Mutt Mysteries

  Writing, of course! Release date February 16, 2022. Pre-order HERE . 

..And so do we! May we be aware we are shifting just like the wind.      It's a new season here at Mutt Mysteries central.      Rosemary Shomaker is stepping away from the team of contributing authors. We thank Rosemary for her above-and-beyond efforts on To Fetch a Thief  and To Fetch a Scoundrel.  New things on the horizon for the talented writer, and we wish her all the best.      The Mutt Mysteries authors would like to welcome Maria Hudgins to the pack! Her novella will appear in this fall's To Fetch a Villain . Welcome, Maria! You can read more about Maria and her many cozy accomplishments at www.mariahudgins.com      Rest assured that the remaining Mutt Mystery authors are still on the case: Teresa Inge, Jayne Ormerod and Heather Weidner. Watch for the release of the third Mutt Mystery soon! 

The Rest of the World Could Learn a lot  From a Day in Elementary School Rosie: Hello, Richard. You and your wife Kathy have traveled the road from your roles as rural Virginia parents to that of parents of two professional baseball athletes. Your older son Justin plans to continue his MLB career once we reach our “new normal” in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Your first book, Rocks Across the Pond (2012), is a beautiful, grand book. I say grand because it is large, like a coffee table book. The subtitle says it all: “Lessons Learned. Stories Told.” Dogs seem to be part of those lessons. The Mutt Mysteries authors learned you were authors and dog lovers. You’ve met other RVA writers on your trips to talk to children at schools. It’s through one such author that I connected with you, and we are grateful that you and Kathy wrote the foreword to the newest Mutt Mysteries book, To Fetch a Scoundrel . Your first book gave readers a look at your lives. Your secon...

Woof! Ruff. Woof, woof. Rumble—brrr. Howl, sing, ruff . Hello, Mutt Mysteries readers; I’ll translate my dog-speak to English so you understand me. I’m Cloud, the loyal and brave miniature poodle in “Ruff Goodbye." I’m light gray and fluffy; no “show cuts” for me! My human, Curtis Powell, promised me I’d never have to sport a Continental Clip, Lamb Clip, Lion Cut, Cupcake Cut, or any of those varied, yet typical, poodle dog salon special “hairdos.” Nope, the dog show circuit was not for us. Don’t get me wrong, those canines work very hard, and well, they look fantastic. That’s just not for us. I look more like the second image I’ve sent with this interview. My favorite human, Curt, has died of cancer as “Ruff Goodbye” unfolds, and you get to meet me and other characters as the community mourns his death. My next favorite humans are Curt’s stepdaughter Julie and his wife Sharon. Curt’s friends know me, and in the story my barking alerts them to problems. I defend Sharon whe...

Hello, readers! I’m Len Hayes, and I’m the bar owner in Rosemary Shomaker’s “Ruff Goodbye.” I’m on the tall side and in my forties. I met my lovely wife Joyce in another city, and we moved to the small city where she was raised to open our business. She’s a great cook, and she was right that a seafaring-themed restaurant with a prominent bar would prove popular here. We’ve got a resident dog at The Beacon; he’s a bit peculiar. Read on to learn more about me and the particulars of “Ruff Goodbye.” Where is your favorite place to visit? My favorite place to visit is my office in The Beacon. Whereas The Beacon is filled with nautical and ocean decor and music, my office is a tan and brown ordered work area with a desk and our business filing cabinets, computer, printer, and phone. The office area is large enough to also include a few club chairs, a nice coffee table, and a large circular table surrounded by captain’s chairs. The playlist in my office is jazz, not the sailing a...

Dogs yearn to run free! Our story mutts are no exception! They will be unleashed on March 3 when To Fetch a Scoundrel hits the sales floor .   This week we're offering “treats” to the reader, in the form of insights into why the author chose a particular setting, and a brief excerpt of the story. Today’s feature: “RUFF GOODBYE” by Rosemary Shomaker We asked Rosemary why she chose to set her story where she did: What prompted me to set “Ruff Goodbye" in a bar and a funeral home? I set the story in a bar and a funeral home because the contrast in settings interested me. When I think of funeral homes, I think of decorum, seriousness, and containment. As the ashes or body of the deceased are “contained” in an urn or a casket, so are the grief and emotions of funeral home visitors contained—until, for some, the bareness of death causes true feelings and honesty to leak or flare. We’ve all seen it. The sobs, outburst, or physical crumpling of one attendee dissolves t...

