AN INTERVIEW WITH CALLIE HAYBECK FROM JANNA ROLLINS' ZEN GOAT MYSTERIES

Today we sit down for a chat with Callie Haybeck from author Janna Rollins’ Zen Goat Mysteries. 

What was your life like before your author started pulling your strings?

Before I met Janna, I was twenty-seven and still living in my childhood bedroom in my parent’s house in Seattle, Washington. I was waitressing at a seafood restaurant and teaching a couple of yoga classes a week, but I felt like I was at loose ends. I couldn’t afford my own place in Seattle, most of my friends were getting married or at least in solid relationships, and I was content to play board games with my family on Friday nights. On a whim, I took a DNA test and found some long lost family. I’m glad my author pushed me to get on a plane to New Hampshire to meet them. It has changed everything. (Well, most everything. I’m still living in a family member’s spare room, but at least it’s not my parent’s anymore!)

 

What’s the one trait you like most about yourself?

I’ve discovered I have a strong work ethic and can pretty much learn any task set in front of me. Whoever thought a city girl like me would be out there mending fences and bailing hay?

 

What do you like least about yourself?

My tendency to open my mouth and let stupid things fall out of it before I think. I really need to work on that!

 

What is the strangest thing your author has had you do or had happen to you?

Probably buying a herd of goats only to find out I’m allergic to them, but going ahead and teaching sessions of goat yoga anyway. I should have purchased stock in Kleenex!

 

Do you argue with your author? If so, what do you argue about?

Not that often, but every once in a while. It’s usually about my author wanting me to be braver than I am. Why can’t she let someone else catch the bad guy for a change?

 

What is your greatest fear?

Never fully growing up. What if I’m one of those people who is labeled “failed to thrive?” It’s not that I don’t love my great-aunt and great-uncle and working on the farm, but am I ever going to be fully independent? 

 

What makes you happy?

Oh, gosh. Coffee, my favorite goat Bugsy, especially when he’s yelling to make sure I know he’s there. It cracks me up every time. My cousin Tristan, that adorable but maddening veterinarian Levi. Uncle Will’s sparkling eyes when he’s teasing me, Aunt Ellen’s lemon-blueberry muffins, the sound of summer nights, fireflies. So many things!

 

If you could rewrite a part of your story, what would it be? Why?

Nothing really. My life hasn’t been bad, at all, even though it’s been a bit less than magnificent. I mean, maybe I would’ve, should’ve, put myself out there more and given myself the opportunity to fall in love. But I’m only twenty-seven. There’s still plenty of time to get my heart broken. 

 

Of the other characters in your book, which one bugs you the most? Why?

Hands down, Jim Haybeck. He’s Tristan’s dad, and Aunt Ellen and Uncle Will’s only offspring. The guy’s a big jerk. He’s an attorney from Chicago and apparently thinks I’m here to try to scam his parents out of their farm. I could do without seeing him again for a very long time. 

 

Of the other characters in your book, which one would you love to trade places with? Why?

Hmm. Interesting question. I’m going to have to go with Sydney Livingston. She’s the nicest one out of the group of mean girls staying at the farm for a goat yoga retreat. Sydney is about my age and already almost done with medical school. She really has her life together. I mean, it’s possible she may be a murderer, but….nah. I don’t think she is. 

 

Tell us a little something about your author. Where can readers find her website/blog?

My author, Janna Rollins, also writes the Hometown Hardware mysteries as Paula Charles. You can find both her personalities on her website – www.paulacharles.com – or on both Facebook and Instagram as Rainy Day Mysteries. 

 

What's next for you?

I’ll see you again in the spring of 2025 in Goats Just Wanna Have Fun where I’ll be at the local county fair teaching daily sessions of goat yoga, and probably eating my weight in fried fair food! 

 

An Escape Goat

A Zen Goat Mystery, Book 1

 

After finding long-lost family through a DNA test, Callie heads to Bobwhite Hollow, New Hampshire, to meet a great-uncle she never knew existed. Charmed by the village and more than half in love with her new family, she decides to stay and open a goat yoga studio and retreat space.

