tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27178127378108959542024-02-06T18:46:48.304-08:00Pets and Their AuthorsGet the lowdown on your favorite authors... straight from their pets' mouths!Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.comBlogger90125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-35427842233697974102011-06-20T10:57:00.000-07:002011-06-20T12:15:34.374-07:00Beagle Bailey spills the beans on mystery author Lauren Carr<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQHqxXB49RpKEhTD-Vt8mx2-9XuetdUqb8JEkpyIuFy7uTw2S8hYWIzsn84sjrktpKFb6hvlvWMC794wSBM8krl3lOf1looiZV3t810WOg9V6NdHiebR-Vffpj7sDlQZtZfB82W06mRck/s1600/Beagle+Bailey.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQHqxXB49RpKEhTD-Vt8mx2-9XuetdUqb8JEkpyIuFy7uTw2S8hYWIzsn84sjrktpKFb6hvlvWMC794wSBM8krl3lOf1looiZV3t810WOg9V6NdHiebR-Vffpj7sDlQZtZfB82W06mRck/s320/Beagle+Bailey.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620380805497098834" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hey, Beagle Bailey. Last year, your brother Ziggy told my readers about how he came to become part of the Carr household. Now, I believe in giving equal time. How would you like to tell us your story?</span><br /><br />Thanks, Amigo! It’s about time someone asked. As a young orphaned pup, I was fortunate to have ended up with a good foster family. I had a lot of foster brothers and sisters, but with my charming personality, I quickly became a favorite among the human children. They used to fight over whose bed I got to sleep in at night.<br /><br />But, as is so often the case with foster homes, I was only meant to stay there temporarily. One day, a call came from this family that was seeking a companion for a young boy whose dog had recently passed away. It was hard saying good-bye to this family that I had come to love so much, but, alas, this boy, whose name is Tristan, needed me to mend his broken heart.<br /><br />His mom, now mine, turned out to be Lauren Carr. She writes murder mysteries, which I guess is supposed to be cool. Even better, she’s a swell mom.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Do you mind telling us what breed you are?</span><br /><br />I’m a blend of only the best and greatest of the breeds. I’m beagle, which explains my extraordinary sense of smell. I’m Italian greyhound, which explains my fast-on-my-paws moves and slender figure. To round out the package, I’m fox terrier, which Dad says makes me a little crazy. I prefer to use the word “passionate”.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Why does your dad say you’re crazy?</span><br /><br />Everyone has a quirk! Okay? Everyone has something that makes them just a little bit crazy. For me, that’s thunderstorms. Dad insists that my barking at the thunderstorms doesn’t make them go away. I say hogwash! It works. I swear. I bark at the storms and they do go away. Sometimes it takes a lot of barking for a really long time, but eventually, they always go away.<br /><br />Meanwhile, while I’m working my tail and vocal cords off barking at the storms, Ziggy just sits there looking at me like I’m crazy, which doesn’t help if you ask me.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tell my readers about your brother Ziggy.</span><br /><br />He’s an Australian shepherd. Boy, let me tell you about Ziggy.<br /><br />Mom and Dad had promised me that I would get to be an only dog. For over a year, everything was fine. We were one big—okay, not big, but small—happy family. And then, w<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHZ6Dsdak43PeN12nE9tX7S10serjOlBTFctiTuUEth0thsgEama7rWGuVuX4sCebUjFXTUrY_dZP7vf87TVfL6T_A0BXqFAw9Kv7dl8lpF4H2R-eNNX3tj_y1DwVUJJHhkWfd_S5PT1k/s1600/Ziggy.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHZ6Dsdak43PeN12nE9tX7S10serjOlBTFctiTuUEth0thsgEama7rWGuVuX4sCebUjFXTUrY_dZP7vf87TVfL6T_A0BXqFAw9Kv7dl8lpF4H2R-eNNX3tj_y1DwVUJJHhkWfd_S5PT1k/s320/Ziggy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620380916182294178" border="0" /></a>hat happens? One day, Tristan and his mom go out for a football game and what do they come back with? A puppy! This squirt isn’t even housebroken! And I’m supposed to share my toys and family with him?<br /><br />For the first couple of weeks after Ziggy moved in, I kept threatening to sue over breach of contract. We had a deal! But eventually, the squirt grew on me. Then he grew bigger than me. I have to admit it was nice having someone to frame for my messes. Did I say that? I mean someone to play with.<br /><br />After a few months, Mom called a dog trainer in to analyze this nutty dog. You see, I do what I’m told, which isn’t very much. I eat, sleep, follow Tristan around and look adorable. How hard is that? But Ziggy refused to get with the program. You’d tell him what to do and he’d say, “That may be what you want, but I’m going to do things my way.” Then he’d get into trouble and act like it was worth it.<br /><br />So, this dog trainer analyzes both of us and says that Ziggy keeps getting into trouble—get this—because he’s so smart!<br /><br />Translation: I, Beagle Bailey, don’t get into trouble because I’m dumb. Ziggy gets into trouble because he’s so smart that he gets bored and gets into trouble to liven things up!<br /><br />Psychiatry is for the birds.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What is it like living with Lauren? Is she one of those egotistical authors (like my mom)?</span><br /><br />Would you believe that Mom is the only female in our family? She’s always taking care of everyone: Getting Tristan ready for school and letting us outside. Then, it is time to get Dad up and making the coffee. After she lets us back in, it is time for our before-breakfast biscuit. Then the family needs their breakfast. After she feeds them, then it is time for our breakfast. Then, while she is cleaning up, we need to get our bite of leftover toast from their breakfast. Then we need to go outside again to see if anything changed since the last time we were out. You have to keep an eye out for stuff like that. Then—I don’t know what Mom does after that because then it’s time for my mid-morning nap. But you get the point.<br /><br />Mom stays up late at night to write when it is quiet. I like to sit across from her in her studio on those quiet times and inspire her.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tell us about Lauren's book! I hear one of her characters is a dog name Gnarly.</span><br /><br />Gnarly is a German shepherd. She based him on Ziggy, which is why that squirt has such a big head. Let me tell you how smart Ziggy is—Sorry, you asked about Gnarly. His name means extreme and that’s Ziggy, that’s for sure. Gnarly is either very bad or very good, but always loveable. He’s the only dog to be dishonorably discharged from the United States Army. The army refuses to talk about him. I have some thoughts about that.<br /><br />In It’s Murder, My Son, homicide detective Mac Faraday was on the brink of bankruptcy when he inherits his birth mother’s estate. It ends up she was Robin Spencer, the American version of Agatha Christie. In addition to her swanky estate in a small resort town on Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, he inherits Gnarly, her German shepherd. The very first time the reader meets Gnarly when he’s standing on Mac’s chest when he first arrives at Spencer Manor. He finds out that Robin had saved Gnarly from being put down after he almost died trying to save his mistress, the next door neighbor, from being murdered.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">So Gnarly is a witness to his mistress’s murder?</span><br /><br />Yes, and he leads Mac Faraday to the killer. Gnarly becomes Mac Faraday’s sidekick.<br /><br />They work together again in Old Loves Die Hard. Mac’s ex-wife shows up on account that he’s now rich. But before Mac can tell her to leave, she and her estranged lover are found dead in his private penthouse suite. Now Mac has to work not only to clear his name, but the reputation of the Spencer Inn, the five-star resort he had also inherited from his birth mother. In this book, Gnarly saves Mac’s life!<br /><br />You have to read them both! They are both available in both print and Kindle, and all the e-book formats on Mom’s website, Amazon, and anywhere you can get books.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Does Lauren have a website?</span><br /><br />Sure does. It’s at <a href="http://laurencarr.webs.com/">http://laurencarr.webs.com/</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What do you do while she writes and ignores you?</span><br /><br />I often sleep at her feet and inspire her. I really like it when she puts a fire in the fireplace and I can curl up in front of the fire. Since I don’t have as much fur as Ziggy, I get cold easy. I do that when I’m not napping in what Mom claims to be her writer’s studio. She would be able to spend more time in it if she wasn’t always so busy taking take of everyone.<br /><br />Every now and then to break things up, Ziggy and I will wrestle and play around. Our favorite thing is to go tearing around the house. We have all hardwood floors here so when we get running really fast it can be like skating. I love to nip at the back of Ziggy’s legs and chase him into the living room where he’ll hit the Oriental rug at top speed and slide it all the way across the room and Wham! end with a body slam against the French doors! Then Dad comes in and finds the rug up against the doors and chews out Ziggy for messing up the living room. There are advantages to being the good dog. (ha-ha!)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What do you love most about Lauren?</span><br /><br />She’s a softie. I was watching television and saw this old show called Lassie. Lassie would do this thing where he’ll would sit there all pretty and lift up a paw and look so loveable. So, I tried that. And it worked! I’ll lead Mom into the kitchen and perch there in front of the cabinet where the biscuits are and put on the most adorable face, and then I’ll lift my paw. Works every time!<br /><br />Leave us with some canine words of wisdom.<br /><br />Always leave room in your schedule for a good nap.Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-44620541336767755962011-04-06T07:15:00.000-07:002011-04-06T07:28:29.854-07:00Saber spills the beans on author Kim Murphy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY55E-5COdbH1AqgL1ZWM2XwKkajpqtbBRoWr-u-yU4g-sCsshcOb6N4c1tibqzBeu8bCwWYNRADGBnUM1OmyunsMBY_OlhJve8Au_6dSDBlpWNADQPdqaqcvMggBSs5knG0-OYfvzclg/s1600/saber+2.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 148px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY55E-5COdbH1AqgL1ZWM2XwKkajpqtbBRoWr-u-yU4g-sCsshcOb6N4c1tibqzBeu8bCwWYNRADGBnUM1OmyunsMBY_OlhJve8Au_6dSDBlpWNADQPdqaqcvMggBSs5knG0-OYfvzclg/s200/saber+2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592476778613854978" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I'm Saber, a four-year-old Belgian sheepdog, and I was born on July 4. My birthday is a national holiday. People celebrate the day with fireworks every year. I like the attention, but I'm really not too crazy about the firecrackers, which sometimes scare me. My dad gets my birthday off from work, which is nice, but my mom always has to go to a book signing. That can be a bit of a drag, but I don't mind too much as long as I have my Kong filled with treats.<br /><br /> My registered name is Belroyale's Gettysburg Saber. Mom tells me that a famous battle was fought long ago on the day near my birth. I'm not sure what a battle is, but it sounds scary. Mom also tells me that I was named after Saber, also a Belgian sheepdog, in her book Whispers from the Grave. She says the dog in the book resembles my predecessor, Magic, more than me, but by the time she wrote the sequel, Whispers Through Time, I had arrived and the dog in the book started to take on my characteristics.<br /><br /> My mom w<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLSWq6SCh4Rr7up1ESILV4vfi-7y1nkxD_bGcNI6RS-7JcLcaznSHlaQFb-dBjoh1772pRLLRvNQEP7_Y_3HdHkF4jbeCr_2XM7b2yH7e5sKtM76whzysPiZacUhcZfOLP81lzZYlzDeo/s1600/kim.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 129px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLSWq6SCh4Rr7up1ESILV4vfi-7y1nkxD_bGcNI6RS-7JcLcaznSHlaQFb-dBjoh1772pRLLRvNQEP7_Y_3HdHkF4jbeCr_2XM7b2yH7e5sKtM76whzysPiZacUhcZfOLP81lzZYlzDeo/s200/kim.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592476902117413026" border="0" /></a>as very sad when Magic died, but I came along a few months later and cheered her up. She says that I make her laugh. When I joined the household, I had an older sister by the name of Isabella. She was a Lab/mastiff mix. I liked teasing her. Even though she was so much older than me, she was fairly patient of my puppy antics. But sometimes, she told me off with a big WOOF.<br /><br /> Now that I'm grown, I like playing Frisbee, taking long walks, my Kong, playing Frisbee, and pulling my squirrel toys out of their nest. Oh, and I have a little sister. She's also a Belgian sheepdog. Her name is Phoebe, and like little sisters everywhere, she can sometimes be a pain to live with. Right now she's pouting because I'm writing the blog, and she's not.<br /><br /> Anyway, the Saber in the book lives on a plantation. A plantation is a big house with lots of land where a dog can run, chase squirrels, and do a lot of sniffing. It's a Civil War ghost story. The Civil War is when that famous battle near my birthday took place. My namesake lives in present time, and here is the blurb:<br /><br />The Virginia Plantation Poplar Ridge is sprawling, secluded, and foreboding. Chris Olson is immediately swept into its somber history and an inexplicable, electrifying passion for Geoff Cameron, her best friend's brother. Dreams of a Confederate soldier who strongly resembles Geoff and a haunting one-eyed scout cloud her mind further.<br /><br />Through the eyes of the long-dead Margaret, Chris witnesses mysterious events shrouded in the conflict of the Civil War, until little by little, she uncovers Margaret's dark and terrible secret—and Geoff's connection to the enchanting woman from the past.<br /><br />Whispers from<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie1m0OkharRT84pyW-2nFcYvaosymKkWjpPwCPJCpN8M3n7AQEUSTZHR8nGkdl-zG05ZlpHgEdUqPyYaSOJ-qFCwShsD0YXgDsH6l-7fJ8WLlKTB_EMpf6SkmkZGjj5BjdlRy6c2wYJf4/s1600/saber.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 161px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie1m0OkharRT84pyW-2nFcYvaosymKkWjpPwCPJCpN8M3n7AQEUSTZHR8nGkdl-zG05ZlpHgEdUqPyYaSOJ-qFCwShsD0YXgDsH6l-7fJ8WLlKTB_EMpf6SkmkZGjj5BjdlRy6c2wYJf4/s200/saber.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592476672796311410" border="0" /></a> the Grave has won two awards and is now available on Kindle. Besides the sequel, Whispers Through Time, Mom has written four other books. She loves writing historical stuff and is constantly researching. Now and then, her research takes time away from my Frisbee games. Her Civil War trilogy has some horses, but no dogs. Her current release The Dreaming: Walks Through Mist has a greyhound in it, and the main character goes by my little sister's name. Of course, that's gone to Phoebe's head, and she thinks she's famous now. You can contact me through my mom and read more about her books at <a href="http://www.KimMurphy.Net">www.KimMurphy.Net</a>, or you can see lots of pictures of me and follow my adventures on Facebook <a href="http://www.facebook.com/kim.murphy1">http://www.facebook.com/kim.murphy1</a>.Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-75897211764918293092011-03-26T06:27:00.000-07:002011-03-26T06:27:01.351-07:00Mitzi spills the beans on J. Anderson Coats<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFsyveipnnuZPAOKUbiMclFI2JRHB_wlG7idy0Bwjx8akmUGEzggaCLoPto_L6b1c3Gt-iN30RsNuVoRZR-kjCgk5mRNkHBcujsSKFRTmkOr2Aoo_MJFLy8Br5AIylbIrcqqqsOoT7KZQ/s1600/mitzi.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFsyveipnnuZPAOKUbiMclFI2JRHB_wlG7idy0Bwjx8akmUGEzggaCLoPto_L6b1c3Gt-iN30RsNuVoRZR-kjCgk5mRNkHBcujsSKFRTmkOr2Aoo_MJFLy8Br5AIylbIrcqqqsOoT7KZQ/s200/mitzi.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586154261738550914" border="0" /></a><br />Excellent, you’re all here. My name is Mitzi, I’ve been kindly invited by Amigo to tell you a little about the girl monkey who feeds me and sometimes writes books when she’s not making a warm lap for me. Her fancy writer name is J. Anderson Coats, and she has a <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%E2%80%9Dhttp://www.jandersoncoats.com/%E2%80%9D">website</a> with entirely too few pictures of me on it.<br /><br />Here are five things you should know about J and her work:<br /><br />* J doesn’t write stories that matter. That is, they are not about cats. They all take place hundreds of years ago, and they are all about those half-grown monkeys who hide in their rooms and play their little screeny-games too loud. The fancy writer term is “young-adult historical fiction,” but it’s really just half-grown monkeys behaving badly in the middle ages.<br /><br />* There were cats in Wales in 1293. This is important because the book J just wrote takes place in north Wales ten years into English rule. It’s about two girl monkeys who don’t get along. One girl is English and wants to leave the town of Caernarvon and go back home. The other girl is Welsh and wishes all the English would leave. Neither of them will get her wish, and things are getting violent. The good news is that no cats are hurt. I can’t say the same for the monkeys.<br /><br />* J’s book is called <span style="font-style: italic;">Without the Walls</span>, and it is forthcoming from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in the fall of 2012. I like the fall because of all the crackling leaves that stick to the monkeys’ shoes when they come inside. And there are a lot of crows. I really like crows.<br /><br />* J doesn’t know the first thing about beauty rest. Every day at 4:30 in the morning, there’s this awful noise and – you’re not going to believe this - she gets out of bed while she’s still tired, sets up her laptop and writes. At least she remembers to put the wet food down for me before she starts.<br /><br />* Sometimes J posts pictures of me on her blog. She is kind enough to preserve my anonymity by referring to me as Thumbkitty. While I find the term “kitty” slightly demeaning, I appreciate the fact that she highlights my thumbs. My thumbs are instrumental in my future plans to learn the fine art of the can opener. Oh, and sometimes she talks about writing too. You can read it <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%E2%80%9Dhttp://jandersoncoats.livejournal.com%E2%80%9D">here</a> if you’re so inclined.<br /><br />So. As you can see, I’m strongly supportive of anything my monkeys do that might improve the quality of the food around here. I’ve even learned something about books beyond their obvious value of rump-warming.<br /><br />Thanks again to Amigo for having me here today. The heat vent just came on, and there’s a box in front of it with my name on it.<br /><br />~*~<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdhcET5lU7WI0bCITNptC07UGjKCTT5BdJ92G9JfHu8uvGT6JBhPaHbLeTGFES3NUT5DekR5Peu0Nxv5eAWimq5z58g_rBp7FLdQxN8qhgnfA5loIR8hRWwW4qK3_i4nlAa4NSRGI2hv8/s1600/mitzi+2.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdhcET5lU7WI0bCITNptC07UGjKCTT5BdJ92G9JfHu8uvGT6JBhPaHbLeTGFES3NUT5DekR5Peu0Nxv5eAWimq5z58g_rBp7FLdQxN8qhgnfA5loIR8hRWwW4qK3_i4nlAa4NSRGI2hv8/s200/mitzi+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586154335542876306" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bio:</span> Mitzi is a tortoiseshell cat “of a certain age.” The rumors that she’s shaped like a gumdrop are vicious and scurrilous. She has no comment on their accuracy.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The monkey’s bio: </span>J. Anderson Coats has dug for crystals, held Lewis and Clark’s original hand-written journal and been a mile underground. She writes historical fiction set in the middle ages that routinely includes too much violence, name-calling and petty vandalism perpetrated by badly-behaved young people. Her work is represented by Ammi-Joan Paquette of the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. <span style="font-style: italic;"> Without the Walls</span>, J's debut novel, is forthcoming from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in fall 2012.<br /><br />~*~Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-59156617408718130812011-03-20T05:52:00.000-07:002011-03-20T05:57:12.879-07:00"It's Mysterious to Me," by Lexie<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPV32d0j-gdF8UzhDZZLhQHRCmQFwff83U_uoQpKHG3QYzxBEBT2DQpJMg2zjzVcgwsAhBUDaS6I9uebiKxZADhPoeXKe8lsbvgs7OYS2R4kHBbV6hwZpsYBDers6Ovj6DrUT2B2rmL-g/s1600/LindaOJohnstonPromPhoto.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 160px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPV32d0j-gdF8UzhDZZLhQHRCmQFwff83U_uoQpKHG3QYzxBEBT2DQpJMg2zjzVcgwsAhBUDaS6I9uebiKxZADhPoeXKe8lsbvgs7OYS2R4kHBbV6hwZpsYBDers6Ovj6DrUT2B2rmL-g/s200/LindaOJohnstonPromPhoto.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586145099027795586" border="0" /></a>My name is Lexie. I’m a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, the older of two Cavaliers running the house of author Linda O. Johnston. My pack-mate is Mystie, the nutcase who chases sunbeams. Me? I’m more low key, except when I want attention, which is nearly all the time. That’s when I bark to go out, so I can get a treat. Or, I demand to be lifted onto Linda’s lap to help her write or edit.<br /><br />I wanted to appear here to complain. You see, Linda’s new Pet Rescue Mystery series just debuted this month with BEAGLEMANIA. It’s a spinoff series from the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter Mystery series. Both are published by Berkley Prime Crime.<br /><br />The thing is, I was the star of the Kendra mysteries. Rather, my fictional counterpart, also named Lexie, was the star. The protagonist Kendra Ballantyne lives where our family lives, she’s a lawyer like Linda has been, and Kendra is owned by her tricolor Cavalier Lexie who, not coincidentally, resembles me.<br /><br />In BEAGLEMANIA, although it’s clear that Lauren loves animals, she doesn’t even have a dog of her own, at least not yet. I’m definitely not the star.<br /><br />Lauren is the director of HotRescues, a no-kill animal shelter. She was introduced in HOWL DEADLY, the eighth Kendra mystery, and also appeared in FELINE FATALE, the ninth. She’s pretty cool. She does save a lot of animals, even though, since her stories are also cozy mysteries, people get killed. In fact, I’m told that in the Pet Rescue Mysteries, “no-kill” means pets, not people!<br /><br />BEAGLEMANIA begins with a rescue from a puppy mill. I understand that some of Lauren’s later adventures will involve an animal hoarder and a shelter that takes in unadoptable pets.<br /><br />I have to admit that I like Lauren and what she does. But I’m sorry that I don’t know her well enough to have much of a role in her stories.<br /><br />Oh, well. Maybe I’ll just relax about it and enjoy some down time. And learn more about pet rescue as Linda does, too. It’s definitely a worthwhile cause. I’ll just take the position with Linda that, since I’m not the star of her new series, she owes me. Big time. Lots of walks and romps in our backyard and treats, and... Hey, maybe this won’t be so bad after all.