For those of you who are genuine lifelong dog lovers, as I am, you know that we always have an absolute blast—and often a barrel full of laughs—naming our canine companions. Some names are funny, some are tough, some are cute, some are outrageous, some are absurd, and for those of us who are dedicated dog lovers, most are clever.

So what and how did you name your dog? Holly Jolly and I would love to hear your responses and your stories. Please share them in the comments section by clicking on "Add Comment" below this blog post!

THE CONTEST: Whoever comes up with the coolest name that I like the most will not only win a FREE signed 6X9 paperback copy of my paranormal fantasy novel SOULSNATCHER, but I will also use your dog’s name in my next novel for my fictional canine hero (or heroine), and mention your name in my next novel's Acknowledgments page.

I always enjoy sharing the story of how I named my current furry friend Holly Jolly, my seven-year-old Golden Retriever. I picked her up at the Atlanta airport’s cargo area on December 21, 2006, and named her that night. How? I went to sleep thinking on it, and woke up at 3 a.m. the next morning with the famous Burl Ives song Holly Jolly Christmas playing in my head. Eureka! I thought. Of course that’s her name. It was Christmas time, and she was the Christmas puppy. She could and would be none other than Holly Jolly. And the name fits her temperament and demeanor so well. Holly is now a professional therapy dog. You can read more about her and her therapy dog programs in my blog post Holly Jolly named official Atlanta Writers Club mascot! by clicking here.

In my lifetime, my real dogs have been named RUSTY (a Labrador/ Irish Setter mix with a rust-colored coat), DUCHESS (a female black Labrador Retriever), SADIE MILADY (an American Eskimo, aka Spitz), and now HOLLY JOLLY.

In my fiction, I always write about dogs as main or subsidiary characters, and have always had a great time naming them. In no particular order, they are:

1. DANTE, a male German Shepherd (from my novel SOULSNATCHER, published April 2014 by Lazy Day Publishing)
2. CHIEF, a male German Shepherd (from my novel FREQUENCIES)
3. THE MIGHTY QUINN and CHAMP, two male Golden Retrievers (from my novel MARIONETTES)
4. SARGE, a male German Shepherd mix (from my short story IN THE NIGHT SHE COMES, First Place Winner of the Atlanta Writers Club Fall 2013 short story contest)
5. DOC, a male yellow Labrador Retriever, and KADIE, a female Golden Retriever (from my novel DREAMWEAVERS)
6. DARBY, a male Golden Retriever (from my short story MESSIAH IN A FUR COAT)
7. KADIE (yes, another Kadie), a female Golden Retriever; DUKE, a yellow Labrador Retriever; and COOTER, a mutt (from my short story OLD COOT, published to critical acclaim November 2013 online at Page & Spine)
8. SPOOK, a black Labrador Retriever, and KERCHAK and KALA, two German Shepherd littermates (from my post-apocalyptic sci-fi novel JAGANNATH, coming February 2015 from Permuted Press)
9. T-REX, a male German Shepherd; BEAUTY, a female Golden Retriever; and CISCO and PANCHO, male yellow Labrador Retrievers and littermates (from my novel A MIGHTY ROLLING THUNDER)
10. RINGO, a black “afterlife” Labrador Retriever, and YOGI and BOO-BOO, an Irish Setter and a yellow Labrador Retriever (from my novel BEYOND THE VALE)

In my lifetime, some of the dogs I have known are BOGEY, FRITZ, SAMURAI, REBEL, CHLOE, MOXIE, JOSIE, FERGUS, BUFFY, BRADY, BOZO, DINGO, GONZO, STARR, SARGE, KYLIE, DOZER, DITTO, DOT, DASH, ARI, and RILEY, among many others. Feel free to click on the link to my short story OLD COOT here or above, a story about a remarkable therapy dog, and read it and share your comments there as well. And please feel free to check out my paranormal fantasy novel SOULSNATCHER, and purchase an e-book or paperback copy if you wish. It's getting rave reviews, along with a rave testimonial/ Editorial Review from New York Times bestselling author James Rollins.

