NBTM + #Giveaway: Seven Days to Goodbye by Sheri S Levy @SheriSLevy @GoddessFish

Seven Days to Goodbye

by Sheri S Levy

GENRE:   Young Adult- coming of age

BLURB:

Thirteen year old, Trina has chosen to raise service dogs and have puppy after puppy. But during her seven day beach vacation, Trina struggles with having to return Sydney at the end of the week and worrying about her best friend changing into a stranger. To complicate the week, Sydney, meets a young boy with autism and the girls meet his two older brothers. Tension is raised over the guys, and Trina fears she’ll lose more than her service dog. Will Trina's lose her best friend, also?

Excerpt:

Uh, oh. The wind lifted the Frisbee into the air. It looked as if the disc had sprouted wings, and disappeared up and over the jetty. Sydney halted, staring at me. He was used to chasing his toy. His eyes asked for permission as his body quivered pent-up energy. Letting him struggle for a minute, I giggled and said, “Okay, Syd. Find Frisbee.”

I did a slow jog towards the rocks and seconds later, Sarah called, “Wait for me.” I did a slow jog towards the rocks and seconds later, Sarah called, “Wait for me.”

I turned around and stopped. “Wow, you're joining me! Come on. I’ve got to

find Syd’s Frisbee. It’s on the other side.”

We climbed over the jetty. The dogs used their four-legged drive and moved much faster than Sarah or me. When we reached the top of the mound, Sydney stood a distance away with his Frisbee at his feet, leaning close to a small boy. The boy continued to pat the sand in his bucket and turn it upside down, making a row of mounds.

My heart did a triple beat in quarter time. I started running. Sydney’s stub wiggled and jiggled as soon as the boy’s sandy hands rubbed his back.

“I’m sorry,” I said running ahead. I bent, face to face with the boy. “I hope he didn’t scare you.”

The boy never looked at me, only at Sydney and back to the sand. He said in a monotone voice, “Doggy, doggy.”

Sarah meandered up to us. I panted in fast spurts. Worried about the boy and Sydney, I never noticed the rest of the group. A little ways from the small boy, two guys around our age worked on a fort or it could have been a sand castle. The one who seemed to be the oldest, stood. He had long legs and was much taller than I expected. Using his hand, he shoved his longish brown bangs out of his eyes.

Oh, Sarah had definitely noticed. She smiled, pushed loose hair back into her braid and pulled her bathing suit in place.

I rolled my eyes. Okay. Here she goes.

Interview with Sheri S Levy

1.   What inspired you to write Seven Days to Goodbye?

With years of reading aloud to my students about dogs and the beach, I thought it would be fun to create stories. I had always written, but after I retired I discovered I needed to learn how to write novels. I jumped into this craft with both feet and continued to tread water.

 I had decided to use my memories and experiences to write Seven Days to Goodbye. My husband and I spent many long weekends with our best friends on Edisto Beach, SC. I used our wonderful times, but turned the characters into teenagers and used my students’ issues.

2.   Can you tell us about the next books in Trina Ryan’s Dogs in Training Series?

     The sequel is called Starting Over. It has the same characters, plus a new conflict and horseback riding. It is due July 18^th,2017. I am busy at work on the third story, For Keeps. I can’t add any more information without spoiling Seven Days to Goodbye.

3.   Can you tell us a bit about the characters in Seven Days to Goodbye?

     The main characters are taken from real life people, mainly to keep my memories alive. My first Australian shepherd, Sydney, became the service dog. The main characters Trina and Sarah are teens, growing up at different speeds, and struggle to maintain their long-term friendship. Trina is a puppy raiser for service dogs and Sarah’s interest is on guys. Sydney makes a magical connection with Logan, a young boy with autism, and to Sarah’s delight, Logan has older brothers.

     The story has humor, teen issues, and plenty-of puppy love in both varieties.

4.   You know we all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?

I absolutely love to read. But I can’t say I have one favorite author. My favorite reads are dramas, middle grade to adult. If there are animals, humor, and emotional pulls, I’m hooked.

5.   If you could time-travel would you travel to the future or the past?  Where would you go and why would you like to visit this particular time period?

     If I could sit in a time machine, I’d travel into space. My dad worked with NASA at the time of the first space shuttle, Columbia. I would have given anything to be an astronaut and see the universe.  I even filled out the paper work to be the teacher chosen to go into space. But I had asthma and never sent it.

6.   Do you have any fuzzy friends? Like a dog or cat? Or any pets?

     I grew up with a brown, miniature Dachshund and an orange tabby cat. After I married, we adopted a five-year-old German shepherd. And she jump started our life with dogs. We continued to have puppies, and strays and are now on our sixth and seventh dog. We’ve had two Shepherds, one black Lab, and four Australian shepherds.

Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to visit with us today. 

    

   

AUTHOR BIO:

Sheri, originally from California, moved to South Carolina with her husband, two children and a Siamese cat. Soon they adopted their first rescue dog who influenced their need to continue living with dogs. Sheri taught a multi-handicapped Special Ed class, and then a GED-parenting class, which included home visits. Because of her love of reading, Sheri found unusual ways to encourage children to read. After her rescue of a difficult dog, Sheri enrolled in dog classes to change his behavior. Her dream of writing, Seven Days to Goodbye, came from the culmination of her beach experiences, her understanding of behaviors, and from research with PAALS, a service dog organization.

Author Links:
Facebook ~ Amazon ~ Twitter ~ Website

Buy Link:

Amazon

Giveaway:

$20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC

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