Ronie Kendig and Free Books!

It’s a mission like no other when former Navy handler Timbrel Hogan and her explosives detection dog, Beowulf, team up with Green Beret Tony “Candyman” VanAllen to track down WMDs in Afghanistan.

Before we visit today's author, I want to announce that the winner of the signed copy of A Promise Kept, by Robin Lee Hatcher, is:

wileygreen1@ . . .

Congratulations! I'll email you today to get your mailing address, and we'll get your book to you right away. I encourage readers to keep commenting and/or subscribe at right (above my list of books) in order to participate in future book give-aways! Subscribers are entered a second time when they comment.

Remember to enter your email address when you comment, as described in today's drawing information, below. If you win the drawing but haven't left your email address, I can't contact you!

Now let's meet novelist Ronie Kendig, author of Beowulf: Explosives Detection Dog (Barbour, January 2014).

Ronie Kendig is an award-winning, bestselling author who grew up an Army brat. After twenty-plus years of marriage, she and her hunky hero husband have a full life with four children and a Maltese Menace in Northern Virginia. Author and speaker, Ronie loves engaging readers through her Rapid-Fire Fiction novels.

Please tell us three random things we might not know about you.

-- Growing up, I thought of “home” as Ireland because my mother was from there and would say we were going “home to Ireland” when we would travel/vacation there.

-- Despite the shock this might instill, I’m not a chocolate lover. I enjoy some good chocolate on a donut or with a “biscuit” (check out Ritter Sport Butter Biscuit), or in peanut M&Ms, but I’m not one who has to have chocolate to have a good day. Now donuts, on the other hand, are an entirely different matter . Do not come between me and a pumpkin cake donut if you intend to live. *wink*

-- Before owning my first Golden Retriever (adopted her from a rescue group in 2000) and before writing the A Breed Apart series, I was not a dog lover. I mean, I am a huge animal lover (ask me sometime about the squirrel I tried to nurse back to life that had been crushed by a dumpster), but I preferred cats to dogs, hands-down. Now, I still love cats, but I’m in love with the military working dog and the breeds typically associated with them (Belgian Malinois, German Shepherd Dogs, Labradors, and Golden Retrievers).

Ronie, I was actually eating chocolate when I read your comment about chocolate. But then again, donuts are heavenly, as well.

Please tell us a bit more about the plot of Beowolf.

Beowulf brings back to readers two characters with strong chemistry (of the volatile kind) who were introduced in the previous two military working dog novels, Trinity and Talon. While tension mounts between Timbrel and Tony, the team comes under fire after Beowulf gets a “hit.”

When tragedy threatens Tony’s career and Timbrel’s courage, they must maneuver through an intricate plot and a mission like no other. . . .

This story address the toll of combat on our military heroes and introduces issues like TBI, amputations, and abuse.

Why will readers care about your lead character? 

There is nothing “soft” about Timbrel except the love for her brindled Bullmastiff, but Timbrel is raw and real and the perfect match for the lighthearted, bullheaded-in-his-own-right Tony.

What is one improvement you’d like to make in your life in 2014? 

I’d like to learn better balance of my responsibilities and to not feel obligated to do everything everyone asks of me. It’s pretty tough to find that right balance—I homeschool my kiddos and I’m a writer. Sometimes, those worlds collide, and only by the grace and mercy of God do I survive (and my kids survive, too—just in case you were wondering).

What is the last novel you read that you would recommend?

I am reading James Rollins’s The Eye of God , and I would heartily recommend his Sigma Force novels to anyone who enjoys military novels. Overall, they are very clean and there is some language (but nowhere near other secular writers). I find his writing style and his plots thoroughly engaging. I buy the audio version as well as the book, so I can immerse myself in his stories.

What are you working on now?

I am working on the second book in the Quiet Professional series, Hawk. In the A Breed Apart series, readers meet a ODA452, a Special Forces team, and it is that team that becomes of the focus of the Quiet Professional series starting with Raptor 6, which releases in May. At the same time, I’m working on a massive serialization project that I will be sharing more about in the near future.

Yes, I can see you do say yes quite a lot.

Where else can readers find you online?

I can be found at www.roniekendig.com, on Facebook, Twitter (@roniekendig), and Goodreads.


The book can be purchased in fine book stores and online via the following buttons:






CBD.com


Finally, what question would you like to ask my readers?

Have you met or do you know a wounded hero, whether one with visible wounds or one with “invisible wounds” (the heart/mind)? Would you be willing to share about him/her?

Thank you, Ronie, for visiting with us and telling us about your novel. Readers, Ronie has offered to give a signed copy of her book to the winner of our drawing on Thursday, January 23. To enter, leave a comment below in answer to Ronie's question, above. "Please enter me" won't get you entered. Leave your email address, in case you win, like so: trish[at]trishperry[dot]com.

Be sure to check out my interview with Norma Downing , below. Leave an appropriate comment at the bottom of the post to enter the drawing for a signed copy of the books.

Also, I'd love it if you'd connect with me on Facebook. Just click on my name at the right of today's post.

Annoying legal disclaimer: drawings void where prohibited; open only to U.S. residents; the odds of winning depend upon the number of participants. See full disclaimer HERE.