Rocky wrote:

I'm generally the opposite because I hate getting pissed off
at books because they are so bad at depicting dogs I
understand.

I read some pretty crappy mysteries. Sometimes I stick with them
when I'd like to smack the author upside the head, and sometimes I
don't. Actually, in this case, the poker crap would be a much
bigger and more immediate turn-off than the author's canine-related
ignorance.

Luckily, I use the library a lot and have no hestitation in
putting a book down (maybe a poor choice of words) if it
hasn't grabbed my interest in the first third or so.

I've done that a few times, but it's pretty rare.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

In article ,
Shelly wrote:
Actually, in this case, the poker crap would be a much
bigger and more immediate turn-off than the author's canine-related
ignorance.

It might be sort of interesting to have a protagonist who's
totally clueless about dogs - backyard breeder, that sort of
thing. Writing about it without being tedious, tendentious,
and ham-handedly didactic would be difficult, though.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

Melinda Shore wrote:

It might be sort of interesting to have a protagonist who's
totally clueless about dogs - backyard breeder, that sort of
thing. Writing about it without being tedious, tendentious,
and ham-handedly didactic would be difficult, though.

Maybe, but "interesting" can be one of those "be careful what you
ask for" things.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

On 12 Feb 2008 07:18:22 -0500, (Melinda Shore) wrote:

In article ,
Shelly wrote:
Actually, in this case, the poker crap would be a much
bigger and more immediate turn-off than the author's canine-related
ignorance.

It might be sort of interesting to have a protagonist who's
totally clueless about dogs - backyard breeder, that sort of
thing. Writing about it without being tedious, tendentious,
and ham-handedly didactic would be difficult, though.

I read a mystery written by a friend of one of our adopters which
featured an Afghan. The protagonist was definitely clueless about
sighthounds - dog routinely got loose and, since she was intact, was
eventually knocked up. I know it's fiction and all, but I was so
pissed off by the light-hearted irresponsibility that I couldn't read
another book of hers.

Mustang Sally

In article ,
sighthounds & siberians wrote:
I know it's fiction and all, but I was so
pissed off by the light-hearted irresponsibility that I couldn't read
another book of hers.

Virginia Lanier's heroine is decidedly casual about how she
sells her puppies. It's realistic!
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

Shelly said in rec.pets.dogs.breeds:

Actually, in this case, the poker crap would be a much
bigger and more immediate turn-off than the author's
canine-related ignorance.

Me opposite. I know just enough about poker to make it
interesting to read about. I know too much about dogs to
condone misinformation.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

(Melinda Shore) said in rec.pets.dogs.breeds:

It might be sort of interesting to have a protagonist who's
totally clueless about dogs - backyard breeder, that sort of
thing.

Isn't that what we're talking about?

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

Rocky wrote in
:

Me opposite. I know just enough about poker to make it
interesting to read about. I know too much about dogs to
condone misinformation.

It's funny how that works.

I would just be a little careful getting too niche-y, because while
it may appeal to a certain group of people, it's not going to be a
selling point outside that group.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

In article ,
Rocky wrote:
Isn't that what we're talking about?

I was thinking more along the lines of acquisition of clue
along the way.

Come to think of it, Tanenbaum's protagonist is also pretty
slovenly in how she goes about selling dogs. It might
actually be pretty hard to come up with someone who writes
clueful murder mysteries that deal with the dog business. I
can't think of anyone off the top of my head.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

(Melinda Shore) wrote in news:fosoo8$t1u$1
@panix3.panix.com:

It might actually be pretty hard to come up with someone who
writes clueful murder mysteries that deal with the dog business.
I can't think of anyone off the top of my head.

I've read a couple of Gerald Hammond's books, and they don't seem to
be too bad. Of course, they deal with a Lab breeder/hunt trainer in
Scotland, so I only have so much to gauge their cluefulness by.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)