 

When retreat guest Angilene Claudson turns up dead with a wine glass shattered at her side and Callie’s favorite goat lapping up the spill, the death is written off as an accidental overdose. But when the goat gets sick, Callie’s gut tells her it wasn’t an accident at all. With her new business on the line and a possible murderer staying in the guesthouse, Callie sets to work to uncover the truth and keep her family safe.

 

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AN INTERVIEW WITH COZY MYSTERY AUTHOR S. A. KAZLO

Today we sit down for a chat with cozy mystery author S.A. Kazlo. Learn more about her and her books at her website.

When did you realize you wanted to write novels? 

Many years ago, at least twenty, I started to write for children, back when an author submitted work via snail mail. I was published in a few children's magazines but had no luck with my novels. After a few years, my interest turned to reading cozy mysteries. They were fun and quirky, so I tried my hand writing them.

 

How long did it take to realize your dream of publication? 

It took about 5 years to write my first cozy, Kibbles and Death. Then I got lucky. I submitted it to Gemma Halliday Publishing and within three weeks I had an offer from her. I was really fortunate. Gemma is what is called a boutique publisher. She specializes in cozy mysteries. I'm lucky to be counted amongst her many authors.

 

Where do you write? 

In a small bedroom at a small desk. The operative word here is small, but it works for me.

 

Is silence golden, or do you need music to write by? What kind? 

For me silence is golden. My characters are creating enough noise in my head when I sit down to write.

 

How much of your plots and characters are drawn from real life? From your life in particular? 

I'm fortunate in that my hubby is a retired Pennsylvania State Policeman and I often pick his brain about the cases he handled over his 26-year law enforcement career. I often incorporate people I know in my characters. I'll ask them if they want to be a victim or murderer. They've always said murderer. Go figure.

 

Describe your process of naming your character. 

I derive a number of my characters names from people I know. If I go to a function and there is a program, I may lift one or two from it, just changing it a bit to keep me from getting into trouble.

 

Real settings of fictional? 

The settings of my cozies are based on real towns in upstate New York. They are so unique that I couldn't improve on them if I tried.

 

What is the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has? 

Well, I guess it isn't so quirky in today's world anymore, but my eightyish character Gladys O'Malley dyes her hair to match the change of seasons or various holidays or events—red for Valentine's Day, orange for autumn, and so on.

 

What is your quirkiest quirk? 

Oh, my I am very dull. I can't say I have a quirky bone in my body. I was raised back in the day when kids towed the line and didn't dare step out of it.

 

If you could have written any book which one would it be? 

Hmmm, good question? I really love Catherine Bruns Cookies and Chance series. Talk about quirky characters! The books may be murder mysteries, but you laugh out loud reading them.

 

Everyone at some point wishes for a do-over. What's yours? 

My do-over would probably have started writing cozy mysteries, but then I did learn a lot writing my children's stories. I grew from all of it.

 

What's your biggest peeve? 

I guess my biggest peeve is lack of manners. It only takes a second for a person to be polite and kind, and it doesn't cost a thing.

 

You're stranded on a desert island. What are three must- haves? 

My family, dachshunds, and chocolate. With those three, I have it all.

 

What was the worst job you've ever had? 

Locker room attendant at a swim club when I was sixteen. Being stuck in the locker room when everyone was outside enjoying the sun and swimming was not my idea of a fun way to spend a summer.

 

What's your all-time favorite literary character? Why? 

I can't say I have one all time favorite. I love it when I fall in love with a series and its characters. I can't get enough of them and am anxious for their next book to come out. Like yours, Lois.

 

Ocean or mountains? 

I guess I'd better say mountains since I live at the base of the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. They're beautiful every season of the year.

 

City girl or country? 

Country, definitely. Don't care for the hustle and bustle of city life. In fact, I love it when all the "downstaters" who flock up to this area in the summer go back home. Yeah, I know, I'm being a curmudgeon. 

 

What's on the horizon for you? 

Hopefully, to continue enjoying writing my Samantha Davies Mystery series and having my readers enjoy them.

 

Anything else you'd like to tell us about yourself and your books? 

Right now, I'm busy working on book 6, Mistletoe, Mutts and Murder, in my Samantha Davies Mystery series. I hope to have it released around November of 2024. Sam's parents are coming to visit from sunny Florida for Christmas. Unfortunately, murder follows them north.

