Sneaky the Siamese Interviews Duke, the Labrador Retriever from Christmas Conundrum by Stacy Wilder

December 20, 2023 ~ Debbie ~ Leave a comment

Hello, Mr. Dog. What is your name and your author’s name?

Hi, Sneaky. My name is Duke. I’m P.I. Liz Adam’s truth sniffing Labrador retriever. Don’t worry. I like cats. One of my best buddy’s is a cat named Irish. My author’s name is Stacy Wilder.

That’s good to know, Duke. I like dogs, too. My friend, Fido, the golden retriever, stars with me in the Cobble Cove cozy mysteries.

What book(s) have you appeared in? Please list them and their genre.

I appear in every book in the Liz Adams Mystery Series, Charleston Conundrum, Carmel Conundrum (where I meet Irish), and A Christmas Conundrum. The stories are cozy mysteries. My author is currently working on the fourth book, Cayman Conundrum. Liz couldn’t solve a case without me!

Pawsome! I’m also in all the Cobble Cove books and also the stories that are in the latest collection, Sneaky’s Supernatural Mysteries and Other Cobble Cove Stories. One of these is a Christmas story, too. It won a special award from the Cat Writers’ Association. There are six books so far in the series.

Are you in a series? If so, please give information about it.

I am! The novels travel to tourist destinations. A Christmas Conundrum is a novella and is set in Liz’s hometown of Charleston. My author has plans for more novels and novellas in the series. Stay tuned!

Sounds great! I don’t travel much in Debbie’s books. The McKinney’s generally stay in the small town of Cobble Cove, and I live in the library there.

Are you based on a real dog such as your author’s? If so, please give further details.

My author has a Labrador retriever named Eve. She’s a communicator just like me. Although she can’t detect when people aren’t telling the truth, she howls the words ‘I love you’ for her breakfast in the morning. I can do that too.

Wow Meow! That’s incredible . . . for a dog. I was based on my author’s late Siamese, Oliver, but I’m younger and will live as long as the books are published.

Can you share an excerpt from one of your books that features you in an important scene? If so, please include it.

The stories are told from Liz’s point of view. Liz and Brad, her new love interest, are inspecting a piece of property she recently inherited.

My hiking boots were brand new and weren’t my usual fashion statement, but I was grateful for them as we navigated the rugged terrain. Duke marked his territory along the way. Suddenly, Brad put his arm in front of me, halting my progress.

“Shh,” he whispered and pointed ahead.

When I spotted the mountain lion perched on a rock fifty yards down the path, my heart hammered in my ears. My whole body tensed. I yanked the leash tighter to my body and hoped that Duke didn’t spot the animal as his nose twitched at the smell in the breeze. Brad pulled the air horn out of his pocket and prepared to sound it if needed. The tawny feline’s paws were huge. I held my breath, trying to make as little noise as possible. As soon as the creature spotted us, Brad sounded the horn and the animal’s muscular body darted off into the trees. Duke barked, and I took in a deep gulp of air while gripping the leash tighter so Duke wouldn’t chase the big cat.

“That’s lucky.”

After I’d released my breath, I said, “Lucky?”

“Yeah, you got to see a mountain lion. How cool is that? Probably a male. He was a decent size.”

“Let’s go back.” I was glad that I relieved my bladder before we left the house. Duke sensed my unease and whined.

“Trust me. That mountain lion is long gone. He’s way more scared of us.” Brad grabbed my hand. “Come on. You have to see your beach.

Purr-fect. Thanks for sharing that.

What do you like most about your role in your authors’ books?

Obviously treats. Oh, and getting to solve the mystery.

MOL (Meow Out Loud). Don’t get me started on treats. The library staff are very generous sneaking them to me.

Are you a talking dog in your books or just a silent one like I am who just meows occasionally?

I communicate in dog talk. I yip when someone is lying. I whine when something is up.

Good for you. I do the same with meows and hisses, but I now talk to readers and my fellow pet co-stars which is a lot of fun.

What advice would you give other dog characters?

Have a job. You can’t just sit on the cover and look pretty.

Excellent advice. We cats sit there and look pretty all the time.

Do you have any new books coming out? Please give dates and details.

