Saturday, December 1, 2012

Guest Post & Giveaway: I Kissed A Dog by Carol Van Atta (Blog Tour & Giveaway)


Welcome to the blog tour for I Kissed A Dog (Book #1 of the Werewolves of the West Series) by Carol Van Atta. Today we have a intriguing guest post about the rivalry between werewolves and vampires. There is also a tour wide giveaway on the rafflecopter below and a separate giveaway that you can enter by leaving a comment on this post. Info at the end of the guest post.
Summary
Chloe Carpenter isn't like other women. She can communicate with animals. A gift she unwrapped following one of her frequent dances with death.
In her otherwise wacky life, she's finally found a semblance of sanity working at the Plum Beach Wildlife Park, where her unique talents can make life or death differences for the animals in her care. That semblance is shattered when a new veterinarian roars into the park in his spiffed up sports car and sets his golden gaze on her. If she had her way, he'd roar right back out.

Problem: He's her new coworker and he's saved her life twice - in the past twenty-four hours.
Zane Marshall, Enforcer for the Pacific Pack of purebred werewolves, has a job to do - figure out who or what is mutilating the young men of Plum Beach.
With orders to find the woman who talks to animals, he accepts a position working alongside the fiery Chloe Carpenter, a female who ignites his interest far more than he ever expected. Remarkably, she's the one elusive female with potential to bring meaning and passion to his empty existence.
Problem: She despises him.
Together, they're forced to unravel a mystery of supernatural proportions, a murderous mystery with eternal implications for everyone. In the process, they discover opposites really do attract.
Major Problem: Zane is pledged to another woman, and she'll do anything to keep him from Chloe. ~ Add on Goodreads
 
Vampires vs. Werewolves
 
by Carol Van Atta
 
From the Underworld movies to Twilight to Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire series, we are bombarded with the rivalry between werewolves and vampires. I Kissed a Dog has its own werewolf/vampire intrigue. Unlike many of the typical love triangles or stories that feature vamps and weres battling for dominance, I Kissed a Dog offers a twist: werewolves at war with a mutant werewolf race, yet allies with chosen vampires. For Zane Marshall, and the Pacific Pack of werewolves, it’s clearly a case-by-case decision when it comes to hanging with vampires. In the scene below, Chloe Carpenter, the book’s heroine meets her love interest, Zane’s, vampire associate, for the first time. Their encounter leaves her more than a little unsettled.

Ahead of me, the front door yawned open, revealing the three wolves facing Detective Davis. I couldn’t hear what she was saying, but she was gesturing dramatically. The wolves continued that low throat rumble I’d come to recognize as a major warning signal. I was surprised the detective wasn’t minus her head or at least a limb by now.

Crouching low, I peered out the door.

You, my dear, should have stayed in the closet,” said a pleasant but unfamiliar voice.

Bewildered more than scared, I turned to face the source of the deep British accent, which under normal circumstances, I would have found enticing.

“You’re the vampire,” I whisper-hissed at the sight of his pallid face so close to mine. His eyes were a shocking blue, like pools of liquid turquoise. I recognized him as the teleporter.

“So glad you noticed.” His mouth bowed into a wide grin revealing two gleaming fangs.

“Your teeth are so white.” I couldn’t help myself. I’d never seen such polished teeth. Maybe vampires had their own special teeth-whitening products.

“You’re the first human in five centuries to comment on the whiteness of my teeth. They’re typically more focused on the sharpness.” He paused, inhaling. “I must say, Chloe, you smell divine.”

Unsure whether to thank him or scream; I decided to acknowledge his fangs with flattery. “Your fangs are so sharp, and you know my name. Are you friend or foe?” I figured I’d know the answer to the second question soon enough, but his polite demeanor stirred just enough courage for me to ask.

“My name is Alcuin. I was named after the British scholar known as the ‘Alcuin of York.’ As for your second query, in this case, I am friend; though that could change rather quickly depending on the circumstances.”

I exhaled; relieved at least for the moment that the vampire was a friend. He remained crouched just behind me, stirring something akin to desire, yet nothing like what I felt with Zane.

“I find you quite desirable as well, Ms. Chloe. Should you tire of the wolf, I’m available,” he whispered closer to my neck now.

Not to give away any spoilers, let me simply say there is another vampire (besides Alcuin) who plays a significant role in Chloe’s life. Alcuin serves as an accomplice of sorts and the primary mode of transportation for our troubled heroine.

So the question remains: Who rocks more? Vampires or werewolves? You decide.

Leave your answer in the comment section below and you will be entered in a drawing for one paperback or e-copy (your choice) of I Kissed a Dog, book one in the Werewolves of the West series. And while you’re at it, share why you picked one sexy supernatural creature over the other. 

