Patricia McConnell PhD and her first novel Away to Me

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Away to Me is Patricia McConnell PhD's first mystery novel, and it's gorgeous. Zazie and Kristi chat with Patricia to learn more about the book and why she decided to write fiction set in the dog world.

We talk about:

• What made Patricia decide to write a mystery novel
• The main character, Maddie McGowan
• Whether it was fun to be writing dogs as characters
• How she wrote about the dogs as real characters & without turning the interactions into negative/aversive ones. 
• The many different dog training cases that appear as secondary characters in the book
• Patricia has previously written many wonderful non-fiction books, including her memoir, The Education of Will. What’s different about writing fiction? 
• The power and importance of friendships and how dogs are one of the ways that many people can find a community?
• What motivates her to write, and will we see more of Maddie after this? 

Away to Me will be published on Feb 24th and is available for pre-order wherever books are sold.

Also mentioned:

• What the Dog Knows by Cat Warren
• Patricia's blog post on finding grace https://www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/natl-dog-training-month-or-you-and-54/
• Susanna Daniel and Madison Writers' Studio https://madisonwriters.com/
• Patricia McConnell at Bark! Fest https://www.buzzsprout.com/2183505/episodes/16149739
• The book Patricia recommend is The Salt Stones by Helen Whybrow.

Learn more about Patricia and her book, Away to Me, on her website: https://www.patriciamcconnell.com/

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About the co-hosts:

Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of, and now on staff with, the prestigious Academy for Dog Trainers and has her PCBC-A from the Pet Professional Accreditation Board. She lives in beautiful northern British Columbia, where she helps dog guardians through online classes. She is also a northern anthropologist.

Kristi Benson's website  Facebook  

Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog, Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy and Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy. She is the creator of the popular blog, Companion Animal Psychology, and has a column at Psychology Today. She lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, a dog and a cat. 

Instagram  BlueSky