Spotlight & Giveaway: Confessions of a Canine Drama Queen by Stefanie London

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Stefanie London to HJ!

Hi Stefanie and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Confessions of a Canine Drama Queen!

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Two people get a second chance at love with the world’s worst matchmaker—a dramatic Husky named Molly. Stuck sharing a cabin during a dog talent competition, August and Keaton must face the attraction that’s been brewing—and ignored—since they were teenagers.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

“I take it you’re not a fan,” August said, her mouth twisted. “Why am I not surprised?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked.
“You don’t like anyone.” She rolled her eyes.
“That’s not true. I like…you.” Hmm, maybe she had a point. Keaton tended to view the possibility of new friendships as something to be avoided. As far as he was concerned, a small circle of friends and family was preferable, but a tiny circle was even better.
After all, the less you let people into your life the less of a chance you’d get hurt.
“You tolerate me,” she replied with a smirk. “Big difference.”

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• I knew I wanted to have a Husky be the dog breed featured in the third book every since I started working on the first book in the series. I’ve always loved Huskies and their big personalities. I also wanted to make sure I didn’t only write little dogs for the series.
• The working title for the book was “There’s Something About Molly” which is a twist on the 2000s movie “There’s Something About Mary” featuring Cameron Diaz.
• I purposefully wanted to write a heroine who doesn’t want children, because I feel that childfree women are very underrepresented in the genre and all women deserve love, regardless of how they feel about motherhood.

Anything else I’d like to share?
One thing I really enjoyed researching for this book was actually the dog grooming element. I didn’t know much about the intricacies of grooming, but it can be a really tough job! I watched a ton of dog grooming videos online to understand the process and considerations for the scenes where August is on set at the photoshoot as well as the scene with the home grooming client. I even researched the different types of cuts that are common for certain breeds—such as Poodles, since August had a former client who was a show dog. It was really interesting to learn about why certain cuts exist and what their original purposes were when the dogs were more commonly used for hunting. For anyone who loves animals I highly recommend The Girl With The Dogs YouTube channel, it’s a funny and educational grooming channel.

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

August and Keaton have been attracted to each other for a long, long time. They grew up together in a way, and were fish out of water together at the elite private high school they attended. Being outcasts, they banded together and formed a strong bond from a young age.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

Basically any time Keaton and August were bantering I was chuckling while writing. The definitely make some sparks!

“If Will called me kitten, I would lock him out of the house,” Leah said, referring to her new boyfriend. “A woman should not be named after an animal.”
“Frankly, a guy can call me whatever pet name he wants so long as he knows how take me to Pleasuretown and won’t bail as soon as it’s over,” August said, standing and reaching for the empty mugs sitting on the coffee table. “He can call me Puss in Boots for all I care.”
“Make sure you tell the matchmaker that,” Leah quipped. “Must be tall, dark and handsome…and knows the way to Pleasuretown.”
August chuckled to herself as she carried the empty cups into the kitchen. Despite feeling rattled by the whole “going viral” thing, coming here to hang out with her best friend had certainly helped take her emotions down a notch. It would be easy to whine and feel sorry for herself, but August preferred to take matters into her own hands.
Next week, she would meet with the matchmaker, lay all her desires on the table and give up swiping right for good.
“Puss in Boots, huh? I have to admit, I’ve never used that one before.”
The masculine voice made August jump and she almost lost the mugs in her hands. Whirling around in the kitchen, she saw Leah’s older brother, Keaton, leaning against the wall.
He was wearing black suit pants and a crisp white shirt that fitted to his shoulders and chest like a dream. A gleaming black and yellow tie hung around his neck, and a heavy silver watch adorned one wrist where his sleeves were rolled back. The understated yet undeniably tailored outfit screamed money. And not just money like her parents tried so hard to exude with their second-hand BMW and consignment designer goods and snooty attitudes, but fancy office on Wall Street money. First class tickets to anywhere in the world, money.
Do whatever it takes to win money.
“Why are you eavesdropping on girl talk, anyway?” she asked, pulling the dishwasher open and placing the mugs inside. “Hoping to find some tips?”
The truth of the matter was that Keaton Sax did not need tips about anything, especially not on how to attract a woman. With broad shoulders, hair the color of a perfect cup of espresso and vivid green eyes, the man was a certified lady magnet. This only served to make his perpetually single—and not looking to mingle—status all the more perplexing. Well, it was perplexing to some people, but August had known Keaton for years.
And she knew the real reason he was permanently off the market.
He smirked. “I’m not sure calling a woman Puss in Boots is much of a tip. Something tells me that might specifically be a you thing.”

