I’m very happy to welcome Author Meg Mims / Meg Macy to the blog to share her darling furry loves and holiday romances and mysteries. What fun covers! Be sure to leave a comment for a chance at her giveaway.

Meg: Thank you, Beth, for inviting me to chat about my furbabies today! Dogs and cats play a big part in my holiday romance, western historical, and cozy mystery writing. Characters in my books always have a pet – it gives them a sense of “reality” if they love an animal as much as if not more than a romantic hero. And my heroes, in turn, also must love dogs or cats.

Holiday Books by Meg Mims and Cozy series by Meg Macy

I started writing long ago with a loyal dog lying at my feet. Corky, my poodle, was not like the cat (Toby was my daughter’s cat). Toby walked over the keyboard or begged for attention in other ways – even brought me a present of a live mouse from outside. Eeek! Whenever Corky needed to go outside, that gave me a welcome break.

He also loved to sleep tucked beside me on the sofa at night, so I switched from writing at a desk to sitting in my “Sheldon spot” (a la The Big Bang Theory TV show). Having him there really helped give me comfort, for some reason – I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s akin to a feeling of belonging, of being “with” someone who gives you that unconditional love and support. And yes, someone – not “it”, because my dogs/cats were family members.

After losing Corky to old age, my husband and I rescued a Malti-poo named Dusty who was just as loyal. A bit too loyal and territorial – he wouldn’t let visitors in the house! Hoo boy. But he also loved sleeping beside me on the sofa, or at my feet.

Our second rescue, Benji, was more of a dog’s dog – he loved the floor or lying on the sofa by himself. In hilarious positions. But alas, he succumbed at a young age to a nasty spider bite that turned into necrosis (I still blame myself and the vet for not recognizing it in time. Sob!) Benji inspired my first novella, Santa Paws, which helped me overcome the loss four years ago. Even Dusty missed his pal Benji.

Although I’m allergic to cats, we rescued Toby as a stray. My daughter wanted a cat, and voila, Toby appeared one day in our yard. Apparently she’d been hanging around for a while, since Dusty knew her – and we started feeding her. Gradually she adjusted to being an indoor cat. My second novella, Santa Claws, helped me deal with losing Toby to thyroid disease. Poor sweetie, she loved my husband (not a cat lover) so much, she would drool on him, purr, rub hair all over him. Cats keep trying to convince those who don’t love them back, don’t they? Ha!

And I followed up Santa Claws with Home for the Holidays, although I only had Dusty on the sofa beside me at that time. I also included Corky in that book to memorialize him, along with a dachshund my family had when I was a child. The idea of a rescue organization seemed to follow naturally, and all three novellas inspired me to create my current cozy mysteries, the Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear series. I included a ‘teddy bear dog’ as the pet of my heroine Sasha Silverman, of course, and added a black cat (remembering Toby) for some ‘cat/dog’ wars over sleeping spots. That’s always fun to imagine how they get along – or not!

Bearly Departed debuted in May of 2017, and Bear Witness to Murder came out in late May of 2018. Unfortunately, Dusty succumbed to old age in between books, so that was a heartbreaker for me. I’ve found it very difficult to write without a dog beside me, but I am currently working on Have Yourself A Beary Little Murder, book 3 in my cozy series. I also plan to get another dog, possibly another poodle or poodle mix, by next year. My husband needs a break, we’d like to take a few trips over summer, so that means waiting. Augh! But soon. I love dogs so much, and miss mine terribly! For now, I have to be satisfied with my fictional creations.

Thanks again, Beth, for hosting me today on your wonderful blog!

Beth: I am delighted to have you.

BIO: Award-winning mystery author Meg Macy lives in Southeast Michigan, close enough to Ann Arbor, Chelsea, and Dexter — the setting of her “Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear” cozy mysteries for Kensington. She is also one-half of the writing team of D.E. Ireland for the Eliza Doolittle & Henry Higgins mysteries; two books, Wouldn’t It Be Deadly and Get Me to the Grave On Time were Agatha Award finalists for Best Historical. Meg’s first published book, Double Crossing, won the 2012 Best First Novel Spur Award from Western Writers of America. Meg loves reading historical and cozy mysteries, gardening, crafts, and watercolor painting.

It’s CHRISTMAS IN JULY! — Meg will giveaway ONE e-book of Santa Paws, her first holiday romance novella, to one lucky commenter. What pet do you have?

VISIT MEG via the following links:

Meg Mims Amazon Author page

Meg Macy Amazon Author page

Visit me on my website!

Or my Facebook page Meg Macy

Also my Facebook page Santa Paws and Claws

Follow me on Twitter! https://twitter.com/megmims

And Instagram

Thanks for stopping by! Please leave Meg a comment.