1. I hear you have pets in your novel. Tell us about the book.
Pets make an appearance in almost all my books. In my latest release, A Room in Blake’s Folly, we see a Nevada town evolve from a silver boomtown to a semi-ghost town in six different stories. All six are romances even though some don’t turn out the way we expect they might.
In the second story–the romance between a brothel owner and a silver baron (set in 1927)–we meet the dog Russ, one of the many animals left behind in the early 1900s when people abandoned dying boomtowns and headed further west.
In the fifth story, one that takes place in 2021, several dogs as well as snakes and spiders steal the limelight. So do my hero and heroine Lance and Lucy who are both (unsuspectingly) linked to that earlier brothel owner and silver baron; there are often genetic surprises in small communities!
A Room in Blake’s Folly blurb:
If only the walls could speak…
In one hundred and fifty years, Blake’s Folly, a silver boomtown notorious for its brothels, scarlet ladies, silver barons, speakeasies, and divorce ranches, has become a semi-ghost town. Although the old Mizpah Saloon is still in business, its upper floor is sheathed in dust. But in a room at a long corridor’s end, an adventurer, a beautiful dance girl, and a rejected wife were once caught in a love triangle, and their secret has touched three generations.
Buy Link: https://books2read.com/BlakesFollyRomance
2. Why did you add animals to this book?
Osselot
I add animals to my stories because I can’t imagine life without them. My dogs and cats all come from pet shelters (or else I find them along the road), and they are usually settled in near me when I write. They’d never forgive me if I didn’t mention them.
Osselot, a very stubborn twelve-year-old, was living with an elderly woman who could no longer care for him. My vet asked me to take him in.
Yellow
Yellow was a nine-year-old I found wandering along the road. She had been abandoned by her owners who had chopped off her tail—why do something so stupid and cruel—and the stump was still bloody. She was a wonderful dog and lived to the age of eighteen.
Virgule—I found him at the local dog pound—was a terrible monster when young, chewing up anything that was plastic (my telephone, computer transformer, plugs). He calmed down after I adopted Yellow. He’s now twelve and very staid.
Virgule
As for snakes and spiders, those creatures so hated by many, I appreciate their beauty and the role they play in maintaining a balanced environment. I hope, with my stories, I can convince a few people to take a more sympathetic look at these beasties.
Lucy Barnes, the heroine of the fifth story in A Room in Blake’s Folly, particularly loves spiders. And one day, when she’s photographing one, she happens to meet Lance Potter, the hero. Here’s how:
Lance saw the woman doubled over in the dirt road, her legs bent backward and to each side of her in what looked to be an exceedingly painful position. Had she been hit by a car? Probably not: few enough cars passed this way. She might have had an attack of some sort. He loped toward her, thinking only of rescue and alleviating pain, because that’s what a veterinarian’s job is all about, and humans happen to be animals, too.
He was less than ten feet away, when she raised her head and glared at him with fury. The look, as toxic as a poison arrow, halted him in his tracks. She certainly didn’t look as though she needed his help. She didn’t look as though she’d ever need anyone’s help.
“Um…I’m sorry. I saw you down there, in the road, and I thought…” He saw her fury seep away, transform into visible regret.
“You chased it away.”
“Right.”
Swinging her bent legs into a more reasonable position, she stood up without using her hands. For someone who wasn’t young, she looked to be in perfect shape. Or at least she had maintained an admirable flexibility. What was her name? Lucy something…oh yes, Lucy Barnes. For the first time, he noticed the camera.
“Look, I thought you had fallen or…”
“Yes, I realize that’s what you thought.” She didn’t look as though she were about to forgive him for it either.
“You were taking a photo?”
“Yup.”
“Of what?”
“A Xysticus.”
“A what?”
“Oh, sorry. A ground crab spider.”
“Of a ground crab spider?”
She relented slightly. “They’re called crab spiders because they look and move like crabs.”
“Yes,” he said dryly. “I think I’ve worked that one out.”
“Right.”
“What for? Why were you taking a photo?”
“Because I like them. I like macro photography. I like taking photos of spiders, and this particular spider was very pretty.”
“Pretty. Got it.”
She looked annoyed again. “Veterinarians don’t consider arachnids worthy of notice?”
“Did I just tell you that?” he said a little too defensively because she was right: he never noticed them. Okay, he never killed them either, because he knew how useful they were, but that was as far as things went. “What was particularly pretty about that one? I mean spiders look like spiders to me. I never thought aesthetics came into it.”
“Really?” She even looked surprised.
