Mystery and Mayhem—Animal Style!

I have adored animals for as long as I can remember.  From my first German shepherd, a lovely animal named Duchess, to my Holstein cow Beauty, to my first kitty, Smokey. Then there was my childhood horse, Becky, and the other assorted, dogs, cats, turtles, fish, parakeets, gerbils, canaries—even a pigeon named Lollipop—that followed.  Each has commanded a special place in my heart.


My favorite childhood cow, Beauty.

When I was a child, cats followed me wherever I went like children chasing after the Pied Piper. I nursed injured butterflies back to health. One day, I tearfully convinced my fourth grade teacher to let me release the winged grasshoppers she’d accumulated for the science class’s dissection.  I’m pretty sure the grasshoppers were happier about my success than the school’s groundskeeper.

Hanging out with a herd of cats on "Cat Island"

Not much has changed since then. When I see a drowning earthworm, I relocate it. I move caterpillars off walking trails so they don’t get smashed. I save snails and slugs.  (Don’t tell my neighbors!) If it weren’t for my husband, I’d surely be locked away in whatever prison they use to hold well-meaning hoarders. 

So it’s not surprising that animals play prominent roles in my mysteries. How could they not?  After all, I write what I love, and I love nothing more than animals.  The mystery in Karma’s a Killer gave me the perfect opportunity to weave in some unusual animal characters.  The story revolves around an animal rescue group, a wildlife rehabilitator, and a group of animal activists who clash with deadly results.

Animal rescue and animal activism collide in Karma's a Killer

As always, my writing is fiction, but it’s strongly informed by my life. Many of the animals in Karma’s a Killer are based on real-life creatures.  Bella, the German shepherd, is in many ways a carbon copy of my own special needs German shepherd, Tasha. Blackie—a rehabilitated crow who plays a prominent role in the story—is modeled after a wild crow that has befriended her. Their relationship has touched me and changed my opinion of crows forever.



Tasha and a murder of her crow friends at Green Lake--one of the pivotal locations in Karma's a Killer.

Mister Feathers, the pigeon that “decorates” the entrance to Kate’s yoga studio, is similar to a pigeon that roosted above my own yoga studio, Whole Life Yoga, a few years ago. I saved him from a hawk attack, and the experience changed me in a profound way.  If you're interested, here's a blog I wrote about that day.

Raising goats is still a pipe dream, but I’m chiseling away at my husband’s resolve a little more every day.  If I have my way, pigs and a few chicken-girls will soon join the menagerie.  ;-)

Someday I'll have some chicken-girls!

How about you?  What animals are important in your life?  Tell me about your favorite furred, feathered, scaled, and exoskeletoned creatures in the comments.  Who knows?  Maybe they’ll end up in my next mystery!

Tracy Weber

PS--all three books in my Downward Dog mystery series are now available!  Learn more at http://tracyweberauthor.com.  Thanks for reading!

Finding Clarity

“Ignorance is bliss. Until it isn’t.”—Kate Davidson in A Killer Retreat.

 

Although the primary intention of my mystery series is to entertain, I’ve been known to weave in the occasional yoga teaching. One of the themes in my second book, A Killer Retreat, is overcoming fear. Kate, my yoga teacher protagonist, believes she will soon have to make a decision: marry her boyfriend, Michael, or end their relationship. She’s terrified of both options, so she tries to avoid the issue, hoping that if she hides from the problem, it will eventually solve itself.

Good luck with that, Kate.

The Yoga Sutras say that one of the primary goals of yoga is to learn how to see clearly. But how do you know when you’re clear? For me, clarity comes with a calm certainty. When I’m clear, I know that my decision is right, whether I want it to be or not. Lack of clarity, on the other hand, carries with it an often-uncomfortable energy. That energy can feel like a jittery high or an immobilizing fear. The Yoga Sutras refer to this psycho-emotional suffering as Dukha, a “hole in the cavity of the heart.” For me, it usually feels more like a hole in the lining of my stomach. Some people feel this sensation in their chests, others in their throats, still others as jitteriness and irrepressible activity in their limbs.

