BOOK REVIEW - "31 SPIRITUAL LESSONS I LEARNED FROM MY DOG" BY RAYLENE KING

Are you in the market for a devotional that will challenge and inspire you, and be fun and entertaining at the same time? This book is one you'll enjoy.

This is a collection written by a pastor's wife and is focused on their interactions with their dachshund Cosmo. Behind each story, there's a spiritual lesson: sometimes, we take the role of Raylene and Dennis as they try to adjust to and train a lively little dog, and sometimes in the role of Cosmo, comparing his interactions with his human masters with our relationship to our Divine and heavenly Master.

Each 1-3 page devotional starts with a Cosmo story, and moves to the practical application in our lives, reinforced with a few Scripture references and concluding with a prayer. After each devotional, there's a one page "Paws for reflection," autographed with Cosmo's pawprints.

I'm putting this book on my devotional rotation list, so I can benefit from it again.

By the way, Dennis and Raylene are among Becky's and my closest friends, and we were very familiar with Cosmo and his successor Duncan. Dennis also is brother of Claude King, who is a discipleship specialist.

INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR TERRI REED

 

JR: As a writer, do you tend to be more of a plotter, or more of a blank pager? Additionally, as a regular contributor to Love Inspired Suspense's K-9 series, how does this impact your normal approach?

TR: I’m definitely a plotter, but I allow for some leeway as I’m writing. My characters will sometime surprise me by doing, saying or feeling something that I hadn’t planned on and I’ve learned those are some of the best moments to allow the story to go where it needs to go. As for the K-9 series, each author is given a synopsis to loosely follow when writing but we are given permission to tweak the story to make it our own.

JR: Your most recent release, I believe, is Alaskan Rescue, the first in the Alaska K-9 Unit series. Which is more fun? Starting the story as in this case? Winding it up? Or writing something in the middle, as Seeking The Truth (True Blue K-9 Unit, part 5) or Explosive Situation (True Blue K-9 Unit Brooklyn, part 4)?

TR: Ohh, good question. Each position in the series has its perks and downside. There’s a lot of pressure being the first book. The author starting off the series has to set up the world of the series, lay out the overarching threads that will run through all the books while at the same time having its own story arc. Being the author who wraps up the series also has the job of making sure all the threads are tied up in nice little bows, that all the characters from the series are mentioned with their happily ever after endings and, also, having their own story arc to give the reader a satisfying ending. The middle books need to make sure they are pulling the threads through from the previous books and, also, setting up clues and such for the next books, all while having their own story arc. Continuities are challenging in a good way and I really enjoy writing them. 

JR: By the way, I absolutely loved Seeking The Truth and Explosive Situation. Would you like to tell us about them and what inspired those stories? And especially, one of my favorite supporting cast members: Kitty?

TR: LOL, Kitty was special!

In Explosive Situation, Olivia Vance is out to prove herself as an internal affairs officer by investigating the accusations leveled against K-9 detective Henry Roarke, but it soon becomes clear Henry and his K-9 partner, Cody, a bomb sniffing beagle, are being targeted by a bomber with a grudge and she’s in the crosshairs. Henry may not like having Olivia digging into his life, but he’s sworn to protect the innocent from harm, including the internal affairs officer and her hairless cat, Kitty. Working together, Olivia and Henry race to stop the bomber before they all lose their lives. 

In Seeking the Truth, Rachelle Clark, the heroine is an ambitious reporter who sets out to interview a K-9 officer, Carter Jameson, about his job and the upcoming K-9 Trials, but she secretly is investigating the murder of his brother and unknowingly puts a target on her back. Carter wants nothing to do with reporters who have made his family’s lives miserable chasing after the story of his brother’s death. His K-9 partner, Frosty, a white German shepherd, on the other hand takes an immediate shine to the pretty lady. When Carter’s tasked with protecting Rachelle, he’s resentful but slowly her southern charm breaks through the defenses of this NYC cop, but can he save her before it’s too late?

JR: As a regular K-9 writer, you don't like dogs, do you? Do you have any dogs? And do they inspire your stories? (I'll admit - I would be surprised if a K-9 story includes my favorite breeds - Keeshonds and Miniature Pinscers.)

