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...

So - here's a story that will make you shake your head, and possibly grin into your coffee..... There was once a young(ish) writer—me—who had a dream. A dream of becoming a full-time author. And back in those days, when I was working a “normal” job with real pants and scheduled lunch breaks, I wrote like my life depended on it. I was a writing ninja. A stealth scribe. A literary outlaw with a contraband notebook shoved between HR memos and leftover Post-Its. I mean, I was ON FIRE. Every time I had five minutes to spare—waiting in the breakroom for the microwave, parked outside the vet’s office, pretending to be in a “conference call”—out came the notebook. Words were flying. Characters were developing. Mysteries were unraveling. People thought I was quietly journaling. Nope. I was busy plotting a suspicious death behind the bakery while eating a stale granola bar. Fast forward to today, where writing is my full-time job. And… well. Now I start my day with social media,...