So how did YOU name YOUR dog? Post your story in the “comments” section below, and share your fun tales about our furry friends with wagging tails with everyone who visits and reads this blog. Your dog’s name and story could become famous and spread all over the world, and one lucky winner will have their dog’s name included in my next novel!

I'm excited about hearing you share your stories, so don't be shy! You know your dog wouldn't be, right? :)

May you and all your special furry friends live your lives with tails wagging and wind-in-fur.

Holly Jolly sez “Woof!”

Kerry Alan Denney, multiple award-winning author of SOULSNATCHER (Lazy Day Publishing, April 2014) and JAGANNATH, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller coming from Permuted Press February 2015

Holly & her human at Stone Mountain Park October 2010

This is for all you genuine dog lovers out there.

My seven-year-old Golden Retriever Holly Jolly and I attended the Atlanta Writers Club annual 2014 picnic Saturday, June 21 at Holcomb Bridge Park, where Valerie Connors, President of the AWC, publicly announced that Holly is now the official mascot of the Atlanta Writers Club, woo-hoo! At the picnic, Holly was commended and complimented several times on her exemplary good behavior, as well as on her irresistible charm and gentle, affectionate nature.

Holly is a playful, energetic, joyful, and friendly dog who loves all people and dogs alike. My furry four-legged friend is the best companion I could ever hope or ask for. She is not only an excellent writer’s assistant—she keeps my head in the clouds but my feet on solid ground and my heart in each precious moment—she is also a faithful and loving friend without whom my world and life would be a little bit darker and a lot more lonesome. Holly knows how to fly better than Superman, how to make loneliness and ravenous monsters magically disappear in the way only a loving dog can, and how to make friends better than any of us humans ever will. If we can all learn only a small piece of that magic, what a wonderful world it will be.

Holly is a certified Canine Good Citizen—a prestigious award presented by the American Kennel Club for passing a rigorous behavioral and obedience test—and she is also a professional therapy dog with Therapy Dogs Incorporated.

Holly and I have been participating for over a year and a half now in a local library-sponsored R.E.A.D. program (Reading Education Assistance Dogs) in which we go to the library with other therapy dogs and their humans and sit in the children’s section. Kids pet the dogs, read to them, or show them picture books if they can’t read yet. The READ program’s intent is to promote an interest in reading and help kids develop better reading comprehension skills, as well as teach them the proper method of approaching and familiarizing themselves with strange dogs. Holly is  a huge hit with the kids—they generally have no idea who I am; I’m just her human who tags along with her—but they know Holly and call her by name, and are always happy and excited to see her.

For those of you who have kids who love to read and love dogs and would like to come out and join us, Holly and I are at the Mountain Park Library for their Doggie Tales program from 1 to 2 p.m. on the first and third Saturday of every month. The library is located at 1210 Pounds Road SW on the corner of Five Forks Trickum Road and Pounds Road in Lilburn, Georgia. We also participate in the Sue Kellogg Library’s Read to Rover program in the heart of Stone Mountain Village at 952 Leon Street on the fourth Saturday of each month from 12 noon to 1 p.m. Children of ALL ages are invited—from 1 to 100!

With their effortless playful innocence, unconditional love, and unrestrained exuberance, our dogs show us vitally important things about ourselves that teach us much about honesty, integrity, love, loyalty, forgiveness, and compassion, and teach us how to share that special bond with our human friends and families. My former four-legged friend Sadie Milady, a beautiful American Eskimo (also called a Spitz), was well-loved by many. She brightened my life and brought me endless joy for sixteen canine-love-filled years, from 1990 to the Spring of 2006 when she finally tuckered out and took that final journey to Rainbow Bridge. I still remember the faithful look of trust in her eyes in her final moments when we said our goodbyes to each other, as if she just knew there was no way I would ever let any harm or loneliness come to her, either in this life or the next. For over a year after Sadie was gone, fool that I sometimes am, I let the heartbreak of losing an irreplaceable friend prevent me from searching for a new special furry friend. I forgot that I wasn’t supposed to be trying to replace her, which I could never do: I was merely searching for a unique new friend who would fill that empty space in my heart which only a dog can fill. When I finally found my Holly Jolly in December of 2006, a fluffy, loving, playful little ball of fur who looked like a stuffed teddy bear as a puppy, I knew I had been given a gift from God or whatever you choose to call the universal creative force, and that I had found a true friend for life.

