Spotlight & Giveaway: Dog Days and Killer Nights by Paige Tyler

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Paige Tyler to HJ!

Hi Paige and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Dog Days and Killer Nights!

Thanks for inviting me. I always enjoy stopping by and chatting with HJ fans about my newest books.
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Bluewater Bay’s Dog Days Festival is in full swing and amateur sleuth, Tassie Drake, and her lie-detecting Chiweenie, Baxter, are loving it. There hasn’t been a murder in town in months…and that’s the way it should be. Now, she’s busy taking care of her doggy bakery booth at the festival and spending time with her boyfriend, Detective Jack Sterling. It’s the perfect day. The sun is shining and the fur-babies are barking. What could be better?

Then there’s a scream on the other side of the park after someone finds the body of Bodie Doyle, everybody’s least favorite schemer, with a dog leash around his neck. It seems like nobody liked the guy, but when the lead suspect is her sister’s boyfriend, it looks like Tassie and Baxter are back to sleuthing.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

This is a line from the book that highlights the fact that cozy mysteries always take place in small, perfect little towns where everyone knows each other’s names and nobody locks their doors. But then how do you explain all the murders? Well, I have a theory. Or rather, Tassie does.

Up until a few months ago, there hadn’t been a murder in Bluewater Bay in…well…ever. Now, Bodie made number three. It was like there was something in the water lately.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• I’m not sure if it’s just me, but I write my mysteries backwards. I have to figure out who the bad guy is, why they did what they did, and which piece of evidence allows Tassie and Baxter to catch them. I then envision the bad guy’s monologue in the last scene, where they explain why they murdered the person at the beginning of the story. Then I go back to the start of the book and kill that person in a way that matches the confession. Everything in between (at least as far as plot goes) is dropping the necessary clues (both legitimate and those that are intended to lead the reader astray from the real killer).
• There are some social media influencers in the stories. I’m all about the pet influencers on Instagram (dogs, cats, racoons, lizards, you name it!) and love to check them out before bed.
  Most of the murder victims in my stories are described as people who aren’t very nice. I do this intentionally, so the story isn’t a downer.
• I drew inspiration for Pupcakes and Peril from two of my favorite things—my love of Hallmark mystery movies (especially the Mystery 101 movies) and my love of dogs (especially our Chiweenie!). The Pupcake and Peril Series lets me combine my two loves into a single storyline—Tassie solving mysteries with her fur-baby sidekick, Baxter, at her side. Most of the other characters in the stories have their own fur-babies too!
• Food is always big thing in my stories. Lasagna, lobster rolls, barbecue chicken pizza, chicken tikka masala, and cinnamon chai tea are all comfort foods my characters get to enjoy in this book.
• Any time I need inspiration for the settings around Bluewater Bay, I Google images of “small coastal towns in Maine.” It’s a beautiful part of the country and there’s a never-ending source of pictures when it comes to the buildings and shops to include in my make-believe town.

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

This is the third book in the Pupcakes and Peril series, so the relationship between Tassie and Jack has been developing slowly for a while. In the beginning, Tassie simply thought Jack—who was new in town—was attractive. And seriously, when you live in a small town where you know absolutely everyone, being an attractive stranger can be more than enough to elevate you to the top of the interest pile.

But when Tassie and Baxter stumbled on the first dead body, and Jack didn’t do the standard belligerent, “I’m a detective…you’re a civilian…stay out of my investigation” thing, she started thinking there might be more there than just a handsome face.

Since then, Tassie and Jack have developed a great working relationship. He accepts that as a civilian, she can go places and talk to people in a way that as a cop, he never could. That he respects her abilities—and allows her to make her own decisions and come to her own conclusions—is more important to her than she ever would have thought.

