Love at Any Age: Guest Post with Fabulous Author Sheila Webster Boneham

Love, Murder, and a Touch of Gray

By Sheila Webster Boneham

 

Have you ever been surprised to learn that someone else is surprised by something that doesn’t surprise you at all? I was surprised to learn that a few people on the publishing end of my Animals in Focus Mystery series were surprised that my fifty-something protagonist had the hots for one slightly older hunk.

Why shouldn’t she? Janet MacPhail, my protagonist, doesn’t define herself by her birthdate. She has a thriving freelance business as a nature and animal photographer, and a thriving hobby training and showing her Australian Shepherd, Jay, in several canine sports. She runs, takes long walks, and hikes several times a week with her dog or her camera—or both.  She plays with her bright little tabby, Leo. She’s facing up to her mother’s dementia, her best friend’s health issues, and, lately, the occasional murder. Why shouldn’t she feel a few tingles when Tom Saunders, anthropologist and dog lover, strolls into her life?

Not that Janet doesn’t have a few reservations about complicating her life. Her first husband left her wary of long-term commitments, and she’s not interested in having to account for her actions to anyone but herself. And the critters, who do have certain expectations. Then again, it is nice to have someone around who understands her passion for her animals and her work. Tom does all that, and he’s a great kisser to boot. He also passed the acid test—Janet’s animals love him, and his own black Labrador Retriever, Drake, worships him.

One thing should be no surprised:  romance isn’t any simpler just because the players are more mature. In fact, as Janet and Tom are learning, love at any age can be murder.

 

 

The Money Bird, Animals in Focus Mystery #2

For Janet MacPhail, photographing retrievers in training is the perfect way to spend an evening. But a photo session at Twisted Lake takes a peculiar turn as Drake, her friend Tom’s Labrador, fetches a blood-soaked bag holding an exotic feather and a torn one-hundred-dollar bill.

When one of her photography students turns up dead at the lake, Janet investigates a secretive retreat center with help from Australian Shepherd Jay and her quirky neighbor Goldie. Between dog-training classes, photo assignments, and romantic interludes with Tom, Janet is determined to get to the bottom of things before another victim’s wings are clipped for good.

 

 

Sheila Webster Boneham is the author of 17 nonfiction books, six of which have won major awards from the Dog Writers Association of America and the Cat Writers Association. She is also the author of Drop Dead on Recall, the first in the Animals in Focus Mystery series. For the past two decades Boneham has been showing her Australian Shepherds and Labrador Retrievers in various canine sports. She has also bred top-winning Aussies, and founded rescue groups for Aussies and Labs. Boneham holds a doctorate in folklore and MFA in creative writing, and resides in Wilmington, N.C., with her husband Roger, Lily, their yellow Lab, and Sunny, their Golden Retriever.

 

Links:

 

Website & Blog: http://www.sheilaboneham.com

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/sheilawrites

Amazon:  http://amazon.com/author/sheilaboneham

You can also order your personally autographed copy from Pomegranate_Books .

Love comes in many forms. My Australian Shepherd Dustin and Labrador Retriever Annie liked all the dogs and cats in the family, but theirs was a special relationship. Notice that they were holding hands in this photo, taken when they were both 12 years old. I imagine they are romping and cuddling together at the Rainbow Bridge.