<br /><br />Please come visit Linda at <a href="http://www.lindaojohnston.com/">www.LindaOJohnston.com</a> and at <a href="http://www.killerhobbies.blogspot.com/">www.KillerHobbies.blogspot.com</a> on Wednesdays. Friend me on Facebook. I’d love to hear what you think of pet rescue--and BEAGLEMANIA!Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-10233763537001781482011-02-13T12:32:00.000-08:002011-02-13T13:30:52.107-08:00Meet Boushka, proud owner of author Mary Sharatt<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_HbODUlflmYDrC5z-PvFLERwfZ-zvr8wLLAxxDNpaYaAzqudCWU4rMzzteij9n9W5fJ_nwL_r10uQGq_9HOTciAeghGUB9aXT12VocI9BpLT_X_4r88N6AcI90uxRgmfUhDIGcn23Ng/s1600/authorsandpets-boushka%25282%2529.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 182px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_HbODUlflmYDrC5z-PvFLERwfZ-zvr8wLLAxxDNpaYaAzqudCWU4rMzzteij9n9W5fJ_nwL_r10uQGq_9HOTciAeghGUB9aXT12VocI9BpLT_X_4r88N6AcI90uxRgmfUhDIGcn23Ng/s200/authorsandpets-boushka%25282%2529.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573280180741982450" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Woof! Welcome my special guest, Boushka! This Welsh mare lives with Mary Sharatt, author of the fascinating novel, Daughters of the Witching Hill. If you love witch stories based on real historical stuff, then this is the book for you! Be sure to check out Mary's <a href="http://www.marysharratt.com/">website</a>, as well as her <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=695382792">Facebook page</a>.<br /><br />So tell us, Boushka, how in the world did you end up with an American author living in Lancashire, England?</span><br /><br />I was born in Wales, the greatest place in the world and sacred homeland to all Welsh ponies and cobs, but I changed owners several times, living in Yorkshire and then in Lancashire where I did pony club stuff with teenagers. A girl has to get around, you know?<br /><br />Then I moved to Pendle Forest in Lancashire where I acquired Mary who was most certainly not a teenager. When I first met her, she was writing her novel, DAUGHTERS OF THE WITCHING HILL, about the Pendle Witches of 1612, so she rode me all around Pendle Forest as part of her research. Mary and I have a lot of fun adventures together. We even did a three day, long distance ride last summer, the Mary Towneley Loop, where I took Mary up and down old packhorse trails, across moors, through fields of cows who were altogether too inquisitive, and into forgotten valleys. Mary knows I’m happiest when we do long hacks and that nothing is more fun than having a good canter across a field or exploring a new trail through the woods. I am naturally curious and must investigate everything. And I’m not afraid of cows. I’m the boss of them and they know it. Don’t mess with Welsh mares!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What's with the name? Sounds Russian spy to me. </span><br /><br />My show name is Glynnedd Caramel. One of my teenagers that I owned before Mary named me Boushka, short for Babushka, after the Kate Bush song. I think it’s a little silly since Babushka means grandmother and there’s nothing grandmotherly about me! But they say it’s unlucky to change a horse’s name, so I’m still Boushka, although I’m secretly training Mary to call me Queen Boudicca instead. If the Roman legions invaded the mares’ field, I would totally demolish them, as I am descended from great Celtic warrior queens.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Wow. I'm impressed. I understand you have a bigger wardrobe with more accessories than Mary. How did this happen?</span><br /><br />When I first acquired Mary, I came with a whole wardrobe and set of accessories thanks to the teenager I owned before Mary. This included my beloved pink feed bucket and hay net. Of course, Mary has added to the collection so I now have five different field rugs, two stable rugs, a fly rug, a fleece cooler, countless saddle cloths, travel boots, brushing boots, two head collars and lead ropes, not to mention my Santa outfit for Christmas, which features reindeer antlers that flop around my ears and furry boots to wear on my hind legs. For Midsummer, Mary usually braids real roses in my mane, tale, and forelock. I can’t help it I’m so gorgeous!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Are there any drawbacks to owning Mary?</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Don't hold back now. Time to spill the beans.</span><br /><br />Sometimes she gets a little carried away with the whole Pendle Witch theme. For Halloween, she dresses me up in a purple witch hat and hacks me out while carrying a kid’s purple glitter broom. I humour her, because I am awesome. Last year the horse behind us tried to eat the straw on the broom, which was rather amusing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I think putting costumes on pets is humiliating. I lived the experience one Christmas, when my human tried to make me look like Santa. First and last. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Anyway, I heard Mary’s novel, DAUGHTERS OF THE WITCHING HILL, is now out in paperback. Tell us more about it!</span><br /><br />If you’re a Welsh mare who loves reading about strong women, this is the book for you. Daughters of the Witching Hill brings history to life in a vivid and wrenching account of a family caught up in the Pendle Witch trials of 1612.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy7Bc2V5NTpvGbI5PHV5V8lM-j2lFvTMMmx1jGGO3RopSmmsB_fV5yC7V5w5IelZWI2UWh4dbLzu3beZ-G2RZeJ3O_XaI4iTBnVwuG3l_cM3Mx8casznQhNUWUGrvUdtsEu0xT2945YCA/s1600/daughterspb_lres.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy7Bc2V5NTpvGbI5PHV5V8lM-j2lFvTMMmx1jGGO3RopSmmsB_fV5yC7V5w5IelZWI2UWh4dbLzu3beZ-G2RZeJ3O_XaI4iTBnVwuG3l_cM3Mx8casznQhNUWUGrvUdtsEu0xT2945YCA/s200/daughterspb_lres.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573280326208335634" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Bess Southerns, an impoverished widow living in Pendle Forest, is haunted by visions and gains a reputation as a cunning woman. Drawing on the Catholic folk magic of her youth, Bess heals the sick and foretells the future. As she ages, she instructs her granddaughter, Alizon, in her craft, as well as her best friend, who ultimately turns to dark magic. When a peddler suffers a stroke after exchanging harsh words with Alizon, a local magistrate, eager to make his name as a witch finder, plays neighbors and family members against one another until suspicion and paranoia reach frenzied heights.<br /><br />Mary interweaves well-researched historical details with a beautifully imagined story of strong women, family, and betrayal. Daughters of the Witching Hill is a powerful novel of intrigue and revelation.<br /><br />The book has received many glowing reviews. I hope lots of people go out and buy it so Mary can get me some more pony treats and accessories! I would like a new fly rug this summer.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">You seem to like accessories quite a bit. Tell your human to get you a set of Fancy Nancy books. But before I forget... Is it true you appear in Mary's book?</span><br /><br />Yes, I make a special cameo appearance as accused witch Alice Nutter’s horse.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Wow! So, what is Mary working on now?</span><br /><br />Her new book, tentatively titled SIBYL OF THE RHINE, is based on the dramatic life of Hildegard von Bingen, the 12th century German visionary abbess, composer, theologian, and polymath. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt will publish the book in Spring 2012. I’m really excited about Mary’s new novel, but I hope she doesn’t get any funny ideas about dressing me up to look like a 12th century Benedictine nun!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">You're scaring me! I hope my human won't read this interview. She might get some insane ideas.<br /><br />Where can we learn more about Mary, her books, and the true history of the Pendle Witches? </span><br /><br />Be sure to visit her website (<a href="http://www.marysharratt.com/">www.marysharratt.com</a>) and watch her six minute docudrama about the Pendle Witches, shot live on location around Pendle Hill. I, of course, appear in all my glory and am the star of the whole video. I can’t tell you how many takes we had to do to get the camera angles just right! (<a href="http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT-In065-gA"> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT-In065-gA</a>)<br /><br />Also, you can follow my adventures with Mary on Facebook where there are many pictures of me in all my Welsh magnificence!<a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=695382792"> http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=695382792</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Woof! Woof!</span>Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-26565872121103854602011-01-30T05:21:00.000-08:002011-01-30T13:40:39.044-08:00Meet Killer the Cat, proud owner of author Cara Marsi<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbS2ALQaxApAuFApE8_up3x5fm_V07LwuSFrEDTL-a2MFs1MfwtOuHwQXeBUbiwYanprZ2kBcAJt-C2kmR-9w5-HkmE8Cq1gHzprhFJ7NLMvh8i-51svZld3Ah8t6IGK4HduPkTulV058/s1600/killer.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbS2ALQaxApAuFApE8_up3x5fm_V07LwuSFrEDTL-a2MFs1MfwtOuHwQXeBUbiwYanprZ2kBcAJt-C2kmR-9w5-HkmE8Cq1gHzprhFJ7NLMvh8i-51svZld3Ah8t6IGK4HduPkTulV058/s400/killer.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568094995394376530" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Say hello to Killer the Cat, proud owner of romantic suspense/paranormal romance author <a href="http://www.carolynmatkowsky.com/">Cara Marsi</a>. Killer shares with us what it's like living with Cara and also spills the beans on her latest books. Don't forget to connect with Killer's mom on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/carolynmatkowsky">Twitter</a>!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Hey, Killer. What's up? How did you end up in Cara's household? </span><br /><br />Cara's son Joey bought me as a Christmas gift in 2003 for Cara and her husband, my dad Joe. They'd recently lost their beloved 16 year old cat Happy. Mom and Joey went cat shopping together and found me at the shelter. I was 18 months old and had spent my whole life ithere. I guess no one wanted a beautiful black cat. Because I was at the shelter so long I developed the herpes virus and now have chronic upper respiratory disease. If Mom hadn't brought me home, I don't think anyone would have adopted me. But she couldn't let me stay there, knowing I might never be adopted. You can see why I love her, and also Joe and Joey. Of course, they are very lucky to have such a special cat as me.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Do you think you're beautiful?</span><br /><br />But of course. My fur is thicker than most cats and very shiny and soft and black, with a dark brown undercoat. My tail is about half the length of other cats' tails, which makes me unique. The vet says I'm overweight, but I say I'm not overweight, I'm just large boned.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpAI6u4DgH7UIvDDUg1qaxSW8poJYi9tLy3FG_Kh_Ul29yP_FBrImX73WfSPv9siF9QhaIIkNXvPfnnXVf9XlQ1WXLt-A3l_EXT1wesHths6QfK208C3CJ9PdwbGNkTpDSDKobWaLqL1w/s1600/cara2.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpAI6u4DgH7UIvDDUg1qaxSW8poJYi9tLy3FG_Kh_Ul29yP_FBrImX73WfSPv9siF9QhaIIkNXvPfnnXVf9XlQ1WXLt-A3l_EXT1wesHths6QfK208C3CJ9PdwbGNkTpDSDKobWaLqL1w/s400/cara2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568097028277343458" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What's she like as a pet owner?</span><br /><br />She smothers me with love, always petting me, and kissing my head. And she feeds me good food. She wishes I were a lap cat, but I'm not. But I do follow her all around the house, like a shadow. I sleep next to my mom every night, snuggled against her in bed. I don't know what she would do without me.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What about as a writer?</span><br /><br />She works really hard at writing. Sometimes I go into her office and bother her until she stops writing and pets me. She has sold lots of short stories lately to the confession magazines, and this makes her happy. She loves to make up stories about passionate people who find love and happiness, even if they have to fight for what they want. I don't get it, but mom thinks romance novels are the best and she craves books with happy endings. She says she writes the books she wants to read. She has lots of books she doesn't have time to read and this makes her sad sometimes.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I love the title of her mystery novella, '<a href="http://www.thewildrosepress.com/murder-mi-amore-p-4345.html">Murder, Mi Amore</a>'--very evocative. What's it about?</span><br /><br />Here's the blurb (as my mom calls it):<br /><br />Lexie Cortese is in Rome to forget. The last thing she expects is to meet a sexy Interpol agent who suspects her of being part of a terrorist plot involving a stolen diamond. Suddenly thrust into a world of murders, muggings, and kidnappings, Lexie doesn’t know what to think—or who to believe.<br /><br />Dominic Brioni’s assignment is simple. Befriend the American and bring her to justice. Only Lexie seems like the most unlikely terrorist Dominic has ever met. Sweet, determined, and direct, she faces life with courage and fire, a fire that sparks his protective instincts and a longing for something more—something he allowed himself to hope for only once before.<br /><br />But that woman betrayed him, and his boss isn’t about to let him forget it. With his career on the line and Lexie in danger, will Dominic learn to trust his heart before they both get killed?<br /><br />Most of the story is set in Rome where Mom and Dad visited in 2006. They left me home with Joey. I missed them. Mom even included a chapter set in her grandparent's hometown of Ripa Teatina. Mom says her heroine Lexie is feisty and learns to be even stronger during the story. And Mom is in love with the hero, Dominic. She hopes lots of people will read her story and enjoy reading it as much as she enjoyed writing it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What inspires your writer mom?</span><br /><br />She loves happy endings and heroes and heroines who fight for what they want. It doesn't hurt to throw in some mystery and a murder or two, as long as the hero and heroine find love. Mom says there's too much bad stuff in the world, and so she writes life affirming stories of love and commitment, all with happy endings, of course.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYgOAFX_SntGtj9aSABGF4nyd5nRgikmhaUJjY4gGu5b8uAFxrT1fj8yDCVjDMvvJ0CMLekKLWnehdTy99JQw1bVutKFAJ38y-Aj-mMG9C2F5UlomKodWakixe626FSzeXdxrtZr23h94/s1600/cara.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYgOAFX_SntGtj9aSABGF4nyd5nRgikmhaUJjY4gGu5b8uAFxrT1fj8yDCVjDMvvJ0CMLekKLWnehdTy99JQw1bVutKFAJ38y-Aj-mMG9C2F5UlomKodWakixe626FSzeXdxrtZr23h94/s400/cara.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568095224970027698" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What's she working on now? </span><br /><br />A really scary story about werewolves and demons and a kick-ass werewolf hunter.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Are you in the book? </span><br /><br />I'm not in the book, although she's had cats in some of her other books, but they weren't black. She doesn't like to put me in books that are scary because she doesn't want her readers worrying about me. She has put me in her short stories. The first story she sold to a confession magazine was about a smart black cat, much like me, who brings two lonely people together. She also wrote another short story from the cat's point of view, a black cat. My mom is in love with me and thinks I'm the most beautiful cat in the world, even if I am a little plump. I tend to agree with her.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Why did she name you Killer? </span><br /><br />Joey named me Killer because he's into irony. My people think I'm really sweet and timid and afraid of everything which is why Joey named me Killer. Irony, you see. But I'm not so innocent as they think. You don't spend your formative years in a shelter with 80 other cats and not learn a few things. Get my drift? But I allow my people to believe I'm sweet and scared and shy. It gets me more attention and petting. And after all, isn't that what a cat's life is all about? This has been fun, but it's time for my nap. Later.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thanks! Woof!</span>Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-7836919302586853882011-01-15T00:11:00.000-08:002011-01-15T13:25:01.941-08:00Meet Sadie, proud owner of author Jennifer A. Nielsen<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitR74dRTz_gVcIgsXoM9dryK8G2jkE5u1fqgN95l78ZMZBVrtqjGQbapyUZtJg175cSmha1ISFVuHMjClwelazWaz_tHCrYtHsxvnxpyGySrjGaYyr-VPsViikKOiqU8CdtUGyscABDaE/s1600/Sadie.jpeg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitR74dRTz_gVcIgsXoM9dryK8G2jkE5u1fqgN95l78ZMZBVrtqjGQbapyUZtJg175cSmha1ISFVuHMjClwelazWaz_tHCrYtHsxvnxpyGySrjGaYyr-VPsViikKOiqU8CdtUGyscABDaE/s400/Sadie.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562526053688684770" border="0" /></a><br />My guest today is a SUPER CUTE ADORABLE energetic golden retriever puppy named Sadie, who has recently adopted the Nielsen family, including author Jennifer Nielsen. Jennifer has just launched her debut book, Elliot and the Goblin War, with Sourcebooks publishing. Two more are set to release in that series over the next year. She will release another series with Scholastic beginning in April 2012.<br />Wow, pretty COOL!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sadie, how did you come to live with the Nielsen family?</span><br /><br />It turns out the kids are really good negotiators. They worked out a spectacular deal where they agreed to give up ever asking for anything again in exchange for my coming. That lasted for about ten minutes before they asked for ice cream on the ride home. I got a chewing bisc<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZobOersZur8XFAljYl9kQuCaOBNM_l1nbIhcjygXdWE5noTpWgXPZhvpGKH27iB7-x8hzPmH67KY7ci4g4ICShAj3LotAWa-IjaVhNmgUC_8Xtro143fibeVAn2G6IZQEB2GwTDR-BlI/s1600/Elliot_Cover.jpeg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 120px; height: 154px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZobOersZur8XFAljYl9kQuCaOBNM_l1nbIhcjygXdWE5noTpWgXPZhvpGKH27iB7-x8hzPmH67KY7ci4g4ICShAj3LotAWa-IjaVhNmgUC_8Xtro143fibeVAn2G6IZQEB2GwTDR-BlI/s400/Elliot_Cover.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562526583452948482" border="0" /></a>uit.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">With a brand new book released, things must be really busy at your house.</span><br /><br />There’s been a lot going on lately, but it’s all good things: book signings, school visits, and whatever it is she does on her computer. Luckily, I always know how to get attention if anyone gets distracted from me for too long.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What is “Elliot and the Gob</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">lin War” about? Based on the title, I’m guessing it’s not dogs.</span><br /><br />There’s no dogs, but there are Goblins and Hags and Brownies. It’s the story of 11-year-old Elliot Penster who becomes king of the Brownies and accidentally prompts an interspecies war. But as my owner writes, “Don’t blame him. As anyone who has ever started an interspecies war will tell you, it’s not that difficult to do.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Which character in the story are you most like?</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1LWcoDawLxGd2IHPcluT_FLOdKvDYTY0yG6GZ1MMoOq2xd_T_VdivpdxrsDJ4BPJUeEXkAvC89t4zrfMTs1g_lRydslSIlHvzSaU_5hgg9INJN_aAB-YOt7-NrWzrztUX5_AWki0xCGg/s1600/Jennifer_Nielsen_2.jpeg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1LWcoDawLxGd2IHPcluT_FLOdKvDYTY0yG6GZ1MMoOq2xd_T_VdivpdxrsDJ4BPJUeEXkAvC89t4zrfMTs1g_lRydslSIlHvzSaU_5hgg9INJN_aAB-YOt7-NrWzrztUX5_AWki0xCGg/s400/Jennifer_Nielsen_2.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562525721972005682" border="0" /></a><br />Probably one of the Brownie kids, a girl named Patches. She and I are both smart, both love humans, but both have our ways of getting into trouble. For example, Patches finds herself at the bottom of a very deep hole with hungry Goblins at the top. In the meantime, I dug a big hole in the corner of the yard. I hope nobody finds it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Turnip juice, chocolate cake, and pickles figure heavily into these books. What do you think about that?</span><br /><br />Well I’m a puppy, so I’ll eat anything. Unfortunately, my people only let me read about those foods, not eat it. The food I eat probably isn’t interesting enough to write about.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Has Jennifer always had pets?</span><br /><br />Lots of animals have owned her over the years: hamsters, fish, a cat, dogs, and a leopard-gecko lizard. But I’m her favorite, of course.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Does Jennifer have a website or blog?</span><br /><br />Both. You can find out more about her and her books at <a href="http://www.jennielsen.com/">www.jennielsen.com</a> or at <a href="http://www.jenniferanielsen.blogspot.com/">www.jenniferanielsen.blogspot.com</a>. She hopes everyone will check out Elliot and the Goblin War. Here’s the Amazon link if it’s helpful: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Elliot-Goblin-War-Jennifer-Nielsen/dp/1402240198">http://www.amazon.com/Elliot-Goblin-War-Jennifer-Nielsen/dp/1402240198<br /></a>Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-4716754266712759092011-01-04T06:55:00.000-08:002011-01-04T14:29:23.393-08:00Meet Miko and Daisy, proud owners of author and writing coach Suzanne Lieurance<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiclH4go_JPNgLqkT766tjRsjwq2tsgfJXxAAPY9aAoe7NAPeA_6Qy0HQu5N252aISfbLnn_a-TLN2o5A3x9ZNqrlEfXXo-n1oApmLe300YO9MFLCvOVDa2KoPuDglwjxRq6_LYEKgeOrM/s1600/Miko+Lieurance.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiclH4go_JPNgLqkT766tjRsjwq2tsgfJXxAAPY9aAoe7NAPeA_6Qy0HQu5N252aISfbLnn_a-TLN2o5A3x9ZNqrlEfXXo-n1oApmLe300YO9MFLCvOVDa2KoPuDglwjxRq6_LYEKgeOrM/s400/Miko+Lieurance.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558444520489385714" border="0" /></a>Say WOOF! to my special guests Miko and Daisy, proud owners of author, speaker, freelance writer and coach <a href="http://www.suzannelieurance.com/">Suzanne Lieurance</a> (talk about busy!).<br /><br />Suzanne is the founder and director of the <a href="http://writingforchildrencenter.com/">National Writing for Children Center</a>. She has written hundreds of articles and also over 25 books! But that's not all! She's also host of the popular <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bookbitesforkids">Book Bites for Kids,</a> a radio show where she interviews children's authors. My mom loves Suzanne and is always listening to her shows and teleclasses.<br /><br />Listen, people, this is one lady you'll want to follow on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/Suzanne-Lieurance/670396752">Facebook </a>and <a href="http://twitter.com/writerscoach">Twitter</a>. So don't be shy.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:12pt;"><b>Welcome, Miko and Daisy! How did you come to live with <span class="il">Suzanne</span>?