Blog - Page 2 of 26 - Roxanne Rustand

A Writer’s Life…with Budgies! by Patricia Johns

Posted on May 6, 2015 by RoxanneSeptember 23, 2020

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

Author Dana R. Lynn….and Unusual Pets!

Posted on April 21, 2015 by RoxanneSeptember 23, 2020

I have always loved animals. Growing up, my family always had several cats and a dog. So when I moved out on my own, it was only natural that I would have a pet. A cat. And after I got married, we added a dog.

What I never expected was how my pet population would explode once the kids came. Cats. Dogs. Chickens. Rabbits. A horse named Misty. For the most part, I was fine with this. We have land, so why not. What I never expected, however, were the rats.

Yes, you read that right. Rats.

Here’s how it happened. When my daughter was nearing the end of her sixth grade year, her teacher decided to hold a drawing for the rats kept in the science class. Any child who wanted to be included in the drawing needed their parents to sign a permission slip. So my daughter came to me with her best pleading expression on her face.

I said what any self-respecting mother would say.

“Ask your father.”

Now, I knew my husband would say no. He had said numerous times we had too many animals. Therefore, I wasn’t concerned when my daughter immediately picked up the phone to call him at work.

Until he said yes.

What?

My satisfied daughter handed me the phone. “Did you really just tell her she could put her name in for a rat?”

“Relax, honey. She’ll put her name in the drawing, but there’ll be so many kids who want the rats, her name won’t be picked.”

Her name was the first name picked.

And so we became the proud owner of a cute little albino rat named Nevaeh. I actually liked her. She was a sweet little rat. Unfortunately, as is the case with lab rats, she didn’t live long. This time, when my daughter came to me and asked if she could get a new rat, I drove her to the pet store myself. We are now on rats five and six.

I’m holding off on the goats, though.

What about you? What are some of your unexpected experiences with pets? Comment on this post to win a copy of Presumed Guilty, my new release from Love Inspired Suspense.

Here is link so you can find Dana’s book on Amazon: Presumed Guilty (Love Inspired Suspense)

Presumed Guilty
Dana R. Lynn
Love Inspired

The April, 2015 edition of RT Bookreviews Magazine, Leslie L. McFee gave Presumed Guilty a 4 star rating. “This is an exciting debut from a promising storyteller. The pace and plotting are ideal for reader engagement, and those readers will anxiously await a sequel.”

“I’m innocent.”
After four years in prison for a crime she didn’t commit, Melanie Swanson’s finally free. Yet starting over brings a heavy load of challenges.

Nearly everyone believes she’s guilty- including police lieutenant Jace Tucker. Jace’s certainty cracks only when Melanie is repeatedly attacked, and when the people around her are picked off one by one. Melanie’s clearly innocent, and terrified. Someone wants her dead to keep her shattered memories from recalling the crime she witnessed rather than caused. She lost her friends, her fiancé and her freedom when she was found guilty- but proving her innocence could cost Melanie her life.

A new cookbook by romance authors– just 99 cents!

Posted on February 5, 2015 by RoxanneFebruary 5, 2015

Just in time for Valentine’s Day: “Recipes of Love–Romantic Recipes by Sweet Romance Reads” by sixteen sweet romance and inspirational romance authors, for only 99 cents!

It was so much fun to contribute to this project. Lots of great recipes (four or five from each author), plus tidbits about every author, and each included a short excerpt of her current release.

Here is an Amazon link: Recipes of Love: Romantic Recipes by Sweet Romance Reads

Best wishes to all–and Happy Valentine’s Day!

Roxanne

Selling My Way…..to RWA!

Posted on February 5, 2015 by RoxanneFebruary 5, 2015

Selling my way to RWA!

There are several very large organizations for writers. One of the biggest is Romance Writers of America, which holds its conferences in July at various large cities from coast to coast. It’s educational, it provides wonderful opportunities for networking with other writers, and for meeting with one’s literary agent and editors. It’s also a chance to “give back” to writing community by offering to give workshops or by volunteering in other ways.