 

Chilled to the Dog Bone

A Samantha Davies Mystery, Book 5

 

It's Saint Patrick's Day weekend in upstate New York, and Samantha Davies is excited about the annual outdoor games put on by the local fire company...that is until the grumpy rival fire chief is found dead on the ice! To make matters worse, Sam's fingerprints are all over the evidence at the murder scene. Can Sam find the killer and clear her name before the Luck of the Irish runs out for her?

 

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MYSTERY AUTHOR LARK O. JENSEN AKA LINDA O. JOHNSTON SETS HER NEW SERIES IN ALASKA

Today we welcome author Lark O. Jensen, AKA Linda O. Johnston. Although she writes across several genres, the one constant in her books is that they all somehow involve animals. Read more about Lark/Linda and her books at her website. 

Alaska Untamed Mysteries and More

(Including Animals Both Wild and Domestic)

 

I love animals. And I definitely love to write about them.

 

That’s why I was inspired by my most recent Alaska cruise, which has been a while ago now, to write the Alaska Untamed Mysteries.

 

Nearly all the books I write contain dogs, and the books in this series are no exception. Stacie Calder, the protagonist, is a skilled naturalist who gives tours from boats near Juneau, and she has her dog Sasha along. The name Sasha means defender, and now and then Stacie, who didn’t set out to solve murders but nevertheless does, needs her husky to defend her.

 

But Stacie’s real intent is to point out the wonderful Alaskan wildlife, including mama seals and their babies, bears, moose, wolves and more. That was what inspired me, too, to write about them--a tour off a boat into the fjord area near Juneau. I really enjoyed it. And, being me, that meant I had to write about it.

 

This series is the first time I’ve taken a pseudonym:  Lark O. Jensen. But it’s far from the first time I’ve included one or more dogs in my series. My mystery series include the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter Mysteries, the Pet Rescue Mysteries, the Barkery and Biscuits Mysteries, and the Superstition Mysteries. All the protagonists have dogs, and depending on what the series is about, the stories include a lot more animals, mostly dogs but sometimes other pets like cats.

 

And then there are my current romantic suspense books including my own series for Harlequin Romantic Suspense: The Shelter of Secrets series. Yes, animals who need new homes are taken into a very special shelter--that also takes in people in trouble who need protection, although the world isn’t supposed to know that aspect of the shelter. Dogs are definitely there, as well as other animals.

 

Why do I love to write about animals, primarily dogs? Maybe I’m obsessed. I’ve loved animals since I was a child and have been owned by Cavalier King Charles Spaniels for many years. And I certainly love to read other writers’ stories that contain dogs.

 

So… bark and woof and arf. And growl and howl in my Alaska Untamed Mysteries too. Animals speak to me a lot, and I hope my readers enjoy them too.

 

Bear Witness

An Alaska Untamed Mystery, Book 1

 

No nine-to-five cubicle career will suit Stacie Calder—the naturalist much prefers working in the great outdoors. Specifically, the spacious and spectacular Alaskan wilderness, whose rugged charms she shares with sightseers on the top deck of the tour boat where she works. But one May afternoon, Stacie’s passengers see more than glittering glaciers, frolicking harbor seals, climbing bears and soaring seabirds…they also witness a man lying dead in the frigid Alaskan waters. And it seems likely that someone gave him a fatal push.

 

Stacie didn’t know the unfortunate victim, but he sure wanted to know a lot about her. He spent most of his final afternoon bombarding her with questions quite awkward to answer. And when he wasn’t in her hair, he was arguing incessantly with the boat’s beleaguered crew. Which makes for a suspect list about as long as the passenger manifest. Furthermore, as police helicopters relentlessly circle her boat in search of any clues, Stacie is shaken to find herself on that suspect list.

 

Before the tour boat reaches shore Stacie—accompanied by her beautiful blue-eyed husky, Sasha—must deduce just who sent the testy tourist tumbling into the turgid waters and have the authorities take custody. Because if she can’t, then the killer might aim a fatal ice-cold stare at Stacie.

 

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MEET AUTHOR CAROLE T. BEERS, WRITER OF COZY MYSTERIES AND RESCUE TALES

Today we welcome author Carole T. Beers, a former award-winning reporter/columnist for The Seattle Times, writing instructor, and contributor to romance and western publications before focusing her attention on fiction in 2015. Learn more about Carole and her books at her website. 