</b><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:12pt;"><b>Miko:</b> Well, I'm Miko, and I'll answer that question first, since I got here first. Actually, <span class="il">Suzanne</span>'s younger son Tyle</span><span style="font-size:12pt;">r rescued me from some people who weren't very nice to me when I was just a puppy. They didn't feed me and they hit me a lot. Tyler convinced the people to le</span><span style="font-size:12pt;">t him have me, then he brought me home to his mom. She adopted me, even though I was supposed to be Tyler's dog</span><span style="font-size:12pt;">.<br /><br /><b>Daisy:</b> And, I'm Daisy. People think I look like a little black pi</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBM80Yb4gkkqRWtU6jgFAq_HkUM_27x01eWpMNxIiScKanREomwwjEAFt3spFbYScSI0BmavKEBITmqV47WRShoNj5TOxONsTMb0En-b1wiZSrDNhDzCl-AcjszJb9HdYoi5LRc4XivU8/s1600/Daisy+Lieurance.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBM80Yb4gkkqRWtU6jgFAq_HkUM_27x01eWpMNxIiScKanREomwwjEAFt3spFbYScSI0BmavKEBITmqV47WRShoNj5TOxONsTMb0En-b1wiZSrDNhDzCl-AcjszJb9HdYoi5LRc4XivU8/s400/Daisy+Lieurance.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558444633836546434" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:12pt;">g. But I don't think so. I mean...I don't have a curly tail like pigs do, for gosh sakes. Give me a break! And I can explain why I like to eat so much. Years ago, when I had a litter of pups, my humans were going through a divorce and they completely ignored me and all their other dogs (they had about 5 other big dogs, plus me and my puppies). They penned us up in their backyard. It got so cold, all but one of my puppies froze to death. And one of the other dogs in the pen jumped off the doghouse and accidentally hanged himself with his leash - or maybe he committed suicide like some of the other dogs in the pen thought. After all, we had it pretty rough. No one fed us, they kept us outside in the freezing cold. We all thought we were going to die until some lady rescued us. She found homes for all the other dogs except me. Nobody wanted a little black dog that looked like a pig. But then <span class="il">Suzanne</span> came over to this lady's house and when she found out I needed a home she convinced her husband to let me come live with her family. I didn't like Miko at first. I mean, look at him! He's HUGE! And he thought he was the boss of the house. I had to straighten him out about that. Now we get along great! He's my big brother and he pretty much does what I say.<br /><br /><b>Miko:</b> I do not, Daisy! You're not the boss. You just think you are!<br /><br /><br /><b>Gosh, that's quite a story, you guys. What's wrong with some people!<br /><br />Tell us more about your mom, <span class="il">Suzanne</span>. I hear she's completely obsessed with children's books? What's it like living with that kind of person?</b><br /><br /><b>Miko:</b> Yeah, our human loves to read, write, and talk about children's books all the time. But it's kinda cool. She dedicated one of her books to me and she called me her "four-footed little writing buddy." That's because when I was a puppy I used to lie at her feet while she wrote her books on the computer. We'd take "sunshine breaks" during the writing day and go outside and sit in the sun together. We still do that now when the weather is good.<br /><br /><b>Daisy:</b> Yeah, I love the sunshine breaks. Sometimes we get a special snack when we go outside. Yum! Is it time for a sunshine break now? I bet it is! Let's get a snack!<br /><br /><b>Miko:</b> Pay attention, Daisy! It's not time for a break or a snack!<br /><br /><br /><b>Did someone mention SNACKS?<br /><br />Anyway, she's written like 25 books, hasn't she? Ha! I bet success has gone to her head!</b><br /><br /><b>Miko:</b> She just likes to write. She doesn't always write books, though. Sometimes she writes articles or writing courses, and she writes a bunch of stuff for children's educational publishers - test questions, reading passages, and stuff like that. She really likes to write adaptations of fairy tales and other old stories for kids. Right now, she's working on a middle grade novel. Plus, she has a bunch of picture book manuscripts she's sending out to publishers, so she stays pretty busy.<br /><br /><b>Daisy:</b> She always remembers to feed us, though. That's the main thing! Every morning, we get our breakfast first thing, before she starts to write. Then we go outside and play for a while. Then we take a nap. It's a dog's life and we love it!<br /><br /><b>Is it true she also mentors other writers? I hear she teaches online courses and has a club for children's authors.</b><br /><br /><b>Miko:</b> Yeah, our "mom" is a former classroom teacher, so she seems to think she has to help everybody learn stuff. She started the Children's Writers' Coaching Club so she could help other people become published children's book authors. People can find out more about it at <a href="http://www.cwcoachingclub.com/" target="_blank">www.cwcoachingclub.com</a>. The club has weekly teleclasses about writing for children and people who are in the club can get their stories professionally critiqued each week - whatever that means. I don't read, so I'm not sure what a critique is. I just know <span class="il">Suzanne</span> reads a bunch of stuff when she's doing critiques.<br /><br /><br /><b>My mom is a member of the Children's Writers Coaching Club and can't stop raving about <span class="il">Suzanne</span>. What's so darn special about her, anyway?</b><br /><br /><b>Daisy:</b> Uh, I think she's special because she feeds us good stuff! Hey....do you give snacks for these interviews?<br /><br /><b>Miko:</b> Cut it out, Daisy. You don't need a snack. Back to the question - I think <span class="il">Suzanne</span> is special because she likes to teach and help people as much as she likes to write. That's good for those other people. But sometimes it takes away from <span class="il">Suzanne</span>'s writing time. And I don't like to be around when that happens because she gets grouchy. I like it when she's working on a book because she takes us for walks during the day so she can figure out what happens next in the story.<br /><br /><b>Daisy:</b> I don't like it when she can't write either. When she's grouchy we don't get snacks!<br /><br /><br /><b>I bet she doesn't have anytime left for you too. Shameful!</b><br /><br /><b>Miko:</b> Yeah, sometimes she gets so busy she forgets about our walks. But, like I said, if she's working on a story that's giving her trouble, we walk a LOT! I guess I shouldn't say this, but I like it when she has trouble with her stories cause we get to go to the park a bunch of times during the week and see all the other dogs and people there. Daisy and I LOVE that!<br /><br /><b>Daisy:</b> Yeah, walks are really, really fun. But, really, all I need is my food. As long as she doesn't ever forget that, I don't have any complaints. I'm good. Are you sure we don't get a snack for doing this interview? Do I smell bacon?<br /><br /><br /><b>So what's with that radio show, Book Bites for Kids? I don't like it. Every time my mom listens to one of those shows, it's 30 minutes she's not playing with me! </b><br /><br /><b>Miko: </b>Yeah, we have to be quiet and not bark when she's doing that show. She talks to other children's book authors about their books and stuff like that.<br /><br /><b>Daisy:</b> Yeah, but she does the show during our nap time, so it usually isn't a problem. Sniff! Sniff! I know I smell bacon!<br /><br /><br /><b>What do you love most about <span class="il">Suzanne</span>?</b><br /><br /><b>Miko</b>: I like her hugs and tummy rubs. And the walks.<br /><br /><b>Daisy:</b> The food! Definitely the meals and the snacks! And we LOVE bacon! Sniff! Sniff!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thanks for stopping by this side of the woods, Miko and Daisy. You're so lucky you have Suzanne as a mom now. She sounds like a darn fine human!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hey, readers, if you like this, why don't you share it on Twitter and Facebook... please, pretty please?</span><br /><br /></span>Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-17710503376544491442010-12-21T10:24:00.000-08:002010-12-21T10:29:42.612-08:00Meet Blanco, owner of children's author Kai Strand<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQI6pM7xvzb1RDYZ42O_1vYcMDflCYutoobXKCMHE85Eg_EE-42VOXgAaevN0cuWhT6H60mtziVsl73fnjmljEdah_vlHt4BnhBdBHcsGf40edNXFjqLTNfPzgaQ1pGNHG0n26F5fTSLc/s1600/dragon.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 292px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQI6pM7xvzb1RDYZ42O_1vYcMDflCYutoobXKCMHE85Eg_EE-42VOXgAaevN0cuWhT6H60mtziVsl73fnjmljEdah_vlHt4BnhBdBHcsGf40edNXFjqLTNfPzgaQ1pGNHG0n26F5fTSLc/s400/dragon.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553203870487388018" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Today we have an unusual gust on Pets & Their Authors... a dragon! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I hope you'll enjoy his guest post.</span><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">See my spikes? I’m fierce. Ask any cricket!<span style=""> </span>My name is Blanco. I’m a bearded dragon.<span style=""> </span>Kai Strand is my author.<span style=""> </span>Kai and I go way back to the Christmas of 2008 when I joined the family.<span style=""> </span>I was just a little tyke then, hadn’t fully grown into my fierceness.<span style=""> </span>I’m what they call a pale dragon.<span style=""> </span>My color is lighter than many others, hence the name Blanco (meaning white).<span style=""> </span>I’m actually named after a villain from one of Kai’s middle grade novels (this one hasn’t sold…yet).<span style=""> </span>Yep, the creepy villain of the story sends shivers up your spine like I do when I spread myself wide and hiss.<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Kai has a laptop, so she will sometimes tuck her feet up under her on the couch next to my vivarium (cage) and write.<span style=""> </span>I like it when she does that because the clicking sound of the keys sounds like a murder of crickets climbing over each other to get away from my razor sharp teeth. It often lulls me to sleep.<span style=""> </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnTP26gY-wCxL6B5JU-JDQeNmNp8rll-RVj7VefX7UewULwmXHNdWoom8eq1XA_soz6a42vBjWHecHia-_TRaIneUpYHdy-kjGTAjqhRvnKwmABwz9uFoJNt8U7wHV9nxn3EQ2xpysTM/s1600/dragon+2.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnTP26gY-wCxL6B5JU-JDQeNmNp8rll-RVj7VefX7UewULwmXHNdWoom8eq1XA_soz6a42vBjWHecHia-_TRaIneUpYHdy-kjGTAjqhRvnKwmABwz9uFoJNt8U7wHV9nxn3EQ2xpysTM/s400/dragon+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553203968739404514" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As a matter of fact, I ended up going into an extended state of hibernation (what we refer to in my beardie world as brumation) last winter when she was working on final edits of her tween book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=The+Weaver+by+Kai+Strand">The Weaver</a>.<span style=""> </span>The Weaver is about a young girl, Mary, who lives in a town of storytellers. Mary’s mother is the most revered story weaver around, but poor Mary is suffering through her third year of novice word weaving.<span style=""> </span>Mary meets a strange little gnome-elf who grants her one wish, but instead of weaving a better story, she suddenly is weaving strange little yarn charms to accompany her still pathetic tales.<span style=""> </span>Because of my state of brumation, I never did hear if Mary resolved her problem.<span style=""> </span>Maybe one of you can let me know.<span style=""> </span>Feel free to contact me through Kai. You can read more about her and her writing at <a href="http://www.kaistrand.com/">www.kaistrand.com</a>. Or stay up-to-date on book info on her <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kai-Strand-Author/118710161509777?ref=sgm">Facebook</a> page.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-25205707457382801432010-12-13T07:18:00.000-08:002010-12-15T04:09:52.695-08:00Five cats spill the beans on children's author Lisa Cottrell Bentley<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGlTiUpE1b2JOS1w9eh6k8R4fRrl8PK_hMt6NyhkLd6V3GOveHq9-GpF0tpHUUhXYpXbZl6Yb3Ka6poCgwcqc_MdfbZRwVQv8UxHgHBETcrwON8gQgAKN1JZmRZtRNIJmzzI_tSHJ8jAY/s1600/lisa+6.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 184px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGlTiUpE1b2JOS1w9eh6k8R4fRrl8PK_hMt6NyhkLd6V3GOveHq9-GpF0tpHUUhXYpXbZl6Yb3Ka6poCgwcqc_MdfbZRwVQv8UxHgHBETcrwON8gQgAKN1JZmRZtRNIJmzzI_tSHJ8jAY/s400/lisa+6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550536127466856546" border="0" /></a>I apologize to my canine friends for having FIVE guest cats on my blog today (as if just one wasn't enough!). Anyway...<br /><br />Say hello to Connor, Bronwyn, Astrid, Fiona, and Finnegan!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWfx-KSaYS0_qWgtve7SYjMdxMneJ52hpZtE9A3F6N5d6M-wxxlkYQQ0f5qlEj_SlQXzpjSqIOSkS0t-aaSa0raZjwYJtOgNUNUKtTvAYyYUzjVEGf41BV-clb2XaJ0DBPnQ3SiAo-SiM/s1600/lisa1.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 218px; height: 163px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWfx-KSaYS0_qWgtve7SYjMdxMneJ52hpZtE9A3F6N5d6M-wxxlkYQQ0f5qlEj_SlQXzpjSqIOSkS0t-aaSa0raZjwYJtOgNUNUKtTvAYyYUzjVEGf41BV-clb2XaJ0DBPnQ3SiAo-SiM/s400/lisa1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550529911522368914" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Q: So, hello, kitties. Who are you and who is your human?</span><br /><br />A: We are Lisa Cottrell-Bentley's five adorable cats: Connor, age 15, gorgeous orange tabby cat...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1lrRD5AotQPftzpOmfPqtWGtT2xgR1uQAofD0-0d7RNOCsob5gPin4mbIZo0NHRR2-uImS9mXoMrRe7nfFdqU9HLgqENAv8EyFKZizzbUcI1oidGXQ5abAswaR-wVeLP_v2dcGtTSnMI/s1600/lisa+2.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 228px; height: 171px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1lrRD5AotQPftzpOmfPqtWGtT2xgR1uQAofD0-0d7RNOCsob5gPin4mbIZo0NHRR2-uImS9mXoMrRe7nfFdqU9HLgqENAv8EyFKZizzbUcI1oidGXQ5abAswaR-wVeLP_v2dcGtTSnMI/s400/lisa+2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550530369771531218" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Bronwyn, age 1, fluffy white cat who looks and acts exactly like<br />"Marie" from the Aristocats movie...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6noK-5bSC0rnya0FXat65lb_V0uDiEAGXfbe4FOWvM3JioAw95eOGg03m2ZH9Fcbg0gmK2fs4g2Qh7n01Mh6AcoJo1OFcz-3uEktXotb0umquYiMPnFBFnwryzx7gBrrFqHUe1sWaR6Y/s1600/lisa3.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6noK-5bSC0rnya0FXat65lb_V0uDiEAGXfbe4FOWvM3JioAw95eOGg03m2ZH9Fcbg0gmK2fs4g2Qh7n01Mh6AcoJo1OFcz-3uEktXotb0umquYiMPnFBFnwryzx7gBrrFqHUe1sWaR6Y/s400/lisa3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550530782188494162" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Astrid, age 13, sleek and prestigious black cat...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2WhexVWhdvB77wCwVaPpL2h-vKn1bLt1alBjjqrYvwGeFhBQM3YuCplAOLBJvWb5aAUL78IjGFaO2x-eFcOuBGH0ASFlLsOUV-RxuPIstWhuITBUtTxr3I8OzgxhSuLlUU3XOWovLy1w/s1600/lisa4.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2WhexVWhdvB77wCwVaPpL2h-vKn1bLt1alBjjqrYvwGeFhBQM3YuCplAOLBJvWb5aAUL78IjGFaO2x-eFcOuBGH0ASFlLsOUV-RxuPIstWhuITBUtTxr3I8OzgxhSuLlUU3XOWovLy1w/s400/lisa4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550531220197529138" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Fiona, age 2.5, skittish tortico who, while our largest, believes she is our smallest and she is scared of all the others...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB2kRxVM0Q_kLaXVju_Auv4TkVARTYDP5s-nj39spEvXHuDErklTkCJe8ysf0vpswJ_GvystFV0fHQp01_8sbwrU1c1tVWMqjDPHvsBM835829PC03j66eVoK5oAoplGT7F1FKBw2j9zI/s1600/lisa+5.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 224px; height: 168px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB2kRxVM0Q_kLaXVju_Auv4TkVARTYDP5s-nj39spEvXHuDErklTkCJe8ysf0vpswJ_GvystFV0fHQp01_8sbwrU1c1tVWMqjDPHvsBM835829PC03j66eVoK5oAoplGT7F1FKBw2j9zI/s400/lisa+5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550531625451293970" border="0" /></a><br />Finnegan, age 1, soccer loving, sleek pure white cat with the world's fluffiest tail, littermate to Bronwyn, also known as "Finnegan Snowflake Albus Brian Sleek Spock Cottrell Bentley" or "Captain Fluffytail"...<br /><br /><br />Lisa is the author of the <a href="http://www.wrightontimebooks.com/">Wright on Time</a> series<http: com="">. She also owns <a href="http://www.doliferightinc.com/">Do Life Right, Inc</a>.<http: com="">, an independent publishing company that specializes in children's and YA books about realistic homeschoolers of today.<br /><br />"Wright on Time" is about an RV-living, homeschooling family who travels the USA. Each book is set in a different state with a different fun and educational theme. So long as Lisa doesn't actually take me on her adventures, I'm good. I don't want to live in an RV. In fact, I don't want to leave the house--ever.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Q: Really Finnegan, did you have to say so much about Lisa right from the start? I was just going to ask about her books to Fiona. So, Fiona, what type of books does your human mom write?</span><br /><br />Fiona: Lisa writes? I thought that thing on her lap was just an inadequate lap warmer for when I wasn't around. I do a much better job at keeping her warm.<br /><br />Finnegan: Action! Adventure! The best kind there are! There aren't nearly enough balls in her stories though... I think I'll go and remind her of the fun of balls. I like to give her presents.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Q: Of all your mom's books, which one is your favorite? Why?</span><br /><br />Connor: I like them all, so long as Lisa feeds me. I have been told, however, that there is a minor character (Aidan's best friend) who was named after me. I sort of like this.<br /><br />Bronwyn: <wide-eyed blank="" stare="">Astrid: I really like "Wright on Time: Utah, Book 2". I particularly like when the Wright family learns how to clean and preserve dinosaur bones. I like to clean things.<br /><br />Fiona: <chirp> I love "Wright on Time: Arizona, Book 1". I want tochase those bats!<br /><br />Finnegan: Definitely "Wright on Time: Wyoming, Book 3". I love the constant playing and going to new places in that book. I'd even love the airplane ride and golf cart excursion.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Q: Have you actually read them?</span><br /><br />Connor: No, but I've tried to eat them. They aren't very tasty. Lisa should really work on that.<br /><br />Bronwyn: I haven't learned how to read yet, but Teagan (my 10 year old) likes to read to me.<br /><br />Astrid: I have. I've read them at every stage of their development. Lisa doesn't realize it, but I go and read everything on her computer every night after she goes to sleep. Why do you think I sleep all day?<br /><br />Fiona: I would, except they are kind of hard to keep open with my paws. She keeps telling me that she's having audio versions made. I'm waiting for those.<br /><br />Finnegan: I hear her pacing and talking out loud all the time. It's great fun to follow her while she does this. Plus, I like the stories, especially the little boy Aidan. I could have so much fun playing ball with him.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Q: Are they any good?<br /><br /></span>Connor: I already answered this question. They taste awful! Maybe if they were catnip flavored or something...<br /><br />Bronwyn: I certainly like how the humans I find reading them stay still for a long time. It gives me a chance to really get cozy. So, I'm wanting Lisa to write more so that more humans will let their cats be cozy.<br /><br />Astrid: My analytical mind says yes. The book series has everything I've seen lacking in children's fiction today. They have homeschooled kids, like the kids who live in my house. The kids love their parents and vice versa, like the people who live in my house. They all learn from life, and enjoy traveling. They are wonderful, wholesome books for kids and parents.<br /><br />Fiona: Well, honestly, the family shouldn't be so adventurous. Living in an RV? They're nuts! Plus they are always doing crazy things like going into caves, flying in strange airplanes, and otherwise getting into trouble. I'd use caution with having kids read these, because I think kids<br />should just sit quietly in the corner and grow without going anywhere. It's safer that way.<br /><br />Finnegan: Oh, yes! How could a book with a seven-year old like Aidan, who loves sports and jokes, be anything but good?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Q: Who is your favorite character in Lisa's books?<br /><br /></span>Connor: Well, the Connor character, of course, but he hasn't actually shown up in any of the books yet. So, I'll have to go with Nadia, the eleven year old, or Harrison, the dad. Harrison is a gourmet cook, so I know he and I would get along famously. I love food. Nadia would be fun to<br />snuggle with while she does her researching in books and on her computer. I love to snuggle.<br /><br />Bronwyn: I like Prince Pumpkin the Third, the cute little turtle of the Wrights. He is cute and little and quiet, just like me.<br /><br />Astrid: Hmm. This one is tough. I'll have to say my favorites are the various tour guides, and "Bob-characters" (as Lisa calls them). They are all a lot different from each other, but they are all experts at whatever the Wrights are learning about. I like smart people.<br /><br />Fiona: The mom, Stephanie, is my favorite. She's cautious and careful and doesn't jump into things without thinking and considering the ramifications. She's the most like me. I really don't understand why anyone would jump into anything without thinking it through.<br /><br />Finnegan: Aidan, the seven year old. He and I are so much alike it's crazy. I really hope to meet him someday. We could have so much fun batting around balls, racing each other, and jumping on things.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Q: What do you do for amusement while Lisa writes and ignores you?</span><br /><br />Connor: She ignores me? I don't think so. I'd never let her. If I'm feeling like I haven't been fed sufficiently, I have no problem letting her know. I also enjoy spending that time licking the condensation off the side of her water glasses. I don't know why, but she doesn't really like it if I<br />try to drink her actual water. She's welcome to mine whenever she'd like. I'm all for sharing.<br /><br />Bronwyn: What? Did you say my name?<br /><br />Astrid: I spend that time napping in the bathroom sink. It's lovely and cool in this desert heat.<br /><br />Fiona: I go and hide out in the loft, where the other cats will leave me alone.<br /><br />Finnegan: She doesn't mind one bit when I go and sit on top of her hands.<br /><br />Q: Does Lisa ever ask you for advice when she's stuck? Does she listen to your advice?<br /><br />Connor: She's always rattling on about something, but I pretty much only hear, "Food, breakfast, snack, hungry." If she's saying those words, then I always wholeheartedly agree.<br /><br />Bronwyn: Huh? What? Oh, I don't really have an opinion, but I'm fine whenever Lisa wants to pet me.<br /><br />Astrid: Yes, all the time. In fact, all those good bits in the story--all mine. I don't mind that she is getting the credit, but since you asked I thought I'd let the truth be known.