Cat Treat Monday: Lizzie Starr and Noid

I have a sweet cat treat for you today: Fabulous author Lizzie Starr and the handsome and inspirational boy Noid:

photo collage by John Shaver

"Thank you, Confucius Cat, for having me here today! I'd like to share a bit about this beautiful fellow. Noid was my brother's dog (he's crossed the Rainbow Bridge) and shared my home along with the bro. Noid was half black lab, the other half the result of a fence jumping black chow named Bear. Even though he was the runt of the litter, he grew into a strong, big fellow, who had nothing but love for his people. Luckily, I was easily included in his family.

You may wonder about Noid's name...the bro worked for a pizza chain at the time and their advertising icon was 'The Noid'. In my tales, Noid is named by his young human who is learning to write. He laboriously puts down letters then ask what they spell. The closest the adults could come was Noid. (As a side note--I did this when I was little, only I named a horse Cyclops. He was a great horse.)

Have you seen the cartoon Two Stupid Dogs? I also had a miniature dachshund and Ruatha and Noid became best buddies, just like the pups in the cartoon. Noid was pleasantly slobbery and Ruie loved chasing a ball. In fact, there were times I wondered if the cartoon creators had a camera in our house!

But even more than a great friend, Noid was inspiration for a character in my fantasy romance series. In my first book By Keltic Design, Noid helps his human find a way into the Faerie Otherworld so they can join the faerie hunt. When Stephen falls in love and wishes to remain in Faerie, Noid stays with him. And becomes the brave hero many times over through the series. Sometimes I think he's the most intelligent being populating my fantasy worlds. I had a great source of inspiration!

Having an animal character gives my story people another chance to show the stuff they're made of. How they interact with an animal says so much about them--both the heroes and the villains. And a challenge to my writing skill--I had to show Noid's emotions and reactions in a realistic manner.

We miss Noid, and Ruatha who have both crossed the Rainbow Bridge, but now the household has another mini-doxi named Lessa and an aloof, tuxedo cat named Goku. And I'm pretty sure they, as well as many other past feline and canine friends, will all make it into my stories. Besides adding so much to a tale, having them on the pages to read again and again helps keep their memories in my heart."

By

Keltic Design

Allyn Keely, Celtic artist and friend of Faerie, finally finds a man she can love. But she’s older than he is and faces the insurmountable task of helping him realize his destiny in the Otherworld.

Successful businessman, Jaye Zeroun prides himself on his realistic, but lonely, view of life. Until Allyn knots her way around his heart and fills his life with a fantasy he refuses to believe. Then danger threatens their love, forcing him to either accept a deadly battle or lose the very things he never included in his life, a family and a love beyond his wildest imagining.

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0057XJX8U

Smashwords: www.smashwords.com/books/view/68513

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/by-keltic-design-lizzie-starr/1019363936

*lizzie starr's blogs: http://starrwords.blogspot.com

                                 http://creativityforhappyendings.blogspot.com

*lizzie starr is on Twitter: www.twitter.com/lizziestarr

and on Facebook; www.facebook.com/lizziestarr

Cat Treat Monday: Alicia Street and Wallace

Fantastic Cat Treat today: Alicia Street and her fascinating cat Wallace. I already knew what a great author Alicia is, but I didn't realize she had such a handsome and interesting furry one. Now let's hear from Alicia:

Thanks, Confucius, for having us as your guests today.

In the past we’ve had more than one cat, but with Wallace, well, that just isn’t allowed. He simply will not tolerate any other furry critter in his domain. He’s one of those cats who takes over and tells you what to do.

If we’re working at the computer for too long and not paying attention to him, he’ll parade in front of the screen. Or sometimes he’ll start pulling on a kitchen cabinet door, letting it slam repeatedly until we get the message.

Wallace was a lost, little stray searching for food when we took him in many years ago. Because of that he has a slight eating disorder. Wild and stray animals have to master the art of “eat and run.” So Wallace has problems with speed eating and non-stop eating.

We think that is also why he likes so many different kinds of foods. He likes pizza, tofu and lima beans and even Mexican food. That’s why Roy decided to immortalize him on a peso. (He also likes to watch Mexican boxers on HBO with Roy.)

If we leave the kitchen before he’s satisfied, he’ll chase us down and swat our legs. And when we remind him that he’ll vomit if we feed him more, Wallace goes into the front bathroom — his complaining room — and launches into some throaty chants you’d swear were coming from his five hundred pound tiger cousins in Siberia. By the way, cats can make over one hundred different kinds of vocal sounds.

