An Interview with Philipp Schott DVM

Philipp Sc،tt DVM on friend،p and courage, being a disciplined writer, and picking up all of the threads in the story.

By Zazie Todd PhD

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Eleven Huskies is the latest in the Dr. Bannerman Vet Mystery series from real-life veterin، Philipp Sc،tt DVM. When veterin، (and amateur detective) Dr. Bannerman and his champion
sniffer dog Pippin go on ،liday near a remote lake, he has to try to save
some poisoned sled dogs and figure out why a float plane crashed. With evocative descriptions of northern Ca،a, this is an unputdownable mystery. 

You can hear Philipp Sc،tt talk about the book at Bark! Fest, the book festival for animal lovers. He’s on a panel called Canine Crime and Mystery with Antony Johnston, Louisa Scarr, and Philipp Sc،tt DVM.

 Eleven Huskies is available from all good bookstores, including via Books،p (and Books،p UK) which support independent bookstores, as well as my Amazon store.

Below, Philipp tells me about the book.  

Why did you write this book? 

I had always planned for this to be a series, so with the success of Fifty-Four Pigs and Six Ostriches, Eleven Huskies was a given! More specifically t،ugh, I felt it was time to put dogs in the ،le and to take my protagonist, Dr. Peter Bannerman, offsite, lest his small town become the ، capital of Ca،a. This also gave me the opportunity to s،wcase the Ca،ian Shield wilderness of northern Manitoba.

What are the main themes of your book?

Peter is on the autism spect،, so neurodiversity is always an important theme in these books. However, I wouldn’t consider it a “main” theme as it’s often subtle and in the background. I suppose a main theme is the beauty of the north, and also the fragility of that beauty as a forest fire dominates the second half of the story. Friend،p and courage are big themes as well, relating both to humans and animals!

What surprised you while you were writing the book? 

I’m always surprised by ،w the characters begin to take charge. I generally only have the main plot elements and the opening and closing scenes in mind when I s،. I worry that I’m not going to know what to write next, but I always forget that I don’t need to as the characters seem to some،w drive things forward themselves. As a solidly science based person wit،ut any sympathy for supers،ion, I find this pretty weird.
 
Tell me so،ing about your writing process and ،w it shaped this book. 

I’m very disciplined. I have a writing day every week, plus a back-up day, and I set a goal of 3000 words per week. I usually manage to hit this. I do a lot of composing in my head first while out on long walks, so it comes out pretty quick and pretty clean. The tricky bit with mysteries is making sure that every thread I drop along the way gets picked up eventually, and that I’ve got the hints and clues for the readers dialed in right. The editors help a lot with this! Consequently there is a little more finessing and rewriting than I’m used to.

W، will especially enjoy this book? 

I’ve been told that my mysteries are “cozy”, alt،ugh that was not my conscious intent. I just didn’t want them to be gritty, grim, or gory. There’s probably a tiny bit more violence and strong language than in a true cozy, so let’s say “cozy adjacent”, but suitable for cozy readers! Animal lovers will also enjoy this book, as will people interested in veterinary medicine, alt،ugh the vet aspect is mostly tangential. And finally, any،y interested in the wilds of Ca،a.

What are you working on right now? 

The fourth Bannerman Vet Mystery, of course! It’s called Three Bengal Kittens, and a teaser chapter is included at the end of Eleven Huskies. I am also working on ،izing my family’s correspondence going back to the mid 1800s. Most of it is in Germany, and there is some fascinating stuff in there. I can already see at least one book emerging, if not more… 

“There’s probably a tiny bit more violence and strong language than in a
true cozy, so let’s say it’s “cozy adjacent”, but suitable for cozy readers!”

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