Happy Tenth Anniversary, Raine and Cisco!
A lot has happened in the past ten years! Below I've compiled some of the most popular reader questions dealing with the changes the Raine Stockton Dog Mystery series has undergone over the years, and what's in store for the future.
Q. When Smoky MountainTracks was first written, Cisco was introduced as an incorrigible two year
old puppy. Today, ten years later, Cisco
is an incorrigible three year old dog.
How did that happen?
A. Anyone who writes
about dogs knows to pace herself. If I had set the book in “real time”, Cisco
would be an old dog by now! I try to set
each book within a month or two of the last one, so that, while the rest of us
may age, Raine and Cisco remain virtually untouched by time.
Q. Still, after ten
adventures, Cisco must have changed
some.
A. As someone who lives with golden retrievers I know that the year between age two and age three is the
one in which you always see the biggest change in terms of maturity, and I think that
has proven to be true for Cisco. He is
a more focused tracking dog now, and recently obtained his Level Two Wilderness
Certification. He still has his moments, and will always struggle with impulse
control, but that’s what makes him Cisco.
He is growing into a more reliable working dog, though, and a better partner for
Raine.
Q. A lot has changed in Raine’s life, too, over the last ten
books. What are some of the most notable
ones?
A. Raine would say that the most significant change in her
life has been that she has gone from a four-dog household to three, since her
collie Majesty went to live with her aunt Mart. On the other hand, she gained a dog—at least
part time—in Pepper, her young friend Melanie’s pup. For that matter, she finally divorced Buck,
her philandering absentee husband, and gained a ready-made family with new
boyfriend Miles and his daughter Melanie.
She lost her mentor and business partner, Maude, but gained a devoted,
if eccentric, kennel manager in Corny.
Raine’s personal growth may seem to have been all about loss over the
past several books, but in fact she has gained a good deal more than she has
lost.
Q. Raine and Buck may be officially divorced, but there
seems to be a lingering connection between them. Will she ever make a final choice between
Buck and Miles?
A. As Raine confesses in the second book in the series, she
has only loved two men in her whole life, and she married one of them. Change is not easy for her, and, having made
such a huge mistake in her choice of marriage partners, neither is trust. However, in Dog Days, she does make a choice, and as anyone who knows Raine
will testify, her loyalty, once you’ve won it, is fierce.
Q. Raine has also
undergone some significant emotional challenges in the past several books, and
she has not always dealt with them in the most mature manner. In this way Raine is an atypical heroine.
Why did you choose to portray Raine in
this way?
A. I believe that the proof of a character is in her
flaws. I wanted Cisco to be a realistic
dog, and I wanted Raine to be a realistic woman, so both of them are, in the
words of one reviewer, kind of “hot messes”.
Raine has one over-riding weakness, and that’s her inability to trust. She is constantly working on that, and it’s a
one-step-forward-two-steps-back process for her. In the meanwhile she is
repeatedly offered other challenges to overcome, which allow her to grow as a
character.
Q. What has been your biggest challenge in writing the
series?
A. Aside from Cisco,
who is always a challenge!--the biggest challenge with any series that goes on
longer than four books is keeping it fresh.
I’ve tried to keep readers interested by introducing new characters,
like Jolene and Corny, and by varying the tone and the scope of the books. Some, like Home of the Brave, deal with heavier themes; some, like Dog Days and Double Dog Dare, are more straightforward mysteries. Others, like The Dead Season and High in Trial are a little bit of both! I
try to make sure that the events of each book move the lives of the characters
forward in some way, so that the story as a whole continues to feel vital and
alive to the reader.
Q. What is your favorite book of the series so
far?
A. My favorite is Double Dog Dare, possibly because it was
set at the beach.
Q. How much longer will the series continue?
A. I’ve said before
that I will continue to write these books as long as readers continue to buy
them. That hasn’t changed.
Q. Will Raine get married again?
A. Probably not. She’s an independent woman and seems to work
better that way. But that doesn’t
preclude the possibility of an ongoing romance with a partner who’s worthy of
her.
Q. What changes lie ahead for Raine?
A. I can’t give away all my secrets! But one thing I’ve been working toward for
awhile now is moving Raine into a more defined crime investigation role. Look for her to start taking an active
interest in her uncle’s cold case squad within the next few books.
Q. Most importantly, when will the next book be out?
A. Readers can always expect at least one book a year in the Raine Stockton series, and sometimes-- not always--two. Book #11 in the series is scheduled for summer 2016. It's called Land of the Free and is, as you might expect, a follow up to the events that took place in Home of the Brave.
