Celebrating Bastille Day Doggie Style

Miss April in Paris

 

 

 Welcome to the Writer With Dogs Bastille Day Blog Party

 

This post is part of A Dog Dreams of Paris blog tour with WOW! Women On Writing. Click here for the kick-off interview on The Muffin and the remaining stops on the tour, which ends July 24th.

 

 

 

 

Miss April in Paris has enlivened this household of one human and six dogs. The human stays active, but six dogs are pretty much couch potatoes. The excitement of the publication of April's diary has caused a stir with the hounds. They have been following her blog tour and wonder if perhaps sometime down the road they will each have their own book. Time will tell on that one. However, time is important today. . . . Party time that is, as the dogs plan to celebrate Bastille Day!

 

"I've never heard of Bastille Day." Chloe, the alpha Chihuahua, exclaimed as soon as the party was brought up. She was slightly preoccupied with her fake mustache. It tickled her nose.

 

"It's simple," Diva dog Miss April in Paris explained. "Bastille Day, the French national holiday, commemorates the storming of the Bastille, which took place on July 14, 1789, and was the beginning of the French Revolution. The Bastille was a prison and a symbol of the power of Louis the 16th's Regime. By capturing this symbol, the people signaled that the king's power was no longer absolute: power should be based on the Nation and be limited by a separation of powers. The French celebrate Bastille Day each year on July 14th, with parties, parades,  food, drinks, dances and fireworks!"

 

"Do we get dog bones?" Bray, usually reserved and shy, was excited at the thought of more food. He slipped into a pair of cool shades and helped himself to a frosty beverage.

 

"Yes, and special drinks. Now, doesn't that taste yummy?" Diva April snorted, a very unladylike gesture. Perhaps she had already had a few of the special party drinks.

 

"I love music," Annabelle stretched on the couch, her big belly pointing up at the ceiling. The sound of a favorite pop song Uptown Funk got her up and moving. "I can make a run to the store if we need anything." While she didn't drive, Annabelle loved to ride in the car with the radio blasting tunes into the universe.

 

Rascal's eyes rolled. Her blue eye (for she has two different colored eyes) winked at April. "Are you wearing that old pink hat again?"

 

"It's my Diva hat. It's the hat that started my story. And yes, I am wearing it. You can have one of those silly party hats on the table."

 

"Gladly," Rascal yawned, then raced across the room to grab a hat and a party drink.

 

"Count me in, too!" Bertha rambled over to the table to find a pair of party glasses, both to wear and to drink from. "Let the party begin!" Bertha was especially social. She looked at her drink and wondered if perhaps she should have put the lime in the coconut. Then she barked, a loud piercing sound and shook her head, her funny mustache mixing with saliva dripping off her chops. Bertha took a sip out of her coconut and toasted the day.  "Viva La France!"

 

Before the party gets too rowdy, the dogs posed for their Bastille Day portraits.

 

Chloe

 

Bray

 

Annabelle

 

 

Rascal

 

Bertha

 

 

Wishing all a happy Bastille Day. Party On!

 

Ellen Cooney's Rescue Dogs Inspiration For Novel "The Mountaintop School For Dogs"

Ellen Cooney and dogs Andy, golden retriever, 8; Skip, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, 7, and Maxine, chocolate lab/wire haired terrier, almost 2.

My own three dogs inspired me to write about the profound and life-affirming things that happen when humans have the chance to truly connect with animals: comedy, really, because comedy is the opposite of the tragic. My dogs drive me crazy at least once a day. But they make me laugh a whole lot more, and while I hope and trust they’ve forgotten their earlier experiences of being in terrible situations, I never stop remembering that at any given moment, somewhere, for every animal being loved by a human, another is being hurt by one. I like to think it’s not a mere fantasy that maybe a reader or two of Mountaintop will want to go to a shelter and bring home a homeless pet.

