Love at first sight goes awry in Take a Chance on Me, a contemporary romance by Jana Richards and book 2 in the Victorian Mansion series. When Darcy discovers Nick plans to tear down her beloved Victorian to build a condo complex, she vows to fight him, despite the attraction between them.

Jana, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. I’m Kayelle Allen, author and owner of this blog. Happy to have you here! We support all furbabies, real life or fictional. We want to know all about your Fiction Furbaby, but first, please tell us about Take a Chance on Me.

Take a Chance on Me by Jana Richards

Genre – contemporary romance
Book heat level (based on movie ratings): PG13

Teacher Darcy Ferris loves travel almost as much as she loves her Toronto neighborhood. But no matter how far she roams, she always returns to the genteelly shabby Victorian mansion where she grew up, the last place her father lived. Darcy’s world is turned upside-down when the Victorian is slated for demolition.

Since the death of architect Nick Cummings’ mother, his father has retreated from his real estate development business, and from life. In a desperate attempt to interest him in something once more, Nick buys a beat-up Victorian mansion and draws up plans to replace it with a Victorian-inspired condo. He hopes his father’s old spark will return if he helps him build the new condo. But he doesn’t expect such opposition from his new tenant, Darcy Ferris. Nor does he expect to fall in love with her.

Nick and Darcy must come to terms with the past before they can forge a future together. And they’ll need to take the biggest chance of all – on love.

Meet Stanley from Take a Chance on Me

Full name: Stanley

Nickname: n/a

Gender: male

Species: Pure bred Pug

Physical description: scrunched-up face and nose, short legs, curly tail, tan body with black around his nose and ears.

Relationship to main character: Stanley belongs to Jenny Ferris, Darcy’s grandmother. Darcy is looking after Stanley temporarily while her grandmother’s leg is in a cast.

Relationship to the villain/antagonist: Stanley takes an instant dislike to Nick when he moves into the Victorian mansion. What does he know that Darcy doesn’t?

Where this furbaby came from: When Stanley was rescued from a puppy mill, Darcy’s grandmother Jenny adopted him.

What inspired you to create this character?

My dog Lou. She was a pug/terrier cross, not a pure-bred pug like Stanley, but she had a lot of Stanley’s quirks. Like her love of food, her stubbornness, and her absolute loyalty. But unlike Stanley, Lou never growled at anyone in her life. She loved everybody!

What does the main character think about this furbaby?

Darcy likes Stanley and is happy to look after him while her grandmother recovers, but she knows his heart belongs to Grandma Jenny. He merely tolerates Darcy because she feeds him. Darcy is grateful to the little mutt because it was his frantic barking that alerted neighbors when Jenny tripped and broke her ankle.

What does the villain/antagonist think about this furbaby?

Nick has never had a dog, so he’s wary of Stanley’s growls and barks. For some reason, the dog has it out for him. If they’re going to get along, Stanley’s going to have to learn who’s the alpha dog in the Victorian mansion.

What does this furbaby eat?

Just about anything! Again, I modeled Stanley’s appetite after my dog Lou’s. She loved food and had a particular fondness for vegetables such as raw carrots, broccoli and cauliflower. But she REALLY loved fruit, especially strawberries. More than once I caught her in our garden raiding the strawberry patch! As she got older, her stomach wasn’t quite as strong as it had once been and we had to give her smaller meals, three times a day. If too much time passed between meals, she’d throw up. I gave Stanley the same delicate stomach and love of raw carrots!

What does this furbaby add to the story?

Stanley adds humor. His antics are funny and a little silly. But he also allows Nick an opportunity to grow and learn what it’s like to have a pet. Nick’s mother was allergic, so he didn’t grow up with animals in the house. He doesn’t know what to make of Stanley when he barks and growls at him. But when Darcy needs him, he takes control and gets over his apprehension about spending time with Stanley.

What about this furbaby will readers like, and why?

I think readers will enjoy the humor Stanley brings to the story, and because he’s based on a real dog, readers will find him true to life. And really, who can resist an adorable pug!

Describe a humorous incident involving the animal character.

Darcy first meets Nick on the front porch of the Victorian mansion as she and Stanley arrive home from a walk. Darcy is instantly attracted to Nick, but she senses there’s something he’s not telling her. Stanley senses it, too, and, to Darcy’s embarrassment, he pees on Nick’s leg!

About Layla and Leelou

This post is called Fiction Furbaby, but perhaps your own pet does not have fur. If you have a pet that has fins, wings, scales, or other features, please tell us about them here.

What do your pets do when you are writing?

Layla and Leelou are two senior calico cats that we recently adopted. When I’m writing, Layla will sometimes sleep on the mat I put down for them in my office, but if she’s hungry, she will paw at my leg, as if to say, “Jana. Jana. Jana. Feed me! Feed me now!” Leelou always demands attention. She’ll jump up on my desk and stand on the keyboard, or crawl onto my lap and make herself comfy. I’m constantly covered in cat hair. It’s not easy to work when they’re around, especially if they’re hungry. But I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Where did you find your pet?

Actually, they found us. Their original owner passed away, and they were taken to the Humane Society. My daughter’s friend had only eight days to find them a new home or they’d be surrendered to the Humane Society permanently. She asked us if we’d be interested in adopting them. Considering their age (they were 13 at the time and are nearly 14 years old now) and the fact that these two sisters had been together all their lives, we felt we had to take them in. We didn’t feel confident that anyone would want to adopt two such senior cats together. Despite the cat hair everywhere, we haven’t regretted our decision. These ladies belong in our home!

Describe a toy or favorite item your pet loves.

After Christmas, my local pet store had Christmas-themed catnip toys on sale. I picked up a Christmas stocking-shaped toy and brought home for the ladies. They went nuts over it! When they started fighting over the toy, I ran back to the pet store and purchased another one!

Where to buy Take a Chance on Me

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KNBM8G3
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07KNBM8G3
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07KNBM8G3

Jana Richards Social Media

Jana Richards has tried her hand at many writing projects over the years, from magazine articles and short stories to full-length contemporary romance, paranormal suspense and romantic comedy. She loves to create characters with a sense of humor, but also a serious side. She believes there’s nothing more interesting then peeling back the layers of a character to see what makes them tick.
When not writing up a storm or dealing with dust bunnies, Jana can be found pursuing hobbies such as golf (which she plays very badly) or reading (which she does much better).
Jana lives in Western Canada with her husband Warren and two senior cats named Layla and Leelou. You can reach her through her website at http://www.janarichards.com
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Shout out to Rob’s Rescues – founded by a 9-year-old animal activist

Rob’s Rescues is a non-profit organization in Georgia helping people in need care for and feed their pets. It was founded in 2014 by a then nine-year-old boy. Rob’s Rescues is dedicated to collecting pet food for people in need to reduce shelter surrenders, and to advocating for the adoption of shelter pets. Rob writes monthly articles advocating for shelter animals in the Around About Local Media magazine publications. His column was first published in 2014. He also has pet food collection sites for people in need in the community and interviews amazing people. His interviews appear online once they are published in his column.
Rob volunteers for Pet Buddies Food Pantry, the Cherokee County Animal Shelter and Cobb County Animal Control and collects pet food for these organizations and the communities they serve. He also wants to bring attention to smaller, rural shelters. Mostly he wants to get kids to be Rob’s Rangers to teach kids that they can help shelter animals. Rob has also talked to kids in a classroom setting.
Rob’s Rescues is a Non-Profit Corporation and all donations are tax deductible.
Website http://www.robsrescues.com/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/robsrescues/
Twitter https://twitter.com/RobsRescues