TR: I love dogs! I do have a beautiful five-year-old Australian shepherd. We do agility together which has been such a fun activity for us both. I’ve used some of the training I’ve learned with my dog in my stories to bring some realism to the dogs and the handlers. I haven’t written a story yet with either of the two breeds you mention. Hmmm. I will have to suggest them to my edtior.

JR: I see you're working on a story that lacks a dog on the cover. Could you tell us about Dangerous Pursuits and Protecting The Heiress?

TR: Yes, not all of my stories contain dogs. I have a series set in Colorado that features horses, though I did sneak in a dog in one of the books. Though there is no dog in the novella, Protecting the Heiress, the story is a fast-paced tale about a reluctant heiress who needs the protection of the intelligence officer who broke her heart if she is to make it to the reading of her father’s will alive. Here’s the blurb:

 

Time is running out...

On a damp Seattle night, Cecily Fairhaven is rescued from a mugger by the man who broke her heart, Malcolm Cruz. When she learns it’s not a coincidence that Malcolm has shown up out of the blue and that her life is in danger, she must set aside her hurt and anger to trust the man she once loved. But is she really safe? Or will she suffer another broken heart when he leaves?

US Air Force Operations of Special Investigations Agent Malcolm Cruz received a cryptic message begging him to protect Cecily. To honor the man who’d been instrumental in his career, Malcolm wasted no time traveling across the world to safeguard the only woman he’s ever loved and to ensure she makes its home to deal with her father’s estate. But as the threats against her escalate and his feelings for her resurface, he begins to wonder if either of them will come out of this unscathed.

JR: Thank you for your time. Are there any other projects you want to mention? How can we keep up with what you're up to?

TR: Thank you for having me! My upcoming book, Secret Sabotage - book four in my Bristle Township series, releases this coming February 2022. 

The crash was intentional…But he can’t remember why.

With no memory of the crash that landed him in a hospital, Ian Delaney is determined to uncover who sabotaged his helicopter—without the protection of his family-appointed bodyguard. But Simone Walker’s used to stubborn clients and won’t let Ian leave her sight. To catch an unknown traitor, they must rely on each other…or the next attack could prove lethal. From Love Inspired Suspense: Courage. Danger. Faith.

Readers can find me: 

• https://www.amazon.com/Terri-Reed/e/B001H9VYCQ%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share 
• http://www.terrireed.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/terrireedauthorpage/
• https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/178940.Terri_Reed
• https://www.bookbub.com/authors/terri-reed
• https://www.instagram.com/terrireedauthor/

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Pair of questions for my readers.

1. I doubt I'm spoiling anything to mention the plot of Explosive Situations is about a police officer falling in love with the Internal Affairs lady who's investigating him on excessive force accusations. Can you think of a combination of hero and heroine that would be just as fascinating?
2. I mentioned my favorite dog breeds. Yes, I find it hard to envision a Min-Pin (or any other toy breed) serving as a K-9. But I find it easy to envision one of these little yappers thinking they can handle the job as well as the big boys, and maybe trying to convince the K-9 who the real alpha is. Can you think of an amusing side story like that?
   

INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR LAURA SCOTT

 

JR: Laura, I've read your contributions to a pair of Love Inspired Suspense K-9 series, and just a couple of weeks ago you released Tracking Stolen Secrets in this year's Alaskan K-9 Unit collection (part 4 of 8). You also have recently written Dogged by Death, a cozy mystery. You don't like dogs, do you? Do you have any dogs? Any favorite breeds?

LS: Hi Jeff, thanks so much for chatting with me. I LOVE dogs, ha ha. I dog-sit a chocolate lab, Moose and have Otis a red fox English lab retriever. If you follow my Facebook author page you’ll see Moose on Monday posts and Otis on Tuesday posts. I honestly can’t say I have a favorite breed, although currently labs are high on the list. We’ve had Westies, Beagles and a boxer lab mix. I will say that loving dogs makes it so much more fun to write K-9 stories, as well as my cozy mystery series.

 

JR: The first story I read by you was Blind Trust. My wife and I both loved how you dealt with a heroine who was going blind. What was the inspiration for that novel, and if you can without spoilers, what was it like writing that book, both with the research and with creating the character?

LS: Blind Trust was one of my favorites. I wore super dark sunglasses in a poorly lit room to get the feel for what Eva was going through in that story. It was incredibly difficult and gave me appreciation for how those who are suffering from partial or full blindness. I also felt certain Eva wouldn’t want to be a burden to Finn, so that was also a great conflict for the story.