“Saddle up for a great read!” These words jotted on a chalkboard say much about what I write: New West Mysteries with Heart. Cozy but properly chilling amateur sleuth stories, or rescue tales, featuring spirited animal-lovers who stop at nothing to make things right. And have a laugh, love or tasty meal along the way. Why not play to all our senses?

 

I came up with the slogan and displayed it at an author’s booth at our Josephine County Fair in 2019 after finding a horse head-shaped chalkboard at a crafts booth. I might have added the word “hope,” since ALL my books, not only the PepperKaneMysteries, spotlight hope. Second chances, Country values. They deserve to be written on EVERY chalkboard.

 

These are themes of the books and stories I read, whether fiction or biographies, and many of you do, too. I look for tough challenges in reading and writing. Books I can relate to. Books with an appealing hero or heroine. I want to feel I am firmly seated in a book and practically holding the reins. Hence the riding allusion in my slogan. No wonder all my books feature horses, include dogs, and showcase the occasional cat or chicken!

I’ve loved and learned from nature, and animals, from childhood. They teach us so much when we observe and interact with them, such as how to use all the resources at our disposal, communicate in an honest way, and how to live (and love) unconditionally. My earliest scribblings (age 7) had people interacting with animals. Even if “just” a goldfish.

I was inspired to write stories including nature by books such as The Honeybear, Girl of the Limberlost and Desert Storm. Today I still get a lift and kick out of classics like My Side of the Mountain. I became a newspaper reporter to learn discipline and creativity. And relate interesting stories!

 

My non-human family includes my horse Brad, tuxedo cat Velvet, Boston terrier Georgie, and parakeet Sky. We live on a hill in southern Oregon. Interacting with them daily, riding, walking or just hanging out, contributes to physical and mental health. Such as it is. Hopefully you are blessed with innocent “others”—including young humans! And learn from them, too.

 

Always focused on reading and writing, as well as spiritual growth, I quit newspaper work after thirty-some years to tell my own stories. They’re traditionally published by a small independent press in North Carolina. They have a quick turnaround time and let me have a say in cover design and marketing. I love the freedom. It lets me “saddle up and enjoy the WRITE.” I don’t enjoy the edits and revisions as much.

 

Sometimes the mount is stubborn, wild, or willful. But sometimes it takes me to a better place than I could have thought of myself.

 

In from the Cold

Jack Pennington has a heart as big as Oregon’s Rogue Valley, where he’s delivered agricultural equipment and taken in foster children for years. Stalled in his marriage, dreading retirement, and making his final runs over the pass to Klamath Basin, he sees an old, abandoned horse that won’t make it through the coming blizzard.

 

Carly Brown’s life with druggie parents changed for the better when she joined Daddy Jack’s family, and then had a baby with her fiancé. It crashed again when her partner assaulted her, and the baby had special needs. Now her struggles to make a better life for her and her son also seem doomed to fail. 

 

As Christmas draws near, can a despairing old man and struggling young mother find a way through cold prospects to a warmer, brighter future?

 

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FAVORITES, FAILURES & FRUSTRATIONS--GUEST AUTHOR SASSCER HILL

The Author on Her Horse

Sasscer Hill, a former Maryland racehorse breeder, trainer, and rider, uses the sport of kings as a backdrop for her multi-award nominated mysteries. However, publishing success often takes time. Today Sasscer discusses her writing frustrations and how she persevered to overcome them. Learn more about Sasscer and her books at her website.

Back in 1994, I wrote a romantic suspense novel and landed a literary agent. I thought the rest would be a slam-dunk! Fast-forward sixteen years where, still unpublished, and now two agents later, I’d completed two novels featuring female jockey Nikki Latrelle.

I wrote these books because of my passion for Thoroughbreds and my love for and knowledge of horse racing. One of my mentors suggested I make all my writing like the races I wrote–putting that excitement, that pacing, and those amazing characters that populate this world into every chapter. So I began a third Nikki Latrelle with that in mind, and prayed it would land a New York publisher.