Our heroine in KISS ME, DANCER has three cats that live with her in the dance studio she runs. We’ll be releasing a Book #2 in our Dance ‘n’ Luv series plus a short story later this month."

KISS ME, DANCER (Book # 1) is a roller coaster of a romance between a divorced dad and a dance teacher.

Ballet instructor Casey Richardson takes an immediate dislike to the brash, arrogant Drew Byrne when he pulls his nine-year-old son out of her “silly” dance class. Still, she cannot help noticing his smoking hot body and bedroom eyes. A working class girl raised in the small fishing and farming community on Long Island’s rural North Fork, Casey knows all too well how easily a girl can get hurt by the notorious womanizing hunks that flourish on the South Fork in the Hamptons. Men like Drew Byrne.

The last thing she needs is for him to be the only one who can save her from losing her dance academy, the dream she has worked so hard to turn into a reality.

Unlike Casey, who’s had so many failures she calls herself “Calamity” Richardson, winning comes naturally to Drew Byrne. As head of a Fortune 500 company, he enjoys his wealth and has no problem keeping it a game with some of the world’s most beautiful women. So why should his son’s challenging, straight talking dance teacher get under his skin in a way no other female has? He tells himself it is because Casey is the only one able to bring his shy, uncommunicative son out of his shell. Or is it because he has finally met his match?

Add in a stint on a hit TV dance-off series, a cozy local coffee shop, a narcissistic rock star and a protective big brother for a sexy, heartwarming and fun read.

In addition to being part of today’s Indie movement, Alicia and Roy Street are traditionally published authors. In 2009 they received a Daphne Du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. They both share backgrounds in the arts. Alicia spent years as a dancer, choreographer and teacher; Roy in theater, standup comedy and visual arts. 

HERE’S AMAZON -

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0066DU0NC

B&N nook - http://bit.ly/vn7mDm

Smashwords - http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/108417

Our website - http://aliciastreet-roystreet.com/

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/AliciaRoyStreet?sk=wall

Alicia has generously offered to give away a copy of her book. So leave a comment and you'll be entered to WiIN! Leave your email address for a contact. Thanks.

Thank you Alicia and Wallace for being here. I would love to be on money!

Cat Treat Monday: Vijaya Schartz and Jasmine

Cool Cat Treat Today: Author Vijaya Schartz and her furry baby Jasmine. Take it away Vijaya: 

"FURRY TAILS (pun intended) LEAD TO CATS IN BOOKS - by Vijaya Schartz

Cats have a way of invading our lives. It’s very difficult (for me at least) to have only one cat. After I adopted Jasmine (on the picture) from a no-kill shelter, I feared the poor thing would feel lonely when I leave the house. So I adopted a kitten from a friend author who’d discovered a feral litter in her yard. I thought little Spunky would make a good companion for Jasmine to play with. Of course, she hated the darn kitten at first sight. By the time the two learned to tolerate each other, here came a poor little orphan who desperately needed a home. We named him Bandit.

Now, I have three cats in the house. But when many homes in our neighborhood went into foreclosure, an increasing number of cats came to feed on our back porch, where we always keep water and dry food for the occasional thirsty or hungry visitor. The summers are hot in Phoenix Arizona, so water is critical. The newcomers liked the shade and the bushes of our large backyard, which constitute a cool jungle. They feel safe there, in the company of other cats. And so, the number of feline visitors increased... and increased... to about fifteen.

Unfortunately, most of these cats, by the time they found our backyard, were weary of people and behaved more like feral than tamed. At first, most were fixed, and some even declawed, but soon the females attracted tom cats with a very healthy libido. One of these tom cats belonged to a known and uncooperative neighbor. The feral males we couldn’t catch to have them fixed, and that was a problem... a growing problem.

The next spring we discovered three litters of new kittens almost two months old, that the mothers had carefully kept hidden in the chicken pen and in the wood pile. The mothers had taken good care of them. When these kittens showed up on our back porch, Jasmine, the queen of the house, grew very upset. She hated the little upstarts who gamboled and chased butterflies on the other side of the window. Invaders had requisitioned her backyard. We quickly found homes for the kittens, and our little sanctuary seems to have found a harmonious balance, but we keep getting new litters... so if you are looking for a cat...

Now you understand why I have cats in my stories. Sometimes they are house pets, sometimes savage man killers, even alien feline monsters. You may have noticed the covers of my CHRONICLES OF KASSOUK series, with all the feline heads. WHITE TIGER won an award for the best eBook cover of 2009. In that series, a group of humans marooned on a far away planet have grown into a society that keeps large felines as pets and train them for warfare. The books are WHITE TIGER (Book One), RED LEOPARD (Book Two), BLACK JAGUAR (Book Three), and BLUE LIONESS (Book Four). The prequel, NOAH’S ARK, the story of how it all began, is scheduled for release on April 1, 2012. Each book can be read separately, but it’s more interesting to read them in the right order.

A few of these books won awards, along with their felines. The Leopard in Red Leopard won the best animal character award in 2010 for bravery and loyalty.

Here is what the latest book, is about:

BLUE LIONESS - Chronicles of Kassouk Book Four

In the face of Human slavery, Black Sword Captain Ariela of Kassouk must do the unthinkable. Rebel against the Mutant regime. But she cannot do it alone.

Ariela suspects the king’s death is no accident. And the tyrant who usurped the throne looks guilty as hell. As leader of the Human rebellion against the Mutant rulers, Ariela is desperate for help, and Lord Starro, the handsome Crown Prince of the Star Children, offers the technology the Human faction lacks. But can Ariela trust a spoiled, arrogant foreign prince who never fought a battle, and thinks he is destined to rule the universe? Is she trading one tyrant for another? No matter how kind, handsome, or fascinating, Starro has frightening mental abilities. And this alliance is not safe, especially for Ariela’s heart.

Blue Lioness REVIEWS:

"Wow! Talk about a real page turner! I absolutely Adored Blue Lioness. Ms. Schartz is an incredible storyteller with a very big imagination...The world building is so imaginative in this story that it just kept me turning the pages late into the night, because I was desperate to see what happened next and to see if Ariela and Starro were going to get their happy ending. If you love science fiction romance with stellar world building, and a beautiful love story, oh, and sentient big cats, then you do not want to miss this one. I for one am going to go out and buy the rest of the books in this series, and I encourage you to do so as well, Ms. Schartz is not to be missed!" - Coffee Time Romance

"Ms. Schartz's new book Blue Lioness is a fast paced and compelling story that held me spellbound from the start. I for one can't wait to read Noah's Ark, the next book in the Chronicles of Kassouk series." Fallen Angels Review (5 angels)

"Blue Lioness rips along at a great pace, and keeps you scrolling through pages on your e-reader, as fast as you can. Although it is part of a series, this one stands alone very well. Schartz has a very active imagination, reminiscent of JD Robb’s 2060 way of life." Manic Readers - 4½ stars

If you leave a comment, you’ll get a chance to win a pdf copy of the book of your choice in the CHRONICLES OF KASSOUK series. So please leave a comment and good luck.

*CC note: Very generous giveaway. Thank you Vijaya. The series looks fantastic! I'm going to go now and check it out!

Oh and you can find all my books in kindle, most of them in nook, and at All Romance eBooks and a few at Smashwords. Just follow the links under my signature line.

Vijaya Schartz
Blasters, Guns, Swords, Romance with a kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com  

Vijaya's books at Amazon.com:
https://www.amazon.com/author/vijayaschartz

Vijaya's eBooks at ARe:
http://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html?searchBy=author&qString=Vijaya+Schartz

Vijaya's nooks at:
http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?WRD=vijaya+schartz&STORE=EBOOK&SZE=100&SRT=SA

Vijaya's books at Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=Schartz

Cat Treat Monday: Linda Andrews, Peaches and Bear

Hi all, Today I have a fantastic cat treat for you: Linda Andrews and her furry babies Bear and Peaches. I always knew Linda was a fantastic author but now you'll see what a great human she is. Take it away Linda.

"People don't own cats. Cats own people, if you're deemed worthy, that is. I am happy to be the caregiver of 4 cats and the protector of one very large, very scared dog. We all get along mostly well, until the dog decides he wants to play with one of his smaller siblings. The sibs don't appreciate a 80 pound beastie charging after them or slobbering on them, so they cry out and low and behold soon the dog is trapped under the table with four cats growling at him.

Fortunately, all the animals like to sleep A LOT so it doesn't happen as often as it could.

