Alafair Burke is a not a newcomer on the crime scene beat, with five excellent mysteries already on the shelves and another in the works. Her five year sojourn as a Deputy District Attorney in Portland, Oregon gave her the material for the central character in her first series, the dedicated Deputy District Attorney named Samantha Kincaid who always manages to get a little too close to the criminal action for comfort, nearly getting herself killed – and always getting herself in trouble with the higher ups – in her pursuit of justice.

Since moving to New York City, where she divides her time between writing and teaching the law, Burke has produced a second series, featuring yet another strong female character, NYPD police officer, Ellie Hatcher, a determined detective with a penchant for consuming large spoonfuls of Nutella.   In this series, the author takes the reader on a fascinating trip through the online dating scene in the Dead Connection, and in her second book in the series, Angel’s Tip, focuses on the horrifying vulnerability of  single women in the big city.

These are elegant, well crafted mysteries, that take at least some of their inspiration from real life contemporary crime and that benefit greatly from the author’s obvious familiarity with prosecutors, police, and the law.  They are all well worth reading (yes, I’ve read all 5, and I’m waiting not so patiently for #6, 212, the third book in the Ellie Hatcher series), and we urge you to visit the author’s website to learn more.  But all of that is not why we asked one of our own New York lawyers – FBVillage volunteer Sara Brin – to grab an interview.

Here’s the real scoop.  Samantha Kincaid, hard hitting prosecutor in the first series, has a dog.  A French Bulldog named Vinny.  Because life so often imitates art, Ms. Burke also has a a dog.  A French Bulldog named Duffer.  We interviewed the author because we really wanted to know all there is to know about Duffer.  Enjoy the interview!

Charlotte Creeley, Esq.
FBVillage Founder

Alafair Burke got her French Bulldog, Duffer, four years ago after moving to New York with her husband. Little did Duffer know that he was actually Burke’s second frenchie. Her first was Vinny, the character in the author’s best-selling Samantha Kincaid series. Luckily for Duffer, Burke is a better Frenchie mom than Samantha and Duffer is a spoiled little prince—just like he should be. I recently spoke with the author about Duffer, Vinny and her experience as a French Bulldog owner and lover.

What attracted you to the French Bulldog breed?

Well, while I was living in Portland, I had a friend who had two Frenchies. I was still working as a District Attorney then and knew that I wasn’t ready for a dog, given how much I worked. But her Frenchies were perfect charmers…great examples of the Frenchie personality. I was pretty overwhelmed by friends’ large dogs that seemed like they didn’t know how to show their happiness without physically toppling the object of their affection—but at the same time, I had never been interested in having a hyper little dog either. Whenever I would hang out with my friend and her Frenchies, I was amazed by how totally perfect her dogs were. They would do the “Frenchie hop” as soon as they saw her come in the door and then it was pure comedy from then on. I fell totally in love with their peculiar personalities—the way they sit, the snorting, their individual natures. It seemed like whatever the pack was doing—my friend’s dogs were doing the exact opposite. I knew it was the right dog for me.

Were there any surprises when you finally got Duffer?

Oh, of course! I think that like any new dog owner, I was surprised by how much work it was to have a dog! It was like having a baby. Duffer has a bit of a picky stomach, so we learned all about that pretty quickly. And housebreaking a Frenchie in the city? I thought it was never going to happen. He absolutely refused to go when it was raining out, so we were up and down, up and down, up and down every few hours, just hoping that he would decide to go outside, instead of in our apartment.

As a writer, I of course, had read all the books I could find on Frenchies, on raising a puppy, on training, everything! But those first couple of puppy months were tough! I’ve even thought about writing a book that recommends getting a puppy before you have a child. I learned so much about my parenting style.

I can still remember the first time he was sick. I was a presenter at the Edgar Awards, which is an honor given annually to mystery writers. I couldn’t believe I had to leave town while Duffer was feeling so horrible. I remember that I spent the whole night sneaking out to call home and check in on him. The Edgar Awards are something I love—but there I was wishing that I could just get home to take care of Duffer.

Has it gotten any easier?!

Oh, yes. Duffer is four years old now. In that amount of time, you get to know your dog as well as you know your best friends. I don’t love him any less than I did when I was worried about him as a puppy, but I know what I should really worry about now.

