Giveaway, Guest Post

Guest Chick: Kathleen Donnelly and a Giveaway!

Becky here to introduce you to my friend Kathleen Donnelly. We’re both in Colorado and in the same Sisters in Crime chapter. We once did a field trip to a locale where Kathleen put her adorable Sparky and Gracie through their paces to find the narcotics she had hidden. Absolutely fascinating to see her and the dogs work. In addition to having smart and adorable dogs and horses, Kathleen writes great books with … surprise … dogs and horses!

Why Do We Love Books with Animals?

I have a confession to make. I may be a mystery writer, but I didn’t start out reading Nancy Drew or Agatha Christie. Instead, when my mom took me to the library, I beelined for the section with animal books. I checked out classics like Misty of Chincoteague, The Black Stallion, and Tin Can Tucker. I read them over and over.

It wasn’t until I was in high school that a librarian introduced me to the mystery, thriller, suspense genres by suggesting I read Mary Higgins Clark. I was hooked. I sought out more suspense type books and if I happened to find a mystery that included an animal character, it was even better.

When I decided to take the plunge and write my first book, it was a military thriller. I learned a ton from writing that book and started to hone my craft. But I always felt like something was missing. This book wasn’t quite “me.” My next novel attempt had a horse in it. I found myself enjoying incorporating a horse as a character, but since I was still in a learning curve as a writer, I never finished that manuscript.

As I started to think about my next book, I realized how much I enjoyed having the horse as a character in my previous attempt. By this time, I had been a K-9 handler for several years for a private narcotics dog business called Sherlock Hounds Detection Canines. I loved handling the dogs and I had trained alongside several law enforcement officers and their K-9s—mostly Malinoises.

Gracie, Kathleen, Sparky (terrier), Boomer and Willow.

I admired these amazing dogs and their ability to not only find narcotics, but also track suspects, apprehend (the polite way of saying biting) and find evidence. The dogs had a sense of humor and were extremely high drive making them tough to handle at times, but also fun to work. I decided I wanted my next book to have a Malinois.

 And so, my K-9 character, a two-year-old Malinois named Juniper, was born. In my National Forest K-9 series, Juniper helps my protagonist, Maya, solve murders and apprehend the bad guy or gal. I’ve enjoyed creating this fun “doggie” character. I feel like Juniper is as much of a main character as Maya. I also added in a horse named Velvet. Velvet may not have as much of a role as Juniper, (for now), but I love keeping her in the books. I now realize that I enjoy not only writing the mystery, but also the human-animal connection. I think many readers enjoy that bond and I’ve noticed over the years that the K-9 books have become their own subgenre.

This leads me to wonder, Chicks and Friends, do you love reading mysteries with animals? Who are some of your favorite animal characters and why? I look forward to hearing your answers and maybe a little bit about the animals in your life.

And if you do love animals in mysteries, then you’re in luck! I’ll give a signed copy of Hunting The Truth to one lucky fellow animal-lover who tells me why they love reading a mystery with an animal character.

Award-winning author Kathleen Donnelly has been a handler for Sherlock Hounds Detection Canines—a Colorado-based narcotics K-9 company—since 2005. Enjoying the work and partnership with the dogs, in 2010, Kathleen became part owner of the company. She loves crafting realism into her fictional stories from her dog-handling experience. Along with working dogs, Kathleen trained horses and enjoys spending time with her own mare. Her love of the mountains came from growing up in Colorado. Her debut novel, Chasing Justice, won a Best Book Award from the American Book Fest and was a 2023 Silver Falchion finalist in the Suspense category and Readers’ Choice Award. She lives near the Colorado foothills with her husband and four-legged coworkers. Sign up for Kathleen’s newsletter to receive her free short story eBook collection, Working Tails.

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www.kathleendonnelly.com

Facebook–@AuthorKathleenDonnelly 

Twitter–@KatK9writer

Instagram–@authorkathleendonnelly

Goodreads–https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22280955.Kathleen_Donnelly

Photo Permission: Photos courtesy of PiperAnne Worcester Photography

Where to Purchase Hunting The Truth

About Hunting The Truth:

“Hide, Maya. Don’t let the bad people find you.”

Those are the last words Forest Service law enforcement officer and K-9 handler Maya Thompson ever heard her mother say.

