A dog named Blueberry…and a wonderful romantic suspense novel by Terri Reed!

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

Today’s blog guest:  author  Terri Reed!

This is our dog Blueberry.
When we were looking for a family dog we researched breeds and were amazed by how many types of dogs are available.  There are so many dogs that make great family pets.  It was hard deciding but we finally chose an Australian Shepherd.  Or rather she chose us.
We found a breeder near the Oregon coast and went to visit, not intending to come home with a dog but just see what they were like and ask questions.   So we arrived at The Neely Ranch telling the kids we’re only looking. Yeah, right.
There were eight cute little balls of fur waiting for a home.
The owner talked with us for a few minutes, asking general polite questions, watching the way we all interacted before opening the pen door and scooping up the biggest, fluffiest, blue merle pup.  She handed the pup to me, saying, “This is the little girl for you.”
Oh, my.  The puppy snuggled into the crook of my neck under my hair and went to sleep. That was it.  I was lost.
The breeder cocked her head and said, “I knew she’d like you.  She hasn’t cuddled like that with anyone else.”
“We’re taking her home,” I said to my husband.
The kids cheered.  My husband smiled.  And we had a new puppy.  That was eleven years ago.

And here’s Terri’s latest book!

THE SECRET HEIRESS
Love Inspired Suspense
January, 2012

A Shocking Revelation….
Finding out she is heir to a fortune shocks Caroline Tully to her core.  And to “qualify” for the inheritance, she just has to visit her newfound grandfather’s Mississippi home from Christmas to New Year’s.  Adopted as a baby, Caroline knows nothing about her mother’s family…and doesn’t realize they can’t be trusted.  When attempts are made on her life, there’s only one man who can protect her.  Donovan Cavanaugh—a man who made her lonely heart want to love again.  Posing as her fiancé, Don promises to find the would-be killer.  But will his protection-and his love-be enough to keep her safe?

Love Inspired series: Protection Specialists:  Guarding the innocent.

The book is available in bookstores everywhere, as well as christianbook.com, harlequin.com, barnesandnoble,com, and amazon.com

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Vickie Taylor…. scratched and dented pets!

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

Author Vickie Taylor, here….

I was out looking at used trucks recently. I don’t need anything fancy, just something sturdy and reliable to haul hay and such around my farm. I finally found a nice Ford. It had some dings and scrapes, but the engine purred like a big cat.

That experience got me thinking about my cat, B.J. I adopted B.J. from the Humane Society of North Texas a year or two ago. At the time, I was volunteering with the shelter, and B.J. had been there too long. She was actually causing turmoil among the staff as they couldn’t decide what to do with her. She didn’t seem adoptable—she was old, had a mangled ear, a crooked leg, and her whole back end seemed somewhat out of kilter. But she was friendly and loving and so they kept trying to find her a family. I already had two cats. I wasn’t looking for another, but I took B.J. home (more to keep my friends from having to make a difficult decision than anything else).

Much to my surprise, B.J. has turned out to be the most amazing cat I’ve ever owned. Unlike most cats, who expect their owners to come to them, B.J. comes running when called. She sleeps next to me on the couch all day while I write, but is careful to keep her head and paws off the keyboard so she doesn’t interfere with my typing. She perches on my bureau and watches over me at night.

Much like my truck, she’s not showroom perfect, but she’s sturdy and dependable. My scratched and dented pet is the best pet ever.

Coming to Amazon a few days from now (mid-January, 2012) from bestselling author Vickie Taylor, a fantasy romance novella: Mother Nature & Father Time, A love (and hate) story.

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Lyn’s Cote’s Northern Lights series & the digital age

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

Lyn Cote’s Story Behind the Story:  Why I went digital with my “Northern Intrigue” series.

When an author signs a contract with a publisher, the author licenses the publisher to produce the book for a set period of years. When Tyndale House Publishers gave me back the rights to my Northern Lights series and it went out of print, I didn’t think much about it–until Kindle and then the Nook took off.  I thought, why not self-publish?

At first I thought I would simply re-format the books for Kindle and Nook, but since writing them, I’ve written over thirty more books. When I looked over the pages of the originals, I realized that I like how I write better now.  PLUS, technology (ie cell phones, etc) has changed so much that the books needed updating. When an author writes a story, it feels like her child, and I want my children to look their best as I send them out into the world.  So I worked my way through each book, revising and updating. Time-consuming, challenging, but very satisfying work.  So here are my babies–all spruced up and ready for readers!

