Daring Dog Stars in Entertaining Children/YA/Adult Novel by Charlotte Jerace!

It's fair to say that bloodhound puppies are funny looking. Yet this puppy had a look that could be best described as hilarious. She was the chubbiest of the litter, with the wobbliest legs and an uncooperative tail that kept kinking up when it should have wagged. With her sneezing and general misbehavior, she'd become a cause for the Masons to be concerned.
Their bloodhounds had to measure up, be the best--or the reputation of Royal Scene Kennels could be ruined.
Sensing the Masons' displeasure, the puppy shuffled back to her mother. Flirt nudged the little pup to try again. In the way that dogs communicate, Flirt beamed a thought to her pup--It feels good to be a bloodhound. The pup heeked, then lowered her head. It was just too hard with her sneezing. With one more nudge from Flirt, the puppy wobbled and swayed over to Mrs. Mason. Cautiously, she took a long whiff of the toy lobster.
"Good dog," Mrs. Mason praised, hopeful that the pup had caught on at least. "SIT," Mrs. Mason commanded and wow--the pup sat!!! "Good dog," Mrs. Mason praised again. Oh, yeah.
"Now, let's put on your harness," Mrs. Mason said. bending down. The pup wagged her tail, it felt so good to be praised. I think I have it! the pup thought. And then, oh, no, here it comes--ah, ah, ah, ah-choo! When she sneezed, she tripped over her ears, tumbled over and landed her back! Her littermates heeked a dog laugh and began imitating her making her feel terrible.

When Gotcha got back on his feet, he looked mean and hard
at his puppy. He had mistaken the pup's run for cover between
his legs as an act of aggression and now he was MAD!
Gotcha...raised his top lip and showed his teeth to the pup.
Silence. Nobody moved...The pup cocked her head to the side.
He's smiling at me, she thought mistakenly. Maybe I should
do it again?
~~~

Ashamed and deeply embarrassed, she tried to run between her father's legs for safety and security. But oops, she missed--and knocked Gotcha, a stern-looking, famous crime-solving bloodhound, smack into Mr. Mason. If that wasn't bad enough, almost in slow motion, Mr. Mason lost his balance and fell hard, landing in a huge bag of dog food that rained all over the yard. Knowing that trouble was brewing, Flirt and all her puppies for for cover.


...the pup bolted full speed and slammed sideways into Gotcha, knocking the big guy off his feet AGAIN!

"Aren't you the daring one?" Mrs. Mason tittered, scooping up the pup before Gotcha could give it a swat. "We should name you Daring!"

"Hey, Daring Dog," Mr. Mason said as he swept up the spilled food, a perplexed look on his face. "What am I going to do with you? If you don't track, I can't sell you and if I can't sell you, I can't keep you, and if I can't keep you I'll have to find a home for you. So you need to get with the program understand"

The little pup sneezed so hard that she fell out of Mrs. Mason's hands, did a somersault, and then landed spread-eagle on a pile of straw. After pulling herself back onto her feet, she bounced! Achoo! Ah-bounce! Achoo! Ah-ah-ah-bounce!

~~~

The Adventures of Daring Dog

By Charlotte Jerace

Dog Lover Alert! Sure, it might be written so that kids will enjoy it...but I swear this book will be fun for kids of any age, who love animals and, in particular, dogs! It's just over 200 pages, so any individual old enough to read will enjoy meeting Daring Dog. When you meet him, he is living at a kennel who specializes in breeding and training bloodhounds. The kennel has an excellent reputation and is even used by the surrounding police agencies.

But, hey, we can't all be perfect, right? Well, what I mean is, not perfect for the job that we've been led to do. Daring Dog, got his name, sorta by mistake when he misunderstood reading his father's facial expression, and caused a big stir at the kennel! The thing was that Daring Dog had a nose problem, for one. Maybe allergies? No matter, the result was that he was sneezing all the time and couldn't really get his nose prepared for hunting whatever he was given to smell...

Poor Daring, they even tried to sell him half-price to a cop, who quickly brought him back! A bloodhound that couldn't hunt with his nose was not any good to the cop...What was going to happen to him?!!!

