SAVING PARKER - Dan Walsh - One Free Book

Bio: Dan Walsh is the bestselling author of 19 novels including The Unfinished Gift, The Reunion and When Night Comes. He has won 3 Carol Awards (a finalist 6 times), 3 Selah Awards, and 4 of his books have been finalists for Romantic Times Review’s Inspirational Book of the Year. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and Word Weavers International, Dan writes fulltime in the Daytona Beach area. He and his wife Cindi have been married 41 years, have 2 children, both married, and 3 grandchildren (more coming).

James and I have three great-grands, with another on the way. It’s exciting to see your family’s later generations. I know you speak at various conferences and meetings. What do you have coming up in 2018?

A few things are being discussed, but the only thing confirmed at this point is the Florida Christian Writer’s Conference in late Feb (the one headed up by Eva Marie Everson). I’ll be there the whole day on Saturday teaching a 2-part Continuing Ed series on Indie Publishing, as well doing several coaching/mentoring appointments.

Do you read print books or ebooks? Or a combination of the two?

Before 2 years ago, I only read print books. I still love them best, but I’ve found that I mainly read ebooks now (mostly Kindle). My wife got me to switch. The prices are often way better, but the real reason is being able to make the print as large as I need (so I don’t have to use glasses). And I like not having to read with a lamp on in bed.

Saving Parker an interesting title. How did you come up with it?

Since Saving Parker is Book 3 in my Forever Home series, I was looking for a way to make all the titles similar in style. And since each of the books features a shelter dog as a main character, I decided to use the dog’s name in each book’s title. Although the books are fiction stories, I borrowed material from my wife, who worked for 5 years as the Animal Behavior Manager at our local Humane Society (she’s also a certified dog trainer). Each of the dog names are actual dogs she’s worked with at some point (though the stories aren’t exactly the same).

Rescuing Finley, Finding Riley, and Saving Parker. Even with that, you wouldn’t believe the number of emails I’ve received by people asking, “Before I buy this, does the dog die at the end? I hate it when the dog dies.”

Another aim of mine was to let readers know—right there in the title—that the dogs in the books don’t die at the end. So, it’s

I know how readers are about killing pets in stories, so I expected some negative feedback when a pet was killed by accident in one of my books. The event was so pivotal to the story, I never got a negative comment or review. So what is Saving Parker about?

Maybe the easiest thing would be to include the back cover blurb:

After years of abuse and neglect, Parker is found chained in a junk-filled backyard after a drug bust. The little guy’s terrified of people. Officer Ned Barringer brings him to a nearby shelter for medical care. When Ned learns how hard it is for dogs like Parker to get adopted, he must do more. He’s also instantly taken with Kim Harper, one of the shelter managers. She offers to train Parker for free. Ned instantly accepts. That same day, he meets his next-door neighbor, a ten-year-old boy named Russell. Russell is hiding a black eye, compliments of two bullies at school. This angers Ned. He suffered the same fate as a child. It’s the main reason he became a cop. But what can he do? When a near-death tragedy occurs, what role might Parker play in bringing these three lives together?

Some of the hashtags I’m using for the book are #DogLovers #BlueLivesMatter #Bullying #TheDogLives and #CleanRomance

Please give us the first page of the book.

Here it is:

What was going on? All this yelling and banging. Strangers running across the yard. Cars making loud noises and lights flashing. Parker ran and hid as far back in the shed as he could. It was a dark crawlspace under a roof made of rusty sheet metal perched above a wall of old tires. He wanted no part of whatever was happening out there. He curled up in a tight ball and lay there, trembling.

Not all his tension came from the strange goings-on. Some came from restraining himself from doing the one thing he wanted to do most. To bark at the top of his lungs at these invaders who’d come onto their property. Four men all dressed alike. What were they doing here? They had no right. As soon as they’d arrived, he could tell they weren’t here on friendly terms.

But Parker didn't bark. He didn’t dare make a sound.

His mouth still stung from a kick he’d gotten that morning. The Man hated it whenever Parker barked. Felt like The Man hated everything Parker did. There was no pleasing him, no matter how hard Parker tried. Barking was clearly the worst thing. But how could Parker stop doing something so essential to his main purpose? He existed to serve and protect…this property…this owner. Even if the effort was unappreciated. The need to bark came from deep within, beyond his reach.

Another loud bang. More yelling.

“Come out, Alfredo. Do it, now. Hands over your head where we can see them."

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Probably the easiest way for readers to connect with me is to go to my homepage at www.danwalshbooks.com. There you’ll find buttons for Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads. They can also sign up to get my Newsletter. I don’t send many out, but I always let my Newsletter friends get the latest updates on new books or great book deals. Readers can also email me at dwalsh@danwalshbooks.com. It may take me a little while, but I read and respond to each one myself.

Thank you, Dan, for sharing this new book with me and my blog readers. They really like to know about new books.

Readers, here are links to the book.

Saving Parker (A Forever Home Novel) (Volume 3) - Paperback
Saving Parker (A Forever Home Novel Book 3) - Kindle

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