Welcome D.D. Ayres Author of: "Primal Force"

1 Rad-Reader Reviews

Welcomes:

D. D. Ayres

Author of: “Primal Force”

Passion is always worth fighting for…

Jori Garrison trains dogs for Warrior Wolf Pack, which provides service animals for disabled veterans. Four years ago, she was wrongly convicted of a crime—thanks to her no-good ex-fiancé. Now she just wants to live her life in peace with her beloved dogs. No men, no complications. But it’s hard to play it cool when a lethally hot male is on her tail—and the attraction is fierce, mutual, and dangerous…

PRIMAL FORCE

Lauray "Law" Batisse is a Military Police veteran who was wounded in Afghanistan. Haunted by the loss of his K-9 partner in combat, he’s reluctant to accept a service dog named Samantha into his life. But once he meets her trainer—the gorgeous Jori Garrison—he can’t fight his primal instincts. And neither can Jori. This sexy alpha male might be the only man strong enough to unleash her desires. And when unseen enemies start hunting them down, he and his new K-9 partner might be her only hope… to survive.

Rad-Reader:  I have enjoyed your books, how did you get started in writing about K-9 teams?

D.D.:  How could I resist the offer from my editor to develop a Romantic Suspense series about cool K-9 dogs and their hot guy handlers?  I love dogs.  There’s been one almost constantly in my life.  Only one problem.  I knew next to nothing about K-9 teams.  There was research to be done. 

Rad-Reader:  What made you decide to do a story about a soldier with PTSD and his service dog?

D.D.: In doing research about professional K-9s, I came across service dogs, who in their own way rescue and protect their persons on a daily basis. The ability of these dogs just amazed me.  They can remind a person to eat, take meds, tell sometimes 15-20 minutes before a person is going to have a seizure and alert so the person can take their meds.  They can open doors, help with laundry.  I could go on and on.  Coupled with that was my continued interest in handlers.  I knew I wanted to honor the service of veterans who have returned with disabilities but continue to be strong even as they struggle with very real issues..  At the same time I saw a wonderful story opportunity to introduce service dogs- not hunters/ trackers/ detection animals, but dogs specifically trained to assist people with special needs. Primal Force was born.

Rad-Reader:  How did you come up with Jori Garrison’s Character for this book?

D.D.: Jori is a woman with a “past”. Without giving too much away I wanted to develop a story around a program I became familiar with while researching service animals. Patriot Paws is a service dog training program in Rockwall, TX. I learned about service and PTSD dogs for veterans, and a wonderful program they have that trains incarcerated women to be K9 handlers. Enough said!

Rad-Reader:  How did Lauray’s character come about, he has many different levels and seems to evolve as the book goes along?

D.D.: Thanks for recognizing that! I was shooting for complexity in Lauray. He has returned home from combat with serious physical and emotional damage, and his struggle to regain normalcy, and his willingness to accept help (both human and K9) is part and parcel of that struggle. Vets with PTSD have serious issues, but they can be helped and even become better human beings with that help. That’s Lauray. At least, I hope so!

Rad-Reader:  You have Jori Garrison’s character working at a training center for service dogs.  Did you go and observe the training or did you know someone in that field?

D.D.:  Yes. It was a total learning experience! I received invaluable help from several service dog facilities in the North Texas area, but particularly Patriot Paws in Rockwall, Texas.  And people told me stories of their experiences both training and using service dogs.

Rad-Reader:  The idea for the voice of the dog this time.  Did that just happen as you were writing or did you go back and add it later?

D.D.:  I did not set out to use a dog’s point of view.  I try in every book to give the dogs unique personalities but remain dogs.  It occurred to me as I was well into the book that the K-9 in the story (A Golden Doodle named Samantha) had a lot to “say” about the hero, Lauray, and how he fit into her world. Again, one of the things I heard over and over with service dogs is that the dog chooses the person, not the other way around.  The dog knows who need them.  What better way to express that than to have the reader be able to get into Samantha’s head for a bit? I think it adds an important element to this particular book. And boy, it was fun to write!

Rad-Reader:  The work program you have Jori’s character getting started in was that a real program or just for the book?

D.D.: It’s a real program in Texas. I took some liberties (creative license?) in setting this particular program in Arkansas.  But there are prison programs in AR, and many other states that use inmates to train dogs.  Some of them help rehabilitate rescue animals so that they can be placed with new families.  Everything I’ve heard and read says these programs help inmates as well, some of whom, often men, aren’t good with people.  The dogs give them something to care for, express their emotions with, and vice versa.

Rad-Reader:  You have Lauray Batisse character coming from a family that owns a kennel and training center is that based on one that you know of first hand?

D.D.:  No, I didn’t have first-hand knowledge of a kennel like that one. Harmony Kennels is purely fictional but based on some research I have done on similar businesses. The kennel and the owners are a common thread that links all the stories in the K-9 Rescue Series together, although each stands on its own.

Rad-Reader:  Do you come up with a storyline first or the characters when you write?

D.D.:  That’s tough to say, since they are so interdependent. I think the storyline comes first most of the time.  Actually, for these books, the dog comes first.  Because I want to show off the K-9 team and dog’s skills, and have those skills be integral to the suspense elements, I start there and build my other characters.  In my next project, however, the characters came first. Yardley Summers, the heroine, is a common thread throughout the K-9 rescue series and “Rival Forces” (May, 2016) is her story.

Rad-Reader:  The issues that Lauray and some of the other characters have with losing an arm or leg seemed very real when you wrote about them.  Did you speak to someone about those issues?  Even the care or treatment I did not know.

D.D.  Research, research, research. Books, videos, magazine articles and yes talking with people.  I never ask for personal experiences.  I always phrase my question as “What are some of the issues . . .” or “What should I keep in mind . . .” and then let the person I’m talking with tell me as much or little as he/she is comfortable with sharing.  It took a lot of my time in trying to be authentic about the issue of prosthetics and the unbelievable series of surgeries and physical therapy that these wounded men and women have to endure to make effective use of them. I didn’t want to gloss over the hard things.  But I hope I used them to show how much can be overcome, and dealt with.  And that a new prosthesis doesn’t suddenly make you the Bionic Man or Woman.  Law is cranky because he’s in pain almost constantly.  That doesn’t stop him from being sexy as anything, or falling in love, or wanting to be whole again.  Jori can look past his stone walls to see the man inside who yearns to be loved.

Rad-Reader:  Certain parts of the book seemed so real, like the wife who wanted to give back the dog because she felt she was losing contact between her and her husband.  Then Jori took her out for a makeover and her husband was like WOW! Was that a story you heard about or made up for the book?

D.D.:  It was a bit of both. I had a conversation with a trainer at Patriot paws who told me how often the spouse needs as much help as the wounded veteran. In some cases the spouse (or whoever the primary caregiver is) feels a sense of loss that her / his “job” is being taken by a dog! It takes a delicate and steady hand to bring these folks around, have them understand that the animal may be allowing for a resumption of a more normal life.  I thought of the makeover on the spur of the moment.  But as women we all know how even small changes on the outside can make us feel happier on the inside.  Doable things.  It was more her taking a moment to remember to look after herself than the actual results.

Rad-Reader:  In the book you have the service dog pick out Lauray, is that what actually take place?

D.D.:  Absolutely. The saying is “the dog chooses the client”. In most cases there is one or more “pairing days” when several animals who are ready to be assigned interact with a group of veterans who are ready to take on take on their K9 assistance animal. Humans and animals interact for 30 minutes or so in a room, and pretty soon the trainers can tell who goes with whom! It’s quite interesting.  Some dogs won’t even give another person a chance once they’ve chosen their person.

Rad-Reader:  When you have Lauray get back in touch with his Indian side with the help of his sister and Jori along with his unit.  I thought that was a good touch.  How did that part come about in the story?

D.D.:  It was just an idea I had. I knew where I wanted the story to be set and I had done some research on Native American tribes for Lauray’s background, and their customs and mores.  It all fit together nicely.  Not every therapy fits every person.  The therapy I write about “The enemy away” ceremony is program used by Native American veterans with the support of the Veterans Administration.