It's no small wonder that “dog” is “God” spelled backwards. (Check out Wendy Francisco’s wonderful video and song “GoD and DoG” here or here!) Adopting a dog into your home, life, and heart is a solemn and dutiful responsibility and a lifetime commitment, and should never be undertaken lightly. Dogs need lots of love, playtime, attention, social interaction, and exercise, a miniscule sacrifice of my time and heart that I’m happily willing to give each and every day. Because of Sadie and Holly, I know that unique love will always be returned a hundredfold. It should come as no surprise to anyone that people who responsibly accept a dog into their lives have a happier, longer, and more rewarding and fulfilling life.

Although our furry friends are only with us for far too brief a time, they live a multitude of lifetimes in their unique ability to experience joy as if it gushed forth from an eternal fountain right here within our reach from which all may partake, never worrying about the past or fearing for the future. We can all stand to learn that priceless lesson from our dogs. To me, their motto is and should always be live with wind-in-fur.

Cheers and blessings to all you genuine dog lovers out there. May you always share that special love and joy that only our furry friends can bring, and may you live your lifetimes with wind-in-fur.

Holly Jolly sez “Woof!”

A very special thanks and shout out to all of you who came to my Book Launch Party for SOULSNATCHER on Saturday! You all helped to make it a smashing success. I was happy to see so many familiar smiling faces, and honored to meet your friends and families. For all of those of you who purchased my novel there and elsewhere, I'm confident you will thoroughly enjoy it, and hope you will post a Customer Review on Amazon after you've read it. Thanks again to all of you who already have. Your kind words and excellent reviews mean so much to me, and have put you at the top of my list on my Acknowledgments page for my forthcoming post-apocalyptic sci-fi novel JAGANNATH (Permuted Press, coming February 2015).

An extra-special thanks to those of you who stuck around after the dust settled and helped us break it down and pack it up. My fellow author and good friend Lynda Fitzgerald popped several cold ones and toasted in your honor after the party!

I hope to see you all again soon, and if you get a chance (and for those of you who were unable to attend the party), please stop by my and Lynda's Author's Booth and say hello at the Decatur Book Festival on August 29-31 this year. You are all awesome, and thanks again. Cheers!

Congratulations to the 10 winners of the SOULSNATCHER Goodreads book giveaway contest, which ended today, Thursday June 5th! Thanks to all 850+ people who participated in the contest. I hope that the 10 winners and those of you who did not win and have marked SOULSNATCHER as "to-read" (351 as of today!) will purchase the paperback or e-book, read it, rate it, and post your reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble after you've read it. An extra special thanks to all of you who have already posted reviews. You rock my literary world!

You, my fans and readers, are the ones who make this author's journey worthwhile. I heartily encourage you to contact me at [email protected] with any questions and anything you wish to share (I always respond promptly), to send me friend requests on Goodreads, Shelfari, and Facebook, follow me on Twitter, and share your favorite books and authors.

Keep an eye out for my post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller JAGANNATH, coming February 2015 from Permuted Press, and come visit my Author's Booth which I will be co-hosting with friend and fellow published author Lynda Fitzgerald at the annual 2014 Decatur Book Festival August 29 - 31, where I will be promoting, signing, and selling copies of SOULSNATCHER, selling copies of my 3 CDs of rock-n-roll guitar shreddage Bully Hayes, Angel Down, and Kerry Denney's Self-Indulgence, Inc., and promoting my forthcoming novel JAGANNATH along with my published short stories and other forthcoming novel publications.

Thanks so much again to you all for making my literary endeavors successful and rewarding, and happy reading!