Why I Write About Dogs - Guest Post & Giveaway

WHY I WRITE ABOUT DOGS

by Linda O. Johnston

            Why do I write about dogs so much?  The short answer?  Because I love them!

            My new release, BAD TO THE BONE, is the third in my Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries, about Carrie Kennersley, a veterinary technician who satisfies her wish to be her own boss by turning half of a human bakery into a barkery where she sells healthy dog treats she's created.  Of course, since this is a cozy mystery series, someone gets murdered in each book, and Carrie turns into an amateur sleuth to figure out whodunit.  Carrie's dog Biscuit hangs out at the Barkery and Biscuits shop with her, and lots of other dogs appear in the stories, too. 

            I've also written the Superstition Mysteries, where the protagonist Rory Chasen runs a pet boutique devoted to superstitions, and has  lucky black and white dog named Pluckie. 

            Yes... lots of dogs!

            I had a dog as a child, a Boston terrier, and I adored Frisky.  Even so, it wasn't until I was an adult, on my first trip to London, that I discovered the dog loves of my life: Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.  I saw one on a lap on the London Underground, and when I returned to the U.S. I had to find one.  My first Cavalier was Pandaemonium, or Panda for short.  I've been owned by Cavaliers ever since.

            When I started writing in earnest one of my first time travel romances was ONCE A CAVALIER, where Cavalier King Charles Spaniels helped the protagonist travel in time to the 1500s and the era of King Charles II of England, where the precursors to today's Cavaliers were carried by courtiers to keep fleas off them.

            It wasn't till I started writing cozy mysteries, though, that I began having dogs in most of what I wrote.  My first mystery series was the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter Mysteries, followed by its spin-off Pet Rescue Mysteries. 

            I had started writing for Harlequin before that, and those romances didn't contain dogs until I began writing the Alpha Force paranormal romance miniseries for Harlequin Nocturne.  Alpha Force is a covert military unit of shapeshifters, mostly werewolves who also have cover dogs in case anyone sees them in shifted form.  I'll soon have another miniseries with Harlequin, this time for Harlequin Romantic Suspense, about a K-9 Ranch.

            So, yes, I hope not only to continue writing books for many years to come--but I also foresee that most, if not all, of those books will contain canines.  And yes, there are more Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries in the future.

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Bad to the Bone (A Barkery & Biscuits Mystery)  

Cozy Mystery 3rd in Series Midnight Ink (May 8, 2017) Paperback: 288 pages ISBN-13: 978-0738746289 E-Book ASIN: B01M0SXJTR

Synopsis

Veterinary technician Carrie Kennersly, owner of the Barkery & Biscuits bakery for dogs, is reluctant to sell her recipes to pet food manufacturer VimPets. Jack Loroco, a VimPets representative, assures Carrie that it would be a great opportunity to grow her business. His promising new relationship with Carrie’s friend, Billi Matlock, doesn’t hurt his cause. But the budding romance takes a bad turn when Wanda Addler, another VimPets employee, sets her sights on Jack. After threatening to ruin Jack’s career if he doesn’t give her what she wants, Wanda is found dead. Jack and Billi are put at the top of the suspect list, and Carrie is doggone determined to rescue them from a life behind bars.

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