Animals and Cozies

by Linda O. Johnston

Last time I blogged here at Writers and Other Animals, my topic was Animals, Novels and Me.  I described how all of my cozy mysteries, and some of my romances, involve animals.  Why?  Because I love animals!

Today I want to talk about how many animal themes there can be in cozy mysteries.  The answer, of course, is that the possibilities are infinite, as wide in scope as there are animals.

I'm especially a dog lover.  I think that's apparent by my focus on dogs in my mysteries, especially my Pet Rescue Mysteries.  My protagonist Lauren Vancouver runs a wonderful no-kill shelter that also saves cats, but she, too, is more of a dog lover so the stories are mostly themed around issues that threaten dogs.

And in my upcoming Superstition Mysteries, my protagonist there, Rory Chasen, who happens to own a lucky dog named Pluckie, will become the manager of the Lucky Dog Boutique.

I'm not the only one who centers cozy mysteries on dogs.  For example, my host here at Writers and Other Animals, Sheila Webster Boneham, writes the Animals in Focus Mysteries.  That's Animals in Focus, not Dogs in Focus.  Even so, many of those animals happen to be dogs.  Her upcoming book Catwalk obviously features a cat, but that doesn't mean dogs don't play a major role, too.

Then there are the Pampered Pets Mysteries by Sparkle Abbey, which likewise feature dogs... and cats.  And the Downward Dog Mysteries by Tracy Weber, where yoga is important, but so is the protagonist's dog.  And the Paws and Claws Mysteries by Krista Davis--also featuring both dogs and cats.  And the Barking Detective Mystery Series by Waverly Curtis, which happens to have a very special Chihuahua in it. 

Some mysteries feature cats without dogs, such as The Cat in the Stacks mysteries by Miranda James and the Magical Cats Mystery Series by Sofie Kelly.

Other animals can be the subjects of mysteries, too.  I took advantage of that in my Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter Mysteries.  Kendra happed to live in the Hollywood Hills, as I do.  She is a lawyer, as I was.  And she happens to own a tricolor Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Lexie, which, coincidentally, is a description of my older Cavalier.  You can guess by the titles of some of the Pet-Sitter Mysteries what animals besides dogs were featured in them: NOTHING TO FEAR BUT FERRETS, FINE-FEATHERED DEATH, MEOW IS FOR MURDER, THE FRIGHT OF THE IGUANA, NEVER SAY STY, and FELINE FATALE, to mention a few.

I haven't attempted to describe all the mysteries there are that happen to involve, or feature, animals.  That's partly because there are so many of them!  Plus, there are more being published all the time.  Apparently not only authors, but readers, too, enjoy animals in their mysteries! 

How about you?  Do you enjoy animals?  Reading about them?  Having them as pets? 

Come visit me at my website:  www.LindaOJohnston.com   You can also friend me on Facebook.  I additionally blog weekly on KillerHobbies.blogspot.com   on Wednesdays, where my Killer Hobby is supposed to be pets--but we all know that pets aren’t hobbies.  They’re family!  I also blog on the 18th of each month on Killer Characters--or at least my characters do.  And I additionally blog on Inkspot, the blog of Midnight Ink authors, and on the 6th of each month at A Slice of Orange, the blog of the Orange County Chapter of Romance Writers of America.  As I've mentioned before, I blog a lot! 

Animals, Novels and Me by Linda O. Johnston

Anyone who reads my novels lately may see a theme in many of them.  I’m currently writing cozy mysteries, paranormal romances and romantic suspense novels--three fun but different genres.  What’s similar about them?  Well, mine all contain some degree of romance and suspense.  But the first two--cozy mysteries and paranormal romances?  They all involve animals!

Which is why I'm absolutely delighted to be guest blogging here at Writers & Other Animals.  I can blog about my writing, sure.  But I can also blog about how much I adore animals--especially dogs!

My most recent cozy mysteries are the Pet Rescue Mysteries from Berkley Prime Crime.  The protagonist, Lauren Vancouver, runs a private no-kill animal shelter and finds herself in all sorts of situations in which she not only has to save animals' lives, but also solves murders when she, or her friends, are accused of the killings.  The latest, TEACUP TURBULENCE, features the situation in which dogs are rescued in areas where it's very hard to find them loving homes--so rescuers remedy that by moving them to areas where they're in demand.  Yes, such organizations really exist, I'm delighted to say.  In TEACUP TURBULENCE, rescued teacup-sized dogs are moved from middle America, where they're not wanted, to Los Angeles.  In reality, there's usually a glut of small dogs here in L.A., where I live, but in my story some amazingly cute ads put them in demand.  And in the Pet Rescue Mysteries, "no-kill" means pets, not people!

The Pet Rescue Mysteries are a spinoff from my Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mystery series, also for Berkley Prime Crime. 

And I'm delighted to report that my first Superstition Mystery, LOST UNDER A LADDER, will be published in October 2014 by Midnight Ink.  Yes, it's about superstitions.  But it's also about animals, including the superstitions involving them.  Plus my protagonist Rory Chasen winds up running the Lucky Dog Boutique in the fictional town of Destiny, California, where the Superstition Mystery stories occur.

Then there are my Harlequin Nocturnes, paranormal romances.  The first, ALPHA WOLF, was published five years ago, and several more have been published since then, including novellas.  Two more novels will be published this year: UNTAMED WOLF and LOYAL WOLF.  You can tell from the titles that wolves are involved--but not just any wolves.  These stories all involve Alpha Force, a super-secret U.S. military force... of shapeshifters.  And all of the shapeshifters have cover animals as pets that look like them when they're shifted.  I’ve also written another Nocturne, BACK TO LIFE, about a woman with Valkyrie powers of bringing the dying back to life--and she happens also to be a canine cop. 

Unfortunately, so far neither of my Harlequin Romantic Suspense novels has involved animals.  But if the situation arises, I'll work a pet or two in one of those stories, too!

And, yes, there are more to come that also include animals... but I'll talk about them some other time. 

Come visit me at my website:  www.LindaOJohnston.com  You can also friend me on Facebook. I recently joined the Writers & Other Animalsgroup there!  I additionally blog weekly on KillerHobbies.blogspot.com   on Wednesdays, where my Killer Hobby is supposed to be pets--but we all know that pets aren’t hobbies.  They’re family!  I also blog on the 18th of each month on Killer Characters--or at least my characters do.  And I additionally blog on Inkspot, the blog of Midnight Ink authors, and on the 6th of each month at A Slice of Orange, the blog of the Orange County Chapter of Romance Writers of America.  Come to think of it, I blog a lot! 

Which only makes me happier to be here--and I hope to blog at Writers & Other Animals often.