Dog Days of Summer (or Using Dogs to Enhance your Writing) by Jannine Gallant

Ginger - she looks sweet...

July… A sun baked beach with the smell of tropical tanning lotion wafting on the breeze… The whir of crickets on a sultry summer night… A sweat dampened shirt and aching muscles, the stillness of the forest in mid-afternoon, anticipating a hint of breeze at the summit of the climb… All images I associate with The Dog Days of Summer. Of course the Dog Days wouldn’t be complete without the all important dog.

Ginger the stick loving menace to squirrels!

A dog at the beach means throwing a ball, over and over and over… In the evening calm, man’s (or woman’s) faithful companion lies in the grass and rolls to her back, all four paws waving ludicrously, and moans. The stillness of the forest erupts in a frenzy of barking as a squirrel scampers across the trail. See how a dog changes up the scene, either enhancing (or destroying) a mood, or adding comedy and excitement. Maybe that’s why I put them in all my books.

The following is a scene from After All These Years where my heroine, Chantal, discovers a skeleton. A scene like that isn’t easy to write. It’s hard to get the drama without making it totally cliché or worthy of an eye roll. Ace the basset hound adds that extra something that makes this scene work. (At least I hope it works! LOL)

Covered by a mass of honeysuckle, she saw the shape of a wing attached to a fuselage. The sun glimmered off the tip of a rudder protruding from a clump of ferns. It appeared to be a small, single engine plane. Ace sniffed around what was undoubtedly the cockpit, half buried in the earth. He gave a long, low woof and dug furiously.

“Ace, the plane has been there for years, probably decades. I don’t know what you hope to find.”

Undeterred, he continued his excavation, and then disappeared completely into the rusted body of the plane. Chantal climbed across the broken wing after him. “If you get stuck in there, so help me—”

Empty eye sockets stared up at her as the skull rocked precariously and toppled from the skeleton. Ace gave a final tug on the humerus clamped in his jaws and came away with the grisly prize.

“Drop it, Ace! Drop it this minute!”

I’ve also used dogs to tell my readers something about a character. How a person reacts to a dog is generally indicative of the type of person they are. Are they timid, concerned about their appearance, overbearing, reluctant? The list goes on. In Nothing But Trouble, my hero, Chase, learns something about Honor’s temperament when she’s introduced to his hound dog, Bo.

            At the truck door, she came nose to nose with a long eared, soulful eyed hound dog. He put his oversized paws on the window frame and gave her a sniff. Reaching out a tentative hand, she scratched his head. Tongue lolling, he moaned in response.

            “Move it, Bo.” The dog retreated at Chase’s command, and she opened the door. “I can make him get in the back seat.” His words held more confidence than his tone.

            She squeezed inside. “It’s okay. I like dogs.”

            Starting the engine, he smiled at her over the recumbent dog who’d draped head and shoulders across her lap. “That’s good, because he seems to like you.”

Have you used dogs in your writing? If not, give it a try. Or choose a different animal. Cats are full of personality. I can only imagine what they’d add to a scene. Hmm, I may have to change it up one of these days…

My books are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online retailer. Buy links are on my website.

Reunions by Jannine Gallant

I couldn’t settle on one of our topics for this post. Usually I’m inspired, but this month, not so much. So, I’m going to stray a little. June is about graduations – which brings to mind reunions. It’s been a while since I posted about my Class of ’85 books. This series, published by The Wild Rose Press, wrapped up early this spring. My last book for the series came out a year ago. I’ve read every one of these books, over twenty of them. They are great stories about people revisiting their past and learning something about life and love in the process. The common link in the series is that either the hero or heroine (or both) was a member of the Summerville High class of ’85. He or she receives an invitation to a 25^th high school reunion in Summerville on the shore of beautiful Lake Ontario. These books have gotten terrific reviews. But, frankly, sales stink!

