I Kissed a Dog by Carol Van Atta + Giveaway

Title: I Kissed a Dog

Series:  The Werewolves of the West Series Book One

Author:  Carol Van Atta

Genre: Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy

Description:  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.

My Review

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I knew from page one I was going to like Chloe Carpenter. Funny, witty, and smart, she makes a great lead. After a life-threatening accident as a teenager leaves her with the strange ability to be able to communicate with animals, Chloe takes a job caring for animals at a wildlife park. Chloe is the type of girl who knows what she wants…at least she thinks she does. The day oh-so-sexy Zane shows up as the park's new vet, Chloe's world is turned upside down. With Zane's arrival strange things also begin to happen, and Chloe begins to question everything she's ever thought she knew.

The characters in this story were great. Besides Chloe, we have the sexy werewolf, Zane. Zane is your typical alpha male – always saving Chloe from disaster and causing her to blush just with a look. The chemistry between the two is hot, and their banter is a lot of fun. The book had me laughing the whole way through. As for the rest of the characters, there was a great mix of supernaturals, both good and bad. The good guys were great, and the bad guys were deliciously wicked.

View all my reviews

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She kissed a Dog but found a Wolf.

Carol Van Atta

I don’t know about you all, but I love my dog, Stryder. He’s a funny, furry, all white, American Eskimo with a tail that curls like a big cinnamon roll and ears that are always alert and eager for my next word. He gives me his undivided time and attention and will fetch for me, if I ask. He has good manners and knows exactly when to shake someone’s hand. He’s all about kisses, and joyfully provides those puppylicious pecks whenever I’m down, and he even comes to bed on command.

They say a dog is man’s best friend? I say my dog is mine!

As much as I like to be the boss, and appreciate the loyalty and love Stryder so willingly provides, if I had to compare him to a man, I’d say he was a tad too tame for my tastes. Granted, I want to hang on to some of those positive traits I mentioned above, but I prefer a man who is not afraid to snap the leash and lead. One who doesn’t lick me like a poodle, but who devours me like a wolf.

That’s the type of man/werewolf Choe Carpenter finds in my latest book, I Kissed a Dog, book one in Werewolves of the West series.

Chloe is a bit like me. Slightly sarcastic, a bit flighty and indecisive (okay, a lot indecisive) and more than a little impulsive at times, but when the bad guys threaten her loved ones, she’s more than willing to use her supernatural powers to defeat the darkness. She has grown up with a deep aversion to the canine species as a whole, and considering one critter almost ended her short existence at fifteen, she isn’t a big fan of their playful ways. After spending months in a coma, she awakens with a whole new set of skills. The most impressive (initially) is her ability to communicate with animals, dogs included.

Zane Marshall, purebred werewolf enforcer, should-be pack Alpha, Veterinarian and Entrepreneur, enters Chloe’s world when she’s twenty-four, and working at a seaside wildlife park. Zane is exactly the spark she needs to light up her life. And boy does he set it on fire!

Wickedly handsome, highly protective, cunning, fierce, loyal, forceful, playful, intense, and willing to die for her, Chloe finds a “dog” worth howling about. Actually, he’s the one howling, and he’s no dog. He’s a wolf to be reckoned with. When she discovers he’s a purebred werewolf, her world is never the same.

He will do anything, and I mean anything (can’t share a spoiler) to protect Chloe. Some readers have been a bit disturbed by that “anything.” I thought we should ask Zane himself why he did what he did, and what he finds so appealing about Chloe Carpenter. Join me?

Above: Zane Marshall in human form.

Zane, your motive weren’t exactly pure when you first met Chloe. When did you know it was going to be more than “business” with her?

When she opened her mouth to insult me, I knew. Most women, and please, don’t take this the wrong way, it is what it is. Most women throw themselves at me. I’m not against aggressive women who know what they want, but the fact that Chloe wasn’t one of those women was enticing. My wolf was intrigued as well. He smelled something different and downright delectable in her essence. As a purebred, my emotions tend to be more intense, though I’m very capable of concealing them beneath my hard exterior. She made me feel something I’d never felt before.

About those motives … did you feel guilty at all about what you were doing initially?

No, I did not feel guilty at first. Pack protection is my duty and my life. One human, as attractive as she might be, would not deter me from my mission. I believed I could maintain my professional position and still develop a relationship with Chloe. Protecting her was just as important, even in the beginning, as she was critical to our cause. My desire to protect her rapidly became personal, and then I began to feel unsettled by my dishonesty. I am not a liar, but there were a number of situations that honesty had to be delayed due to the life or death nature of the mission.

Speaking of lies and secrets, the big night, and you know the one I’m referring to, required you to make decisions that might seem to some criminal. Explain yourself.

I don’t owe anyone an explanation except Chloe. What I did I’d do again if it ensured her safekeeping. I was willing to look like a monster if it kept her alive and well. I was willing to die, and still would to protect her. This may sound harsh, but disapproval from you or anyone else is meaningless in the big scheme of things. The one I hated to hurt was the one I was determined to protect. I encourage people to finish the story before passing judgment on what they think happened between me and Chloe.

What makes a woman attractive you, Zane?

Let’s be real, initially, we are all drawn to something physical, whether it’s a woman’s eyes, hair, lips, breasts, legs … you get the picture. But there are plenty of sexy and attractive women in the world. For most guys, Rhonda would be more than enough woman to keep up with. In my case, I found her to be cheap, tacky, and fake. Chloe was real. Her beauty was natural. The fact that she is exotically multiracial really appealed to me. She is so unique and fresh. Sexy and feisty. I found her many contrasts impossible to resist. Yes, I know, she’s a spitfire, kept secrets (don’t we all), and had a hell of a hard time making up her mind about me, but that made our developing relationship that much more exciting. I wanted to be the man who tamed that little hellcat. My big bad wolf refused to be denied. I’m off topic … she does that to me. (soft, sexy chuckle). Attraction for me involves the total package. Is she someone I can enjoy being with in every way. Someday we all lose our sexiness to a point. Will I still want to spend time with a specific female once all the physical lures have been exhausted, for whatever reason? Unfortunately, though, as a purebred, I can love everything about a woman, if the fates don’t match us as mates, there is no hope for a permanent relationship.

Thanks Zane!

Anytime. (wink) He strides away making my toes curl. Yummy! He can shed fur at my place anytime. Too bad he’s been snagged.

Choe is one lucky girl. If you want to learn more about Zane Marshall and all his sexiness, secrets, and why he fell so hard for Chloe, you’ll have to read their story in I Kissed a Dog and in the upcoming She Kissed a Vampire.

Until next time …

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About the Author

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.

Here’s a link to my latest big Giveaway:

http://rafl.es/Ud8gI9

Contact Links

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Werewolves-of-the-West-I-Kissed-a-Dog/153030771437034

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http://www.werewolvesofthewest.com/

http://vampswereswhyohmy.blogspot.com/

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1237874.Carol_Van_Atta

https://twitter.com/WolfyVamp77

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