The Dog Dish welcomes Gordon Kessler!

Gordon's dog is here helping his person promote the sci-fi thriller "Brainstorm" (and Mom bought a copy for herself already -- because it's only $0.99 for the duration of his tour! How cool is that?) because the more people read Gordon's books, the more dog kibble Jaz gets. You can get it for $0.99 on Kindle here, and in pretty much every format known to man (and dog!) at Smashwords, here.

And even better? Jaz's person is going to draw one name from all the comments on his tour and give them their choice of a basic Kindle, Kobo, Sony Reader or Nook -- so you'll have something to read his books on! For more chances to win, you can visit his other stops on the Goddess Fish Promotions tour.

Now, I'm going to turn the blog over to Jaz.

So, Jaz, your human writes books. Does this mean she is home all day and easy to access? Elaborate if necessary.

He...my human is a he.

Ooh.. sorry. We don't get many men on the blog. It's a nice change!

I'd pity the female that looked like him. And no, he's not home all day. He claims he "works". But I don't believe him. Sometimes he comes home smelling of other dogs, with blonde fur on his pant legs—I'm a golden retriever. I think he might be having an affair.

Then, when he does come home, he wants to write. Oh, he'll let me take him out for a "walk" once in a while, but they're seldom long enough. And he never lets go of the leash so I can chase rabbits or squirrels. He is s-o-o insecure, that way. Thank the Good Lord and dog biscuits we go to the leash-free "bark" on Saturday mornings. That's what he calls the dog park—thinks he's clever.

What are your techniques for distracting your human during crucial writing moments, just because it's fun? Whose primary job is it? What do the rest of you do to support the one doing the main distracting?

Well, it's just me, but I do a pretty good job. Sometimes I just sit and stare at him; you know, look up with head bowed—that sad bloodhound look. I suppose my favorite technique is to drop one of my toys in his lap to try to get him to play with it. When he pushes it to the floor, I just go get a different one and try the same thing. I have a whole basketful of toys—it can go on a-l-l night.

What indignities and neglect have you suffered because of your human's writing career?

I get shut out—no, he won't kennel me. He'll kennel himself. He puts furniture between me and his writing desk. That doesn't work if he wants to relax in his recliner to write, though. Sometimes he has the audacity, during a tender moment when I'm lying across his lap, to set his tablet PC on top of me and work on email or his novels!

Tell me about the animals in your human's fiction. How often do they appear and how big a part do they play?

He's pretty good about that, I think. He's got an animal that plays an important role in all of his novels.

In Jezebel, he had all kinds of dogs—dozens. Even the lead character is a dog—a beautiful, female Great Dane. But then he killed off some of the "bad" dogs in the story, and he really paid for that—complaining emails out the tail. He finally had to put a disclaimer in one of his eBook versions of the novel that said something like: "No dogs or other animals were actually hurt in the writing or publishing of this Novel."

In Dead Reckoning, the main character—a female NCIS agent named "Spurs"—has a horse named Rocket.

In Brainstorm, a German Shepherd named Sarge is enlisted to help save his master.

On the off-chance your human has yet to incorporate animals into a story, what are your plans for making sure he rectifies this egregious error and demonstration of poor writing skills?

Let's hope that never happens. But I could always tinkle on his manuscript. I can get down and dirty when I have to.

What movies involving animals does your human enjoy sharing with you? Books with animals?

Dances With Wolves, Old Yeller, Marley and Me (I cried so hard he had to give me three dog biscuits to get me to quit).

His favorite book from his childhood is One Man and His Dog. Loved it!

If you could make one change to your human, what would it be?

Make him quit writing and pay more attention to me. Writing is way too sedentary—he needs to get out and walk, run and play much more—chase a ball or catch a Frisbee once in a while. Sometimes I wonder if he even knows how.

Are you happy with your human? If you could tell your human one thing, what would it be?

I know he loves me. I'm just a pup and I need more exercise. I'm happy with the love—not with the inactivity.