For example, even with that finicky stomach, Duffer loves to eat. Anything on the street—and in New York, anything really means anything! There’s always something to be found in our neighborhood….and Duffer will find it. I can’t even list all the things that he has found out there, but I can tell you that I’ve pulled every kind of breakfast, lunch and dinner food out of his mouth. And then, while I’m trying to fish it out of his mouth he’s looking at me like “oh no, I’m finishing this one”, and the New York masses are walking by just laughing. I have to fight to urge to say to all of New York “NO! Not funny, he’ll be sick!”

You’re now not only writing, but also teaching criminal law at a law school, as well, too?

Yes. I’m pretty busy!

What do you do about Duffer while you’re traveling on things like book tours?

We actually have an arrangement with a good friend of ours. Because I’m home during the day, I will take care of her Shih Tzu (who happens to be Duffer’s best friend) and then she will take care of both of  them when we need her to. I couldn’t ask for a better situation—and Duffer’s pretty happy about it too.

If I’m on a book tour or out of town, Duffer gets to go to daycare during the day. Like all Frenchies, he loves it. As soon as I say “daycare”, he’s booking it for the door, ready to go. I prefer not to board him overnight, so we have a friend who will come and stay at our apartment with him if we have to be away for an evening.

So, I assume that Duffer was the inspiration for Vinny?

Well, actually, Vinny pre-existed Duffer. As I said, I had totally fallen in love with my friend’s Frenchies in Portland—I wasn’t kidding! When I left Portland and decided to give writing a shot, I felt like I had wanted a French Bulldog for so long that the least I could do is give one to my character! I wrote Vinny’s character based on my friend’s Frenchies, not Duffer!

What? I can’t believe that!! I was convinced as soon as Samantha described what Vinny looked like while he was eating!

(Burke laughs) It’s funny you should say that. I’ve had a lot of people email me about that description. I guess once you’ve seen how ridiculous a Frenchie looks while he’s eating, it is burned into your mind forever!

Do you get a lot of emails about Vinny?

Well, one of the most interesting—and fair—emails I’ve ever gotten about Vinny was a woman telling me that Samantha was a terrible dog owner. She was absolutely right! She’s always working late, going to dinner after work or locking Vinny away in the pantry to keep him safe from intruders! I realized that I wasn’t setting a great example, so in a later Samantha Kincaid book, I had her acknowledge her bad dog ownership. I didn’t want anyone to think that I was condoning her bad habits or how she was treating poor Vinny.

Will Duffer play a role in your later books?

Actually, Duffer likes to dress up. Some people might think that dressing up a dog is torture, but not Duffer. Nope—he loves to wear his feather boa. During the Pride Parade this year, he was out there in that boa. He loves attention from people, and he knows that he will get it in his “costumes,” so as soon as he sees one of his outfits come out, he runs over and hops right into it and looks at me like “ready to go”! I swear, he thinks “you’re so cute” is his name.

So, Duffer actually did play a cameo in the Ellie Hatcher series. At one point Ellie notes that there is a French Bulldog in a Hawaiian shirt that lives in her apartment building—that’s Duffer! I must say, the Hawaiian shirt makes him look particularly handsome.

Eventually, I’d like to do another Samantha Kincaid book. Vinny will, of course, be back with a vengeance if I get to do that.

How did you start writing mystery/crime novels?

Well, I had always read a lot of the genre—I didn’t really think of myself as a lawyer who was going to write until I had already been at the DA’s office for a while. While I was working there, I started thinking that there really weren’t a lot of books in the genre that portrayed the kind of things I was seeing in my office.

The first book—the first Samantha Kincaid book—took a long time for me to finish. I sort of thought that this would be the one and that I wouldn’t keep going after that. But my publisher really encouraged me to keep going with the Samantha Kincaid series after getting the first one.

So, if Vinny isn’t Duffer, are you Samantha?

Haha. Well, Samantha and I are both runners, which, as you can guess, neither Vinny nor Duffer is particularly interested in. There is a scene in Closed Case where Samantha is going out for a run and Vinny is looking at her like she is out of her mind. I’d say that scene plays out pretty regularly at my house!

Anything else you want to tell us about Duffer?

He’s perfect. I’m so glad that I got a Frenchie. He’s just a friendly little—well, I guess he isn’t that little anymore—jumper. He’s entertaining, adorable and just all around wonderful . Watching him with big dogs is particularly endearing. He does a little brother routine, stalks them and begs to play…just like with me, eventually they give in and give him whatever he wants!

Sara Brin, Esq.
NYC