Janet Bolin & Laddie and Lacy

Who is in the photo at right?

I'm Janet Bolin, author of the Threadville Mystery series. Laddie and Lacy are a brother and sister pair. They're rescue dogs, about five and a half years old, with (apparently) some border collie in their ancestry.

What's the occasion for Coffee with a Canine?

The three of us will take any excuse to spend time together outside...

What's brewing?

I still use Costco's house brand, actually Starbucks, and grind the beans to a very fine powder immediately prior to making the coffee. I have an electric drip coffee maker. I make the coffee quite strong and add a bit of skim milk.

Any treats for you or the dogs on this occasion?

Ooh, maybe a few unsalted walnuts and almonds. Lacy needs to watch her weight. Like nuts will help...

What's new with you and the dogs since you were last guests here at Coffee with a Canine?

Dire Threads was nominated for an Agatha Award for best first novel of 2011 and shortlisted for the Bloody Words Light Mystery Award, the Bony Blithe. I went to the Malice Domestic Conference, the Festival of Mystery, and the Bloody Words Conference, and had a great time meeting readers and other authors at all three places. Threaded for Trouble came out on June 5 this year, and I've turned in the third manuscript in the series. It comes out in June 2013.

Lacy and Laddie continue to enjoy themselves, romping around together and napping. Lacy has developed a fear of thunder, which Laddie, so far, has not caught from her. She's not yet as terrified of thunder as she is of the beep of smoke detectors. I wish I knew what went on in the first year of their lives before we adopted them from a rescue facility! Or maybe I'm glad I don't know.

Did Laddie and Lacy have any influence on your new novel, Threaded for Trouble?

Laddie and Lacy offer writing advice as you will see from the photos. To help me remember their advice, they use the acronym DOGS:
Decide whether to outline or fly into the mist.
Observe everything carefully.
Go for the road untaken.
Sniff out clues to mysterious disappearances.

What is each dog's best quality?

The first word that comes to mind for both dogs is "sweet." They are very good and also very eager to please. Neither of them challenges their humans' right to be Alpha. Lacy is usually Laddie's boss, but either of them will call the other with a short, sharp bark, and the other will race to find out what concerns the other.

Who are your dogs' best pet-pals?

They are each other's best friends. Occasionally, Lacy will decide it's too early in the morning to go for a walk, but other than that, they are practically inseparable. In addition, they were very well socialized in the rescue facility from which we adopted them, and they really like nearly every dog they meet.

They see a lot of a mostly yellow lab, a standard poodle, a chocolate lab, and a very quick little mixed-breed who can tire Lacy out.

Laddie, the athlete, can keep up with almost everyone except for a purebred border collie, who soon has him flopping down in the shade.

If Hollywood made a movie about your life in which the dogs could speak, which actors should do their voices?

Who's young, frisky, and eager to please for Laddie?

And young and a bit bossy yet very motherly for Lacy?

If your dogs could answer only one question in English, what would you ask them?

I'd ask them to please, in the future, raise their right paw to answer yes to a question, and their left paw to answer no...then I could keep asking them questions and expecting answers, like, "Would you like to go outside for a walk?" Oh, wait, they already know how to answer that one (wag, wag, wag.) Maybe I'd ask them what I could do to make them the happiest dogs ever. I hope there would be no time or word limit to their answers.

Dogs do so much for us, and it never seems possible to repay them as much as they deserve. Oops, gotta go now and hug Laddie and Lacy.

Well, isn't that strange? They're asking to go outside for a walk...

Visit Janet Bolin's website, Facebook page, and Twitter perch.

Read--Coffee with a Canine: Janet Bolin and Laddie and Lacy (August 2011).

The Page 69 Test: Threaded for Trouble.

--Marshal Zeringue