GUEST BLOG: Julie Campbell

Friend of the blog, Julie Campbell is on a whirlwind blog tour and we were lucky enough to grab some of her time as its all about her new book available on Amazon (in the US, UK) as either an E-Book or a hardcopy.

So without further ado, we give you OWGer (one of the Kelley Armstrong Forum writers) Julie Campbell to take you on a journey with a different twist in its tail...

Gareth, thank you for having me here today for my blog tour.

My novella, Doc, Vampire-Hunting Dog is about a Border Collie who… hunts vampires. Bet you didn’t see that coming. Well, the second part anyway. You may not have guessed Border Collie unless you’ve already seen the cover. Then the breed of the MC is kind of obvious. Border Collies aren’t exactly known for being the most blood thirsty of breeds. Normally people think of Babe, the movie about a pig who herds sheep like the dogs do. They are cute, smart and a little grumpy with sheep sometimes, but not hunters.

Well, that’s true. But they do have that pretty cool eye. The Border Collie eye was developed early in the breeds history and they use it to control the sheep (and vampires). Yes, they literally stare at the sheep. It’s an intense gaze, and if you’ve ever had it turned on you, it can be intimidating. You can actually feel it even when you don’t know the dog is looking at you. They are also super smart. This is the blessing and curse of the breed. I won’t get on my soapbox here, but let me tell you, most people aren’t prepared to deal with a smart dog that might as well be a perpetual energy machine.

To me Border Collies make the perfect vampire-hunting dog. They’re smart enough, intense enough, loyal enough, and boy do they love to have a job and work with their human partner to get it done.

So what does my vampire-hunting dog in training do while I’m writing? A lot of the time she sits right under my feet. Sometimes I’ll come up for air and find I’m surrounded by her toys and she’s staring at me, hoping I’ll throw them. Sometimes she goes and sleeps on the couch. Poor dog. It’s a huge challenge to live with a Border Collie, especially since I also work 40+ hours a week out of the home, and write as much as I can. I have to keep her exercised and mentally occupied. If I lived on a farm she’d be outside working all day, every day, because that’s what BC’s do. They go and go and go. Since she’s a companion dog, I have to dedicate large amounts of time to doing things with her. I trail ride with her and my horse, play a lot of fetch, do a dog sport called flyball and we do herding. It’s kind of like having a kid… all her lessons and spending time with her. It’s wonderful though because a happy active BC means a happy active author – at least in my case.

Kira is my inspiration for Doc. Even Doc’s love for his lazy chair… Kira loves to sit in my lazy chair. So do the cats actually. Sometimes they even let me sit in it. She’s had a huge impact on this novella. I hope, if you decide to read it, that you’ll be able to see the real Border Collie behind the fictional one.