Sometimes the best way to know a person is by asking questions, so let’s meet Melanie.
What is your name?
My full name is Melanie Turnbull Travis Driver, but for simplicity’s sake I go by Melanie Travis.
How old are you?
In my late thirties.
What is your profession?
I’m a special needs tutor at Howard Academy, a private school in Greenwich, CT.
Do you have a significant other?
I have been married to my second husband, Sam, for six years.
What is his name?
Sam Driver.
What is his profession?
He designs computer software.
Any children?
I have two sons. Davey is thirteen, and Kevin is four.
Do you have any sibling(s)?
I have one younger brother named Frank. He is often the bane of my existence.
Cats, dogs or other pets?
Our house is filled with dogs. We currently have five black Standard Poodles and one small spotted mutt.
What town do you live in?
Stamford, Connecticut.
House or building complex?
House.
Do you rent or own?
Own.
What is your favorite spot in your house?
Wherever my family and dogs are.
Who is your best friend?
I am fortunate to have three wonderful women friends. Their names are Alice, Bertie, and Claire.
Amateur sleuth or professional?
Definitely amateur!
Whom do you work with when sleuthing?
I work with my Aunt Peg, a woman of many talents who loves nothing more than to get us both embroiled in a new mystery.
Favorite meal?
Anything my husband cooks.
Favorite dessert?
Thanks to Aunt Peg I have developed a fondness for cakes from the St. Moritz Bakery in Greenwich.
Favorite hobby?
Reading.
Favorite vacation spot?
Wherever there’s a dog show!
Favorite color?
Blue.
Favorite author?
Too many to name.
Favorite sports team?
The UConn Huskies (University of Connecticut Women’s basketball team).
Movies or Broadway?
With two kids? Movies.
Are you a morning or a night person?
No choice about that. If the kids don’t get me out of bed early, the dogs will.
In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
Is there such a thing as a typical day for a woman who has two rambunctious boys, a job she loves, and six dogs who are smart enough to run the house by themselves? Mostly I spend my days running from one commitment to the next–while trying simultaneously to appease Aunt Peg and keep both shoes on Kevin’s feet. The best days are dog show days, and with Davey now handling a Standard Poodle in the show ring for Aunt Peg, we expect to have many of those in our future.
Giveaway: What is unusual about Melanie’s best friends? Leave a comment below for your chance to win a print copy of Ruff Justice. U.S. entries only, please. The giveaway ends July 2, 2018. Good luck everyone!
You can read about Melanie in Ruff Justice, the 22nd book in the “Melanie Travis” mystery series. The first book in the series is A Pedigree To Die For.
As owner of prize-winning Poodles, Melanie Travis knows how to handle fierce competition. But when a conformation show turns deadly, it’ll take every trick in the book to outsmart a murderer who refuses to lose . . .
With the excitement of the spring dog show season sweeping Connecticut, Melanie is determined to help her son finally lead his Standard Poodle toward a championship title. Aunt Peg even skips the judging panel to exhibit a pup of her own, and she’s set on standing out from the pack with a handmade leash from Jasmine Crane, a talented canine portrait artist who also crafts stunning accessories for discriminating show-goers. Jasmine’s handiwork is to die for—but Aunt Peg didn’t expect to discover the woman murdered behind the concession booth, strangled by one of her dazzling custom creations . . .
Another shockwave ripples through the close-knit show community when Amanda, Aunt Peg’s longtime dog sitter and a renter on Jasmine’s property, ominously vanishes that same day. While nosing around for clues, Melanie suspects a dangerous connection between Amanda’s disappearance and the homicide case—a hunch that grows as her investigation reveals sketchy secrets about the late artist. Juggling a demanding teaching job, the pressures of the show ring, and a daunting suspect list, Melanie finds herself entangled in a mindboggling murder mystery . . . and hot on the trail of a desperate killer . . .
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About the author
Laurien Berenson is the bestselling author of the Melanie Travis canine mystery series. Her books revolve around the world of dog shows, a milieu she knows well as her family has been involved in the sport of dogs for three generations. There are currently twenty-two Melanie Travis mysteries including the newest book, Ruff Justice.