In my last teacher training, a student told me that she wanted a crystal ball to guide her decisions. I’ve wished for that same crystal ball many, many times: when I was trying to figure out if I should leave Microsoft; when I considered writing my first book; when I first thought about opening a yoga studio. In each of those cases, I kept reflecting, gathering data, and tapping into my intuition. One day, I knew. And once I know, I never look back.

There are many right choices in life. In fact, the Sutras assert that the exact paths of our lives are largely irrelevant. All that matters is how we relate to them. If I could give Kate—or any of my readers—one piece of advice, it would be this: find a calm place of knowing, choose the path that feels right, and walk it with grateful acceptance. Hopefully Kate will come to a similar conclusion. You’ll have to read the book to find out!  ;-)

May you all have paths filled with light, joy, and an abundance of beauty.

Tracy Weber

          

About Tracy:

My writing is an expression of the things I love best: yoga, dogs, and murder mysteries. I'm a certified yoga teacher and the founder of Whole Life Yoga, an award-winning yoga studio in Seattle, WA. I enjoy sharing my passion for yoga and animals in any form possible.  My husband and I live with our challenging yet amazing German shepherd Tasha. When I’m not writing, I spend my time teaching yoga, walking Tasha, and sipping Blackthorn cider at my favorite local ale house.

For more information, visit me online at http://tracyweberauthor.com/ and http://wholelifeyoga.com/

Yoga Mysteries, Imperfect Sleuths, and Book Launches!

Reader and yoga teacher Rene de los Santos patiently waiting for A Killer Retreat

I never wanted to be a writer, but then again I never wanted to be a yoga teacher. I always thought yoga was for woo woo Gumby wannabes who got their jollies contorting themselves into pretzel-like positions. The whole idea of it flummoxed me.

Then I got into a car accident.

Seven years later, I was still in significant chronic pain every day, and I couldn’t turn my head more than an inch or two. None of my doctors gave much hope for my recovery. At one point, I told my friends that if I thought it would help, I’d travel to Africa and dance naked around a witch doctor’s fire.  I’d have done anything to escape the pain. Even yoga.

I stumbled into my first yoga class out of desperation. I hate to admit it, but I left feeling significantly worse than when I arrived. I told my husband when I got home that the word yoga obviously meant “much pain.”

But I kept going, for months. You see, the balm I’d hoped to find for my body was actually easing my soul. I was calmer, happier, more balanced. When that yoga teacher left town for a month, I tried several other classes and stumbled upon a style that would soon become my yoga home—Viniyoga. For the first time ever, I left class with a body that felt as great as my mind.

Viniyoga is breath centered, adaptive, and therapeutic. It worked like magic on my neck and upper back. Within a few months, I was off the prescription pain meds and I could turn my head again. Shortly thereafter, I decided to quit my corporate job and make my living sharing these ancient teachings with others.

My yoga teacher-protagonist Kate teaches this same style of yoga. Kate’s wounds are more psychological than physical, and she’s far from the perfect yogi, but the practice serves her nonetheless. Yoga’s philosophy gives her compass that guides her life. True, she’s often a few degrees off north, but she’s learning. Someday she might even find the healing and peace that she offers to others.

Rutledge won't come out until his human reads him A Killer Retreat

Whether or not you ever decide to try yoga, I hope you’ll give my series a shot. The Downward Dog Mysteries, like most cozies, are lighthearted, often funny, gore is off-screen, and sex is behind closed doors.

Even if the only pose you’ll ever practice is Corpse Pose—and that after one too many margaritas—the series has something to offer. Love, growth, mystery, and hope, not to mention some laugh-out-loud moments, especially those with Kate’s German shepherd, Bella.  The first book, Murder Strikes a Pose, is available now.  The second, A Killer Retreat, launches January 8. Rumor has it you can pre-order A Killer Retreat for your electronic devices and have it on New Year’s Day.  The perfect way to start 2015.

Yoga, dogs, and murder. What could be more fun?

Tracy Weber

          

About Tracy:

My writing is an expression of the things I love best: yoga, dogs, and murder mysteries. I'm a certified yoga teacher and the founder of Whole Life Yoga, an award-winning yoga studio in Seattle, WA. I enjoy sharing my passion for yoga and animals in any form possible.  My husband and I live with our challenging yet amazing German shepherd Tasha and our bonito flake-loving cat Maggie. When I’m not writing, I spend my time teaching yoga, walking Tasha, and sipping Blackthorn cider at my favorite local ale house.

