Make Love, not Fat

Evidently, you use up twice the calories making out as you do watching TV. Make Love, Not Fat, I guess, should be the slogan. This matters because, sure enough, I packed on the poundage over the holiday party season....sigh. This despite great tips I got from people on an earlier post. So hug someone before you turn on Mad Men maybe?

HOME TO HARMONY has been on shelves for a week now, I reckon, and I'm hoping it's selling well. The four-star review from Romantic Times Book Club was nice to get. I was thrilled when a fan told me she thought my first Super, A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS, was her fave of my 20+ books, so that's good news.

In honor of the release of my second Super, I'm giving away A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS to five commenters. Just share a New Year's Resolution or explain why you don't make them. Mine is obvious--more making out, less couch potato-ing.

I've joined the new SuperRomance Author blog. Check it out for news and book giveaways.



I got the title for the next book, coming out in September, THE BABY CONNECTION. It's about a baby surprise between an investigative reporter embedded in Iraq and a photojournalist in Phoenix and the title is spookily right on because their career and soul connection is boosted by the baby that hits the reporter between the eyes when he learns he exists. The cool thing is that the editor came up with this perfect title without having read a word of the book. Talk about psychic. I hope that means the book will sell like magic, too.

In the meantime, I'm off to find my husband. Gotta work off those Paradise Bakery cookies, doncha know.
All my best,
Dawn Atkins

WANTED: The Perfect Dog for a Life Lesson

I need a dog...BAD. Not for me--our tabby pretty much rules the home front at the moment, though we do love dogs, too.

What I need is a puppy for my hero, Chase McMann, to give my heroine, Sylvie Stark, as a surprise gift. She won't like it at first--she's scared of commitment--but she comes around eventually.

Deep inside, Sylvie believes she has to earn every bit of love and affection she gets in life. She was left at seven with her grandparents by a young, flaky mother, so she spends her life working hard, being the best she can be.

Chase, meanwhile, is easy-going and flexible and assumes everyone will love and forgive him--and they do--he's a mischievous charmer. Of course, that's what this dog is all about--a canine embodiment of what Chase will be in Sylvie's life. The dog will teach her to to kick back, have fun, be flexible, get into trouble but charm her way out of it.

What do you think? Can you recommend the perfect dog to help my character find her true heart and get in touch with all the love she has to give?

So far this King Charles Cavalier is working for me, but I'm not sure he's perfect. These spaniels are loving, not yappy, friendly, behaviorably manageable, affectionate, devoted, almost a lap dog, but not sickeningly so, and smart.

What are your thoughts for my character and your own idea of the perfect dog?
Dawn
www.dawnatkins.com