It’s also a way to visit other parts of the country…and this summer it’s back in New York. Be still my heart! Wonderful restaurants. Broadway shows. Incredible museums. And an exciting vibe this country girl loves in…well, smaller doses before slipping back into her office in a quiet, rural state. 🙂 Especially exciting is that my daughter, who is also a writer, will be there. We’ll stay with two of my writer friends at the conference hotel, and enjoy every minute of the conference and the big city.

But, it’s an expensive affair what with airfare, a big city hotel, restaurant meals and the conference fee.

I love consignment stores and eBay…it’s always such a treasure hunt, as you just never know what you’ll find! On the flip side of that coin, I enjoy donning my alter ego now and then, as Christiana 116, and providing that sort of experience by listing items on eBay. All of us have things we don’t really need, and apparently this form of buying and selling is very popular, as there are now many “cash from your closet” type auction sites online.

Years ago, a dear friend set a goal of going RWA based in what she saved via couponing, and she succeeded! This year, I decided to do the same, only via what I could make selling on eBay. I’d been quite inactive there for sometime. Was it even possible? Well, I’m part way to my goal, and thinning out my closets and shelves makes me feel good, too. I have had a passion for Coach, Dooney & Bourke, Fossil and Kooba for way too long! As hard as it is to let them go, sending them off to new homes so that I can go to RWA with our daughter this year is worth it!

So…do you have travel plans this year? What is your dream trip for the future?

Dachshund or cat…who’s the boss? Guest blogger Tammy Johnson

Posted on January 21, 2015 by RoxanneJanuary 21, 2015

Guest blogger Tammy Johnson

My first book cover became official just a few weeks ago and I’m anxious to share it and a little about the book with you. Royal Rescue is a story of so many things, but a huge part of the story is a woman who longs for home. Along the journey we learn a lot about what she thinks a home is. I don’t want to give too much of the story away, but there are puppies involved.

I started a Pinterest board for the story when I first began getting ideas and the puppies I imagined where furry little balls of black and white. I didn’t really want them to be purebred anything. I settled on some sort of spaniel mix. I probably picked that breed because of childhood memories of a dog my sister had. It was a Brittany spaniel named Beaner. He wandered down a country road one day and found us and was probably one of the best dogs we ever had growing up. A close second was the dachshund terrier mix we had for a while too. Strangely enough, he found us as well. I don’t remember every detail, but I remember him hiding under our house until we finally adopted him.

In my home now I have one dog, a dachshund. His very unique name is Weenie. In hindsight, we probably could have come up with something a little more original. It does sound a little funny when I’m standing on the back step hollering for him to come in. He started out as just a visitor though and somehow ended up staying for going on eight years now. I wouldn’t trade him for anything now though. He is a fixture in our family.

We have a cat as well. Believe it or not, the cat is bigger than the dog and is definitely the boss of the house. I enjoy watching them fight for furnace space on cold mornings. It’s not much of a fight though. Weenie tries to move close and the cat just gives him a look and he backs away. On rare mornings though, they do get along and actually lay together. It’s a winter morning ritual as soon as the house starts to stir they both get to their spot where they can get some heat. Together, they do make our house a home.

I’ve often thought of someday adding a friend for Weenie (other than the cat), but I can’t decide on the breed I’d want to go with. Another dachshund would be fun, but then I’ve always loved the flat faced breeds as well. Having a pug, Boston terrier, or bulldog of some sort has always been a dream of mine. I keep telling myself maybe someday.

What about you? Do you feel a pet makes a house a home and do you have a favorite breed of dog you’ve had or would love to have? What sort of dog do you think would make the best new friend for Weenie?

Here is a pre-order link for Tammy’s new book: Royal Rescue (Love Inspired Suspense)

Royal Rescue is now available for preorder on Amazon and other online retailers and will be available in early April.

Find out more about Tammy and her writing journey at www.tammyjohnson.net

Verdun, 1964: Snowflake the Military cat, by guest blogger Donn Taylor

Posted on January 16, 2015 by RoxanneJanuary 16, 2015

Snowflake: Playing Cats As Cats Can By Donn Taylor

We’d been stationed in Verdun, France, for about four months when we inherited a white tomcat named Snowflake. I say “inherited” because he’d belonged to my boss’s family (or vice versa), and they were rotating back to the States. They’d inherited him from a family that rotated a year or so before them. In their turn, they took their furniture with them, but not their cat.

So Mildred and I, with our three and soon-to-be-four children, inherited the duty. Snowflake knew exactly what he wanted and when he wanted it. When he wanted to go out, he’d go to the door and stand. If we didn’t respond, he’d give a discreet “Meow” to remind us. His vocabulary was not large, but his infinite variations in tone expressed his infinite variety of moods.

One night he’d been asleep and we forgot to put him out for the night. We were just dozing off when this ball of white fur landed in the middle of our bed with a horrendous yowl. Needless to say, we arose and obeyed his command. Each morning when he was ready to come back in, he’d be perched in the kitchen window waiting for one of his servants to show up. When we went on leave, he politely showed up in our next-door neighbor’s kitchen window.

He also had a habit of disappearing for two or three days. Then he’d return, looking like he’d been run through a blender. Once when we’d been gone for several days, we returned to find all in good order except that Snowflake was nowhere to be found. We asked our French maid where he was, and she replied with a single word: “l’amour.” Next day he reappeared in the kitchen window and all was normal again.

We’d read about and enjoyed the cat in Robert Heinlein’s sci-fi novel The Door into Summer. On the first snow of the year, Heinlein’s cat would not go outside until he’d seen that snow lay outside every door of the house and that no door opened into summer. When snow came to us in Verdun that year, Snowflake followed that example. We don’t know if he’d read Heinlein’s book, but he did refuse to go out until he’d proved that every door opened onto snow. So we resurrected that book and enjoyed it again.

When our furniture was shipped for our return to the States, we handed Snowflake over to a neighbor and moved into temporary quarters. On our final day, the neighbor reported that Snowflake had left and taken up residence in a nearby French village. We never doubted what had happened: that intelligent cat had quit wasting his time on short-lived American servants who disappeared every two years.

So he’d employed new servants among the French, who apparently had longer life spans than the Americans. We never saw Snowflake again, but fifty years later he still holds a special place in our family memories.

Here’s an Amazon link for Donn’s new book: Lightning on a Quiet Night

Lightning on a Quiet Night
by Donn Taylor
released November 3, 2014,
Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas.

Publishers Weekly’s review comment on the novel: “Taylor’s powerful historical romance is filled with passion and heart, spiced with mystery and a keen understanding of the human condition.”

In the years following World War II, a town too proud of its own virtues has to deal with its first murder. Despite the implications of this crime, the town of Beneficent, MS, population 479, tries desperately to hold onto its vain self-image. The young veteran Jack Davis holds that idyllic vision of the town and tries to share it with Lisa Kemper, newly arrived from Indiana. But she is repelled by everything in town. While the sheriff tries to find the murderer, Jack and Lisa’s contentious courtship reveals the town’s strange combination of astute perceptions and surprising blind spots. Then they stumble onto shocking discoveries about the true nature of the town. But where will these discoveries lead? To repentance? Or to denial and continuation in vanity?

About the author: Donn Taylor led an Infantry rifle platoon in the Korean War, served with Army aviation in Vietnam, and worked with air reconnaissance in Europe and Asia. Afterwards, he completed a PhD degree at The University of Texas and taught English literature at two liberal arts colleges. His published works include three suspense novels and a book of poetry. He is a frequent speaker at writers’ conferences. He lives near Houston, TX, where he writes fiction, poetry, and essays on current topics.”

A Turkey Encounter

Posted on October 29, 2014 by RoxanneOctober 29, 2014

A Turkey Encounter, by guest blogger Tammy Johnson

For nearly as long as I can remember, I’ve had a pet of some sort or another. Most days I prefer to think of them as friends versus pets. They’re always there for a hug or cuddle and know just how to listen. I think our furry and feathered friends sometimes know a lot more about unconditional love than a lot of people.

One of the first pets I remember was a green parakeet who I called Tweetie Bird. He would and talk and sing and always greeted me with a happy chirp. That was several years and pets ago, but I’ve never outgrown my soft spot for birds.

I had an interesting bird encounter just the other day. It’s just one of the many things I love about my small hometown. As inconvenient as it can be some days, I wouldn’t trade this life for anything. I was at my day job and my coworkers and I noticed three turkeys walking down the road.

Rumor has it, they’ve grown comfortable with people around town and meander from backyard to backyard being fed just like other wild birds. I’d think this would be a dangerous life with Thanksgiving coming up quickly.

This turkey spotting reminded me of a hobby I once had but haven’t done in several years. I’m not exactly sure you can call it a hobby, but I used to really enjoy feeding and watching wild birds. Someday I hope to have a special area dedicated to bird houses and feeders.

If I had a spot for it, I’d love to try to make a homemade bird feeder that I found on Pinterest the other day. It’s made from a pumpkin. I’ve been trying to think of something to do with pumpkins so I could roast the seeds.

Making a pumpkin bird feeder looks easy enough.
All it takes is hollowing out the pumpkin and filling it with your choice of seed. It is the perfect season for pumpkins right now and I’m sure the birds would love it.

It is another thing I’ve added to my someday list. For now though, I have to settle for watching the birds from my windows while I’m working on writing my next book.

Does anyone else have any quick and easy bird feeding or watching tips? Or what is your favorite bird to watch this time of year? I’d love to hear.

Bio: Faith has always held an important place in Tammy Johnson’s life. Two of her biggest dreams were being a mother and becoming a Harlequin author. After raising and homeschooling four children, her writing dream came true when she sold her first novel through the Love Inspired Suspense “Killer Voices” pitch event.

Now Tammy enjoys sharing her faith by writing stories of strong heroes and heroines who find strength in their beliefs to overcome danger and fear. She is a country girl at heart and lives in a small Kansas town with her teenage son and dachshund. Her first book, Royal Rescue will be an April, 2015 release with Love Inspired Suspense. She enjoys cloud watching and summer storms. A glass of sweet tea and a new story are never far away.
Website/Facebook
www.tammyjohnson.net
https://www.facebook.com/authortammyjohnson

Lawn mowers, Highland Cattle and the Pied Piper

Posted on October 27, 2014 by RoxanneOctober 27, 2014

At the beginning of our third lifetime, my husband and I sold our house in Denver, Colorado, and purchased a small ranch in the far NE corner of Washington State.

The area is sparsely populated, except by trees, rivers, lakes, mountains and wildlife. Having a ranch and raising livestock was on our dream list. We knew nothing about ranching, but we knew we would have to raise a special animal that wouldn’t require large rangeland. We researched and discovered Highland Cattle.

Highland cattle, also called Heilan Coos or Hairy Coos are a Scottish breed of cattle with long horns and long wavy coats of
various colors. We started our herd with two cows and their spring calves, plus one bull. They were all registered, pure bred, and we intended to raise them as breeding stock and also for beef. They are hardy and can withstand cold winters, and their meat is lean.

Our herd grew to 21 head. These are gentle cows, but they get up to 1000 pounds and (I believe) are smarter than most breeds. They have definite, unique personalities. Their eyes would get big when we caught them doing something mischievous. They loved to get out and explore the neighborhood of small ranchettes. Our electric and barbed-wire fences couldn’t hold them if they wanted out. We often got calls when we were in town, letting us know our cows were out.

We had 20 acres in hay fields, but the cows loved fresh mown grass. We had over an acre of lawn around the house. When Jim mowed on his riding lawn tractor, he dumped the grass into the pasture, so when he started the mower, they all came running to the fence.

One afternoon, there was a breakout. They were spotted in the backwoods by a neighbor. Jim tried to herd them back home on foot, but they scattered. He came home, got on his lawn tractor, and took off. About a half hour later, I spotted him coming out of the woods. As he slowly crossed our cut hay field, singing at the top of his lungs, a line of cows came single file out of the woods behind him. He looked like the Pied Piper. I don’t know about his singing, but the tractor engine was music to their ears. I ran out and opened the pasture gate, and he drove through. They followed him in without a sign of rebellion.

He rewarded them with cow candy pellets. After that, they behaved for a while. But he had discovered the magic key to bringing them back home. They never could resist following that lawn tractor.

Please leave a comment and your email or a way to contact you. I will be giving away a print copy of Heaven’s Strain to someone who leaves a comment to this blog post. Shipping only to North America.