Readers should read this book….

If you love a touch of angst with your flirty, funny romance… and dogs, of course!

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I have a really fun small town summer romance coming out in the upcoming anthology, Suddenly This Summer out at the end of August. It’s sweet and sexy and gives you all the warm and fuzzy feelings.
I’m also hard at work on a cozy mystery series under my Emily George pen name that I am absolutely loving! It has all the shenanigans and funny moments of my romantic comedies, but with a murder thrown in. A Half-Baked Murder is out now, and A High-Tide Murder comes out in early 2024.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: 2 copies of Confessions of a Canine Drama Queen by Stefanie London, Open to US winners only.

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Excerpt from Confessions of a Canine Drama Queen:

Was it too much to ask for a decent, normal guy who wanted the same happy, successful three-point-two puppy life as you?
August Merriweather certainly didn’t think so. But, if her dating history was anything to go on, apparently it was too much to ask. Her last few dates had ranged from less appealing than a smelly tennis shoe to “engage fake emergency phone call” status. The guys ran the gamut from dull to infuriating, and every single time she went home alone wondering what the heck was wrong with her.
In her mind, the dating jungle was more like the dating fight pit.
Don’t be negative. You never know, this guy could be the one!
That had been her cautiously optimistic mantra as she’d walked into the restaurant where she was meeting her latest swipe right. And while August wasn’t the kind of woman who needed a man to be happy, she wanted a relationship. A partnership. A person with whom she could share in life’s joys and challenges. Someone who made her heart flutter.
Spoiler alert: Carter Edward Driscoll III did not make her heart flutter.
You should have known better than to accept a date from a guy with a number in his name.
“So that’s when I told her, babe, I simply cannot marry someone who wants to own a tiny home. Like, where would I put my shoe collection?” The man sitting across from August shuddered. He was classically handsome, but in a way that looked a little…sterile. Had he Botoxed his face? His eyebrows didn’t move that much.
August caught herself staring and brought her eyes down to the plate in front of her. She’d barely touched the croquettes they’d ordered to start, her appetite waning the second her date decided to talk about all the women he’d refused to marry.
All six of them.
Frankly, the fact that the guy had found even one woman interested in marrying him said more about his bank account than it did about his personality.
“I mean, can you believe it? A tiny home? Like, what am I? A minimalist?” he scoffed. “I should have known she’d be into that hippy shit the first time she used natural deodorant. That was a red flag.”
Oh boy. Was it too soon to pull the emergency phone call thing again? Or was this date bad karma for doing it last time?
“So anyway, that was potential wife number five scratched off the list. Number six…she was a doozy.”
August watched his eyebrows again, trying to see if they moved when he talked. Hmm. It was hard to tell. Carter droned on about the next poor, deluded woman who’d thought she could snag a diamond from him.
“I have to think about these things, you know.” This time he paused and took a breath, waiting as though he expected her to respond.
Shit. What had he just said? She’d totally zoned out.
“Uh…”
“I can’t exactly curse my future children with those issues, now, can I?” He snorted and nothing above his nose moved. He’d definitely had something done. “I need to pick someone whose genes are at least as good as my own.”
August blinked. “Wait, you’re saying you’re going to choose a wife based on what genes she’s likely to pass on to your children?”
“Exactly.” Carter tossed his hands in the air. “Finally, someone gets it.”
“Are you looking for a wife or a mare?” Her lip curled in disgust.
“Mayor? I don’t really want someone who’s involved in politics.”
“Not mayor. Mare. Like a female breeding horse.” Ugh, why was she even bothering to argue with him. “And not all women want children, you know.”
He made a snorting sound. “Sure, they say that. But then biology happens…tick tock.”
She ground her back teeth together. August hated the idea of the biological clock. People made it sound like the second she turned thirty some kind of internal switch would flip and suddenly she’d be desperate to have a child.
So far, nothing.
It wasn’t as though she didn’t like kids. She looked forward to being cool “aunt” to her friends’ Mini-Mes. But she didn’t have the urge to have one of her own. Who knew, maybe it would change in the future.
But then again, maybe it wouldn’t.
She suspected it would be the latter and she wholeheartedly resented the idea that she was either A, in denial, or B, that something was wrong with her.
“Let’s get a second opinion,” Carter said, and before August could protest, he’d flagged down a young waitress. “What do you think? Would she and I make attractive children?”
He pointed to August. The waitress looked like a deer in headlights, and August wanted to sink into the earth. The people at the tables around them were definitely watching. God, knowing her luck there was probably someone live tweeting it!
Or worse, filming it for TikTok.
“Stop it,” she hissed at Carter, but he waved her away as if she were a fly.
“Come on, you can be honest.” He laughed, as though he wasn’t making everyone around him cringe. “I mean, she’s a little solid, but she has a pretty face, right?”
August’s mouth popped open. The guy was lucky there was a table between them and that she wasn’t the type to throw a drink in someone’s face, because right now she was very tempted.
You do not need to put up with this.
August happened to like the fact that she was “solid.” She was strong! Her muscles helped her in her job grooming animals, and it was very physical work, especially with the bigger clients. And yes, she shopped in the plus size section and her thighs rubbed together when she walked and she jiggled in places. So what? Was a little chub rub the end of the world? Hell, no.
And it certainly didn’t give anyone the right to make her feel lesser.
August pushed her chair back and stood up. “Congratulations, Carter. You are, without a doubt, the worst jerk I’ve ever swiped right on. Gold star for you.”
He looked at her pityingly. “Is this because I called you solid? I didn’t mean it as a bad thing, I happen to like—”
“I don’t care what you like, and I’m perfectly comfortable in my body. But you are arrogant beyond belief. I pity any woman who’s fooled long enough to marry you.” She grabbed her purse and fished out enough money to cover the food they’d ordered. Carter looked at her incredulously as the bills fluttered onto the table. “I hope you remain single for a long, long time. Like, forever.”
Slinging her purse over one shoulder, she stalked toward the front of the restaurant, aware several phones were raised in her direction. One woman yelled “you go girl” at her as she walked past. What a disaster! But August had more self-esteem than to let someone treat her like that. Fury bubbled in her veins.
At the last minute, fueled by frustration, she turned around to face the people sitting at the artfully decorated tables and along the opulent bar.
“That’s Carter Edward Driscoll III, ladies. Make sure you swipe left!”
Turning on her heel, she walked past the head server, whose hand was clamped over her mouth, and out of the restaurant, the sound of applause and cheering fading as the door swung shut behind her.
It was official. Despite being a badass business owner, respected animal wrangler, and—she liked to think—decent human being, it was clear that August Merriweather could not tell the good guys from the dickwads.
Maybe she was going about this all wrong. Maybe looking for love on dating apps and in crowded bars was like trying to find quality in a discount store bargain bin. Hell, maybe looking for love full stop was putting her focus on a fantasy.
Perhaps what she needed was a more measured and practical approach: someone who had the same goals as her, where love might grow over time. A partnership, rather than a romance.
It was time to engage professional help.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Can you ever really forget the one who got away?