JR: I've read some of the K-9 series, and enjoy how a group of different writers can collaborate with tales strong enough to stand by themselves, but also moving a story line or two through out the series. How do you authors work together? Is the big story structured, or is it more seat of the pants writing?

LS: This is a great question! These multi author continuity series take a lot of structure. We have a fifty page series overview that we’re given and from there, we as authors must be in constant communication because one change impacts all of our stories. We create an author loop where we chat, and sometimes commiserate, LOL. We also brainstorm ideas. It’s much harder to write these books because of the close collaboration, but that also makes the outcome so rewarding. I was super thrilled that my latest release Tracking Stolen Secrets hit the USA Today bestseller list. I’m so blessed to have wonderful fans like you!

JR: I mentioned Dogged by Death, released July 13th, and Tracking Stolen Secrets which came out July 27th. Neither are your most recent novel: that honor goes to Cooper’s Choice, book four of six in your Smoky Mountain Secrets series, hitting the stands on August 3. How do you manage on working on different stories at the time? Do you ever take a day off? Also, does it help when one is in a different genre (I believe Dogged by Death is a cozy mystery, while the other two are romantic suspense), or does it make keeping the stories apart more challenging?

LS: I’m a glutton for punishment, huh? Ha ha. I do take Sundays off, sometimes Saturdays too, if there are family things going on. I prefer writing one book at a time, but that isn’t always possible when writing for two different publishers and my own indie series. The publishers set the deadlines so I use those as my guide. I have never missed a deadline (thankfully) and I write my own indie books in between those publisher deadlines. Writing in different series also helps keep my creativity flowing, I think if I was stuck writing one type of story, I’d probably get bored. This way, I’m always excited to get to work each morning.

JR: You mentioned you’re working with two different publishers: Tracking Stolen Secrets is the most recent you’ve written under Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense, and Dogged by Death by Crooked Lane Publishers (distributed by Penguin Random House). You also are working on two independently published series (the previously mentioned Smoky Mountain Secrets series and the three part International thriller Security Specialists trilogy (unless the fourth in the series will be out tomorrow). How does it differ between working with a traditional publisher and self-publishing? Is self-publishing more relaxing, or are you harder on yourself than editors and publishers of an organized country?

LS: Okay, its kinda hilarious that I’m currently outlining a fourth book for my Security Specialist’s Inc series, Target for Treason. How did you know? Are you looking over my shoulder, or spying on my computer camera? You may not realize that suspense authors are somewhat paranoid. LOL Other than the cozy mystery, I’ve tried to stay in one genre to encourage my readers to cross over to all my books. Self publishing is a little more stressful, because I have to work on the story, and do my own cover art and do all the formatting and uploading to all venues. I hire out the editing for my indie books because I am terrible at grammar, and I have a great editor who seems to like my stories and helps me by picking up on details such as using the same name several times in the same series or other inconsistencies. In the traditional world the editors pick up on that stuff more often than not, so when I write my own books I tend to read over them several times before they get published.

JR: Hope you don't mind one more question. Your self-published books identify themselves as being for a Christian market. Harlequin's Love Inspired Suspense series fits that bill as well. Do you see any challenges ahead in our changing culture to produce faith based novels?

LS: It’s interesting but the two biggest selling markets are Christian and super sexy. Quite the dichotomy, isn’t it? I really enjoy writing for the Christian market and I really hope that we can encourage our younger readership to turn to more faith based stories. Or at least stories that focus less on the physical and more on the emotional journey. Could that change at some point? Maybe, but so far, these two markets have remained strong for at least the past ten years. I hope that trend continues.

JR: Thank you very much for your time. I know you have two more Smoky Mountain Secrets books coming out (Trent’s Trust and Jayme’s Journey) and you mentioned working on the fourth Security Specialists novel. Any other projects? How can we keep up with what you're writing?

LS: I really think you must be connected to my computer camera. I’m just in the early phases of writing Target for Treason and don’t really have a firm deadline yet. It’s been fun so far to meet up with the other characters while still writing an international thriller. I am hoping to have this book up for publication early next year, maybe February or March.

Thanks again for having me! It’s been wonderful chatting with you.

You can keep up with Laura on her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/LauraScottBooks (which includes pictures of her dogs Moose and Otis) or on her author page https://www.laurascottbooks.com.