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Thursday, May 7, 2020

My Irish Dog by Douglas Solvie - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!


Hi, lovelies!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Douglas Solvie and his new book, “My Irish Dog”!  For other stops on his Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Doug and to increase your chances of winning!

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!


My Irish Dog
by Douglas Solvie

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GENRE: Suspense (Psychological)

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BLURB:

Spencer held on to the faintest of hope, but still he knew the trip to Ireland had almost no prospect of remedying his internal dilemma. Then again, he never imagined that a chance meeting with a lost and dying dog named Shandy would change his life forever.

Step into the small Irish village of Galbally, where the unwitting Spencer stumbles headfirst into a parallel world that will test his will, sanity, and even physical well-being.

Time and promise are running out. Will unnatural forces and events scare Spencer away before he can connect again with the mysterious dog? Will he find his way forward before Shandy meets her inevitable fate? Or will suspicious locals and a nefarious Dublin innkeeper force Spencer from the village before he completes his life-altering mission?

Follow Spencer as he races to save a little Irish dog named Shandy. If he only realized that it is Shandy who is trying to save him...

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EXCERPT ONE:

“Good morning,” Spencer greeted her. “Do you remember me?”

The woman stood in the doorway and did not respond immediately. “No, I can’t say I do,” she finally said with a blank expression.

Spencer felt a wave of dizziness overtake him.

“I was here a couple of days back and dropped off that little dog, which you kindly took from me,” he said desperately. “Anyway, I have been worried about her and wanted to make certain that everything had turned out all right.”

“I’m sorry,” the woman said warily, “I really don’t know what you’re talking about or who you are. You must have made some kind of mistake. We don’t have a dog and never have. And I’ve certainly never seen you before.”

Spencer was incredulous, his smile falling slowly. He also felt a little defiant.

“Excuse me, but I was here just two days ago. I told you I had found a stray dog that I didn’t know what to do with, and you agreed to take her from me. You said your husband would deal with the matter once he got home that night.”

“Listen, you have obviously made a mistake,” the woman said. Spencer winced inside; the woman was now the defiant one. “I have a husband, but I have no idea what you are talking about. Are you sure it wasn’t some other house?”

For a moment Spencer thought he might have gone crazy. He peered through the door, and though he could hear the sound of children inside, he could not see them.

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GUEST POST:

BRING ON THE BOOS
(VILLAIN CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT)

When I had finished the initial draft of my manuscript, I sent it to a friend (a beta reader in a way). I knew I needed some help, and I also knew this particular person was someone who would actually read the darn thing.

He got back to me several weeks later and kindly pointed out some inconsistencies and some misconceptions, things that I honestly did not recognize. Perhaps the most important element he discovered was that all of my characters were too nice. It wasn’t so much that they were all nice, but rather that the book completely lacked a villain. That fact hadn’t occurred to me, and I knew he was right – a psychological suspense novel certainly requires a bad character or two to make it interesting. Sure, I had antagonists of a sort, notably an evil spirit and the mental anguish of the protagonist, but I knew now that I needed more.

I sat on the manuscript for a few days, wondering how I could bring a true antagonist into the fold. Introducing a new character out of nowhere seemed a bit intimidating. So how could one of my present characters become a villain? The answer soon came. In the first chapter, my protagonist Spencer becomes acquainted with the owner of a B&B in Dublin named Mike. That character Mike was initially a nice guy as well, but I thought perhaps I could turn him. I maintained Mike’s amiable disposition, but at the very end of that beginning chapter I added a slight twist to make the reader believe that the innkeeper had a sinister side.

Still, a problem remained: Mike is in Dublin and Spencer would spend the rest of the book in another part of Ireland. How could I possibly keep them connected? Problem solved: I’d simply give Mike an accomplice of sorts, an old friend and sometimes business partner who did Mike’s bidding.

So, enter Owen. He operates near where Spencer is spending his time, and Mike enlists Owen to carry out his nefarious plan. Mike is a bad man in his own right, but I knew I needed to take Owen to a higher level, someone who has no qualms about doing whatever is necessary to get what he wants. He needed to be as loathsome as possible, someone the reader would love to hate as the story progresses.