I’ve priced Winter’s Secret at only 2.99 and the upcoming Autumn’s Shadow and Summer’s End will be for a limited time only available for free and then at 2.99 also. If you don’t have an ereader, you can find these books on Amazon, and from those pages you can download free software so they can be  read on a computer. Or you can join the digital wave and buy a Kindle or Nook or Ipad. Your choice. 🙂 ~~Lyn Cote

WINTER’S SECRET
Romance and mystery in a small Wisconsin town during a record-breaking snowy winter. Tensions run high as more break-ins occur and family members interfere between Sheriff Rodd Durand and nurse Wendy Carey. Can the sheriff nab the “Weasel” before someone–maybe the sheriff himself–gets hurt badly or killed? And can he win the heart of the pretty nurse with the tender heart?

Reviews:
“Lyn Cote has the ability to write about a snowstorm with such delicious description that I can get shivers in the middle of August. In Winter’s Secret, she portrays a small Wisconsin town filled with characters of depth and substance, while leading us deeper into their collective past.” Hannah Alexander, award-winning author

4 Star Romantic Times  Magazine Rating
Winter’s Secret, book one in the Northern Intrigue series, is an excellent suspense story with a good hook and an interesting twist sure to hold a reader’s interest. Ms. Cote continues to hone her craft and gain fans. Reviewed By: Bev Huston

The “Northern Intrigue” series includes:   1.Winter’s Secret,  2. Autumn’s Shadow,  3. Summer’s End  Purchase Link http://booksbylyncote.com/SWBS/books/love-inspired-suspense

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Guide Dogs, and Lisa Mondello’s new book “The More I See”

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

Hello from Lisa Mondello!  Thank you so much for stopping by today and a big thank you to Roxanne for having me.

Using pets as characters in books is such a cool idea.  I do it all the time simply because your hero and heroine will act different around a pet, say things to them, confide in them, or simply act goofy.  Pets can bring comic relief to a story that has a lot of emotion.  Or they can tug at the heartstrings.

I have use pets in my stories quiet a bit.  In ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU, I had a very spirited Saint Bernard that caused all kinds of problems for the hero.  In THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT, I had an injured stray dog that the hero was compelled to help.  And of course, in my upcoming TEXAS HEARTS series, I have lots of horses and one particular dog that tugged at MY heart.

In THE MORE I SEE, the hero, Cody Gentry, becomes blind after a freak accident.  The proud cutting horse training can no longer run his ranch or work with horses.  He’s been reduced to counting steps from the house to a chair on the patio.  Enter the Allyssandra Orchid McElhannon, the Plain Jane woman with a love for her guide dogs and Cody’s world turns upside down.

The guide dog I used in THE MORE I SEE, which will soon be part of a Box Set for the Texas Heart series as well as available as a standalone book, was based on a real guide dog one of my dear friends had.  My friend Diane was blind for about 8 years.  She was determined not to sit in a chair in her house and immediately started working with this beautiful and soulful guide dog named Otis.  I’ve always been amazed by the control and the loyalty of a service animal.  They’re such special creatures!

Here’s a blurb about THE MORE I SEE:

As a top-notch cutting horse trainer, Cody Gentry was riding high until he lost his eyesight after a freak chemical accident.Unable to see the hand in front of his face,never mind the horse or cattle he trained, he knows his life is over and slips deep into depression.His whole future hinges on the success of an eye surgery that could give him his old life back.

When guide dog trainer, Lyssa McElhannon, arrives on his ranch like Florence Nightingale coming to save him, he wants no part of her or her guide dog. But something about Lyssa’s musical laugh coupled with her tenacity digs under his skin and won’t let go. Having been blind most of her life, Lyssa understands the paralyzing fear Cody feels after losing his vision.But she refuses to let the stubborn cowboy waste his life away sitting in a chair when she knows firsthand that a good guide dog can change his world. She just needs one month to prove it to him.

Falling in love with Cody was not part of Lyssa’s plan, nor was having him open her eyes to see that there was a whole lot of living she’d been missing out on.

Please be on the lookout for my TEXAS HEARTS series Box Set and my FATE WITH A HELPING HAND Box Set, both of which will be published in the coming weeks.   The Texas Hearts series is available in hardcover right now.  By the end of the month they will be available as ebooks for Kindle and Nook.  The Fate with a Helping Hand series is available right now.   You can find these books by searching the author’s name at Barnesandnoble.com and at  Amazon, or at:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_tc_2_0?rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3ALisa+Mondello&keywords=Lisa+Mondello&ie=UTF8&qid=1326205483&sr=8-2-ent&field-contributor_id=B001KHOG3Y

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s?keyword=lisa+mondello&store=allproducts&page=%2Findex.asp&prod=univ&pos=&box=

Lisa Mondello
The Knight and Maggie’s Baby Book 3 (Fate with a Helping Hand) 9/11
The Marriage Contract Book 2 (Fate with a Helping Hand) 9/11
All I Want for Christmas is You Book 1 (Fate with a Helping Hand) 9/11 99 Cent Download! http://www.lisamondello.blogspot.com

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Sunrise glory….and sundowner syndrome…in dogs?