“Really.” Inwardly, he sighed, regretting his attempt to maintain chatty conversation. It was always the same when you dealt with nuts, cranks, and fanatics: they couldn’t understand how normal people functioned.
3. What other books have you written?
I have two other books that take place in Blake’s Folly, Nevada, and they are filled with animals. In one, All About Charming Alice, my heroine is a herpetologist, a woman who studies snakes, and she also rescues abandoned dogs.
In the other, Desert Rose, the rescue dog Noodle makes an appearance (although Rose is, at first, a very reluctant dog owner). However, I don’t have the new covers for these new editions, so we’ll just have to wait for a month or two.
However, I also have a rescue dog in my romantic mystery, The Turkish Affair, and he plays a very important role when my heroine finds herself in a very nasty situation.
The Turkish Affair blurb:
Love and Danger at the ancient Hittite site of Karakuyu
Priceless artifacts are disappearing from the ancient Hittite site of Karakuyu in Turkey, and the site director has vanished. Called in to solve the mystery, archaeologist Renaud Townsend is hindered by both his inability to speak the language and the knowledge that the local police are corrupt. His attraction to translator Anne Pierson is immediate, although he is troubled by her refusal to talk about the past and her fear of public scandal. But when murder enters the picture, both Anne and Renaud realize that the risk of falling in love is not the only danger.
Buy link: https://books2read.com/TheTurkishAffair
4. Tell us about your kudos or reviews.
For those who want to read a lovely review and analysis of A Room in Blake’s Folly, it can be found here: https://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com/2022/05/review-tuesday-room-in-blakes-folly-by.html
Other than that, I have won awards for my non-fiction (the Tanenbaum Award for Canadian History) book about Romanian immigration to Canada, and was shortlisted for the Foreword Magazine prize.
5. How do you promote your books?
I try to guest blog as often as possible, and I give Zoom conferences about my non-fiction books. I also have guests who will leave recipes on my own blog, Food for Love, and that should be fun for everyone.
6. Where can readers learn more about your books and connect with you online?
Author Website: http://www.j-arleneculiner.com
Blog: http://j-arleneculiner.over-blog.com
Storytelling Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/j-arlene-culiner
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-arlene-culiner
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JArleneCuliner/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jarlene.culiner/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7158064.J_Arlene_Culiner
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jarleneculiner
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jarleneculiner/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JArleneCuliner
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/jarleneculiner-quirky-romances
Thank you for interviewing me (and my animal and insect friends) on your blog, Marcia.
From Marcia: Thank you for being my July interviewee! I love discovering romances that feature animals and look forward to reading your books!
MONTHLY BLOG EBOOK CONTEST! Would you like to win a Marcia James’ ebook? Visitors to this pro-pet blog can join in the fun, comment, and/or share photos of their pets for a chance to win one of my ebooks! Each month, I’ll randomly pick one commenter to win. To leave a comment and/or a photo, click on the word “Reply,” which is just below the social media icons for THIS interview. (Don’t scroll past this interview to the next interview.) Go Pets!
Falling for the Deputy is a fish-out-of-water, an enemies-to-lovers and a second-chance romance story, where a Boston banker moves to a small town in Georgia after a series of personal tragedies. The move is good for her career, and she hopes it will give her time to recover in a different environment.
Blurb for Book Nirvana 1: Through the Red Door:
Blurb for Book Nirvana 2: Runaway Love Story:
Blurb for Book Nirvana 3: Love, Art, and Other Obstacles:
Golden North
I have published eight books. Golden North is second in the Dangerous Times series along with Silver Screen Heroes, and Bronze Skies. Most of my books are historical, but I do have a woman’s fiction set from the 1960s to the 1990s.
Bronze Skies blurb:
Yes, I do! This is a sweet series weaving pet rescue and adoption into the love story. Rescue Road is the first novel, about a woman (Rhiann) who moves to Montana from Washington state to set up an animal rescue sanctuary. She meets EMS captain Levi Butler, who claims the land Rhiann purchased belongs to him. Enter another person who desires the property, and you have a bit of drama mixed into the story. The book is available in both paperback and e-book formats on Amazon and other platforms:
Other books follow Rhiann and Levi, including a Christmas novella published last year. Paws-ing for Love also brings in some drama as Rhiann experiences a significant health issue and the community of Colter, Montana, where Rhiann and Levi live, experiences the loss of a special community member. Rescue dogs and cats are part of the story as well. Readers can find Paws-ing for Love on Amazon and other platforms, again either in paperback or e-book format.
