I'm pleased to welcome Kallie E. Benjamin to Cozy Up With Kathy today. You may also recognize Kallie as V. M. Burns and Valerie Burns. As Kallie, she writes the Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery series. SNIFFING OUT MURDER is the first book in the series and was released Wednesday.
Kathy: In SNIFFING OUT MURDER we meet Priscilla and her bloodhound, Bailey. Pris is a children's book author. Have you ever been tempted to write children's books?
KEB: The first book I ever wrote was a children’s book. I had just gotten a toy poodle, Coco, and I wrote several books about dogs. The books were intended to be entertaining and educational. Unfortunately, I never found a publisher.
Kathy: When Pris returns to her hometown she learns former high school mean girl has become the newly elected school board trustee. Have you ever had to deal with a mean girl from your youth as an adult?
KEB: Most of the mean girls from my youth have mellowed with age. However, I recently met someone who called herself a “mean girl.” She lives up to the name. Fortunately, I’m at an age where I’m better able to cope without getting involved in drama.
Kathy: It makes me so mad when arts and social programs are deemed frivolous. Also makes me want to smack that Whitney. Where you involved in these types of programs when you were in school?
KEB: When I was young, I learned how to play the violin in a music program offered at my elementary school. It was a great program to introduce kids to the arts. To this day, I’m sure I could play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, if I still had my violin.
Kathy: I love that Pris and Bailey have a pet-assisted reading program. I know that there's a similar program at my local humane society. Have you ever been involved with one?
KEB: When I lived in Indiana, my poodles, Coco and Cash, were registered therapy dogs with Therapy Dogs International. We did not participate in pet-assisted reading programs, but we used to visit nursing homes and hospitals monthly. These programs are great and I enjoyed them as much as my dogs did.
Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?
KEB: I love puzzles and I love to read. When I was a kid, I lived 3 blocks from my branch library. I used to go to the library several times each week. That’s where I read my first Agatha Christie, THE MURDER OF ROGER AKROYD. It blew my mind. It was a Whodunit, which combined my love of puzzles and my love of mysteries. After that, I read every Agatha Christie I could find and other similar books. That’s where I discovered my love of cozies.
Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?
KEB: Not yet. One day, I’d love to try my hand at writing other genres, but so far I have only written mysteries.
Kathy: Tell us about your series.
KEB: Bailey the Bloodhound is a cozy series that features elementary schoolteacher and children’s book author, Priscilla Cummings, and her three-year-old bloodhound, Bailey. Bailey has an exceptional ability for scents and tracking and an even greater ability for getting them both into trouble.
Kathy: Do you have a favorite character?
KEB: If so, who and why? I think Bailey is my favorite character. Dogs have personalities (at least my dogs do), and I love trying to find ways to show Bailey’s without words.
Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?
KEB: Each of my series features a little bit of me. This series is set in Northwestern Indiana, which is where I was born and raised. Pris does pet-assisted therapy with Bailey. I also did therapy when I lived in Indiana. This series, like my others, touches on specific parts of my life.
Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?
KEB: I’ve read cozy mysteries for decades. Over the years, I kept a list of books I wished someone would write. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that no one was writing those books, and perhaps I should try my hand at it. If I wanted to read a book about a woman who did pet-assisted therapy with her dog and solved mysteries, perhaps someone else would be interested in reading it, too.
Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?
KEB: Agatha Christie, Rex Stout, Sue Grafton, and Jane Austen. These are all favorite authors. I would love to pick their brains and learn how to create books that will inspire and entertain for generations.
Kathy: What are you currently reading?
KEB: When I’m writing, I usually read familiar books (old friends). I just finished THE CLOCKS by Agatha Christie.
Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?
KEB: I enjoy baking, reading, and spending time with my poodles, Chloe and Kensington. I also still enjoy puzzles.
Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.
KEB: Coffee, pasta, peanut butter, and pecans.
Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?
KEB: Yes. I have recently signed a contract for two more books in my Mystery Bookshop Mystery series, which I write as V. M. Burns. This will be books 10 and 11 in the series. My publisher has offered a contract for three more books in my Baker Street Mystery series, which I write as Valerie Burns. That will be books 4, 5, and 6. I have just turned in the second book in the Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery series. Fingers crossed readers will enjoy it and my publisher will want more.
Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?
KEB: I love writing. I love sitting down and seeing where the characters will go. Taking something that has just been in my head and putting it on the page makes it feel real. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Thank you so much for having me on your blog today.
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Review
SNIFFING OUT MURDER by Kallie E. Benjamin
The First Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery
With the success of her first children's book, Priscilla Cummings has returned home to Crosbyville,
Indiana with the hero of her story, her bloodhound, Bailey. The thought
that she'd have plenty of time to write after quitting her teaching job
goes out the window when she and Bailey find the body of
Whitney Kelley. The same Whitney Kelley with whom Pris had a very public
confrontation with the day before. Pris will have to convince the new
Chief of Police that she's innocent and there are plenty of more viable
suspects out there. Will she be successful or will she and Bailey have
to sniff out the killer themselves?
There's a lot of conflict and drama as SNIFFING OUT MURDER begins. Whitney and her sister are two absolutely awful people! And what Whitney did to Bailey in the diner?!?! Fortunately, there are some wonderful people in the book too, namely Pris's best friend, Marcie, and her Aunt Agatha. And of course, Bailey! I enjoyed Pris's clumsiness and how it led to several humorous moments, I also loved her intelligence and how she was able to take care of herself, with a little help from her BFF. While I knew the identity of a villain early on, I didn't know the whole story and it didn't diminish my enjoyment as I watched things play out.
With strong characters, plenty of wit, and an amazing bloodhound SNIFFING OUT MURDER is an enjoyable start to a new series.
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Sniffing Out Murder (A Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery)
by Kallie E. Benjamin
About Sniffing Out Murder
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
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