A miscellany of thoughts about dogs, cats, writing, life in the Ozarks, & occasional book reviews
I’m delighted to announce that in April I’ll be leading a course for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in Fayetteville, Arkansas. More commonly known as OLLI, the institute is a division of the University of Arkansas. I'm glad to have this chance to return to a place that holds such happy memories; I earned my …
Continue reading Move Over Miss Marple
Looking for a terrific, laugh-out loud mystery featuring a one-of-a-kind dog as narrator? I enthusiastically recommend the Doodlebugged mystery series written by the award-winning author Susan J. Kroupa. Doodle's antics are the perfect choice for dog lovers on your holiday shopping list. With four books now in the series, this is the perfect time to catch up with Doodle. Each book …
Continue reading Doodle does Christmas!
If your taste in fiction runs toward thrillers, you should definitely consider adding Libby Fischer Hellmann to your list of "want to read" authors. Long-time readers of this blog will remember I featured Libby last year after learning we have an audiobook narrator (the gifted Robin Rowan) in common. You can read that earlier post …
Continue reading Compulsively Readable Gifts
While mystery fiction has quite a few dog-related series, none of them were set in a boarding kennel at the time Deadly Ties was published. Makes a great setting with plenty of characters coming and going—and dogs, of course! The kennel becomes the physical “anchor” for the book, and for the entire series. As the series …
Continue reading Digging for Treasure
Mysteries, amateur sleuths, and dogs: a common combination, some might say. Browse the shelves of any bookstore (physical or virtual) and you'll find a fascinating collection of mystery fiction, with no two books alike. Each of us brings a different twist to the story; sometimes it's the regional setting, or perhaps the sleuth's occupation, and it's certainly the dogs! …
Continue reading Nosing Out a Series