In February of 2010, my favorite author Dick Francis died, I was diagnosed with lymphoma, and my horse farm was hit by the worst blizzard in the history of Maryland. Feeling desperate, I begged a small press owner to look at the first in the Nikki Latrelle series, Full Mortality. He read the manuscript during the blizzard and accepted it the next day.

Miraculously, Full Mortality was published in May of 2010, received rave reviews, and was nominated for both Agatha and Macavity Awards.

The award nominations helped secure a third and better agent with a successful track record. But by the time I finished the third book in the Nikki Latrelle series, it was clear that New York publishers weren’t interested in the latest in a series already published by a small press–unless it had humongous sales. A word to the wise: you are unlikely to get humongous sales with a small press.

My new agent told me to start another series. So I did, creating Fia McKee, a thirty-two-year-old agent for the real life agency, the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau. I finished the manuscript of Flamingo Road in 2014 and started the second in the Fia McKee series in October that year.

My agent began shopping for publishers in December of 2014. The next spring, we caught the attention of an editor at St. Martins, Minotaur, but she had reservations about readers’ interest in a horseracing novel. I immediately went to work, obtaining statistics on the surprisingly strong popularity of horse racing. Things like NBC’s unprecedented ten-year extension agreement to broadcast rights to the Breeders Cup weekend races as well as the eleven qualifying races that precede that two-day, all-star event. I noted how a recent ESPN poll showed horse racing is the most popular non-team sport, beating out tennis, boxing, and even NASCAR! I sent the report to my agent, who sent it to St. Martins.

Less than a week after this, the Carrie McCray committee gave my in-progress novel, the second in the Fia McKee series, their Best First-Chapter of a Novel award. Within days, this same novel received a Claymore nomination.

But the brightest star to align that week was a racehorse named American Pharoah. Deep in my heart, I’d believed if the colt could pull off the historical and momentous feat of winning the first Triple Crown in 37 years, it might nudge a publishing offer from St. Martins my way. White knuckled, I watched the final race at Belmont. When American Pharoah blasted around the track on the lead, rocketed down the stretch, and began pulling away from the Belmont field, I almost had a heart attack. When he opened up and won by daylight, I burst into tears. Turning to my husband, I said, “I think Flamingo Road will get an offer.”

I could feel the bright star that is my love for horses rising over me. Pharoah’s race drew 22 million television viewers, and the subsequent radio, television, and social media attention was phenomenal. Within a week, American Pharoah appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and a day later, I received a two-book offer from St. Martins Minotaur.

But I was surprised to learn that the first Fia McKee novel would not come out until the spring of 2017, a wait of almost two years! My last book had been published in 2013, and I surely hated waiting for so long!

I was aware that some publishers are asking their authors to write novellas and short stories to keep these writers in the public eye during the intervals between their full-length novels. The obvious answer for me was a new Nikki Latrelle. But as I was under contract to St. Martins, I knew the time slot was very compressed. A novella seemed like just the thing.

I believed the tale of Nikki’s early years would make a poignant and satisfying read. Imagine a fatherless thirteen-year-old girl whose mother dies suddenly. In a sense, this mother has abandoned her daughter, leaving her in the hands of a lewd, malevolent stepfather. Nikki has no family, and when the stepfather forces his way into her bedroom, she flees. Her best times were spent with her mom at the racetrack, so this is where she runs.

Nikki is forced to steal food, sleep in racehorses’ stalls to stay warm, and avoid the police and her stepfather who search for her. But just when things seem to be going right for her, Nikki crosses paths with a young man who makes her stepfather seem like a saint.

Racing from Evil

Nikki Latrelle’s mother dies suddenly, leaving the thirteen-year-old girl in the hands of a pedophile stepfather. After escaping his attempt to assault her, Nikki flees through the nighttime streets of Baltimore and climbs a razor-wire fence into Pimlico Racetrack, the place she and her mom spent their happiest days together. Nikki’s drawn to horses, knows how to ride, and dreams of being a jockey. But how can a runaway with no ID, no family, and no income survive?

She needs money, but must hide from both the police and her stepfather who relentlessly search for her. As these men close in, a groom named Carlos helps her escape. Carlos has problems of his own, but through him, she meets the old horse-trainer Ravinsky. Will the old horseman take her under his wing? Risk his status and reputation to help her? And what evil has befallen Carlos’s young son, Pedro? The boy is missing, and Nikki senses evil forces are at work. Because she knows too well how it feels to be alone and frightened, she puts her life on the line to find Pedro.

