I'm so happy to have author

Richard Audry

in today's

Author Spotlight!

Richard Audry

is the author of the

King Harold Mysteries.

This wonderful series stands out as one of a very few cozy mystery series that have a male lead.

When springtime arrives in picturesque New Bergen, so do the tourists and antiquers. This year, though, there are some unwelcome visitors. Extortion. Arson. And murder.

After his business tanks and his wife leaves him for a Pilates coach, Andy Skyberg flees the big city for the peace and quiet of his hometown. All he wants is a decent job, a steady girlfriend, and one loyal dog. But fate has something else in store for Andy, when his big mutt King Harald starts sniffing out crime.

It’s clear that someone has it in for the town’s New Age retailer, Trudi Bock. And it’s also clear that Trudi wants to rekindle the steamy romance she and Andy enjoyed back in college. Andy has to fend her off, while placating his fiery girlfriend, Deputy Sheriff Cass Conlin.

Meanwhile, Harald keeps digging up more mayhem. And it falls to Andy to channel his inner sleuth and make sense of it all.

Throw into this mix one legendary (but lost) ebelskiver recipe…a gimlet-eyed church lady…a van full of federal agents…a crusty socialist…a beloved iguana…and an overabundance of rosemaling—and you have all the makings for The Karma of King Harald.

Join King Harald and Andy Skyberg on their second adventure!

As the leaves begin to change color in New Bergen, Andy Skyberg wants to turn his full attention to his sister’s new café and art gallery—and to the beautiful Finnish architect who’s managing the project. 

But the good-natured, go-to guy can’t seem to catch a moment’s peace.

His next-door neighbors—two elderly sisters—want him to fend off a pushy historian who thinks they had a scandalous past. His parents enlist him to entertain a narcissistic, boring couple they would like to ditch. And his ever-scheming Aunt Bev tricks Andy into seeking an improbable new gig that could land him in the hot seat. 

Even Andy’s big ol’ mutt King Harald has a kennel full of trouble in store for him, beginning with a pilfered thousand-dollar bill and a naughty garden gnome. Before long, New Bergen’s favorite crime-sniffing pooch finds even more deep doo-doo to toss his boss into.

Havoc and hilarity ensue, as Andy and his happy hound get to the bottom of King Harald’s Heist.

It’s early December and Andy Skyberg is itching to blow town for a weekend of holiday cheer with old friends—including a date with an attractive divorcée who thinks he's hot.

But first, Aunt Bev needs a teensy bit of help. She’s managing the Girls’ Weekend Out event at the Beaver Tail Resort and could use some extra muscle. Andy figures he can spare a few hours before hitting the road.

Mother Nature, though, has other plans. A giant blizzard makes an unexpected turn. Andy and his pooch King Harald find themselves snowbound—in a hotel full of hard-partying women, stranded travelers, a hockey team, a man-eating novelist, a belligerent blogger, and one violent, devious jewel thief.

Before you know it, man and mutt are up to their noses in another case. It’s a winter wonderland of fast-paced fun and merry madness, as the sleuthing duo dig out from King Harald’s Snow Job.

A Word From Richard

The Story Behind King Harald

A number of years ago, my brother-in-law, who lives on a farm, had a dog named Gus. He was a hulking big Chesapeake retriever who, though perfectly sociable, wasn’t the brightest bulb in the box.

Gus had two bosses. One was my brother-in-law. The other was an egotistical little rat terrier named Augie, who probably thought of himself as a Great Dane. The two of them made quite a comic canine pair. Augie was definitely the top dog, with Gus lumbering along behind him. I could almost imagine Gus saying to Augie, “Yessir, whatever you say, sir.”

By then I had already written my first two mysteries, both of them serious whodunits—one an historical, one a hard-boiled PI yarn. I wanted to try my hand at something lighter and more fun, and the best option seemed to be a cozy.

Observing Gus one day—he was so homely he was almost cute—I somehow got the idea of a Chesapeake dog detective. I could model him after Gus, only make him smarter. Or at least he’d have good instincts when it came to sleuthing. At some point a name for him popped into my head. King Harald. Who also happens to be the king of Norway. I have no idea where that came from. It just seemed right.

Then I thought, Ah, Norway. Maybe the dog lives in a little Midwestern town with Norwegian roots. Okay, how about… New Bergen? But who’s his boss and fellow sleuth?

I wanted a kind of everyman character. Say, a guy whose wife just ran out on him…whose business just tanked…who has no choice but to return to his hometown and go to work for his sister. That’s where Anders Skyberg came from. And after Andy starts his job and rents a house, he goes looking for a big, friendly dog. He finds him at the animal shelter in the form of a mutt that’s “half-Chesapeake and half-moose.” It was love at first sight for both of them.

What Andy doesn’t count on is Harald’s unanticipated proclivity for sniffing out crime. And thereby hang my three (so far) King Harald mysteries.

—Richard Audry (D. R. Martin)

About Richard

Richard Audry is the pen name of D. R. Martin. In addition to his career as a journalist and copywriter, D. R. has written a dozen books, both fiction and non-fiction. His current projects include a fantasy adventure trilogy, a canine cozy mystery series, and historical mysteries set at the turn of the last century.

On Facebook you can like him at facebook.com/richardaudryauthor
and at facebook.com/johnnygraphicadventures 

To contact D. R., visit his blogs at johnnygraphicadventures.com or drmartinbooks.com

If you’re a fan of Travis McGee, D. R. invites you to join the discussion at his popular blog about the intrepid tough guy, drmar120.wordpress.com

BOOK ONE

 BOOK TWO                               BOOK THREE

Check this series out for yourself!

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