Maxine

I’ve been so preoccupied with waiting for Mountaintop's pub date, I missed an anniversary: adopting Maxine. Never mind for now she is banished from the dog park for terrorist-like behavior toward dogs she does not like the look of. We're working on that. She has issues. But in the last year, after having been literally rescued at the last moment from her designated fate at a kill shelter, where she was a pup who had outlived her stay, she fell desperately ill, yet pulled through, and then, one terrifying morning at the beach, she swam over her head into danger—and was, once again, rescued. I would like a little less drama in her second year with me, but I fear that is too much to hope for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About Another Dog:

As a volunteer at an animal shelter, I had the job of walking dogs who’d been “surrendered” by owners who didn’t want them. Or they’d been rescued from abusive homes. Lots of the dogs I met there became big-deal inspirations for the dog-characters of my new novel. I woke up today thinking of one called Corky. I wonder if I’d dreamed of him. He was a hound mix, about three or four, beagle-spotted, long-legged. He was always silent, and he had the saddest eyes I ever saw on any creature. He’d been rescued from a life in a yard, back of “his family’s” house, chained to a stake in the ground. Until he arrived at the shelter he had never been indoors. When it was time for him to be walked, he didn’t want to leave his cage. He had to be lured out with treats. Luckily a rescue group came and took him to put him into one of their foster homes—he was the only dog at the shelter no one looked at twice in terms of “I want to take you home with me.” So he had to watch other dogs getting freed, getting wanted, many times before the rescue-group person showed up. I know this is absurd of me, but I wish that dog knew that he became a character in my novel: a dog who looks just him, in rehab and training after years on a chain. I named him Shadow. I have a whole plot thing of the sadness going out of his eyes, of his voice changing from mute to barking and howling.If only one person reads this book and feels even half of what I felt as I learned about chained dogs from Corky, I did my job. Not that I’m saying, oh, fiction has a purpose! I’m saying, fiction is where you feel. Where you connect with the feelings of someone else, and the someone is a dog.

About the Book:

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Publication Date Today:  August 5, 2014   Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 

The Sanctuary. High up on the mountain, the Sanctuary is a place of refuge. It is a place where humans save dogs, who, in turn, save the humans. It is a place where the past does not exist, where hopelessness is chased away, where the future hasn’t been written, where orphans and strays can begin to imagine a new meaning for “family.”

Evie is making her way to the Sanctuary. She has lied to gain entry. She has pretended to know more than she does about dogs, but she is learning fast. Once the indomitable Mrs. Auberchon lets her pass, she will find her way. Like the racing greyhound who refuses to move, the golden retriever who returns to his job as the Sanctuary’s butler every time he’s adopted, and the Rottweiler who’s a hopeless candidate for search-and-rescue, Evie comes from a troubled past. But as they all learn, no one should stay prisoner to a life she didn’t choose.

This is the story of two women and a whole pack of dogs who, having lost their way in the world, find a place at a training school—and radical rescue center—called the Sanctuary. It is a story of strays and rescues, kidnappings and homecomings, moving on and holding on and letting go. And it is, ultimately, a moving and hilarious chronicle of the ways in which humans and canines help each other find new lives, new selves, and new hope.

About the Author:

 

 

Ellen Cooney

Ellen Cooney's ninth novel, The Mountaintop School For Dogs And Other Second Chances, is being published this summer by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt--a full circle for her. After publishing short stories in The New Yorker and many literary journals, and novels with presses large and small, mainstream and alternative, she is back where she started with her first book, Small Town Girl, published by Houghton Mifflin in 1983.

Cooney's other novels include Thanksgiving (Publerati, 2013), Lambrusco (Pantheon, 2009), A Private Hotel for Gentle Ladies (Pantheon, 2007), Gun Ball Hill (University Press of New England, 2004), The White Palazzo (Coffee House Press, 2002), The Old Ballerina (Coffee House Press, 1999), and All the Way Home (G.P. Putnam & Sons, 1984).

Cooney's short stories have appeared in The New Yorker, New England Review, Ontario Review, The Literary Review, Glimmer Train, and many other journals. She has received fiction fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Massachusetts Artists Foundation, and she taught creative writing at MIT, Boston College, and the Extension and Summer School at Harvard.

She lives in Phippsburg, Maine.


Links:   Author's Web    Contact the Author    Interview on Coffee With A Canine

Author's Amazon Page             Buy The Book Amazon     Author's Blog

FaceBook   GoodReads

Author Lynda Fitzgerald Confessions of a Dog Hoarder

Chloe with her paw around Moxie at nap time.

