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!

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!

Fun with Anthropomorphism

By Deborah Sharp

An osprey flew overhead the other day as I sat on the backyard dock. The big bird clutched a mullet in its talons. Sometimes, I watch as a fish flops and wriggles, trying to escape. Once I saw one break free, splashing into the New River and darting away in a streak of silver.
But not this fish. He didn't wiggle. He didn't struggle.
''Check out that mullet's face,'' I said to my husband. "He looks completely resigned to his fate.''
"Oh, great. Now you're reading the fish's mind.''
Now, I know that many scientists -- along with my husband -- scoff at ascribing human emotions to finned, furred and feathered creatures. We're just projecting our own feelings and interpretations unto them, the scientists say. Still, in the proud tradition of many a mystery author, I'm not above a bit of anthropomorphism now and then. In my Mace Bauer Mysteries, a gator may look accusingly at the main character -- who has a sideline as a trapper. Sometimes, a cat that Mace inherited seems to listen sympathetically to her problems.
In my life outside fiction, I frequently imagine I know how an animal ''feels'' by the expression on its face.
A squirrel scurrying across an oak branch took a tumble and hit the ground, right at my feet. He wasn't hurt, but before he scrambled away, he shot me a look of sheer embarrassment. Recovering quickly, he replaced it with what looked more like cockiness.
"Uh, yeah, I intended to do that,'' said the look on his pointed little face.
I've also seen proud horses, regal birds, and confident cats. They reveal so much in the way they hold their heads, along with the look in their eyes.
I thought I was alone in this little quirk until I stumbled across thousands of hits for ''Guilty Dogs'' on the Internet. (Honestly, you can get lost, but here's one fun site: http://thefw.com/guilty-dogs-in-act/  )
Not only do all these jillions of people believe their dogs feel guilt, they catch them conveying that very emotion through adorable expressions. Here's one picture of such a dog:

And another:

Cat lovers have also jumped on the bandwagon. As far as I'm concerned, the feline pictures don't measure up. The cats don't appear remorseful to me. They look brazen. Defiant. But maybe I'm just projecting my own feelings onto them. You be the judge as to whether this kitty feels bad: 

Right. I didn't think so. 

How about you? Do you use (or like to read about) animals in your mysteries? Do they express human emotions?