tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907773976286723662024-02-20T00:37:13.551-05:00Writers & Other AnimalsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.comBlogger145125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-13401212604388581642015-12-27T04:00:00.000-05:002015-12-27T04:00:01.177-05:00Excerpt from Karma’s a Killer by Tracy WeberAuthor's note: I’ve been entranced by the
friendship my dog has with several local crows for years, so it seemed natural
to include them in my newest mystery.
The excerpt below features Blackie, a rehabilitated crow who will play
an interesting role in the mystery. ~
Tracy
Excerpt from Karma's a Killer
Judith
yelled, “Hey, stop! What are you doing?” Even Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-52260059815789317812015-12-23T03:00:00.000-05:002015-12-23T03:00:01.250-05:00Throwback Thursday a Day Early! Solving the Mystery of EPI with Tracy Weber
"Including a dog with EPI in my series was no accident. Like most fiction authors, my primary goal is to entertain. To immerse my readers in a world they would otherwise never experience. But that’s not my only goal. My secondary, not-so-secret goal is to spread awareness of EPI and provide hope to owners of animals impacted by the condition."
Tracy Weber will share an excerpt from her brand Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-10343168555521854682015-12-20T04:00:00.000-05:002015-12-20T04:00:00.258-05:00I Want My Sleep Back by Jacki Skole
When my younger daughter was an infant, she didn’t sleep.
Not at night. Not at nap time. What she did was cry, especially in the evening,
so I took it upon myself to diagnose her with colic. Thus, I had an explanation
for why she cried and why there was nothing I could do to stop it.
The colic eventually passed, as did her habit of rising
before the sun. She never took to napping, at least Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-82083812779406218832015-12-13T04:00:00.000-05:002015-12-13T04:00:01.282-05:00The True Story of Mindy Moo the Monkey Dog
by Janis Susan May/Janis Patterson
I don’t write about animals, but with two
neurotic cats and a very prissy little dog – all rescues from horrific situations
– I live with them all the time.
Mindy is a small 12 pound blonde dog who is
half terrier mix and half pure diva. As far as she is concerned the house and
everything in it – except perhaps our bossy little tuxedo cat Squeaky Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-57087532619691859962015-12-06T09:51:00.000-05:002015-12-06T09:51:23.900-05:00Cooking Up Stories with Author Susan Kroupa
Like most dogs, Doodle, the canine narrator of
the Doodlebugged Mysteries, not only loves food but has some strong opinions on
the subject. He recently got a chance to share some of those in Cooking Up Stories: Favorite Recipes from
the Oregon Writers Network.
The brainchild of Louisa Swann and Dayle
Dermatis, Cooking Up Stories is a
compilation of recipes and brief story excerpts Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-22728321599165783372015-12-03T04:00:00.000-05:002015-12-03T04:00:03.565-05:00Sophie Shapes my World
by Judy Alter
Every night when I’m
ready to go to bed, I ask Sophie if she’s ready for bed. She trots to the dog
bed next to my bed. We visit and she gets tummy rubs; sometimes I talk over the
day with her, sometimes I just tell her what a sweet girl she is. When I say,
“Okay, time to go to sleep,” she jumps up and goes to her crate (she’s
housebroken but occasionally unreliable). In the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-91243493884964928552015-11-22T04:00:00.000-05:002015-11-22T04:00:01.770-05:00Interview with DOGLAND Author Jacki Skole
Tell us
about your latest book.
DOGLAND: A Journey to the Heart of
America’s Dog Problem intertwines two stories.
The first details my search to find the person who surrendered my dog to
a North Carolina shelter when she was only six weeks old; the second examines
our country’s dog problem and seeks solutions to fix it.
For many people, the notion that America has a
dog problem is Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-76128774261271905152015-11-15T04:00:00.000-05:002015-11-15T04:00:02.306-05:00The Joys of Being Outnumbered
by Janis Susan May/Janis Patterson
In a way I feel sort of a cheat. I don’t put
animals in my books, at least not in any major roles. I do, however, have them
in major roles in my life, roles so major that I sometimes feel like a minor
character.
I believe firmly in adopting rescue pets, so
much so that The Husband’s and my favorite charity is East Lake Pet Orphanage.
