Meet Rosebud, the canine star of No Stranger To Scandal

(And a prize-winner announcement!)

When I was writing No Stranger To Scandal, I decided that my heroine's stepfather would have a dog. The stepfather is the owner of a news network who loves his dog and takes her to work with him every day, and she's just as devoted, spending her days sleeping in a basket under his desk.

For some reason, I could only see this dog as a bulldog.

Next, she needed a name. I wrote some of this book while sitting on the couch at my mother's house, and she has a Rottweiler x Labrador named Roxiana Rosebud who sat on the other side of the couch and kept me company. So it seemed natural to name my fictitious canine after my couch-friend.

Rosebud the Bulldog.

I'd like to share with you the first time the reader meets Rosebud - Lucy (our heroine) has slipped into her stepfather's office while he's on the phone.

From a basket under the desk, Rosebud, his bulldog, lifted her head and, recognizing Lucy, lumbered out to greet her. Lucy dropped her bag beside the chair and crouched down to rub the dog’s velvety, wrinkled face.

“How’s it going, Rosie?” she whispered and was rewarded with a wide doggie smile, complete with a pink tongue almost curled back on itself.

Further on, Rosebud has an even bigger part to play, when Lucy uses her as an excuse to "run into" Hayden and his one-year-old son:

The next day, at half past one, Lucy saw her target. The concierge had told her Hayden Black liked to take a walk in the park across from the Sterling Hotel with his son on his lunch break, but that the time of the break varied. So Lucy and Rosebud had been wandering the park since just after eleven. Rosebud was panting from the exertion, but thoroughly enjoying her day out meeting random people who stopped to pat her.

Hayden was striding along a paved path about twenty feet away, talking to an infant he carried in one arm, holding a brown paper bag in the other. The sight of him trapped her breath in her lungs. Wide, strong shoulders that tapered to narrow hips. Long legs that walked with confidence and purpose. The masculine grace in the way he held his son.

She swallowed hard. “Come on, Rosie, I have a little boy I want you to meet.” Rosebud looked up, her curled tongue poking out as she smiled.

And here's a snippet of the conversation that ensues:

“Goggie!” Josh squealed again, apparently impatient to be getting to the dog-patting action.

Hayden looked from Rosie to her. “Is it okay for Josh to pat her?”

“Sure,” she said, laying on her southern accent thick and smiling innocently. “She’s as gentle as a lamb.”

Hayden crouched down beside her and supported Josh as he found his feet and reached out to touch Rosie’s ear.

“Her name’s Rosebud,” Lucy said to the toddler.

As they watched Josh and Rosie interact, Hayden asked, “How long have you had her?”

“She’s Graham’s dog,” she replied, as if she hadn’t worked out that he’d know that. “He’s had her for six years. Since she was a puppy.”

Hayden leaned forward and joined Josh in petting her. “Nice dog.”

His shoulder was only a couple of inches from hers—if she moved a little she’d bump against him. A mischievous impulse urged her to lean into him, knowing he’d be solid and warm, and it took all her willpower to resist. The scent of clean, masculine skin surrounded her, made everything else fade into the background, made a hum resound through her bloodstream.

Rosie rolled over onto her back, producing her tummy for rubs with no shame at her brazen request for attention. Lucy blinked down at the dog, fully aware she walked a knife’s edge of being just as obvious. She squared her shoulders. Time to move away from temptation and remember she was a journalist working on a story.

I loved spending time in Rosebud's scenes - she totally stole my heart!

Tell me, do you know a dog (or cat!) who deserves to be immortalized in a book like my mother's Roxiana Rosebud? I'd love to hear about them!

And before I go, the winner of my giveaway last week (the Happy Release Day To Me post) is Cecilia83. Cecilia, drop me a line at rachel (at) rachelbailey (dot) com and I'll get the book in the mail. :)