While I could talk about the pets antics for a long, long time I thought I'd just introduce you to Peaches. Technically, Peachy belongs to my daughter but she has set herself up as the alpha cat in the house. She is the only animal in our house that was purchased and maybe that makes her the most normal. In case, you were wondering--our other animals including the fish were rescued--one from being crushed by a forklift at my husband's work, two from being coyote kibble after their mother was eaten (they were 1 1/2 weeks old) and one was given away after the owners moved out leaving the pregnant mother locked in the back yard. The fish came from a neighbor whose tank started leaking.

Now back to Peaches.

She is the only cat I know that comes when you call her. And she does love my daughter, preferring to sleep on her bed. Of course, my daughter also dressed the cat in a ballerina tutu and pushed her around in a doll stroller for the first two years of her life. They are both 9 years older, so that rarely happens anymore.

But aside from my daughter, I am Peaches preferred companion. (Which irritates the dog as he thinks I am his property.)

Peaches likes to sit behind me when I'm on the couch, takes a nap on my hip when I nap and plumps my belly to see if I'm soft enough to curl up on when it is cold. She also loves to groom those in her pride. If she sits behind you and you don't offer up an arm for her to sample, she'll bite your head. Not fun. Ask my dad, he's bald. After a few licks, she hunkers down and keeps an eye on the other lesser animals of the house. Which is pretty much everyone except me.

She does not like the printer as she is not allowed to play with the pages when they come out. But when I'm printing out pages, she perches on it as it is warm so they have reached a truce. She also gets very jealous of the time I spend on the computer. Should I spend too much time, she casually walks across the keyboard inserting lots of weird characters and sometimes hits the power key to turn it off. Not fun.

She hasn't quite figured out how to turn off my iPad, but she does like to rub her cheeks against the edges. So I think she is plotting and thinking. Now I have to go. Four cats are staring at me, subliminally telling me that it is time to feed them. Must obey cats. Whoops. Here comes the dog. He gets to lick the cats' bowls clean."

Linda has a wonderful knew book called Blue Maneuver:  The extraterrestrials have landed and they're human. Rae Hemplewhite didn't believe in aliens until a close encounter with

out-of-this-world technology drags her into the extraterrestrial security program. Helping alien refugees adjust to life on Earth is difficult enough, but her first clients have a price on their heads. Plus, her new partner seems torn between the urge to kiss her or kill her. And that's the good news. The bad news: Alliances are forming in deep space. If Rae doesn't keep her witnesses alive long enough to transfer their top secret information to the right faction of humanity, Earth will become a battlefield. 

You can find Blue Maneuver at the usual outlets including Amazon.com: http://amzn.com/B006VOKXME

Linda Andrews lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband, three children and a menagerie of domesticated animals. While she started writing a decade ago, she always used her stories to escape the redundancy of her day job as a scientist and never thought to actually combine her love of fiction and science. DOH! After that Homer Simpson moment, she allowed the two halves of her brain to talk to each other. The journeys she’s embarked on since then are dark, twisted and occasionally violent, but never predictable. 

You can follow Linda on Twitter @LindaAndrews and visit her blog 

http://lindaandrews.wordpress.com/

Cat Treat Monday: James Hatch

I have a very cool cat treat this week: James Hatch and his fascinating cat with four names. Here's James and NMC (that's my favorite of the names...lol)

"Cats! You gotta’ love ‘em. I’ve had at least one cat for a long as I can remember. Not that I’ve wanted one necessarily, but because they are drawn to me. In fact, when I first started writing, a polydacts cat with six toes showed up at my back door. It seemed an omen, like one of Hemmingway’s cats had arrived to watch over me. I fed that one until my pile of rejection slips exceeded one-half inch, and then determined the cat wasn’t helping at all. It had a home; it just liked to beg. My current constant cat companion showed up a little later. She was a pregnant “teenager,” scrawny and hungry, and had probably been dumped in our neighborhood by someone who didn’t want a cat in that condition. The cat seemed to know I was a soft touch and, on spotting me, immediately ran up and began rubbing on my leg, purring loudly.

I weakened. I fed it. It never left. That’s her in the picture. She has four names. I used to call her “NMC” for Not My Cat, until she had been here for five years. Then I started calling her “RC” for rotten cat because she’s not friendly to anyone except me. My wife calls her “Limestone” because her mix of colors looks like that type of rock, or “Blue” because of her beautiful blue eyes. I kept her six kittens until they were eating ham and soft cat food on a regular basis, and then took them to a pet store for sale. They were tame and healthy and are making some child happy even now.  