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

I love living on a hill in the country, where we have a beautiful view of the sky from dawn to dusk.  This morning, while heading out to the mailbox for the newspaper, I was momentarily awestruck by the sunrise–then raced back into the house for my camera. The photo is of the farm down the road–Forest Grove Farm–and one of their horses.  Sunrise, sunset–the glories of the heavens sometimes leave me speechless with wonder. Over the past four months I’ve been seeing a lot more sunrises than I ever have before, thanks to Harold.

Harold is one of our border collies.  At  thirteen, he is sometimes incontinent at night, and he yelps all night long. When  we check on him, he’s relaxed and laying on his dog bed, yet he’s looking at the wall, yelping.  On, and on, and on.

His labwork is fine, he shows no sign of pain anywhere, his latest xrays showed no tumors.  The vet says his endless, senseless yelping is likely a symptom of senile dementia. Would this be like sundowner syndrome in people?  Whatever it is, it’s not easy sleeping at night around here, and by five in the morning, I begin weighing the odds.  If I linger a little longer, hoping for a few more winks of sleep, will I have a floor to clean?

It’s not easy, with an  older pet.   But as my husband says, what do you do? Put him down because its more convenient, when he has been such a good, sweet dog all these years?  Of course not.  So, we have baby gates all over to keep him off the carpets,  and he is given Harmonease–a doggie psych med to ease his confusion and stress.

What experiences have you had with older pets, and how did you handle them?

Best wishes to everyone for a wonderful New Year!

Roxanne

(if you are reading this on Goodreads or Facebook, come on over to the All Creatures Great and Small Blog at www.roxannerustand.com and say howdy!)

 

 

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Happy Holidays!

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

Happy holidays!  I hope you were with family or friends for Christmas, and wish for you a safe and enjoyable New Year’s weekend.

I know many of you are in warmer climates, and I’ve always wondered what the holidays would be like with balmy warm weather and bright sunshine, year after year!  My husband and I live out in the country in the Upper Midwest,  on an acreage with our horses, dogs and cats,  and we’ve usually got snow on the ground by Thanksgiving–sometimes even by Halloween.  I adore heavy snowfalls and sitting by the fire with a cup of cocoa and a good novel while a heavy blanket of white builds up on the trees outside.  The silence of it–the incredible beauty–just takes my breath away.  Of course, when it’s time to go out to do my horse chores or help clear the driveway and I’m bundled up like a version of the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man (anyone remember the movie Ghost Busters?) then maybe it isn’t quite as fun!  This year, though, we had a bare Christmas and there’s still no snow in sight.

What are your favorite Christmas memories?  I would so love to hear them!  I guess my own favorite, hands down, was the Christmas Eve when our son Brian was born unexpectedly early.  His brother wasn’t quite as excited, though, at finding Christmas and Santa were delayed because of a baby!   Do any of you have Christmas birthdays?  Christmas Eve can be tough, because you can never have a big party on the actual date, and with the hectic schedule of that day– with a big late afternoon dinner to prepare, a crowd of relatives coming and going, evening church and then opening Christmas gifts afterwards–making the day truly special for the birthday child isn’t easy.  We often celebrated his birthday a week early when he was younger, but still….

Not long ago, I told Brian that I was sorry that he didn’t have a special day all his own, but he said “I have the best birthday I could ever have–because I’ll always be with family to celebrate, and that means more than anything.”

I feel so blessed, to have my family around me throughout this holiday season, and because another year has passed with all of us in good health.  And I feel so blessed to have had another year of doing the things I love most–enjoying the beautiful countryside on our horses, writing my books, pursuing my dreams.  During the past thirteen months I had seven books out.  The last one, Duty to Protect, was released a few weeks ago.  I woner what 2012 will bring?

My wish for all of you is that your holidays are happy and that you have a wonderful, successful and joyous New Year.

Peace to you all,
Roxanne Rustand
www.roxannerustand.om (The All Creatures Great and Small Blog)

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Kylie Brant, SEAL OF MY DREAMS, and one very curious dog!

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

Award winning author Kylie Brant writes…

I think dogs sense special events happening around them.  Maybe it’s the bustle of the preparations, but Lexie, our Polish Lowland Sheepdog, always knows when we’re preparing to go away on a trip.  She’s been known to plop down in a suitcase I’m in the middle of packing.  And she’d definitely put my bag over the weight limit!