Right now we Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-50849573103858452222015-11-08T08:54:00.000-05:002015-11-08T08:54:05.934-05:00Interview with Author Marilyn Meredith
Tell us a little bit
about your journey as a writer.
My journey began when I
was a child—I drew picture books before I could read or write (I was 4) based
on a soap opera my mother listened to called “My Gal Sunday.” When I could read
and started on the Little House on the Prairie series, I wrote my own version.
I continued writing stories and added plays for my neighborhood friends to
perform.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-75008426596142035632015-11-01T04:00:00.000-05:002015-11-01T04:00:03.125-05:00Adopter Beware by Jacki Skole
It's my pleasure to welcome Jacki Skole, author of Dogland: A
Journey to the Heart of America’s Dog Problem, back to WOA. We would all like to think that anyone calling herself an animal rescuer is a good and honest person, but as in all areas of life, that isn't always the case. Jacki offers some tips to help you assess rescuers and rescue programs before you support them with your money. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-6848099210543373982015-10-25T11:27:00.001-04:002015-10-25T11:27:30.696-04:00Never trust a man a dog doesn’t like
by Judy Alter
I feel a bit like
George W. Bush here, the time he got mixed up on “Fool me once, shame on you,
fool me twice” and ended with “Aw, you know what I mean.” But the saying I have
in my mind is “Never trust a man who doesn’t like dogs; always trust a dog who
doesn’t like a man.” Or something like that.
It’s an accepted fact
that dogs have some kind of sensitivity that humans eitherAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-37169611381900421272015-10-18T03:00:00.000-04:002015-10-18T09:35:00.303-04:00Interview with Author Suzanne Adair
I'm delighted to welcome author Suzanne Adair to WOA to talk about how the Southern theater of the Revolutionary War sets the scenes for her books. ~ Sheila
Tell us a little about your journey as a
writer (one reasonably short paragraph)
I started
writing fiction when I was in second grade in Florida and completed my first
novel-length manuscript when I was twenty-two, around the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-29515085994504208452015-10-14T13:52:00.001-04:002015-10-14T13:52:30.140-04:00Under Cover of Midnight: A Midnight Ink Blog: Fifteen Fun Facts: Sheila Webster BonehamUnder Cover of Midnight: A Midnight Ink Blog: Fifteen Fun Facts: Sheila Webster Boneham:
This week, Midnight Ink presents Fifteen Fun Facts about Sheila Webster
Boneham, author of the Animals in Focus mysteries. Her latest, Shepherd's
Crook, was released earlier this month.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-17838630426424108082015-10-11T10:38:00.001-04:002015-10-11T12:29:40.519-04:00Shepherd's Crook Launch to Benefit Rescued Aussies
Shepherd’s Crook, Animals in Focus Mystery #4 from
Midnight Ink, is officially launched!
To celebrate the launch I'm once again teaming up with Pomegranate
Books from now through Oct. 20 to benefit ARPH (Aussie Rescue & PlacementHelpline). Two former ARPH dogs, Lilly and Edith Ann, have important roles in the
book. In fact, Lilly is pawtographing copies of Shepherd's Crook at the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-33256103273526749022015-09-27T03:00:00.000-04:002015-09-27T03:00:00.073-04:00The Many Faces of Fetch
by Jacki Skole
“Dog, you get dumber by the day.”
I lift my head from my book. Kevin
is standing in the middle of our backyard talking to Galen. She is several
yards away on a small island of black mulch that circles a tree near where our
yard ends and our neighbor’s begins. Galen’s purple ball—it looks like an
oversized kettle bell—rests on the ground in front of her. She picks Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-79121703476201077792015-09-20T04:00:00.000-04:002015-09-20T08:15:34.085-04:00Excerpt from STRAYS by Jennifer Caloyeras
It's my pleasure to welcome Jennifer
Caloyeras, author of Strays (published by Ashland
Creek Press in May) back to WOA. Today, Jennifer shares the following excerpt from
Chapter 5 of Strays (with permission of the
publisher). ~ Sheila
Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old
Iris Moody has a problem controlling her temper, but then, she has a lot to be
angry about. Dead mother. Workaholic father. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-10603686041368717082015-09-13T05:00:00.000-04:002015-09-13T05:00:00.803-04:00Slobbers, Strays, and Murderby Paty Jager
When I started conjuring up my Native American amateur
sleuth, I knew I wanted her to be an artist. Shandra Higheagle is a potter. She
not only makes useful pots but her vases are sought-after art items. To enhance
her art, she lives on a mountain that has pockets of clay that she uses to make
her vases. Living on a mountain makes her an earthy person, in my mind.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-55386758984899963622015-08-23T11:05:00.003-04:002015-08-23T11:49:01.191-04:00How Photos Can Inspire Writing
What's happening in this photo? How
might I use this image to inspire writing?
