Anyone who spends time with me quickly learns of my love of rescue dogs, big families, and heartwarming romance. Combine those three into a series of books set in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina and you can count me one very happy reader. After reading Sit...Stay...Beg, I'm all in with The Dogfather (patriarch Daniel Kilcannon) and his goal of seeing each of his children find the kind of love he shared with their mother, his recently deceased wife. Centered around the family's dog rescue and world class training facility, this story brings all the feels. I fell head over heels in love with this family. Once I started reading, I couldn't put the book down and when I finished I wanted to start at the beginning and read it all over again. The canine characters are just as vital to the stories as the human ones with Lola, an Aussie-Border Collie mix, and Garrett and Jessie (the hero and heroine of this book) all capturing my heart with their first joint appearance on the page. How people interact with dogs tells a lot about the type of people they are. Jessie and Garrett are good people, a great match, and worthy of their eventual happy ending. I cheered for them - and Lola - the entire way. If you enjoy a well-crafted, family-centric romance that will tug at your heartstrings and leave you smiling then I highly recommend you pick up a copy of Roxanne St. Claire's Sit...Stay...Beg. I've already marked my calendar for book two, New Leash on Life, scheduled for release May 22.
Thanks for joining me today, Rocki.
I’m so excited about your upcoming The Dogfather series and the first book, Sit…Stay…Beg.
Thank you
for inviting me, PJ! You know I’m a fan of the site and so excited to be here
to share the news about the series and book!
I’ve seen the covers for the first
four books in this series and they feature some very inspiring hero material
but I understand these guys aren’t your typical professional cover models.
Please tell us about the men who grace your Dogfather covers.
No, these
are not professional models – they are just regular guys who posed for a
calendar to help raise money for the Alaqua Animal Refuge near Pensacola,
Florida. (www.alaqua.org) On the cover of
SIT…STAY…BEG is a man named Louis Petit, and he’s the owner of a wonderful
restaurant in Santa Rosa, Florida, called Louis Louis. Don’t ya kind of want to
eat there tonight? And that’s Flush, an Aussie-Border Collie mix who was
adopted through Alaqua’s amazing rescue program. That gorgeous creature (the dog, not the guy)
is exactly the dog featured in the story, named Lola. And the hero’s hat plays a
role, too. That’s his “doggone hat” (as his mother used to call it) and he ONLY
wears it on the days he’s delivering a rescue, because the dog has gone to a
forever home!
I loved that hat in the book and what it stood for.
You mentioned above that the men and dogs on your covers came to you via the Alaqua Animal Refuge. Please tell us a bit about the work they do. How will they benefit from the publication of these books?
You mentioned above that the men and dogs on your covers came to you via the Alaqua Animal Refuge. Please tell us a bit about the work they do. How will they benefit from the publication of these books?
That would be a fun road trip! *Grin*
What inspired you to create a series centered around dog rescue?
What inspired you to create a series centered around dog rescue?
I love dogs!
The whole idea was born out of a T-shirt I bought for my husband that says “The
Dogfather” on it because of how he nurtures our furbabies. A friend of mine
joked that I should write a series called that so I could put dogs in every
book. The idea just blossomed as I thought more and more about it. I have long
wanted to write a big family with lots of siblings and cousins, but needed something
special to tie them all together. Not just a shared past or a small town
(though the series has an adorable fictional setting), I wanted all the
characters to work together. That keeps the whole family frequently on the page
and I know readers love that. The idea of an elite rescue and training center
came to me and then Waterford Farm, the Kilcannon family, the town of Bitter
Bark, North Carolina, and a whole new series was born.
The Dogfather is an actual character
in the series, Daniel Kilcannon. He’s known as "The
Dogfather" for a reason. It's not just his renowned skills as a
veterinarian, his tremendous love of dogs, or the fact that he has turned his
homestead in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains into a world class dog
training and rescue facility. Ask any of his six grown children who run
Waterford Farm for him, and they'll tell you that their father's nickname is
due to his uncanny ability to pull a few strings to get what he wants. And what
he wants is for his four sons and two daughters to find the kind of
life-changing love he had with his dearly departed wife, Annie. This old dog
has a few new tricks...and he'll use them all to see his pack all settled into
their happily ever afters!
How many books will there be in The
Dogfather series? Do you have a release schedule for this year?
There will
be seven for sure – four this year and three in 2018. After that, we’ll see! The
Kilcannon kids have the Mahoney cousins! The tentative release schedule is:
SIT STAY BEG
(available now!)
NEW LEASH ON
LIFE (May 22)
LEADER OF
THE PACK (Summer 2017 – exact date TBD)
BAD TO THE
BONE (Fall 2017 – exact date TBD)
RUFF AROUND
THE EDGES (Winter 2018)
DOUBLE DOG
DARE (Spring 2018)
OLD DOG NEW
TRICKS (Summer 2018)
Please tell us about the four-legged
family members who share your life. How do they inspire you?
Ginger and Pepper!!! They own my heart and rule my roost! Ginger is a little white and mushroom Shih Tzu, four years old, and such a love. She picks her favorites and, if you’re one of them, she’ll attach to you. She spends most of her days on my office floor, sleeping to the sound of my keyboard. Pepper is the dog who made a dog lover out of me. Before Pepper, I was a little afraid of dogs and very wary of even touching one. I’d never had a dog growing up (my mother was a tad germophobic, so we had no animals) and I never thought I’d own a dog. Then I had kids and they wanted one. More than that, I could see my son developing my same tendencies toward dogs, like avoiding friends who had big dogs. I didn’t want him to go through life that way, so we got Pepper, an Australian Terrier who looks like a Yorkie on steroids. And within one day, I was changed by how much I adored that dog. We’ve had Pepper almost twelve years and I love her more than I can express.