Cayman Conundrum is in the works and is set to come out in 2024. My author is having a lot of fun with the plot.

I can imagine. Debbie enjoys dreaming up murders and things for me to do to help Alicia.

Are you and/or your author on social media? If so, please list your links.

www.storystacy.com

https://www.facebook.com/wilderstacy

https://www.amazon.com/author/stacy.wilder

https://instagram.com/authorstacywilder/

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/stacy-wilder/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22157494.Stacy_Wilder/

Thanks for the interview, Duke. I’m sharing your blog tour below. Best tail wags to you and your author on your new release, and Happy Holidays!

A Christmas Conundrum: A Liz Adams Mystery
by Stacy Wilder

About A Christmas Conundrum

A Christmas Conundrum: A Liz Adams Mystery
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – South Carolina
Wild Hawk Press (November 1, 2023)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 90 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8985426687
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 90 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8985426670
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CKQ7GZWC

Nancy Drew meets How the Grinch Stole Christmas in this delightful cozy mystery set in Charleston, SC.

Who’s stealing the holiday decorations? They’re disappearing like Christmas cookies from PeggyLou Designs, and Lou’s newly launched event planning service is in trouble. He implores his neighbor and friend, Private Investigator Liz Adams, to bring the thief to justice.

The clock is ticking. It’s only ten days until the mayor’s big holiday celebration. The party that will make or break Lou’s business.

Liz’s mom, Babs, steps in to help, and the investigation becomes complicated. Suddenly the holidays are not all mistletoe and merriment when Bab’s life is threatened. Will Liz and her lie-detecting Labrador retriever, Duke, discover the perpetrator before it’s too late?

Experience Charleston in the city’s full Christmas glory in this fun fast-paced holiday story.

About Stacy Wilder

Stacy Wilder has traveled to six out of seven continents Books have shaped her life and her travels. Her love of mysteries began with Nancy Drew.

A Christmas Conundrum is the third book in the riveting Liz Adams Mystery series. In addition to mysteries, Stacy writes children’s stories, short stories, and poetry. She and her husband live in Houston, Texas, with a totally spoiled Labrador retriever, Eve.

Author Links

Website www.storystacy.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wilderstacy

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/authorstacywilder/

YouTube https://youtu.be/VR7kKOxAsjU?si=_jaX1EuELeFKEMqQ

BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/stacy-wilder

Purchase Links – Amazon E-book – Amazon Paperback – Amazon Hardback – Barnes and Noble – Bookshop.org –

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

December 12 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT

December 12 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT

December 12 – Diane’s Book Journal – SPOTLIGHT

December 13 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER GUEST POST

December 13 – Christa Reads and Writes – SPOTLIGHT

December 14 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT

December 14 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

December 15 – Books to the Ceiling – SPOTLIGHT*

December 15 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW

December 16 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

December 16 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

December 17 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

December 17 – The Mystery Section – AUTHOR GUEST POST

December 18 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

December 18 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT WITH PLAYLIST

December 19 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW –

December 20 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST

December 20 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

December 21 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

December 21 – Novels Alive – REVIEW

December 22 – Angel’s Book Nook – RECIPE

December 22 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW

December 23 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

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Sneaky the Library Cat Interviews Bailey, the Bloodhound from Sniffing Out Murder by Kallie E. Benjamin

December 5, 2023 ~ Debbie ~ 2 Comments

Hi, there, Mr. Dog. What is your name and your author’s name?

My name is Bailey and I’m a bloodhound. My author’s pen name is Kallie E. Benjamin, but she’s really Valerie Burns. I don’t really understand why she is using a different name, but humans do some strange things.

That’s for sure. Tail wags to you, Bailey.

What book(s) have you appeared in? Please list them and their genre. Well, technically this is the first book that I’ve been in. It’s a cozy mystery called Sniffing Out Murder.

Condogulations!

Are you in a series? If so, please give information about it.

This is the first book in the Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery series. In the first book, Sniffing Out Murder, I work with my human, Priscilla Cummings. Pris is a school teacher, but she decided to write a children’s detective book about me, The Adventures of Bailey the Bloodhound, Pet Detective. Of course, my book was very successful, so Pris was able to quit her job and is now going to focus on writing about me.