Blurb for Mermaids Marry in Green:
Blurb for A Merman’s Choice, book 1 in the “Sea of Love” series:
Blurb for Music for a Merman, book 2 in the “Sea of Love” series:
In Bishop Takes Knight (“Redclaw Origins” book 1), we meet former socialite Henrietta (“Rhett”) Bishop as she struggles to find work with her unusual skill set. A misread address and her own pluck win her a job at Redclaw Security, but the new job isn’t what it seems. Mechanical devices seem to have a mind of their own, and Rhett’s new co-workers are a little strange. When she takes down a dangerous intruder in the office, Rhett gets promoted to field agent—and is let in on the secret: Redclaw Security is an elite paranormal agency that investigates matters in the hidden shifter world. One of the unit’s primary functions is to collect a series of mysterious, powerful artifacts and remove them from of the public sector.
The adventures continue in Bishop’s Gambit, when Rhett and Peter pose as a married couple in a posh 1950s suburban community while investigating a series of deadly paranormal events. After the debacle of their first mission, Rhett has a lot to prove to Redclaw and seeks to carry out her assignment without the distraction of a budding relationship with Peter Knight.
As I mentioned earlier, Bishop and Knight have a real Nick and Nora vibe with their banter as they solve cases, and that alone made me want to include a spunky little dog to the series. But I also inherited Captain, my mother’s little JRT, when she died, and I’ve fallen completely in love with him! I’d never had a small dog before—all my other dogs are German Shepherds. I was worried Captain wouldn’t fit well into our household at first. But he was the BEST addition ever. He meshed in with our family as though he’d always been a part of it: sleeping with the cats, playfighting with the big dogs, and worming his way onto our bed and into our hearts. When I decided to give Rhett a little dog in the “Redclaw Origins” series, I knew Captain was perfect for the role.
’ve also recently begun writing a series of small-town cozy mysteries (so far, nothing paranormal!) under the name M. K. Dean, featuring house-call veterinarian/amateur sleuth Ginny Reese and her trusty German Shepherd, Remington. I am having a LOT of fun with this series, and there are lots of animals in those stories too!
In Love Takes Flight, dogs bring Erin and Drew together. Erin owns a golden retriever and runs a dog kennel business. A daring jet pilot, Drew leaves his Border collie at her kennel but soon gets stranded there in a huge, prairie blizzard. Forced together, Erin and Drew overcome an icy start, but secret fears threaten to keep them apart.
In Love Leads the Way, Tessa and Mark clash at work when his boss forces him to enroll in the leadership program she manages. They both own golden retrievers, and at first, a love of dogs is the only thing they share in common. But both are single parents and have mothers with dementia…and even though she’s his coach, maybe they both need lessons in love.
On a windowsill in our home, I display a little plaque that says, “Home is where the dog is,” and I believe it’s true. One of our walls is decorated with quirky artwork featuring dogs. Over the years, I’ve owned three golden retrievers and a Border collie, and all were a big part of our family. My daughters joked that sometimes they thought I liked the dog better than them. (The dog definitely listened better!)
I write feel-good stories about women who chase their dreams and bump into romance along the way. They live in small communities near my home in the Canadian prairies, and they count on an eclectic mix of family and friends (and often dogs) to make their lives interesting and fun.
My first published mystery novel, Mahu (
The Cat’s out of the Bag shares the romance between a tortured heroine and secret billionaire who meet at a cat shelter. In billionaire romance, money is no object but the personal lives of our billionaires are not smooth sailing. It includes a road trip across Australia.
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie is a second-chance romance set around a fake million-dollar scavenger hunt in Sydney. Second-chance romances have a different structure and feel to a standard romance. This is because of the history between the two main characters. They know each other already and are still harbouring strong feelings for one another, whether they admit it or not. In this story, we learn about Tara’s childhood dog who was there with her and her brother growing up.
Get Off Your High Horse is a modern royal and sports romance revolving around the game of polo. The story is based in Brisbane and Maryborough. I shine a light on Maryborough, my hometown, when the characters visit the birthplace of P.L. Travers, author of Mary Poppins. In this story, I was able to combine my love of horses and Australian culture into the story.
Down the Rabbit Hole is a small-town romance between two best friends. It is not your typical small-town romance as the town itself is not very friendly. It is illegal to keep rabbits as pets in my home state of Queensland and the rabbit, Shorty, who is rescued highlights this. Shorty is based on a hare that was run over by a lawn mower. He was given to my daughter to care for.
I love animals. I don’t think life would be complete without them. It felt natural to me to add them to my stories. They just add another element of enjoyment.