Question: If you could raise any animal you wanted, for breeding, for pets, or for livestock, what would it be, and why?

Here is an Amazon link for Sunni’s new book! Heaven’s Strain

Heaven’s Strain
by Sunni Jeffers

Spiritual forces are at work to destroy mankind…
Dr. Ellen Larson has heard myths of fallen angels, but she has no idea they exist—or that they’re after her. She has enough on her mind–her research and her own strange DNA, which she’s kept secret since she discovered a mutation in medical school that’s never been seen before. Then the impossible happens. Two patients admitted to the University Medical Center—Rafe Zacharias and Homer Wilton–have the same genetic mutation! Without transfusions, the men will die. Ellen can’t withhold what may be their only hope: her blood. She has no choice… Her secret must come out. Unseen, a battle rages around them. A battle to bring an ancient curse to life. Ellen, Rafe and Homer are pawns in a war mankind can’t afford to lose…

“Heaven’s Strain is one amazing ride! Deception, danger, romance, a race against time, unseen forces at war…Sunni’s masterful book has it all.” Karen Ball, best-selling author of The Breaking Point

Sunni Jeffers is the award-winning author of 15 books. Her life has taken many turns, from Navy wife and mother, to business owner and office manager, to rancher—all of this in partnership with her wonderful husband of 48 years.

Now she writes as she andher husband travel the country most of the year, living in a motorhome. Visit her at www.sunnijeffers.com.

Rabbit Rescue…. and author Amanda Cabot

Posted on October 20, 2014 by RoxanneOctober 20, 2014

by guest blogger Amanda Cabot

One of the best things about where I live is the presence of rabbits. Admittedly, I spend too much of what should be writing time looking out the window at the cottontails and jackrabbits who visit the backyard, but they’re so cute that I can’t help myself. Who could resist the sight of a bunny hopping onto the deck and peering inside or a jackrabbit carefully folding its front legs so that it can fit under a shrub and shelter from the snow? Not I.

As cute as the bunnies are, they have one very bad habit. And, no, I’m not talking about the fact that they nibble the fresh shoots of most of my plants, forcing me to put wire cages around them. Their nasty habit is falling into window wells. The good news is that, even though my basement is deep, meaning that the bunnies are plummeting quite a distance, they never seem to be harmed by their falls. The bad news is that they can’t get out without human assistance. And you can imagine how reluctant they are to accept that help.

This happened often enough that my husband and I developed a routine for what we refer to as the rabbit rescues. I stay inside, talking to the bunny through the window. See what I mean about cute? My job is to encourage the bunny to hop into the rescue wagon … er, the rescue bucket. We’ve decked out one of those black plastic planters that nurseries use for shrubs with string so that it can be lowered into the window well, then hoisted out as soon as the rabbit hops inside. Of course, rabbits don’t naturally climb into strange objects, so it takes a little encouragement and a lot of patience. But eventually each one finds its way into the bucket.

Then comes the fun, a quick ride to safety for the rabbit and a sigh of relief for the humans. But sometimes the rabbit doesn’t understand what’s happening. As you can see from this picture, one was so confused that even though it was out of the window well, it thought the exit route was through the drainage holes. That gave new meaning to the term “dumb bunny.”

We have three window wells on one side of the house, and for three consecutive days last summer, we had a rabbit in one of them. Was it a dumb bunny, or did it enjoy the ride so much that it came back for more? We’ll never know. What we did know was that it was time for a new plan. Rabbit repellant to the rescue. The stench is horrible when the granules are first applied, but they seem to work, and this year only one bunny needed a ride in the bucket. Success!

What’s your opinion? If you have rabbits in your yard, do you consider them a nuisance or a delight? And have you ever had the pleasure/ challenge of conducting a rabbit rescue? If you did, I hope yours all had happy endings.

Click this Amazon link to buy Amanda’s latest book! At Bluebonnet Lake: A Novel (Texas Crossroads)

At BLUEBONNET LAKE
by Amanda Cabot
Revell Publishing

Her life is set to warp speed. His is slowing to a crawl. But love has its own timing.