Ever wonder how cats process data? I made a stab at it in my paranormal comedy released last week by Solstice Publishing. Here’s an excerpt from Oh, Heavens, Miss Havana! : Advice columnist by day, assassin by night, Miss Havana’s spirit wrongly considers itself the Angel of Death, but is brought to task by God. 

Thank you for reading, and thank you for having me here.

James L. Hatch

Author for: xoxopublishing.com, Solstice Publishing and Eternal Press "

Oh Heavens, Miss Havana sounds great. Here's the blurb:

Oh, Heavens, Miss Havana! Blurb: Having performed a single selfless act, Miss Havana finds herself on probation in heaven. After many missteps, she discovers she still retains the powers she had as The Queen of Darkness, and realizes she’s on probation as much to keep her from joining forces with her daughter, The Princess of Darkness, as anything else. The Brazilian, a large black man with a dreadlocks beard who waxes regularly, is her “guide”, but she ignores his advice until he’s taken off her case. Guideless and in a foreign environment, she consorts with evil spirits from her former realm, especially Waldo, a shadow creature so named because he’s so hard to find. She acquires a copy of “The Angels Guide to Earth”, comes to believe she is the Angel of Death, and returns to the surface as an advice columnist and assassin. She wreaks havoc before God intervenes for a final showdown...which, as it turns out, isn’t as final as most would hope.

James has even given us an excerpt so read on!!!!!!!!

Oh, Heavens, Miss Havana! Excerpt: I mentally review the Reaper’s rampage, remembering the wad of cloth he stuffed in the girl’s mouth. As loud as he was bellowing when I left him with Waldo, it’s no wonder he did that … just in case she woke from unconsciousness as he cut her throat. The only solace here is that it will never happen again. Not My Cat, the scruffy yellow stray I’d seen when I was here last, lurks just beyond the edge of the underbrush, and I wonder if such an animal can be inhabited by a spirit on probation.

I drift over, slither in and am surprised by what I find. The cat thinks in images. It remembers what it sees, but doesn’t assign moral judgments. It remembers where food can be found, and where warm places to sleep are located during the frigid Denver winters. The imagery is a hierarchy relative to survival, with the most easily available water, food and shelter at the top of its memory, hunting areas next, female cat locations and, finally, miscellaneous—things to do with humans, most of which are ignored or inconsequential.

The cat looks out at a Canadian goose basking near the water, but recalls an image of a severe beaking for trying to get one. It doesn’t care about humans in general, but is human-like in its longing. It wants what it can’t have, even when threatened with pain. Its tail twitches in anticipation, but caution prevails. I’ve always been amused by cats, and find this one as interesting from the inside as others are from the outside … until I come to a very disturbing image in its inconsequential and fading memories of human interactions.

The cat watched the Reaper’s fourteenth victim being slaughtered, but the Reaper was not alone. What in Lilith’s Realm is this? I exit the cat, project myself to the Reaper’s home and interrupt Waldo’s fun. “We need to pry a little information out of him before we kill him, Waldo. He had an accomplice.”

Waldo beams with delight. “Does that mean we get to do this again?”

I nod. “Get the muriatic acid; let’s get his attention.”

*****

You can also find reviews and additional excerpts at http://cookinwithmisshavana.blogspot.com. 

I hope you'll check out James' book and his fun blog.  

Cat Treat Monday: Lynn Crain, Jasper and Harry aka Snarky Boy

Big excitement today as we have a fantastic cat treat: Lynn Crain, her handsome dog Jasper and the cutie-pie, Harry. I hope you'll enjoy their story. Here's Lynn

"My Snarky Boy

            When we moved to Vienna, Austria, last year, we were all set to bring our dog, Jasper. He’s a lab mix of some sort and I missed him dearly as the first months rolled by. I went home for a couple of months to get him ready to go when the realization came that he could not be crate trained in the two months I had to do so. I was devastated as this was the first dog who was all mine. Most of them had bonded with my husband more than me but not Jasper. He was my baby and I was heartbroken.

           Trying to trudge along being in a foreign country where I knew no one and didn’t speak the language was wearing on me. There were days that I missed my kids and grandkids horribly and all my animals. We’d also left behind three cats who weren’t good candidates for foreign travel either. Still, I tried my best to adjust but after the second time my husband went on travel, I told him that I desperately needed to get Jasper over here or find another dog.

