Thinkingdog Publishing

Here’s something that’s either going to make you say “duh” or “are you kidding me?”  Over the course of writing seven books in my Magical Papillon Mysteries series (yes, seven… I know you only have six in your hands right now, but the others are coming, pinky promise), I have learned so much it’s almost embarrassing. Not in a tragic way. In a “how did I not know this before?” way. When I wrote the first Magical Papillon book, I thought I understood pacing. I thought I understood tension. I thought I understood when to let a ghost float dramatically through a wall and when to let a single mother drink her coffee in peace. Turns out, I did not. Enter Rosewood Hollow. That charming, magical, slightly nosy town that now feels as real to me as my own kitchen. Somewhere between book one and book seven, I learned that magic has rules. Ghosts have boundaries. Secrets need air. Action needs silence. And pauses? Pauses are powerful. Sometimes the most important moment in a story is the breat...

Five Fantastic Reasons Why Only Papillon Dogs Should Solve Mysteries (You're Welcome) Greetings, readers - Pixie here. I have recently been informed that humans still allow other humans to solve mysteries. Adorable! After careful consideration, extensive research, and at least three naps, I have compiled the definitive list of reasons why papillon dogs are clearly the superior detectives. Reason Number One: We already know everyone's business. Humans think they're being subtle. They're not. We know who sneaks midnight snacks, who claims they don't want a dog but secretly carries treats in their pockets, and who was definitely in the kitchen five minutes before the cookie disappeared. You call it investigation. We call it Tuesday. Reason Number Two: We hear everything. The suspicious whisper behind the garden gate. The creak on the staircase. The mysterious rustle in the bushes. The opening of a cheese wrapper from three counties away. N...

5 Magical Realism Cozy Mystery Series Pixie Would Absolutely Consider Starring In By Pixie, Magical Papillon, Professional Detective Adjacent, Occasional Muse   Every author assumes their dog wants to star in their books. This is adorable. The truth is that I, Pixie the Magical Papillon, maintain very high artistic standards. I do not simply appear in any magical cozy mystery. I must carefully evaluate each potential role based on three important criteria:  Number of available treats. Quality of magical shenanigans. Whether I get more dialogue than the humans. After extensive napping and research, I have narrowed my list to five magical cozy mystery series I would seriously consider joining. The Magical Papillon Mysteries (Currently accepting applications from one extremely talented papillon.) Naturally, my first choice is the Magical Papillon Mysteries. The setting has everything I require:   ✔ A charming small town.   ✔ Cozy mystery adventures...

🐾 5 Cozy Mystery Series Pixie Would Consider Starring In (as told by Pixie the Magical Papillon, international jewel thief of hearts and occasional solver of crimes) Listen carefully, dear reader. I do not audition . I grace productions with my presence . However… after reviewing the literary landscape (while reclining on a velvet cushion, naturally), I have selected a few series that might be worthy of… me. 1. The “Large Dog Energy, Questionable Elegance” Option Baker Street Mysteries A 250-pound mastiff named Baby? Adorable. Excessive. Slightly drooly. I would, of course, bring refinement. Imagine it: I enter the bakery, solve the murder, and leave without a single crumb on my fur. A revolution. 2. The “Finally, Someone Who Listens to Dogs” Situation Dog Walker Mysteries A human who can hear dogs’ thoughts? At last. Someone who will document my brilliance accurately . I have been saying for years that I am the true detective. The humans simply hold the snacks. 3. T...

There’s a theory I’ve been quietly nurturing between cups of coffee and dramatic plot twists. I think you have to be an introvert to be a writer. Hear me out. Who else voluntarily spends hours sitting alone in a room, staring at a laptop, blinking occasionally, while internally sprinting across rooftops in a town that doesn’t exist? Who else battles enemies they invented, panics because their hero is about to fall off a cliff, and then desperately scrambles to think of something—anything—before gravity wins? Writers. That’s who. And not just any writers. Cozy mystery writers. Paranormal cozy mystery writers. The sort of people who think, “You know what this murder investigation needs? An enchanted Papillon and a dash of Christmas spirit.” I sit there, looking perfectly calm from the outside. Maybe even serene. Meanwhile, inside my head, Rosewood Hollow is in chaos. Someone’s been poisoned. Someone else is lying. My heroine is in danger. And I am frantically trying to deci...

A little while ago, Canada did what Canada does best and unleashed a truly horrible snowstorm. Not the polite, fluffy kind. No, this was the kind of snow that comes at you sideways, stings your face, and makes you question every life choice that led you outdoors. Blueberry the Papillon took one look at the situation and said absolutely not. And honestly? Same. She stood at the door like a tiny, dramatic statue of protest. No paw over the threshold. No curious sniff. No brave dash. Just a look that said, “I did not sign up for this nonsense.” Judging by the complete lack of footprints outside our front door, it seemed the rest of the neighborhood had reached the same conclusion. Draw your own conclusions from that. Eventually, cabin fever won. We all piled into the big car, mostly just to escape the walls closing in and remind ourselves that the outside world still existed. And that’s when we saw it. A young man. Doing push-ups. In front of a bar. On the sidewalk. Duri...

Let me tell you a little secret from behind the scenes of my very professional author platform: I put actual effort into my social media. Like, the full package. I plan it out. I write the captions. I pick the music. I schedule it so it doesn’t look like I’m flying by the seat of my sweatpants. I even think about lighting and fonts and which filter screams “whimsical but with integrity.” And yet. The most successful posts? The ones that get the likes, the shares, the "OMG I love her" comments? Are the ones where Blueberry shows up. That’s it. She just shows up. No effort. No notes. No mood board. She doesn’t brainstorm content pillars. She doesn't try to grow an audience or tailor her brand voice. She doesn’t even know what her niche is. (Unless it's squirrel-chasing and chicken snacks.) She just exists — gloriously. Fluffily. Sassily. And people adore her. I’ll admit, it’s humbling. I mean, I’ve got a degree. I’ve got story arcs and character spread...

The other day, somebody bought me a t-shirt that made me stop in my tracks and think, wait a minute, do I have a twin somewhere out there? Because on the front of this glorious piece of cotton it said: “I’m not really antisocial, I just prefer dogs.” And in that moment, I felt seen . Like, really seen. As if some stranger had cracked open my brain, read all the scribbled notes inside, and thought, Yep. That’s her slogan. Because here’s the truth: I do prefer dogs. Not always, not in every single moment—but often enough that I might as well embroider it on a pillow. Dogs don’t care if you show up with messy hair or with anxiety trailing after you like a second shadow. They don’t judge your questionable taste in snacks (hello, cheese puffs for dinner) or side-eye you for binge-reading cozy mysteries when the laundry is staging a coup. If you treat them well, they’ll treat you better. If you mess up, they’ll forgive you before you’ve even finished apologizing. And unlike people, dog...