BEA'S BOOK NOOK "I can't imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once." C. S. Lewis “If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.” ― Oscar Wilde

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Living the Life of Gnarly: (Story of a K-9 Sidekick), A Guest Post by Lauren Carr


Welcome to my stop on the Twelve to Murder blog tour. I first heard of Ms. Carr at the Serendipity blog. I was intrigued and borrowed the first book, "It's Murder, My Son." Today I have a guest post from the author as she tours to celebrate the release of her newest book, "Twelve to Murder".


Lauren Carr is the best-selling author of the Mac Faraday Mysteries, which takes place in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. Twelve to Murder is the seventh installment in the Mac Faraday Mystery series.

In addition to her series set on Deep Creek Lake, Lauren Carr has also written the Lovers in Crime Mysteries, which features prosecutor Joshua Thornton with homicide detective Cameron Gates, who were introduced in Shades of Murder, the third book in the Mac Faraday Mysteries. They also make an appearance in The Lady Who Cried Murder. Dead on Ice (A Lovers in Crime Mystery) was released September 2012. The second installment, Real Murder will be out in 2014.

The owner of Acorn Book Services, Lauren is also a publishing manager, consultant, editor, cover and layout designer, and marketing agent for independent authors. This year, several books, over a variety of genre, written by independent authors will be released through the management of Acorn Book Services, which is currently accepting submissions. Visit Acorn Book Services website for more information.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She also passes on what she has learned in her years of writing and publishing by conducting workshops and teaching in community education classes.
She lives with her husband, son, and three dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.

Visit her author website at www.mysterylady.net.

Find Lauren Online:


This guest post is the story of Gnarly, German Shepherd sidekick to Mac Faraday, the star detective of Lauren Carr’s Mac Faraday Mysteries. For those who are new to the Mac Faraday Mysteries, Gnarly is the only German Shepherd to be dishonorably discharged from the United States Army. (Don’t ask them what happened. They refuse to talk about it and tend to get nasty when asked.)
Mac Faraday was a homicide detective in Washington, DC, when his life changed in one day. With the pound of a judge’s gavel, Mac’s twenty-year marriage was over and his wife got everything. He was wiped out financially. As he was leaving the courtroom, a lawyer approached him. Fearful that he was about to get another financial hit, Mac ran for three city blocks before he felt sorry for the little man chasing him.
With the expression of a child bursting to tell his secret, this lawyer informed Mac Faraday that the teenaged girl who had given him up for adoption forty-seven years earlier had grown up to become Robin Spencer, world famous murder mystery writer. Upon her death six weeks earlier, she had left her entire estate to her only child.
Mac Faraday also inherited Robin Spencer’s dog—Gnarly.
Here’s Gnarly’s story, as dictated to Archie Monday, because Mac has grounded him from using the computer after ordering a $2000 Home Pet Spa, complete with a massage attachment, on his credit card.
Take it away, Gnarly!
I was born a poor German Shepherd at Beck’s Kennels, located in a small town in West Virginia called Inwood. Okay, maybe I wasn’t exactly poor, but let’s face it, it was a far cry from Spencer Manor on Deep Creek Lake, Maryland.
Well, I could tell you about my life in the Army, but then I would have to kill you. So, I guess you want to hear about how I ended up as chief of security at Spencer Manor, Mac Faraday’s multi-million dollar estate.
It all started after the Army decided they needed to get rid—I mean, it was time for me to leave my life of service in the United States Military.
Eventually, I ended up on Spencer Point, assigned to protect this less-than-nice woman named Katrina Singleton in It’s Murder, My Son.  Let’s just say she and I didn’t see eye-to-eye. I kept trying to tell her that someone was seriously stalking her, but she wouldn’t listen and kept telling me what a bad dog I was because I was digging up her yard. She kept locking me in the garage. Hello! It was my job to protect her and she’s locking me in the garage. How am I supposed to protect someone when I’m locked up?
But there was this nice police officer, David O’Callaghan. He listened. After Katrina’s murderer almost killed me when I tried to apprehend him, David took me to the vet. Katrina’s husband ordered them to put me to sleep, but Robin Spencer, the nice lady who lived next door to Katrina, saved me.
Life with Robin Spencer (until she died a couple of months later); and then Mac and Archie Monday (Robin’s assistant) is the best. Mac has a tendency to get testy on occasion—like when I find things and bring them home. He especially gets mad when David, who it turned out is Mac’s half-brother, shows up in his role as chief of police and accuses me of stealing this stuff that I have found fair and square.
But, I flash everyone my big brown eyes. My favorite female human, Archie will jump to my defense and plead temporary insanity. David will agree to abuse his position as chief of police and cover up my crime. (He’s even paid off some of my victims to drop their complaints, but you didn’t hear that from me.) Mac will grumble, glare, and ground me.
I must confess that the life of a rich and famous K-9 is not all that it’s cracked up to be. Take Mac’s latest case in Twelve to Murder:
It was spring. The weather was fair and mild. I was supposed to have the weekend off to spend with my latest love interest, Lady Tala, on a blind date that Mac’s lady love Archie Monday had set up for me. But then, things went south. Lady Tala’s human got jealous or something. Whatever. Next thing I know, I’m back at the police station and Mac is not happy and it wasn’t just me that had his shorts in a bunch.
It turns out Mac was not having a good weekend either. Archie Monday had broken off their engagement. Like what engagement? I ask. It’s not an engagement if you don’t give the woman a ring and set a date. Even I know that and I’m a dog!
So Mac was stewing over his less than romantic weekend away from me when David called him out for a double homicide. You would think it would be an open and shut case when they found that one of the victims had written her killer’s name in her blood.
Lenny.
Well, it turns out that Lenny was Lenny Frost, the famous has been actor who had won an Oscar back when he was eight-years old. Now he’s in his thirties and can’t get arrest—Well, maybe he can.
So, I’m up to my majestic ears in afterglow and wondering why my hot date was cut short, when suddenly we’re on our way to the Blue Whale pub where Lenny Frost has taken a bunch of people hostage.
Time for me to get to work. I had to shake Lady Tala’s beautiful brown eyes out of my mind and march into the Blue Whale pub with Mac to negotiate with this madman to have the hostages released.
Sounds easy, right?
Maybe not. You see, Lenny Frost didn’t ask for a plane or money. He wants Mac to find out who killed his agent and her husband and framed him—and he gave Mac twelve hours to do it or he was going to shoot everyone!
Can Mac solve a double homicide in twelve hours? Will he be able to patch things up with Archie? Will Lenny kill him before he has the chance? If Mac doesn’t fix things with Archie, who’s going to get custody of me? Will Lady Tala’s mom forgive me for whatever it was I did?
Get Twelve to Murder to find out. Time is running out!  
 ********************************************************** 

Two people are brutally murdered in their summer place on Deep Creek Lake. Suspected of the murders, former child star and one-time teenybopper idol Lenny Frost takes innocent bystanders hostage in a local pub and demands that Mac Faraday find the killer. Can Mac save the hostages and himself from the wrath of the enraged has-been by piecing together the clues in less than twelve hours, or will it be a fatal last call at the stroke of midnight?


Publisher: Acorn Book Services 
Genre: Mystery  
Format: eBook, paperback
Release Date: February 9, 2014
Purchase: Barnes & Noble | Amazon*
 
Follow the tour:
http://www.pumpupyourbook.com/2014/02/12/pump-up-your-book-presents-twelve-to-murder-virtual-book-publicity-tour/



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3 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for inviting me here today to tell my side of the story about life as the chief of security at Spencer Manor. As you can see, it is not easy living with Mac. Why just this morning--got to go! Mac just came in and I'm not supposed to be on his lap--

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  2. This series is new to my ears. I love that guest post, I'm sold! It sounds like a fun but exciting mystery.

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    1. Thank you so much, Briane. I'm sure you'll enjoy life with Gnarly (and Mac) on Deep Creek Lake!

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