Earlier this month a Berthoud resident and lifelong lover of the written word was named a finalist for this year’s Colorado Authors League awards. Kathleen Donnelly’s book, “Hunting the Truth,” was recognized as a finalist for the CAL awards in the adult fiction mystery law enforcement category and honored during a reception last weekend. The honored book is the second in a series, known as the “National Forest K-9 Series.
” The multi-book story follows protagonist Maya Thompson, a Marine veteran, who, with her K9 Juniper, solves mysteries and crimes as part of the United States Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations team. Donnelly considers herself a “hometown girl,” having been born and raised in Loveland and living in Berthoud for the last eight years. She said that from an early age she loved to write and read, even saying she would often tell her parents she didn’t like the ending to the books they read; she said they told her to go write a book of her own.
Despite her love of writing, and a journalism degree from Colorado State University, Donnelly did gnot initially choose a career as an author or writer. She said shortly after leaving college, she went into business with a friend who was starting a private narcotics dog detection business, Sherlock Hounds Detection Canines. For the last 19 years, that is what Donnelly did.
She said the business offered in-school searches for drugs, alcohol and gunpowder across Colorado, from Estes Park to K.
