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	HOUNDING THE PAVEMENT

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JUDI MCCOY LAUNCHES A NEW SERIES FOR A WORTHY CAUSE

By Lauren Spielberg It's been a year since award-winning author Judi McCoy put her Goddess trilogy to bed with Making Over Mr. Right (2008, Avon). Despite clamoring from fans for more lighthearted romps about Greek goddesses on earth, McCoy is steering her latest series in a new direction with new publisher NAL.

Hounding the Pavement (Mar.), the first of the Ellie Engleman: Dog Walker mysteries, is a labor of love for the author for a number of reasons. An animal enthusiast with three dogs of her own, McCoy is donating all of the royalties from the first book to support the Best Friends Animal Society (BestFriends.org), a grassroots organization dedicated to bettering -- and extending -- the lives of "unadoptable" animals.

"I thought for weeks about the best way to promote this new series, but I wanted to do it in a meaningful way," McCoy shares. She recalls watching an episode of DogTown, a reality television program that spotlights the caregivers and animals of the Best Friends Animal Society, and becoming instantly hooked. "These people are giving, kind, dedicated," she continues. "They accepted 22 of [incarcerated NFL player] Michael Vick's pit bulls for rehabilitation and adoption. They never put down an animal -- cats, dogs, horses, birds, goats, you name it. Once they agree to accept an animal, it stays on their ranch its entire life. It suddenly came to me that they needed all the help I could give."

Airing on the National Geographic Channel, DogTown tells the up-close-and-personal stories of the animals brought to the Southern Utah-based sanctuary. With one glance at the rescued animals on the Best Friends website, there's no question why McCoy felt a desire to pitch in and help.

This month's Hounding the Pavement is the novel that spurred McCoy's altruistic endeavor. Set in bustling New York City, it features dog walker Ellen "Ellie" Engleman, who has an unusual, albeit handy, skill set: She's able to verbally communicate with the canines she walks daily.

In keeping with the spirit of the Best Friends Animal Society, Hounding the Pavement starts with Ellie at her local ASPCA. She's celebrating her freedom after a vicious divorce, and her first act as a jubilant divorcee is adopting a dog in need. But since this is a Judi McCoy novel, even rescuing an animal isn't that cut and dried.

When Ellie married 10 years ago, she had to give up her puppy because of her then-husband's allergies. Returning from her honeymoon, she's told her beloved Rudy was hit by a car and killed. Racked with guilt, Ellie is justifiably confused when, years later, the Yorkshire terrier/poodle mix at the ASPCA speaks to her, claiming he's the reincarnation of Rudy. "Writing gives me a chance to stretch my brain and come up with more than the usual idea," McCoy says of her novel, which aptly blends romance with humor, mystery and some paranormal elements. "I love being able to make up my own world, where people, animals, aliens, goddesses do what I want them to do."

The mystery kicks in when Ellie discovers the body of one of her clients, Professor Albright, in his swanky Upper East Side apartment. Not only does the professor appear to have been murdered, his prize-winning bichon, Buddy, has gone missing. Suddenly Ellie is caught in the middle of Detective Sam Ryder's investigation -- and she's a suspect. Luckily for her, she has the truth -- and a whole mess of jabbering dogs wanting to help -- on her side!

Sadly, on Jan. 19, McCoy lost the inspiration for her Dog Walker mysteries when Rudy, the first dog she raised from a puppy, passed away unexpectedly. Not only did Rudy give his name to the loyal fictional canine in Hounding the Pavement, McCoy also planned on penning a twice-monthly blog as her faithful companion on her website.

"When I needed a dog for Ellie, he was a natural choice," McCoy said just days before Rudy's passing. "The Rudy described in the book is my Rudy: same size, breed, personality. He's such a good guy. My other two dogs, a 5-pound 'shorkie' named Belle and an 8-pound maltipoo named Buckley, are Rudy's brother and sister."

Although losing Rudy was heartbreaking, his memory could live on in a TV series for CBS Productions. The company optioned the novel for a potential series, but it could take two years to happen, if it happens at all. "In the meantime," she says, "I have to keep writing." Despite the tragedy of losing Rudy so suddenly, McCoy promises that he will live on in her heart and in her books.

With her successful endeavors in writing, philanthropy and even women's gymnastics judging, one might surmise that McCoy is the big cheese in the tiny Virginia town where she lives. But she quickly asserts this isn't the case. "No traffic lights, no malls, no movie theater and no Starbucks," she says of her town of 800 people. "This city has quite a few retirees -- one guy used to be president of NASDAQ -- so I'm certainly not the town celebrity. But I do have fans that read everything I write and e-mail to ask me for more. Everyone here is supportive, and I can do a signing at any of several restaurants."

Small-town life hasn't prevented McCoy from researching her latest book. Since the series is set in New York, the author traveled to the Big Apple to speak to doormen, dog walkers, museum guards and even two detectives from the Central Park East precinct who asked McCoy to keep their identities anonymous. This research will continue to serve her for at least two more books. If sales ultimately prove solvent for the series, she'd like to write a total of 12 novels in the Ellie Engleman saga.

Ellie clashed with the detective handling the case in the first book, and they get together at the end," she reveals. "In book two, Heir of the Dog (Oct. '09), Sam helps to keep Ellie safe from a killer. In book three [due out in spring 2010], well, let's just say that things get serious. And my fingers will be crossed for the television series."

Confident that her novel will appeal to fans of many differing genres, McCoy says her most important order of business is raising awareness for Best Friends. And by donating the royalties from Hounding the Pavement, she's certainly accomplishing this noble goal, and taking her fans along for the ride.

For more on the Best Friends Animal Society, visit BestFriends.org; for more information on DogTown, visit Channel.NationalGeographic.com/series/dogtown

Excerpt from Hounding the Pavement

After a third inspection of the room, she again focused on the dog in front of her. She'd never had a psychic experience before, so she had no idea if that's what was happening now, but lots of people conversed with animals, though most didn't expect an answer. Neither did she, not really, but she did want to take a better look at the dog in the pen.

"Are you talking to me," she asked jokingly.

"Do you see anybody else in this prison?"

With a hand on her heart, she dropped to her knees on the cement floor. Staring at the dog, she shook her head. "This is not possible," she muttered. "Unless I'm going crazy."

The terrier mix rose on its hind legs and licked the fingers anchoring her to the cage door. "If you ask me, you were crazy when you married Larry Lipschitz and left me with your dingbat of a mother."

He knew about Georgette? "What ... How?" Could getting a divorce be so liberating that it allowed her to open her inner self to animals? Or was she really losing her mind?

"Come on, Triple E. It's me -- Rudy," the pooch continued, his eyes bright and attentive. "Don't you recognize me?"

Okay, this was too weird. The dog's muzzle was creased upwards in a grin. "Rudy?" She opened and closed her mouth. "But -- but you're ... dead."

"Er ... not really. I mean, the old body's been gone for a decade now, but somebody must have known it was time for us to get back together and sent me here to wait for you. I have to admit, there were a couple of close calls where I was almost adopted, but a few snarls kept that from happening. I had a feeling you'd be here soon, so I just kept hangin' on.."

"And I can hear you ... understand you? And you can understand me?"

"Don't ask me to explain it. Besides, as long as it works, who cares?

Inhaling a breath, she pressed her forehead to the mesh. "Oh, Lord, this is absurd. I'm talking to my dead dog."

He gave her fingers another sloppy lick. "So, you gonna bring me home or what?"

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