Paws With A Cause

Welcome to a very special blog event – Paws With A Cause. Yes, there will be some cool giveaways, and fundraising for an awesome cause. But, even more aww-worthy: Some of your favorite authors featuring their pets.

I’ve got a sneak preview, and these stories behind the fur-matches are adorable. Get your tissues ready.  

Here’s the Line-up:

Fri. March 1: Louisa Bacio & Sabrina Sol
 
Saturday, March 2: Micah Persell
 
Sunday, March 3: Kim Carmichael 

Monday, March 4: Nikki Prince
 
Tues. March 5: Silvia Violet
 
Wed. March 6: Jennifer Probst & Beth Yarnall
 
Thurs. March 7: Kayla Jameth
 
Fri. March 8: Kharisma Rain

At the end, you’ll find information on entering to win the grand prizes, and each day some authors may be offering individual giveaways. Today, I’m offering a $10 donation to Paws With A Cause under the winner’s name – and they can then enter into the Grand Prize contest, and a .pdf copy of a book from my backlist. Leave a comment, and a valid email address. The winner will be chosen randomly on March 7 at noon PST to ensure the donation can be made, and the winner can enter the contest.

Love at First Sight

In romance, we talk so much about instantaneous love. Have you ever walked through a kennel, store or some other sort of location filled with dogs, and all waiting for a home? It’s impossible not to fall in love.

Before my husband and I were married, and before we had children, we had dogs. Here’s a picture of my gorgeous boy dog. He’s now 14 ½, and he’s moving much more slowly. A few years ago, he gave us quite the fright, with a cancer scare. Every moment extra with him, is a bonus. When he’s with the family, my daughters like to cater to him; hence, the pillow and princess sheet.

One of Louisa's "Old Dogs" -- a blue Merle sheltie

Recently, my oldest daughter, who is 10, and I went to the local shelter. She wants to volunteer to work with the animals. Fortunately, for me, it’s not allowed until age 12, so I have a few more years before regularly losing my heart.

Louisa Bacio

http://www.facebook.com/louisabacio

http://www.twitter.com/louisabacio

Next up – sister Decadent Publishing & 1Night Stand author, Sabrina Sol!

Sabrina Sol: I have a case of Beagle love.

It’s a crazy, silly, wonderful kind of love filled with sloppy, wet kisses and warm, furry hugs times TWO! Daisy and Lily are my Beagle babies and are responsible for so much of the laughter and love in our home.

It started about two years when our family decided we were ready for a four-legged addition. I only had two requirements – I wanted a dog that wouldn’t grow to be bigger than me and it had to be a dog that was good with kids. A Beagle seemed like a good choice and so we adopted Daisy. She was so sweet, loving and gentle. We decided a few months later to get her a sister and brought home Lily.

My Beagle babies: Lily (left) and Daisy

I highly recommend Beagles to those who are looking for a family dog. However, I must let you know that not all Beagles are created equal. While Daisy and Lily are full of love and fun – and I wouldn’t trade them for anything – they definitely have their own quirks and distinct personalities.

So here are 5 facts about Beagles that I’ve learned so far:

1. Not all Beagles look like Snoopy: They come in varying shades and patterns. Both Daisy and Lily have white coats with a mix of brown and black – one of the main reasons they look like they came from the same litter. Lily actually has more white on her (hence her name) but sometimes she can look all brown since one of her favorite things to do is to roll around in the dirt. Forget Snoopy, we probably should’ve called her Pig Pen!
2. Beagles need their exercise or else they turn into big, fat blobs of fur: Daisy loves to walk anytime, anywhere. Lily will barely trot for a block before she collapses on the sidewalk, rolls onto her back and whimpers until we tell her it’s time to go home.
3. Beagles have more of a howl than a bark: Daisy will howl at helicopters, people walking past our house or the wind; Lily howls at the refrigerator to let us know that she’s thirsty or wants some ice cubes.
4. Beagles have a killer sense of smell: Daisy gets a little crazed when she latches onto a scent during her walks and will pull me in all sorts of directions in search of whatever it is she’s smelling; Lily can sniff out a piece of popcorn that’s fallen between the couch cushions or the piece of chocolate you just popped into your mouth (face licks will follow).
5. Beagles love kids: Daisy can keep my 5-year-old entertained for hours; Lily can lie on the floor for hours watching Daisy and my 5-year-old play.

