Blog Tour: Our Song By: Jordanna Fraiberg Guest Post and Giveaway!

Today I have an awesome guest post from Jordanna on her favorite thing about being an author, Thanks to Shane @Itching For Books for hosting Enjoy!

My favorite thing about being an author is getting to work at home with my dog within arms reach. His name is Rocky, he’s eleven, and he’s a ninety-seven pound yellow lab.

   

I’ve basically been wrapped around a dog since the age of two, when my parents adopted Becky, a black lab. She was my best friend. I whispered secrets into her ear. I spent hours snuggled in to her slick fur. She was actually the inspiration for Buck in OUR SONG, Olive’s black lab who died when she was nine, just like Becky did when I was nine.

After Becky, we had Callie, then Ben and Noah. They were all amazing, all there for me throughout high school and college vacations for endless hours of snuggling.

But Rocky is the first dog I can call my own. Our own. My husband and I rescued Rocky after he was abandoned by his owners at the age of five. Like me, my husband grew up with dogs. Big dogs. And when we moved in together, we knew that we were ready to become dog parents.

At the time, I was still working long hours away from home, as was my husband, so we decided on an older dog who was already house trained and didn’t need constant monitoring. The older dogs also don’t get adopted as easily, which was another big reason we wanted a non-pup.

After scouring the internet, I found Rocky. I fell in love with him instantly from the blog posts his foster mom wrote about him. And when he arrived at our front door, I knew he was ours.

Rocky's first day as part of our family

Within a year and a half, I quit my job as a film executive and started working from home. The single greatest thing has been having Rocky there by my side.

And by my side he is. As I roam around the house, he follows, plunking himself down on the nearest plush surface, whether it’s a dog bed on the floor (we have several throughout the house) or on his favorite furniture (the couch in the living room).

  As I write this, he’s basking on his dog bed on the patio in the sun a few feet away, seemingly asleep but keenly aware of what I’m doing.

  And I know that even if I have to go to the bathroom, someone will notice my absence. Or follow me there.

  He’s there for me on the tough days. The days I seem to only procrastinate. The days I think I’ll never write again. And for the joys.

Ring bearer at our wedding

 Hard covers have arrived!

I used to marvel at how I could waste so many hours, days, entire vacations lounging around on the floor, under my mother’s piano, entangled with a dog.

But now I recognize the comfort, the strength and the peace I get from those snuggles. How they nourish me and give me pause enough to find my bearings, to let my subconscious do some of the heavy lifting for me.

I used to joke that if I could get a penny every time I kissed my dog I’d be a very rich woman. But I know that I already am just for having such a soulful companion by my side.

Synopsis via Goodreads:

 Olive Bell has spent her entire life in the beautiful suburb of Vista Valley, with a picture-perfect home, a loving family, and a seemingly perfect boyfriend. But after a near-fatal car accident, she s haunted by a broken heart and a melody that she cannot place. Then Olive meets Nick. He s dark, handsome, mysterious … and Olive feels connected to him in a way she can t explain. Is there such a thing as fate? The two embark on a whirlwind romance until Nick makes a troubling confession. Heartbroken, Olive pieces together what really happened the night of her accident and arrives at a startling revelation. Only by facing the truth can she uncover the mystery behind the song and the power of what it means to love someone.

Released: May 2, 2013
 Publisher: Razorbill
Purchase: Amazon

Jordanna Fraiberg was born in Montreal, Quebec, and currently lives in L.A., where she settled after receiving degrees from Harvard and Oxford. A former national squash champion and Hollywood film executive, she now divides her time between dreaming up stories and chasing her toddler. She is the author of Our Song andIn Your Room.

jordannafraiberg.com | @Jfraiberg

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