Sit! Stay! Speak! - 12 Things About Annie & A Giveaway

Summary:

Echoing the novels of Mary Alice Monroe, Allie Larkin, and Holly Robinson, this charming debut novel tells the unforgettable story of a rescue dog that helps a struggling young outsider make peace with the past.

Addie Andrews is living a life interrupted.  Tragedy sent her fleeing from Chicago to the shelter of an unexpected inheritance—her beloved aunt’s somewhat dilapidated home in Eunice, Arkansas, population very tiny.  There she reconnects with some of her most cherished childhood memories.  If only they didn’t make her feel so much!

People say nothing happens in small towns, but Addie quickly learns better. She’s got an elderly next door neighbor who perplexingly dances outside in his underwear, a house needing more work than she has money, a best friend whose son uncannily predicts the weather, and a local drug dealer holding a massive grudge against her.

Most surprising of all, she’s got a dog. But not any dog, but a bedraggled puppy she discovered abandoned, lost, and in desperate need of love. Kind of like Addie herself. She’d come to Eunice hoping to hide from the world, but soon she discovers that perhaps she’s finding the way back—to living, laughing, and loving once more.

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“12 things about Annie”

1.       I love Pop Tarts, but I’m totally weird about it—I like only the unfrosted strawberry ones. I could eat them for every meal.

2.       Sit! Stay! Speak! was my first attempt at writing a novel. Before that, I wrote mostly poetry and humor non-fiction.

3.       I’ve been working in animal rescue for almost a decade. It is absolutely my passion in life. I love all dogs, but my favorites are the dogs with special needs. Two of my three dogs are mobility impaired. I’ve had as many as six special needs dogs in my house at one time (my husband is a saint).

4.       Lately, I’ve been reading Jill Mansell like crazy. I picked up one of her books on a whim during vacation and haven’t been able to stop reading since!

5.       I like happy endings. I don’t think they’re impossible to achieve in writing OR in life—you just have to know where to look!

6.       Whenever I’m stressed or upset, I like to take a long, hot bath. It’s the only thing I can do to clear my head, and I’m not sure why. When the stress hits, it’s all I can think about!

7.       My best friend lives in Saudi Arabia. It’s hard being so far away from each other, but we actually talk more now than we did when she lived close. We’ve been best friends since 1997, and I couldn’t live without her!

8.       I wear cardigans even in the summertime.

9.       I’m a terrible housekeeper. If I ever win the lottery, the first thing I’m going to do (after paying off my massive student loan debt) is to hire someone to help me organize!

10.   I live in the Missouri Ozarks. Yes, that’s where Winter’s Bone is set. No, we don’t all cook meth or shoot squirrels and stew them for dinner. 

11.   If I was stranded on a desert island, I wouldn’t be able to survive without a lifetime supply of Dr. Pepper.

12.   Three of the pets in my house are named after Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters. There is Mikey, the English Bulldog, Master Splinter, the cat, and Shredder, the Beta Fish.

Author Bio:

Annie England Noblin lives with her son, husband, and three dogs in the Missouri Ozarks. She graduated with an M.A. in creative writing from Missouri State University and currently teaches English and communications for Arkansas State University in Mountain Home, Arkansas. She spends her free time playing make-believe, feeding stray cats, and working with animal shelters across the country to save homeless dogs.

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Harper Collins is giving one lucky winner a print copy of

Sit!  Stay!  Speak! by Annie England Noblin

US only

a Rafflecopter giveaway