All of the
Dogfather books will be dedicated to great dogs I’ve known…and Pepper gets book
one.
I can't wait to meet them all!
Congratulations on your 2017 RITA nomination for Barefoot at Midnight. Will you be attending the RWA national conference in Orlando this July?
Congratulations on your 2017 RITA nomination for Barefoot at Midnight. Will you be attending the RWA national conference in Orlando this July?
Have we seen the last of your
Barefoot Bay characters or is there a chance we’ll see them again down the
road?
I doubt I
could stay away from Barefoot Bay for too long. But, I wrote 18 titles set on
that island and I actually needed a break from the beach. (Who says that,
right?) I have planted at least four more silver fox heroes as part of the
Barefoot Bay Timeless mini-series and I fully intend to write their stories.
And, of course, there are more than 50 books set in Barefoot Bay that are not
written by me but are part of the Barefoot Bay Kindle World program. Romance
readers never have to leave those sun-drenched sands!
Would you like to add anything else?
Just that I
love to connect with readers! You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
and, of course, at my web site: www.roxannestclaire.com.
See you there!
Thank you for visiting with us today,
Rocki. Would you like to ask our readers a question?
Yes…tell me
about your favorite dog! I love getting ideas for great doggie characters and
names!
One person who leaves a comment before 11:00 PM, April 26, 2017 will receive a copy of Sit...Stay...Beg from Rocki.
And, because I loved this book so much, a second person will receive a Kindle copy of Sit...Stay...Beg from me!
The Dogfather Series
Daniel Kilcannon is known as "The Dogfather" for a reason. It's not just his renowned skills as a veterinarian, his tremendous love of dogs, or the fact that he has turned his homestead in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains into a world class dog training and rescue facility. Ask his six grown children who run Waterford Farm for him, and they'll tell you that their father's nickname is due to his uncanny ability to pull a few strings to get what he wants. And what he wantsis for his four sons and two daughters to find the kind of life-changing love he had with his dearly departed wife, Annie. This old dog has a few new tricks...and he'll use them all to see his pack all settled into their happily ever afters!
SIT...STAY...BEG - Book One
Garrett Kilcannon, a former dot com super-success who now devotes his life to rescuing dogs and finding them homes,prefers to keep his secrets buried as deep as a dog hides his bone. So when Garrett's father pressures him to be interviewed for an in-depth profile, he doesn't care that the journalist is a childhood friend or drop dead gorgeous.He has zero tolerance for the media...until he sees a different side of Jessie Curtis. She manages to breaks through the walls of a rescue dog who has refused to eat. Unwillingly charmed and undeniably attracted, Garrett agrees to the interview that could break down a few of his emotional walls, too.
Garrett might not want to share the story of his colorful former life, but Jessie has the skills to peel back the layers of this sexy, complicated,caring man. In the process, she not only discovers his secrets, she finds herself falling for a man who touches her heart in a way she never thought possible. Jessie's entire career is riding on this one explosive interview, but can she bear to repay Garrett's trust by selling his secrets? Or can a woman who gave up on happiness a long time ago learn to believe that all it takes to rescue a lost heart is the love of a good man? (And a great dog!)
One person who leaves a comment before 11:00 PM, April 26, 2017 will receive a copy of Sit...Stay...Beg from Rocki.
And, because I loved this book so much, a second person will receive a Kindle copy of Sit...Stay...Beg from me!
Daniel Kilcannon is known as "The Dogfather" for a reason. It's not just his renowned skills as a veterinarian, his tremendous love of dogs, or the fact that he has turned his homestead in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains into a world class dog training and rescue facility. Ask his six grown children who run Waterford Farm for him, and they'll tell you that their father's nickname is due to his uncanny ability to pull a few strings to get what he wants. And what he wantsis for his four sons and two daughters to find the kind of life-changing love he had with his dearly departed wife, Annie. This old dog has a few new tricks...and he'll use them all to see his pack all settled into their happily ever afters!
SIT...STAY...BEG - Book One
Garrett Kilcannon, a former dot com super-success who now devotes his life to rescuing dogs and finding them homes,prefers to keep his secrets buried as deep as a dog hides his bone. So when Garrett's father pressures him to be interviewed for an in-depth profile, he doesn't care that the journalist is a childhood friend or drop dead gorgeous.He has zero tolerance for the media...until he sees a different side of Jessie Curtis. She manages to breaks through the walls of a rescue dog who has refused to eat. Unwillingly charmed and undeniably attracted, Garrett agrees to the interview that could break down a few of his emotional walls, too.
Garrett might not want to share the story of his colorful former life, but Jessie has the skills to peel back the layers of this sexy, complicated,caring man. In the process, she not only discovers his secrets, she finds herself falling for a man who touches her heart in a way she never thought possible. Jessie's entire career is riding on this one explosive interview, but can she bear to repay Garrett's trust by selling his secrets? Or can a woman who gave up on happiness a long time ago learn to believe that all it takes to rescue a lost heart is the love of a good man? (And a great dog!)
Roxanne St. Claire is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than forty novels of suspense and romance, including the popular Barefoot Bay series, plus multiple stand alone books.
In addition to being an eight-time nominee and one-time winner of the RITA ™ Award, Roxanne’s novels have won the National Reader’s Choice Award for best romantic suspense four times, as well as the Daphne du Maurier Award, the HOLT Medallion, the Maggie, Booksellers Best, Book Buyers Best, the Award of Excellence, and many others. Her books have been translated into dozens of languages and one has been optioned for film.
Roxanne lives in Florida with her husband and two mostly adorable dogs, and still tries to run the lives of her college-aged daughter and 20-something son. She can be reached via her website, www.roxannestclaire.com or on her Facebook Reader page, www.facebook.com/roxannestclaire and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/roxannestclaire.