For more information, visit me online at http://tracyweberauthor.com/ and http://wholelifeyoga.com/

It’s not a bug, it’s a feature!

If you look close, there might be a hidden message on this shirt!

Several months ago, I decided to form an author street team. 

A street team is basically a group of people who like an author’s work and volunteer to help promote it.  In exchange, the author gives out swag, hosts special online events, and does other fun things with those fans. 

I’m sure there are lots of proven best practices for street teams. I even bought a Kindle book on the subject.  But since I don’t own a Kindle, I haven’t read it.  (Yeah, I’m THAT person.)  I’m basically making this up as I go along. I’m in the middle of my street team launch now.

As any Microsoft alumnus knows, you can’t have a launch without a free t-shirt, so I decided to give free shirts to my first wave of volunteers.

It seemed like a good idea at the time. 

I knew t-shirts would be pricier than bookmarks, but I’d survived the coffee cup giveaways without becoming homeless, so I figured why not?  How expensive could a few dozen t-shirts be, anyway?

There were a couple of flaws in my plan. First, I got a lot more volunteers than I originally thought I would.  (This is a good and awesome thing, and I am SO HONORED!) Next, I learned that I had priced t-shirts with single color printing. (The red shirts with full color printing I had my heart set on were about three times the cost.) And I forgot all about postage costs to mail them around the world.

My husband joked that I’d make heck of a lot more money if I gave up writing and watched TV all day, but I was still happy.  Soon my t-shirts would be flying world-wide, making my readers happy, and hopefully spreading the word about my newest book.  I wrote a nice letter to go along with them, a friend of mine packaged them up, and they went on their way.

The first recipient sent me a photo.  The shirt looked great, except for what I thought was a very odd shadow. I narrowed my eyes, but couldn’t make out what it was.  The next had the same shadow, only in a different place.  Then the third.  You get the idea. Turns out, the ink from my friendly letter had transferred to the printing on the shirt, leaving my welcome letter in the clouds, across my protagonist’s shirt, sometimes stamped solidly across her face.

I was mortified.  I felt like a well-meaning (but somewhat senile) aunt that sent all the kids broken Christmas presents. I called up my husband and told him to mentally prepare to do it all over again. He asked if I’d learned my lesson. I told him probably not.  (At least I didn’t lie.)

But here’s the learning.  My readers rallied behind me.  They experimented with and shared ways to get out the ink, sent notes assuring me that I wasn’t the worst Santa ever, and even started an “I love you” thread on Facebook.  One reader assured me that she likes her shirt BETTER now that it has a flaw.  Others offered to pay for their replacement shirts. (Which I won’t allow, of course.) Some of the shirts were salvageable, others I will soon be replacing.  But somehow I suspect that the error has drawn us all closer.

I always was a little off-kilter.  Why should my shirts be any different?


Namaste

Tracy Weber

          

About Tracy:

My writing is an expression of the things I love best: yoga, dogs, and murder mysteries. I'm a certified yoga teacher and the founder of Whole Life Yoga, an award-winning yoga studio in Seattle, WA. I enjoy sharing my passion for yoga and animals in any form possible.  My husband and I live with our challenging yet amazing German shepherd Tasha and our bonito flake-loving cat Maggie. When I’m not writing, I spend my time teaching yoga, walking Tasha, and sipping Blackthorn cider at my favorite local ale house.

For more information, visit me online at http://tracyweberauthor.com/ and http://wholelifeyoga.com/

Can Yoga Really Be Murder?

Photo Courtesy of Christopher Brown

How do you reconcile writing both about yoga (which advocates nonviolence) and murder?

I was recently asked this question when talking about the second book in my Downward Dog Mystery series, A Killer Retreat.

 

This is such an interesting question, and one that I’ve only been asked a handful of times. First, I’ll say my genre, cozy mysteries, helps.  By convention, gore and on-the-page violence are minimized. There are definitely some tense and challenging scenes, however. I try to balance them with humor.