When he moved from Albany to Bluewater Bay, Jack wasn’t looking for a partner…or a girlfriend. Looking for a fresh start, he was unprepared to meet someone like Tassie. She’s unlike anyone he’s ever met. Beautiful, clever, fearless, and willing to put herself in danger for those she believed in. And she loves dogs! What more could you ask for? Well, it might be nice if Tassie wasn’t constantly putting herself in dangerous situations—but not in a TSTL kind of way. Then again, she wouldn’t be Tassie if she didn’t do those things. He’s just going to have to keep her safe himself.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

This snippet is for all the pet owners out there who have tried everything to get their fur-babies to willingly submit to a nail trim. Our own Chiweenie acts like he’s going through an exorcism when you take out the nail rotary tool. Now, we use a doggy nail file and it works much better! This snippet shows Jack trying some peer pressure in an attempt to manipulate his pooch into doing what he wants. I had to laugh when I wrote it, because we’ve tried some mind games like that ourselves. It doesn’t work.

“Gus needs his nails trimmed,” Jack said, bending to give his dog an affectionate pat.
“And he’s not crazy about doing it.”

Claire immediately went into dog groomer mode, her discussion with Bodie forgotten as
she picked up the rotary tool. She let Gus give it a good sniff, but the poor guy was having none of it, even with Jack’s gentle cajoling.

“Maybe if Gus watches Baxter get his nails trimmed and sees that it isn’t so scary, he’ll be okay with it,” Tassie suggested.

“Good idea!” Claire said.

Baxter didn’t actually need his nails trimmed, but sat on Tassie’s lap like a good boy while Claire pretended to trim them with the rotary tool. Gus still looked unsure, but allowed Claire to finally do his nails. Tassie and Jack’s promise of a treat when they got back to the Pupcakes booth might have had something to do with his acquiescence.

Readers should read this book….

Readers who love a good cozy mystery with a little romance on the side. Readers who are looking for some danger and suspense to go with their mystery. And of course, there are more cute and cuddly fur-babies than you can shake a dog toy at, and everyone knows, you can never have enough doggies!

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

We’re busy outlining the next book Pupcakes and Peril Series. We’re also putting the finishing touches on the next book in the SEALs of Coronado Series while working on the first draft of the series finale for the Special Wolf Alpha Team Series! We also have a SWAT/SEALs of Coronado spin-off coming!
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: I’m giving away eight ebook copies of Dog Days and Killer Nights! 

To enter Giveaway: Please leave a comment to this Q: I was inspired to write this series after watching the mysteries on the Hallmark Channel. I didn’t know I loved cozy mysteries so much until we binge watched Mystery 101, which is my absolute favorite mystery movie series on Hallmark (two words – Kristoffer Polaha)! I knew right away I wanted to start writing cozy mysteries.
Do you like Hallmark movies and if so, do you have a favorite?

 This giveaway closes 3 days from the date of this post.

Excerpt from Dog Days and Killer Nights:

This is the good, old-fashioned “finding the body” scene, where everyone discovers that Bodie had been murdered, and Tassie and Baxter decide that it’s time for them to get to work.

Tassie stepped to the side so she could see and found herself staring at a man’s body sprawled on the grass near a cluster of bushes near the edge of the park. Her gaze traveled from the fancy tennis shoes on his feet, then up the still form to the man’s face and the leash wrapped tightly around his neck.

“It’s Bodie,” she gasped.

Jack didn’t reply. Instead, he walked over and crouched down beside Bodie to feel for a pulse.
Tassie held her breath, waiting. Yes, Bodie did have a leash wrapped around his neck, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still alive. A moment later, Jack stood and looked at her.

“Bodie’s dead.”

Tassie had already figured as much, but it was still shocking. Up until a few months ago, there hadn’t been a murder in Bluewater Bay in…well…ever. Now, Bodie made number three. It was like there was something in the water lately.

Jack was on his cell phone, saying something about needing uniformed officers at the scene along with the coroner. When he was done, he slipped his phone back in his pocket and turned to the crowd still gathered there, holding up his badge.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this area has just become a crime scene, so I’ll need everyone to keep their distance,” he announced. “I also need to know who found the body.”