But her favorite time of year must be Christmas.  It brings out behaviors she doesn’t exhibit the rest of the year.  Maybe because it was Christmas years ago that first started her ravenous appetite for sweets.

Chocolate is supposed to be bad for dogs, but it’s never done her any harm.  Which is fortunate, since she seems to sniff it out every holiday.  I can’t count the number of times she’s found and devoured multiple bags of small candy bars before they could make it to the stockings.  Once December hits, she starts her holiday scavenging.  She makes daily pilgrimages through all the bedrooms in search of the one I’m hiding the candy in.  And if I’m lax enough to set grocery bags down while I shut the front door, she’s pawing through all of them in search of her favorite treat.

So knowing the lengths she’ll go for chocolate, I’ve learned to place it far out of her reach.  But who knew she’d develop an equal love for candy canes?

Last week I had two boxes of Starburst candy canes, a favorite of my kids.  (And mine, too, I must admit!)  They’re individually wrapped, and the boxes are sealed in cellophane…there’s no way any smell can emanate from them.  So how did she know they were in my closet, hidden behind my boots?

I came home from work to discover one empty box, another with a lone candy cane left, and a few pieces of wrappers on the floor.  Lexie was sleeping angelically (ha!) on her bed on the landing of the stairs.  Upon closer inspection, however, I found bits of candy cane in her beard.  No amount of doggy denials could convince me that she wasn’t the culprit!

My kids rushed to her defense, of course.  They insist that she was framed.  That a candy cane burglar actually snuck into the house, snarfed down most of the candy canes and then sprinkled shards in her fur to make her look guilty.  The lawyer in the family is throwing around phrases like ‘reasonable doubt’, ‘wrongful incrimination’ and ‘alleged misdeeds’.  Leave it to sly Lexie to arm herself with a good defense attorney.  If she makes another pass at the candy this year, she’s going to need one!

Kylie Brant is the author of the acclaimed THE MINDHUNTERS series, including DEADLY DREAMS, DEADLY INTENT, WAKING THE DEAD, WAKING EVIL and WALKING NIGHTMARE for Berkley Sensation.

She is also a co-author of a brand new book you shouldn’t miss: SEAL OF MY DREAMS, which was released in November.

It’s an anthology of romantic suspense stories by eighteen top authors, and it was published for a wonderful cause.

Be sure to read the flyer here and take time to order a copy–or two or three.  What a great, last minute gift!

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James Scott Bell…and “A Writer’s Wonderland”

Roxanne Rustand Posted on by

Here’s a holiday departure from my usual animal and country life blog theme! When I first saw this today, I found myself singing along, to the tune of “Winter  Wonderland”…twice…and the tune has been stuck in my head ever since.  It’s so much fun!  James Scott Bell  has graciously allowed it to be shared, with appropriate credit.  Please keep reading on to the bottom as well–I absolutely love his books on writing and I’ve shared those titles below–perhaps in time for your own Christmas shopping?  Merry Christmas! 🙂

Oh–and in case you’re wondering, “Colleen” refers to his friend, the wonderful inspirational novel author Colleen Coble.  if you haven’t read novels by either of them, hurry to put their books on your Christmas wishlist.  They are both amazing authors!

Writer’s Wonderland
by James Scott Bell
(with apologies to Felix Bernard and Richard B. Smith)

Keyboards clack, are you listenin’?
Metaphors, they are glistenin’
A beautiful phrase
A plot like a maze
Typing in a Writer’s Wonderland

Scenes that move, twist and turny
Heroes go on their journey
With allies and foes
In a theme that you chose
Typing in a Writer’s Wonderland

In a coffee house you’ll write an ending
A final battle tying up loose threads
You’ll get so engrossed inside your ending
Folks will think that you forgot your meds

Later on, you’ll conspire
As you write by the fire
To prep an old book
For the Kindle and Nook
Typing in a Writer’s Wonderland

Then one day you’ll get your edit letter
Telling you your story’s just routine
You’ll be tempted to rip up that letter
Unless you happen to be with Colleen.

Soon enough there’s your new book
And you know it’s a true book
Put stars in your eyes
Baby, this is your prize
For typing in a Writer’s Wonderland

—
James Scott Bell
“The Suspense Never Rests”
www.JamesScottBell. com
www.killzoneauthors .blogspot. com
twitter.com/ jamesscottbell

James Scott Bell writes amazing novels and has written equally fantastic  books on the process of writing. My copies of Plot & Structure and Revision & Self Editing have been highlighted and marked up extensively, because I found them packed with great advice.  I just downloaded Writing Fiction this week, and look forward to reading it as well.  If you are a writer–either published or still aspiring for a first sale, I couldn’t recommend these books more highly!  All of them are available on Amazon.

 

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