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--20 QUESTIONS WITH AUTHOR TRACY WEBER

Today we play 20 Questions with cozy mystery author Tracy Weber. Tracy is a certified yoga teacher and the founder of Whole Life Yoga, an award-winning yoga studio in Seattle. She loves sharing her passion for yoga and animals in any form possible. Learn more about Tracy and her new Downward Dog Mystery series at her website, the KillerHobbies blog, and her yoga blog.

When did you realize you wanted to write novels?

The idea came to me on a rainy evening about three years ago, while in the middle of a brutal workout at my favorite health club. I was pedaling away, reading a Susan Conant novel to distract myself from the evil exercise bike, when a quote in Black Ribbon about crazy dog people made me burst out loud laughing. I knew I’d found my author soul mate. Someone who truly got me.

I went home, looked her up on the web, and stumbled across a site about cozy mysteries. As I read about hundreds of other wonderful cozy series, I began to wonder: What would happen if a yoga teacher with a crazy dog like mine got mixed up in murder? Kate Davidson and Bella popped into my head a few days later. The rest is history.

How long did it take you to realize your dream of publication?

I’ve been incredibly lucky. I wrote my first book in about a year and signed with an agent less than two months after I typed “the end.” My agent sold the series a few weeks later. I’m still sort of in shock over the whole thing.

Are you traditionally published, indie published, or a hybrid author?

Thus far, I’m traditionally published, but I toy with the idea of becoming a full-time hybrid author. If only I had the time (or the energy!) to write more than one series!

Where do you write?

Most of my writing takes place in the disaster I call my office or late at night in bed. I create through chaos, which means that I spend half of my time writing, the other half trying to locate what I’ve already written. For example, I outlined my notes for this interview lying in bed two nights ago. It took me over an hour to find them today. By the time I unearthed those notes, I’d misplaced a review I’d written earlier this morning. I still haven’t found that.

I often wonder how much I could accomplish if I were only a little more organized…

Is silence golden, or do you need music to write by? What kind?

I’m easily distracted. I’ve never been able to focus with music playing in the background. The only sound I can really tolerate when I’m writing is my dog Tasha’s snoring.

How much of your plots and characters are drawn from real life? From your life in particular?

I definitely draw from the experiences of my life when I write. The protagonist in my book (Kate Davidson) is a yoga teacher who lives in Seattle and has a crazy German shepherd much like my dog Tasha. People often say that they see me in Kate. In fact, when my mother read Murder Strikes a Pose, she called to tell me she had just read the part where I found the body. I had to remind her that the book was fiction and that I hadn’t stumbled across any bodies recently. ;-)

However, I try not to pick on people I know in my books, meaning that I consciously don’t write about my friends, family, or yoga students.

My dog can’t read and no one cares if I make fun of myself, so I do write about Tasha’s and my sillier exploits from time to time.

Describe your process for naming your character?

My characters tell me their first names. Unfortunately, they often have names I can’t use. For example, in my second book, A Killer Retreat, the murderer had the same first name as my cousin. I originally planned to keep it, but I eventually realized that might make family dinners a little, shall we say, uncomfortable. So two days before I sent the book to my editor, I changed it. Now I can go home for Christmas and not worry about my pumpkin pie being poisoned.

Last names are tougher. I often don’t give my characters last names. If I really need one, I use a random name generator. I don’t like most of the names it suggests, but I keep hitting “refresh” until something sounds right. After a dozen or so permutations, I usually find a winner.

Real settings or fictional towns?

Definitely real settings, though the locations of my books are often hybrids of multiple locations. Mocha Mia, Pete’s Pets, and the PhinneyWood Market are all hybrids of my favorite coffee shops, pet stores, and grocery stores. Serenity Yoga is a lightly fictionalized version of my own yoga studio, Whole Life Yoga.

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?

Kate (the protagonist in my series) has a real-life phobia called pogonophobia—fear of beards. She gets nauseated and anxious any time she’s near a man with a beard. That really sucks for her, since she has a crush on Michael, the bearded owner of Pete’s Pets.