<br /><br />Fiona: I'm always telling her to stop putting her characters in danger, but she never listens.<br /><br />Finnegan: When Lisa paces, I like to reach out and grab her as she walks past me. It makes her realize I'm thinking of her. I also encourage her to add action and adventure. A story isn't good until the characters are running or playing a sport.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Q: Where can Lisa's books be found?</span><br /><br />Connor: Underneath me. I'm happy to sit on anything. While they aren't tasty, they're not too bad as a bed. I hope you are done asking me questions now thought, because I'm too distracted to answer any more since I'm starving.<br /><br />Bronwyn: On the bookshelf in our library, but I can't reach them.<br /><br />Astrid: Lisa sells signed copies on <a href="http://www.wrightontimebooks.com/">www.WrightOnTimeBooks.com</a>. The books can also be found at online stores such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble, as well as your local bookstores and libraries. If they don't have them, just ask them to order them for you.<br /><br />Fiona: On the floor, after I've knocked them off the table or counter to make room for myself.<br /><br />Finnegan: In kids' hands while they are reading them!</chirp></wide-eyed></http:></http:>Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-17923818201869591912010-12-07T01:00:00.000-08:002010-12-07T01:00:09.821-08:00Guest Pet Blogger: "Cat Smarts Vs. Dog Smarts: a Cat's Perspective," by Sparkle<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGowmnSh4Jy-DVU2u5xko6HL2n7Gj86jks33VMxeRy-2ufcX9ynNLByQnvRVP7YrnBFhQa9emjYd3-d_hHbEcItUaRTBIafluqm6s4d7u0fPdpcGRBDLKQS2jMu6VIDpQf-tPvplkwKGM/s1600/Sparkle.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 360px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGowmnSh4Jy-DVU2u5xko6HL2n7Gj86jks33VMxeRy-2ufcX9ynNLByQnvRVP7YrnBFhQa9emjYd3-d_hHbEcItUaRTBIafluqm6s4d7u0fPdpcGRBDLKQS2jMu6VIDpQf-tPvplkwKGM/s400/Sparkle.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547317608471695042" border="0" /></a>For decades, if not longer, humans have been debating whether cats or dogs are smarter. I have found this quite enlightening, not because there are any satisfactory answers (there aren't), but because it says a lot about what humans consider "intelligence." Take the latest study by scientists at Oxford University (<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/pets/8151924/Dogs-are-smarter-than-cats.html">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/pets/8151924/Dogs-are-smarter-than-cats.html</a>): they claim that since dogs are more social, and their brains are bigger, they must be more intelligent than cats. So, according to these scientists, being social makes you smarter than if you are a solitary being. Hm. Tell that to writers, most of whom are not terribly social. I'm sure they are not exactly enthused by the implications of this study. From what I gather, most humans who pursue writing as a career tend to be more intelligent than other humans. Maybe not more sensible, but definitely more intelligent.<br /><br />And as for brain size, wouldn't you say that it's not how big your brain is, but how you use it? While dogs are using their brains to figure out ways to please people and do their bidding, we cats use our brains to get around silly human rules <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE2HZXV_uJcVVzAXH7oIgB6hiOt_FXApWVYS8ofNnSu4djFyQ0H7I_j5-icZdRc6A2Z80Ybyfq3mP-6QTsHtJkWLcZf6OQl2xvNqHGxTbf7G0rvDRIu_MDlCNNS_sE0nl7cbOEXSsiAhs/s1600/Dear+Sparkle.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 294px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE2HZXV_uJcVVzAXH7oIgB6hiOt_FXApWVYS8ofNnSu4djFyQ0H7I_j5-icZdRc6A2Z80Ybyfq3mP-6QTsHtJkWLcZf6OQl2xvNqHGxTbf7G0rvDRIu_MDlCNNS_sE0nl7cbOEXSsiAhs/s400/Dear+Sparkle.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547317743414083170" border="0" /></a>such as "stay off the kitchen counter," or "don't go in the cabinet." Wouldn't you call that type of creative, industrious, authority-questioning behavior more intelligent than blind obedience?<br /><br />Why don't we look at human beings from the perspective of these Oxford scientists: the most intelligent ones would be those who lived in large communal living conditions, had big brains and who were able to follow instructions really well (which really only uses a small fraction of those big brains). This means the most highly developed human beings are Army privates with big heads. And whether you humans are in the cat camp or the dog camp, you have to agree that that is a pretty wacky supposition. I think the real question should not be "Are cats smarter than dogs?" but "Are humans (especially scientists) as smart as either dogs or cats?"<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">About the blogger</span><br /><br />Sparkle is an award-winning author, blogger, advice columnist and supermodel. She is also a cat – a ruddy Somali of champion lineage, in fact, whose father, GC Tajhara’s Miles Davis, was twice on the cover of Cat Fancy. Sparkle’s first book, Dear Sparkle: Advice from One Cat to Another, won the Wild Card category at the 2007 Hollywood Book Festival and honorable mentions in several other contests. She also recently came home with the Pettie Award — the pet blogging equivalent of an Oscar — for Best Cat Blog. Sparkle lives in Los Angeles with two humans, two feline roommates (both rescue cats), and (unfortunately) a dog.<br /><br />Dear Sparkle: Cat-to-Cat Advice from the World’s Foremost Feline Columnist (Adams Media) is her second book.<br /><br />You can visit Sparkle’s blog at<a href="http://www.sparklecat.com/"> http://www.sparklecat.com</a>.Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-50015821953095130832010-11-02T13:51:00.000-07:002010-11-22T12:11:49.809-08:00Guest post by Giggles and Boots, proud owners of Cheryl Malandrinos<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpO2ElmetmjZy9GRaDcy6s60RWJKaYFc20kNuaeW1UUNs180ziQAGNLD9gsivJ0wu98XDbaCs7Hr6QZW0yx6kb7IpfTk0FdLi0pQcGd-yJX68zDgM7syQfQ8LqqJCuDloGoIdltY7xAo/s1600/giggles.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpO2ElmetmjZy9GRaDcy6s60RWJKaYFc20kNuaeW1UUNs180ziQAGNLD9gsivJ0wu98XDbaCs7Hr6QZW0yx6kb7IpfTk0FdLi0pQcGd-yJX68zDgM7syQfQ8LqqJCuDloGoIdltY7xAo/s400/giggles.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542465701736666466" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:130%;" >Please say hello to Giggles and Boots!<br /><br />These two feline critters live with freelance writer and editor <a href="http://ccmalandrinos.com/">Cheryl Malandrinos</a>. Cheryl's first children's book, </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;font-size:130%;" >The Little Shepherd</span><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:130%;" >, just came out by Guardian Angel Publishing. Be sure to check it out <a href="http://littleshepherdchildrensbook.blogspot.com/">here</a>. It's a Christmas book, people, so keep it in mind for gifts. It would make a great stocking filler! Woof! I LOVE stocking fillers!<br /><br />Anyway, what was I saying??? Oh yes--Cheryl! She's also a tour coordinator for <i style=""><span style=";color:black;" lang="EN"><a href="http://www.pumpupyourbook.com/">Pump Up Your Book</a>, </span></i></span><span style="font-family: arial;font-family:";font-size:130%;color:black;" lang="EN" >a book reviewer and a blogger. Talk about busy!</span><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:130%;" ><br /><i style=""><span style=";color:black;" lang="EN"> </span></i></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;color:black;" lang="EN" >Meet Giggles and Boots!</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:130%;" ><br /></span><p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Giggles</span>:<span style=""> </span>I have to admit, I like Cheryl. She pretty much feeds me whenever I cry long enough, she keeps my litter box clean, and she plays with me during the day. </span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boots</span>: Humph. That’s because you’re her favorite.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Giggles</span>:<span style=""> </span>I am not. I just don’t go after her feet when she’s sleeping or tear up the edges of the carpet the way you do, sister.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy1zlgwoBgyQ2KLBX4BOSF50fFo-yIr4ZwQSCwN1smC_BeI-RQ5BSY2JeJ9Q8CGyEnzOETqK1Miuu2bIPSHmg8l5Nyb-DFsJXPyGGqnlbEGNtGdDLMjRtjpD9n09ZZDi8srG2TiBIMW6w/s1600/Little+Shepherd.jpeg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy1zlgwoBgyQ2KLBX4BOSF50fFo-yIr4ZwQSCwN1smC_BeI-RQ5BSY2JeJ9Q8CGyEnzOETqK1Miuu2bIPSHmg8l5Nyb-DFsJXPyGGqnlbEGNtGdDLMjRtjpD9n09ZZDi8srG2TiBIMW6w/s400/Little+Shepherd.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542467208663424018" border="0" /></a></span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boots</span>:<span style=""> </span>Whatever.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Giggles</span>: Yeah, well if she has to replace the carpet in Sarah’s bedroom she’ll end up replacing you too.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boots</span>: Katherine wouldn’t let her do that.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Giggles</span>: That girl has it for you bad. The way she carries you to bed with her each night, then brings you into the bathroom and sits you on the counter while she’s brushing her teeth, she’s teaching Sarah all kinds of bad tricks. Now she picks me up on the counter each morning and it is cold. </span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boots</span>: Well, at least she doesn’t paint your face with makeup like Katherine does.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Giggles</span>: (Snickers) That touch of pink on your cheeks brings out the amber of your eyes.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boots</span>:<span style=""> </span>Keep it up and I’ll make sure you get locked in the basement overnight.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Giggles</span>: We’re supposed to be talking about Cheryl. </span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boots</span>: You’re the one who started talking about the girls.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Giggles</span>:<span style=""> </span>Fair enough. What do you think of those Giggles and Boots stories she makes up every night for bedtime? </span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boots</span>: Some are just plain silly. I mean, can you see us flying a hot air balloon or getting dressed up and going trick or treating? Why the kids love those crazy stories is beyond me.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Giggles</span>: Lighten up, they’re kids.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boots</span>: Well, you and I are kids too, but you don’t see us acting all crazy.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Giggles</span>: Uhem.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boots</span>: Okay, maybe a little crazy. But Cheryl is the craziest out of the bunch.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Giggles</span>: I know. Can you believe she adopted us when she already had three other cats?</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boots</span>: And her with those bad allergies.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Giggles</span>: She must really love us. </span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boots</span>:<span style=""> </span>Well, she loves you anyway.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Giggles</span>: Stop it. Aren’t you the one she calls Bootie-rat? </span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boots</span>: She calls you Giggy-rat. </span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Giggles</span>: Yeah, but she pets you more than she pets me.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boots</span>: That’s because I actually purr. You remember cats are supposed to do that, right?</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Giggles</span>: I like being different.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boots</span>: You’re different all right.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Giggles</span>: What’s that supposed to mean?</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boots</span>: (Looks around the room) Oh, nothing.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Giggles</span>: So, what do you think about Cheryl’s writing?</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boots</span>: Don’t you think she could have worked a cat into her first book, <i style=""><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Little-Shepherd-Cheryl-C-Malandrinos/dp/1616330856">Little Shepherd</a></i>? I mean, she’s got a cow, a donkey, and a sheep. Would it have been so hard to add a cat?</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Giggles</span>: I think you’re going to have to depend on Katherine for that. She’s the one who writes cat poetry and stories. </span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boots</span>: They say the apple doesn’t fall from the tree.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Giggles</span>: I think you fell out of tree and onto your head.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boots</span>: You didn’t just say that.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Giggles</span>: Yes, I did.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boots</span>: (Waves a paw in Giggles’ face) Oh, no you didn’t.</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Giggles</span>: Did….</span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boots</span>: Didn’t….</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><br /></span></p>Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-15402895339222486052010-11-01T11:47:00.000-07:002010-11-01T11:55:01.165-07:00And the winners are...Drumroll, please....<br /><br />The winners of <span style="font-style: italic;">30 Days to a Well-Mannered Dog</span>, by Tamar Geller, are...<br /><br />Carolee<br />Melissa<br />Victoria<br />Kathy Skempe<br />Deana<br />Terri Donna<br />Suzanne Marion<br />Suzanne Lieurance<br />Jessica Kennedy<br />Rebecca Camarena<br />Teresa Dovalpage<br />Janet Ann Collins<br />Admin<br />Bellavida<br />Beverly McClure<br />Fran<br />Thelma Reyna<br />Linda Faulkner<br />Cheryl Malandrinos<br /><br />Congrats to the winners!!! But darn, I see not everyone posted their email address in the comment, so it'll probably take me a couple of days to contact everybody.<br /><br />I hope your doggies become better behaved from now on... Woof!Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-46244772558626832422010-10-11T07:43:00.001-07:002010-10-23T06:30:19.368-07:00Pet Interview & SUPER Giveaway!<span style="font-weight: bold;">Meet Clyde, proud owner of author and famous dog trainer Tamar Geller!</span><br /><br />Is this cool or what? Famous dog-trainer Tamar Geller is giving away<span style="font-weight: bold;"> 20 copies</span> of her NEW book, <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">30 Days to a Well-Mannered Dog</span>, to Pets & Their Authors for a SUPER GIVEAWAY!<br /><br />All you have to do to be eligible is become a <span style="font-weight: bold;">Follower </span>and leave a <span style="font-weight: bold;">comment</span>! Please leave contact info so I can contact you if you win. The <span style="font-weight: bold;">20 winners </span>will<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMYxw7XkPxVwLucfD5IYGv-sY05yTpUWuh7ufjx-3XP_MdxlStWBy3xw3Z-lBCIeKohw9Y4snOwIeXJUumYlpaRpbKjEKSMMFurzyU9CjU7o_I7_F4C8gXr_EX9YiJaYtGf2EucZ_sVus/s1600/meet02.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 370px; height: 285px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMYxw7XkPxVwLucfD5IYGv-sY05yTpUWuh7ufjx-3XP_MdxlStWBy3xw3Z-lBCIeKohw9Y4snOwIeXJUumYlpaRpbKjEKSMMFurzyU9CjU7o_I7_F4C8gXr_EX9YiJaYtGf2EucZ_sVus/s400/meet02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531164036882911138" border="0" /></a> be announced next Sunday, October 31--yep, on Halloween! You have until then to vote. Woof! Woof!<br /><br />Only people who live in the US are eligible (sorry about that, but international postage is painful, you guys--nothing personal!)<br /><br />Tamar is a bestselling author and amazing dog trainer. She has done dog coaching to the stars. Among them are Oprah Winfrey, Ben Affleck Courteney Cox-Arquette, Owen Wilson, Natalie Portman, and Larry King.<br /><br />Here to give us the inside scoop is her companion of 13 years, Clyde.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hey, Clyde! </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">When did you first find out your human mom, Tamar, was a dog trainer?</span><br /><br />She took me hiking on our first date & then played games with me that she somehow knew they were my favorite games. I realized that she understood the wolf in me!!!!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tamar is famous! I mean, she's been on <span style="font-style: italic;">Oprah</span> Has this gone to her</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">head? </span><br /><br />If it were me, it would have gone to my belly.<br /><br />But seriously my mom takes things into her heart not her head.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">So I hear she has a new book out, <span style="font-style: italic;">30 Days to a Well-Mannered Dog</span>. Is</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">this true? Just 30 days? Isn't that being a bit too idealistic?</span><br /><br />Dogs are smarter than most people give them credit for.... We need people to make it fun for us to kearn and it takes us no time to be their willing partners. When we feel empowered and heard you’ll be surprised what we will do<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Where is the book available?</span><br /><br />The book is available at book stores and online book retailers everywhere! In my opinion, it should be available at dog parks as well!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I'm a reasonably well-behaved golden retriever. I think my only bad</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">habit is to stare longingly at my humans when they eat. I also bark of</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">pure joy when we're ready to go out, which is twice a day. My mom</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">wants to know how to stop this. (Okay, she forced </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq_yRWuIWTiQT3WWg570JzFnrjY1HafSvjBi7vOd37vh14aUuOsEKR459wDQ79x8cT1Fluh-Lt1dKuGNTEIvNF7-PHwAPNKnXLTHg0nvX1JM-USXAM-wXM5uSnL_v_9OH1d1WOKRWANzc/s1600/tamarjacket.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 258px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq_yRWuIWTiQT3WWg570JzFnrjY1HafSvjBi7vOd37vh14aUuOsEKR459wDQ79x8cT1Fluh-Lt1dKuGNTEIvNF7-PHwAPNKnXLTHg0nvX1JM-USXAM-wXM5uSnL_v_9OH1d1WOKRWANzc/s400/tamarjacket.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531164871390439074" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">me to ask this</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">question!)</span><br /><br />Tell your mom that when she's eating she need to give you a chew toy that you are especially fond of, one that isn’t always available to you. A nice uncooked marrow (soup bone) will do the trick. Now when it comes to barking before your walk, tell your mom you are a expressing pure joy and excitement for life. Tell her that I think it's cute to be so excited about such a simple thing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I saw on your mom's website something about Operation Heroes + Hounds.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What's that about?</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.tamargeller.com/charity.php#ohh">Operation Heroes & Hounds</a> is a non-profit program to assist my canine buddies in the shelter as well as the brave men and women who have served our country in the military. They help each other to overcome anybad experience that they had in their past.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What do you love most about Tamar? </span><br /><br />She cooks “real food” for me on a daily basis and everyday she takes me on at least one exciting excursion. I love to go to her friends who have dogs. But she also lets me know about 20x’s a day how much she loves me. I hear her say to me “I love my Clydie”. She plays ball with me too. I love that. I need that. Guess, I’m a loved dog, huh?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Did she take you to see Oprah?</span><br /><br />Many times & btw…. I love playing with Oprah’s dogs. They are so much fun!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Okay, leave us with some words of canine wisdom………</span><br /><br />As dogs we like nothing more than to know that our relationship with our human family is one of partnership and teamwork. We don’t want to be dominated by… or submissive to… the humans we love so much. We just want to be understood. We’ve got seven basic needs, ya know? (pssst…. read the book). And btw the way to a dog’s heart is through his stomach! Woof!<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thanks, Clyde! Send a BIG kiss to your mom. I think I have fallen in love (don't tell my mom!)</span><br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Z39fMIa3cu4?fs=1&hl=en_GB"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Z39fMIa3cu4?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-46650441244174346812010-10-09T10:45:00.000-07:002010-10-09T11:10:11.045-07:00Special Feature: The Lost Dogs<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXirHtBjfK3awimZFciGwQYuEQqLjJXxU4rTC8jwlMU_4nawUzaOF32sCp4z326z5TwfDPR-XA1suZ7-eHBNbgQM6Yg0StjmP0e-ZK9xhcJG-yCEoZE-BpHQnVQrDrF6KCyCV9kl0gQ3s/s1600/Jim+Gorant+by+Deanne+Fitzmaurice.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXirHtBjfK3awimZFciGwQYuEQqLjJXxU4rTC8jwlMU_4nawUzaOF32sCp4z326z5TwfDPR-XA1suZ7-eHBNbgQM6Yg0StjmP0e-ZK9xhcJG-yCEoZE-BpHQnVQrDrF6KCyCV9kl0gQ3s/s400/Jim+Gorant+by+Deanne+Fitzmaurice.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526105769803739970" border="0" /></a>
<br />Woof! I want to feature a special book this week, THE LOST DOGS. Listen, people, this is important. This really happened. What's wrong with some humans? Why would they want to do something like this to dogs?
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<br />Thankfully, there are angels in the world like Jim Gorant, and for these dogs, there was a happy ending.
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<br />Basically, this is the story:
