Last updated on December 5th, 2013 at 12:03 am

Love, relationships, quarter-life angst, desperate alcohol-fueled fits of online shopping, and a German Shepherd, these are not the elements you would typically find in a romantic novel. Nevertheless, the pooch loving, coffee guzzling, asparagus hating, Allie Larkin‘s first foray into fiction has resonated with many readers — not all of them dog lovers.

Stay is a coming of age story. Stay is a love story. Stay is a story about a heartbroken woman whose life changes when she buys a German Shepherd over the Internet.

Since its release in June, Allie’s debut novel has been making waves in book review circles with a steady stream of positive reviews from both amateur and professional book reviewers — not bad for someone who never considered writing as a career.

“I started college as a theater major, but later transferred and finished with a degree in creative writing and communications,” Allie says. “I didn’t start writing until I went back to school in 2000. I always loved books, but it wasn’t until one of my professors pulled me aside and said, ‘Hey, you’re kind of good at this,’ that I realized I could do this for a living.”

Not only does Allie write fiction (new book coming soon), she is also a regular blogger. Allie regularly updates her personal blog allielarkin.blogspot.com. She also writes about her environmental advocacy on TheGreenists.com with posts about simple ways to go green.

An interesting tidbit about Stay is that is was written over an 8 year period. “I started Stay as a writing exercise in a college fiction class in 2002,” Allie says. “Since I had other jobs and responsibilities, it wasn’t a constant priority. There were times when I was very productive and times when I had to put it aside because I had to focus on other commitments.”

Stay was completed, bits and pieces at a time, with the support of Allie’s writing circle. “I’ve been working with a writing group for a very long time now,” Allie explains. “Most of Stay was written a bit at a time – eight pages a week.”

Like most writers, Allie also suffers from writer’s block from time to time. “Stepping away from the computer when I’m stuck is really important,” she says. “I work out my best ideas while I’m doing physical tasks,” Allie explains. “Hiking with the dogs, yard work, home repair projects. While repainting my office, I thought of some character details I needed to clarify.”

One trend in Stay‘s reviews is praise for the main characters, Van and Joe. “I think everyone can relate to needing a friend and wanting someone who is always on their team. I know that feeling well and I think others do too.” As for Joe, he was inspired by Allie’s two German Shepherds, Argo and Stella. She adds “My dog, Argo, is the cover model for Stay, and he’s pretty darn cute!”

As a relative newcomer to the literary scene, it was no easy feat getting word out about her book. Allie went on a book tour across the country promoting her book at readings and signings. “I had postcards printed for my first reading and sent along business cards with event listings to friends in the cities I would be visiting on my book tour. My friends really helped me out by passing these out to their friends and contacts when they told them about my event.”

Today, Allie has found the sort of success that eludes so many other first time novelists.

About her experience working with UPrinting, Allie said, “I am thrilled with UPrinting! I really appreciated the help I got in the design process. I sent a file that wasn’t sized correctly and the people at UPrinting caught it and really helped me out. It was great being able to ship cards to my friends, sight unseen, and trust that they would look fabulous.”

For more information on Allie, Stay, her upcoming events, and more, head over to allielarkinwrites.com.

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