We've all heard that a picture is worth a thousand words. Here's another angle on that old saw: a photo (or other visual image) may also help inspire and expand ideas. I'm teaching a memoir-writing class right now, and each week I have offered my students some new tools to help them access memories and to Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-7702224041472699602015-08-16T09:10:00.002-04:002015-08-16T09:10:58.770-04:005 Surprising things about Santa Cruz, California
by Jennifer Caloyeras, author of Strays
For the backdrop to my
novel, Strays, I wanted a serene scene to juxtapose against all of the tension
in my novel about a girl with anger management issues who gets sentenced to a
summer rehabilitating aggressive dogs. I chose the beautiful city of Santa
Cruz, California, located on the coast just above Monterey and just below San
Francisco. Here Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-58058025770052277012015-08-09T11:50:00.001-04:002015-08-09T11:50:37.800-04:00Straight from the Parrot’s Mouthby Lois Winston
Greetings!
My name is Ralph. I’m an African Grey parrot, the most intelligent of the
species. Anastasia Pollack’s great-aunt Penelope Periwinkle willed me to
Anastasia. Penelope was a professor of Shakespearian literature, and I’d
regularly accompany her to class. After decades of sitting in on her lectures,
I became somewhat of a Bard scholar myself.
I’m
also the only Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-18185242082018965332015-07-26T07:00:00.000-04:002015-07-26T07:00:02.852-04:00Food for Thought
by Susan J. Kroupa
© Caraman | Dreamstime.com
Recently, a reviewer who otherwise liked Bed-Bugged, gently chided me for that
fact that Molly often slips Doodle some of her food. The reviewer stated she
didn’t agree with the author that human food was good for dogs.
I smiled because the author was just allowing the
characters to act naturally.
The quickest way to turnAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-28615019564088310612015-07-19T08:00:00.000-04:002015-07-19T08:00:00.425-04:00Help for Older Pet Ownersby Amber Polo
If you're reading this no one needs to
tell you about the benefits of owning a pet. You know a companion is good medicine and
adds to your quality of life. You play, laugh, exercise, relax and touch your
friend and even meet new people because you are owned by a pet. Physical and mental health benefits make
you feel and act younger and stay fitter.
But you still Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-20516581976965472212015-07-12T05:00:00.000-04:002015-07-12T05:00:00.548-04:00Interview with Strays Author Jennifer Caloyeras
It's my pleasure to welcome Jennifer Caloyeras, author of Strays (published by Ashland Creek Press in May). Jennifer will be back in coming weeks with an excerpt from the book and more. ~ Sheila
Tell us a bit about
your latest book.
My latest novel, Strays, is about a teenage girl with anger
issues who is sentenced to a summer rehabilitating aggressive dogs. Here, she’s
matched up Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-80597696312515437572015-07-04T08:03:00.001-04:002015-07-04T08:03:34.478-04:00Mr. Washington's HoundsHappy independence day! I've bumped the schedule a day to celebrate the Fourth with a little bit about Mr. Washington and his hounds. After all, who can think of American history without thinking of George Washington?
Many portraits of General Washington show him on horseback, and there's no doubt that he was an excellent horseman. Not only did he ride to get from here to there, but he rode for Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1890777397628672366.post-80898214177098592642015-06-28T05:00:00.000-04:002015-06-28T05:00:00.808-04:00 Sophie Shapes My World
by Judy Alter
Every night when I’m
ready to go to bed, I ask Sophie if she’s ready for bed. She trots to the dog
bed next to my bed. We visit and she gets tummy rubs; sometimes I talk over the
day with her, sometimes I just tell her what a sweet girl she is. When I say,
“Okay, time to go to sleep,” she jumps up and goes to her crate (she’s
housebroken but occasionally unreliable). In the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com9