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<br />On April 26th, 2007, law enforcement officials descended on a sprawling white-brick house at 1915 Moonlight Road in Smithfield, Virginia. The home belonged to Michael Vick, who was the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons and one of the highest paid players in the NFL. Although the police were there on a drug search, they quickly found evidence of what appeared to be a large, well-financed dog fighting operation.</span></p> <p style="text-align: left;">Fifty-one pit <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho648ZW1wGC6tLxWUtcuo5X8VZl_Fop8S6K3EdTCAtF81M92SU2Ciyzt3TUAhIv89NR-LnElATpBT674CCSfAEE18CgMNNyO2xDs1ko9_VaAudSuDgqxBHQ6YL_U5NHTuseANnIiCyYVk/s1600/lost+dogs.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 203px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho648ZW1wGC6tLxWUtcuo5X8VZl_Fop8S6K3EdTCAtF81M92SU2Ciyzt3TUAhIv89NR-LnElATpBT674CCSfAEE18CgMNNyO2xDs1ko9_VaAudSuDgqxBHQ6YL_U5NHTuseANnIiCyYVk/s400/lost+dogs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526106092045680994" border="0" /></a>bulls were seized from the property and they sat in local shelters for six months as the ensuing investigation played out, leading to guilty pleas from Vick and his partners in an operation known as Bad Newz Kennels. In most cases, that would have been it for the dogs. Considered a public hazard, they would have been euthanized. But a tidal wave of public outcry inspired government officials to at least consider the possibility of saving some dogs. </p> <p style="text-align: left;">The startling string of events that followed included a landmark legal decision, a never-before assembled team of expert evaluators, a leap of faith and a selection of rescuers who were willing to do whatever it took to help. At the heart of it all was a group of dogs that wanted desperately to overcome what had until then been a life of violence and deprivation. </p> <p style="text-align: left;">Taken together, these tales showcase a resilience, dedication and commitment that have the power to alter the way society views pit bulls and to reinforce the essential nature of the human-animal bond. The Lost Dogs, for the first time, tells the behind-the-scenes story from the day of that initial raid until today.
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<br /><p><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:10pt;">Buy the book on AMAZON: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Dogs-Michael-Rescue-Redemption/dp/1592405509/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285188457&sr=8-1" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Dogs-Michael-Rescue-Redemption/dp/1592405509/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285188457&sr=8-1</a></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:10pt;">Book website: <a href="http://www.thelostdogsbook.com/" target="_blank">http://www.thelostdogsbook.com/</a></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:10pt;">Book trailer: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=939tGP4h6Sw" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=939tGP4h6Sw</a></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:10pt;">Clip of the book on CBS Early Show: <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6884146n&tag=related%3Bphotovideo" target="_blank">http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6884146n&tag=related%3Bphotovideo</a>. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:10pt;">Facebook fan page: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#%21/pages/The-Lost-Dogs/143499228996611?ref=ts" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Lost-Dogs/143499228996611?ref=ts</a> </span></span></p>
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<br /><object width="440" height="190"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/939tGP4h6Sw&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/939tGP4h6Sw&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="440" height="190"></embed></object>Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-48139064941148731512010-09-29T13:29:00.001-07:002010-10-03T05:22:34.030-07:00Meet Snowy, proud owner of author Linda Singleton<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5UDfBP2YusQPoYb7T5BL3mLox2mAKVTogVtE83MwOC20xvcOMmCKbk-ucLE-0sfn7ski3iDZ634tshwOTXxoQcbkjdWUeYDlzjqt4baYZ7pprfJlE5g4WR9e2wkmH-KmpFpMagBBmlv0/s1600/Snowy+09.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 337px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5UDfBP2YusQPoYb7T5BL3mLox2mAKVTogVtE83MwOC20xvcOMmCKbk-ucLE-0sfn7ski3iDZ634tshwOTXxoQcbkjdWUeYDlzjqt4baYZ7pprfJlE5g4WR9e2wkmH-KmpFpMagBBmlv0/s400/Snowy+09.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523519664287008626" border="0" /></a><br /><br />My guest today is a white kitty--appropiately named Snowy--who shares her home with popular young adult author Linda Singleton. In her books, Linda writes about goths, psychics, mermaids, aliens, cheerleaders, clones, parallel worlds and ghosts, and all kinds of stuff that make you jump in the night. She has even won awards! Her YA series, THE SEER and DEAD GIRL, were honored as YALSA Popular Paperback/Quick Picks. Pretty cool!<br /><br />Snowy has been described as skittish and not cuddly (Hmm, I wonder if this is true. What do you think, from looking at her picture?)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUOiUXCE1irgomnRQuHoFdbFdKSUn11guqe2uCvjc_5TeOZ8xr-69vlWVvkoeOY8bUFzaHSgkKKYAs2QcOpwYAFm6rc4OVv4TgqIaLvKNnTOy3kOkSy6j1H3wZRRjPdVdNsrK8nMgzYMA/s1600/lindajoy1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 275px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUOiUXCE1irgomnRQuHoFdbFdKSUn11guqe2uCvjc_5TeOZ8xr-69vlWVvkoeOY8bUFzaHSgkKKYAs2QcOpwYAFm6rc4OVv4TgqIaLvKNnTOy3kOkSy6j1H3wZRRjPdVdNsrK8nMgzYMA/s400/lindajoy1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523520988965431330" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">So tell us, Snowy, how did you end up in Linda's household? </span><br /><br />I came from a woman who lived in the country who had over 25 cats. Molly, with whom I share my home, was purchased at a<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNdmmLjPL2OrA2elP4GVC9xd_6jm7ZEa66oAGJfjD3_2eU8bD3OPLWMXnhPiMsoEp1ICrsNsACf9t9GpcgBy5nnC5a8-ihsx091u9Taw15PiEo0KSLfqCCNV_78bFvkXXEV38L0BQlShk/s1600/DDD.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 245px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNdmmLjPL2OrA2elP4GVC9xd_6jm7ZEa66oAGJfjD3_2eU8bD3OPLWMXnhPiMsoEp1ICrsNsACf9t9GpcgBy5nnC5a8-ihsx091u9Taw15PiEo0KSLfqCCNV_78bFvkXXEV38L0BQlShk/s400/DDD.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523520062744378354" border="0" /></a>n animal-welfare event.<br /><div class="im"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What is it like living with a popular author like Linda? I bet all that popularity goes to her head! Ha!</span><br /><br /></div>Some of her books may be popular (like THE SEER series) but she's kind of boring, sitting at that computer for hours ever day. It's like she's attached to that desk. Usually I curl up nearby. Molly does NOT want to be picked up but enjoys tickles around her neck.<div class="im"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I hear Linda writes books for young adults... books with dead girls onthe cover? Come on, gimme a break. Your human mom has a dark streak, if you ask me.</span><br /><br />Technically Amber in DEAD GIRL trilogy isn't dead, it's just she's not in her own body, which gets complicated as she becomes a popular girl, the college sister of her new boyfriend and then her own best friend. There's a dead guy stalking her, too, which is really creepy, especially when he tries to convince Amber to join him on the dark side in DEAD GIRL IN LOVE. Fortunately the world of cats is very simple: eat, littler-box, sleep, eat, litter-box, sleep. </div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Of all her books, which one is your favorite?</span><br /><br />The new book, MAGICIAN'S MUSE, because a cat plays a very important part in this book. Lily has mismatched eyes and she is the heroine of the entire book. Yup, not Sabine the psychic or that hot-looking Dominic who can talk to animals (we really like him). But it's Lily who leads Sabine to the secret hideaway in the woods.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Does Linda have a website or blog? Tell us! </span><br /><br />Lots of blogging. Links can be found on her website: <a href="http://www.lindajoysingleton.com/" target="_blank"> www.LindaJoySingleton.com</a> . She also has an author page at Facebook where she's shares the latest news: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Linda-Joy-Singleton-Author/120766461299610" target="_blank"> http://www.facebook.com/pages/Linda-Joy-Singleton-Author/120766461299610</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tell us something about Linda nobody knows. </span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBz9UbrMny4mmsErHm7LqzTkCD93s1oN36zp7ETfjPFDEs42v6cSvJ5DAmuqDJta6S7F1bROxneFHNNIfDIZbXNI6uml-jL7N65UVA34JOsJsVMheAA3cPzgK0cwB42gEcCkn0flncTzs/s1600/2009_0713racoon0115.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 218px; height: 291px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBz9UbrMny4mmsErHm7LqzTkCD93s1oN36zp7ETfjPFDEs42v6cSvJ5DAmuqDJta6S7F1bROxneFHNNIfDIZbXNI6uml-jL7N65UVA34JOsJsVMheAA3cPzgK0cwB42gEcCkn0flncTzs/s400/2009_0713racoon0115.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523519482291144946" border="0" /></a><br />Her first cat was named Pinky--and it was a boy.<br /><div class="im"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ok, so what's the best part about living with Linda? The worse?</span></div><br />Best is she lives in the country so we sometimes play outside. Bad thing is that there are coyotes in the country, so we have to be very careful and stay inside every night. Living with a writer rocks because she's home a lot. It's like she doesn't have a life except staring at that shiny computer screen -- and she doesn't even have a tail to chase which is just sad.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thanks, Snowy! And give my best to Molly!</span>Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-4991005517501203012010-09-24T13:08:00.000-07:002010-09-24T13:32:05.249-07:00Interview with Prince Jakob, proud owner of author Sharon Kay Roberts<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhuJKPTLoekIRZ5TVZ2Af1V1botlmC0yQ3HPRbXnA2gSwjXVXV80gASyu2_NbiaEdhQquPkNIZH8OsEDXEWhpWaODyWbk_MHdE_JwP8oIfrXkh8HPZt_-AF_4sOIDhRGSGOAIGxG3GSc/s1600/PJGovCartSharon71309.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhuJKPTLoekIRZ5TVZ2Af1V1botlmC0yQ3HPRbXnA2gSwjXVXV80gASyu2_NbiaEdhQquPkNIZH8OsEDXEWhpWaODyWbk_MHdE_JwP8oIfrXkh8HPZt_-AF_4sOIDhRGSGOAIGxG3GSc/s400/PJGovCartSharon71309.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5520578896211979778" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" ></span>Hey, long time no see! Okay, I admit it. It's been a while since I last posted, but what can I say? I've been traveling the world all summer without a laptop. Okay, it's a lie, but a WHITE lie, I swear! I don't like admiting I've been lazy!</p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;" class="MsoNormal">But I'm back and this time with a great interview with a horse, Prince Jacob. His Highness shares his estate with author Sharon Kay Roberts...<br /></p><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" ></span><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">So, Prince Jacob, what type of books does your human mom write? </span><br /><br />Horse books of course. She sometimes thinks she is knowledgeable about horses. She has written one for tweens and one for teens.<br /><br /></span> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Of all your mom’s books, which one is your favorite? </span><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" >“Honey, A Pony’s Story, <a href="http://www.horse-books-pony-stories.com/horse-crazy.html" target="_blank">http://www.horse-books-pony-stories.com/horse-crazy.html</a></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Why? </span><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" >Because my friends and I actually wrote it. Mom loves us ponies and even The Dog, who is obnoxious at best. The cats are OK. <span> </span>But she really isn’t as tuned into what goes on in our minds as she likes to think. Often when she is out scratching and grooming us her thoughts are elsewhere. It took all of us working together to reach her. Even then we had to do it when she was sleeping. I think humans are the only species who are not evolved enough to use the morphogenetic fields at will. So we had to slip into hers while “her logic” was turned off.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 120%; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" >What’s with your name? Did Sharon</span><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;"> choose it? </span><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" >Yes Mom did name me.<br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">What has that done to your self esteem and what does that say about her?</span><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" ><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" >I am Ok with my name. Prince refers to my heritage as a United Kingdom Shetland Pony, which I am very proud of. We UK Shetlands have shared the life, love and toils of our humans for many years. Mom has a grandson named Jakob so I believe it is also an honor to carry his name. At least I know that is how she meant it.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 120%; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" >Have you read any of Sharon</span><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">’s other books?</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Are they really as good as she thinks they are? </span><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" >While we were sharing Honey’s story with Mom she was thinking of her other book “Olympic Gold for Cat and Toby.” <span> </span>She wrote it for teens. Toby is a fictional horse and so isn’t nearly as interesting as our story of Honey. You might need your friends in the CIA to do a cover-up there. I wouldn’t want to hurt Mom’s feeling, but she doesn’t write as good when we aren’t feeding her the story line by line. <a href="http://www.coalition-independent-authors.com/teen-horse-fiction.html" target="_blank">http://www.coalition-independent-authors.com/teen-horse-fiction.html</a></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 120%; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" >What do you do for amusement while Sharon</span><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;"> pounds at the computer all day and ignores you? </span><span> </span><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" >I am fortunate to live with six other ponies. We have sixteen acres in rural </span><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" >Arkansas</span><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" >, so we have plenty to do. We have a lot of deer who come in a graze with us. They can so easily jump over the fences, so they get to eat the good grass I can’t reach.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">What does your mom do besides writing? </span><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" >She says she is building a CIA website. She says it is Authors Helping Authors. <span> </span><a href="http://www.coalition-independent-authors.com/" target="_blank">www.coalition-independent-authors.com</a><span><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" ><span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Is she a hermit or does she actually set her foot outdoors? My mom has to be dragged outside. </span><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" >My Mom is a hermit in that she hates to go to town. She is happiest at home. She likes to spend time with us, take The Dog for a daily walk around the property and dig in the dirt. She plants things that aren’t good to eat, but it seems to make her happy, so I am OK with that.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 120%; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" >Does Sharon</span><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ask your advice when she’s stuck? Yes she does. Does she even listen?</span><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" >I think she tries to listen, but sometimes her own thoughts are so busy bumping into each other that she can’t hear our thoughts. I wish she could hear us better, I know she would be happier and more at peace if she did.</span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14pt;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thanks, Your Highness!</span><br /></span></p></div><br /><div><span lang="0" style="font-size:85%;"><div class="im"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>Hey, readers, Sharon's Corner Bookstore has horse books to entertain, educate, and enlighten you. Be sure to check it out!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.horse-books-pony-stories.com/" target="_blank">www.horse-books-pony-stories.com</a><br /><br /><br /></b></span></div></span></div>Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-13677086984476678482010-07-19T13:08:00.000-07:002010-07-19T13:38:22.686-07:00Interview with Jax Mundo, proud owner of Frank Mundo<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdLJfPlMlUpii4PCrDSwzCfrj4tamyc4R9nC7OgEK_paqFRmnwCmH3buE8SSnvOd4Ii_ExZyZlQqrusjelAIaXcBQ2RczoYDRxwxNeZz8VUK1Gx3t2uzP5AVT5rhGu9V2BMdfDiRz5z5k/s1600/jax+bobble+head.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 199px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdLJfPlMlUpii4PCrDSwzCfrj4tamyc4R9nC7OgEK_paqFRmnwCmH3buE8SSnvOd4Ii_ExZyZlQqrusjelAIaXcBQ2RczoYDRxwxNeZz8VUK1Gx3t2uzP5AVT5rhGu9V2BMdfDiRz5z5k/s400/jax+bobble+head.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495715889985175554" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Say hello to Jax. Jax Mundo (cool name or what?). Jax is a one year-old half shihtzu/half poodle and the proud owner for <a href="http://frankmundo.wordpress.com/">Frank Mundo</a>, author of a very unique book called </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Brubury-Tales-Frank-Mundo/dp/0741459752/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">The Brubury Tales</span></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">, a modern version of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in Los Angeles. The entire book is written in poetry, 8,300+ lines of poetry fun--yeah, I'm NOT kidding! Thanks God Jax is here to explain how this situation came about. I mean, come on, people--if you write a book with 8,300+ lines of poetry you must be either crazy or a genius (I'm not trying to be mean, I swear! Let's just say I'm not good at poetry...)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Oh, before I forget: Frank is the LA Books Examiner, so be sure to check out his <a href="http://www.examiner.com/x-5892-LA-Books-Examiner">column</a>!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">No more delays! Here's the interview...</span><br /><br /><div><strong>Hey, Jax Mundo. Cool name. Who gave it to you?<br /><br /></strong></div> <div> </div> <div>My humans think that it's important that my name reflects my unique qualities as a member of the Mundo family -- at least that's the official story. The truth is, my full name is Jacqueline, which is nice and all, but I don't like it very much,and I never answer to that name. I'm much morethan an LA canine and I feel I have a lot to offer the world. Not only do I have a degree in Obedience from California State University at Northridge (8 weeks of master classes), I protect our home from outside and other forces that might upset the harmony of our existence. I inspire my humans and encourage them always to be at their most creative -- not to mention my company is topnotch and I'm also an excellent singer -- as long as it's not late at night; my humans get very upset by my late-night singing, for some reason. So Jacqueline became Jackie and Jackie became just Jax, which I really liked and finally accepted as my name. </div><div class="im"> <div> </div> <div><br /><strong>I hear you live with human writer Frank Mundo. How’s that like? (No sugar coating allowed, buddy!)<br /><br /></strong></div> <div> </div> </div> <div>Unlike my other human, Nancy, Frank works from home. All day long he sits at the computer writing. In the morning it's tough for me. He starts his day at 5 a.m. and most days I have to lick his face a lot to get him up and working. Throughout the day he tries to pay me some attention, but I can forget all about that if he has a deadline!!! But I understand. He has to pay the mortgage and those deadlines are important. Plus he also writes about books and authors and shares with the reading community all of the cool books events occuring around town at his website -- and that's good, too. Humans should read more. Besides, I have a lot to do, too, during the day. Sometimes I wish I could go with him to his readings, but my job at the home is more important than these events.<br /><br /></div><div class="im"> <div> </div> <div><strong>What’s this about Frank’s book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Brubury-Tales-Frank-Mundo/dp/0741459752/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1">The Brubury Tales</a>, a modern version of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales? My mom hated those tales in college—not your human’s, but Chaucer’s!<br /><br /></strong></div> <div> </div> </div> <div>Well, perhaps your mom hated the tales because they are 700 years old and written in an older form of English called Middle English. As bilingual dogs, we're masters of the nuances of language, and it's difficult for us to go backwards. The cool thing about Frank's Brubury Tales is, although it's an homage to Chaucer's older work, it's a modern version of the story set in Los Angeles just after the riots<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSLlYBy_4sPLG9IyTycVXJfrgcd4JLrnP2OJHtPtiQ3NRzFwf2v_VfPcSp9EaQPxjb1zoaijVv7iTw1DSRf23Ryrnnj76Uxw8ROSB_Uf65DC2FxQ_tz2zLniP1CtI-clQREHXK1u7Y9bM/s1600/alex.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 259px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSLlYBy_4sPLG9IyTycVXJfrgcd4JLrnP2OJHtPtiQ3NRzFwf2v_VfPcSp9EaQPxjb1zoaijVv7iTw1DSRf23Ryrnnj76Uxw8ROSB_Uf65DC2FxQ_tz2zLniP1CtI-clQREHXK1u7Y9bM/s400/alex.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495714886879944770" border="0" /></a>. All of the characters speak the modern American Englishwe're used to. And it's funny. There are seven security guards working at the Holiday Inn in Downton LA on the graveyard, and they each want the exact same vacation days (probably to spend with their dogs) that only one of them can take. So, to make things fair, they decide to have a story-telling competition for this prize, and that's where the fun begins. They each share their stories throughout the night, battling it out as they fight and get closer and we learn all about their personalities. The best part, you don't have to know anything about Chaucer or the tales to read the book -- although Frank hopes that the book might encourage readers to read the classics and share them with their dogs.<br /><br /></div><div class="im"> <div> </div> <div><strong>Is there a dog in the book? Then I like it!<br /><br /></strong></div> <div> </div> </div> <div>There are 13 tales and, even though there's only one tale about a dog, I still like it and I think you will, too. It's funny, modern and the poetry makes me want to sing...Woof woof!<br /><br /></div><div class="im"> <div> </div> <div><strong>According to bestselling author Carolyn See of The Washington Post and LA Times, "The Brubury Tales is a landmark book, in what is going to be -- and already is -- an exceptional, distinguished literary career." Wow! I bet that went straight to your human’s head!