So, I’ll ask the million dollar question – why? Maybe I’m wrong, but I’d have to say a large portion of the women who read romances fall into the over forty category. (I know I do!) The characters in this series have a lot more in common with our readers than they do with a twenty-something hottie. So, why do books about older heroes and heroines not attract the attention I feel they deserve? Are crow’s feet a little too close to home for comfort? Would you, as a reader, rather escape into a world full of shape shifters, cowboys, or a setting from days gone by than read about a woman who has grown children and is on husband number 2? In the contest between escapism and reality, I have a sneaking suspicion reality comes out the loser. I’d love to know why you chose one sub-genre of romance over another to read. Please share your thoughts.

I’ll leave you with a really fun excerpt from Maybe This Time, my third and final book in the Class of ’85 series. This is the scene that inspired me to write the book. I hope you enjoy it!

Chloe Lane stood on the set of the hit reality dating show, Get Lei’d, with five other women, wondering if she’d completely lost her mind. All the other contestants were beautiful and young, painfully young. Sweat beaded her brow despite the tropical breeze blowing through the open cabana. Nerves shredded her stomach lining. She was forty-three years old and the mother of a teenage daughter for God’s sake. She had no business being on stage with the twenty-something girls still in contention.

Why had she let Sarah talk her into this madness? Why hadn’t Rafe sent her home weeks ago? Sure they’d had fun on the extravagant dates arranged by the show, but a long term relationship between the two of them didn’t seem likely.

Lamont stopped in front of her, opened his makeup case with a flick of his manicured nails, and clicked his tongue. Chloe gritted her teeth and concentrated on not kicking the annoying little man. If he made one more comment about her crow’s feet she’d scream.

His black brows lowered, and he wielded the touch up brush with more force than finesse. “Please, no close-ups on this one. I’m good, but I’m not a miracle worker.”

Bruce Kildare, the director, paused in his endless pacing; his voice boomed across the set. “We want her to look her age. That’s why the viewers love her. Cougars are all the rage.”

Blurbs and buy links for all my Class of ’85 books are on my website. Thanks for visiting!

Mother Nature Stars in my Books!

By Jannine Gallant

Gardening and Nature is one of our topics this month. No one who has ever seen my yard would mistake me for a gardener. I’m lucky if I put one planter box of flowers out on the deck and remember to water it. My yard is green – because it’s full of thimbleberry bushes. Nature is my true love – beauty and simplicity wrapped into one lovely package that requires no effort on my part! LOL.

I grew up in the coastal woods of Northern California and have lived most of my adult life in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I can’t imagine not being able to walk out my door and into the forest. Nothing is more beautiful than the sound of the wind blowing through the trees, the chirp of birds high overhead, the chatter of a squirrel taunting my dog. I love hiking until I’m out of breath, then sitting by a stream sparkling in the sunlight, breathing in the scent of pine needles… But I digress.

I can’t write cities with any authority. My characters live in small towns with nature all around. I have the occasional scene in a city, but for the most part I stick to what I know. My first book, Victim of Desire, takes place in Napa Valley, but my characters travel to a wilderness retreat in the High Sierra and to Lake Tahoe. One very tense scene takes place on the trail through the woods where I walk every day. It has now been dubbed “The Scary Trail” by a local friend. LOL

My Class of ’85 books all have rural settings. In Lonely Road to You my h&h journey cross country through Yellowstone and the Badlands on a road trip that involves camping, bears, and bison. After All These Years takes place in a ramshackle old cabin in the Adirondack Mountains, and Maybe This Time is set by the ocean in Northern California and on the course of the Lake Tahoe Marathon.

 My latest book, Bittersweet, is a historical set on a farm in Colorado. My grandparents lived on a farm when I was growing up, so I tried to channel those childhood memories of barns and fields and gardens when I wrote this story.

So, what are your favorite settings in books? Authors, do your characters find love in the woods or on city streets? Readers, tell us what locations fascinate you. They could wind up in my next book!

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In My Book – Dogs Rule! By Jannine Gallant

What am I thankful for? First and foremost – my family. And a special part of my family is our dog, Ginger. I’m sure most of you feel the same about your pets. Your lives would be missing that extra special something without them. Ginger makes me smile when I’m down and laugh at her antics. She isn’t a show dog or the smartest dog in the world. She’s 100% mutt, and I love her dearly.

