Ask the Author: Laurien Berenson
Answered Questions (14)
Laurien Berenson
Hi Jessica,
Thanks for asking! I would love for you to bring my book to your book club. Here are some potential questions for discussion:
Discussion Questions for Peg and Rose Solve A Murder
1. Peg and Rose are two very different women from very different backgrounds. Which one of them do you identify with more?
2. An event that happened decades earlier is at the center of the animosity between the two women ever since. Which side would you have taken in that dispute, or do you feel that both women handled themselves poorly?
3. Are Peg and Rose believable acting as senior sleuths, or is this potentially dangerous undertaking best left to people who are younger and might be better suited to the task?
4. Peg and Rose learn a lot about each other over the course of the book, and this causes them to make changes to their own behavior. Has something you’ve learned about another person ever caused you to modify your perception of them?
5. Peg deciding to bring Esmeralda home with her for further socialization turns out to be a pivotal moment in the book. Have you ever adopted a pet, and if so, did your pet struggle to adapt to its new situation in life?
6. What do you think of Peter? His support of Rose is unwavering—but he is, at heart, a counselor--which means he still feels obliged to point out when she is wrong. In a spouse, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
I hope those work for you and your book club!
Laurien
Thanks for asking! I would love for you to bring my book to your book club. Here are some potential questions for discussion:
Discussion Questions for Peg and Rose Solve A Murder
1. Peg and Rose are two very different women from very different backgrounds. Which one of them do you identify with more?
2. An event that happened decades earlier is at the center of the animosity between the two women ever since. Which side would you have taken in that dispute, or do you feel that both women handled themselves poorly?
3. Are Peg and Rose believable acting as senior sleuths, or is this potentially dangerous undertaking best left to people who are younger and might be better suited to the task?
4. Peg and Rose learn a lot about each other over the course of the book, and this causes them to make changes to their own behavior. Has something you’ve learned about another person ever caused you to modify your perception of them?
5. Peg deciding to bring Esmeralda home with her for further socialization turns out to be a pivotal moment in the book. Have you ever adopted a pet, and if so, did your pet struggle to adapt to its new situation in life?
6. What do you think of Peter? His support of Rose is unwavering—but he is, at heart, a counselor--which means he still feels obliged to point out when she is wrong. In a spouse, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
I hope those work for you and your book club!
Laurien
Laurien Berenson
LOL, and good for your Dobie! Annie had a lot of smart things to say, and this quote is one of my favorites. Happy Holidays!
Laurien Berenson
Hi CK, thanks for asking! Yes, I bred and showed Poodles (both Standards and Miniatures) for more than 20 years. I also grew up going to numerous dog shows since my mother bred Norwich Terriers and my grandmother was a Terrier Group judge. I was very familiar with the dog show world when I started writing the series (at that point I was still showing Poodles) which was the reason I chose to give the books a dog show backdrop. And I agree with your assessments--Old English Sheepdogs are just about as hard as Poodles to get ready for the ring!
Laurien Berenson
Hi Joyce, I'm delighted that you're enjoying my series and thank you for reviewing Show Me the Bunny. I appreciate that!
Laurien
Laurien
Laurien Berenson
Hi Julian, I'm glad you found an original copy of that book! And that you liked the cover. A PEDIGREE TO DIE FOR was the first title in what is now a very long (25 books) series. It took me about nine months to write it (I was also showing Poodles at the time), and as I recall the word count was between 75,000 and 80,000 words. The book is still in print and has had two different covers since then. I hope you enjoy reading it.
Laurien
Laurien
Laurien Berenson
Thanks for asking, Elaine. Unfortunately as far as I know there are no plans for the rest of the series to be released as audiobooks. I'm sorry about that, I wish my answer were different.
I'm editing my earlier answer with good news. I'm happy to be able to report that now the first 27 books in the Melanie Travis series are available in audio.
I'm editing my earlier answer with good news. I'm happy to be able to report that now the first 27 books in the Melanie Travis series are available in audio.
Laurien Berenson
I have read so many great books this summer! Among them are Rhys Bowen's Love and Death Among the Cheetahs, S.J. Rozan's Paper Son, Sujata Massey's The Satapur Moonstone and Maggie Robinson's Nobody's Sweetheart Now. It's a wonderful time to be reading (and writing) mysteries.
Laurien Berenson
Overnight, every bed in the small town went up in flames. None of the survivors knew why.
Laurien Berenson
Hi Brenda, Wagging Through the Snow came out two days ago (9/27) but the previous "new" book in the Melanie Travis mystery series, Murder at the Puppy Fest, just came out in June, so that's pretty new too. Next up will be Ruff Justice, coming in June 2018. Thanks for asking!
Laurien Berenson
When my son was young I had a babysitter who came to my house four hours a day to watch him so that I could work. The babysitter was a young black man who was a high school graduate, saving money so he could go to college. About four months after he started working for me, he was murdered in the neighboring town where he lived.
The police came to question me because he had in his possession a check I'd written to him, that was for several hundred dollars. The first thing they said was, "We assume he was selling drugs and you must have been buying so you might as well tell us all about it." (!!)
Nothing I said was ever able to convince the authorities that a young black man who'd been killed did not die a drug-related death. Or maybe they didn't want to be bothered investigating what really happened so they were happy to make it appear that his death was somehow his own fault.
I knew the young man quite well and I also knew his family. We were all horrified by the lack of interest the police showed in the crime. Though this happened many years ago, I've always regretted that I didn't have Melanie Travis's detecting skills and wasn't able to find out what had truly happened to him.
The police came to question me because he had in his possession a check I'd written to him, that was for several hundred dollars. The first thing they said was, "We assume he was selling drugs and you must have been buying so you might as well tell us all about it." (!!)
Nothing I said was ever able to convince the authorities that a young black man who'd been killed did not die a drug-related death. Or maybe they didn't want to be bothered investigating what really happened so they were happy to make it appear that his death was somehow his own fault.
I knew the young man quite well and I also knew his family. We were all horrified by the lack of interest the police showed in the crime. Though this happened many years ago, I've always regretted that I didn't have Melanie Travis's detecting skills and wasn't able to find out what had truly happened to him.
Laurien Berenson
Great question! I would have to say Claire and Jamie from the Outlander books. I love both characters individually but together they are even better. Claire and Jamie are the heart and soul of Diana Gabaldon's stirring saga. The strength of their relationship is simply wonderful.
Laurien Berenson
Keep writing. I really think that the ability to write is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. Even if you're busy, take ten minutes a day to write in a journal. A writer is a person who writes. Be that person.
Follow your own voice. Don't let the market dicate what you think you should be writing or how you should be expressing yourself. Write the story that's important to you, the one that you need to tell.
Follow your own voice. Don't let the market dicate what you think you should be writing or how you should be expressing yourself. Write the story that's important to you, the one that you need to tell.
Laurien Berenson
The next Melanie Travis mystery is BITE CLUB, coming out in June. It will be followed by HERE COMES SANTA PAWS in September. The book I'm working on now is Melanie Travis Mystery #26, GAME OF BONES, which will be published in 2020.
Laurien Berenson
I just write. Even if I'm not having the best day, I keep to my schedule. I do 3 drafts of each book so I hope that the next time I'm working on this particular spot in the plot that I'll be having a better writing day.
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