Wow, It’s November and the Holidays are looming. This month I thought we would talk about some of our favorite parts of the Holidays so you can learn more about your favorite authors and how they celebrate. You may even get a character or two! Today’s Guest is Gayle M. Irwin.
Cat: Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us.
Gayle: Thank you Cat for inviting me. Today I have come to talk about senior and rescued pets and how those topics relate to my new romance novel, Rescue Road.
Of Rescue and Second Chances
Her name was Maggie and she needed a ride to her new home. I took to the interstate with this senior rescued Boston Terrier mix, and drove 180 miles south to Cheyenne, Wyoming’s capital. Another person completed Maggie’s travel to her new home in Denver, Colorado.
Maggie was a rescue taken in by MidAmerica Boston Terrier Rescue, one of the groups I assist when needed. Helping a rescue dog go to her/his adoptive family is something I enjoy. There are a lot of ways rescues help dogs (and cats) get adopted and transporting them to their new home is one of those. Being a transporter is a need, especially in areas of great distance like Wyoming, where I live.
Another reason this transport was special is that Maggie is a senior Boston, and senior dogs are not always easy to place in families. In fact, according to animal sheltering experts, older dogs and cats have higher euthanasia rates or live out their lives in a shelter/humane society.
November is Adopt-a-Senior Pet Month, which highlights the benefits of adopting older animals. Some of those include:
- These dogs and cats are usually already potty-trained.
- They make excellent companions for older and less active people because they don’t need as much exercise as younger animals.
- They often make great therapy animals, both for the adopter and for people in assisted living/nursing homes, hospitals, libraries and schools due to their calm nature.
In my new romance novel, Rescue Road, my main female character, Rhiann, transports and adopts out dogs. One of the canines in her home is an elderly beagle named Rae. Rhiann acquired the dog from her grandmother’s older friend who had to relocate to a place that didn’t accept pets. That is often the case with older animals – their elderly person may have to move, living where pets are not welcome.
Rescue Road is about second chances, not only for the humans in the story but for the dogs. That is what pet rescue and adoption are all about – second chances. We humans often need second chances in life, too, and readers will find that idea woven into my story. I created a page at the back of the book which lists many pet rescue and adoption organizations should people be encouraged to provide that second chance to a dog or cat.
And what would a romance be without food! The setting for the story is Montana during autumn. I provide two recipes for desserts that are mentioned in the story. Here is one of those, a dish from my mother, who lives in Montana:
Pumpkin Bars
½ cup butter 1 cup brown sugar 2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla 1 cup flour ½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt ½ tsp baking powder 1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp ginger ¼ tsp nutmeg ¾ cup canned pumpkin
Cream butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and beat until smooth. Add vanilla. Sift dry ingredients together and add to the creamed mixture, alternating with pumpkin. Spread evenly in greased and lightly floured 9×13 pan. Bake at 350 degree for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool and frost with cream cheese icing if desired.
If you buy a copy of the novel, email me at wyoauthor@yahoo.com; I’ll send you a free autumn meal e-book.
Title: Rescue Road
Series: Pet Rescue Romance
Author: Gayle M. Irwin
Publisher, release date: Draft2Digital, Waggin’ Tales Inspirational Pet Stories
Cover artist: Jessica Greyson
Pages: 346
Category, heat rating: Contemporary, clean romance
Freelance writer Rhiann Kelly shelved romance for years. Her dream of starting an animal sanctuary takes deep roots after finding the perfect Montana location and purchasing the property for back taxes.
Emergency medical technician Levi Butler knows his friend George left the ranch to him in his will. Levi anxiously awaits the probate to complete so he can plan his retirement and begin his dream of raising horses. When Rhiann and Levi find each other at the ranch simultaneously, sparks fly – and not the romantic kind. Yet their attraction for one another can’t be denied. Meantime, land developer Dallas Patterson sets his sights on charming Rhiann to obtain the land. Can Rhiann and Levi work together to detour Patterson and find a solution in which neither needs to give up their dream? Can their broken paths weave their hearts together as they travel the rescue road?
You can add it to Good Reads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48557514-rescue-road
How about a little teaser:
Rescue Road – A Clean, Contemporary Romance
A group of coyotes howled from a surrounding hillside. Levi and Rhiann listened and didn’t speak for several moments, absorbing the natural night chorus. Jax raised his head, seeming attentive to the calls.
