Rottweiler Rescue: a mystery for dog lovers

[ellenoc]

Probably everyone on these boards is aware of my mystery because of the references in my signature over the last weeks, but I'm finally ready to post my One Thread on my book here.  For some reason I was determined to get all my first time indie author ducks in a row before doing this, but I've finally conceded to myself that this authoring business is more like herding cats than anything to do with ducks.

So my mystery is now on Amazon for the Kindle and in a paperback edition.  It's also available on Smashwords in the other ebook formats.  The Kindle version has 12 really nice reviews, including a 5-star review from Red Adept.  I suspect I owe big thank yous to people who frequent both Kindle Boards and the Amazon forums for those reviews.

Rottweiler Rescue is the story of Dianne Brennan, a volunteer for Rottweiler Rescue.  Dianne doesn't expect the volunteer work to be easy, but she doesn't expect it to be murderously hard! Yet murder is what she faces when she takes a dog to meet an adopter, finds him dead, and sees the killer leaving the scene. Worse, although Dianne cannot identify the killer, he begins stalking her with deadly intent. The sheriff's investigators in Douglas County, Colorado, are convinced the killer is a member of the victim's family. Dianne is sure he will be found where the victim worked - in the world of dog shows and dog people. Can she keep herself and her dogs safe long enough to prove she is right? Can Dianne and her Rottweilers collar the killer?

I wrote the book some years ago, and it was the Editor's Choice in the Mystery Category of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Annual Colorado Gold Contest.  After that I joined one of the RMFW critique groups and watched 2 members of the group get traditional publishing deals.  What was necessary at that point for those people to achieve success was so Not Me I stopped writing and left Rottweiler Rescue, along with a romance and a half, sitting untouched on my computer hard drive until I heard that Amazon was allowing indies access to their DTP platform.  Some research, a lot of editing and formatting, and well, here I am, really delighted with how things are going.

Thanks to all of you for your support.

[3pointers]

Here's the link to the book:

[kcrady]

Already bought it, read it, loved it and now I'm waiting for a sequel!  This IS going to be a series, right? 

[dpinmd]

Just one-clicked it!  As someone who loves mysteries, dogs, and is a volunteer for a breed rescue (Australian Cattle Dogs), this sounds like it's right up my alley!

[LCEvans]

Ellen,
You have enabled me. I had promised myself I'd wait until the end of the month to buy more books and now I have one-clicked Rottweiler Rescue. The combination of Dogs plus mystery made it impossible for me to resist.

[MrTsMom]

I just got finished with this book and absolutely loved it! I guess many issues go across breeds (rescue politics, vaccination protocols, etc), so even though I'm very much a Golden person, I found myself identifying with Dianne. Fun book!

[Jane917]

This book is on my Kindle now, waiting in the TBR line. However, I have had trouble the last few days getting interested in a book past the first 10 pages, so tonight I think I will give this a try.

[ElaineOK]

One-clicked.

I burned out on the Laurien Berenson and Susan Conant series.  I've trained competition obedience, adopted rescues (5 so far) and driven a couple of legs for CanineUndergroundRailroad.

Looking forward to it.

Elaine
Norman, OK

[SimonWood]

My wife and I rescue a lot of animals.  Our breed of choice dachshunds though.  We just rescued a longhair from doggy deathrow. 

[ellenoc]

Thanks everyone for all the great compliments and for buying my book!  Yes, I believe rescue is pretty much rescue no matter what the breed, although different groups may vary a bit in their protocols.  I do believe the small breed people have it easier because of greater demand for small dogs and more people who are suitable homes for them.

ElaineOK, I understand what you're saying about the Berenson and Conant series.  On her blog, Laurien Berenson says she's not writing any more of her series, and Conant seems to be burned out on hers herself as she's co-authoring the food-centered books with her daughter.  Her last couple of books certainly haven't been as good as the early ones.  I don't know how others feel, but IMO in these series it seems as if once the amateur sleuth settles her romantic interest and gets married or whatever, the series is pretty much over.

Yes, my plan was if this book was successful (and it is according to my lights), it would be a series.  I have the next one outlined.  It will be "Rottweiler Railroad," as in "Rottweiler Underground Railroad," a fictional take off on the Canine Underground Railroad.

Ellen

[kcrady]

Yes, my plan was if this book was successful (and it is according to my lights), it would be a series.  I have the next one outlined.  It will be "Rottweiler Railroad," as in "Rottweiler Underground Railroad," a fictional take off on the Canine Underground Railroad.

Looking forward to it!  Robo is awesome!

[LCEvans]

I don't know how others feel, but IMO in these series it seems as if once the amateur sleuth settles her romantic interest and gets married or whatever, the series is pretty much over.

I agree. I'm currently working on the second book in my Leigh McRae horse mystery series and I almost had Leigh to the altar when she dug in her heels last week. I realized I'll have to let her stay single for a while if I want the series to last through a few more books.

I don't know that I could do Rottweiler or other large dog rescue. I currently have 4 Chihuahuas, which seems to be my limit. Almost everyone in my family has the little yappy critters. At one holiday last year, everyone came over with their "babies" and we had 13 Chihuahuas running around my family room. You don't dare sit down because as soon as you do, they pile in your lap.