Returning to the Colorado mountains, ex-soldier Maya is no longer a scared little girl. She’s here to investigate her mother’s cold case, but fear creeps in when it comes to her personal life—things are getting serious with sheriff deputy Josh Colten.

After new DNA evidence surfaces, both her beloved grandfather and Josh warn her away from the case, suspecting that she could be the next victim. But Maya doesn’t listen.

Instead, Maya and her K-9 partner, Juniper, track a suspect deep into the forest and directly into grave danger…

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38 thoughts on “Guest Chick: Kathleen Donnelly and a Giveaway!”

    1. Hi Liz and thanks for the warm welcome! You have a great point about animals in fiction. I agree, if I’m worrying about the cat being fed then I’m pulled out of the story.

      Liked by 3 people

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  2. KATHLEEN: You are a new author to me. I enjoy several mystery series with a dog as the co-lead. Authors I read include Margaret Mizushima, Paula Munier & Sara Driscoll. The dogs in these stories are K9 or search dogs.

    Chet & Bernie books by Spencer Quinn are fun reads, with the reader getting to see what happens from the dog’s POV.

    (Grace Koshida posting. WP won’t let me log on to include my name).

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. Hi Grace,
      It’s great to connect with you! You mentioned three of my favorite authors. I love their books and their K-9 characters. Margaret Mizushima and I are good friends and we often exchange beta reads which makes reading her series even more fun.
      I also love Chet and Bernie. Chet cracks me up. Spencer Quinn does a great job writing from a dog’s POV.
      Thanks for stopping by today!

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  3. Hi, Ellen here! Thanks for visiting, Kathleen. I have animals in all my series. As to them as sidekicks, I love a certain Jennifer Chow’s Sassy Cat Mysteries. 😉 all the animals in my series are pets inspired by our own beloved pets.

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    1. Hi Ellen,
      Thanks for having me as a guest chick today! I have not read Jennifer Chow’s Sassy Cat Mysteries, I’ll have to check those books out. I love that your fictional animals are inspired by your own pets. Aren’t animals the best? I just love mine and they also have inspired some of my characters.

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  4. Like you, Kathleen, my go-to books as a kid were all about animals–mostly horses, including all the “Black Stallion” books, as well as a terrific series called “Space Cat” (which was a hint of my later love for sci-fi).

    And I still love stories with animals, so I’ll definitely have to check out your National Forest K-9 series! Thanks so much for visiting the Chicks today, and congrats on the new book!

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. Hi Leslie,
      I love finding another reader who loved the “Black Stallion” books. Those books are still on my bookshelf today. I’ll have to look into “Space Cat.” That sounds like fun! I love to send my ten year old niece books with animals as being an animal lover runs in the family. Thanks for having me as a guest chick today and I hope you enjoy the National Forest K-9 series!

      Liked by 1 person

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  5. Hi, Kathleen! Three cheers to you and your K-9 series!
    I’m a cat dad, so I especially like stories with kitties in them, like The Cat Who… series. Though I enjoy any story that features people who love animals.

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. Hi J.C.,
      Thanks for the cheers! It’s great to meet you today. I love cats as well and I miss having a house cat. Someday I’ll adopt another one. I too enjoy stories with cats. I’ll have to check out the series you mentioned. Thanks so much for stopping by today!

      Liked by 2 people

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  6. Hi Kathleen, Nice to meet you, and thanks for visiting Chicks today! Your series sounds fantastic–and congrats on your latest. I have animals in my books, but they aren’t very well trained, I’m afraid. I enjoy 4-legged critters in stories as long as I’m sure no harm will befall them. Way back, I adored reading my kids books like James Howe’s Bunnicula and the The Celery Stalks at Midnight. I’m just wary of animal-centered books and movies where the (usually canine) hero dies. I hate those bittersweet, “realistic” endings.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Hi Lisa,
      Thanks for having me as a guest chick and it’s great to meet you too! I will have to check out your books with your four-legged characters. And even though my fictional K-9, Juniper, is well trained, she still manages to find ways to get into fun trouble.
      I’m with you on books or movies where a canine or any animal dies. I don’t like it. So spoiler alert on my books, animals will never die! Especially Juniper.

      Liked by 1 person

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  7. Kudos on the latest book, Kathleen! I love the animals in books because they bring out the good, bad, and ugly in the characters. For example, we think of most dogs positively, so they serve as quasi “foil characters” to reflect the traits of the protagonist and antagonist. Fun, too!

