Please welcome mystery author, Neil Placky.

When I met Marc, the man who would eventually become my husband, he had two dogs: Charlie, an opinionated little Yorkie, and Gus, a mellow Collie. Soon after we moved in together, Gus crossed the rainbow bridge, and Marc wanted another big dog.

We toured a facility run by a veterinarian which showcased various breeds, and we both agreed on a golden retriever. Marc knelt down to take the dog’s face in his hands, and said, “Can we call him Sam?”

I was (and still am) an unabashed Tolkien geek, so I said, “Sure. If his full name can be Samwise.” I must have had an inkling, even then, that Sam would become my faithful companion.

Marc agreed, and Sam came home with us. Charlie had already staked out Marc as “his” human, so that left Sam to me. Everyone said that a tired dog would be a well-behaved dog, so I began taking Sam for 45-minute walks morning and evening.

We communed on those long walks. Sam was an eager, inquisitive puppy, always pulling me forward to the next interesting smell. He was a happy dog, and quickly we got to know every neighbor who had a dog willing to play.

I had already published my first few mystery novels by then, and it seemed natural that I would combine my love for that genre with my affection for Sam. That was the genesis of my golden retriever mystery series.

I chose to set the books in a version of my hometown in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, a Philadelphia suburb, because I knew a lot of my high school classmates either still lived there or had never left, and I liked the idea of my hero running into old friends as he moved around town and solved crimes.

To make things easier on myself, I moved my hero, Steve Levitan, into a townhouse in a gated community like the one where I live with Marc and our dogs. Then I considered my victim.

I was intrigued by my next-door neighbor, a single woman in her late thirties with a badly behaved Shih-Tzu she doted on. What if she lived next to Steve, and her dog Rochester was a golden? And what if she was killed, and Steve was asked to take the dog in until her next of kin could be reached?

Thus began my detective duo. Steve is a reluctant dog daddy at first – Rochester is, like Sam was, a strong, determined, curious dog. Steve has some trouble adjusting to the regimen of dog life—feeding, walks, play time. But very quickly he falls in love, as I did, and Rochester becomes his boon companion.

I recently finished the tenth book in the series, Dog’s Green Earth, which will come out in early September. Sam crossed the rainbow bridge over seven years ago, but I am so happy that he lives on, in my memory, in my imagination, and in these books.

For a limited time, the first book in the series, In Dog We Trust, is on sale for 99c at most e-retailers. If you like cozy mysteries, or dogs, or both, I hope you’ll give Steve and Rochester a try.

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About the Author:  Neil Plakcy has written or edited over three dozen novels and short stories in mystery, romance and erotica. His golden retriever mystery series was inspired by his first golden, Samwise. Long walks with his current goldens give him plenty of time to think up new crimes and solutions—and Brody and Griffin provide love, entertainment, and endless piles of fur on the floor. Find Neil at his website.