What things does your human do that would mortify him if it were known? What does your human do that most annoys?

He walks around naked in front of me—disgusting. Also, he sings old Marine cadence songs—some of them quite nasty...nothing for a lady to hear. And he always sings when we're alone in the car—makes me want to just howl!

Has your human named a character for you? Are you pleased? If not, why?

Well...kind of. In his first thriller novel, the main character is a dog named Jezebel (he'll say it's Tony Parker, but don't believe it). Jezebel's master calls her Jazbo—my name is Jaz (short for Jazmine). It's a stretch, but I suppose I'm kinda named after Jezebel. And let me tell you, I don't mind it—that Jezebel is one mean b***h when she has to be. But, in the end, you'll fall in love with her—just like you would with me.

And did your human name you for a fictional character? Hate it or love it? If you could rename yourself, what would your name be?

As above, love it. If I could rename myself (sniff, sniff...scratch, scratch...yawn) I suppose it would be Sophia. That's one of those elegant names—like I am.

Thanks for interviewing me. It's nice to get the master's side of the story over the human's once in a while. Well, it's time to take him for a walk—I hope he doesn't forget the poop bags!

Thanks for visiting!

And now, I'm supposed to share some stuff about his book -- and I might only be a dog, but I think his book sounds pretty exciting! Remember to comment and be in the running for your choice of eReader (listed above).

In Brainstorm, Gold Rush seems to be just another sleepy little Colorado community full of friendly, caring citizens, quaint cottages, and a sort of quiet peace, held gently by the picturesque mountains that surround it. However, something isn't right in Gold Rush, and early on a Monday morning Robert Weller awakens with a cautioning and insuppressible voice inside his head. He soon finds a secret behind every door, a motive with every glance, and a lie beneath every spoken word.

After meeting a strange but beautiful woman named Sunny who insists they were once lovers, people begin dropping dead around him and his world twists upside down as paramilitary teams hunt him, and his own wife and friends turn against him. Weller is thrown into the middle of a military mission to rescue thousands of the town's citizens from a plot to destroy the Free World.

Time is running out: Weller, Sunny and thousands of innocent citizens are facing nuclear devastation. Major “Jax” Jackson and a U.S. Air Force Para Rescue team are their only hope—but how can Jax and his PJs save them all, armed only with nonlethal weapons?

Kudos for Brainstorm:

“...as exciting and fast-paced as a thrill ride on a dive bomber, a maelstrom of action, violence, murder and mayhem, way too much fun to put down...based on an actual black CIA program known as ‘Project Stargate. Kessler...really knows his stuff. An outstanding novel.”— Douglas Preston, bestselling author of The Codex, Relic and Book of the Dead and many more.

"...a wild ride into the reality of human consciousness...a kickass adventure story that will have you thrumming through the pages well into the night...handled with stunning effect."— James Rollins, bestselling author of Black Order, Sandstorm and Map of Bones as well as many others.



And a little about Gordon:

Author bio: Gordon A Kessler is a former US Marine parachutist, recon scout, and Super Squad team leader, with a bachelor's degree in creative writing. He is a Master Instructor for Johnson County Community College, National Academy of Railroad Sciences, and the BNSF Railway. He has taught novel writing for Butler County Community College, English Composition for Hutchinson Junior College and has previously indie-published the thriller novels Jezebel and Dead Reckoning, and a book about the novel-writing craft, Novel Writing Made Simple.

He is a founder and former president of the Kansas Writers Association and tries to stay connected to writers and the writing industry by doing speaking engagements at writers conferences and for writers organizations, and has does his own "The Storyteller" seminar in Wichita, Lincoln (Nebraska), Kansas City, and other Midwestern cities based on his Novel Writing Made Simple book. His websites, www.WritersMatrix.com and www.IndieWritersAlliance are landing pages for writers to help them in their writing endeavors.

He also has a Facebook page -- make sure you head on over and join him!