Away to Me, the First Mystery Novel from Patricia McConnell PhD
Watch Episode 51 of The Pawsitive Post in Conversation on Youtube or below, listen wherever you get your podcasts (Apple, Spotify) or below, or scroll down for the show notes.
An interview with Patricia McConnell, PhD, about her new book Away to Me
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Away to Me is Patricia McConnell PhD's first mystery novel, and it's gorgeous. I fell in love with the main character, Maddie, and all of the dogs in the book, and I know you will too. Kristi and I chatted 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, including Bookshop, which supports independent bookstores in the US.
Also mentioned:
- What the Dog Knows by Cat Warren
- Patricia's blog post on finding grace
- Susanna Daniel and Madison Writers' Studio
- Patricia McConnell at Bark! Fest
The book Patricia recommend is The Salt Stones by Helen Whybrow.
Patricia McConnell PhD is an internationally-renowned applied animal behaviourist who has dedicated her life to improving the relationship between people and animals. Amongst her many treasured dog training books, The Other End of the Leash draws our attention to the human side of dog training. Her memoir, The Education of Will, is a beautifully-written and uplifting account of how to reclaim life after trauma, for both humans and dogs. Her first mystery novel, Away to Me, publishes on 24 Feb 2026.
Learn more about Patricia and her book, Away to Me, on her website.
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| Patricia McConnell first told us about the book at Bark! Fest |
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