 

Confessions of a Dog Hoarder

 

What do you call someone who keeps adding new dogs to her existing pack? A hoarder?  

How about a sucker? Yes, I’m a sucker for dogs. Especially dogs who have been abandoned, neglected, or mistreated. Show me one of those, and I’m Jell-O Instant Pudding. 

I was down to one dog once. Yes, only one. My best human friend and housemate had just died, and of the three Cairn Terriers we once had, only one was left. Fergus and I were both heartbroken. Devastated. Depressed. You get the idea. Then I saw Chloe on Petfinders, an online rescue site. She was a twelve-week-old German Shepherd puppy who had been abandoned and was almost hit by a car on a gravel country road. The folks who almost hit her sent their young son scooting under their car to drag her out. She was too terrified to move. Yes, Chloe came home with me. When I brought her in the house and put her on the floor, Fergus’s ears perked up immediately as he went over to sniff his new interactive toy. 

Then I met Chloe’s best friend at her doggie daycare, an eight-month old German Shepherd/Hound mix who was dumped there by people who moved away. If I were charitable, I’d say they at least left her where she’d be well cared for. I’m not, the rotters. I took the horse sized puppy home for the weekend to see how she’d do with Chloe and the somewhat shell-shocked Fergus. Remember, he was dealing with a German Shepherd puppy. Before I drove out of the parking lot, I decided she was mine and changed her name to Moxie. You know, force of character and determination in the face of adversity? The name fit, and so did Moxie. I’ve never been sorry. 

Okay, so back to three, right? For a while. 

Finally, Mr. Fergus McTavish, Cairn Terrier Extraordinaire, came to the end of his almost fourteen-year life, and we were back to two. It was terribly hard to lose him, but my two girls consoled me as best they could.

 

 

Mr. Fergus McTavish 2006

 

 

A couple years later, my daughter Nikki moved in with me, along with her ten-year-old son John, and Josie, one of her three dogs, a beautiful Shepherd/Golden Retriever mix I’d rescued almost two years before when she was five weeks old and was dumped in a neighbor’s fenced back yard. Nikki took one look at Josie the weekend I brought her home and said, “She’s mine.” And so she was, for a while. Now Josie is ours.

 

 

Josie as a puppy

 

Josie all grown up

Moving on. Nikki’s ex-husband moved in with his parents after the divorce and declared he could only keep one of their two remaining dogs. He threatened to get rid of both dogs unless Nikki agreed (which meant “mom” agreed) to take at least one. That’s how Lexie, dog number four, came to live with us.

 

 

 Lexie

 

End of story, right? Not quite yet.

About nine days ago, the wife and dog dumping ex-husband dropped the other dog off with us for a week while his parents were out of town because “he was never home to take care of her.” Excuse me? You have a dog, and you can’t curtail your social life long enough to take care of it? Apparently not. When I saw poor Zoe’s condition—infested with fleas, covered with untreated hot spots, her hind legs weak because her dog-deserting owner also didn’t give her the Glucosamine I bought for her, I pretty much exploded. But there’s a happy ending to this story, too. Zoe has now been to the vet, is on Trifexus (bye-bye fleas), and the hot spots have been treated. It will take a while for the Glucosamine to kick in, but I know it will.

 

Zoe

What does all the above have to do with writing and dogs? Lots.

You see, I am a writer. A writer with six books published and more written. During the year my best friend was battling ovarian cancer, I was her caregiver. And then she died. During that time, I didn’t write a word. Me. Ms. Prolific. My dedication to writing finally resurfaced when I brought Chloe home and has grown exponentially since. Do the dogs interrupt my writing? Of course they do. Does it bother me? Heck, no. They’re a shining light in my life, a constant source of both entertainment and inspiration.  Dogs remind us that life goes on. They teach us to live in the moment, not dragged down by the past or fearful of the future. They teach us that and so much more.