August Merriweather has always been good with animals. In fact, she’s known as Manhattan’s Dog Whisperer. Men, on the other hand? Not so much. She’s been falling for the wrong guys ever since her regrettable crush on Keaton Sax, older brother of her best friend, Leah, and the biggest jerkface this side of the Hudson.

Now an emotionally closed off widower, Keaton has become one of the most formidable men on Wall Street, but August knows his secret. He’s not driven by sales targets and bonus checks—Keaton just wants to give his family the security they never had. So when Leah asks Keaton to wrangle her over-the-top, dramatic husky at a weekend talent competition, Keaton says yes…and begs August to help him win the event for Leah.

Between obstacle courses, Molly’s husky temper tantrums and a cabin with just one bed, August is having a blast. Away from the pressure to have a “perfect life” with the “right guy,” she finds herself relaxing and getting to see the softer side of the man she once loved. Is this just a temporary truce? Or could Keaton finally be the right guy at the right time?

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Meet the Author:

Stefanie London is a USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance. Her books have been called “genuinely entertaining and memorable” by Booklist, and her writing praised as “elegant, descriptive and delectable” by RT Magazine. Originally from Australia, she now lives in Toronto with her very own hero and is doing her best to travel the world. She frequently indulges her passions for lipstick, good coffee, books and anything zombie related.
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