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. Hi Grant,
      Thank you for the kudos! You bring up such a great point about animals in books. They do show the good, bad and ugly in the characters. Thanks so much for stopping by today. It’s great to connect with you.

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      1. Hi Kathleen! Sorry about the wonky link in the post today. Not sure what happened, but I’m afraid I’ll screw something up if I go back in and delete it. It wasn’t there when I scheduled the post but WordPress is giving us fits lately. Grr. (As evidenced by my not being able to post my own comment and having to piggybacking on yours. Sheesh)

        Anyway … You know all about my Nala and I’m sure won’t be surprised to find out she’s kind of my Everydog. Some aspect of her is in every book I write, even showing up in the goldfish Fang in the Crossword mysteries, and Peter O’Drool the pug in my Mystery Writer’s mysteries. I’m scared of horses (long story) and allergic to cats so DOGS RULE! At least in BeckyLand.

        Liked by 1 person

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        1. Hi Becky,
          Thank you so much for having me as a guest today and your wonderful introduction! Don’t you love technology?!? No problem in regards to the wonky link. It’s easy to scroll right by it. 😉

          I love Nala! She’s so cute and I can see how she inspires your fiction. We’ll have to talk horses sometime. They can be scary! And I think all my dogs like Beckyland where DOGS RULE! Thanks again, it’s been wonderful being a guest here.

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      2. I have a Boston terrier in my WIP. The dog brings out some of the unique traits of the heroine in the story, offering those little nuances that appeal to us with pets. Mostly funny, but deadly serious, too.

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          1. Thanks! Bostons are smart, but the genius in the family was a female lab who knew and executed flawlessly dozens of hand commands. When we brought home the Boston puppy, the lab adopted him and taught him to follow all those commands. Most amazing thing I’ve seen with all the pets we’ve loved over the years.

            Liked by 2 people

          2. Labs are just the best, Grant. They are such fantastic dogs! Sounds like your Boston Terrier had a great role model. 🙂

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  8. I like that the animals often have their own personality just like the human characters. As anyone with a pet knows, they’re all different, and their antics can be crazier than any fictional thing you could think up. It’s especially fun to see the animal play a part in the story, whether pointing out a clue, helping to take down the bad guy, etc. There’s a few books I’ve read that go the extra step of providing chapters from the animal’s POV. I always find that entertaining.

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    1. Hi Alicia,
      You are right on about animals having their own personality! My dogs each have their own quirks and when I work them, they are very different. It’s fun to bond with each dog and learn to work with them as individuals. I would say a little bit of each of my dogs is in my fictional K-9, Juniper.

      I’ve enjoyed books that include the animal’s POV too. I debated doing that, but somehow it didn’t seem to fit for this series. But maybe in another book down the road. Thanks for stopping by today!

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  9. I’m allergic to most pets, so animals in the books I read are the only pets I have. I enjoy it and often find myself wanting to get a pet. They are so charming and usually well behaved.

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    1. Hi Mark,
      My husband is actually allergic to dogs and horses too. Poor guy! But allergy shots have helped him out quite a bit. I’m glad you can get your pet fix through fiction. That’s a fun way to keep animals in your life!

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    1. Hi Jennifer,
      Thanks for having me as a guest chick! It sounds like you have a great series with cats. I look forward to checking them out. I loved Black Beauty and National Velvet too. Great stories. I really wanted to be a jockey after reading National Velvet, but then my mom broke the news to me that I was too tall. I’m 5’11” so she was right on that one. Good thing you can live vicariously through books. 🙂

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  11. From one Kathleen to another, welcome!! Congrats on your fabulous series and Hunting the Truth!

    I absolutely love animals, full stop–and I love them in mysteries! I made the (unusual?) decision to include a hamster in mine: the incomparable Miss Vanilla!

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Hi Kathleen,
      It’s always great to meet another Kathleen! 🙂 Thank you for the congrats. I love it that your mystery has a hamster named Miss Vanilla! I bet she is adorable. Thanks so much for stopping in so I could meet another animal loving mystery writer named Kathleen.

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  12. I loved Black Stallion, too. Thank you for your wonderful talent, for not only writing, but also for beautifully bridging the gap between humans and the other wonderful species that so deeply enrich our lives!

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    1. The Black Stallion was an amazing story! I enjoyed the whole series. Thank you so much for stopping in today and for joining me in celebrating the amazing creatures that we get to share our world with.

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