Berenson is a four-time winner of the Maxwell Award for Fiction from the Dog Writers Assoc. of America and a winner of the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award. She is also an Agatha and Macavity nominee. Her work has appeared in The New York Times as well as numerous magazines. She is a graduate of Vassar College, and she and her husband live on a farm in Kentucky, surrounded by horses and dogs.
Connect with Laurien at laurienberenson.com, on Facebook, on Twitter and on Goodreads.
All comments are welcomed.
Their names are A,B,C! Love this series and would love to win a copy of this book.
OMG, I never realized the ABC thing! That was a total accident. If Melanie makes another friend, I suppose her name will have to begin with D.
I read the first book in this series when Melanie got her first puppy,met Sam, and got introduced to dog shows by Aunt Peg.
I like the fact that Melanie’s friends names start with A, B, and C. I have friends who named their three children with the first initials A, B, and C. Thanks for the chance to win a copy of the book.
As a person that works in a little private school and does obedience training, this series is right up my alley. This series is extremely relatable and enjoyable. Thanks Laurien
Thank you for reading them, Molly!
The cover is so cute. Thank you for a chance to win a copy of this book.
Still Love Aunt Peg the best…she does have a way of getting under your skin, doesn’t she? And what a woman to have your ex-husband’s current wife as one of your best friends! I would love to win a copy of this book…can’t wait to read it!
Of course I meant that Melanie is quite the woman to have her ex husband’s current wife as a bestie, not Aunt Peg, who undoubtedly would say, “Pssshhh” to that!
Ginnie, I understaood what you meant! And you’re right about what Aunt Peg would say–except that she happens to like Claire. 😉
Their names begin with a b and c Alice and Melanie started a friendship at mommie and me classes Bertie was a possible murder suspect. And claire’s brother was murdered, now clair is married to Melanie’s x husband bob
Sharon, you have a great memory for detail!
The names being A,B,C…love this series, just read Wagging Through the Snow, fun to read Christmas this time of year! Thanks for the entry!
Their names start with A,B,C. I love this series. Thanks for the giveaway.
Aside from the fact that Melanie’s best friends’ names begin with A, B, C, and that’s the order in which they appeared in the books, I think it’s unusual that she and her neighbor Alice are still best friends after all these years, that Bertie is now her sister-in-law (though Melanie’s younger brother often drives her crazy), and that Claire is Melanie’s ex-husband’s wife! Have loved this series since the very beginning. Many thanks to Laurien Berenson for creating it and giving us all so many happy hours of reading!
Their names start with A, B, C. I love this series as its dekightful and entertaining.
Alpha friends! Nice touch for a dog person.
Yes indeed. 🙂
Her friends are in alphabetical order which is also the way they have appeared in her books, A, B & C.
Her most interesting friends are Terry and Crawford. That’s where I learned all the dirt behind the top knots and dog shows. 🤣 Great series. Just finished Murder at the Puppy Fest.
Terry is the most fun character for me to write. And I think he would be enormously tickled to know that I enjoy his story lines more than anyone else’s.
I just finished this book, it is one of her best. But all are very good. Only problem is the aren’t long enough I finish them too fast.
Other than their names starting with A, B, C, I don’t have any idea. I haven’t read this series yet and I guess I have a lot of catching up to do. Love dogs and I’m looking forward to reading the series.
The names being A, B, C
They like to solve crime
Now I’m really intrigued by what makes her friends unusual.
Melanie’s real best friend is her husband, Sam. No one else worries about the possibility that her hobby of solving murders, aided and abetted by Aunt Peg, could bring her to harm. Sam does whatever Melanie asks of him, with few complaints. He’s the perfect husband!
**** WINNER ****
Ruff Justice is Lisa Frieze
Congratulations
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!! I am thrilled! I’m such a huge fan of Laurien Berenson and Melanie. And now I’m a fan of Dru’s Book Musings! So happy to have found you!
thank you Lisa. Enjoy the book.
Wonderful series! So very happy the story continues!!
Their names start with AB C.