 Her routine night turns terrifying.
As the storm of the century howls through Destiny, Texas, Dr. Paige Wade remains at her clinic to care for any animals that might need assistance. Her quiet night is disrupted when a man dumps an injured dog on the doorstep just hours before Paige is attacked in the parking lot. He's uncovering deadly connections. A call from the local animal hospital where his friend works sends Police Officer Gabe Harrison hastening to respond. The crime seems random until someone starts stalking Paige. When Gabe and his K-9 partner, Loki, discover the man who dropped off the injured dog is now a murder victim, Gabe uncovers a link between the deceased and whoever is threatening Paige. They are running out of time. For years, Paige has ignored her feelings for Gabe. Working closely with him means gambling with her heart. As another winter storm approaches and the murderer becomes desperate, will the risks they take not only save her life, but give them hope for a future together?
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 One of my favorite parts about writing Frozen in Jeopardy was including dog characters who play a vital role in the story. As the release of this book approaches, I thought it would be fun to introduce you to the three dogs that you'll either meet or hear about.  First, I'd love for you to meet Loki. When I originally decided to write a book about a police officer and his K-9 partner, I knew immediately that my dog (whose real name is Loki) would be my inspiration. Even though my Loki isn't a full German shepherd, his personality is what I picture in my mind when I write and talk about Loki in the book. Truthfully, I don't think my Loki could be a police dog, primarily because he truly believes everyone everywhere is potentially a new best friend. Ha! He was found wandering the streets at six months, and we took him in shortly after that. Until he came into our lives, I didn't think it was possible to become a dog person. He definitely proved me wrong. I can't imagine my life without him!  Lucy, aka Jane Dog, is actually the first dog you'll meet in the book. This sweet pit bull comes to Paige injured and shrouded in mystery. I have personally never had a pit bull, but I think that there is a lot of stigma surrounding them. I know several people who say pit bulls are some of the best dogs. And seriously, look at that face. How could you not love that face? So I decided to include a pit bull in the book. And trust me, you'll fall in love with Lucy as soon as you meet her!  Finally, let me introduce you to Pepper. In the third chapter of the book, we learn about a dog that Paige used to have. She was very attached to Pepper, a Catahoula mix, who passed away nearly a year before. Paige still misses her canine friend. Fictional Pepper was a nod to our own Pepper, one of the sweetest dogs we've ever had. Our Pepper was also a Catahoula mix. The moment we saw her as a tiny puppy, she completely stole our hearts. Unfortunately, we didn't have as many years with her as we should have, but we loved her until the end. It's been years since we said goodbye, but I think of her often. Being able to honor her in this book meant a lot.  I do want to mention two other dogs. Natty is another one of our dogs, and she is a full German shepherd. We got her when she was a tiny puppy, and she is super sweet. I can't imagine her as a police dog because she's very nervous around people or even animals she doesn't know. But the way she looks is how I imagine Loki, in Frozen in Jeopardy, looks. Just beautiful!  The last dog I want to introduce you to is Barco. If you read my blog post earlier this year about my ride along with our local police department, you got to hear about Barco, Officer Cox's K-9 partner. It was amazing to meet them both and to learn about the kind of training that a dog like Barco goes through to work with the police department. I got to watch him conduct a search for narcotics. So when it comes to how Loki searches for someone in Frozen in Jeopardy, most of that is thanks to what I learned from Officer Cox and Barco. Do you enjoy reading books that include dogs in the story? Do you have a dog? Feel free to comment - I'd love to hear from you! Frozen in Jeopardy - Releasing July 25th  Her routine night turns terrifying.
As the storm of the century howls through Destiny, Texas, Dr. Paige Wade remains at her clinic to care for any animals that might need assistance. Her quiet night is disrupted when a man dumps an injured dog on the doorstep just hours before Paige is attacked in the parking lot. He's uncovering deadly connections. A call from the local animal hospital where his friend works sends Police Officer Gabe Harrison hastening to respond. The crime seems random until someone starts stalking Paige. When Gabe and his K-9 partner, Loki, discover the man who dropped off the injured dog is now a murder victim, Gabe uncovers a link between the deceased and whoever is threatening Paige. They are running out of time. For years, Paige has ignored her feelings for Gabe. Working closely with him means gambling with her heart. As another winter storm approaches and the murderer becomes desperate, will the risks they take not only save her life, but give them hope for a future together?  I'm working on my new series, Danger in Destiny, which means I'm actively writing three different stories. Fear the Shadows - A prequel novella for newsletter subscribers only coming soon Out of the Ashes - The first official book releases March 28th Frozen in Jeopardy - The second book releases July 25th While one of my characters, Officer Gabe Harrison, is featured in Frozen in Jeopardy, he actually makes an appearance in the other two books as well. He works for the Destiny Police Department as a member of the K-9 unit. He and his German shepherd partner, Loki, specialize in tracking.  When I first started this series, I knew very little about how a K-9 unit operates within the police department. I did a lot of online research, but information wasn't easy to find. That's when I decided to reach out to our local police department. I spoke with Lt. Moran who not only answered some of my questions, but he suggested I go on a ride-along with one of the K-9 units and put me in touch with Officer Timothy Cox and his dog, Barco. I was fortunate to be able to go on a four hour ride-along with Officer Cox and Barco a couple of weeks ago. Not only was Officer Cox super helpful when it came to understanding how he and Barco are involved in the every day workings of the police department, but I got to see how their vehicle is set up, including the kennel that Barco rides in. I also learned a lot about how police dogs are trained and even got to watch Barco perform a drug search. It gave me a great deal of respect not only for what the dog can do, but for all of the hard work that goes into what the handler does to train the dog and read his reactions in order to track effectively.  Later in the evening, I had the chance to ask some questions directly related to a few scenes I had planned. In several cases, not only did I come away with more details, but I even had to alter the basic situation simply because that's not how it would really work. It's important to me to make the scenes as realistic as possible, so having that clarity was huge.
For example, there's a scene in Out of the Ashes where someone breaks into a house. I originally had Gabe and Loki going in and clearing the home. Instead, I learned that they would wait for backup and then go in with at least one other officer. I'm excited to apply everything I've learned to this series, and I look forward to being able to share the books with all of you! |
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