Bloodhounds have exceptional noses which make us great for tracking scents and finding people. Pris says my nose gets her in trouble. But, it’s not my fault that someone murdered the mean woman who stepped on my tail and got into an argument with Pris. Then, they buried her in the park where I caught their scent. I mean, any bloodhound worth their salt could have picked up that trail. I’m not sure why anyone would believe Pris murdered her, but none of that was my fault. Still, I felt bad for my human, so I made a point of helping her figure out whodunit. After all, I’m Bailey the Bloodhound, Pet Detective.

Wow, Meow! I love it.

Are you based on a real dog such as your author’s? If so, please give further details.

My author loves dogs, but for some reason she has poodles. So, I’m not based on a real dog. My author did talk to a friend named Larissa who had a bloodhound named Bocephus. We share quite a few things in common, but I’m an original.

Of claws you are, as am I, even though I was originally based on Debbie’s Siamese who is now over the rainbow bridge.

Can you share an excerpt from one of your books that features you in an important scene? If so, please include it.

“Like any detective worthy of the title, Bailey knew that the only way to catch a criminal was to put his nose to the ground and sniff out the clues. With any luck, he’d pick up the scent quickly to help take a bite out of the crime wave hitting the city.”

I walked through the park reciting the lines out loud, letting the words marinate in my mind. It sounded okay, but it didn’t make my heart race with anticipation. Nancy Drew’s place within the annals of children’s crime fiction was secure. The first book in The Adventures of Bailey the Bloodhound, Pet Detective, series, The Case of the Missing Maltese, had flowed out of my head and onto the page like . . . well, like honey. This second book felt forced. I felt like I was scraping words out of my head with a dull spoon. I wouldn’t mind if I were digging out good words, but this draft certainly didn’t have the same zing as the first book.

Kids had loved the first book and were clamoring for more, but these eight-to-twelve-year-old middle-grade readers have high standards. They expect books to be well written, funny, and relevant, even if they can’t articulate that’s what they want. As a former elementary school teacher, or soon-to-be former teacher, I knew that kids could be exuberant with praise and brutal with criticism. My insecurities went into hyperdrive. What if I didn’t have any more books in me? What if I was a one-book wonder? “Ugh!”

With a strong tug on the leash, Bailey lurched me out of the pool of self-doubt where I was wallowing around like a baby seal. Bailey wasn’t keen on wallowing, unless it involved mud, freshly cut grass, or his favorite eau de parfum-deer poop. The best thing about a bloodhound was also sometimes the worst thing. They were Grade A scent hounds known for their tracking ability, especially when it came to tracking lost or missing humans. Usually bloodhounds, although large, substantial dogs, were docile creatures. However, whenever they were on the trail of a particular scent, they were unyielding and stubborn. Bailey, my three-year-old bloodhound, was no different. When he was working, he was all nose, but we weren’t working. This was supposed to be a casual walk. However, I could tell from the slight prick of his heavy ears, the wiggling nose that barely left the ground, and the pull on his leash that he’d picked up a scent and was determined to follow it to the end. I just hoped that he wouldn’t track anything that would get us both into trouble, again. Every time I see a flower bed, I’m reminded of Bailey covered in dirt and the look on my former neighbor Mrs. Goldstein’s face as her award-winning peonies were utterly destroyed. Bailey’s nose and my inquisitive nature could be a bad combination. However, I was determined to avoid trouble, especially around this town.

I gave his leash a gentle tug. “Come on, buddy. We’re not tracking anything today. We both need to keep our noses clean and avoid falling down any rabbit holes.”

Bailey pulled his nose from the ground and glanced back at me. His eyes said, I have no idea what you mean. My nose is always clean.

“Don’t give me that look. You know what I mean.”

He snorted and continued to sniff.

“I quit my job so I could write full-time and finish our next book, not so you could hound out trouble. No distractions. No mysteries. Nothing. We’re going to lie low and focus on writing. Besides, nothing ever happens in Crosbyville, Bailey.”

This time Bailey didn’t bother lifting his nose off the ground. He grunted and continued sniffing. I rolled my eyes.

Pawsome!

What do you like most about your role in your authors’ books?

