A miscellany of thoughts about dogs, cats, writing, life in the Ozarks, & occasional book reviews
In the post titled "A cat with a dog of his own" I shared a few memories of the challenges of convincing Buddy The Wonder Cat to share his home and his people with Sasha. There were a few early bumps in the road, but the two of them have happily settled down to life …
Continue reading Scenes from the home front
One of the most common questions asked of writers: "Where do you get your ideas?" As a professor and research geek, I love this question. Maybe I'm genetically wired this way; my dad was brilliant with crossword puzzles and my mother excelled in finding creative solutions to vexing problems. That's as good a reason as any to …
Continue reading Dangerous Deeds
As a child, I was very fortunate to have an older brother and sister willing to take me WAY across town to the public library. (Thanks, Jim Holmes and Maureen Kidd!) The wonderful librarians steered me first to the children's section and, after I'd gone through those shelves, allowed me to read whatever I wanted …
Like Deadly Ties, the first in the Waterside Kennels mystery series, there are multiple scenes in book #2 (Dangerous Deeds) that were inspired by real events. One of those is the scene in which Maggie Porter's dog Sweet Pea rescues an injured stray kitten she finds beneath the dock. Although Maggie's initial assessment is "not much …
Continue reading There Came Along A Kitty
It's been a month since Sasha came into our lives. What an adventure we're having! After so many years without a dog of my own, I've come to the conclusion that this adventure comes with a learning curve for all of us. For Sasha, everything's new after losing whatever home she knew when she was surrendered …
Continue reading Lessons Along The Journey