1--What is the title of your latest release?
SNIFFING OUT MURDER
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
When children's book author, Priscilla Cummings is accused of murder, she and her trusty bloodhound, Bailey, put their noses to the ground to sniff out the clues and track down the real killer.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I was born and raised in Northwestern Indiana. My hometown is close to an area that is home to a sizeable Amish population. It’s not uncommon to drive through the winding countryside and find yourself behind a horse and buggy and feel as though you’ve stepped back in time. Crosbyville (named after my great nephew, Crosby) is the fictionalized version of one of those towns.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Absolutely! Priscilla Cummings is a former English Teacher and Children’s book author. Authors are some of my favorite people. Plus, she has an adorable bloodhound, Bailey. I love dogs and dog lovers. I think Pris and I would be good friends.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Courageous, kind, and brave.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I learned a lot about bloodhounds. My protagonist owns a bloodhound and I had to do a lot of research on the breed.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I don’t edit while writing my first draft. I’ve learned that if I stop to edit, I’ll never move on. Months later, I’ll still be trying to tweak the same 50 words.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Fannie Mae Pixies and Dixies. Actually, almost any candy with chocolate, nuts, and caramel will do, but I love Pixies.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
The back wall of my office is lined with bookshelves which are full of mysteries and reference books about poisons and forensics. My desk sits in the middle of the room with two seldom-used dog beds underneath. There’s a large white (slipcovered for easy cleaning) sofa on one wall which is where my poodles love to climb on the pillows and sleep while I write. Sometimes, we all lay on that sofa and sleep! It’s a cozy space and I love it.
10--Who is an author you admire?
I’m a huge Agatha Christie fan. She wrote over 66 novels and despite the fact that she died nearly fifty years ago, her books are still selling and being adapted into movies. What an amazing legacy! Each time I reread her books, I find something (a clue, a red-herring, etc.) that I didn’t catch before.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
I think the book that changed my life the most was probably, The Murder of Roger Akroyd by Agatha Christie. It blew my mind. Then, I read, And Then There Were None, and I was a goner. Those books helped me find my passion which led me to want to write.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
My agent, Jessica Faust at BookEnds Literary called to tell me that we had received an offer and I was ecstatic. Jessica Faust was my dream agent and Berkley was my dream publisher. So, it was surreal. I might have cried.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
I love cozy mysteries. It’s what I read, and it’s what I write.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. Whether Collin Firth is Mr. Darcy or Matthew Macfadyen, it doesn’t matter. I like all of the versions.
15--What is your favorite season?
My favorite season is Autumn. I love it when the leaves change and when the weather is cooler, but not cold. It’s sweater weather and a nice warm sweater can hide a multitude of sins and feels cozy.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I love relaxing on my birthday. No work. No stress. A quiet day at a bookstore and then relaxing with my poodles while reading a good cozy mystery. Maybe dinner with friends to cap things off.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I recently read The Maid by Nita Prose. It wasn’t a cozy mystery, but I enjoyed it.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I like food. I like all food. I think my favorite cuisine is whatever I’m eating at the moment.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
Free time? What’s that? I write two other mystery series, plus I’m a mentor in the Writing Popular Fiction Program at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. If I find an extra hour in my busy schedule, that’s when I do things like laundry and housework.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I also write as Valerie Burns and V. M. Burns, so while readers are waiting for the next book in the Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery series by Kallie E. Benjamin, please check out my other series.
Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery #1
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?
Mystery Cozy | Mystery Amateur Sleuth [Berkley, On Sale: December 5, 2023, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593547359 / eISBN: 9780593547366]
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.
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