Monday 19 September 2011

A Book Dedicated to a Dog?


I’ll keep this short because I hit you last week with banner headlines about my latest book release and, face it, this can get pretty boring – unless you happen to be the author and then…well, obviously you’re talking about the book to end all books and can’t understand why people aren’t dancing in the street with excitement.

Look, it’s not my fault if two different publishers put my work out just one week apart, so have a heart and allow me my five minutes of fame.



My first contemporary, A Class Apart, is released by SirenBookStrand tomorrow. Some of you may know that I cut my teeth on regencies. Well, this is a ‘modern day’ regency – if it’s possible for such a beast to exist. I got to thinking about the antics of the modern day aristocracy. Some things have changed little in the two hundred years that have elapsed since the regency era. As then, half of them appear to be up to their eyes in debt but that doesn’t detract from that ‘social status’. They are still very much in demand and consider themselves to be A Class Apart from us lesser mortals.

Lady Octavia Radleigh is working as an interior designer for a trendy company in London, blissfully unaware that her grandfather, the Marquis of Frampton, is crippled with debts that will result in the loss of the ancestral family home, Radleigh Manor. When she finds out, she’s fiercely determined to keep the manor within the family’s control, especially since the guy who wants to buy it is some financial guru with lowly origins. Quite simply, he’s beyond the pale. Jake Bentley, the would-be purchaser, is equally determined to acquire the house to prove to the world that he’s nobody’s lackey. Octavia hatches a wild plan to turn the house into an upmarket hotel, aimed at the American market. All she has to do now is persuade Jake to finance her crazy scheme. 

Game on!

Boxed into a corner, Jake agrees to give it a shot. But someone is out to sabotage their efforts. As he gets to know Octavia better he concedes that she’s not all bad. He admires her feisty determination to save her home, his protective instincts brought to the fore when she puts herself directly in the line of danger to achieve her goal…

A Class Apart is a book that I passionately believe in, so much so that I named my rescued dog Jake Bentley after the hero. Well, they’re both handsome mongrels with independent spirits and naughty streaks so it seemed like the right thing to do. And do you know what, I even dedicated the book to my Jake. A book dedicated to a dog. Has that been done before?



A Class Apart from SirenBookStrand  http://www.bookstrand.com/a-class-apart Just $4.49
Read the first chapter on my website at http://www.wendysoliman.com

Wendy Soliman

7 comments:

  1. I see nothing wrong with a book being dedicated to a dog. Many of us will say that our number 1 fan and supporter is by our side every day, encouraging us...and asking for food. :)

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  2. Yes, it's been done before. I've dedicated one to my partners in crime and I read another book not so long ago where the author's dogs were honoured.

    That's a wonderful picture of Jake, by the way. He looks adorable. :)

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  3. Thanks for stopping by, ladies. Yes, Shirley, I think Jake's adorable but then I would say that, wouldn't I!

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  4. Hi Wendy! What a great blurb! And I love your dog..he's so handsome! I used to have a black Lab named Jake so I think that's a wonderful name! Happy sales!

    -Beth D. Carter

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  5. Thanks so much, Beth. I hope all the attention won't got to Jake's head!

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  6. Aah, he's adorable, definitely deserves a book dedicated to him.
    I love the modern regency idea, maybe you've just started a brand new genre :)

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  7. A new genrre, Clayre. Now that would complicate things!

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