So little time...: Collette Cameron ~ Guest Post

Monday, October 21, 2013

Collette Cameron ~ Guest Post

Hey Everyone! Today, I'm super excited to be part of ABG Reads Book Tour, and to have Collette Cameron guest posting! She is the author of two books, Highlander's Hope and, her newest book, TheViscount's Vow. I have been lucky enough to read both of them. I will have links to my reviews at the bottom of the page.

Welcome, Collette!

My Canine Writing Assistant

My dachshund Kiki died last October after I accidentally fed her a tainted chicken jerky treat. I had no idea hundreds of dogs had died and thousands more had become sick from eating the toxic jerky from China. I wasn’t going to replace her. After all, I still had four dachshunds and a lab, but after a month of watching me cry, my husband and daughter begged me to get a puppy.

How could I replace Kiki though? She was so devoted, calm, and loving. To make them happy, I half-heartedly began searching for a doxie pup.

My first choice was to do a rescue, but because I have other doxies, and I work very part-time teaching, I was turned down. Quite by accident, I came across an advertisement for mini doxies. They were located in my hubby’s hometown. So after contacting the seller, my daughter and I made the trip. I still wasn’t too keen on the idea of getting another dog.

A new puppy? Lots of work; just like having a baby in the house. And the housetraining? Did I really want to go through that again? Doxie’s are notoriously difficult to housetrain. They don’t like to get their feet wet.

The seller had five puppies available. Two black, two chocolate, and one red. There was a female, the little red one, whose picture had touched me. She’d look terrified and had an odd scar on her forehead. When I picked her up (at a whopping two pounds), she crawled onto my shoulder and snuggled against my neck. I looked at my daughter. She had that look on her face.

The puppy had picked me as dachshunds do.

I named the pup Ayva after the A-shaped scare on her forehead. The vet said it was most likely caused by a strep infection when she was born. Ayva was sweet, shy, and timid...for about a day. Then the real puppy emerged. A fearless imp that had no idea she was at the bottom of the doggy ladder. She chewed up nearly 60 things in the first three weeks: shoes, rugs, books, dog toys, purses—anything and everything she got her teeth on.

My hubby affectionately called her an alligator on day. I said, “No, she’s the Ayvagator.” The name stuck. We call her Baby Gator as often as we do Ayva.

Hence my journey writing my second novel, The Viscount’s Vow commenced with Ayva on my lap. She nibbled the keyboard, licked and chewed on me, but also spent hours asleep on my lap. We bonded so closely those first months that to this day, she has to be within sight of me. Though she’s a mini doxie, she’s outgrown my lap and prefers sleeping on the back of a overstuffed chair in my writing room. Unless she’s having a needy day. Then she’s on my lap wrapped her blanky.

She reminds me when I need to take a break from writing by sticking her head between my knees and staring at me with her big, brown eyes. I named a maid in The Viscount’s Vow after her. It’s just my way of having this rambunctious little darling live on forever. By-the-way, the book I just finished has a doxie named Kiki in it.

Thank you, Collette, for sharing how you wrote The Viscount's Vow with a cute puppy on your lap! So sorry to hear about Kiki! I'm glad she is going to live on in your next book!

Check out Collette Cameron's newest book:

The Viscount’s Vow
by Collette Cameron

Publication Date: Sept. 3rd, 2013
Publisher: Soul Mate Publishing
Paperback: 430 pages
Genre: Historical Romance
Buy: Amazon

Book blurb:

Amidst murder and betrayal, destiny and hearts collide when scandal forces a nobleman and a gypsy to marry in this Regency Romance.

Half Romani, half English noblewoman, Evangeline Caruthers is the last woman in England Ian Hamilton, the Viscount Warrick, could ever love—an immoral wanton responsible for his brother’s and father’s deaths. She thinks he’s a foul-tempered blackguard, who after setting out to cause her downfall, finds himself forced to marry her—snared in the trap of his own making.

When Vangie learns the marriage ceremony itself may have been a ruse, she flees to her gypsy relatives, declaring herself divorced from Ian under Romani law. He pursues her to the gypsy encampment, and when the handsome gypsy king offers to take Ian’s place in Vangie’s bed, jealousy stirs hot and dangerous.

At last, under a balmy starlit sky, Ian and Vangie breech the chasm separating them. Peril lurks though. Ian’s the last in his line, and his stepmother intends to dispose of the newlyweds so her daughter can inherit his estate. Only by trusting each other can they overcome scandal and murderous betrayal.

Where to find Collette:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Google Plus

Author Bio:

A life-long Oregonian, Collette Cameron was born and raised in a small town along the northern Oregon coast. Today she makes her home in a rural community, 30 minutes west of Portland.

Her Victorian farmhouse sits on a one-acre certified wildlife habit, interspersed with a plethora of gardens: English, rose, butterfly, rock, water, and of course, vegetable.

A voracious reader of romance since her teens, she even named her daughter after a heroine in her favorite romance novel. An enthusiast of times gone by, and anything related to romance, she writes Historical Romance, with a dash of inspiration, a pinch of humor, and a liberal portion of suspense.

Having dabbled in interior decorating in her youth, Collette returned to school, graduating summa cum laude from Oregon State University, and went on to obtain her Master's Degree in Teaching. She is member of Romance Writers of America, Rose City Romance Writers, The Beau Monde, and Love Faith and Hope, Inc., and a whole slew of other author/writer groups.

Some of Collette's favorite things include unique blends of coffees and teas, trivia, Cadbury Milk Chocolate, inspirational quotes, and scented candles. Her Christian faith, husband, three adult children, and five miniature dachshunds round out her life quite nicely!

When she's not teaching or writing, she is a content and copy/line editor for an Ebook publisher, enjoys amateur photography, bird watching, gardening, interior decorating, rock-hunting, boating or fishing on the Columbia River, and reading of course.

For more stops on this tour: