Friday, August 22, 2008

7/7 Day Four: Alison Pace's CITY DOG

Today's selection is brought to you by THAT DOG, who is looking at me right now as if to say, "You're a writer--Why haven't you written a book about ME?"

If anyone can inspire me to make THAT DOG's literary dreams come true, it's Alison Pace.

Alison is the queen of canine-lit. She built her career by deftly weaving adorable pups into compelling story lines, creating her own sub-genre and raising the bar for the rest of us. To put it bluntly, her books captivate me and make me happy. (While reading her last book, I told Steve one night, "I can't eat dinner until this dog gets adopted...the adoption has to go through, it just has to!!!") Her stories are funny and memorable, which is why when I learned that her latest, CITY DOG, will be out early next month, I sent her an email and asked, "Can we give away a copy now? Can we, can we please???"

(Note: if you're the winner of CITY DOG, and your copy arrives looking like someone might have read it already, you're wrong. I'd never do that. Really....)

Leave a comment if you'd like to win...tell us about your favorite pet, the one you have now, or even the one you'll have someday.

[ADMINISTRATIVE NOTE: I'll be giving away books through the weekend, so tune in to check them out. All drawings are open until Tuesday, when I'll pick the winners for all seven. So if you're just discovering this, feel free to drop a comment in any/all of the posts.]

How happy are we that it's Friday??? I'm off to walk THAT DOG. She wants to discuss who will play her in the TV sitcom version of HE LOVES ME, HE LOVES ME NOT, and whether she should retain her own agent...

18 comments:

mslizalou said...

I love books about dogs. I had two favorite dogs growing up. My first dog was George and he was a dachshund who though he was a great dane. He would take on anything that looked as me wrong(loved to bite my cousin's ankles when she was mean to me). Our next dog was a mutt named Sneaky. He got the name because he not only got out of our fenced in backyard, he showed another puppy how to get out. Both were the best dogs ever, althought, my dad's current dog is pretty great.

Anonymous said...

hard to pick a favourite pet, but my two current dogs are pretty awesome - Maggie, my 9 1/2 year old golden retriever who loves to chase balls and eradicate the world of its suirrel infestation and Scout, my 6 month old Heinz 57 Special - she is what my friends have termed "the best parting gift EVER" (boyfriend decided he didn't really need either of us in his life anymore - Scout and I got the better end of that deal!)

I can't imagine life without them and of course would love to win some canine-lit!

thanks

Kathryn

Grits said...

My childhood pet is still kickin' at my parent's house, although he's a little bit slower than he used to be. He's a lhasa apso named Gabe. My first dog every was a springer spaniel named Bitsey. If I could have a dog that was a combo of both it would be the most perfect dog ever.
Hope I win the book! :-)

rae said...

I always thought I was a cat person...until I got Alfie. He's the sweetest little chihuahua there ever was. I got him when I was fighting cancer and he has been such a blessing to me every day since then.

mack said...

The book sounds great! My pup now is my first dog of my own, so she'd be my favorite! She's a puggle - pug/beagle mix- pretty freakin' adorable and very spoiled!

Aimee said...

No pets for me now as I am allergic to cats and my building doesn't allow dogs but I am a bit obsessed with my friend's miniature dachshund. She is a little bit of a thing with a big ole personality, ie a small dog who doesn’t know she’s small! Gotta love that!

The Spinning Room said...

Love Alison Pace - I've read all her books. I've been waiting for this one to come out - I hope I win! What a treat to get it a little early...

The Spinning Room said...

Oops - forgot to write about my dog. I was too excited. I rescued my dog from a shelter. She's a 50 lb collie/shepard mix -- I went looking for a 5 pound purse dog. I just couldn't resist her adorable ears and cute expression. She's a little quirky but wonderful.

Anonymous said...

my favorite dog? is my ellie aka elliekins.

she's cute, she's cuddly and despite the destruction she brings on my house, i can't help but love her to bits and pieces.

Unknown said...

I'm writing this secretly, on the sly, while my younger dog isn't watching, because I have to say that my favorite pet is my older dog, Clyde. Clyde is a basset hound that we got from a rescue group two years ago, but he is twelve years old. We don't know why he was given up, just that his family moved and didn't want to keep him. Well, I can't imagine why not! He follows me from room to room, seems to know when I need cheering up, and loves nothing more than to cuddle up, get a belly rub, and bite the edge of a blanket, tail wagging the whole time. When I get up in the morning, he will worm his way between my legs and then sit down and roll over, looking for attention... and yet another belly rub. And there is just pure love is those eyes.

I've read all of Alison Pace's other books and she does such wonderful portraits of both people and dogs. She seems to capture the fact that dogs have truly unique personalities. I'd love to win this (though I admit, I will buy it anyway if I don[t - but a girl can dream).

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
hckygrl said...

My parents black, chubby, Spaniel (I'm not sure what kind) is the only pet in the family, at the time. Brandi is a snack hound. When I visit her in Iowa I take "puppy pizza" from a pet bakery in Portsmouth, NH. She always sniffs my suitcases with intensity and knows which bag the yummy stash is tucked! Any box I ship to my parents, Brandi sniffs without prompting. I bought her a lobster collar, which she wears proudly!

Count me in!

Unknown said...

I grew up with 2 german shepherds, and recently lost our lab-chow mix after 16 years. We're getting another dog - a puppy - in a week or so. His name is Titus, and he's an English Bulldog.

A little "dog" reading would be perfect!

Thanks for all the books!!

Alyssa Goodnight said...

What a cute cover dog! I loved Pug Hill. My current favorite dog is our new puppy, a little mix of everything, which we named Indy Anna.

Chesh said...

My favortie pet is my ball python, Angel. He has been around for almost eleven years and is from my 'single' life, before motherhood and wifehood. He is a sweet snake, that never bites and is good with my children. He is also very low maintence.

Anonymous said...

My dog is part basset hound part something huge, he has questionable breeding like THAT dog. So, his normal bark is like a hound dog which should be intimidating enough, but when he's trying to be scary he moos like a cow.

Vanessa said...

Oh oh oh! Pick me (waving hand wildly in air) I love books about dogs and love dogs. I have two mini schnauzers and they are fantastic even if they create their weight in messes on a seemingly daily basis. They do everything from puking up a mud slurry necessitating a call to the plumber to just sweet slobbery kisses. I call my little girl, Morgan, the line backer of small dogs since she only weighs 15 pounds but has the strength of an ox. Spencer is sweet and sensitive although if he could refrain from vomiting every time it thundered I might love him more if that were even possible. In short, I love them to pieces.

LEstes65 said...

Bubba was my miniature wire-haired dachshund all through jr high & high school. He was my best friend during a horrible time of dealing with my father's death, dealing with a sudden step family, dealing with a hellish family ride, all while dealing with being a teenager. He had a dumb name (we didn't give it to him) but he was adorable and sent by God to get me through hell.

As an adult, I had 5 cats. But Elvis was the BOMB. He was like Bubby but in cat form. He got me through some rocky roomates, rocky breakups, helped me survive being a new mom twice and moved with me to Texas (the only cat of the 5 to make it there).

I miss them both keenly.