What’s your quirkiest quirk?

I have to pick just one?

My husband calls me “The Creepy Puppy Lady.” I LOVE dogs. All dogs. And I have a habit of paying what my husband considers an abnormal amount of attention to other people’s dogs. I guess I’d call it dog-o-philia.

If you could have written any book (one that someone else has already written,) which one would it be? Why?

Anything by Dr. Seuss, because everybody loves Dr. Seuss.

Everyone at some point wishes for a do-over. What’s yours?

Oh my gosh! My screw-ups are too numerous to count. My favorite mystery-related screw up happened at Malice Domestic last year. I was sitting at the bar with my friend Penny Warner and author Louise Penny. I had no idea that Louise was a famous author. She was so sweet and unassuming, I just assumed she was either a mystery fan or a newer author, like me.

As the afternoon went on, people gathered around us, obviously entranced—and not by me. Finally, a woman handed me her iPhone and asked me to take a photo of her and Louise.

I would have been more than willing to oblige, if only I’d known how to use it. I held it backwards, clicked the button, and proudly handed her a photo of my chest.

Thus endeth my career in photography.

What’s your biggest pet peeve?

Not getting a reply to an email. If people don’t reply, my mind goes into hyper-drive. Did they get it? Did I say something stupid to offend them? How long do I wait before sending it again? Is it lost in the vast cyber wasteland? Even a simple, “got it” will do, but don’t leave me hanging.

You’re stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?

My dog Tasha. I can’t imagine being anywhere without her. I suppose I should invite my husband, too. And a pair of ear plugs, so I don’t have to listen to him complain about being stuck on a deserted island with me and the dog.

What was the worst job you’ve ever held?

Does cleaning house count?

Seriously, I’ve been really lucky in that I’ve always liked my jobs. If I don’t enjoy what I’m doing, I quit. My husband teases that I have some sort of odd job-related ADD. I’ve changed careers several times in my life. I’ve worked as a retail sales clerk, a chemical engineer, a management consultant, a manager at a software development company, a yoga teacher, a career coach, and an author. I loved each job until I didn’t. Then I changed. Life is MUCH too short to work at a job you don’t love.

What’s the best book you’ve ever read?

I don’t have an answer for this one. So many books have moved me in different ways. I loved Don Quixote enough to spend a quarter studying it in college, so I guess I’ll say that.

Ocean or mountains?

Ocean. Nothing beats sun and sand.

City girl or country girl?

I grew up on a dairy farm in Montana and moved to the city at the age of eighteen, swearing that I’d never live in a small town again. Thirty years later, I yearn for country life. I dream of a house in the middle of nowhere with a zoo-like menagerie of German shepherds, chickens, and goats.

What’s on the horizon for you?

I’m currently teaching an advanced yoga teacher training, and that will keep me pretty busy for the next year. My second manuscript, A Killer Retreat, is at my publisher, and I’m working on book three, tentatively titled Karma Can Be a Killer. After that, who knows? That house in the country is sounding pretty darned good these days.

Anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself and/or your books?

Haven’t I already prattled on enough? I guess the only other thing I’d say is that Murder Strikes a Pose is a feel-good, crime-solving, human-animal love story. How can it get better than that? I hope you and your readers give it a try and love it!

Murder Strikes a Pose

When George and Bella—a homeless alcoholic and his intimidating German shepherd—disturb the peace outside her studio, yoga instructor Kate Davidson’s Zen-like calm is stretched to the breaking point. Kate tries to get rid of them before Bella scares the yoga pants off her students. Instead, the three form an unlikely friendship.

One night Kate finds George’s body behind her studio. The police dismiss his murder as a drug-related street crime, but Kate knows George was no drug dealer. So she digs into George’s past while looking for someone—anyone—to adopt Bella before Animal Control sends her to the big dog park in the sky. But with the murderer nipping at her heels, Kate will have to work fast or her next Corpse Pose may be for real.

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MONEY MATTERS WITH SHEILA--PROTECTING YOUR PETS DURING A DISASTER

The real Leo

Today we welcome Janet MacPhail, fifty-something animal photographer and amateur sleuth protagonist of Sheila Webster Boneham’s Animals in Focus Mystery Series. With all the recent fires and weather-related disasters that have hit various parts of the country this past year, Janet is here to offer some tips on evacuating and protecting pets during a disaster. Learn more about Janet and Sheila at Sheila’s website. 