At first, he wasn’t happy about it but I finally convinced him just how lonely I was being away from everyone. I needed something I could rely on when he wasn’t around. Sure, I had the phone numbers of people I could contact who were acquaintances from his work but I didn’t really know any of them. I knew an animal would somehow make me feel less alone and more safe when he was away.

            We scoured the internet and other sources to find someone who could crate train Jasper. We had no luck and those we did find were so expensive I could come home from Europe two or three times. After a visit to the vet where we talked about me taking him back with me, it was decided that since he was terrified of the crate it would be in the dog’s best interest not to bring him with us. Jasper would stay home with my youngest son.

            This was in August 2011 and I started looking for a way to get another dog while I was in Austria. I looked at the shelters and found that it was extremely hard to qualify for an animal here. The best chance I would have would be to go to a breeder. I started looking into dogs that I could carry on the plane with me, as I never wanted to get another dog I couldn’t take with me when I traveled. After a couple of weeks looking on line relentlessly, I discovered Parson Russell Terriers.

            I had known about Jack Russells and loved the breed but they could get hyperactive...that wouldn’t do on an airplane. I looked at the miniature Jack Russell but the nearest breeder was in England and I really didn’t want to go out of Austria to get a dog. While perusing the internet, I came across a Parson Russell Terrier site and checked them out. They had a list of breeders and I started to contact them regarding puppies.

            While doing that I came across the cutest puppy I’d ever seen in my life. His name was Harry Potter and he was just adorable. First, I had to convince my husband that it was worth it to take a train ride six hours just to get a dog. Once that battle was done, I had to make sure the breeder approved of us as well. Some have very strict guidelines and we’d already failed one or two as one breeder only sold his animals to owners who planned to use them for hunting. Another refused to sell to people who lived in the city.

            The breeder and I had conversations via phone and email for a whole week before we decided to make the trek as the pup would be quite expensive. Nevertheless, I told my husband my peace of mind would be worth every cent. Then there would be the added benefit that the puppy would force me to exercise every day.

            The day finally arrived and we missed our train. We had to wait just a short time for a different train and a slightly different route. We contacted the breeder and told her we’d call when we arrived. It was a godsend to find someone who spoke English as we had few communication issues. Finally, we arrived at our destination just outside of Salzburg. Birgit picked us up from the station and asked us a lot of questions on the way. We answered the best we could because we were just learning the city ourselves and didn’t know everything. Once we arrived at her place, she took us to where the puppies were and I was in love. Here’s one of the first pictures we took of our new puppy boy.

            This dog has been a lifesaver in more ways than one. I have exercised more and will continue to do so. Since he’s been around, I’ve lost over 30 pounds...this is a great thing...very good. He’s provided companionship to me every day and is a joy to be around. He helps me to feel safe when the husband’s away. Because of him, I now have an entry into the Austrian way of life because they love puppies and adore dogs. We have gotten more comments because of him and I’ve made more friends since he’s been around.

            Now, you’re probably wondering why I’ve taken to calling him Snarky Boy. Harry is not your normal terrier and I’ve had many comments on that. We have a very calm household and he doesn’t do any of the normal behaviors of his breed. Most actually tend to be nippy, snarly and a variety of other terrier habits. Not so with Harry and when he does, I’ve started calling him Snarky Boy. When he hears that, he actually stops and occasionally changes his attitude, something that the dog trainer we’re working with was amazed about. He is generally a very happy dog with a sunny disposition, he greets all other dogs as friends and wonders why not everyone thinks he’s the cutest pup in the world!

            Here’s another picture of Harry today at six months old. We’ve had him for four months now and wouldn’t trade him for anything! Matter of fact, he will soon have his own blog and twitter account. Just look for Snarky Boy and his picture. Thanks for letting me share with you one of my best friends ever."

Lynn Crain realized at an early age she wanted to write. She took the long way to being published by doing a variety of things like nursing assistant, geologist, technical writer and computer manager all of which have added to her detail-oriented stories. Now she’s a full-time storyteller and weaves fantasy, futuristic, and paranormal tales, as well as erotic stories for various publishers. She normally lives in the very hot southwest with her husband, son, two dogs, three cats, and she’s gotten rid of her snakes. Don’t ask. Other members of her clan live nearby and include another son, daughter-in-law, and two grandsons, plus various long-time friends. She is a past national board member of the RWA; founding president of Las Vegas Romance Writers Chapter of RWA; has held the positions of president, vice-president, secretary and contest chair of EPIC. Her latest adventure has taken her to Vienna, Austria with her husband as he works for a UN-affiliated organization. You can find her hanging out at A Writer In Vienna Blog (www.awriterinvienna.blogspot.com) and various other places on the net (www.theloglineblog.blogspot.com; www.twitter.com/oddlynn3; www.lynncrain.blogspot.com ). Still, the thing she loves most of all is hearing from her readers at lynncrain@cox.net.

