Wow, Meow. It’s my honor to interview another pet character today and one who is on a blog tour. Hello, little doggy, can you introduce yourself and your author, please?
My name is Elmer and I’m a beagle puppy. I live with a woman named Kathryn King, but no one calls her that. She was supposed to be called Kathy, but her youngest brother couldn’t say that and she became Kappy. Plus she makes all the payer kapps in our district. My author’s name is Amy Lillard.
It’s doggone good to meet you, Elmer. What book(s) have you appeared in? Please list them and their genre.
Kappy King and the Puppy Kaper is the first book I’ve appeared in of Amy’s but she’s already recorded a second story with me and she’s working on a third.
That’s pawsome. Are you in a series? If so, please give information about it.
I am in a series. We’re calling it An Amish Mystery series, but Amy refers to them as the Kappy books. They are set in Kishacoquillas Valley, Pennsylvania. Also called Big Valley or Kish Valley. It’s very pretty here, and there are lots of Amish folks.
My author loves the Pennsylvania Dutch country. She even featured shoofly pie in one of our mysteries at the Cobble Cove Inn when the innkeeper served it for Thanksgiving.
Are you based on a real dog such as your author’s? If so, please give further details.
I think so, at least a little bit. Amy used to have a beagle, but he went to doggie heaven last year. He was a good dog, or so she says. She even dedicated the first Kappy book to him. His name was Ammo.Though between you and me, I think she’s more of a cat person. She has three of them living in the house!
So sorry about Ammo, but Amy sounds like my author who is a cat person but also likes dogs. Her cat Oliver whom I am based on went to kitty heaven this past November, but she still has his younger brother, Stripey. By the way, there are also two dogs in our mysteries. My co-star Fido is a golden retriever, but there is also a beagle, Ruby, who belongs to our main character’s best friend, Gilly.
Can you share an excerpt from one of your books that features you in an important scene? If so, please include it.
I would call all the scenes with me in them important, but Kappy and Amy might disagree.
Right now, I’m still a puppy, but I was the means for Kappy and her friend Edie to go see the vet and question him. They think he might have murdered Ruth. She was the breeder where I used to live. It’s across from Kappy, so we’re all neighbors.
Here’s a little scene from the book with me in it.
“Wait,” Edie said. “There’s a young Dr. Brewer?”
The receptionist smiled. Kappy noted that the name on her badge said Bonnie. “That’s right.”
“And he’s a veterinarian as well?” Edie pressed.
“Oh, yes. He took over the practice several years ago. The elder Dr. Brewer only comes in on Mondays and Friday afternoons.”
“And the young Dr. Brewer?” Edie asked.
“He works the rest of the time.” She smiled and pushed their statement across the counter toward the two of them.
Kappy could only give it a cursory glance. She was too busy assessing the information she had just received. Ruth was killed on a Tuesday, and if she had an appointment with a Dr. Brewer, chances are it was the young Dr. Brewer and not the fragile man they had just met.
“Does the doctor make house calls?” Edie asked.
Kappy juggled Elmer in her arms as Edie took the necessary bills out of her wallet. She pushed the money across the counter toward the receptionist.
“Just the young doctor.” She smiled at them. “Let me get you a receipt.”
Kappy nodded, then caught Edie’s stare.
Now what do we do? Edie mouthed.
“Is by chance the young doctor here today?” Kappy asked.
Bonnie counted out her change and shook her head. “Not today. But he does live around back if you ever need him for anything else.”
Kappy wasn’t sure if anything else also included a murder investigation, but she really wanted to talk to the young Dr. Carlton Brewer.
“Thank you.” Edie flashed her a quick smile, and together she and Kappy walked Elmer out to the car.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Edie asked.
“I am if you’re thinking we should go around the back and see if we can find the young Dr. Brewer.” With any luck he would be outside mowing his grass or even watering his garden or something where they could get a good look at him. Maybe even talk to him for just a moment.
Edie thoughtfully tapped her chin. “We have to have a reason . . . ” she said. “So we take Elmer back there to show him how big he’s gotten and just bring up Ruth from there.”
Kappy frowned. She wasn’t sure that would actually work, but she couldn’t come up with anything better. “Let’s go.”
Once again Kappy wished she had brought a collar and leash for the little pup. He didn’t weigh hardly anything, but he wanted down so bad to sniff the ground and see what was new around him that her arms began to ache as she held him in place.
She would definitely have to invest in a leash when she took him home—She reined her thoughts to a quick stop. She wasn’t taking Elmer home. She might like him and she might have even been contemplating getting a dog the night before, but the reality was . . .
Well, the reality was she lived alone, she had no friends except for Edie, who would be leaving soon, and she lived alone. Wait. She’d already said that. It wasn’t like Elmer would fill in the spots when she came home alone. But she knew he would fill other voids.
“There he is.” Edie cocked her head in the direction of the large Victorian-style house. It was painted pale yellow and looked similar to Amish houses other than the color and the ornate trim that seemed to drip from every flat surface. A man sat on the front porch in the rocking chair, a glass of tea on the table at his side and a cell phone pressed to his ear.
“Should we go talk to him?” Kappy asked.
“We’ve come this far,” Edie replied.
The man caught sight of them and seemed to understand their intentions. He held up one finger as if to say he would be off the call shortly and didn’t protest as they climbed the porch steps.
“I’ll call you back,” he said into the receiver. “Yes, that’s right. Okay then. Bye.”
He tapped the phone off, then turned to Edie and Kappy with a smile. “Is that one of Ruth’s puppies?”
“Yes.” Edie spoke as Kappy took one giant step forward and pressed Elmer toward the young Dr. Brewer.
He accepted the dog without complaint, scratching him behind the ears.
A barking good scene. Thank you.
Are you a talking animal in your books or just a silent one like I am who just meows occasionally?
I just bark when strange people come to the house, but I’m hoping to have a bigger role as the series grows. After all, who doesn’t love a beagle?
You must let your author know. I purrsuaded Debbie not only to put my picture on our latest book but also to let me have my own blog.
What advice would you give other dog characters?
Just keep on being the best dog you can be.
That’s definitely something to chew on.
Do you have any new books coming out? Please give dates and details.
Kappy King and the Pickle Kaper comes out June 26, 2018. And if you look, you can see me on the cover next to Kappy. Sally June Esh was delivering the white church pickles known here in Big Valley when she was run off the road and killed. Now Kappy and Edie are trying to figure out if there’s a sinister pickle conspiracy at hand or if young Sally June’s death was an unfortunate accident.
Paws up!
Are you and/or your author on social media? If so, please list your links.
Amy is on social media. I made her paste the links here. I would have, but…well, I don’t have thumbs.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmyLillard918/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmyLillard918
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/AmyLillard918/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amylillardauthor/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5809947.Amy_Lillard
She also has two really fun websites. One for all her books and another for those interested in Amish life and Amy’s travels to Amish communities across the country.
www.amywritesromance.com
www.amysamishadventures.com
You can also follow her on amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Amy-Lillard/e/B0088FX7FY/
And Bookbub:
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/amy-lillard
Thank you for the interview, Elmer, and best tail wags to you and your author on your series and your blog tour with Escape with Dollycas into a Good Book.
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