<br /><br /></strong></div> <div> </div> </div><div>Yes, it's all we heard about for days -- my goodness. He went on and on and on like a cat or something! But, I guess I understand. After all, it took Frank nine years to write to this book. He worked really hard to make it modern and funny while still honoring the original works. And while he bragged about those comments from Carolyn See, a true literary legend in California writing, Frank knows that he doesn't compare to Chaucer or any of the great writers discussed in the book. No one can compete with these writers. I try to remind him of that whenever he gets a little big-headed.<br /><br /></div><div class="im"> <div> </div> <div><strong>Why are you essential to Frank’s success?<br /><br /></strong></div> <div> </div> </div> <div>It's true that I didn't come along until after much of the work on this book was completed. But Frank, like a lot of writers, is a passionate (think moody) person and I know that my love and loyalty calms his nerves and betters his life. Before I came along, he was actually a cat person -- can you believe that?<br /><br /></div> <div>But I think I've turned him and he's much wiser because of it. I think you'll see it in his newer work. He gives a lot of credit to Nancy, my other human, but really it's me.<br /><br /></div><div class="im"> <div> </div> <div><strong>Okay, so give us Frank’s blog and website, so we can check it out!<br /><br /></strong></div> <div style="font-style: italic;"> </div> </div> <div><span style="font-style: italic;">The Brubury Tales</span> is available for purchase online here <a href="http://tinyurl.com/2bdxkk2" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/2bdxkk2</a> where you can read a bit of it first to see if you like it. It's also available on Amazon and soon will be available as an eBook, whatever that is. Frank's books website is <a href="http://www.examiner.com/x-5892-LA-Books-Examiner" target="_blank">http://www.examiner.com/x-<wbr>5892-LA-Books-Examiner</a> where you can read his book reviews and author interviews.<br /><div class="im"><br /><strong>Leave us with some words of canine wisdom.<br /><br /></strong></div></div> <div> </div> <div>This is a message for humans. Rescue a dog and he or she will save your life. I promise you, no other friendship will be as rewarding. Can I get a woof woof for that!!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Woof! Woof!</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Well said!</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-16542675476794302912010-07-03T04:21:00.000-07:002010-07-03T04:50:06.009-07:00Meet Ziggy, proud owner of Lauren Carr<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBjaCegOczV_Jb257tbN-OmmkUjcXiPF4XIi77FaB4OzCf7jDG4XqXC3AXANq5X3Wk8achyphenhyphen0qQIavXWtyer_81LfvvvcgSwSe7NvLBHL5akBtTi3VcpYBzrWoemRfW-bNZ47cI-fqbrs/s1600/Ziggy+on+Deck.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 351px; height: 197px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBjaCegOczV_Jb257tbN-OmmkUjcXiPF4XIi77FaB4OzCf7jDG4XqXC3AXANq5X3Wk8achyphenhyphen0qQIavXWtyer_81LfvvvcgSwSe7NvLBHL5akBtTi3VcpYBzrWoemRfW-bNZ47cI-fqbrs/s400/Ziggy+on+Deck.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489645082203016002" border="0" /></a><br />Woof! Please welcome my special guest Ziggy! Ziggy is the proud owner of award-winning mystery author Lauren Carr. Lauren's novels include <span style="font-style: italic;">A Small Case of Murder</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">A Reunion to Die For</span>, and the just released <a href="http://laurencarr.webs.com/itsmurdermyson.htm"><span style="font-style: italic;">It's Murder, My Son</span></a>, her first book in her Mac Faraday series. Be sure to check out her <a href="http://laurencarr.webs.com/">website </a>and <a href="http://laurencarr.webs.com/apps/blog/">blog</a>, people.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hey, Ziggy. How you became part of the Carr household is quite a story. Would you share it with my readers?</span><br /><br />Yep, it is some story. Too good not to tell.<br /><br />One bright Saturday morning, when I was just a little pup, my previous human put me and my five brothers and sisters into a box and took us to the park. There were a bunch of kids out on the field playing football. At half-time, my human picked me up and took me over to this little boy and asked him if he would like to hold me. To me, that question was a no-brainer. After all, how could anyone not want to hold a cute cuddly ball of fur like me? But the kid didn’t say yes right away. He looked over at this woman and asked her if he could. That was when I put on my cutest face. You know the face. I made my brown eyes as big and soulful as they could be. I may have only been five weeks old, but I already had that look down. It’s the look that lets me get away with almost anything and it did that morning. She said sure, why not? What harm can come from holding a puppy. So the kid took me into his arms and it was love at first hug for the both of us. Then, the human, my first human, told this kid, “You can keep him. He’s free.” Suddenly, my first human was gone. I mean, she was out of there! Turns out she had found homes for all of my brothers and sisters that same way.<br /><br />But, hey, it worked out good for me. The kid ended up being Tristan and his mom, now mine, turned out to be Lauren Carr. She writes murder mysteries. I think that is so cool.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">That's quite a story, Ziggy--and with a happy ending. My favorite kind! But let's get down to some technical details. What is your breed?</span><br /><br />It depends on who you ask. When Mom first took me to the vet for a checkup the vet told her that I was a dachshund. Can you believe that? Look at me. Do I look like a wiener dog to you?<br /><br />No, you don’t.<br /><br />When I was a pup Mom told people that I was a mutant dachshund. But then as I got bigger, she started telling people that I was an Australian shepherd mix. That makes me sound more dignified. I definitely have shepherd in me because I sometimes have an uncontrollable urge to herd Beagle Bailey around. He really hates that but I can’t help it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Who is Beagle Bailey? Your brother?</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrhUZHGmOF0IaUCOCz1axUyf0rhKSfwjg98rdhDkl917YMhfXZjyJEokmEt0Djm3um6VTFc0LwiX-Tvu5cwwvKed3TWfhFhOREV73kW42cVv4MJya8ffV-c_MO6Kn0TXwTffAjvlYOYZA/s1600/Beagle+Bailey.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrhUZHGmOF0IaUCOCz1axUyf0rhKSfwjg98rdhDkl917YMhfXZjyJEokmEt0Djm3um6VTFc0LwiX-Tvu5cwwvKed3TWfhFhOREV73kW42cVv4MJya8ffV-c_MO6Kn0TXwTffAjvlYOYZA/s400/Beagle+Bailey.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489645238758920978" border="0" /></a><br />Yep. He’s a beagle. Good thing since his name is Beagle Bailey. He’s my older brother. He’s seven years old. I’m four. Bailey’s great. We love to wrestle, but we didn’t always get along so well. When Mom first brought me home, he was really mad.<br /><br />Mom and Dad had promised Beagle Bailey that he would get to be an only dog. For the first couple of weeks after I moved in, Bailey kept threatening to sue our folks over breach of contract. But his lawyer said that he didn’t have any case on account that he had nothing in writing promising that he would be an only pet. Eventually, I grew on him. Tristan is his human. Beagle Bailey sleeps in his bed. Me, I keep my den under Mom and Dad’s bed. Bailey tells me I’m weird because of that. Hey, aren’t dogs supposed to like dens? My den is perfect. It’s dark, warm, and private. I think he’s jealous because he has to share his bed with Tristan.<br /><br />Have you ever heard of a dog that saved his dog biscuits? Before I got here Bailey would save the dog biscuits that Mom gave him under Tristan’s mattress and eat them later at his leisure. He would actually save them! Like some day Mom would stop handing them out. Of course, when I got here I ate them all. That was when he called his lawyer. If you ask me, and you are, he’s the weird one.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Let's chat about your mom, author Lauren Carr. What is it like living with her? Is she one of those egotistical authors (like my mom)?</span><br /><br />Lauren claims to be, but I know the truth. Would you believe that Mom is the only female in our family? She’s always taking care of everyone. Cooking and doing laundry. When she first brought me home, she was taking care of Grandpa, Tristan’s grandfather. He was great. Every evening, during his cocktail hour, he would let me climb up into his wheelchair and lick his face. Then, he would spill his brandy all over me and I’d go running and he’d cuss. Then Mom would clean it up. That’s why my coat is so soft and shiny. It was the brandy rinse. Grandpa passed away a little over a year ago.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I'm sorry to hear that, Ziggy. </span><br /><br />Mom gets up real early in the morning to write. I like to sit at her feet on those quiet times and inspire her.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tell us about Lauren's book. I hear one of her characters is a dog name Gnarly.</span><br /><br />Gnarly is a German shepherd. She based him on me. His name means extreme and Mom says that’s what I am. I’m either very bad or very good, but always loveable. Gnarly is the only dog to be dishonorably discharged from the United States Army. The army refuses to talk about him. I was never <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj25E8HQnn5pZpkVRT_sE7a9ESifudZodcBoLh1VPN1NSBwC6GOOoDi8f7Ush0S4Q5hFrxy35Ig3unz9-4lgilC0PFEJNJO0i3-t_F5ZkitLLuw5mGsaWyyMIKp8C2rNlqnssR2Zioecqs/s1600/Murder+My+Son+Cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj25E8HQnn5pZpkVRT_sE7a9ESifudZodcBoLh1VPN1NSBwC6GOOoDi8f7Ush0S4Q5hFrxy35Ig3unz9-4lgilC0PFEJNJO0i3-t_F5ZkitLLuw5mGsaWyyMIKp8C2rNlqnssR2Zioecqs/s400/Murder+My+Son+Cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489645518109344818" border="0" /></a>in the army. So she didn’t base that part on me. But she did steal Gnarly making his den under Mac Faraday’s bed from me.<br /><br />In<span style="font-style: italic;"> <a href="http://laurencarr.webs.com/">It’s Murder, My Son</a></span>, homicide detective Mac Faraday was on the brink of bankruptcy when he inherits his birth mother’s estate. It ends up she was Robin Spencer, the American version of Agatha Christie. In addition to her swanky estate in a small resort town on Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, he inherits Gnarly, her German shepherd. The very first time the reader meets me—I mean Gnarly—he’s standing on Mac’s chest when he first arrives at Spencer Manor. He finds out that Robin had saved Gnarly from being put down after he almost died trying to save his mistress, the next door neighbor, from being murdered.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sounds like a great read! So Gnarly is a witness to his mistress’s murder?</span><br /><br />Yes, and he leads Mac Faraday to the killer. Gnarly becomes Mac Faraday’s sidekick.<br /><br />You have to read it! It just came out and will be available on Mom’s website, Amazon, and anywhere you can get books.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cool! Does Lauren have a website?</span><br /><br />Sure does. It’s at <a href="http://laurencarr.webs.com/">http://laurencarr.webs.com/</a>. She also blogs. Her blog is called Lauren’s World of Mystery Writing. You can catch that at <a href="http://writerlaurencarr.blogspot.com/">http://writerlaurencarr.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What do you do while Lauren writes and ignores you?</span><br /><br />I often sleep at her feet and inspire her. I really like it when she puts a fire in the fireplace and I can curl up in front of the fire.<br /><br />I do that when I’m not patrolling the perimeter. It’s a big responsibility keeping the squirrels out and there are a lot of squirrels here. We live on a mountain in West Virginia, which is mostly mountains. There are trees all around the place and those stupid squirrels are always trying to invade. When it’s not the squirrels, it’s the hawks and other birds invading my airspace. They come right in at eye level and mock me!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I can sympahize, brother. Only here it is the rabbits that drive me crazy!</span><br /><br />Every now and then to break things up Bailey and I will wrestle and play around. Our favorite thing is to go tearing around the house. We have all hardwood floors here so when we get running really fast it can be like skating. I love to get going really fast and run into the living room, hit the Oriental rug at top speed and slide it all the way across the room and Wham! end with a body slam against the French doors! Then Dad comes in and finds the rug up against the doors and Bailey acts so innocent. He’s such a brown nose.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What do you love most about Lauren?</span><br /><br />She’s a softie. If she wasn’t I wouldn’t be here. Not only that, but she has great taste in dogs.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Leave us with some canine words of wisdom.</span><br /><br />Here’s a piece of advice that every dog should always remember. Never forget—Gotta go! Squirrels incoming off the east deck! They’ve captured the bird feeder! Grrr!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hey, Ziggy, don't leave us guessing like that, man! That's mean! Woof!--Oops, gotta go! Rabbit alert! Rabbit alert!</span>Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-30859862177802479382010-06-15T12:06:00.000-07:002010-06-16T11:09:46.941-07:00Meet Deuce, proud owner of Mary Jean Kelso<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5TkS3oOLeGQZLfMfUFILlvp5h-MF85LqQEU0TI6TkvTMnemMkn6mSzpa7kGLFrljNJog-VRGup6lBgFHyxwQ0IUbLXfsI_BFAsnnUoA6sdBLqT1U5k6cYIY_E_IXPt_NGjH2YFBidDK0/s1600/Deuce+cropped.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5TkS3oOLeGQZLfMfUFILlvp5h-MF85LqQEU0TI6TkvTMnemMkn6mSzpa7kGLFrljNJog-VRGup6lBgFHyxwQ0IUbLXfsI_BFAsnnUoA6sdBLqT1U5k6cYIY_E_IXPt_NGjH2YFBidDK0/s400/Deuce+cropped.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483433953829588146" border="0" /></a><br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Woof! Woof!<br /><br />Say hello to my guest today: Deuce. This kitty cat lives with multi-genre author <a href="http://www.authorsden.com/maryjeankelso">Mary Jean Kelso</a>. She's written dozens of titles from children's books to middle grade to adult mysteries. Her picture book <a href="http://andyandthealbinohorse.blogspot.com">horse series</a>, illustrated by Oregonian award-winning artist K.C. Snider, is quite popular. Today Deuce will be spilling the beans on Mary Jean (okay, so she's talented, but she can't be <span style="font-style: italic;">that </span>perfect!)<br /><br />So I hear you live with children's author Mary Jean Kelsey, huh? What's that like? Is she a good pet owner?</span><br /><br />Ummmm. That's Mary Jean Kelso. It sure beats living in the shelter! There, I was in a tiny cage and here I have a big house to patrol and keep safe. What can I say? It's like having a maid to clean up after me, feed me exotic treats, keep my water fountain fresh and only interrupt a snooze to stroke my fur.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What do you do when Mary writes? Does she let you sit on her lap?</span><br /><br />When I'm not testing my teeth on the computer equipment cords (I recently bit one of the printer cables a little too tight and caused Mary to spend an entire day tracing the trouble down) I nap or lay on the work table in the sun. Sometimes I jump up onto her cluttered desk and prowl around behind the monitor or slide off the printer top. Once, I even helped key in some words with all four of my paws. That brought her to an immediate halt when the internet company shut the system down for what they thought was SPAM. Guess I sent something to too many email addresses.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tell us about her books and especially about her horse story series! </span><br /><br />Oh, she works a lot on the Andy series. It's about a little boy in a wheelchair and a therapy horse called Spirit. I wish she'd write something about cats. Someday, she promises she will. But I heard the next Andy book was going to be about a dog! You might like that, Amigo. I'd rather chase a bird than read about dogs. Anyway, I digress, this Spirit is some kind of horse! Somehow she makes this little boy feel free and adventurous. Maybe, if I was big enough for someone to ride, I could do that, too.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">How does Mary Jean get inspired to write all that? Do you help in that department?</span><br /><br />No, I might help her figure things out sometimes. But, she usually gets her ideas when she is away on a book signing or out and about doing whatever she does when she leaves me home alone. (Secretly, I kind of like the quiet so I can get in a nice long nap in without being disturbed<wink>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">How come she hasn't written a story about you yet? Aren't you mad about that?</span><br /><br />Hey! Come to think of it, she hasn't. Well, as long as she keeps bringing my canned tuna home from the store, I can't feel too bad about it. Maybe you'd like to know how I got my name? That way, there'll be something in print about me anyway. I'm a mostly white cat. My tail is black and looks like somebody tried to put a handle on a piece of pottery. You know, how it kinda connects on the bigger part of a pot like a blob? Anyway, I have a black cap and half black ears where the pink doesn't show through the white fur there. On my back are two perfectly round black spots. Guess somebody thought it made me look like one of those wooden game pieces with dots on it. So, the other people I lived with called me Domino. Seemed like my new family thought that was too much of a male name so Mary's friend called me Deuce. I like that much better. I learned it quickly and answer to it without a second thought.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Okay, so give us the gritty details. What's the name of Mary's publisher and where can we get her books?</span><br /><br />Oh, I know that one! She's always on the computer with the publisher, illustrator, or one of the people they call Angels. It is Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. If you go to their website www.guardianangelpublishing.com you can find all of her kids books up there. Seven, so far. There are a whole bunch more in queue. The Adventures of Andy and Spirit comes out later this year for tween readers. RV Mouse and Andy and Spirit Meet the Rodeo Queen just came out and the next one in the series is the one I mentioned before--Andy and Spirit in Search and Rescue. That's the one with the dog. It has a big surprise in it!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Do you get along with K.C. Snider, the illustrator of your books? The truth!</span><br /><br />Well, I've only met her once when she was here to go to a signing in Virginia City and Reno. I was pretty shy then. I'm getting braver now. I understand she has a dog that's about the same size I am -- Jack, they say. I don't know if I'd get along with him!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What do you like most about Mary?</span><br /><br />She considers me one of the family. Just like family, I know she would never leave me. I have a home for as long as I live. All these poor other animals that people have had to leave behind when they moved because of the economy makes me so sad. I know wherever Mary and the family go, I go, too.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Is there anything annoying about her?</span><br /><br />Her schedule! Just when I want to play, she wants to go to sleep. I get up way before her, too. Then I have to tear through the house with someone else, whoever I can get out of bed by chewing on cords or knocking something off the bureau, whatever it takes. When I'm up, I'm up! Finally, by at least 5 o'clock I manage to get her out of bed, too.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Give us some last words of feline wisdom.</span><br /><br />Well, Amigo, always look cute and cuddly. Try to hide the holes in the electrical cords so no one knows you've chewed them until you're out of sight. If you eat too much and have to throw up, move off the carpet onto the kitchen tile. But, you probably have learned those things already! Always help your author friend with their work so the treats will keep coming!<br /><br />Hey, thanks for letting me unload all my neuroses on you! I don't talk this much usually. It felt good! Meow!<br /><br /></wink>Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-45503342956169244292010-05-25T11:21:00.000-07:002010-05-25T11:31:48.221-07:00Guest Pet Blogger Jack, proud owner of award-winning Oregonian artist K.C. Snider<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtxhgdoJSz0Ocj6_WQ3TJeKlQOz1jSJjzYiZrcj2CYV4LvhLVEf5FzPbKULF1atGhkLAYQ3FKN_nwyhyphenhyphenmUjS27EzDlvVP_Srhy3uBK0PrsDmvBnH5RRk_Fm6G7omJWfAbKY7AWGeooj9s/s1600/pooper.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtxhgdoJSz0Ocj6_WQ3TJeKlQOz1jSJjzYiZrcj2CYV4LvhLVEf5FzPbKULF1atGhkLAYQ3FKN_nwyhyphenhyphenmUjS27EzDlvVP_Srhy3uBK0PrsDmvBnH5RRk_Fm6G7omJWfAbKY7AWGeooj9s/s320/pooper.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475275525712343202" border="0" /></a><br />My co-owner, illustrator<a href="http://www.kcsniderart.com/"> K.C. Snider</a>, doesn't have a clue. I can pull the wool over her eyes anytime I want to. I love to chew up her eyeglasses (they were only $700) and her favorite paint brushes, especially the ones that cost at least $65 each. I can snag those things off her table or desk faster than white lightening and she'll never know if someone doesn't rat on me. I guess she's a pretty good illustrator, at least that's what <a href="http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/">Lynda Burch</a> says.<br /><br />I definitely rule the roost around here. I get a treat for just about everything I do. If I go outside and bark at the donkey named Jack, as long as I come back inside when K.C. yells at me, I get a treat. Of course, I know how to pester K.C. until she gives in. My favorite treats are dried chicken and duck dog jerky, Boy, is that stuff expensive. I eat better than my other co-owner, Fred.<br /><br />My name is Jack. But Fred decided when I was little that all I did was poop. My dad says that all I do is eat and un-eat. So he called me, "Little Pooper." And that sort of stuck, so now my mom calls me "Poop" and my mom's publicist calls me "Poop". I'll answer to anything as long as I get a treat.<br /><br />K.C. is a really dedicated illustrator and she works at her easel until the wee small hours of the morning. Usually, I bug her as often as I can so she'll give me a treat. I'll jump up on her and make sure my claws dig in. I talk to her incessantly (just like right now). I nudge her with my cold nose. But once in a while she gets a little tired of me and puts me in my dog carrier. That's my 'doghouse'.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAJw9pF0rZPvuRA7RpdVQEka2XWMSKcUAtujPuiBKpAc7jord_WfJrk7_T8wqA2xdeBjid1Ng0FW9za5eSGV8niCodclbuPvQR494DzQdgh4nz8T-MwtjCtJFVSNyIxheKMEd82PLFNro/s1600/shirt72.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 278px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAJw9pF0rZPvuRA7RpdVQEka2XWMSKcUAtujPuiBKpAc7jord_WfJrk7_T8wqA2xdeBjid1Ng0FW9za5eSGV8niCodclbuPvQR494DzQdgh4nz8T-MwtjCtJFVSNyIxheKMEd82PLFNro/s320/shirt72.