But even if I wrote horror, I could still combine murder and yoga in the same work. The yoga teachings never promise that yogis will live in a world without violence. In fact, they say that suffering is inevitable. What they do promise is that people who practice yoga—which is so much more than doing poses—will be able to survive life’s traumas with less emotional suffering.  They also ask that yogis personally practice compassion, honesty, and nonviolence in actions, words, and thoughts.

Yoga practitioners, like everyone else, live in the real world. We are exposed to the same triggers and conflicts and traumas. Yoga doesn’t stop what happens around us; it simply gives us choices in how we react to it. So it’s not a big stretch (so to speak) to have violence, tension and other challenges in the world of a yoga teacher. In an ideal world, she would simply be better prepared to deal with them.

But the truth is Kate—my yoga sleuth—doesn’t live in an ideal world, and she doesn’t always react like the perfect yogi. She has a terrible temper, and she often acts impulsively, only to regret it later. When Kate’s at her best, she responds to the tension and heartache in her world with self-deprecating humor and compassion. When she’s at her worst, she lashes out in sometimes embarrassing ways.

Overall, Kate tries to be compassionate and generous. She helps others when it would be much easier not to.  When she screws up, which is often, she tries to learn from her mistakes and to do better in the future.

To me, that is yoga.

 

What do you think?  Can a book contain both yoga and murder while still being loyal to both the mystery and the teachings?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Namaste

Tracy Weber

          

About Tracy:

My writing is an expression of the things I love best: yoga, dogs, and murder mysteries. I'm a certified yoga teacher and the founder of Whole Life Yoga, an award-winning yoga studio in Seattle, WA. I enjoy sharing my passion for yoga and animals in any form possible.  My husband and I live with our challenging yet amazing German shepherd Tasha and our bonito flake-loving cat Maggie. When I’m not writing, I spend my time teaching yoga, walking Tasha, and sipping Blackthorn cider at my favorite local ale house.

For more information, visit me online at http://tracyweberauthor.com/ and http://wholelifeyoga.com/

Yoga Studios Fact and Fiction

First of all, I’d like to say that I’m absolutely delighted to be part of the regular blog rotation on Inkspot. Anyone who’s read my first book knows that my series features a yoga studio owner with a crazy German shepherd sidekick. (Kate’s other claim to fame is that she occasionally stumbles over dead bodies.) Anyone who’s read my bio knows that I’m also yoga studio owner with a crazy German shepherd sidekick. 

 

So, a question naturally arises. Is Kate really me and is Bella really my German shepherd, Tasha?  The answers to both of those questions are a little “yes” and a lot “no.”  But those are blog articles for another day. The question that I haven’t been asked (at least not that I remember) is whether Kate’s studio, Serenity Yoga, is actually my studio, Whole Life Yoga.

The answer?  A little yes and a lot no.  ;-)  

Similarities between the two businesses:

·        Location location, location. Both studios are located in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle, in newer construction mixed use buildings (meaning that there are businesses on the ground floor, apartments above). The surrounding businesses, however, are different. Kate is blessed with a grocery store, a Greek deli, and Pete’s Pets (a pet food store) as neighbors.  I am blessed with a hair salon, an Irish dance studio, and a sports bar.  Both studios are located on the same block as several infamous dive bars.

·        Gremlins.  In my first book, Kate’s studio is plagued by a variety of mysterious issues, including plumbing problems, an “unlockable” front door, and mysteriously flickering lights.  My studio has struggled with the same issues.  The door lock and toilet have been replaced, but we still can’t figure out those darned lights, after 10 years of trying. And now there’s the phantom wall squeak….

·        Murder. About a year after my first book was finished, a man was murdered in a pet store parking lot a block away from my studio.  Kate finds her first body in the parking lot shared by her studio and the pet store.  Hopefully that trend won’t continue.

Differences:

·        Size matters.  Kate’s studio is bigger than mine and offers significantly more classes.  She spends a lot more time on site at her studio than I do as well.  (I manage my business from a home office.)

 

·        Yoga lineage.  There are a gazillion types of yoga out there, and Kate’s studio offers many of them. (Except for hot yoga—she could never afford the heat bills!)  My studio is dedicated to the Viniyoga lineage, and all of the teachers who work at Whole Life Yoga have been personally certified by me.