So call me a sucker, or a dog hoarder if you like. I consider myself a lucky person--lucky to have those five dogs in my life and lucky to be writing again. Frankly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

 

 

About Lynda Fitzgerald:

 

 

 

 

Lynda Fitzgerald is an author, teacher and frequent speaker at writers’ conference and workshops.  Her debut novel, If Truth Be Told, was published in June, 2007. Of Words & Music came out in March of 2009, and her mystery series, LIVE, was launched in Spring 2010 with the release of LIVE Ringer. LIVE Ammo followed in 2012 and LIVE in Person in late spring 2014.

Although Lynda was born and spent much of her life in central Florida, she now lives in Snellville, GA, with her numerous rescue dogs.  Visit the author’s website for more information, book excerpts, and some beautiful pictures of the area where her books are set.

 

About  LIVE in Person:

 

 

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Allie Grainger has a new job, a new love, and a pretty well-ordered life... until a cop she put in jail escapes and comes after her, determined to make her pay.  

Her brother Len wants her to pay a different price. He shows up on her doorstep, demanding she give him half the nearly two million dollars she inherited from their aunt. Soon, she realizes he’ll go to any lengths to make it happen.  

Then Len vanishes, the apparent victim of foul play, and suspicion falls on Allie. She knows her only hope is to find out what happened to her brother, a move that could cost more than one life.

 

The LIVE series is set in Melbourne, Florida. Investigative reporter Allie Grainger is the lead character in this mystery series. Find all of Lynda Fitzgerald's books on her Amazon author page.

LINKS:  Author Web    Facebook   Amazon      Goodreads Author Page 

 

                Twitter @Lyndafitz

Author Valerie Connors with Ginger and Coco

Valerie Connors with Coco and Ginger

About My Dogs!

Our girls, Coco and Ginger, always keep me company when I’m writing. Whenever I sit down at my desk, within minutes I realize that both dogs are either stretched out on the floor beside my chair, or poised at the front window, side by side.  They keep a careful lookout for any potential threats to my wellbeing, such as another human walking past our house, or a delivery truck that has to stop briefly at the curb.  The good news is that even when I’m home alone, no one will ever be able to sneak up on me.  In fact, they’re particularly vigilant when my husband isn’t home. 
 

There’s something so calming about having sleeping dogs in the room.  I’m alone at my desk so much of the time, it’s really nice to have their company, and as an added bonus, they rarely interrupt my thoughts, unless of course the UPS man arrives, or the neighbor’s cat dares to enter our front yard. 
 

If for some reason I’m at my desk for more than a few minutes and the girls don’t appear in my writing room, I’ll always go looking for them.  It’s their job, after all.  Being a muse is sometimes hard work, but they’re always rewarded with love and treats. 
 

Since I work full time, I tend to be a binge writer, so when I have a day, or days, that I can spend writing, it’s not unusual for the girls to keep me company for nine or ten hours in a row, with only occasional trips to the backyard.  Coco and Ginger perform their job with enthusiasm, patience, and an overall good attitude.

Both girls are rescue dogs.  Ginger, the older of the two, is a Samoyed/Chow mix, and while she doesn’t get around like she used to, she’s still a valued and contributing member of my writing team.  Coco is an Akita/German Shepard mix, and she’s eighty pounds of pure sweetness.  But she has a bark that makes the UPS man jump right off the porch.  I think that makes her the perfect dog. 

 

About The Book:

Available On Amazon. Published June 10, 2014

 

Following the untimely death of her mother in 1992, thirty year-old Meredith Springfield learns the shocking truth about her origins, the father she never knew, and the mother whose life was very different than it appeared.  When the attorney who prepared her mother’s will delivers Anastasia’s personal journals along with the keys to a trust fund Meredith never suspected she had, she and her boyfriend Derek embark upon a journey from Chicago to Los Angeles in search of answers, and to carry out Anastasia’s wish to have her ashes scattered in the Hollywood Hills.
 

In 1960, at twenty years old, Anastasia left her parents and the cold mid-western winter behind in Milwaukee and drove her powder blue Ford Fairlane down Route 66 all the way to Los Angeles, certain that’s where all her dreams would come true.  Just two years later, Anastasia is forced to retrace her steps, traveling back to Milwaukee with her dreams already shattered, a broken heart, and a daughter she would have to raise alone. 
 