Lynn has a great new book called A LOVER FOR RACHEL, which is available through Smashwords and Amazon.

Rachel Hamilton comes to Stonehenge to celebrate her birthday on Summer Solstice, only to find herself trapped beneath the massive rhyolite bluestones with sexy wizard, Dewin Kingston, who convinces her that she is the key to their escape.

A Lover for Rachel Smashwords Link           

A Lover for Rachel Amazon Link                       

Cat Treat Monday: Lisa Mondello and Nike

Today we have a fabulous Cat Treat: Lisa Mondello and her adorable beagle, Nike. I can't wait for you to hear about their big, loving  family. Here's Lisa:

"I've had dogs and cats as pets my entire life, so being without one seemed a bit odd to me after my husband and I got married. But since we started out in an apartment (nearly 21 years ago), we had cats because that was all that was allowed.  It wasn't until my two daughters were very little and my husband and I became guardians to my niece and nephew (all 4 kids just a little over 3 years apart oldest to youngest) that we decided life just wasn't complete without a dog to add to the chaos.  Yes, with 4 kids then ages 7-10, a puppy was going to make life oh, so-much-more special.  And crazy.  And Nike did. Especially with my mix of cats running around, looking at me as if I was a traitor for bringing this loud-mouthed hound into the house.

I could talk all day about my cats, because over the years I've had (and still have) a few of them.  They have magnificent personalities.  But Nike is king.  At least he thinks so.  Although he's now 10 years old, he's hasn't quite figured out that the cats can kick his butt.  I think they let him think he holds rank and yet I know he wouldn't dare go near the water bowl if my eldest cat, Keturah (18 years old) was sitting there presiding over it. 

We decided to get Nike at 9 months old when the kids were small because he needed a home, just like my niece and nephew did.  They had that in common.  And Nike is a snuggler.  Why snuggle up in bed with a stuffed animal when you can have a warm beagle?  When the kids were young, Nike used to make the rounds at night.  I'd hear his paws on the floor as he went from one room to the next, just to check on his kids. A half hour later he would move on to the next child until he eventually ended up at the foot of my bed.  To this day Nike makes his nightly rounds."

Awwwwww. So sweet. I love the idea of Nike checking on his human family at night. What a little darling! Lisa has written a wonderful book with a gorgeous cover. 

THE KNIGHT AND MAGGIE'S BABY

Sometimes fate needs a little help…

Jonah Wallace knows what it’s like to grow up without love. Despite having more money than the Queen of England, his childhood was cold and stale as he grew up in boarding schools. He’s dedicated his life to helping homeless and displaced children find the love and support they need by creating the Haven House Foundation, work that resulted in him being Knighted by the Queen.

Now that he’s living in America, his work is going along just fine…until his grandfather gives fate a little nudge by insisting he take a wife before he can inherit.

Coffee shop owner, Maggie Bonelli, is pregnant and the baby’s dad has gone AWOL. She knows too well the pain of growing up without a daddy. So when Jonah Wallace comes into her shop proposing marriage for a year, she takes him up on his offer, even if it’s only for a year. Live in a mansion and give her baby a name and a daddy to call his/her own. But can they keep their perfect arraignment strictly business…or will fate’s helping hand bring them love at last?

---

You can find The Knight and Maggie's Baby at the usual outlets. Please check it out:

http://amzn.com/B005K0ECFY

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-knight-and-maggies-baby-lisa-mondello/1105172661?ean=2940013088238

http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Knight-and-Maggies-Baby/book-f8U0vyAmnUakGMlJJC5loQ/page1.html

Connect with Lisa on Twitter:  @LisaMondello and through her blog:

http://www.lisamondello.blogspot.com

Cat Treat Monday: Norah Wilson, Bandy and Chloe

What a fantastic cat treat I have for you today: Author Norah Wilson and her dogs Bandy and Chloe. I bet you'll be inspired by the story of these sweet dogs and their very special owner. Now, without further ado, here's Norah.

