Please Welcome Mystery Author Tracy Weber

We are delighted to welcome back author Tracy Weber to Omnimystery News.

Tracy's new Downward Dog mystery is Karma's a Killer (Midnight Ink; January 2016 trade paperback and ebook formats) and she has a real treat for us today, an interview with her series character, Kate Davidson.

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Photo provided courtesy of
Tracy Weber

Tracy: I'm delighted to be here today speaking with Kate Davidson, the yoga teacher/sleuth of my Downward Dog Mystery series and the heroine of my most recent book, Karma's a Killer. Kate, why don't you tell our readers about yourself?

Kate: First, Tracy, I have to correct you. I'm no hero. In fact, most of the times my German shepherd, Bella, and I sniff our way into a murder investigation, we're simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I'm a yoga teacher and the owner of Serenity Yoga in Seattle, Washington. I've lived in Seattle my entire life and am a Pacific Northwest girl through and through. I'm also Bella's devoted slave. Chasing after murderers is simply an unlucky sideline.

Tracy: So I have to ask … A yoga teacher with anger management issues?

Kate: You would bring that up, wouldn't you? I've had issues with my fiery temper since my first two-year-old temper tantrum. Dad always said I inherited my temperament from Mom. Yoga has definitely helped, though most people wouldn't believe it. All I can say is, you should have seen me before I started practicing yoga. It wasn't pretty.

Still, I'm a work in progress. I want to be a better person — not just for me, but for my boyfriend, Michael, and Bella. I learned my lesson during the misadventure you wrote about in your second book, A Killer Retreat. When I don't control my temper, bad things happen. Sometimes people get hurt. I can't — I won't — let that happen again,

Tracy: Let's talk about Bella. What's it like owning a hundred-pound special needs German shepherd?

Kate: I have to correct you again. I don't "own" Bella. If anything she owns me! I'd be lying if I didn't admit that living with Bella is challenging, especially since she doesn't like bearded men or other dogs. But Bella is the love of my life. She has changed my life, in every way for the better. I'd be lost without her.

Tracy: Bella's not the only one with an aversion to beards …

Kate (laughing): Definitely not. Pogonophobia — the irrational fear of beards — has plagued me since I was a preschooler. As a child, I purposefully misbehaved so that Santa wouldn't come to my house on Christmas Eve. I'm getting better, though. In Karma's a Killer, I might even learn how that fear originated. In the meantime, I'm just glad that Michael shaved his beard off.

Tracy: What about you and Michael? Any wedding bells in your future?

Kate: Good Lord, I hope so. He hasn't proposed yet, but if he doesn't get off his rear and do it soon, I might have to pop the question myself. Like it or not, that man will be stuck with me for the rest of his life.

Tracy: How is it that you keep getting involved in murder investigations?

Kate: I ask myself that question all the time. Even though I was raised by a cop, Dad never involved me in his work. In fact, he tried to shield me from it. Yet I've still managed to stumble into three murder investigations in the past year. I can't figure out if I've got bad luck, bad karma, or if I'm somehow meant to help people find justice.

Tracy: Tell us about your most recent case.

Kate: Michael convinced me to teach Doga — yoga for dogs — at fundraiser for a local animal rescue. While I was there, I overheard two women (Raven and Dharma) arguing. Dharma showed up at my yoga studio later that afternoon and introduced herself as my mother, who abandoned me as a toddler. Raven was murdered later that night, and Dharma was arrested.

Guess who she called asking for help?

I really don't want to get involved in another murder investigation, especially not for a woman who abandoned me thirty years ago. But Dharma doesn't have anyone else. Besides, she knows things about my past. Things I can't remember. Who knows? Maybe by helping her I can also help myself

Tracy: I certainly hope so. Is there anything Bella would like to tell our readers?

Kate: Unfortunately, Bella understands a lot more English than I do German shepherd. Honestly, she smarter than Michael and I combined. But I think she'd tell people that even though she has Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (a lifelong digestive disorder), she's happy, feels great, and has an awesome life. She'd also encourage your human readers to adopt special needs animals.

As for your canine readers, she'd tell them to stay the heck away from her house, her yoga studio, and me. I'm her best-trained slave, and she's not willing to share me.

And Bella gave me a special message for the brown-suited, box-carrying psycho-killer that drives the UPS truck. She has her eye on you. One false move, and she'll eat delivery man for dinner.

Tracy: Thanks for taking time to join us today, Kate. I'd tell you to stay out of trouble, but we both know that will never happen. So I guess I'll just say, have fun!

Kate: You too, Tracy. I'd like to put in a plug for you before I leave. I know how much you love connecting with readers. So if you're reading this post, you can keep in touch by sending her an email at Tracy@WholeLifeYoga.com. She'd love to hear from you!

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Tracy Weber and her husband Marc live in Seattle with their challenging yet amazing German shepherd Tasha. When she's not writing, Tracy spends her time teaching yoga, walking Tasha, and sipping Blackthorn cider at her favorite ale house.

For more information about the author, please visit her website at TracyWeberAuthor.com and her author page on Goodreads, or find her on Facebook and Twitter.

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Karma's a Killer by Tracy Weber

A Downward Dog Mystery

Publisher: Midnight Ink

When Seattle yoga teacher Kate Davidson agrees to teach doga (yoga for dogs) at a fundraiser for a local animal shelter, she believes the only damage will be to her reputation. But a few downward-facing dogs are the least of Kate's problems when an animal rights protest at the event leads to a suspicious fire and a drowning.

The police arrest Dharma, a woman claiming to be Kate's estranged mother, and charge her with murder. To prove Dharma's innocence, Kate, her boyfriend Michael, and her German shepherd sidekick Bella dive deeply into the worlds of animal activism and organizational politics. As they investigate the dangerous obsessions that drive these groups, Kate and her sleuthing team discover that when it comes to murder, there's no place like hOMe.

— Karma's a Killer by Tracy Weber