Jackie had been killed in a horrific accident not very long before I started working on Getting Skinny, leaving me almost paralyzed with grief. She had been more than a pet to me. At the time, I had been divorced and single for twenty years, and during the last eight of those years, Jackie had been my closest family—my little girl. Anybody who has lost a pet can tell you how devastating such a loss can be.
It took a long time, over a year, before I was able to mention her name without tears. But there came a day when I could not only talk about her, but even laugh at all the crazy antics of that little devil.
One day I was telling a new friend about some of Jackie’s adventures, when she said something about that dog having such personality, she should be a character in a book.
That was when the idea first began to take root. At the time, I was already writing an outline for a comedy murder-mystery, and I thought, why not? Why couldn’t I make Jackie one of the main characters?
Gradually the idea took hold. All I had to do was retell a few of the hilarious adventures Jackie had put me through, and readers would fall in love with her, just as I had.
From that moment on, the book almost wrote itself. I remember my fingers just flying on the keyboard, the pages adding up at an astonishing speed. I found myself laughing out loud as I wrote, remembering how funny Jackie was. More than that, there were times when I felt as if she was right there, watching me the way she used to, with her head tilted as if she was trying to make sense of what I was doing. I had recently remarried and my husband’s office was right across the hall from mine. I was laughing so hard while typing away, that he kept asking me to read him what I’d just written. It wasn’t long until I felt that this manuscript was a winner. I must have been right because this was the novel that helped me land an agent, and then my first book deal, and then not long after, a second book deal. And it was all thanks to Jackie Chan.
That was four years ago. Now I have two other little dogs. There is Charlie Chan—a little three-pound male I rescued three years ago and who bears an uncanny resemblance to Jackie—and there is Gaia—a little dog I was told was a Yorkie when I got her, but who turned out to be a Silky. I love them both, but I still find myself missing Jackie, which just goes to prove, a woman never forgets her first love.
I love you Jackie Chan. And I know whoever reads Getting Skinny will love you too.
Owning a restaurant is as crazy for Nicky Landry as an alcoholic owning a bar. But despite having to cram herself into a body shaper to look decent in a dress, life is pretty good. She's throwing the party of the year for her graduating doctor boyfriend, Rob, who she's sure is going to propose—until his new girlfriend shows up at the party.
After ordering Rob to get his stuff out of her house and get lost, Nicky finds him faceup with her expensive Chroma knife sticking right out of his cheating heart.
As the prime suspect, Nicky is in hot water. And no matter how hard she tries to clear her name, her problems only mount. She's convinced she can solve the murder—if only she can figure out the identity of the skinny person seen walking away with Rob after the party.
Getting "Skinny" won't be easy for Nicky, but she never imagined it would be life or death…
**Everyone who leaves a comment on Monique's tour page will be entered to win a $20 Amazon gift card! Anyone who purchases their copy of Getting Skinny before July 15 and sends their receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, will get five bonus entries.**
Author Bio:
Monique Domovitch lives with her husband and an ever expanding family of dogs. They travel extensively and she is never seen without her laptop. When is not writing or traveling, Monique is an avid baker.
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