By guest blogger Patricia Johns

I’ve always been a bird person. Not the bird watching type, but the bird petting and snuggling type. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a bird for a pet.

A writer’s life is a solitary one, and having my two birds sharing the room with me makes everything a lot more cheerful. They are budgies–on the small side, too!–and they are quite tame and will sit on my finger. Together. They like to be side by side, no matter what they’re doing, and when I get one onto my finger, the other one will hop up, too, and they’ll consent to be told how very pretty they are.

They know their names, and they’ll obey commands like, “Coco, get down!” when she flies up to the curtain rod where she isn’t allowed to sit. Little Blue has learned the word “bath” in the same way a dog learns the word “vet.” For the longest time, Little Blue wouldn’t properly preen his tail, and so I’d have to give it a rinse under the tap, and he just hated it. So even now, months after he’s started properly caring for his own tail, he still flies away from me at the mention of the dreaded B-word.

I like the companionship. I write better with some company in the room with me, and it’s a pleasant break when one of them starts to chatter at me from across the room, their way of getting my attention for something they want. They might want the door open, or their treat picked up from the bottom of the cage, but they’ll snark way at me until I get it right, and then I get a chirp of thanks and they settle onto whatever they’d been hankering for. I’m well-trained. 😉

I’m married with a school-aged child, but my birds fill a very special part of my heart. Any pet person knows what I mean when I say this. When I write, they are right there, keeping me company, demanding I pick up their treats, and just making me happy. It’s an honor to be their friend.

Here is a link to Patricia’s new book!    A Firefighter’s Promise (Love Inspired)

A FIREFIGHTER’S PROMISE
Love Inspired
By Patricia Johns

When the baby he rescued seven years ago returns—with his widowed adoptive mom—Deputy Fire Chief Matt Bailey can’t turn them away. Desperate to escape the reminders of his failure in the line of duty, Matt is close to leaving town. But one look at Rachel Carter and her son, Christopher, has him second-guessing his plans. Rachel is a mom in need of a hero for her son. But as much as she wants the two to bond, she’s determined to keep her distance from Matt. After losing her husband on the job, she promised never to love another fireman. Yet somehow she finds herself drawn to the one man she should avoid.

http://patriciajohnsromance.com