It’s not just Ginger. ALL dogs are wonderful, whether they’re a big and slobbery or little and yappy. So, call me crazy, but I put a dog in every one of my books. What beleaguered heroine doesn’t need a four-legged companion to give her comfort and add a little comic relief? I’m not partial to any one breed, but all my four-legged characters have their own distinct personalities.

In Victim of Desire, my heroine has a golden retriever named Daisy who’s afraid of the water and gets car sick. With my Class of ’85 Reunion stories, I created unforgettable canines who play a central roll to the story. In Lonely Road To You, Lucy is an Irish setter, cocker spaniel, poodle mix who sleeps on the furniture, loves road trips, and never listens to her owner. Trixie is a pint sized cairn terrier who terrorizes the heroine’s dates and eats her mail in Maybe This Time.

After All These Years features two dogs. Ace is a basset hound with one eye on his food bowl and the other on the wildlife in his backyard. Sasha is a well trained German shepherd dedicated to her young mistress. When her cosmetics company is consumed by a hostile takeover, my heroine takes inspiration from her pet and starts a dog treat business.

If you’re a dog lover, I guarantee you’ll find something to make you smile in these stories. For those of you with your own dogs, here’s a recipe they’ll adore.

Ginger’s Favorite Treats
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 ¼ cups grated cheddar cheese
1 stick softened butter or margarine
1 clove garlic finely chopped
Pinch of salt
¼ cup milk (approx.)

Preheat oven to 375°. Mix together all ingredients except milk. Add enough milk to form a ball. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll out dough on floured board and cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Bake for 15 minutes.

Today I’m giving away a PDF copy of After All These Years. All you have to do is leave a comment to be eligible to win. Do you have a pet you adore? Let’s hear about them!

My books are all available through The Wild Rose Press, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and other online outlets. Find buy links on my website at www.janninegallant.com.

A New Adventure

I’m thrilled to be a part of the revamped Roses of Prose! In the spirit of new beginnings, a little info about me. Probably more than you ever wanted to know! LOL

Jannine the Author
I write romantic suspense and contemporary romance with a bit of mystery thrown in. I can’t seem to write a story that doesn’t keep the reader guessing… My first novel, Victim of Desire, was published by The Wild Rose Press last spring. My current work in progress is a sequel starring the heroine’s sister, Grace.

I’ll admit it—I have a weakness for those submission calls tossed out by publishers. I can’t seem to resist, even if I’m hip deep in another story. When I saw the call for the Class of ’85 series about a 25 year high school reunion, I was hooked. I wrote Lonely Road to You, but could I stop there? Not a chance. I adored this series and the interaction with the other authors. After All These Years was my second offering, and Maybe This Time was my third. I really have to work on my powers of resistance! LOL

I’d just finished Maybe This Time when the call came for the new Honky Tonk Hearts series. I don’t write about cowboys, or do I? Apparently I do. I told you I’m a sucker for a submission call. Nothing But Trouble was an absolute blast to write. I don’t have a release date yet for this one. It’s currently in the editing stages, but I’ll keep you updated on its progress.

And finally, my first love. Historical romance. I double majored in history and creative writing, so you’d think I’d write historicals. I do—or did. I wrote three of them, long meandering sagas that gathered an impressive pile of rejections. I took a pair of pruning sheers to the final one and hacked away. The final result was a really wonderful story (if I do say so myself) set in rural Colorado in 1880. Bittersweet will be released by the Whiskey Creek Press in February of 2012.

Jannine when she isn’t glued to her computer!I live in gorgeous Lake Tahoe with my husband, two daughters, and dog, Ginger. When I’m not writing, I’m either hiking (or snowshoeing depending on the season) in the woods around our home with Ginger, chauffeuring my girls from one sporting event to another, trying to catch up on housework, or cooking. I do love to cook, and for those of you interested, I post recipes on my personal blog at http://janninegallant.blogspot.com/. I grew up in a small town, live in the mountains, and love being outdoors. You’ll find a big dose of small town life or outdoor adventure in all my books.

To all you readers out there, what are your favorite settings for a story?

Find buy links and blurbs for all my books on my website at www.janninegallant.com. Thanks for reading!

Jannine Gallant