Judi McCoy - Hounding the Pavement - Spotlight

While enjoying my bowl of Captain Crunch Crunch Berries this morning for breakfast, I was happily browsing through my latest edition of Romantic Times Book Reviews (I swear, I fall more and more in love with this magazine each month!!). The cover of the April edition is very colorful and just fun looking, with the main focus on an awesome sounding book titled Hounding the Pavement by Judi McCoy. Of course I was instantly intrigued, so I jumped right to that article (well, ok, after checking out the "meet the 2009 Mr. Romance hopefuls....") and let me just say - I WANT THIS BOOK NOW! lol. Yes, it sounds that good. I am a lover of cozies and this sounds perfect. Not only does it have a great sounding storyline, but the author is amazingly donating all proceeds from the sales of Hounding the Pavement to Best Friends Animal Society (check them out by clicking here or typing in BestFriend.org) After reading the synopsis of this, I was even more intrigued by the prospect that the main character, Ellie, can understand and communicate with the canine species (think Dr. Doolittle). Now throw in some murder and mayhem and you have what promises to be a "catch, grab, and not let you go" story! Here are a few more details:

Hounding the Pavement (A Dogwalker Mystery Bk 1)

by Judi McCoy

Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Signet (March 3, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0451226313
ISBN-13: 978-0451226310
Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches

About Hounding the Pavement:

The newest dog-walker on Manhattan’s Upper East Side has a talent—she can hear what her canine clientele is thinking. So when a dog’s owner turns up dead, Ellie must bone up on her sleuthing—and perk up her ears to find a killer.

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Excerpt:

Hounding The Pavement © Judi McCoy

Signet - March 2009

ISBN: 0451226313

Standing in front of the professor’s apartment, Ellie inspected the door, taped top and bottom with some kind of plastic coating. Then she put her ear to the panel.

“Exactly what are we listening for?” asked Rudy.

Jumping back, she gasped. “I’m trying to find out if that detective is still inside, so be quiet.”

“Then step aside and allow me,” the yorkiepoo ordered, a smirk gracing his canine lips.

She opened and closed her mouth.

“Superior hearing, remember?” Cocking his head, he perked his ears. A full thirty seconds passed before he said, “The place is empty. Want me to scratch off the tape so we can go inside?”

“Are you crazy?” She dragged trembling fingers through her hair. “If anyone caught us, I’d be arrested for sure. Then where would we be?”

“Don’t know about you, but I’d be home sitting on a nice cozy sofa, sound asleep.”

“That’s what you think. They’d probably put you back in the big house. Want to do time there again?”

Rudy shuddered.

“Okay, okay. But if we’re not going inside, why are we here?”She raised a shoulder in an I-don’t-know gesture. “I just thought that maybe the police had overlooked something in their investigation. Or maybe someone with a key, say Eugene, had found Buddy, and brought him back.”

“Not in this lifetime,” Rudy said. “The jerk doesn’t have enough heart.”

Leaning a shoulder against the wall, Ellie gave the matter serious consideration. Then she decided to check the tape more thoroughly. Maybe a corner had come loose and needed to be smoothed back in place. Getting an adhesive coating to stick could be tricky, especially if someone scraped it with a foot —she ran the tip of her sneaker across the tape – or there was an inordinate amount of humidity in the air. Taking a bottle of water from her bag, she drizzled a little on the bottom of the door. Who knew what might cause the tape to come off?

Rudy growled low in his throat, and she ignored him. After a third rub with the tip of her shoe, she poured more water on the tape.

A deeper growl made her tsk. “For God’s sake be quiet. Can’t you see I’m busy here.”“Um, Ellie—”

“Hush up and keep your comments to yourself.” She bent at the waist and ran her fingers across the covering, noting it hadn’t budged. Maybe a penknife would be sharp enough to break the seal. Before she came to a conclusion, the hairs on the nape of her neck stood on end. Peering between her ankles, she spied a pair of men’s dress shoes, large but not overly so, and worn but nicely shined.

The man cleared his throat and visions of her sitting in a dank, musty cell somewhere in the Big Apple danced in her brain. Swallowing, she rose slowly and rested her forehead on the door.

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About Judi:

Judi McCoy has been writing romance for over fifteen years. She leads the Romantic Times aspiring authors’ course at their yearly convention, and has mentored new writers both online and in person, in private and in group situations. She’s also given numerous chapter workshops on a variety of writing topics.

Her first book, I Dream of You, won Waldenbook's Best-selling Debut Romance of 2001. Since then, her novels have consistently garnered four stars from Romantic Times Book Club and numerous online review sites. She belongs to RWA, CRW, NTRW, NJRW, RWI of Tulsa, WRW, MRW, and the Greater Dallas Writers Association. Her May 2003 release, Heaven in Your Eyes, won Fallen Angel Review's Best Contemporary.

Along with a writing career, she has twenty-five plus years experience as a women’s gymnastics judge. Judi currently resides on Virginia's peaceful eastern shore with her husband and three small dogs, Rudy, Buckley, and Belle. She keeps busy by tending her garden, raising orchids, and writing her next novel.

(click here) to visit Judi McCoy's website