Hi, there, Mr. Dog. What is your name and your author’s name?

My name is Bailey and I’m a bloodhound. My author’s pen name is Kallie E. Benjamin, but she’s really Valerie Burns. I don’t really understand why she is using a different name, but humans do some strange things.

That’s for sure. Tail wags to you, Bailey.

What book(s) have you appeared in? Please list them and their genre. Well, technically this is the first book that I’ve been in. It’s a cozy mystery called Sniffing Out Murder.

Condogulations!

Are you in a series? If so, please give information about it.

This is the first book in the Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery series. In the first book, Sniffing Out Murder, I work with my human, Priscilla Cummings. Pris is a school teacher, but she decided to write a children’s detective book about me, The Adventures of Bailey the Bloodhound, Pet Detective. Of course, my book was very successful, so Pris was able to quit her job and is now going to focus on writing about me.  

Bloodhounds have exceptional noses which make us great for tracking scents and finding people. Pris says my nose gets her in trouble. But, it’s not my fault that someone murdered the mean woman who stepped on my tail and got into an argument with Pris. Then, they buried her in the park where I caught their scent. I mean, any bloodhound worth their salt could have picked up that trail. I’m not sure why anyone would believe Pris murdered her, but none of that was my fault. Still, I felt bad for my human, so I made a point of helping her figure out whodunit. After all, I’m Bailey the Bloodhound, Pet Detective.

Wow, Meow! I love it.

Are you based on a real dog such as your author’s? If so, please give further details.

My author loves dogs, but for some reason she has poodles. So, I’m not based on a real dog. My author did talk to a friend named Larissa who had a bloodhound named Bocephus. We share quite a few things in common, but I’m an original.

Of claws you are, as am I, even though I was originally based on Debbie’s Siamese who is now over the rainbow bridge.

 Can you share an excerpt from one of your books that features you in an important scene? If so, please include it.

“Like any detective worthy of the title, Bailey knew that the only way to catch a criminal was to put his nose to the ground and sniff out the clues. With any luck, he’d pick up the scent quickly to help take a bite out of the crime wave hitting the city.”

I walked through the park reciting the lines out loud, letting the words marinate in my mind. It sounded okay, but it didn’t make my heart race with anticipation. Nancy Drew’s place within the annals of children’s crime fiction was secure. The first book in The Adventures of Bailey the Bloodhound, Pet Detective, series, The Case of the Missing Maltese, had flowed out of my head and onto the page like . . . well, like honey. This second book felt forced. I felt like I was scraping words out of my head with a dull spoon. I wouldn’t mind if I were digging out good words, but this draft certainly didn’t have the same zing as the first book.

Kids had loved the first book and were clamoring for more, but these eight-to-twelve-year-old middle-grade readers have high standards. They expect books to be well written, funny, and relevant, even if they can’t articulate that’s what they want. As a former elementary school teacher, or soon-to-be former teacher, I knew that kids could be exuberant with praise and brutal with criticism. My insecurities went into hyperdrive. What if I didn’t have any more books in me? What if I was a one-book wonder? “Ugh!”

With a strong tug on the leash, Bailey lurched me out of the pool of self-doubt where I was wallowing around like a baby seal. Bailey wasn’t keen on wallowing, unless it involved mud, freshly cut grass, or his favorite eau de parfum-deer poop. The best thing about a bloodhound was also sometimes the worst thing. They were Grade A scent hounds known for their tracking ability, especially when it came to tracking lost or missing humans. Usually bloodhounds, although large, substantial dogs, were docile creatures. However, whenever they were on the trail of a particular scent, they were unyielding and stubborn. Bailey, my three-year-old bloodhound, was no different. When he was working, he was all nose, but we weren’t working. This was supposed to be a casual walk. However, I could tell from the slight prick of his heavy ears, the wiggling nose that barely left the ground, and the pull on his leash that he’d picked up a scent and was determined to follow it to the end. I just hoped that he wouldn’t track anything that would get us both into trouble, again. Every time I see a flower bed, I’m reminded of Bailey covered in dirt and the look on my former neighbor Mrs. Goldstein’s face as her award-winning peonies were utterly destroyed. Bailey’s nose and my inquisitive nature could be a bad combination. However, I was determined to avoid trouble, especially around this town.

I gave his leash a gentle tug. “Come on, buddy. We’re not tracking anything today. We both need to keep our noses clean and avoid falling down any rabbit holes.”

Bailey pulled his nose from the ground and glanced back at me. His eyes said, I have no idea what you mean. My nose is always clean.

“Don’t give me that look. You know what I mean.”

He snorted and continued to sniff.

“I quit my job so I could write full-time and finish our next book, not so you could hound out trouble. No distractions. No mysteries. Nothing. We’re going to lie low and focus on writing. Besides, nothing ever happens in Crosbyville, Bailey.”