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475276899125080786" border="0" /></a><br />My mom doesn't snack while she works, unfortunately because I like to get the leftovers. In fact, sometimes she gets so absorbed, she forgets to eat. Dad has to come into the studio and complain loudly that he's hungry. Then things start to happen and pretty soon I'm licking a juicy plate. Dad says,"Well, we don't have to wash that one."<br /><br />I love having visitors. I'm always a great hit with a crowd. I was definitely the life of the <a href="http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/">GAP</a> West Coast Get-together party. Those folks (especially Lynda Burch and Susanne Batson) really made a great deal of me. Susanne even sends me gifts now. Mom won't let me have the red beanie baby dog because she says I'll rip it to shreds (I'm starring at it right now up on the window sill and everyone is very amused about that.)<br /><br />My mom hopes some day that someone will write a book about me and she'll get to illustrate it. She'll really do a great job with that since she'll have me to model for her anytime she wants.<br /><br />Well Amigo, I've got to go check on the dumb donkey and the rest of my territory.<br />Adios,<br />Jack<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Check out K.C. Snider's links!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(96, 191, 0);font-family:arial black;" ><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.kcsniderart.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-family:arial black;" ><strong>http://www.kcsniderart.com</strong></span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-family:arial black;" ><strong><br /></strong></span><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-family:arial black;" ><strong>http://www.<wbr>guardianangelpublishing.com</strong></span></a></span> <div><a rel="nofollow" href="http://andyandthealbinohorse.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-family:arial black;" ><strong>http://andyandthealbinohorse.<wbr>blogspot.com</strong></span></a></div> <div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-family:arial black;" ><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.cafepress.com/KCSniderart" target="_blank"><strong>http://www.cafepress.com/<wbr>KCSniderart</strong></a></span></div> <div><a rel="nofollow" href="http://blog.kcsniderart.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-family:arial black;" ><strong>http://blog.kcsniderart.com</strong></span></a></div>Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-19376728685910642512010-05-14T14:15:00.000-07:002010-05-16T13:20:33.194-07:00Interview with Molly, one of the characters in Mary Cunningham's The Magician's Castle<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKSOeqO6LPIE6IIgIfgfRgcDgZbBEQ2fYD40e7PiuoNoaPkYPhzm1QwjuH_u9fKOH8ARnLidHYypU4ZY05vSgHey0xsf8a7C_kchx0qT2V_73k76gG2OSvECq33b8e9MZMV5r84374qf0/s1600/Molly_at_Dot's2%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKSOeqO6LPIE6IIgIfgfRgcDgZbBEQ2fYD40e7PiuoNoaPkYPhzm1QwjuH_u9fKOH8ARnLidHYypU4ZY05vSgHey0xsf8a7C_kchx0qT2V_73k76gG2OSvECq33b8e9MZMV5r84374qf0/s320/Molly_at_Dot's2%5B1%5D.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471238973209192546" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Say Woof! to my special guest today: Molly! Molly is a fictional doggy in one of Mary Cunningham's fantasy/mystery middle-grade novels, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Magician's Castle. </span>But she's not just a fictional character. She's based on a real Molly who was very close to Mary's heart. Now she lives forever in her books!<br /><br />If you've never heard of Mary Cunningham, she's a super cool author who writes exciting stories for tweens ages 9-12. My mom has read all of her books and she loves them! So be sure to check out Mary's website at <a href="http://marycunningham.wordpress.com/">http://marycunningham.wordpress.com</a>.<br /><br />Molly, I understand you're one of the characters in Mary's new book, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Magician's Castle</span>. What type of character are you and what role do you play in the story?</span><br /><br />Molly: Woof! My first interview! This is as exciting as taking a walk or getting a new chew toy!<br /><br />In my author's book, "The Magician's Castle," I start out as a pretty unassuming little brown mutt, but do I ever change. Thanks to some pretty cool magic, I transform into the size of a Kentucky thoroughbred and save the day for Cynthia and Gus when they're threatened by a huge rock monster. I also do what doggies do best; dig up clues. When the two time-traveling best friends get stuck, I save the day with my clue-sniffing nose.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mary told me your character is based on her beloved dog, who passed away not long ago. How does it feel to immortalize a real pet in such a way?</span><br /><br />Molly: When I found out about how I was honoring the first Molly, I just wanted to chase my tail with joy. To be such an interesting and valuable character in a book is great, but to be able to immortalize a fellow canine that meant the world to her mom and dad, is more than I ever imagined. I knew from the start that the love and care Mary put into writing my character was not only her devotion to the series, but mainly her devotion to Molly.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What was the real Molly like? Are you any different than the real Molly?</span><br /><br />Molly: The real Molly adopted her family when she was three years-old. Her first mom died and a neighbor took her to the Miami Animal Shelter. It was mutual love when her new dad spotted the solid brown, twenty-pound pooch with the inquisitive eyes, sitting in a pen behind two barking, obnoxious German Shepherds. She loved to run, until her knee got hurt, but even then she loved being outside helping her family with yard work and chasing squirrels. When they were inside watching TV, she had a whole loveseat all to herself. She loved to please and never made a mistake. She could sense moods and was always available for a loving pat or a tender hug. She had 13 wonderful years with her family, and I know they still miss her.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRQZsYJiix8MGDOTn3UC44S8VBVYgnkAydAndDHlUGGrorQeeyjrb0WmQB0t2-x7qtoxS1sAFrFz-EyGH86JLfIWG53LLoe5wDauoQr8Jr2__l6JiNI_nRIOfNWfZD-o_PvqIHJxhgdMU/s1600/Book+Four+postcard+300dpi.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 217px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRQZsYJiix8MGDOTn3UC44S8VBVYgnkAydAndDHlUGGrorQeeyjrb0WmQB0t2-x7qtoxS1sAFrFz-EyGH86JLfIWG53LLoe5wDauoQr8Jr2__l6JiNI_nRIOfNWfZD-o_PvqIHJxhgdMU/s320/Book+Four+postcard+300dpi.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471239122132283138" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The only difference I can see between me and Molly is that, as far as I know, she never grew to horse size! But, had she been confronted with some big monster trying to hurt Cynthia and Gus, or her real family, I'm sure she would've been just as brave, even at her small size.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What is it like inside Mary's imaginative brain? Things must be pretty turbulent in there. I mean, this lady writes middle-grade fantasy, right? </span><br /><br />Molly: Whoa! Are you sure you want to go there? Sometimes, her fingers are a blur on the keyboard. Then, other times, she grumbles about not being able to get over writers block, whatever that is. She also complains about all the stuff she has to do that has no connection with writing, but I guess that goes along with being an author. I've also heard her talk about the weird dreams she has and that she started writing "Cynthia's Attic" because of a recurring dream she had for more than 20 years.<br /><br />When I dream, it's usually about chasing rabbits or squirrels. Maybe I'll write a book about that, someday!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Who is your favorite character in the story?</span><br /><br />Molly: You mean, besides me? I like all the nice characters (there are some mean ones, too!) but the little fairy, Elly Elloway, is pretty special. She dresses in purple and is pretty cool, but talks funny! She introduced herself by saying, "Eloise Elloway, I am. But call me Elly, ye can." She helps find clues when it comes to finding a missing page in The Book of Spells. She also helps me grow to horse size so I can protect all of us from the Rock Monster.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What is your favorite part in the book?</span><br /><br />Molly: My favorite part of the book is when Gus and Cynthia travel forward into the future and meet a very familiar pair of best friends. That's also when I first appear! The girls think I'm pretty cute, but don't consider me anything more than a nice, little pet...until later.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">You must be feel pretty special, being in Mary's novel...</span><br /><br />Molly: Arf! I sure do! Especially since my character was created because of a very special member of my author's family. I just hope Molly would like how I play her in the book. I'm identical to her in looks, and also have her independent personality, so I'm sure she'd approve.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tell us where we can find <span style="font-style: italic;">The Magician's Castle</span>!</span><br /><br />Molly: Here are some links where you can buy all four "Cynthia's Attic" books. Thanks, Amigo, for inviting me to your blog!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><a href="http://www.marycunninghambooks.com/"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><strong>Mary Cunningham Books</strong></span></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><strong><br /></strong></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Cunningham/e/B002BLNEK4/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><strong>Amazon</strong></span></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><strong><br /></strong></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url?_encoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=digital-text&field-author=Mary%20Cunningham"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><strong>Kindle</strong></span></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><strong><br /></strong></span><a href="http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/a20811/Mary-Cunningham/?"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><strong>Fictionwise</strong></span></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><strong><br /></strong></span><a href="http://www.echelonpress.com/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=23&zenid=4ac57b7ae19fa071cab3b4295df7baf3"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><strong>Quake/Echelon Press</strong></span></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><strong><br /><br /></strong><em><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thank you, Molly! Woof!</span><br /></span></em> </span>Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-31066317628850765362010-04-13T12:35:00.000-07:002010-04-14T07:49:24.141-07:00Chia talks about her human mom, author Smoky Trudeau<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLhsz5fboYmwPzw7_yed0OmRGbmZAXiPhbH0UhJcn7iO5Cb_0dzAYbtc1151sCYFVWlj-RtlyJiT8KumCjTTYBat3V1K2JmHI74dGXQZ1Uh5cKbyhbz104hy-tZBeeNLt1AOUdwm7na0w/s1600/Chia+Web2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLhsz5fboYmwPzw7_yed0OmRGbmZAXiPhbH0UhJcn7iO5Cb_0dzAYbtc1151sCYFVWlj-RtlyJiT8KumCjTTYBat3V1K2JmHI74dGXQZ1Uh5cKbyhbz104hy-tZBeeNLt1AOUdwm7na0w/s320/Chia+Web2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460005294161608066" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Woof! Woof! Say hello to my guest Chia! She's here today to talk about her human mom, Smoky Trudeau, a talented author of both fiction and nonfiction.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Meet Chia...</span><br /><br />Chia is a nine-year-old shepherd mix who was rescued from an animal shelter when she was a five-pound puppy. She grew quickly on a steady diet of kibble and puppy biscuits, and now tips the scales at a whopping seventy-six pounds. When not sleeping under Smoky’s desk, she enjoys playing with her squeaky vet and squeaky lamb chew toys, chasing her cat siblings, Beetlejuice and Po, around the living room, and trying to eat lizards while taking leisurely walks through the neighborhood.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">(Hmm. Quick calculation here... how much is 76 pounds in kilos. Aha! 34... Darn, I'm fatter</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> than her!)</span><br /><br />Chia lives with her family in a ramshackle cottage in the woods overlooking the San Gabriel Valley and Mountains beyond. While she tries to maintain a low profile, the same cannot be said for her human, Smoky. You can learn more about Smoky at her Website, <a href="http://www.smokytrudeau.com/">www.smokytrudeau.com</a>; at her blog on Xanga (<a href="http://authorsmokytrudeau.xanga.com/">authorsmokytrudeau.xanga.com</a>), and on Facebook. She also hosts guests on her <a href="http://www.smokytrudeau.com/id48.html">radio show</a>!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Okay, all this is very sweet, but let's get to the real stuff, Chia. What's with Smoky? Give us the lowdown!</span><br /><br />Smoky is deeply connected to our Mother Earth and to all its creatures, and that c<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi352_g4Bb-yHbiTqhN9oMoBfwh7pin-GM5uO32v-g9MH6RwY6T3jjULhvwyiqryDNcQFW2ngm2dQejfmSykNuxCkV88duRdoT2d4wej8c5t5tiY9ulTLJpei40TG4seBMIiA4H9m723WA/s1600/smoky3.jpg.w180h219.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 219px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi352_g4Bb-yHbiTqhN9oMoBfwh7pin-GM5uO32v-g9MH6RwY6T3jjULhvwyiqryDNcQFW2ngm2dQejfmSykNuxCkV88duRdoT2d4wej8c5t5tiY9ulTLJpei40TG4seBMIiA4H9m723WA/s320/smoky3.jpg.w180h219.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459716822262657058" border="0" /></a>onnection comes through in her writing. Of course, it’s most obvious in her latest release, <span style="font-style: italic;">Observations of an Earth Mage</span>, which is a collection of essays and poems she wrote about her connection to our planet. I helped her a lot in writing that one. I’m in at least three of the essays; we go walking together a lot, along with her male human, Scott. There’s even a cute picture of me in the book on page 73. The entire book is illustrated with more than 50 of Smoky’s beautiful nature photographs.<br /><br />But her love of nature is also very evident in her two novels, <span style="font-style: italic;">Redeeming Grace</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Cabin</span>. She describes the beauty of Maryland’s Eastern Shore and the Southern Appalachian Mountains like the true earth mage she is. I know this because I heard her read the books aloud to my human grandmother, who can’t see very well, when the books were first published.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hmm. She sounds pretty good. But is she a good pet owner?</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT98q0yUTjk7F5dmZTkU809brtGSEaneU_Bw9WpCEU1RuksPaQ1paLxq95QfuM7QRBr5uAXdgGSHx2v8jjV69YbF74Pk0OwGDWrTfk2vwCyBDwbd7xjRZWcFEftGTFg00amzLTx_BO18I/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 312px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT98q0yUTjk7F5dmZTkU809brtGSEaneU_Bw9WpCEU1RuksPaQ1paLxq95QfuM7QRBr5uAXdgGSHx2v8jjV69YbF74Pk0OwGDWrTfk2vwCyBDwbd7xjRZWcFEftGTFg00amzLTx_BO18I/s320/1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459716004255888642" border="0" /></a><br />As a pet owner, she’s the best. My kibble dish is promptly filled at breakfast and supper time, and she takes me to the vet every six months. I have toys and two cat companions, although Beetlejuice and Po can be pretty annoying at times.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I can imagine! But really, Chia, one can't expect much from cats...</span><br /><br />But then again, they unanimously agreed I should be Smoky’s spokesdog for this interview, so I guess they aren’t all that bad. Of course, it helps that I outweigh them both by about seventy pounds. They don’t argue with me too often.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tell us more about Smoky's books!</span><br /><br />I’ve already told you a little about <a href="http://www.smokytrudeau.com/id57.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Observations of an Earth Mage</span></a>. I features stories and photos of places of beauty and wonder all across the country, from the Great Smoky Mountains of the east to the great deserts of Joshua Tree National Park and Red Rock Canyon in the west, to Yosemite National Park and the tidepools of Big Sur on the west coast. I’ve heard her friends talk about the book; they say reading her stories makes it possible for them to visit these places in their minds without having to step foot outside their front door. I’ve heard Smoky tell people her goal in writing the book was to get people to do that very thing, though: get outdoors and take a hike. I agree with her on that one. I love my walkies!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisvjQqYlFV2dbBg4HkoQNMUWbFgb-G23Yk3LJ2n1t2_TV1Z7YFOJgpjFlN6DsJJ-tZg44wx2_DeyAfUbMvFuMpmWbpYAm4SKtAUbuKPAYJJKPXaTC1AmJ187JplgQ1wyjJT2Uuj0w-Ros/s1600/tinyTcover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 179px; height: 306px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisvjQqYlFV2dbBg4HkoQNMUWbFgb-G23Yk3LJ2n1t2_TV1Z7YFOJgpjFlN6DsJJ-tZg44wx2_DeyAfUbMvFuMpmWbpYAm4SKtAUbuKPAYJJKPXaTC1AmJ187JplgQ1wyjJT2Uuj0w-Ros/s320/tinyTcover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459718276364722706" border="0" /></a><br />But she writes fiction, too. <a href="http://www.smokytrudeau.com/id7.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Redeeming Grace</span></a> is her first novel. It’s about a young woman’s struggle to save her young sister from the verbal and physical abuse of their father, a zealot preacher on a downward spiral toward insanity who uses biblical verse to justify his behavior. Grace’s husband, Otto, is struggling over his guilt about an accident that claimed the life of a young woman and left his brother severely brain damaged. Tragedy strikes just as Otto’s secret is uncovered, unleashing demons that threaten to destroy the entire family. Grace has to find the strength to save them all, and in the process find her own redemption.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Redeeming Grace</span> is pretty heavy stuff, but it’s been very popular among readers of women’s spirituality fiction and people who enjoy theological debate.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.smokytrudeau.com/id25.html">The Cabin</a> </span>is Smoky’s second novel. James-Cyrus Hoffmann has just inherited his grandfather’s farm in Virginia, and with it a mysterious cabin deep in the woods. When James-Cyrus enters the cabin, he is vaulted back through time to the Civil War era, where he meets Elizabeth, the brave young woman who lives in the cabin, and Malachi, a runaway slave. Cora Spellmacher, his elderly friend and neighbor, begins to unravel the secret of how he is able to make his fantastic leaps back and forth through time. In doing so, Cora begins to hope a tragic wrong from her own past can be righted, and that she can regain something precious that was lost to her many years earlier. When Ja<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhguR4H5uYSToRcbXqhQ2NjpnH7c0ikM3hBnlJL2IjAihGtQTF6rU0uUYyQzfvhcgDTOrICMCfRs6kT6PJrrQGskQ6mRM1FGPuJHee11xY0734vuKolw9b4D9hQ0_W0XHEecf3Z_rPobcA/s1600/2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 222px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhguR4H5uYSToRcbXqhQ2NjpnH7c0ikM3hBnlJL2IjAihGtQTF6rU0uUYyQzfvhcgDTOrICMCfRs6kT6PJrrQGskQ6mRM1FGPuJHee11xY0734vuKolw9b4D9hQ0_W0XHEecf3Z_rPobcA/s320/2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459716120321153250" border="0" /></a>mes-Cyrus realizes Elizabeth and Malachi are in terrible danger, he undertakes a daring plan of rescue that promises to rewrite his family history and change all their lives forever.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Cabin</span> is a really exciting read. People interested in Civil War history, time travel, or just a good read will like this book a lot.<br /><br />Smoky also wrote two books especially for writers. <a href="http://www.smokytrudeau.com/id41.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Front-word, Back-word, Insight Out: Lessons on Writing the Novel Lurking Inside You From Start to Finish</span></a> is a complete writing workshop in a book. Her other writing book, <a href="http://www.smokytrudeau.com/id50.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Left Brained, Write Brained</span></a>, is 366 writing prompts and exercises to help writers stimulate their muse. Whatever a muse is...I’m not sure. I’m a dog.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What the heck! That is a LOT of stuff and in different genres! You must be proud of Smoky. Of all these books, which one is your favorite?</span><br /><br />Well, I’d have to say <span style="font-style: italic;">Observations of an Earth Mage</span>, because I’m in it. But she memorialized my dog sister Chance in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Cabin</span> by naming James-Cyrus’s horse Chance; and my dog brother Chico by having James-Cyrus refer to a little chipmunk as “Little Man.” That’s what she used to call Chico. I thought that was nice of her, to make sure they lived on in her books.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">So what's with your name: CHIA? </span><br /><br />I like my name! People tend to pronounce in CHEE-a, like those silly things you see on TV. They think I’m a CHEE-a pet, which would have been a really dorky name, don’t you think? But actually, it’s pronounced with a long-I sound: CHI-a. Chia means “shadow” in the Bangladeshi language. And I am definitely Smoky’s shadow! So the name is a really good one. It fits me. And actually, Smoky didn’t name me. Her daughter Robin did. Robin was only ten years old at the time; pretty cool a ten-year-old came up with such an exotic name.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Okay, okay, no need to get defensive... jeez...</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">I admit Shadow is a <span style="font-style: italic;">great </span>name.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Does Smoky let you sit on her lap while she writes?</span><br /><br />That would be kind of hard. I’m a big girl! But she lets me curl up under her desk, and she scratches my tummy with her toes while she works. That feels really good.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">My mom does the same, Chia. So I can relate.</span>Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-88770256831703216782010-04-07T12:20:00.000-07:002010-04-07T13:03:20.733-07:00Interview with Friday, proud owner of Lou Allin<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgCycnlAwY3fwxP7Z0WOA4dtYk9rdD3jboSHQctQYlW38HZJwk1M7WLMwpGx3UCqx82eILfMNknv7d5u2iqAH0fU9jzvy4Iuw9fCJ5LwlTrcg_pqQBNzyjvvtNQ2BiW0F62HrOvEQHU5Q/s1600/Fridayface.