A petite woman with a Bichon Frisé—both of whom Tassie didn’t recognize, which meant they were probably from out of town—timidly raised her hand. Tassie listened while she explained about walking her dog past this part of the park and finding Bodie’s body. As she gave Jack her name and other information, Tassie turned around to survey the crime scene.

The grass around Bodie was clearly disturbed like there’d been a struggle, but she supposed that could simply be from all the people and dogs walking around the park today. Not that she was sure what it’d tell Jack and the police if there had been a struggle. Someone had strangled Bodie. Of course, he’d put up a fight.

Her gaze went to the leash around his neck. It was bright green nylon with a silver buckle, unremarkable and yet, she recognized it.

Or, at least, thought she did.

Tassie picked up Baxter, holding him close in her arms. “Look at the leash,” she said softly in his ear. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

He half turned his head to gaze at her, the look on his face letting her know he was catching what she was throwing. The phrase made perfect sense since her pup did love playing fetch.
“That leash looks exactly like the one Isaac used during the presentations he gave today,” she whispered, not wanting anyone to overhear—including Jack.

Speaking of which, her boyfriend was heading their way.

“I’m going to need to deal with this, so could you take Gus home with you and Baxter?” Jack asked. “I’ll come over and pick him up later.”

Tassie nodded. “Sure.”

He lifted a brow, regarding her almost suspiciously. “That’s it? You aren’t going to insist that you want to hang around and investigate?”

Oops. He knew her too well.

“Baxter and I are going to investigate, but you know we do our best work talking to people instead of examining crime scenes,” she said.

“Uh-huh.”

“As it so happens, it looks like the mayor is here to do just that,” she said. “He’s headed your way.”
Jack let out a groan. “I’d better talk to him. I’ll see you and Baxter later.”

Her boyfriend visibly braced himself, then turned to intercept the man. On the short side with a walrus mustache, Ted Fillmore sometimes thought being mayor was akin to being a dictator. All bluster, he looked up at Jack, an indignant expression on his face.

“Mr. Mayor, what can I do for you?” Jack asked politely.

Fillmore sucked on his teeth, causing his mustache to bob up and down. “You can keep people from being murdered in my town, that’s what. Two murders were bad enough, but three is a trend, and I don’t like it.”

Tassie didn’t have to be an amateur detective to know where this conversation was going. She looked at Baxter, still in her arms.

“Come on, baby,” she said. “Let’s go make sure that leash doesn’t belong to Isaac.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

You never know who’s capable of murder…

Pupcakes Bakery owner (and amateur sleuth) Tassie Drake must admit, things have been almost doggone perfect around Bluewater Bay. The warm summer weather has brought plenty of tourists to town (and to her bakery!), the Dog Days Festival is in full swing, and there hasn’t been a murder for almost three months!

Not to be selfish, but no murders mean more free time with her handsome boyfriend, detective Jack Sterling. Who would say no to that? Not Tassie, and not her Chiweenie, Baxter; he loves Jack as much as she––oops! (Love!? Was she ready for the “L” word?) Unfortunately, Tassie doesn’t have time to consider her romantic feelings. When one of her high school classmates is found strangled at the festival––with a dog leash, no less––half the town is a suspect. And that means it’s time to dust off her sleuthing shoes so she and Baxter can help Jack investigate.

But the deeper they dig, the more proverbial skeletons they uncover, and Tassie soon realizes Bluewater Bay may not be the quaint town she thought. More than one person she calls ”neighbor” is capable of murder…
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Meet the Author:

Paige Tyler is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of romantic suspense, cozy mystery, and paranormal romance. She and her very own military hero (also known as her husband) live on the beautiful Florida coast with their adorable fur baby (also known as their dog). Paige graduated with a degree in education but decided to pursue her passion and write books about hunky alpha males and the kick-butt heroines who fall in love with them.
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