·        Longevity.  My studio opened in 2001.  Kate’s has only been open for about two years when the first book opens.  She’s facing many of the financial struggles I did when I first opened, but thankfully most of those days are behind me.

In the end, the biggest similarity between the two studios is their intent.  Both Kate and I believe that yoga can serve all people regardless of shape, size, age, or fitness level.  That includes you!

Go out and find your own version of Serenity Yoga!

Namaste

Tracy Weber

          

About Tracy:

My writing is an expression of the things I love best: yoga, dogs, and murder mysteries. I'm a certified yoga teacher and the founder of Whole Life Yoga, an award-winning yoga studio in Seattle, WA. I enjoy sharing my passion for yoga and animals in any form possible.  My husband and I live with our challenging yet amazing German shepherd Tasha and our bonito flake-loving cat Maggie. When I’m not writing, I spend my time teaching yoga, walking Tasha, and sipping Blackthorn cider at my favorite local ale house.

For more information, visit me online at http://tracyweberauthor.com/ and http://wholelifeyoga.com/

It Takes a Village--of Writers

There's nothing like the fun of discovering a new book.
Unless it's building a new community of friends.

I’m delighted to end my first book’s blog tour with an unofficial stop at Inkspot.

If you’d asked me two years ago, I’d have told you that writing was by definition a lonely journey.

I was wrong.

If you read the acknowledgements in Murder Strikes a Pose, you know that I didn’t get this work published alone—not by a long shot.  Without my yoga students, husband, agent, editors and early readers, this book would never have come to fruition.

But there are several individuals I haven’t properly thanked—the wonderful authors who helped me on my jolting, often bumbling journey to authorhood.  I can’t possibly prioritize them, so I’ve listed them alphabetically.

To the ladies below, thank you. Your support has meant more to me than you can possibly know. 

To the rest of you reading, if you click each author’s name you will be directed to information about their newest book.  Please check them out, and support me by supporting them.

Laurien Berensen—I’ve read everything Laurien has written, and she is one of my dog mystery writing heroes.  When I asked her to consider writing a blurb for me, I was sure the answer would be no.  But it wasn’t!

Sheila Boneham—Sheila read and blurbed my book and spent considerable time on the phone coaching me when I was looking for a publisher. I appreciated her no-nonsense advice and the follow-up questions she’s been willing to answer for me.

Lucy Burdette (Roberta Isleib)--Lucy (like many of these lovely ladies) agreed to read and blurb my book, even though she only knew me through e-mail. And she pretended not to notice when I acted like a fool introducing myself to her at Malice.

Mary Daheim—I’ve been a fan of Mary’s, well, for so long that I can’t tell you without divulging my age.  I can’t even remember how we connected almost a year ago, but I’m so glad we did.  Mary lives in Seattle, and she and I have shared many drinks, dinners, and laughs. She has also given me lots of advice on surviving the sometimes challenging world of writing. 

Pamela Dennison—I “knew” Pamela years before I ever considered writing. We were both members of a discussion group dedicated to rehabilitating reactive dogs. She read my novel and agreed to sponsor my membership in the Dog Writer’s Association of America. And she’s an amazing dog trainer!

Chrystle Feidler—Chrystle wrote an article for my blog and invited me to join Killer Hobbies.  Because of Chrystle I have a blogging home for my writing pursuits.

Waverly Fitzgerald—Waverly met with me over tea when I was still looking for an agent. She encouraged me and gave me advice about the often frustrating process of finding an agent and selling a book. When I later asked her to read and blurb my book, she did so graciously and quickly.

Hank Phillippi Ryan—Hank gave me an incredibly warm welcome when I first joined Sisters in Crime.  She recommended an agent to pitch, and she read and blurbed my book. When I re-introduced myself at a signing for her newest book, she said. “You act like I don’t know who you are.”  Hank, there’s no reason you should know me, yet you do.  Thank you.

Amy Shojai—Amy was one of the first writers I connected with when I was trying to figure out the business of writing.  She was one of two sponsors than I needed to become a member of the Dog Writer’s Association of America.

MaggieToussaint—Maggie wrote a wonderful article for my blog and a blurb for the book.  Maggie called Murder Strikes a Pose “a yogalicious romp,” which is a term I plan to steal every chance I get.