Mutt Madness continues as we count down to March 3rd, when  To Fetch a Scoundrel, Four Fun “Tails” of Scandal and Murder will be released. This week's posts share a little about each story, and a peek behind the creative curtain as to where each author got her idea. Today’s feature… “RUFF GOODBYE” by Rosemary Shomaker Bar owner Len Hayes’ frenemy Perry Lambert brings misery to all. Len finds himself strong-armed into shady business dealing by Winks family human attack dog Rocco Moretti, compliments of Perry. Len’s grief over his best friend Curt’s cancer death imbalances him, and everything unravels at Curt’s funeral home visitation. The bar’s stoic black Lab and Curt’s miniature poodle have Len’s back and resolve the mayhem. We asked Rosemary where she found inspiration for her story: The peace and beauty of an actual funeral home were the inspiration for “Ruff Goodbye” in  To Fetch a Scoundrel . A member of my local mystery writing group, Sisters in...

Dear Santa, My cousin Ringer the hound dog says he loves his job in your workshop with the elves. He hits a button every time the team finishes making a toy, so bells peal in the workshop every day, all day long, he says. There will be no trouble meeting the demand for toys this Christmas! As a surprise for the elves, Ringer learned a repertoire of holiday songs and uses his paws to strike a panel of buttons—the elves like hearing the multiple tones resolve into full songs, so they work faster, and they sing along. Ringer’s straight instrumentals have proven popular, too. Bach’s Prelude from Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major is often requested, the low bell tones featuring prominently. The elves slow their pace a bit for this uplifting but mellow piece and emerge focused and energized.  I’ve got Ringer on my Christmas list. Could you give him a chance to babysit the youngest reindeer? He’d receive the assignment as if it was a gift, and he’d be the best steward of these rambunc...

I’m watching the televised US House of Representatives Impeachment inquiry hearing and hoping many of these witnesses and interrogators have dogs in their lives. For some people dogs provide companionship and comfort. For others, I realize, dogs do not play positive roles, or any roles, in their lives. They may have a fear of dogs, may have other pets or not pets by choice or necessity, or they may find care of their current canines a chore. I find real solace in dogs. Even thinking of dogs relaxes me. The stress, rancor, and gravity of the impeachment hearings bespeak the seriousness of those proceedings. I am transfixed. My attention lags as I watch these because of the heavy tone. To counter this, my imagination steps in to provide relief. How much better would this all be if each of these witnesses held a dog in his/her lap during testimony? I picture a dog lying next to each congressional member’s (and staff) seat on the dais. The audience? In my mind, the room is already cr...

I composed this blog while on the road to an emergency management Mass Care Symposium. Sound intriguing? Let’s begin with the definition of “mass care.” It’s the capability to provide immediate shelter, feeding centers, basic first aid, bulk distribution of needed items, and related services to persons affected by a large-scale incident. You may be comforted to know that the Federal Emergency Management Administration — FEMA — has a mass care strategy, and that FEMA, along with the American Red Cross formed a National Mass Care Council around 2010/2011. That council is co-chaired by the American Red Cross, FEMA, the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA), and the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (National VOAD), and is comprised of members from Big City Emergency Managers (  bigcityem.org ), federal Department of Health and Human Services, Feeding America (  feedingamerica.org ), N...

ATTENTION BOOK CLUBS!  If your club is reading To Fetch a Thief, Four Fun Tails of Theft and Murder,  then be sure and check out discussion questions to help you foster lively discussion. Questions are on the "THE QUESTIONS" tab of this blog, or click here to be whooshed away immediately.   

   Barks and woofs overlaid snarls and growls coming from the shaded depths. Adam followed the noises, scanning the ground for a hefty stick. Each one he chose broke apart, raining particles of rot onto his shoes. He took the ball launcher out of his pocket. The sound of rattling chain link alarmed him, and he extended the handle as he ran to the park’s boundary. Not a sturdy weapon, but it served. Mary approached and retreated from the fence repeatedly, barking furiously. On the other side a yipping and whining animal tracked between a mound of leaves and the fence. It snarled, lunging at the fence with teeth bared as if to attack Mary. “GEE-Yah! GEE-Yah!” Adam screamed in the time-tested bellow his father taught him that never failed to scatter unfriendly—and friendly—dogs. Adam dropped the flinger and used both hands to throw sticks at the animal. From his recent park kiosk lesson, Adam identified the threat as a coyote. Two runners drawn by the noise also ...

Hi, Jayne. Thanks for asking questions about my Mutt Mysteries story, “This is Not a Dog Park.” Tell us about the furry members of your family. The last furry one in my home is my aging dog Current. He’s the best, especially now that he no longer runs full tilt all the time. He’s quite a laid back old guy now, although walks and his backyard life in a big, treed yard brings out the pup in him. He’s a mutt with predominant hound tendencies. He began life with all black fur, but now he’s much grayed in the face and up the fore- and hind legs. He has sweet deep brown eyes. How did your dog(s) pick you to be his/her/their fur-ever mom? We selected Current as a puppy for my then 12-year old daughter. She wanted a puppy, and I thought our “puppy project” would be a perfect way for her to have a wholesome, young teenager focus and distract her from pre-teen angst. It worked! She’s nurturing anyway, so Current got a great mom. Once my daughter left for college, my son was happ...