Beagle love may not be for everyone. But it’s definitely for me.

Sabrina Sol loves love. She writes spicy romance stories featuring strong Latina heroines in search of love, success and happiness. She lives in Southern California with her husband, three kids and two Beagles. And she’s part of a large, extended Mexican family which may – or may not – be the source of inspiration for some of her characters. You can visit with Sabrina on her website at www.sabrinasol.com or on her blog at www.theromancechica.com. You can also follow her on Twittter @theromancechica or like her author page on Facebook! Her debut novella REUNITED is now available from Decadent Publishing.

REUNITED

What would you do if you had the chance to sleep with your unrequited high school crush?

If you’re former geek Magdelena Cruz, you’d do him in a heartbeat. But you’d lie about your true identity first and hope your new sexy persona is enough to create a night neither of you will forget.

Workaholic assistant DA Will Hudson doesn’t have time for a love life. Expecting to scratch an itch with a willing stranger, he signs up for Madame Evangeline’s 1Night Stand experience. He has no idea that his date is no stranger.

A reunion between two classmates will be hotter than the scorching Las Vegas sun. But will the heat be enough to spark something deeper, or will they both end up getting burned by Magdelena’s charade?

Available via Decadent Publishing, Amazon and B&N.

Grand Prizes & How to Enter

• We will have 4 winners for the main giveaway.
• We have 2 $65 gift certificates to any online bookstore.
• Also we have 2 huge boxes of books and swag from Romance Book Junkies and Bitten by Paranormal Romance for U.S. residents only.

We have a total of 59 blogs that have gotten together to help raise money for a great cause. There are going to be some awesome prizes up for grabs for people that donate money to the cause. Here is a little about the company that we are raising the money for:

Paws With A Cause® enhances the independence and quality of life for people with disabilities nationally through custom-trained Assistance Dogs. PAWS® increases awareness of the rights and roles of Assistance Dog teams through education and advocacy.  Founded in 1979, Paws With A Cause is dedicated to helping its clients who are challenged by many disabilities, such as Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, Seizure Disorders, and Hearing Disorders to name just some.  Each of our dogs are trained to meet the specific needs of our clients. Tasks may include opening and closing doors, picking up objects, pulling a wheelchair, turning lights on and off, and alerting a person to particular sounds like a telephone, doorbell, smoke detector and many others. Our dogs change lives by enhancing the independence of our clients. By just opening a door, a dog opens up the world for a person with a disability and your donations will go to making that happen.  PAWS thanks you so much for your donation and allowing us to open more doors.

Paws With A Cause

4646 South Division

Wayland, MI 49348

How to donate:

1. Go to https://www.everribbon.com/PawswithaCause

2. Click on "Make a Donation"

3. Enter an amount you wish to donate. Everibbon will add a small fee to your donation for processing. My fee for donating $5.00 was .49 cents. So keep this in mind when deciding your donation amount. You will receive 1 entry into the giveaway for every $1 you donate. 

4. In the box that says "on the behalf of" please put your name. This is the name that will be listed on the Everibbon website so put a name you do not mind being visible to everyone. Do not check the box to make an anonymous donation because I will not be able to track your donation to enter you into the giveaways.

5. Next it will ask you for your credit or debit card information.

6. Then it will ask for your email address to send you a receipt. This is so that you can submit it for tax purposes.

7. Ta Da! Your all done making your donation. Now you need to contact Danielle to enter the giveaway.

8. Please email Danielle at RomanceBookJunkiesDanielle@Yahoo.com with the name you used to donate your money. For example the name I used to donate on behalf of was Romance Book Junkies. Do not send me your name off your credit or debit card because I will not be able to see this. Along with the name you used please tell me how much you donated and if you live in the U.S. or are International.

9. You’re all done. Thank you for donating!

Warning: Do not try to email Danielle the name and donation amount of another person that is not yourself. If Danielle receives more than one email with the same person’s name and donation amount she will have to ask for your copy of the receipt from everibbon to verify that you are the correct winner. Thank you.

Come back tomorrow, for a visit Micah Persell
 and her pets!