Thursday, May 7, 2015

Dogs Make Great Sidekicks by Liana Brooks, author of The Day Before

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The Day BeforeTitle: The Day Before
Author: Liana Brooks
Publisher: Harper Voyage Impulse
Pages: 304
Genre: Thriller
Format: Kindle

  A body is found in the Alabama wilderness. The question is: Is it a human corpse … or is it just a piece of discarded property?

 Agent Samantha Rose has been exiled to a backwater assignment for the Commonwealth Bureau of Investigation, a death knell for her career. But then Sam catches a break—a murder—that could give her the boost she needs to get her life back on track. There's a snag, though: the body is a clone, and technically that means it's not a homicide. And yet, something about the body raises questions, not only for her, but for coroner Linsey Mackenzie. The more they dig, the more they realize nothing about this case is what it seems … and for Sam, nothing about Mac is what it seems, either. This case might be the way out for her, but that way could be in a bodybag.

  A thrilling new mystery from Liana Brooks, The Day Before will have you looking over your shoulder and questioning what it means to be human.

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Dogs Make Great Sidekicks!

THE DAY BEFORE features my very first furry sidekick, Hoss the dog! He's a boerboel (South African mastiff) and a generally amiable sidekick with good taste in people and a bottomless stomach. Today I thought I'd share a few fun facts about Hoss and the dogs that inspired him.

1)      My first mastiff came with a house we rented in Alabama. The couple we were renting from was moving to Italy for a year and couldn't take their elderly boerboel along, so we wound up with an Old Lady Dog who weighed 160lbs. The couple took her back when they returned, and considering her age I'm certain she's passed on, but Hoss gets his physical characteristics from her.
2)      Hoss was originally named Bothari, and then Both, after the character written by Louis McMaster Bujold. Bothari once tells Captain Cordelia Naismith that he is "M'lady's dog" and I was going to have Mac reference the book in the later chapters of THE DAY BEFORE. The name was changed because the shortened version of Bothari looks like both, as in "Look both ways!" and didn't make sense when being read.
3)      Hoss does get his name from another famous literary character, Harry Dresden as written by Jim Butcher. Harry's mentor often calls him Hoss. Like Harry, Hoss is a bit oversized, sometimes clumsy, but has a heart of gold.
4)      Hoss is a rescue dog and although Miss Azalea calls him a puppy, he's about four when the story opens. Miss Azalea rescued him when her husband died to keep her company out in the sticks.
5)      If you're at all familiar with dogs you'll probably figure out the mystery a lot faster than cat-lovers. My dog-loving crit partners all noticed Hoss's behavior around certain individuals and leapt to the appropriate conclusions with ease. Dogs have good people-sense and they knew who they can trust.

6)      In the story Hoss's tail is docked. This practice is one common among larger breeds because their tails get very heavy and they hurt when they hit you, but I don't support the practice (neither does Miss Azalea- rescue pups come as they are). Sage had a docked tail and that's just how she was. My second mastiff, the one I call Dog online (because everyone in my house gets an internet nickname for privacy purposes, including the dog) is a rescue pup who has his tail and dew claws all attached.  I've been whacked in the face once or twice, but it's a risk I'm willing to take for a happy dog who can fully express his emotions through his body language. 

Liana Brooks  I was born in San Diego. I've lived in Chicago, Denver, Florida, Kentucky, Texas, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and Kansas.  Mother always said there was a touch of gypsy in the blood. I write science fiction and SFR in a variety of forms. Sometimes I dabble in comic fantasy. I have a superhero romance series with Breathless Press and am represented by Marlene Stringer of Stringer Literary Agency.

  For More Information Visit Liana at her website

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