Character Interviews
Heather: Hi, all. I’m Margaret, and my job is to hang
out in the Falcon Investigations office and help my best friend, Duncan
Reynolds, and his partner, Delanie Fitzgerald, with all their private
investigative work. My full name is Margaret Thatcher Reynolds, and I’m a brown
and white English bulldog. Recently, I won first place in the Strut Your Mutt
contest. We got a gift card and a basket of all kinds of cool things. I was
also interviewed on the morning news, and I help them solve crimes and find
things. This and my newly found social media influencer status should earn me
my own office, but we’ll see. For now, I’m content with hanging out with my
pals, going for rides in his canary-yellow Camaro, and scoring all kinds of
treats. You can catch more of my heroic antics in the Delanie Fitzgerald
Mysteries by Heather Weidner.
Jayne: I
am Mr. Belvedere, a silver Great Dane. My mom (Darby Moore) and I own Ruff Day
Doggie Boutique and Dog Wash. It’s a small store on the main street of Bay
Vista, North Carolina. The front of our shop has everything, and I mean everything,
for the pampered pooch. (My favorite items are the Chewy Vitton harnesses. Oh,
so stylish!) The back of the shop has three stalls where owners can bring in
their pets (especially big ones) and give baths without worry of messing up
their own showers at home. The parents love it. The dogs? Not so much. I offer
moral support as the pups get lathered up and rinsed off. It’s not uncommon for
me to get splattered when the mutts shake off their suds. As job hazards go, it’s
not so bad. And mom gives me a good rubdown—and extra kibble—when it happens.
We
were rolling along just fine, me and my mom, until the big Bark-itecture event.
This display of wildly imaginative custom dog houses had the whole town
talking. (I don’t want to brag, but it was my mom’s idea. And all the proceeds
went to the SPCA. A win-win-win situation.) The problem arose when a dead body
was found in mom’s very un-Grinchly-like dog house inspired by her love of
Who-Ville. I wasn’t there, but I heard it was quite a traumatic event and
almost ruined my mom’s day. Make that, almost ruined my mom’s life, on account
of she could have easily lost our business. Then she would have to go back to
slinging hash at Breakfast at Stephanie’s while I sat at home and moped. I much
prefer working in the shop with her.
Mom,
ever the problem solver, started working to help find the killer. The sooner
the better, if she wanted to save our livelihood. I assisted her when suspects
came to the shop by distracting their canine companions while mom
interrogated—in the sweetest way possible— the possible killers. Of course, I’m
also on standby in the event things go south. My large size (almost 170 pounds)
intimidates most everyone. Oh dear, I fear I’ve reached my limit and there is
so much more to tell. You’ll have to read the full account of our
mystery-solving adventure in “Ruff Day” included in To Fetch a Villain, Four
Fun “Tails” of Miscreants and Murder.
Maria: Trey is a three year old Bichon. He weighs 15
pounds and he's 1 ft. tall. He was born in a dirty, ill-kept, kennel in
southern Virginia and was bought by a Virginia Beach woman before his first
birthday. This owner sold him to a service dog trainer who soon discovered
Trey's unusual intelligence. He has been trained to be alert to his owner's
needs and to protect her from danger. Trey's new owner is a deaf writer who
works from home. He alerts her when someone calls or whenever a bell or siren
or buzzer sounds. He can open the front door when necessary. He reminds his owner
to empty the clothes dryer. If she forgets to take out the trash, he tells her
when he hears the truck coming. He takes his job seriously.
Recently, his owner has taken in a new dog, also a Bichon. A
young female stray who is now known to have escaped from the same puppy farm
where Trey started life. She was used for breeding and was treated badly. Trey
is determined to help her deal with her demons and learn to enjoy life.
I think of Trey as being like Mr. Carson in Downton Abbey.
Always in charge and always knows just what to do.
As a working dog, Trey keeps his curly white hair trimmed in
pet style. The show-style cut takes too much work and he doesn't have time to
stand still for grooming.
Teresa: We are Cagney and Lacey, two Yorkshire
Terriers who help our owner Catt Ramsey, dog walker extraordinaire solve crime
and murder. Catt owns the Woof-Pack dog walkers in Virginia Beach, but she
always seems to get into mischief. That's where we come in and alert her to
dangerous situations.
About the Mutt Mysteries:
Old dogs and new
tricks abound in To Fetch a Villain, the third installment in the Mutt
Mysteries series. This collection of four novellas illustrates why dogs are our
best friends and the perfect companions for digging up clues, solving crimes,
and bringing villains to justice. Let sleeping dogs lie? Not when the MUTTS are
on the case!
RUFF DAY by Jayne Ormerod
Store owner Darby Moore suffers through a “ruff” day when a dead body is
discovered in her custom dog house. With her best friend topping the suspect’s
list, Darby knows the police are barking up the wrong tree. It’s up to Darby’s
Great Dane Mr. Belvedere to channel his inner Scooby-Doo and save the day.