[dpinmd]

Just wanted to say that I am 57% into this book and am really enjoying it!!  I'm finding the story to be very interesting and suspenseful enough to keep me interested, but not so "edge of your seat" that I can't relax while reading, LOL!  I also just generally think it's quite well-written, and seems to be well-edited as well, which has been an issue with the last several "indy" books I've tried.  (Unlike some of the other recent ones I've tried, I don't keep wishing for a red pen to mark this one up!)

I definitely recommend this book, and Ellen, I thank you for writing it!

[Labrynth]

I'll support about anything that puts rescue in the forefront for folks.  I work with a multi-breed rescue now and worked with a Golden rescue for many years.  Have been involved in CUR runs among other things.  Currently have a 4-5 month old chow mix I found running down the middle of the road.  Hopefully after next weekend she will be one step closer to a home... she got a very promising family interested in her.

[ellenoc]

Thanks very much for the kind words.

dpinmd - as I said on another thread, I really researched and learned a lot about html in order to format my book as well as I wanted, so when people mention that they noticed and appreciated that element, it gives me a real boost!  Of course the fact that you like the story and the writing is the big thing and the one that makes me happiest.  Still, there's a thread on another forum that only professionally edited books can be well edited, and professionally edited books ought to have some kind of seal on them.  No one did anything with my book except me, and that thread has had me sticking my lower lip out.  So it's particularly nice to have someone compliment my editing right now too.

[KimME]

I read this book last weekend and loved it, glad to see there will be more 

Kim

[Neekeebee]

I purchased and read this book all in one day, after someone recommended it on another thread.   I really liked Robo, and hope there will be more in this series...soon!  (With the beginning blurb and chapter descriptions, of course.  )

N

[ellenoc]

I don't know about "soon," but I do already have an outline and the first few chapters of the next one - Rottweiler Railroad.

[dpinmd]

Finished, loved it, definitely looking forward to the next one!!!

[dpinmd]

 Still, there's a thread on another forum that only professionally edited books can be well edited, and professionally edited books ought to have some kind of seal on them.  No one did anything with my book except me, and that thread has had me sticking my lower lip out.  So it's particularly nice to have someone compliment my editing right now too.

Interesting.  After my recent experiences with some other Indie books, I would have said that I agreed that it's necessary to have professional editing -- or at least have editing by a trusted and detail-oriented "third party" who isn't as invested in the work as the author is.  So I'm surprised to hear that you didn't have someone else do the editing.  That really speaks highly of you as a writer, I think, that you were able to view your own work with a critical eye and remove/change things that didn't work.  (I can't imagine that it sprang from your "pen" completely perfect with no editing needed!)

[ellenoc]

I did take the whole thing through a critique group chapter by chapter, but my guess is that doesn't help everyone.  Several of the members of the group would just argue and get defensive over any suggestions and never took any of them.  You have to wonder why they bother to be in a group like that.  So critique groups only help if they have good members and if the particular author is open to suggestions and can separate the wheat from the chaff.  However, for me the biggest thing is to let things sit and do something else for a while.  Then when I look again things leap out that I couldn't see when I was "close."  For just plain proofreading, well, most of my working career was spent as a legal secretary.  Which is to say I'm a better than average proofreader of anything.

[ellenoc]

I know this is Kindle Boards and so discussion of the paperback version of a book is not exactly on target, but this is also the friendliest of the forums to indie authors, so I'm posting this tale about the paperback edition of my also-for-Kindle mystery here.

I've mentioned here and in other forums that Rottweiler Rescue is available in paperback and that the only reason for that was that the Rottweiler National Specialty Show was held right here in Colorado this past week.  So my plan was to order copies of the paperback and sell them in person at the show for the benefit of our local Rottweiler rescue group.  (The group is also getting 1/2 of the royalties from sales of the paperback on Amazon.) I also donated a copy for each of the adopters who brought their dogs to the rescue parade held at the show (13 of them as it turned out).  Each of them got a gift basket with the book and some other gifts included.

After some thought, the head of the rescue and I decided 50 copies to sell would be a realistic number, so I went off to the show with 2 boxes of books, which actually meant 60.  I can't say this venture was a total failure, since half the books sold and sold easily, and I must confess I didn't sit at the rescue booth working at selling books, but was busy with my own dog in carting and rally obedience and left the sales up to the people who were selling show catalogs right next door.  However, it wasn't a total success either since I now have a box of 30 books that I'll need to sell one by one in other ways, something I wouldn't purposely have set out to do.

In the meantime, I never expected the paperback to sell at all through Amazon.  After all it's $9.99 and by an unknown author, a different proposition than the Kindle version at $1.99.  However, the paperback has been selling at a slow but steady rate that averages almost a copy a day through Amazon.

So my lesson learned is that I'm not going to involve myself in this kind of venture again but am going to leave selling of all versions of my books to Amazon.  Call me lazy, but I'd really rather pay Amazon their cut than peddle books in person.

[Anju No. 469]

Great book - have recommended it to a lot of other kindlers here that are doggy folks.

[ellenoc]

Great book - have recommended it to a lot of other kindlers here that are doggy folks.

Thanks a bunch.  If you know any horsey romantic folks, would you mention my western historical romance? 

[cheerio]

I love a good animal story