After the wild canine family abated their nocturnal music, Rhiann sighed and gazed upon the cloudy night. “I will never tire of nature’s sights and sounds. I’d forgotten how much I missed living in a rural area, how much I enjoyed the farm my grandparents had in Washington, until I moved here.”
Levi squeezed her hand. “There really is a peace in a setting like this, even knowing coyotes, bears, and mountain lions inhabit the space. I spent many nights on this porch listening to sounds just like that.”
Rhiann looked at him. “I can hardly believe this is all happening, the rescue starting, the book about to be published, me and you.” She looked at him and he returned her gaze. “It’s almost like a dream.”
Levi smiled a moment. He stood up and walked to the edge of the porch. He leaned against a post. Rhiann stood and walked to him.
“Are you all right? You’ve been kind of quiet tonight.”
He looked at her and then returned his gaze to the blackness around them. “Just thinking. Maybe I’ve pushed you too quickly. I’m wondering if we should take a few steps back.”
“What?”
She heard the surprise in her voice and thought Levi heard her astonishment as well for he looked at her. “Us. I mean, after seeing Brandon, do you … do you want to … are you sure …?”
She sensed his uncertainty and concern as he stammered. Her emerald eyes drilled into his gray ones.
“I’m in love with you, Levi, not with Brandon. I admit, I pined for him for many years. I rejected romance for a long time because of someone who broke my heart. You’ve reawakened me. I no longer want to live the way I did. I thought you felt the same. I mean, you told me so just a few days ago.”
Levi smiled in a sad way. “I did. I do feel the same.” He cupped her face in his right hand and looked deep into her eyes. She clasped her hand over his.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Seeing Brandon today resurrected the memories of Allison leaving me.”
Her eyes searched his once again as she whispered, “There is no one else, no other man, including Brandon, that I want to be with. Just you. I’m not Allison, just like you’re not Brandon.”
His lips captured hers with fervor. She felt his anxiety in their kiss. She tried to alleviate his apprehension through the passion of her mouth and the movement of her hands across his face and through his hair. He moaned, and she continued her ministrations, kissing him ardently on the lips and trailing more across his jaw. They broke apart and breathlessly held one another.
“I love you,” he whispered in her ear.
“I love you, too,” she responded.
You can buy it here:
Rescue Road is available in print and e-book format from Amazon and in e-book form from Barnes & Noble and Kobo. Below are links. I will be donating part of my book sale proceeds to pet rescue organizations in the Rocky Mountain region. So, if you buy a book, you’ll help a pet in need!
Amazon print book: https://amzn.to/2MCklLl
Amazon Kindle: https://amzn.to/2W7fpBe
Barnes & Noble Nook:
Kobo:
Meet Gayle M. Irwin
Gayle M. Irwinis an award-winning author and freelance writer, being recognized by Wyoming Writers, Inc., and the Wyoming Press Association for several of her works. She is a contributor to seven Chicken Soup for the Soul books and the author of many inspirational pet books and stories for both children and adults. She subtly weaves important life lessons within the lines and pages of her stories, including courage, kindness, perseverance, friendship, appreciation of nature, and the importance of pet rescue and adoption. Her first novel, a clean, contemporary pet rescue romance titled Rescue Road, releases November 2019. A pet rescue and adoption advocate, she volunteers for various dog rescue and humane society organizations and donates a percentage of all book sales to such groups. Gayle resides in Wyoming with her husband and their adopted animals. Learn more about Rescue Road and my inspirational pet books for children at my website: www.gaylemirwin.com. You can read the first chapter of the novel for free here: www.gaylemirwin.com/novels.
You can Stalk oops follow Gayle:
Author Website: http://www.gaylemirwin.com/
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/GayleMIrwin
Pinterest (under Waggin’ Tales): www.pinterest.com/gaylemirwin
Twitter: https:twitter.com/wyoauthor1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4389485.Gayle_Irwin
Gayle is giving away a free Kindle copy of Rescue Road to one lucky winner!
ENTER HERE:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
5 responses to “Of Rescue and Second Chances #petrescue #sweet romance #inspirational #giveaway”
Most of our dogs have come from pet rescue services, and the same goes for many people. This is a great angle for a series.
It looks so good. It’s on my to read list. Molly didn’t come from a shelter but from an individual so she didn’t end up in one.
Yes, my cat is a rescue, I adopted him from the local no kill shelter.
That’s awesome. I think adopted cats are even harder than a dog. Thanks for giving your kitties new chances!
I have friends who do pet rescue work, and the people who do have such big,loving hearts!