Author Bio
Like most authors, Carol Van Atta is no stranger to the written word. She penned a short novel at age 12 (somewhat frightening illustrations included, and lots of bunnies were involved), and had a creative writing piece published in her high school newspaper (about David Bowie's Diamond Dogs LP). Yes, she's an ex-80's chick.
Devouring books from numerous genres, Carol developed a deep thirst/hunger for more reading material, and could almost always be found with her nose in a book.
She has contributed to several popular inspirational anthologies and devotional books, and lives in the rainy wetland of Oregon with a terrifying teen (another in college) and a small zoo of animals. She is taking an undetermined hiatus away from inspirational writing to delve into her darker side. (Though you can check out her latest spiritual suspense novel, Soul Defenders). It is rumored that this genre-jumping occurred after Carol discovered too suspicious red marks on her neck, and experienced an unquenchable urge to howl at the moon.

Book Info & Link
I Kissed a Dog
The Werewolves of the West Series Book One
Carol Van Atta
Genre: Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Cambridge Press US under the umbrella of Charles River Press (CRP)
ISBN:  1936185725 
ISBN13: 9781936185726
ASIN: B009SV179U
Number of pages: 446
Cover Artist: Ann Falcone
 
 
Enter the giveaway below for a chance to win one of 3 ecopies of I Kissed a Dog by Carol Van Atta or 1 print copy of I Kissed a Dog US Shipping Only. If you are having trouble viewing the rafflecopter, click this link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/ba112f156/

a Rafflecopter giveaway



30 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for hosting a stop on my first blog tour! Maybe I should answer the question that I asked ... vampires or werewolves? Hum. Tough one. In my opinion you just gotta have both. But right now, if I had to pick one -- werewolves. Why? The idea of having a gigantic, furry wolf to pet, and a gigantic, gorgeous man to hold sounds like a two for one deal to me!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are very welcome. Thanks for letting me participate.

      I have to agree, I am totally into werewolves right now.

      Delete
  2. I have to say that that is such a funny book title - i kissed a dog. I can kind-of hear katy perry singing it now though!
    difficult question vampires or werewolves. i really love the vampires in the black dagger brotherhood series, but there's infinitly something warmer and cuddlier about werewolves, so... werewolves - just cause they'd keep you warmer in bed at night ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is different, isn't it? With the heroine's aversion to dogs, it just made sense. And there are so many "wolf" titles that I thought this might stand out from the rest. It has indeed earned a few chuckles.

      But Zane is no dog, he is all werewolf. Thanks for commenting! It appears, for the moment, werewolves are winning.

      Delete
  3. The book sounds awesome and I love learning about all the books I had no idea existed! However, there does seem to be a problem with the rafflecopter giveaway; it says that there are 0 of 0 entries to earn. Please let me know when it is fixed, I don't want to miss the chance :)

    Thanks to both you and the author :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Casie, for responding. I'll let the blog organizer know about the contest. I was kind of wondering why no one wanted free books. I know I do!

      Delete
    2. I'm pretty sure we all love free :) And your book sounds awesome :)

      Delete
    3. Hey Casie. Rafflecopter is having trouble with their stuff working on Internet Explorer and Blogger. When I look up this post on Chrome, the rafflecopter works just fine. Do you have another Internet Browser you can try?

      Delete
  4. This book sounds like a lot of fun. I can't wait to read it. I love werewolves. :) The rafflecopter still isn't working either by the way. Congrats on your book! I wish you many successes.
    Rhonda D
    slinkydennis@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I put a link up to go directly to the rafflecopter. Try that.

      Delete
    2. I put up a link to go straight to the rafflecopter. That works for sure.

      Delete
  5. This sounds neat! She's like a female Dr. Doolittle! I've always thought it would be awesome to be able to really understand what's going on in my little doggie's head. Unfortunately, it's probably not a whole lot.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am so excited that your holding a giveaway for this book. I can't wait to read it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for sharing this Jen, it sounds interesting and I like that the protagonist can speak to animals.

    ReplyDelete
  8. One of the things I love around reading stories with weres, vamps, etc. is that each author can give a unique twist to the myths and it looks like this is going to be something different and fun to read :).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, this book seems very different for a common genre.

      Delete
  9. I love that title. It definitely catches the eye. As for which supernatural creature I prefer - I'm definitely a shifter kind of girl so I would take the werewolf. I think it's because I'm always cold and while vamps are usually portrayed as being cool to the touch, werewolves run hotter than normal so they can keep me warm at night. Best wishes on the book release.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yes, werewolves would be great to snuggle with at night.

      Delete
  10. Thanks everyone for all the great replies. It looks like werewolves are winning the battle! Hope you all enjoy reading the adventures of Zane, Chloe, and the rest of the Pacific Pack. As for talking to animals, I sure talk to my American Eskimo, Stryder. I keep asking him to shift, but he just looks at me with those big dark eyes and pants. Hum ...

    ReplyDelete
  11. You can never have too many books about sexy werewolves :D

    ReplyDelete
  12. The title alone grabbed my attention and I love shifters ;)

    ReplyDelete
  13. If it is true that a vampire's body is cold and a werewolf's is hot, then I definitely need a werewolf to keep me warm becauase I am always cold!
    Bonnie Hilligoss/bonhill@speakeasy.net

    ReplyDelete
  14. Loved the trailer. Looking forward to reading this one. Book cover is great. dsr002(at)gmail(dot)com Damaris

    ReplyDelete

I appreciate all comments and read every one of them. I also make sure to visit your site as well if you have one. Thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings.