FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dog, doomed to die, is heroine in new
"Shandon's Ivy League" Mystery Series

Karen visits patrons, friends at the Aiken County Library From The Aiken Standard First grade teacher gets well-deserved thank-you From The Greenwood Index-Journal Author always knew she had a book inside her From The Greenwood Index-Journal Hand Middle students lend helping hand to author From The State newspaper Dog is heroine of new mystery series From The Hendersonville (N.C.) Times-News Shandon Ivy League Mystery Series takes off at Hand From The Columbia Star

A beautiful dog who nearly lost her life as a puppy is the heroine in "The Mystery of the Screecher Creature," the first book in the new" Shandon's Ivy League" Mystery Series for children and pet lovers of all ages.

"The Mystery of the Screecher Creature" is published by Red Letter Press in Columbia, S.C. The series takes its name from the real-life Ivy, a Labrador Retriever and Chow mix who lives in the Shandon neighborhood in Columbia, S.C.

Written by Karen Petit, "The Mystery of the Screecher Creature" tells the story of Ivy and her pet friends who become unnerved when a magnificent pink diamond named Sugarplum is stolen from their neighbor Miss Darla. The whodunit continues with the theft of more valuables from their neighborhood -- a pirate's dagger, a diamond and pearl tiara, a church's candlesticks and Ivy's own collar with sparkling jewels.

The dogged determination of Ivy and her friends leads the group to solve the robberies and establishes the pets as a new crime-solving team known as "Shandon's Ivy League."

The real-life Ivy, born in rural South Carolina, already had confronted and escaped danger. Unwanted, Ivy was taken to a flea market to be sold with her brothers and sisters. Greg and Jane Evans of Columbia, S.C., saw the black puppy with fluffy fur and a swooping tail and wondered if they should take her home. Their decision was hastily made when they were told that Ivy would be thrown into a river and drowned if not sold that day.

The couple paid the $5 asking price and took her home. They named her Ivy because she loved to follow them as they worked in their garden.

In 2003, Petit adopted Ivy from her friends, who were moving to Charleston, S.C., for jobs at the College of Charleston.

"As I drove home with Ivy that first night, I thought, 'What have I done? She'll probably get on the furniture. She'll shed all over my house,' "said Petit. "But then, when I looked in the back seat at Ivy and saw her dark blue eyes looking at me, I thought, 'You have no idea how your life is getting ready to change, and you're trusting me to take care of you.' "

From that moment on, Petit knew that she and Ivy would have a special bond. An avid fan of "Law & Order" and other crime shows, Petit began to wonder what Ivy was thinking when they watched television together.

"She probably was wondering when I would fix her a bedtime snack," Petit said of their peanut butter and crackers routine. "But I began wondering what she would do if she were solving the mysteries herself."

Before long, Petit developed the idea for a book that put Ivy in her own mystery with group of pets, some of whom were already in Ivy's life *

Ernest, an English pug; Spooky, a homeless cat; Hoover, a hyper Jack Russell Terrier; Lovely, an aging greyhound racing star; and Marigold, a canary. A book involving danger must have a bit of romance, so Petit added Blitz, a handsome police dog, to be Ivy's heartthrob.

Petit, who knew Greg and Jane Evans from her job in media relations at the University of South Carolina, had wanted a canine companion but didn't have time to train a puppy.

"Ivy was a precious gift at a time when my life had been in chaos. Ivy came along and changed my life," said Petit. "We still have chaos at times, but we also have great fun."

But the journalist knew that writing a book and having it accepted by children weren't the same thing. So she turned to the expertise of a sixth-grade class of creative writing students at Hand Middle School, just three blocks from her home in Shandon. For 10 weeks, the students and their teacher Helen Schell listened while Petit read the chapters and then gave their "polishes and praises."

"They helped me become a better writer," said Petit, who has continued her partnership with Hand Middle School's creative writing classes.

Petit realized that Ivy and her friends could solve more than one mystery, so she continued writing. "The Mystery at Foggy Bottom Lake," scheduled for publication in 2007, will take the "Shandon's Ivy League" pets to a vacation at a quiet mountain resort that is anything but peaceful.

"So often, we wonder what our pets are thinking," Petit said. "Everyone loves a mystery, and this first book in the 'Shandon's Ivy League' Mystery Series tells the story from the pets' perspective. It captures their innocence and the perspective they have of the people in their lives."