I love that my author is recognizing my breed. We are an old and noble breed that was believed to have been bred by monks at the Saint-Hubert Monastery in Belgium in 1,000 AD. I like that I have an opportunity to show how useful we are in tracking down scents and bringing criminals to justice. I do important work.

Good for you!

Are you a talking dog in your books or just a silent one like I am who just meows occasionally?

I talk to my human, but she doesn’t seem to understand me. Sadly, she hasn’t learned to speak canine. So, she has to rely on my facial expressions, body language, and other cues to understand what I’m trying to tell her. It’s a lot of work getting her to understand. Sometimes, I have to go to great lengths just to get her attention. Eventually, she catches on, but it would be a lot easier if she would just learn to speak canine.

MOL (Meow Out Loud). I feel the same way about Alicia. While I am now communicating with my pet co-stars and readers, Alicia is still in the dark.

What advice would you give other dog characters?

If you have a human who doesn’t understand canines, like mine, don’t give up on them. It’s not their fault that they were never taught to be bilingual. If you’re patient, then you will be able to figure out ways to communicate with them.

Purr-fect advice.

Do you have any new books coming out? Please give dates and details.

My author writes other series under different pen names (there’s that pen name thing again). Sniffing Out Murder, is the first book featuring me. However, she recently released a book, Murder on Tour, as V. M. Burns. It’s the 9^th book in her Mystery Bookshop Mystery series. It’s pretty good, even though there are no bloodhounds in it. That series just has poodles. My author also writes a Baker Street Mystery series. She uses her real name, Valerie Burns, for that one. The latest book, Murder is a Piece of Cake, released a few months ago. The third book in that series, A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death, will release in August 2024.

Boy, your author is a busy bee.

Are you and/or your author on social media? If so, please list your links.

I don’t really have time to spend on social media. My author spends a lot of time on social media.Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/v-m-burns

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vmburnsbooks/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vmburnsbooks/

Website: vmburns.com

Thanks for sharing your author’s social media links, and thanks for the interview. Best tail wags to you and your author on your new series.

Sniffing Out Murder (A Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery)
by Kallie E. Benjamin

About Sniffing Out Murder

Sniffing Out Murder (A Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Indiana
Berkley (December 5, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593547357
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593547359
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BXKHGG75

When a murder unleashes a widespread investigation through Crosbyville, children’s book author Pris and her trusty bloodhound, Bailey, must sniff out the truth before the whole town goes to the dogs.

After deciding that life as a teacher wasn’t right for her, Priscilla found inspiration for her first children’s book in her three-year-old bloodhound’s nose for truth, and so The Adventures of Bailey the Bloodhound was born. After the book’s massively pawsitive response led Pris to move back to her hometown of Crosbyville, Indiana, to continue the series, she’s surprised by how things have changed in the town, but even more so how they haven’t.

Pris is frustrated to discover that newly elected school board trustee Whitney Kelley—a former high school mean girl—is intent on making Crosbyville more competitive by eliminating “frivolous spending” on the arts and social programs, including Pris and Bailey’s beloved pet-assisted reading program. A minor altercation between them isn’t anything unusual, but after Bailey sniffs out Whitney’s body in a bed of begonias, locals start hounding Pris and Bailey as suspects for the crime.

With Bailey’s sharp senses and Pris’s hometown know-how, can they prove to the community that they’re all barking up the wrong tree?

About Kallie E. Benjamin

Kallie E. Benjamin (Valerie Burns) is the author of the Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery series. The first book, Sniffing Out Murder releases on December 5, 2023. Valerie is an Agatha, Anthony, Edgar, and Next Generation Indie Book Award finalist. Writing as V. M. Burns she is the author of the Mystery Bookshop Mystery, Dog Club Mystery, and RJ Franklin Mystery series. Writing as Valerie Burns, she is the author of the Baker Street Mystery series. Valerie is also an adjunct professor in the Writing Popular Fiction Program at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA. Born and raised in northwestern Indiana, Valerie now lives in Northern Georgia with her two poodles.

Author Links

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/v-m-burns

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vmburnsbooks/

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16534140.V_M_Burns

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vmburnsbooks/

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/vmburns

Website: vmburns.com

Purchase Links
Amazon Apple Books-A-Million Barnes and Noble Bookshop.org Google Play Hudson Booksellers Powells Target KOBO Walmart