Lynn Slaughter Novelist
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I have to admit this is a first for me—featuring an essay by a dog! But as you will discover, Maverick is very articulate, thanks to author Mary Seifert, his creator.

Character’s Name: MAVERICK

Series: KATIE AND MAVERICK COZIES

Author’s Name: MARY SEIFERT 

Woof, woof … Oh? Sorry. You don’t understand canine? I’m multilingual myself. I know dog, cat, squirrel, goose, human English, and sign language, but I’m most adept at reading nonverbal communication. Right now, I can see you’re a skeptic, but trust me, the ability to read people has come in very handy in my line of work.

Let me tell you about myself. My name is Maverick and I’m a pet, but not just any pet. My greatest fear was not being wanted. The veterinarian had to do a DNA test because my mother escaped one night and had an unsanctioned assignation, but I’m a pure bred British Labrador retriever and the last gift my dear Katie received from her husband before he was killed. When I arrived on her doorstep, I was unexpected. Her husband had just died, and he’d never warned her about my arrival. He wanted me to be a surprise and boy, was I! But I finally belong to Katie Wilk and she belongs to me and woe is the cretin who tries to get between us, unless he smells like bacon.

You know, they still haven’t found the shooter. I’ll have to work on solving that.                   

Before Mary wrote me into her fabulous fiction, I was a mischievous puppy, looking for my forever home. She helped me find my niche. Katie and I have become a very successful team, walking, eating, sleeping, dreaming and best of all, sleuthing. You’ll never find a more loyal and trusted companion, and I have a fantastic sniffer which has proved itself time and time again. I sniff out food (of course), nervousness and stress, lies, illegal items, and I’m being trained to locate a number of species, especially people. I guarantee, I’ll always find my Katie.

I think what I like least about myself is the purring that occurs when I am absolutely and totally relaxed and satisfied, laying next to my owner, but I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea, so please keep my secret.                                       

I’m a dog who loves water, but one of the things I’ve liked least in our stories is traipsing around on the ice of Lake Monongalia in a Minnesota winter. It took a bit, okay a lot of treats, even if it was to help retrieve one of Katie’s students. But, woof. I would never argue with my author. She brought Katie and me together in this wonderful world of mystery and mayhem. Besides, as intelligent as you know I am, I haven’t mastered the art of the pen, so I can’t alter any part of my story. Every once in a while, however, I’d like to give Mary a piece of my mind, particularly when she puts my Katie in danger. It happens way too often. The saving grace is that Mary usually has me on site to save the day.

I am most myself playing with Katie, eating any people food, enjoying Katie’s friends (especially her boyfriend—he’s a doctor and knows just the right places to scratch), exploring new and old haunts, sneaking treats, and going on long walks, but solving a perplexing mystery makes me extremely happy.

Oops. Sorry. I just swept a cup of tea off the coffee table with my wicked wagging tail. It’s my biggest fault.

Anyway, so far, life has been great. If I don’t like a character, they’ve been promptly forgotten, but if the character doesn’t like dogs, watch out. And if you should put Katie in any danger… See these teeth? One of her old acquaintances turns up in our latest story, Golfing, Gardens & Ghosts. I sure would like to take a bite out of him.

My best dog friend agrees. I’m happy living with Katie, her dad, Harry, and her landlady, Ida. I wouldn’t want to trade places with anyone, but I do have an eye on Renegade. She’s one cute yellow lab, and she’s very well trained too. We’re taking Search-and-Rescue classes together. Wish us luck. We’ll probably need it in a future tale.

 

Mary Seifert is always busy writing and watching her own Labrador retriever for clues into the dog psyche, having more fun than she probably should. She’s even garnered some awards writing about us, but you can check her out at:

https://maryseifertauthor.com

Meanwhile, I’ll keep Katie company in Mary’s newest novel, releasing January 15, 2026: _{Golfing, Gardens & Ghosts}

https://www.books2read.com/katieandmaverick11

Katie Wilk is bored now that school is out for the summer and thinks she’s going to learn how to golf, but we all know how that will work out. My job is to keep the pesky critters in check on the private golf course in West Central Minnesota. Wish me luck. There are both four-footed and two-footed nemeses to keep in line.