THE DOG NEVER DIES.

ANIMAL LOVERS KNOW THE FEELING.

You’re halfway through a good book. There’s a dog. You’ve grown attached to the dog. And suddenly you begin to worry. Please don’t kill the dog.

YOU CAN RELAX. Animals have always played an important role in my stories. Not simply as background scenery or lovable companions, but as characters who help move the plot forward. And very often, those animals are dogs.

In the Rancho Exotica Mystery Series, Bodhi, a Shepherd–Cocker mix, is the constant companion of senior amateur sleuths Claire and Avery. He’s also an occasional problem solver, whether the sisters realize they need his help or not. In Ghosts of the Wild Beasts, Blair is a rescued pit bull whose ears were, “docked by an a-hole with pinking shears.” Blair, more than a survivor and beloved companion, ultimately helps lead to the mystery’s final solution.

BUT IT ISN’T JUST DOGS.

In A Venue of Vultures, a gathering of vultures leads Avery and Claire to a dead body—and straight into their first murder investigation. In A Zeal of Zebras, the zebras themselves become the apparent murderers of one of Rancho Exotica’s residents.

Of course, Claire, Avery, Madelyn and the other humans still have to do some of the work. But the animals matter.

And I have one more rule: THE DOG NEVER DIES.

Not from murder. Not from an accident. Not from disease. Not even from old age. My fictional dogs may get into trouble. They may lead their humans somewhere they would rather not go. But when you meet a dog in one of my books, you don't have to spend the next 200 pages worrying about what the author is going to do to him.

Because there are plenty of ways to break a reader’s heart. And killing the dog doesn’t have to be one of them.