Everything But a Dog

   I am so excited about my next Tuesday’s release, EVERYTHING BUTA DOG.  Now, you might think that’s not the most romancy title you’ve ever heard.  Well, maybe you’re right.  But it definitely fits the book.  You see, Nana Vancy from the other Everything But… books is matchmaking again.  This time she has a vet in her sites…and the vet’s match???  Well, I’m not telling, but let’s just say, on paper, they are not a couple who seem like they’ll fit.  But people are hard to peg…sometimes a list of attributes doesn’t say what’s most important about someone.  The heart is hard to quantify.

   Now, in order to help her matchmaking along, Nana Vancy starts a new charity.  Everything But a Dog.  (Hence the title!  LOL) The organization wants nothing more than to match rescue animals to their forever families.  What better way for a Hungarian, matchmaking grandmother to volunteer her time??

   The entire Everything But… series is comprised of light, humorous romances.  They’re not issue books.  But since Nana Vancy and the other characters in the book are so passionate about animal rescue, I thought I’d talk about some rescue organizations and some people with their own animal adoption success stories!  

 Let me start with my own story.  We had an Old English Mastiff (who by the way was the inspiration for a dog in Night Calls.  (When my editor read the book she only had one revision for me...de-slime it a bit.  So, if you ever read the book, my original version was very truthful when it came to the amount of slime the dog produced...the version will be de-slimed! LOL)

Anyway, Winston had passed away, leaving a huge hole in our family.  We decided to take a break from dogs for a while.  Then one day the kids asked to go just look at dogs at the shelter.

And just-a-trip meant coming home with Ethel Merman.  Ethel came with a few...uh, psychological problems.  She had severe separation anxiety.  Which is why we bought Ella Fitzgerald.  Ella is not the brightest dog in the world, but she is all heart!  

When I wrote Everything But a Dog, I based the two dogs in the book on Ethel and Ella.  I changed their names to Madame Curie and Clara Barton.  After all, Ethel and Ella didn't want to worry about the...wait for it...wait for it...Puparazi hounding them.  Feel free to groan.  My family does! 

When Montlake asked me what I envisioned for Everything But a Dog's cover, I sent them this picture.

I know, it's not my best picture.  My hair is doing its Medusa thing.  But there's truth in advertising.  This is me.  This is where I work, and normally the dogs are next to me or at my feet.  And truthfully, there's more often than not a cup of coffee at hand.  

I'm collecting interviews and stories (if you have a story about your own animal adoption you'd like to share, you can send it along to me...my contact info is up on my website) and I will be posting the interviews and stories for the next week or so.  I hope you check in daily.  

Like I said, Everything But a Dog is not an issue book, but I'm glad that this light romance can call attention to all the animals who are currently waiting for their forever homes!

Holly