This time Bailey didn’t bother lifting his nose off the ground. He grunted and continued sniffing. I rolled my eyes.

Pawsome!

What do you like most about your role in your authors’ books?

I love that my author is recognizing my breed. We are an old and noble breed that was believed to have been bred by monks at the Saint-Hubert Monastery in Belgium in 1,000 AD. I like that I have an opportunity to show how useful we are in tracking down scents and bringing criminals to justice. I do important work.

Good for you!

Are you a talking dog in your books or just a silent one like I am who just meows occasionally?

I talk to my human, but she doesn’t seem to understand me. Sadly, she hasn’t learned to speak canine. So, she has to rely on my facial expressions, body language, and other cues to understand what I’m trying to tell her. It’s a lot of work getting her to understand. Sometimes, I have to go to great lengths just to get her attention. Eventually, she catches on, but it would be a lot easier if she would just learn to speak canine.

MOL (Meow Out Loud). I feel the same way about Alicia. While I am now communicating with my pet co-stars and readers, Alicia is still in the dark.

What advice would you give other dog characters?

If you have a human who doesn’t understand canines, like mine, don’t give up on them. It’s not their fault that they were never taught to be bilingual. If you’re patient, then you will be able to figure out ways to communicate with them.

Purr-fect advice.

Do you have any new books coming out? Please give dates and details.

My author writes other series under different pen names (there’s that pen name thing again). Sniffing Out Murder, is the first book featuring me. However, she recently released a book, Murder on Tour, as V. M. Burns. It’s the 9^th book in her Mystery Bookshop Mystery series. It’s pretty good, even though there are no bloodhounds in it. That series just has poodles. My author also writes a Baker Street Mystery series. She uses her real name, Valerie Burns, for that one. The latest book, Murder is a Piece of Cake, released a few months ago. The third book in that series, A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death, will release in August 2024.

Boy, your author is a busy bee.

Are you and/or your author on social media? If so, please list your links.

I don’t really have time to spend on social media. My author spends a lot of time on social media.Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/v-m-burns

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vmburnsbooks/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vmburnsbooks/

Website:  vmburns.com

Thanks for sharing your author’s social media links, and thanks for the interview. Best tail wags to you and your author on your new series.

Sniffing Out Murder (A Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery)
by Kallie E. Benjamin

About Sniffing Out Murder

Sniffing Out Murder (A Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Indiana
Berkley (December 5, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593547357
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593547359
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BXKHGG75

When a murder unleashes a widespread investigation through Crosbyville, children’s book author Pris and her trusty bloodhound, Bailey, must sniff out the truth before the whole town goes to the dogs.

After deciding that life as a teacher wasn’t right for her, Priscilla found inspiration for her first children’s book in her three-year-old bloodhound’s nose for truth, and so The Adventures of Bailey the Bloodhound was born. After the book’s massively pawsitive response led Pris to move back to her hometown of Crosbyville, Indiana, to continue the series, she’s surprised by how things have changed in the town, but even more so how they haven’t.

Pris is frustrated to discover that newly elected school board trustee Whitney Kelley—a former high school mean girl—is intent on making Crosbyville more competitive by eliminating “frivolous spending” on the arts and social programs, including Pris and Bailey’s beloved pet-assisted reading program. A minor altercation between them isn’t anything unusual, but after Bailey sniffs out Whitney’s body in a bed of begonias, locals start hounding Pris and Bailey as suspects for the crime.

With Bailey’s sharp senses and Pris’s hometown know-how, can they prove to the community that they’re all barking up the wrong tree?

About Kallie E. Benjamin

Kallie E. Benjamin (Valerie Burns) is the author of the Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery series. The first book, Sniffing Out Murder releases on December 5, 2023. Valerie is an Agatha, Anthony, Edgar, and Next Generation Indie Book Award finalist. Writing as V. M. Burns she is the author of the Mystery Bookshop Mystery, Dog Club Mystery, and RJ Franklin Mystery series. Writing as Valerie Burns, she is the author of the Baker Street Mystery series. Valerie is also an adjunct professor in the Writing Popular Fiction Program at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA. Born and raised in northwestern Indiana, Valerie now lives in Northern Georgia with her two poodles.

Author Links

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/v-m-burns

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vmburnsbooks/

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16534140.V_M_Burns

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vmburnsbooks/

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/vmburns

Website: vmburns.com

Purchase Links
Amazon Apple Books-A-Million Barnes and Noble Bookshop.org Google Play Hudson Booksellers Powells Target KOBO Walmart

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December 5 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR GUEST POST

December 5 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

December 5 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

December 5 – Cozy, Suspenseful, and Sweet – SPOTLIGHT

December 6 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

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