An Interview With Lane Stone

by Grace Topping

Browse library stacks or bookstore shelves, and you’ll find dozens of mysteries featuring an animal on the cover. People who love animals especially enjoy reading mysteries with them—whether the animal is the main character’s pet or the point-of-view character that assists in solving the crime. Publishers know if they add a cat to a cover, the book will sell—whether there is a cat in the story or not. At a conference, a mystery fan asked me if I had any cats in my book. When I said no, she turned and walked away. You can be sure the next day I added a cat to my manuscript. 

Lane Stone not only loves dogs and reading about them, but she writes mysteries that include the care, training, and pampering of dogs—along with an occasional dead body. Her Pet Palace mystery series is set in Lewes (lower, slower) Delaware, the perfect spot for a mystery that Kings River Life said is Fun and Full of Laughter. 

Support Your Local Pug

In the second Pet Palace Mystery, Sue and Lewes police chief John Turner head for the high seas to rescue a petrified pug stranded at a lighthouse in the Delaware Bay. Were they lured away for a freshly murdered body to get dumped in her driveway? Aided by Lady Anthea Fitzwalter, her practically royal business partner from across the pond, Sue sniffs out clues about the yappy pug with a complicated history in hopes of IDing the culprit. As the investigation leads them back to the bay, the ladies soon find themselves immersed in a case trickier than a canine agility course.

http://www.lanestonebooks.com

Welcome, Lane, to Writers Who Kill.  

The second book in your Pet Palace mystery series, Support Your Local Pug, was recently released. What inspired you to write a mystery and one about a pet palace?

Lane Stone

I love the genre. I’m a baby boomer and we all believe that we can change things. In mysteries, evil or chaos can be overcome by society (like in a police procedural) or by one well-meaning individual like an amateur sleuth. And, I love dogs, but specifically, I like writing about my characters’ relationships with their dogs. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve only scratched the surface of the complexity of those bonds.  

The training and care of dogs is key in your Pet Palace Mysteries. What is it that draws readers to mysteries that feature animals?

So many of us have, or have had, pets and know how much joy they bring to our lives.  That alone makes animals well suited for cozies. Add in how much you learn about someone when they interact with a dependent, trusting animal, and what was merely feel-good, becomes powerful stuff. You can show cruelty or character, responsibility or negligence, and the state of your suspect’s emotional health.

Do you have experience in pet care? Do you own pets?

The dedication page in Support Your Local Pug reads, “This book is dedicated to all those who have grieved over the loss of a pet, with comforting thoughts and lots of love from our family to yours.” We lost Abby (@themenopausedog) almost a year ago, and we’re just now starting the process of getting a new dog.

In your first book in the series, Stay Calm and Collie On, all-American Elvis fan Sue Patrick teams up with the very British and proper lover-of-the-arts Lady Anthea to form their Pet Palace business. What made this unlikely duo become partners and how do they make their differences work?

They meet through a program that matches up women business owners to become partners.  Lady Anthea needs money for her estate but is limited in what she can do because of her position in British society. Her grandmother was lady-in-waiting to the queen and her brother is a duke.  She uses her knowledge of opera, art, and literature in their investigations. Surfer Sue was looking for a business theme, and the two women form a “pet-ronage.” She doesn’t care what anyone thinks. It does Lady Anthea good to be around someone so authentic, free, and kind. Sue uses her knowledge of all-things-Elvis when she needs to come up with a clue.  

How is their Pet Palace different from other pet care facilities?

It’s loosely based on Olde Towne Pet Resort in Alexandria, Virginia, but just a little more over the top. They also treat dogs like royalty!

Stay Calm and Collie On was featured in Modern Dog magazine. Do you hear from dog owners about how you’ve portrayed dog ownership, training, and care in your books? I’m always afraid I’ll miss a feeding of the cat in my book and hear from cat owners about it.

I know. Abby and I were always joined at the hip, but I realized that in Stay Calm and Collie On a day would go by without the fictional Abby being mentioned. At least cats have litter boxes so you can leave them alone for longer stretches at a time. Not so with dogs. I edited the manuscript and had her coming to Buckingham’s and staying in Sue’s office. I also arranged for other characters to take her out when an investigation heats up and Sue can’t get home.   