AT YOUR SERVICE by Maria Hudgins
Mystery writer Jessica Chastain is deaf and relies on her service dog Trey who
acts as Jessica’s ears. Kim, a Bichon like Trey, is the latest addition to
their family. But life is not a walk in the park when someone threatens all
they hold dear. Together they take on an unethical breeder and dog-napper,
whose bite is worse than his bark.
A SHOT IN THE BARK by Teresa Inge
Dog-loving Catt Ramsey hires an ex-con as her handyman to help with her
dog-walking business at the same time a crime wave hits the neighborhood. But
it’s Catt who is accused of murder. She enlists the help of family, friends,
and her dogs Cagney and Lacey to prove man’s best friend can be crime’s worst
enemy.
STRUT YOUR MUTT by
Heather Weidner
Sassy PI Delanie Fitzgerald attends the Strut Your Mutt festival, where her
business partner’s English bulldog is a finalist in a pampered doggie pageant.
The dog’s new-found fame leads to a client with a missing poodle. Delanie and
her team put paws to the pavement, sniff out clues, and show the villain that
when you lie with the dogs, you wake up with fleas.
Let’s Be Social:
Mutt Mysteries
Website/Blog: http://muttmysteries.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MuttMysteries
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MuttMysteries1
Teresa Inge
Teresa Inge
grew up reading Nancy Drew mysteries. Today, she doesn’t carry a rod like her
idol, but she hotrods. Love of reading mysteries and writing professional
articles led to writing short fiction and novellas. She is president of Sisters
in Crime Mystery by the Sea Chapter and author of short mysteries in Virginia
is for Mysteries, 50 Shades of Cabernet, Coastal Crimes: Mysteries by the Sea, and
Murder by the Glass.
Website: www.TeresaInge.com
Website and Blog: http://www.teresainge.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@teresainge7
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teresa.h.inge
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teresa.h.inge/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/teresainge
Amazon Authors: https://www.amazon.com/Teresa-Inge/e/B06XGZ7RTG
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/teresainge7/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teresa-inge-cap-07687820/
BookBub: https://www.blurb.com/user/teresainge?profile_preview=true
AllAuthor: https://allauthor.com/author/teresaingeauthor/
Jayne Ormerod
Jayne Ormerod
grew up in a small Ohio town then went on to a small-town Ohio college. Upon
earning her degree in accountancy, she became a CIA (that’s not a sexy spy
thing, but a Certified Internal Auditor.) She married a naval officer and off
they sailed to see the world. After nineteen moves, they, along with their two
rescue dogs Tiller and Scout, have settled into a cozy cottage by the sea.
Jayne’s publishing credits include two novels, five novellas, and eight short
mysteries. A complete list can be found on her website.
Website: www.JayneOrmerod.com
Maria Hudgins
Maria Hudgins is a mystery writer and former teacher of oceanography,
biology, earth science and chemistry. She has written six Dotsy Lamb Travel
Mysteries, set in Italy, Scotland, The Greek Islands, Switzerland, England, and
Turkey. She loves to travel but is currently housebound due to the pandemic.
Her love of archaeology has led her to write two Lacy Glass Archaeology
Mysteries. Maria has worked on digs on the Isle of Man (neolithic) and in
Montana (dinosaurs), and has traveled extensively in Egypt and Turkey, studying
ancient sites.
She lives in Hampton, Virginia with her snowshoe cat, Lulu.
Website:
www.mariahudgins.com
Facebook:
Maria Hudgins
Heather Weidner
Heather Weidner writes the Delanie Fitzgerald mystery series set in
Virginia (Secret
Lives and Private Eyes, The Tulip Shirt Murders, and Glitter,
Glam, and Contraband), and her Jules Keene Glamping
Mysteries launch October 2021.Her short stories appear in the Virginia is for Mysteries series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, and Deadly Southern Charm. Her novellas
appear in The Mutt Mysteries series.
She
is a member of Sisters in Crime – Central Virginia, Sisters in Crime – Chessie,
Guppies, International Thriller Writers, and James River Writers.
Originally
from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby-Doo and Nancy
Drew. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a pair of Jack Russell
terriers.
Through
the years, she has been a cop’s kid, technical writer, editor, college
professor, software tester, and IT manager.
Website
and Blog: http://www.heatherweidner.com
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/HeatherWeidner1
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/HeatherWeidnerAuthor
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/heather_mystery_writer/
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8121854.Heather_Weidner
Amazon
Authors: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00HOYR0MQ
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/HeatherBWeidner/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-weidner-0064b233?trk=hp-identity-name
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/heather-weidner-d6430278-c5c9-4b10-b911-340828fc7003
AllAuthor: https://allauthor.com/profile/heatherweidner/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyBjyB0zz-M1DaM-rU1bXGA?view_as=subscriber
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