Owen doesn’t get a ton of page time in the story, but enough to make him an integral character. Without him, the story could never reach its climax. His methods and intent know no bounds, and his first and last direct meeting with Spencer offers a heart-pounding scene. (Thank goodness for a little Irish dog that saves the day.)

Just when the reader’s disdain for Owen can’t be any worse, I thought it appropriate to send him off in the most unceremonious of ways. Writing the demise of a character is never easy, but I doubt there are few readers who would disagree that Owen receives his just deserts. Mike gets his as well, but in a different and less profound way. And Spencer, a rather sympathetic protagonist, eventually benefits from his ill-fated association with Mike and Owen.

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AUTHOR BIO:


My Irish Dog is the debut novel by Douglas Solvie and was motivated by a trip taken to Ireland and the chance discovery of a lost dog there. After spending most of his adult life living and working in Japan, Douglas is currently living in his home state of Montana. He hopes to make a new career out of writing and to travel the world, looking for inspiration for that next book, perhaps another set in beautiful Ireland. My Irish Dog is, after all, a story with a lot of unanswered questions.

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CONNECT WITH DOUGLAS:

Website:

Blog:

Email:
dsolvie18@gmail.com

Twitter:

LinkedIn:

Goodreads Author Page:

Goodreads Book Page:

Amazon Author Page:

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AMAZON BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon Kindle eBook:

Amazon Paperback:

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GIVEAWAY INFO:


Douglas will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.



**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.

80 comments:

  1. Douglas ~ Good morning! Welcome to FAB! It is so great to have you here! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! :)

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  2. I appreciate getting to read about your book. With sisters and daughters who love to read, this helps so thank you.

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  3. Who are some of your favorite authors still currently writing?

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  4. Ally, thank you for hosting me and introducing my new book to your readers.

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  5. Thank you for your comment, James. I hope you will decide to purchase. I'd love to know what they think when they are finished.

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  6. Bernie, I don't have favorite authors necessarily. I just read what suits my fancy. One author I did read recently was Neil Gaiman, who I thought was crazy good. I read one of his books because it fell along the same lines as mine. Though he is much, much better of course.

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  7. Thanks for sharing, I love the cover!

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    1. Thanks, Victoria. When my cover designer gave me the first proof, I fell in love with it. It took some back and forth to get it exactly where I wanted it, but I'm very satisfied with the final product.

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  8. Thank you, Rita. I hope you have a chance to read.

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  9. Sounds like my kind of read!

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  10. This sounds like a wonderful read.

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  11. I think it is, but only you can decide. Maybe worth checking out...

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  12. I'm a huge dog lover, and this book sounds full of hope and drama.. Can't wait..

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    1. That's great, Mya. I hope you enjoy My Irish Dog

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  13. What was your hardest scene to write?

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    1. Actually the hardest scene was one that required some technical expertise. Near the middle of the book there is a scene where the protagonist sets up trail cameras in the hope of finding the elusive dog through nighttime images. I am pretty ignorant of cameras, especially this type, so I had to do a lot of research on their function, how they would be positioned, etc. My imagination could only play a small part, so the scene became very time-consuming and did not allow for free-flow writing.

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  14. How did the story change from your first draft to your final draft?

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  15. Oh, it changed drastically, but not the overall premise. I mention in my post how a friend's advice got me headed down the right road. When that was done, I hired an editor, and boy was that eye-opening. I had the basic story in place, but the editor pointed out how I was lacking in some character developments (especially the protagonist) and how I didn't have enough intrigue or enough deep insight to make for a true suspense story. And to much exposition. So I cut entire scenes, added new scenes, and ended up both cutting and adding a lot of detail. It was transformative for me. An editor really matters!

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  16. Right as soon as I see any books with dogs on the cover, it makes my heart so happy!!

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  17. If you could choose a book character to be for a day, who would it be and why?

