Zoe Dawson's Blog - Posts Tagged "leashed"

I wrote this post for Plotmonkeys, but think it's so cute, I wanted to post it here, too! Feel free to answer the question and win the prize on any feed this blog is connected to! Also, comments are welcome, even if it's about my socks!



Famous Great Danes
With their impressive size and magnificent look it’s no surprise that Great Danes have been drawn and written about. Here are a few you might recognize.

Scooby-Doo
He’s Shaggy’s best friend, loves hero sandwiches and Scooby snacks and has that distinctive un-Dane like high-pitched laugh. It’s not a surprise that he is the most recognized and popular of the Great Dane celebrities. His character which began in 1969 and created by Iwao Takamoto is the distinctive Dane silhouette, but Iwao decided to go the opposite that is required for the breed. He made Scooby with a hump back and bowed legs. Scooby was also distinctive that he could not only totally understand Shaggy, but he could speak English. Okay, a variant of English with his “Rut Roh, Raggy” which translated means “Uh-oh, Shaggy!” The first episode, “What a Night for a Knight,” brought together the now famous Fred, Daphne, Velma and Shaggy to solve mysteries. This famous Dane has starred in movies, comic books, novels, and of course animated cartoons. As you can see, I don my Scooby socks to keep my feet warm, but it’s also good inspiration for writing light, and funny mystery. We love you, Scooby!

Astro
He was large, silly, and caused George a lot of suffering and hurt. Who knew it was that dangerous to walk a dog. “Jane, stop this crazy thing!” But even though George wasn’t too keen on having this canine around, a robot dog was no match for the sheer lovable personality of Astro. This Great Dane was also created by Iwao Takamoto and made his debut in 1952. Yes, you are seeing that correctly. Astro pre-dates Scooby. I can only think that he was so cute and lovable that Iwao had to create another character to keep all that awesomeness alive. The Jetsons is one of the first cartoons to be broadcast in color on ABC so that even though Astro is grey, his pink tongue, that evidently liked slobbering all over George, stood out.

Marmaduke
Marmaduke a misbehaving Great Dane (a bit like Jack in Leashed) was the subject of a comic strip created by Brad Anderson in 1955. This Great Dane is syndicated in major newspapers all over the country. That’s right, he’s still in the Sunday morning funnies. How’s that for longevity. Brad’s son Paul is drawing him these days as his 88 year old father is probably enjoying his retirement. Marmaduke also starred in a 2010 movie with Owen Wilson voicing the bad puppy.

Giant George
This big boy lives up to his name. He is the largest Great Dane in history and is in the Guinness Book of World Records as Tallest Dog Ever (43 inches) and Tallest Living Dog. He weighs in at 245 pounds.

Diplomatic
This is a breeder of Great Danes out of Sweden who produce gorgeous Great Danes with delusions of grandeur. With names like Val Kilmer and Nicolas Cage, these dogs have a strong pedigree and live up to their grandiose monikers. Why not? Danes are impressive enough even without the Hollywood names.

Disney
Disney has given us a smattering of this breed in many of their movies such as: Einstein (Oliver & Company), Brutus (The Ugly Dachshund), and Danny (101 Dalmatians). No doubt about it. These dogs add a comic sense to many mediums.

Yours
The only other famous Great Danes I can think of would be yours! Share with us if you own a Great Dane and his/her name. Also, answer a question for me and win a copy of Leashed. What is Shaggy’s real name?

When I decided to write about a Great Dane getting the Great Dane next door pregnant in my novella Leashed, it sounded like a great premise. But, I had no idea how much fun I would have writing about Great Danes. They are such beautiful dogs. But, they are also gentle giants. I discovered this video and just had to share. The evidence is overwhelming. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCPE6Z...

The Fall In Love Giveaway hop was organized by Reading Romances!

As a writer, some ideas come to me through dreams, bits of conversation, a word in an article. But Leashed came to me because I loved the show Sex and the City and the unique friendships that the four women in the series built and developed over the course of the show. I envisioned the same kind of friendship for my Going to the Dogs series, but these women each had a dog they loved and each of the women were involved in the "dog business." Going to the Dogs was born. Sex and the City was a six season long story of how these women found romance. Happily Ever After is what we as romance writers are all about. Inspiration comes from everywhere when you're a writer, but it's a bonus when that inspiration provides such a wonderful viewing experience.



I recommend Leashed not because I wrote it but because it's about friendship and love.

Fall in love with Leashed and enjoy the experience.

Buy Leashed here: http://www.amazon.com/Leashed-Going-D...

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What you can win: An ebook copy of Leashed and a $10 Amazon Gift Card

Number of winners: 1

Open to: INT, US/CAN

How to enter: Comment here and go to http://www.zoedawson.com/#!CONTEST|ccq7 and fill out the contest form and include your email address as well as sign up for my newsletter for an extra entry

Five Heart review from Sara at HarlequinJunkie. Check it out.

http://harlequinjunkie.com/review-lea...

Come check out Zoe Dawson's book Leashed today at The Book's Blurb Blog. Today is catch up day...each book will only be up for a portion of the day due to us being down for a week...thanks and please visit. Don't forget to comment to be entered into our month contest. Comments made on this blog will count toward the November contest...winner to be announced on Thursday. Please share! http://thebooksblurb.blogspot.com/201...