Wait a minute. The window is open--I can get
out of here and find something to eat--maybe I
can track my way home! Daring pushed her front
legs out first, took a deep breath, wiggled around
and with just seconds to spare, she tumbled out
of the car. Free at last!
Well, almost. Her nostrils began to twitch as she
caught a whiff of Cade's stinky smell as he walked
toward the car. There was no time to get away.
She knew she must hide! Foolishly, she slid under
Cade's truck, thinking she could get away before
he drove off. From beneath the chassis, her heart
pounded as she watched his boots move closer.
When his scent grew stronger, Daring trembled
in fear. Then Cade dropped something! But true
to form, he didn't pick it up. He just nonchalantly
jumped into his truck, slipped the key into the
ignition and was about to throw the truck into
reverse when Daring decided to try to scamper
out. Unfortunately, she was stuck. Desperately,
Daring tried to wriggle free, but her movement
just lodged her body even more tightly. This is
it, I'm history, she thought.
~~~

In the meantime, somewhere else in the U.S., there was a young very unhappy boy, and his father... They had lost their wife and mother. While the father was spending all the time he could with him and trying to help him over the loss of his mother, nothing seemed to be able to touch Sam. He was also being bullied at school, which is hard enough, but he really didn't have friends with whom he could talk or start to laugh again. His father had run out of ideas on how to break through to Sam again...

Many times, Sam had nightmares about how his mother was killed and would wake his father up with his cries...

It's so cold. I AM following your footsteps. The clouds? They're mackerel backs. What's that sound? Look at the sky. It's blue, no, it's dark, there's no light. Why are they screaming at me? Mom, Mom, Mommy! Where IS she? Who's this man? How did he get here? ...What's your name, son?










The Masons had decided to take Daring Dog to Florida with them, but along the way he was stolen! That was not a good thing, because the thief was just that--a thief and he didn't treat Sam well, or feed him as he should be fed... Let's just say, it was a terrible, dark time for Daring... And when he had a chance to escape one day, he barely made it to hide under the car before that thief came back, but the man was in a hurry and Daring got scraped by the car as the man pulled out...

And then what I call a "God incident" happened...well, it might not have personally been God, but there is a bit of magic happening...and lots of gold dust being sprinkled! You'll have to wait to learn more about that...

Sam was leaving school with his father. Sam had been confined to a wheelchair since his mother died, although there was no physical reason that kept him in the chair. They were heading for pizza... when Sam noticed him...

He raced ahead of his father, cut a 360, popped a wheelie in his wheelchair, and landed hard. Then, in the clink of an eye, his life was about to change.
""Dad, look! There's a dog lying there--and I think it's dead!
Pushing his wheelchair at full speed, Sam got to Daring in time to see her struggling to move. After one valiant attempt, Daring dropped her head back and closed her eyes...

~~~

OK, that should be enough to give you anticipation! Right? Because, the book is just beginning and there is sooooo much more fun, danger, and loving times ahead!

Do these give you some clues of what's coming?

Yeah! Got long ears--and know how to use 'em!

Oops! Couldn't hold that Sneeze!

Sigh...Sam loves Me!

Getting read for takeoff...

Case Closed! Snooze Time!

You just gotta check out The Adventures of Daring Dog! You'll be sorry if you miss this adorable story of boy meets dog!

Seriously, aside from the fun and laughter this book will provide for all who read it, there is a heartwarming story of how Sam meeting Daring Dog turns out to be just what he needs to start his way to recovery.

And guess what, there's a criminal--a thief--to be caught and guess who is right there working along with Sam to solve the case!

Loved it! 'Nuf Said!


GABixlerReviews

Charlotte Jerace was born on the rockbound coast of Maine, where she fell in love with the ocean’s shifting beauty. Early in her professional career, she worked as a partner in a global benefits consulting firm, through which she received national recognition for her creativity and her writing. Her significant honors include a New York Film Festival award, the International Association of Business Communicators Gold Quill, and several Telly awards.

Before she began writing fiction, Jerace published a short story, “Cannibals,” in Provincetown Arts Magazine, as well as an adult novel, Kentucky Rain. Now she shares her love of animals with young readers in her new book, The Adventures of Daring Dog.

Jerace divides her time between Cape Cod and South Florida, where she enjoys daily beach walks with her faithful dog, Stella, and is always on the lookout for whales.

And here's a teaser for her next Daring Dog story!

It wouldn’t be fair for me to spoil the excitement of reading about Daring Dog’s next adventure. Awww — okay, here is a clue. Daring might be taking a trip with her family. If she does, it could be possible for her to see this long-standing monument. It’s not a lighthouse, but it is perched on a high point of land and surrounded by the ocean. I took this photo as storm clouds rolled in and it definitely got me thinking about Daring. Send me an email if you recognize this photo. Stay tuned!

Click over to her web site for future info!