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  18. I was just reading your interview, and I saw that you wanted to travel around the world. What is the place you're longing to go that you've never been? Any dream destination(s)?

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    1. I've already done a fair bit of traveling, been to a lot of places. Two I haven't, Portugal and Scotland, were on my agenda this present spring, but of course that never transpired. But I'll get to them within the next year. Others include northern Europe, Vietnam, maybe the Maldives. And I would love to return to New Zealand. No dream destination, just a lot of places yet to go to.

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  19. Sounds like an interesting read. I hope your book is a success.

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  20. I am crazy about scenery on book covers, and this cover is delightful, serene. It makes me feel like I'm there.

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  21. Your book sounds very intriguing. Love the cover!

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  22. How did you come up with the title of the book?

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  23. You know, I'm not exactly sure. I knew the basic premise of the book, from my actual experience with the the dog in Ireland, so the title just came to me before I even began writing seriously. I've had a few people tell me that they weren't that crazy about it, but I thought the title was apt, and I was too married to it to ever give it up for something else.

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  24. Who is the author you most admire in your genre?

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  25. I can remember growing up with dogs, living on a farm. What breed was your first dog? I had a purebred German Shepherd named Ginger. 💙

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  26. I love any book about dogs, and I am seriously excited about reading this!!

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  27. Thank you for giving us hope and inspiration through your literary works..

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  28. Love the cover thanks for sharing!

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  29. I am so excited over your doggy book, it's not even funny..

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  30. This book sounds like a great read for me!!

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  31. Thank you for writing such an inspiring story. I'm looking so forward to this.

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  32. The doggy on the cover is just too cute!!

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  33. I love scenic views on covers, and this is seriously beautiful!!

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  34. What draws you to write in this genre?

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  35. What is your favorite childhood book?

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  36. Did you always have a passion for books and writing?

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  37. What a gorgeous cover!! I love dogs!!

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  38. This sounds SO awesome.. I love doggies!!

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  39. I love inspirational books!! Sounds amazing!!

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  40. Shandy just sounds too cute!! How did you come up with the name?

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  41. I guess I'm probably driving you crazy with all my questions.. What made you choose that breed of dog for the book? I think it's perfect. Did you grow up with a dog like that??

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  42. It's me again.. Just loving the sound of the book..

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  43. This looks so adorable and needed with everything going on..

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  44. I lost my god daughter on 4/30..She would've loved this book.

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  45. I miss not having a dog. They're not allowed here. That's why your book appeals to me. I can see dogs again.

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  46. I can't wait to read this.. I need a break from reality.

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  47. Inspiration books about dogs have been played out quite a bit, what makes this book stand out from the rest?

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  48. The cover still just draws me in..

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  49. I'm sooo looking forward to getting to know Spencer and Shandy!

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  50. Another friend of mine died today.. Getting solace from an inspirational doggy book sounds amazing.

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  51. I am super stoked about this book.. Sounds wonderful!!

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  52. The thing I'm super looking forward to with reading this..is hope. I really need some.

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  53. Hope and inspiration.. Sounds like heaven!!

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  54. I'm seriously looking forward to some reading therapy.. Sounds SO good!!

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  55. I am loving the cover.. It looks serene!

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  56. What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?

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  57. Has your reading/writing changed since covid? More or less?

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  58. I actually started the Call of the Wild today, thinking about this book..

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  59. I really can't wait to read this..sounds super great!

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  60. What do you feel would be the hardest genre to write?

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  61. This sounds like such a perfect read for me!!

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  62. Reading about Ireland is going to be fun!!

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  63. Douglas..that part about her saying she has no idea what dog after her husband.. That part makes me cry..every time.

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  64. I pray your tour goes extremely well.. This sounds wonderful to me.

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  65. The cover.. Is that really Ireland? If so..it is absolutely GORGEOUS!!

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  66. What type books do you like to read other than this genre?

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  67. Do you listen to music when you write? If so, what kind of music..? Or, do you have to have silence?

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  68. I'm just going to leave and say.. I wish you the very best on your tour.

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