Shadow of a Smile takes the reader on two journeys across historic Route 66, from Chicago to Los Angeles, and back.  The first follows Anastasia to 1960 Los Angeles and the beachfront hotels where she would meet the man of her dreams and take to the stage for the first time.   The second, thirty-two years later, takes Meredith and Derek on a journey of discovery that has a greater impact on their lives than they could ever have imagined.
 

Once Anastasia is gone, and her carefully hidden secrets are revealed, Meredith gains a new perspective on her own choices, and must come to terms with the grey area between what our hearts desire and what is right.   Shadow of a Smile is a story about family secrets, the choices we let our hearts make, and living with the consequences.

Praise for Shadow of a Smile:

"From the moment you enter Meredith Springfield's world, you will feel as if you are alongside a dear friend on her amazing journey to self-discovery. Valerie Joan Connor's writing is so vivid, so intimate, that Meredith's travails and triumphs become your own. I miss her already, now that she's gone on with her life and I must go back to my own. A story of love and lies and life, Shadow of a Smile is a must read." ……….Linda Hughes, author of Becoming Jessie Belle and What We Talk About.
 

"Shadow of a Smile examines the large price paid for secrets and cover ups, not just by the perpetrators but also by generations before and after them. Ms. Connors has written a novel for anyone who likes family and relationship stories that are emotional, complex, and altogether satisfying."………George Weinstein, author of Hardscrabble Road and The Five Destinies of Carlos Moreno 
 

With extraordinary deft, Valerie Joan Connors explores how we take responsibility for our actions and their consequences.  In Meredith Springfield, Connors has created a woman who discovers truths about her own relationships and the consequences of her actions and how close her life has comes to mirror her mother's.  We follow Meredith on her journey along roads her mother traveled with all their twists and turns and nests of lies and secrets.  Shadow of a Smile has layer on layer of emotion, anger and pity, joy and sadness--interwoven, juxtaposed, and "back to back"…………………Rona Simmons, author of The Quiet Room 
 

"Valerie Connors has a distinctive voice. Each scene is filled with secrets and longing. Each character is brave and steady and real." …..Nicki Salcedo, Author of All Beautiful Things

About The Author:

Valerie Joan Connors is the author of three novels, and the current president of the Atlanta Writers Club. Her second book and first traditionally published novel, In Her Keeping, was released in August of 2013 by Bell Bridge Books. Valerie's first novel, Give Me Liberty, is a historical story set in New York just after World War II, and was self-published in 2010.

During business hours, she's the CFO of an architecture, engineering and interior design firm. Valerie lives in Atlanta with her husband and two dogs, Coco and Ginger.

Links:  Author's Web,  Author's Facebook Page , Author's Amazon Page ,
Buy On Amazon

Twitter: @VJConnors
 

Author Jackie Bouchard - My Cover Model’s a Dog!

 

 

Jackie and Rita, a Shephard/Beagle Mix found on Rosarito Beach

and adopted from Baja Animal Sanctuary.

 

 

One of the things I like best about being self-published is that I have total control over choices for my book - pricing, layout, covers, etc. Yes, I'm a little bit of a control freak. (A little bit? - editor's note from the hubs. **Hey, who let him in here?**)

One of my favorite things to have control over is the cover. I love my covers, and part of the reason that I love them is because of the special pups on them. If I was published by a traditional publisher, there might be a stock photo of some equally lovely pup on my books - but I wouldn't know (and love!) that dog, so it just wouldn't be the same.

Today, I thought I'd tell you a little bit about those special pups on my covers.

First up is Charley, playing the role of "Kona", for my debut novel, WHAT THE DOG ATE.

Back when I wrote WTDA, I didn't know any chocolate Labs. I had previously known Labs and Lab-mixes, so when I needed a dog for the story who would be the type to eat everything in sight, well, I knew Labs were the breed I had to go with!

A while after the book was written, I met Charley's mom online. We were both in a couple of different online support groups for dogs who'd lost a leg and who had bone cancer. My dog, Abby, and Charley had their amputations one day apart, and they were both way too young to have bone cancer (Charley was 2 1/2, Abby was a measly 15 months!), so they became "amp buddies."