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 232px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgCycnlAwY3fwxP7Z0WOA4dtYk9rdD3jboSHQctQYlW38HZJwk1M7WLMwpGx3UCqx82eILfMNknv7d5u2iqAH0fU9jzvy4Iuw9fCJ5LwlTrcg_pqQBNzyjvvtNQ2BiW0F62HrOvEQHU5Q/s320/Fridayface.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457482476213279490" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Meet my special guest: Friday! (talk about cute, people! Look at that face!)</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Friday shares her home with Canadian mystery author Lou Allin.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Visit Lou and see more photos of Friday on her </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.louallin.com/Lou_Allin,Author.html">website</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">. Be sure to check out her </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.louallin.com/loupages/biobits.html">bio</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">. This lady has some impressive credentials!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Okay, so in Friday's own words...</span><br /><br />I was born in June of 01, which makes me a brilliant, quick-thinking, and creative Gemini going on nine. My parents were champions of course. My birth name was Chile Pepper, which is perfect for my apricot reddish hair, but I was named Friday, as in “His Girl.” My new parents, Lou and Jan, and my brother Nikon the German shepherd picked me up and took me camping that night. They put a leash on me for the first time, and I shrieked blue murder, earning nasty looks from passersby who thought a puppy was being killed. In the night Nicky got out of the tent and stepped on the remote control for the truck. The horn started beeping and woke up the campground at two in the morning. Was that an auspicious arrival or what?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nice intro, Friday. So tell us, are you Lou Allin’s boss? </span><br /><br />I am everyone’s boss. Let’s get that straight. Sociologists have a word for me, and it’s Alpha Bitch. I knew my destiny the minute I saw the light outside my mommy’s tummy. My bro Nicky never touched a hair on me from minute one. Having a GSD as your muscle is a great idea. When Nicky spoke up with his 120 pounds, dogs listened. Now that he’s at Rainbow Bridge, I have these dippy border collies, Shogun and Zia. Zia competes in agility competitions. Big deal. Who can’t do that? Shogun’s pretty good for scaring off bears when we walk in the clear cuts on Vancouver Island. I sleep with Lou with my own pillow. If I want to get up in the night and shake, I do. If she wakes ME from a sound sleep where I’m chasing prey, I might just growl. There are rumours about me biting when being groomed. Lies, all lies. Once she took a pair of sharp scissors to tidy up my privates and ended up sticking me. I laid fangs on her finger right to the bone. Tell me that you wouldn’t do the same. Ouch. I can still feel that nick.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boy, and I thought I was arrogant... Tell me, Friday, has Lou immortalized you in any of her books? Did she show your real character or did she exaggerate it for the book’s purpose? Are you happy with her portrayal of you? </span><br /><br />Lou started writing about me when I was barely four pounds and four months old. She called me “The Hunchback of Notre Dame with a Rastafarian haircut.” When I had my Anna Karenina cape on and got onto my hind feet to make a run, I look like him, all chesty with sh<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPUJrBkUMVrqAqO6IHIUg9reoNGTgUcGGG2jiAVoO5ZQihJwz1_3U-U7O0L15kI2tfMRPTlimgJnrP6nwpMnzgmUN47KJ6tuzeQUM8cVOvBRLbOpGGaumbksjpBBcvYpPTTKz__IIWCQY/s1600/Poodles.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPUJrBkUMVrqAqO6IHIUg9reoNGTgUcGGG2jiAVoO5ZQihJwz1_3U-U7O0L15kI2tfMRPTlimgJnrP6nwpMnzgmUN47KJ6tuzeQUM8cVOvBRLbOpGGaumbksjpBBcvYpPTTKz__IIWCQY/s320/Poodles.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457485531841724450" border="0" /></a>apely legs. I posed on the cover of <span style="font-style: italic;">Dogs in Canada</span> in this outfit, one of many custom made clothes in my closet. I even have a purple parka with my initials and pockets for handwarmers.<br /><br />Lou called the book <span style="font-style: italic;">Bush Poodles are Murder</span>. That’s because “are murder” has to be in the title. Lots of people have thought that there is a breed called bush poodles and asked her where to buy one. Humans are so dumb. Natch, I was the hero of the book. We got stuck out in the middle of nowhere in a blizzard, and it was -25 below. I’m not gonna tell you how we made it out, but I was an inspiration. The bad woman had even taken the coat from my fictional owner, Belle Palmer. But I got my hunting talents working and found a shrew. Still can’t understand why Belle didn’t want it. But the grouse she roasted tasted pretty good . The cover shows blood on my face and in the snow, but I don’t want to give any more away. In the book they called me Strudel ‘cause I was “good enough to eat.” See how silly people get about poodles?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Yeah, I noticed the blood on your lips on that cover... I was hoping that was rabbit blood. The rabbits in my garden are driving me crazy...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Anyway, have you <span style="font-style: italic;">actually </span>read any of Lou Allin’s books? Are they really as good as she thinks they are? </span><br /><br />I’m only in one book, so I can’t be a fair judge of this because why would I read the others? She puts all her animals in her books. Freya, her first German shepherd, has five books of her own. That’s the record. Nikon has one.<span style="font-style: italic;"> A Little Learning is a Murderous Thing</span>. It’s an academic mystery, starring him as a pup. Sounds boring to me.<br /><br />Now, me as a pup is another matter. Shogun has one (<span style="font-style: italic;">And on the Surface Die</span>), and another coming up (<span style="font-style: italic;">She Felt No Pain</span>) in Lou’s new series set here on Vancouver Island. Aren’t those titles stupid? What the heck are they supposed to mean, anyway, from some poems in the 19th century? I keep asking, “Why can’t I be in this one, too? I have zillions of fans,” but she says that her publisher wants her to keep the characters separate.<br /><br />Every night I whisper into her ear: Return of the Bush Poodle, Return of the.... You get the idea. Hope she does. People bought my book because they thought George Bush was in it. Humans, go figure!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What does Lou do besides writing? Is she a hermit or does she actually set her foot outdoors? My mom is an antisocial hermit. She sits and writes all they long. Totally disfunctional...</span><br /><br />My mom has to be dragged outside. Lou used to teach in a college in Northern Ontario,but she retired. Now she has big responsibilities because she is a VP in the Crime Writers of Canada. She’s in charge of British Columbia and Yukon. Sometime I want to go up to Whitehorse YK to see if there are any other bush poodles. Also she takes care of membership, like finding people all over the world who want to join. She also organizes events like the Arthur Ellis Shortlist Release Event at the end of April. Arthur Ellis is the name of Canada’s last hangman. He’s an award given in six categories in crime writing. Arthur is made of wood like a puppet, and when you pull the strings, he dances like he was on the gallows. Is that weird? And people think Canadians are so polite.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What does Lou do to promote her books? Does she ask your advice at times? </span><br /><br />I taught Lou everything she knows. I went with her when she signed my book at the big Chapters bookstore in Sudbury back home. I wound around her with my leash so many times that she kept getting tangled up. This was a ploy on my part to take her mind off her own nerves. When little kids came up, I backed off big time. You never know what they are going to do. They stick out a hand and then they pounce. Not that I’ve ever bitten anybody but Lou. That wouldn’t be good for business. She always asks people if they like to read mysteries. Half the time they don’t. If she asked them if they liked dogs, she would get a better response. Maybe someday she will learn this.<br /><br />It’s been great talking to you! If you’d like my autograph or a lock of my hair, don’t be shy about asking.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">You do have a lot of hair, Friday, especially around the eye area... so maybe just a little lock? Woof!<br /><br />Be sure to check Friday in action on this video:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/virtualdogs#p/p/CFC42A16F24B041A/0/eE5_-fu51G4">http://www.youtube.com/user/virtualdogs#p/p/CFC42A16F24B041A/0/eE5_-fu51G4</a><br /></span>Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717812737810895954.post-89301436523225154222010-03-30T12:15:00.000-07:002010-03-30T12:28:05.573-07:00Meet Hana & Saba, proud owners of author and animal communicator Nancy Kaiser<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmnJEUKKpVfZm9k80btQYwg_LnJyJm-MzNhN4GjuCv4_RFs4wsIyX9HAZQQgBPPSyIYRllVXcNbhnwykpm-asHAj5iiQYqu1zNcCLLRMb_zge8AeI_OSwRV3fdSaYXQ6N1qBhNWvy9PvE/s1600/mail.google.com2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 208px; height: 166px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmnJEUKKpVfZm9k80btQYwg_LnJyJm-MzNhN4GjuCv4_RFs4wsIyX9HAZQQgBPPSyIYRllVXcNbhnwykpm-asHAj5iiQYqu1zNcCLLRMb_zge8AeI_OSwRV3fdSaYXQ6N1qBhNWvy9PvE/s320/mail.google.com2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454510589308660930" border="0" /></a> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" ><b>Give a warm woof to my guests today, Hana and Saba, owners of author and animal communicator <a href="http://www.nancykaiseranimalcommunicator.com/">Nancy Kaiser</a>! Nancy is a very special lady. She lives</b><span style="font-weight: bold;"> in the healing Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina surrounded by her family of dogs and a horse. She is the author of </span><i style="font-weight: bold;">Letting Go: An Ordinary Woman’s Extraordinary Journey of Healing & Transformation</i><span style="font-weight: bold;">, about her recovery from </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://allaboutlabradors.blogspot.com/2009/11/labrador-lessons.html" target="_blank"><span style=";font-family:Garamond;" >trauma</span></a></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" > with the help of animals and nature. Nancy operates Just Ask Communications, a practice devoted to healing the human-animal bond through enhanced communication and understanding. Nancy offers animal communication and healing consults via phone, in-person and on Skype. Visit her at: </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://nancykaiseranimalcommunicator.com/Blog/" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-family:Garamond;" ><u>www.<wbr>NancyKaiserAnimalCommunicator.<wbr>com</u></span></a></span><div style="margin: 1ex;"><div><p><span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" ><b>It's great to have you here, you guys! Nancy sounds like a wonderful person. Describe her as a writer and as a pet owner<i>.</i></b></span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" ><b>HANA:</b> Since I can’t read, it’s hard to comment on her talent as a writer. Nancy spends an awful lot of time pecking away at that thing on the table with the screen. I’m not sure if that means she’s goo</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW3LJiQwo80kHC9Dzy1xvHY5YVuYl0r9xb-LhzF-eFr-YgZgxROHLJc0xyXBCnFAadwGT-GbiXgNK-k1WS1hlagGk0sqUmqvCaaTmP0orxXSHDv_MR_b_kCFLbE1GvUo2K3NWAitL8lDc/s1600/mail.google.com.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 112px; height: 166px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW3LJiQwo80kHC9Dzy1xvHY5YVuYl0r9xb-LhzF-eFr-YgZgxROHLJc0xyXBCnFAadwGT-GbiXgNK-k1WS1hlagGk0sqUmqvCaaTmP0orxXSHDv_MR_b_kCFLbE1GvUo2K3NWAitL8lDc/s320/mail.google.com.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454510675482092626" border="0" /></a></span><span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" >d at it or terribly bad. </span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" >She’d be the first person to tell you that she doesn’t own my brother and me. She is our person, and we’re her dogs. Nancy abhors the word “owner.” We’ve been with her since leaving our mom and siblings. I think she’s great despite spending too much time pecking at that thing, but I guess whatever she’s doing is important. </span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" >She showers me with love, but I do cause her some grief at times. As she tells me, “You’re just a devil-catcher.” Apparently, it was something her father used to say. Sometimes she yells if I go too far, but she doesn’t stay angry for long. </span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" ><b>SABA: </b> I’m sure she’s a wonderful writer. Nancy’s happy most of the time, so I guess what she does at that table thing is satisfying to her. I know my brother and I keep her smiling and laughing too. I’m so glad I picked Nancy to be my person. She loves me too and takes great care of us. We have so many toys and bones although she’s pretty strict about our eating habits. She does give us treats and marrow bones, but not nearly as much as I’d like.</span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" >I hate it when Hana gets her upset. My brother gets in trouble much more than I do. I’m definitely more sensitive than he is. Hana’s the carefree one. I’m the thoughtful and emotional one. We share Nancy pretty well though, and she loves us equally; that is obvious.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></p> <p><span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" ><b>I’m guessing your human mom chose your name... tsk, tsk, tsk. What has that done to your self esteem?</b></span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" ><b>HANA: </b> We agreed on it together. She can talk to animals, which is her other job. She explained about Hana and asked if I liked it. I told her, “Yes!” Hana is the name of a special place far away in Hawaii, wherever that is, that she visits. She loves the exceptional healing energy there. She knew that Saba and I would help heal the hole in her heart from losing the Labs that lived with her before us. They got old and returned Home.</span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" >Nancy calls me Hana Banana all the time. I really don’t care for it. What does banana mean? She says it with lots of love in her voice, so I put up with it. I love my name, but I don’t think I’m as calming & healing as she thought I’d be. </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" ><b>SABA: </b> It was the same for me. She actually asked! So far she’s the only person that talks to me this way. She explained that Saba was a very special island in the Caribbean, wherever that is, that she visited several times. It is volcanic, so she chose this name for me since I’m black. She says the place Hana is volcanic too, but she thought Saba was supposed to be my name. I agreed. I am black like lava, but I don’t erupt like my brother does at times. Maybe he should have been Saba? I’m glad he’s not. She thanks me all the time for coming to live with her because I balance Hana’s mischievousness. </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></p> <p><span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" ><b>Has your Mom immortalized you in any of her books? Did she show your real character or did she exaggerate it for the book’s purpose? Are you happy with her portrayal of you?</b></span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" ><b>SABA: </b> I want to answer first this time. Nancy wrote a book about a painful time in her life just before we came to live with her. Hana and I arrived in her life just as she was almost over the worst of her pain. We appear towards the end of her book, <i>Letting Go</i>. </span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" >Nancy was pretty needy when we came to live with her. Just after we arrived she got really sick and her patience was low. She yelled at me once when I wouldn’t go out in the rain to pee, but I didn’t have to. She was outside with me and got angry when I sat by her feet under the covering thing (umbrella). I hate rain even though I adore water, especially snow! </span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" >Nancy wrote about it honestly and gave me credit for forgiving her very quickly, which made me proud. I forgave her a lot sooner than she forgave herself. People are odd that way. They worry too much about things that have already happened. I was embarrassed when she wrote about some accidents I had in the house. All in all, she tells it like it is.</span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" ><b>HANA: </b> Nancy doesn’t exaggerate. Why would she have to when we’re such great dogs? She wrote in her book that I’ve been in her life three other times. I don’t remember that, but I knew when I first saw her that she was my person. She writes about how much Saba and I have taught her, especially that she is worth loving. I don’t know why she would need to be taught that. She’s easy to love.</span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" >I wasn’t thrilled when she wrote about how much I whined in the car when she brought us to live with her. I wasn’t scared just confused. She had a hard time with us when she got so sick, but I think we helped her feel better. At least that’s what she kept telling us. I’m so happy Nancy found Saba and me.</span></p> <p><span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" ><b>What type of books does your human mom write?</b></span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" ><b>HANA: </b> Nancy’s book, <i>Letting Go: An Ordinary Woman’s Extraordinary Journey of Healing & Transformation</i>, is about her life before we were born. It’s called a memoir. Something terrible happened when she moved from her horse farm in some place she calls New Jersey to where we live in the mountains of somewhere called North Carolina. </span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" >Her man, husband they call them, left her while they were building the house we should be living in. Thanks to her animals, 2 dogs, 3 cats and a horse, and her journaling, she was able to recover from her devastation. </span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" >Nancy says by writing she was able to discover lessons buried beneath all her pain. Her recovery was dependent upon her ability to learn the lessons and let go of the pain. She published her writing so that other humans that are suffering can learn from her story and let go of their pain more quickly.</span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" >I can tell every time Nancy hears from someone that her book has helped. She is filled with the most wonderful energy. I didn’t know her two dogs, Shadow and Licorice, but she has pictures of them all over. They were Black and Yellow Labs just like Saba and me. I’m thankful they took such good care of her until we were ready to take over. Nancy needs to be reminded all the time how great she is.</span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" ><b>SABA: </b> Hana told you about <i>Letting Go</i>, so I’ll tell you about her next book. Nancy’s been so busy promoting her first book that she has only just started the next one. It’s going to be about her animal communication stories. Nancy knows it will be a series, because the animals have taught her so much that humans need to know. Nancy always intended to write her animal stories, but <i>Letting Go</i> had to be written first. </span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" >With all the time Nancy spends pecking at that thing, I can’t believe she hasn’t written more of it, but she writes other things too. She’s had lots of online and print articles published, as well as print interviews and guest blog posts. What’s a blog? What an odd word. </span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" >Nancy writes a weekly column on Thursdays for Petsense.com called <i>Animal Insights</i>. Hana & I are so excited that she’s agreed to be a regular contributor to a neat, new publication, “Dogs…Naturally! Magazine.” That starts this March. Nancy’s happy about that too and also about writing for “The Infinite Field Magazine” starting in February.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></p> <p><span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" ><b>What does Nancy do besides writing? Is she a hermit or does she actually set her foot outdoors?</b></span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" ><b>SABA: </b> Me first! Nancy talks to animals and helps their people deal with all sorts of problems. It is so cool. She’s been doing this for a really long time; longer than she’s been writing. I’m not exactly sure how, but Nancy helps animals overcome fears they have from many things that happen when living with humans. Not all animals are as lucky as Hana and I are which we hear all the time! </span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" >Nancy does her animal work downstairs away from that screen thing. It’s very important that we don’t bark when she’s communicating or she gets upset with us. I’m not the barker of the family though. You know who is. Nancy helps lots of animals live more happily with their people. I want to help her by keeping her happy too. She must be pretty good at it, because she’s always doing it. </span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" ><b>HANA: </b> Nancy takes us everywhere in the car, as long as it’s not too cold or too hot. Mostly we go to the stable where her horse, Stormy, lives. He lived with her on her farm. We have to stay in the car while she rides Stormy, but afterwards we get out and play with the two dogs that live there. I love going to the barn. It’s so much fun. Really I love going anywhere. We both do.</span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" >The other place we go to that’s so cool is what Nancy calls, “The Mountain.” We run free all over the place, and it’s big. I think it’s where we’re supposed to be living, but the man ruined that plan. We both love it since there’s no fence like at the house we live in. I can feel sadness in Nancy when we’re there. She thinks she’s let it all go, but she hasn’t. I don’t care where we live as long as we’re all together.</span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" ><b>SABA: </b> Hana didn’t tell you that we go hiking too. We have to have our leashes on mostly, but sometimes Nancy takes them off. That’s the best! She’s more willing to do that since we’ve gotten better at coming when she calls. Of course, I always come.</span></p> <p> <span style=";font-family:Garamond;font-size:130%;" ><b>HANA: </b> I heard that. You don’t always come. You know how our sensitive, Labrador noses interfere with our hearing. But, we are getting better at coming when Nancy calls. It’s those thousands of smells that direct us away from her shouts. Who can blame us? We have a great life with Nancy. Saba and I are lucky dogs!</span></p> </div> </div>Mayra Calvanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.com5