Penny Warner—Penny has done me many favors, including coaching me on book marketing and blurbing my book. She even made a Murder Strikes a Pose necklace and sent it to me.  I will always cherish it.

To each of you amazing ladies, if I can ever do something for you, I am yours. I promise to pay your graciousness forward to the writers who come behind me.  You are all great role models, and I aspire to he half the writer—half the person—that each of you already is.

To those of you reading this article, please support me by buying and reading their works.

Namaste

Tracy Weber

And in case you're interested, here's a blurb on Murder Strikes a Pose, which was published January, 2014!

 

 

When George and Bella—a homeless alcoholic and his intimidating German shepherd—disturb the peace outside her studio, yoga instructor Kate Davidson’s Zen-like calm is stretched to the breaking point. Kate tries to get rid of them before Bella scares the yoga pants off her students. Instead, the three form an unlikely friendship.

One night Kate finds George’s body behind her studio. The police dismiss his murder as a drug-related street crime, but she knows George wasn’t a dealer. So Kate starts digging into George’s past while also looking for someone to adopt Bella before she’s sent to the big dog park in the sky. With the murderer nipping at her heels, Kate has to work fast or her next Corpse Pose may be for real.

 

Check out Tracy Weber’s author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  MURDER STRIKES A POSE is available now at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Whole Life Yoga, and wherever books are sold!

 

Yoga Can Be Murder

A yoga student approached me after class recently, looked at my bookmarks, and frowned. He phrased his next comment politely, but the gist was this: “What kind of demented yoga teacher writes books about murder?”

I stammered and stuttered a lame, joking reply, assuring him that no yoga students had been harmed in the making of my books. Looking back, I should have reframed the conversation. Instead of assuring him that I wasn’t psychotic, I should have told him why I write yoga mysteries. If I could re-do the conversation, here’s what I’d say.

My light-hearted mysteries allow me to share my love of yoga with people I may never meet.

Good fiction immerses the reader in a world they might otherwise never experience.  I hope to show my readers that yoga is for everyone—especially those of us who are far from perfect. Even better, I hope my book is entertaining enough to entice a reader or two to try yoga.

Kate Davidson, my novel’s protagonist, is a yoga teacher. Unlike the models in Yoga Journal, Kate has laughably tight hamstrings, chubby, cellulite-ridden thighs, and she drinks a bit more wine than she probably should. Kate tries to live up to yoga’s principles of satya (truth), ahimsa (non-violence), and karuna (active compassion).

She often fails.

Kate has temper more like a fighting rooster than the Dalai Lama, and she sometimes acts impulsively, only to regret it later. Yet she believes in yoga and dedicates her life to sharing it with others. If Kate loves yoga, anyone can love yoga—even mystery fans who have never considered trying it.

People are murdered in my work, but death isn’t the only theme.

Solving crime definitely takes center stage in my books, but murder isn’t the only focus.  My agent says that my first book—Murder Strikes a Pose—is ultimately about love. I didn’t realize it until I heard the words, but she’s right.

The book illustrates how love can damage us, if we let it.  Throughout its pages, normally good people do extreme—some might say evil—acts to protect those they love. But beyond that, the story shows how love transforms us, when we are ready. Overall, it promises that love saves us.

If my books were movies, they’d be rated PG-13—at most.

The Downward Dog Mysteries are written in the cozy mystery genre.  Cozies are typically light-hearted, often funny (I think mine are!) and written to appeal to the faint of heart.  Gore is minimized; killing takes place off screen; sex happens behind closed doors.  My mother read Murder Strikes a Pose, and she still thinks I'm a nice girl.

Last but not least, I love it!

But if I’m honest, the real reason I write yoga mysteries is simple. I’m a huge mystery fan, my life-work is yoga, and I’m absolutely, embarrassingly, head-over-heels crazy about my German shepherd, Tasha.  I write about a yoga teacher who solves murders with a wacky German shepherd sidekick.

Writing about yoga, dogs, and murder….What could be more fun?

Namaste

Tracy Weber

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and join my author mailing list for updates on MURDER STRIKES A POSE, available January 8, 2014 from Midnight Ink!