When I was getting ready to publish WTDA, I asked Charley's mom if she might happen to have a picture of him licking his lips -- and she came through Big Time, with this fabulous photo! It couldn't have been any more perfect!

 

 

Charley
 

It's a great honor to have Charley on the cover of my book, since he's a bone cancer super hero! He's still going 3 1/2 years after his amputation! You can read more about Charley and his journey at: http://chocolatekisses.tripawds.com

That brings us to Abby... My beautiful angel plays the part of Maybe on the cover of RESCUE ME, MAYBE. She had to be on the cover, since I wrote the book as an homage to her. It's a fictionalized version of Abby, but dropped in to another dog-mom's life. (Cuz *my* life is way too boring for a book!)

 

 

Abby
 

The basic idea for the book came from how Abby changed me. When we had our first dog Bailey, I used to say she was a "cat in a beagle suit." She didn’t care about meeting new people or other dogs. She liked other people when she did meet them, but she didn’t go out of her way. As for dogs, she didn’t like them, so we'd steer clear on walks. And that suited me fine, because I’m shy about meeting people anyway. But when we got Abby, she LOVED everyone and wanted to go meet everyone! I was suddenly having to stop and chat with neighbors I’d never talked to before, because Abby would drag me, wiggling and happy, over to meet them. I also read an essay by a self-described “ol’ meanie” who got a super adorable dog and he wrote about how that irresistible pup forced him to interact with – and be friendly to – other people. I thought it would be interesting to write about a character who was changed by the dog she rescues.

Unfortunately, Abby didn't fair as well in the fight against bone cancer as Charley did. She may not have had a great quantity of life, but she had a great quality life! And she taught us so much about dealing with adversity. We sure miss that beautiful girl!

Now... I don't want to give anything away about my books, but I promise the endings are always going to be happy and hopeful. No Dead Dogs at the end!

Even though Abby's no longer with us, she lives on in the book - and in our hearts. I love it when reviews of the book mentioned that they loved the dog, since it's like they got to know our girl.

My books are about dog-moms and the dogs who change them. If you've ever loved a furry family member, I think you'll enjoy them!

 

About Jackie :

 

 

Jackie and Rita like to read together.

Jackie Bouchard was trapped in the hamster-wheel of corporate America for much longer than her sanity would say was good for her. She escaped and now writes humorous women's fiction. American Jackie, her Canadian hubby, and her Mexican rescue mutt, Rita, form their own little United Nations. They live happily (hopefully ever after) in San Diego.

 

 

The Books:

 

 

Buy On Amazon and Kindle

The vet handed Maggie Baxter a plastic specimen bag containing a pair of size-tiny lavender thong panties extracted from her dog; but they were not hers. Or rather, they were hers now since she'd just paid $734 to have Dr. Carter surgically remove them from Kona's gut. This is how Maggie Baxter, a practical, rule-following accountant, discovers that her husband of seventeen years is cheating on her.  A  funny, tender story of mending a broken heart and finding love and a new life right under your nose, with woman's best friend at your side.
 

 

 

Buy On Amazon and Kindle

 

If you lost both your spouse and your dog to cancer within weeks of each other, but you were sadder about the dog, would you tell anyone? Maybe your closest friends. Unfortunately, Jane Bailey's closest friends are on the other side of the country. That's where Jane plans to go now that she's free to leave Philadelphia, the too cold, beachless, street taco-deficient city her husband dragged her to six years ago. But with no job prospects in her hometown of San Diego, Jane is roped into helping out temporarily at her uncle's southwestern small-town B&B. En route to her new role as innkeeper and breakfast chef, she finds a stray at a rest stop. With her heart in pieces from the loss of her dog, she's determined not to let this mutt worm its way into her affections. She's also determined to have next-to-no interaction with the B&B's irritating guests, and the even more annoying handyman who lives next door. Can Jane keep her sanity--and her secret that she's not really a grieving widow--while trying to achieve her dream of getting back to the place she thinks is home?
 

 

Links:

 

Web

 

Blog Pooch Smooches

 

Facebook

 

Twitter @JackieBouchard  

 

Goodreads 

 

What The Dog Ate:  Amazon ,  Barnes&Noble

 

Rescue Me, Maybe:  Amazon,  Barnes&Noble