections and shadows in our house and started licking the base of my desk to create her own reflections--and, in her excited jumping, she leaped on that switch.  Needless to say, I wasn’t happy, and I doubt she completely understood why I scolded her. 

 

But I wouldn’t change her personality, or Lexie’s.  We’re empty nesters when it comes to our human kids, so I’m really glad to have my fur-kids around.  Since I’m currently a full-time writer, I’m around for them.

 

And they’re always, delightfully, around for me.

 

How about you?  Are you inspired by your pets?  

Linda O. Johnston’s first published fiction appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and won the Robert L. Fish Memorial Award for Best First Mystery Short Story of the year.   Since then, Linda, a former lawyer who is now a full-time writer, has published more short stories, novellas, and 33 romance and mystery novels, including Harlequin Romantic Suspense as well as the Alpha Force paranormal romance miniseries for Harlequin Nocturne. 

Linda’s Pet Rescue Mysteries, a spinoff from her Kendra Ballantyne Pet-Sitter mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime, feature Lauren Vancouver, a determined pet rescuer who runs a no-kill shelter.  In this cozy series, “no-kill” refers to pets, not people!   

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News News News

I'm delighted to announce the release of the Audible edition of Drop Dead on Recall! Now Janet MacPhail can talk directly to you - special thanks to narrator Erin Mallon for letting Janet speak through her! You can buy the Audible edition here. 

The Money Bird, sequel to Drop Dead on Recall, will be out SOON - it's in the warehouse, and shipping soon to vendors!

You can pre-order now from the usual sources, including Pomegranate Books, who are again offering custom autographed copies of The Money Bird, Drop Dead on Recall, and Rescue Matters! How to Find, Foster, and Rehome Companion Animals. 

And more good book news ~ Alpine Publications has re-printed the paperback edition of Rescue Matters! How to Find, Foster, and Rehome Companion Animals again, with the resources section updated.  Rescue Matters is available in paperback, ebook, Audible, and large print editions. Bulk discounts are available from Alpine, and autographed copies can be ordered here. 

Please come back Monday ~ 

I'll be blogging about some of my favorite dog books!  

~ Sheila