You’ve set your books in Lewes, Delaware, an actual place. What has been the response to your books by local residents?

Our weekend place is in Lewes. Considering I’ve made it the murder capital of the area, they are very understanding. And since this is a cozy series, it’s also Celibacy City. ; )

Are any of the places and businesses mentioned in your books real? 

Many are real. If I portray a place negatively, it’s made up, like the veterinary clinic in book one, Stay Calm and Collie On. Buckingham’s is located in the Villages of Five Points area of Lewes, but in real life it’s a CVS. All the streets, restaurants, parks, beaches, and nearby towns are real. Come and visit and you’ll see. 

Please tell us about your Tiara Investigations mystery series. Will we be seeing any more books in that series?

That was my first series, and so it has a special place in my heart. It always will. The Tiara Investigations detectives are former Georgia beauty queens, now in their late-40’s. They start a detective agency but don’t tell their husbands, so they have to meet their clients at the local Cracker Barrel. Current Affairs was first, followed by Domestic Affairs. Foreign Affairs became a novelette in an anthology, Cozy Cat Shorts. It’s free on my website. To get to the link, just click on http://www.lanestonebooks.com/the-books/tiara-investigations-mysteries/.

I understand that you are pursuing a post-graduate certificate in Antiquities Theft and Art Crime. What got you interested in this subject? Any plans to create a mystery series featuring a character with this specialty? Sounds like it would be intriguing. 

I won’t lie, I was nervous taking on something like that at my age. Update: I graduated. Woot! This is me patting myself on the back. What got me interested? Well, one day when I was writing at Panera Bread, a couple of guys wearing black leather jackets asked me to drive a getaway car for them to the National Portrait Gallery. Sounded like a reasonable request, and well, I am a very safe driver, but I thought I better learn a little more about art crime before I committed.  (Okay, I’m lying. I was at Starbucks.) 

And I am considering a new series using what I learned in the program.  

You are an active member of a number of professional organizations, including the Chesapeake Area Chapter of Sisters in Crime and Georgia Writers. Has belonging to these groups helped you in your writing career? 

My first book took years to write. Years. Then I got serious. What does a professional do? She joins a professional organization. That’s what SinC is. Of course, I’ve learned a lot from the veterans in the organization and from experts, but it was this shift in attitude that made all the difference. Seeing myself as a professional writer is what got me to use my time better, and I was eventually published.

What are some of the most memorable experiences you’ve had as a published author?

Honestly, I get so excited every time I see a new book cover. Between my two series and a book I co-authored, Maltipoos are Murder, I’ve had five book covers, and I go crazy every time.  

Throughout the year, you attend a number of professional conferences and events, including meetings of the Jane Austen Society of North America. Do you have a favorite among them?

That’s a great question. In addition to professional conferences, I’m involved in a lot of volunteer activities. I think it’s so important for everyone, but especially for writers, to curate her experiences. To write interesting books, you need to be a certain percentage geek. 

I am a Janeite, but I’m also on the board of the Delaware River and Bay Lighthouse Foundationand co-president of the Alexandria branch of AAUW.  And I’m on Georgia State University’s Political Science Board. 

They are all my favorites.

What is your favorite book promotion activity?

I love talking with readers in person. In August Libby Klein, Maureen Klovers, and I had a mini-book tour on the Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey shore. In two of the events we interviewed each other, which was a lot of fun. Last year Donna Andrews, Sherry Harris, and I did the same at a local library event.  

The geek in me likes to write and talk about writerly topics, like dual protagonists vs co-protagonists. 

What’s next for Sue Patrick, Lady Anthea, and the Pet Palace? Any other series in the works?  

The next book launches in May 2019. The title is Changing of the Guard Dog. Lady Anthea’s brother, the duke, comes to Lewes, and Sue’s relationship with Chief Turner heats up. I’m spending the rest of the year on a nonfiction project about American nuns in WWII Poland.  

Thank you, Lane.

To learn more about Lane Stone, her books, and her numerous activities, visit her at www.lanestonebooks.com.