Big paw prints to fill

"I got Bandy immediately after my yellow lab Zack died. My kids’ young hearts were broken. Knowing the only remedy was to bring a new dog into our lives, we headed to the local SPCA. Going into this adoption, I already felt sorry for the new dog. How could it ever measure up to Zack, the most good-tempered, gentle, friendly dog in the world?

Well, we got to the SPCA and there were cute little dogs. There were handsome big dogs. And there was one very odd-looking mid-sized model. It had the height and some characteristics of a Sheltie, but it was quite … um, rotund. Short-legged, it had a glorious, multi-colored hair coat that brushed the floor. He was missing several front teeth, probably from having been kicked (he’d been seized from his former owner) and staff estimated his age at 5 years. It was love at first sight for my daughter, if not for me. We leashed him and took him outside. The first thing he did was cock his leg and piddle on something, which my kids found delightful. (Zack, despite being a male, always squatted politely; clearly, he’d had no male role models in his puppyhood!) Then this funny little dog bounded up onto a picnic table. That sealed it, since that was something Zack loved to do.

So, home we went with this dog, which the kids named Bandicoot (or Bandy for short). As the dog’s foibles became known to us, all I could do was shake my head and say, “He’s no Zack.” If I tried to jog, he bit my ankles. If the kids went sliding, he barrelled down the hill and bowled them off the toboggan. If the kids engaged in any kind of horseplay, he leapt in to break it up (usually biting the one that was shrieking the loudest, i.e., the victim). If my husband touched me, Bandy would go for his ankles. And he really didn’t like people with canes. I suspect he’d probably been beaten with something similar.  (Whatever the source of his hostility, I’m here to tell you it’s embarrassing when your dog menaces octogenarians.)

But slowly, Bandy grew on us. While he was very close to my kids and fretted over their safety, he bonded primarily with me, the one who saw to his needs. Soon he became my shadow. I couldn’t move from one room to another without him padding after me.  I wrote most of my books with him lying at my feet. And he was so incredibly loyal and protective. Even at the end, at the age of 16 – virtually toothless, nearly deaf and almost totally blind, his glorious hair coat reduced to mere wisps – he would have defended me to the death against any threat. When I finally had to euthanize him, it wrecked me. That was over four years ago, but I’m crying as I write this. Much as I’d loved Zack, Bandy was my heart.

Of course, in the midst of our grief, we went to the SPCA again. This time, we came away with a hulking adult female Rotti-Lab cross named Chloe. Of course, I was soon muttering, “She’s no Bandy.“  Unlike my fearless Bandy, Chloe is terrified of her shadow. At the first sign of a threat, she slips her collar and runs home! Of course, I realize that she, as another rescued animal, has had her own troubled history that made her so fearful. She’s also funny, goofy and no matter how old she gets, she’ll always be a puppy at heart. I expect when I get my next dog, I’ll be saying, “She’s no Chloe.”

Bandy may be gone, but he’ll never be forgotten. I ensured that by inserting him into my Golden Heart finalling GUARDING SUZANNAH. All his idiosyncrasies are on display and are not embellished in the least. That’s one of the reasons that book will always be a favorite of mine.

Norah Wilson lives in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada with her husband and two adult children, Chloe, and numerous rats (the pet kind). She has been writing romance a long while, and has finalled multiple times in the Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart contest. She also won Dorchester Publishing's New Voice in Romance contest in 2003. Norah also writes paranormal YA stories with writing partner Heather Doherty, under the name Wilson Doherty. She and Heather also write the hilarious Dix Dodd mysteries under the name N.L. Wilson.


I knew Norah was an awesome multi-published author but now I know she's a wonderful and compassionate human to open her home to these sweet animals. Bravo. 

Guarding Suzannah is available at all the usual outlets including Amazon.com Permalink: http://amzn.com/B003ZK5KS4

Criminal defense attorney Suzannah Phelps is the bane of the Fredericton police department (they call her She-Rex for her habit of shredding cops in the witness box). She is currently being stalked, but is reluctant to report it to the police, whom she half suspects of being the perpetrators. But when Detective John (Quigg) Quigley learns of it, he's determined to protect her, at considerable risk to his career. They've struck sparks off each other in the courtroom, and he's burning to do the same in the bedroom. When the danger escalates, he has the perfect excuse to pose as her boyfriend, but the closer they get, the more the lines between pretense and reality blur.
I hope you'll look for Guarding Suzannah and Norah's other titles. You can connect with Norah on Twitter (@Norah_Wilson) and on Goodreads
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1361508.Norah_Wilson