Read more at:  http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/05/26/healing-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-native-medicine-155032

Rad-Reader:  Do you have a say in the content of your books or do your publishers want them to be a certain way?

D.D.:  After the initial idea was pitched to me to do a romantic suspense series involving K-9s, it was all mine! I have complete control over the content.  They have become more realistic and grounded, edgy, but I hope I tell a great love story while having fun putting my K-9 teams through their paces.

Rad-Reader:  How difficult was it for you to get published?

D.D.:  Well, I’m a multi-published author. Back in the day, I was able to sell my first book (a Historical Romance) to the very first publisher I approached (Dell). After that, I have written about 40 books in various genres. HOWEVER I am proud to say that the editor who bought the K-9 Rescue Series, did not know who I was, and bought the idea strictly on the merits of my proposal and written chapters.  My agent, Denise Marcil (New York), gets a lot of the credit, too.

Rad-Reader:  Since your books have been published, is there anything that you have gotten for yourself?  A guilty pleasure?

D.D.:  Wow. What a question! Of course it’s a pleasure to be published… I wouldn’t classify it as “guilty”.  Everyone likes to have their ego stroked and seeing my books in print strokes mine pretty nicely! I rewarded myself with a beautiful hand-made necklace from Guatemala after publication of the second novel, “Force of Attraction.”
Never meant to imply your writing to be a guilty pleasure at all but an item of guilty pleasure for a job well don't.  You know like they say, "I made it I accomplished my goal."  We are glad that you did that for yourself for sure.  You deserved it for a job well done.

Rad-Reader:  What type of dog do you own if any?

D.D.:  My family has always had dogs- mutts, a Cocker Spaniel, and two Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers that were breed rescues. Unfortunately, Zoe, our last Wheaten, died earlier this year at age 14, and I haven’t had the heart to get a new dog – yet!
So sorry to hear that our pets do become a part of the family. Ours, he is the only one that doesn't know he is not human.

Rad-Reader:  If your book was made into a movie who would play:

Jori:  Evangeline Lilly

Lauray:  Alex Meraz

D.D.: My choice is soooo hard to make.


Jori:  Emily Blunt

Louray:  Joe Manganiello 

Rad-Reader:  What song out now makes you think of your book?

D.D.:  All Tied Up – Robin Thicke  Lauray needs to loosen up.

Rad-Reader:  What is your next project?

D.D.:  My next book in the K-9 Rescue Series is titled Rival Forces and it is Yardley Summers’s story. She is the woman who owns Harmonie Kennels, and is the one thread that runs through all the books. It is scheduled for May 2016 release. It will feature not one but two love interests, and not one but two (very different) K-9s! I’m very excited!

Rad-Reader:  Where can our readers find you?  (Websites?)

D.D.:  My web page is www.ddayres.com, and you can reach me on Facebook at my page  https://www.facebook.com/pages/D-D-Ayres/816950304998835 . Twitter handle @ddayresk9

Rad-Reader:  Where can they buy your books?

D.D.:  Everywhere! Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Google Books etc. Print, digital, and audio.  Take a trip to my homepage and click on the “books” tab (here it is: http://www.ddayres.com/#!books/cnec ) - each book has its own page with “buy” links included.

A veteran author of romance and women’s fiction, D.D. Ayres is new to Romantic Suspense. She believes the lure of romance is always the human connection. Put that connection in physical jeopardy, and we learn a bit more about who we really are.

With her K-9 Rescue series, D.D. hopes you will enjoy her sexy, suspenseful portrayals of K-9 teams at their best.

D.D. lives in Fort Worth, Texas with her husband.

I would like to take the time to thank D.D. for being with us.

This book like other books that have to do with our service men and women that serve and help them with services, left an impact on my husband.  He is very enthralled with Indian studies also so this was also very interesting to him.  So you provided a double header.  That is a plus.  Thanks again and now you also are apart of our crazy family.

Good luck to you,

Char