The inspiration for CODE BLUE CHRISTMAS's sled dogs!

Guess what? I have another medical romance coming out this fall! It's a HOLIDAY MEDICAL ROMANCE, which means all the medical details but lots of decorations, too.

This time, it's gone to the dogs! 

Back cover blurb: 
One injured sled dog. One old grudge. One Christmas snowstorm that turns Yukon Valley into a matchmaking minefield.

Reggie Price runs on precision because it keeps Yukon Valley Hospital’s lab humming and his sled dog team on track for the North Pole 500. With the Iditarod qualifier three weeks away, he can’t afford distractions.

Then his lead dog limps into Katz Veterinary Clinic—and bolts straight into Dr. April Katz.

April is all twinkle lights and holiday cheer this Christmas. She’s also juggling a father who thinks responsibility is a love language, a career decision she keeps punting, and the inconvenient fact that Reggie still pushes her buttons.

The town’s matchmaking network declares them a holiday project. A community festival throws them together. And a whiteout strands April at Reggie’s cabin—with a sputtering generator, a crackling fire, and one too-tempting bed.

Then race day comes, and with his dogs’ health and a promise to his brother on the line, Reggie and April must risk the thing they both cling to most: control.

​Steamy small-town Alaska holiday romance. Standalone with HEA.

Let's talk dogs! I've already had one well-meaning person react to the cover: "Those don't look like sled dogs! They're supposed to be fluffy huskies." To which I'd say: you're right and wrong.

"Alaskan husky" is a breed of dog that is smaller and leaner than you might think. They are oftentimes less fluffy than Disney movies and TV might lead you to think. Sometimes they are downright homely and almost scrawny looking!

Take a look at these pictures and see what I mean? Not a super fluffy dog in the bunch! https://animalko.com/characteristics-that-define-top-iditarod-sled-dogs/   (picture #5 is what I wrote most of my Yukon Valley dogs to be like!!)

Sometimes Siberian huskies ("fluffy husky" appearance) pull sleds -- they're really good for things like Antarctic or Arctic expeditions where they're existing in like minus 60 degrees for long periods of time. But for the most part when we're talking about things like the Iditarod, those sleds are pulled by the good ol' Alaskan husky. These mixed-breed dogs are bred for race-specific reasons. Some are meant to run long distances over a week or so. Others are sprinters. It has a lot to do with size/strength/food requirements/hardiness, etc.. And of course, this breed is made up of dogs who LOVE TO PULL. 

I talk about Maverick's sled dog team as a motley band of pups, and I confess that my inspiration came from Blair Braverman, acclaimed musher. Braverman's famous "Ugly Dogs" were how I thought about Maverick's initial dog sled crew. You can check out her dogs in these places: 
https://www.npr.org/2019/03/01/699390413/blair-braverman-and-her-ugly-dogs-compete-in-their-first-iditarod

https://www.facebook.com/blair.braverman

Notice anything interesting about the dogs? Yup, they are kind of homely and all have very different personalities, and each one is a bit of a disaster in its own special way. And true to typical mushing nowadays, there are very few plush, fluffy dogs in the bunch!

So, if you know anything about Blair Braverman's #uglydogs then you will know where I'm coming from in the dogs of Yukon Valley!!