This next story behind the story is so cute! You have to love a book with a dog on the cover. And a dog who plays matchmaker. Here’s a little bit about Sit, Stay, Love by Dana Mentink.

Take one abrasive professional athlete, a quirky out-of-work school teacher, and an overweight geriatric dog, and you’re ready for a lesson in love…Tippy style.

Pro baseball pitcher Cal Crawford is not a dog guy. When he inherits his deceased mother’s elderly dog, Tippy, he’s quick to call on a pet-sitting service.

Gina isn’t thrilled to be a dog sitter when her aspirations lie in the classroom. Furthermore, she can’t abide the unfriendly Cal, a man with all the charm of a wet towel. But with no other prospects and a deep love for all things canine, she takes the job caring for Tippy.

As Gina travels through Cal’s world with Tippy in tow, she begins to see Cal in a different light. Gina longs to show Cal the God-given blessings in his life that have nothing to do with baseball or fame. When her longing blooms into attraction, Gina does her best to suppress it. But Cal is falling in love with her too…

Welcome, Dana. Tell us a little bit about what inspired you to write Sit, Stay, Love.

I realized my writing was going to the dogs when I started writing both a K-9 continuity series for Love Inspired Suspense and a dog-themed lighthearted romance for Harvest House simultaneously. For one, I was busily researching the amazing abilities of the bloodhound, and for the other, getting familiar with doxie antics. Both endeavors were put on hold when real life intruded. My beloved Nala, my neurotic, gentle-hearted canine companion of thirteen years passed away. Our collective hearts were broken and it was painful to continue to write about these various fictional dogs. The book Sit, Stay, Love was especially hard, since Tippy, the star of that book, is a thirteen-year-old mutt. Tippy is actually based on a real dog who was rescued by the Muttville group, a nonprofit based here in San Francisco which finds homes for senior dogs. Part of the proceeds from the book will go to this fine organization.

In the writing of that book, I was able to explore more deeply, more poignantly, the unconditional love of a dog, as I remembered the absolute devotion of my sweet Nala. As the book went to print, I was finally able to think about getting another dog. We adopted Junie, the doxie terrier mix who is nothing like Nala, but has somehow wound her way around my heart. Junie is a ball of energy, confident, eager to explore the world, and filled with joy. It’s no coincidence that the third book in the Harvest House series will feature a mischievous cutie pie terrier named Jellybean!

 I’m happy to give away a copy of Sit, Stay, Love. I hope you will fall in love with Tippy. I know I did!

Thanks so much for joining us, Dana. And for giving away a copy of what sounds like a really fun book. Scroll down for your chance to enter.

Dana Mentink is a two time American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award winner. She is the author of over thirty titles in the suspense and lighthearted romance genres. Her suspense novel, Betrayal in the Badlands, earned a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award and she has also been honored with a Holt Medallion Award of Merit. She is pleased to write for Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense and Harlequin Heartwarming. Besides writing, she busies herself teaching third grade. Mostly, she loves to be home with Papa Bear, Yogi, Boo Boo, a dog with social anxiety problems, a chubby box turtle and a feisty parakeet.

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