Margaret Brownley: Summer Brides

The Dog Days of Summer Bride is best-selling author Margaret Brownley’s contribution to The 12 Brides of Summer Collection.

Unlike most of the stories in the collection, The Dog Days of Summer Bride is not a sequel to Margaret’s 12 Brides of Christmas story. She explains why:

“It’s hard for me to write sequels because when I finish a story it’s done.  All the loose ends are tied up and all the sub-plots complete.  Some writers come up with fantastic sequels and I admire that talent.  I’m afraid any sequel I write would fall flat.”

Instead, she’s spun a trademark fun tale that matches its title:

Music teacher Miralee Davis hasn’t got a beau but she does have a dog—sometimes.  His name is Mozart, but she calls him Mo. He would be the perfect canine companion except for one very disturbing fault; Mo disappears every week like clockwork for three or four days.  That wouldn’t be so bad if he didn’t come back looking like a ragamuffin and smelling like yesterday’s fish dinner.

Blacksmith Jed Colbert’s dog Dynamite (Dyna for short) has the same disturbing habit.  Only when Dyna returns home he puts the male species to shame by smelling like a dandy.

Neither Jed nor Miralee know they share the same dog until . . . Mozart/Dynamite digs up a stash of stolen loot.  The reward will go to the dog’s owner—if only Miralee and Jed could agree on who that owner is. And that’s not all they disagree on

It’s going to take an act of Congress for these two sometime pet owners to see eye-to-eye—and maybe even a little help from a certain matchmaking dog who now answers to the name Dyna-Mo.

 Where did she come up with that idea?

“I tried to think of something that went with the summer theme and dog days popped into my head.  I’ve had animals in my stories; a love-sick mule and an eccentric cat, but never a dog.

I played the “what-if” game and came to a question that intrigued me: what if two people unknowingly owned the same dog?

I went to bed with that burning question in my mind and woke up at four a.m. with my story.  It was so much fun to write.  Two strangers owning one dog leads to so many fun complications.  The dog in question is a black and white cow dog with a very special mission in mind.”

Margaret enjoys writing historical fiction because of the opportunities to do research and learn about past times. She also pays close attention to what her readers like and that informed the writing of The Dog Days of Summer Bride.

“The one thing I noticed from reviews of The Nutcracker Bride [Part of The 12 Brides of Christmas Collection] is that readers loved learning about the history of nutcrackers.  Keeping that in mind I included some interesting facts in my story about the dog days of summer and how it got its name.”

Margaret does enjoy story sequels if someone else puts them together:

“My all time favorite move sequel was Toy Story 3.  Bawled my head off. I guess I wasn’t ready to let Andy go off to college. Come to think of it, I felt the same way about my own children.  I’m anxiously waiting for Finding Nemo two.  They better not send Nemo off to college, that’s all I’ve got to say.”

 Who is Margaret Brownley?

Best-selling author Margaret Brownley has penned nearly forty historical novels including Undercover Bride, book two in her Undercover Ladies series. Her books have won numerous awards, including Readers’ Choice and Award of Excellence.

She’s a former Romance Writers of American RITA^® finalist and has written for a TV soap and is currently working on a new series.

Not bad for someone who flunked eighth grade English.  Just don’t ask her to diagram a sentence.

This is the fourth series Margaret and Michelle Ule have contributed to, including The Log Cabin Christmas Collection, The Pioneer Christmas Collection and The 12 Brides of Christmas Collection (releasing as a full volume in October 2015)

You can find Margaret here:

Website: www.margaret-brownley.com

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Tweetables

Who is Margaret Brownley? Click to Tweet

Who owns this dog? and other @margaretbrownly absurdities! Click to Tweet

Summer’s Dog Dayz ends in romance. Click to Tweet

 

And for those looking for a complete collection of The 12 Brides of Christmas novellas, they’re available here.