Are Your Pets Prepared for a Disaster?

(as told to Sheila Webster Boneham)

Hi! I’m Janet MacPhail, animal photographer and devoted pet owner. You might know me from the Animals in Focus Mystery series, which has been chronicling some of my misadventures of late (a little too many, if you ask me). Anyway, Anastasia asked me to drop by and talk about keeping pets safe when disaster strikes.

Disaster is something we’d all just as soon not deal with of course, but that’s no reason not to plan ahead. I know I wouldn’t evacuate without Jay, my Australian Shepherd, and Leo, my orange tabby. I live in northern Indiana, a mostly benign and lovely place that occasionally gets whacked by blizzards, tornados, and flooding. You may live with different possibilities. And of course we all hope never to deal with a house fire or other accidental or man-made hazard, but we also know they happen. So I thought I would tell you what I’ve done to increase the chances that my animals and I will all come through any of the above safe and sound. I mean, crafty killers are bad enough, right, Anastasia?

The real Jay

One thing that always worries me is what would happen to Jay and Leo if there were a disaster when I’m not home. Not that I leave them alone that much, but still…. So I have little signs posted by my front and back doors (and I made sure my boyfriend did the same). Stickers for that purpose are available from many vets, shelters, and other sources, or you can make one yourself. When Jay first joined my family, I crated him when I was out, so I included that information on my signs. I also note where Leo’s carrier is kept, where he likes to nap, and where their leashes hang. That way if someone had to get them quickly, they’d have everything they needed.

I also keep a list of names and phone numbers of a couple of people who would take them in a pinch. My neighbor, Goldie, for sure—if she’s home. My brother and his partner. I’ve even arranged with my vet to pay the bill if someone drops them off there. I signed a boarding and medical care authorization form, and I got a copy to keep in my evacuation kit (I’ll get to that in a minute).

My guys are used to being in the car and around strangers, but I still think a secure crate for each of them is essential. I mean, crates can keep them safely confined in a chaotic situation. They both wear tags for easy reference, and they have microchips implanted by my vet for more permanent identification. (I have those scanned whenever they go to the vet for something else, to be sure they’re still active.)

I have a waterproof box with Pet Evacuation Kit painted on the side, and I keep it on the storage shelf in my front closet. Here’s what’s in it:

∙ A list of phone numbers—mine, my two best friends’, my brother’s, my veterinarian’s.

∙ Copies of each animal’s rabies certificate and vaccination records.

∙ Proof of ownership so that if someone else rescues my boys, I can show that they are, in fact, mine–license registrations, microchip numbers, and photographs.

∙ If anything happened to me, I would want whoever took in my guys to know as much as possible, so I have a data sheet for each including his name, description, sex, age, feeding instructions, health-care needs, and a recent color photo.

∙ A week’s supply of dry food sealed in air-tight bags, and a couple of bottles of water. I rotate food and water once a month to keep everything fresh.

∙ Enough cash to pay for boarding the boys for at least three days. This wouldn’t be a problem with my vet, but who else will extend me credit if they don’t know me and I have no plastic on me? And cash can be hard to get at during a crisis.

So there you have it. I hope you never have to live through a disaster of any kind, but if you’re like me, you’ll feel better knowing you have a good chance of getting your pets to safety along with the rest of your family, come what may. Be safe!

The Money Bird

Animal photographer Janet MacPhail knows that trouble is in the air when Labrador Retriever Drake fetches a blood-soaked bag holding an exotic feather and a torn one-hundred-dollar bill during a photo shoot at Twisted Lake. One of Janet's photography students reports seeing a strange bird at the lake, but he turns up dead before Janet can talk to him. When she learns that the mysterious retreat center near the lake is housing large numbers of tropical birds, Janet is sure there's a connection and decides to investigate between dog-training classes, photo assignments, and visits to her mom at Shadetree Retirement. With help from her Australian Shepherd Jay and her quirky friend Goldie, Janet is determined to get to the bottom of things before another victim's wings are clipped for good.

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