Marketing maven Kate Sherwood’s world is fast-paced, challenging, and always changing. The last thing she wants to do is grind to a halt at Rainbow’s End, a dilapidated resort in the Texas Hill Country. Still, she cannot deny her ailing grandmother’s request to visit the place where she and her deceased husband spent one glorious week fifty years ago. There, Kate meets Greg, who appears to be the resort’s unassuming handyman. But there’s more to Greg than meets the eye—billions more, in fact.

Kate isn’t looking for romance, but she can’t deny the sparks of attraction that fly every time she and Greg are together. Could there be a future there? Or will Kate’s long-sought promotion take her back to the big city?

Amanda Cabot invites you to step into a place away from the pressures of the day. You might be surprised by what you find at Rainbow’s End.

Amanda Cabot is the bestselling author of more than thirty novels including the Texas Dreams trilogy, the Westward Winds series, and Christmas Roses. A former director of Information Technology, she has written everything from technical books and articles for IT professionals to mysteries for teenagers and romances for all ages. Amanda is delighted to now be a fulltime writer of Christian romances, living happily ever after with her husband in Wyoming.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
www.amandacabot.com
https://www.facebook.com/amanda.j.cabot

https://twitter.com/AmandaJoyCabot/
http://amandajoycabot.blogspot.com/

Author Miralee Ferrell and her chihuahuas

Posted on October 3, 2014 by RoxanneOctober 3, 2014

guest blogger Miralee Ferrell

All my adult life I’ve said I’d NEVER have a little dog. They yap. They’re hard to house train, and for some reason, they always seemed annoying to me. Until I visited extended family a few years ago who had a darling little dog who fell in love with me. They were looking for a new home for her and I was seriously considering it, until I researched online and found some poor qualities that typically went with the breed—and heard from the owners that the dog constantly runs away and was impossible to house train.

Yep. Exactly what I’d thought in the beginning. Scrap that idea.

But I couldn’t get away from the memory of how fun it was to cuddle and play with that little dog, and I started entertaining the idea of puppy shopping. My daughter helped, and before long we found an ad for two Chihuahua sisters, both long haired, being sold by a breeder. They were already 12 weeks old and hadn’t been placed.

We looked, and both of us fell in love with one (later to be named Bella) who was high energy and wanted attention. The other poor little thing was smaller, timid and only wanted to cower or be held and shiver. I felt sorry for her, and decided to take her if my daughter would take her sister. She agreed.

So began my journey into owning a 5 lb dog when all we’d had in the past was Shepherds, Labs, etc. I told my daughter I was worried I’d never really love little Lacey, as I didn’t think she was cute and Bella was SO much cuter.

Little did I realize how Lacey would worm her way into my heart.

She’s been with me and my husband for 4 ½ years now, and she’s my best friend. She often sits on my lap while I’m writing or is curled in her bed not far from my feet.

When my husband gets up early and I’m still in bed, he brings her back and she burrows under the covers with me for the final hour or so before I get up.

She’s brought untold joy and love to my life, and guess what…now I think she’s cuter than Bella! I included pics of when we first got them (with the stick in their mouth) and some later ones when full grown, so you can decide for yourself.

Author photo

Miralee Ferrell is the author of 11 books, with her most recent that released today, Dreaming on Daisies, book four in the Love Blossoms in Oregon series, a historical romance.

Miralee lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest on 11 acres, where she loves to ride with her daughter on trails near her home, play with her dogs, and garden with her husband of 42 years.

Here is an Amazon link for Miralee’s new book! Dreaming on Daisies: A Novel (Love Blossoms in Oregon Series)

Dreaming on Daisies
David C Cook, publisher
Release date: October 1, 2014

When her father’s debts, brought on by heavy drinking, threaten Leah Carlson’s family ranch, she fights to save it. When handsome banker Steven Harding must decline her loan request, he determines to do what he can to help. Just as he arrives to serve as a much-needed ranch hand, Leah’s family secrets—and the pain of her past—come to a head. They could destroy everything she’s fought for. And they could keep her from ever opening her heart again.

This is western historical romance that offers hope and healing to the deepest wounds in a woman’s past.

Miralee wants you to know that book one, Blowing on Dandelions is on sale right now on all ebook