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My mom has a little chocolate poodle named Whoopi. She’s 13 years old, and I more or less grew up with her (I just graduated college). She’s blind as a bat, but gets around okay with some help. She’s a wealth of funny stories. She wears a little pink polo shirt now to keep her warm. She’ll sleep with my mom and stepdad, and when she has to go to the bathroom, she’ll woof, my mom will put her down, and she’ll mosey out the pet door and do her business, then come back in. Or sometimes my mom will take her outside herself. I went to see my mom recently and Whoopi came and slept with me after my mom left for work. She’s so sweet, but getting old and it makes me emotional sometimes to think about it. Anyway, she’s just the funniest little thing, tottering about blindly in her little pink polo shirt.

My mom has four other dogs, and they kind of defer to Whoopi. It’s sweet. Recently, since Whoopi was having to go a lot, my mom started giving her cranberry pills to help her. That cracked me up. And it’s apparently working.

As for me, I have two cats in my apartment. They’re both very funny, but in different ways from my mom’s dogs. Casey, my orange tabby, climbs on and in the cabinets. He can open the doors. Lola, my tuxedo cat, has a bottle cap fixation. She’ll see me drinking a bottle of water and start mewing, demanding it. Then she plays with it like a hockey puck.

We once had an Old English sheepdog who was an inveterate car chaser. Despite our every effort, we were never able to break him from this habit, and, yes, you can figure out how he eventually got to Dog Heaven.

We lived on the grounds of a private school and when he got loose he would chomp on people’s bumpers--literally biting the cars as they drove by and chipping his teeth. We put him out to stud (just once, because his genes did seem a bit iffy) and right in the middle of doing the deed the school truck went by and he disengaged and ran after it. When I traded in my car, missing considerable bits of chrome, the dealer asked me if I’d had an accident. I replied I had a dog. I don’t think he believed me.

We probably doomed him with his name. When my husband and I got our very first tax return after we were married, we went to the pet store and there was our new baby. We had to fill out the AKC papers: Robinson’s Tax Return was his fancy name, Taxi for short. He probably thought he actually WAS one, and all those cars were in his way!

LMAO!  Oh Maggie, that’s hysterical!

My cat has a plastic fetish.  She loves to lick plastic bags.  Grocery bags, shopping bags, ziplock bags, even shrink wrap.  And the vinyl shower curtain liner too.  She licks away in bliss, sometimes for 5, 10, 15 minutes.  I don’t get it.  But it’s really annoying when it’s at 4:30 in the morning.

Hi Susan!  Welcome to the hen house.  I was so excited when Christina announced you would be here this week.  I’ve been a devoted fan of your books for the past 13 years. 

I’d be hard pressed to name a favorite book.  They’re all my favorites!  I doubt I could even name a favorite series.  All those sexy Hometown Heartbreakers will always have a special place in my heart.  I love those guys!  Then, of course, there are the Brides of Bradley House and Desert Rogues and Triple Trouble and Lonestar Canyon and on and on.  Now we have the Marcelli’s and the Buchanan’s.  Wow, what fantastic families and incredible stories.  I grabbed both Joe’s and Reid’s books the minute they hit the shelves and may I just say, Susan, you have outdone yourself once again.  I ADORE these guys!  Now I’m anxiously awaiting Mia’s and Dani’s stories.  The teasers are wonderful and have me counting the days.  Any tasty little tidbits you’d like to share?

Welcome Susan!  We’re so glad to have you here at Squawk! 

And you have my total sympathies.  I’m currently dealing with a slightly demented 17-year-old cat who has decided the best way to go is to hang her bottom half way OUT of the litter box.  Oooog! 

Terri, contemplating Kitty Depends

Oh Susan, I feel your poop pain.    My black lab went through two rounds of chemo so I had to learn how to deal with toxic poop.  Who knew? 

Nikki is adorable!  What a beautiful dog.  She looks like an absolute sweetheart.

Smokey, my 10 yr old chocolate lab, has no poop issues , thankfully.  She has arthritis which causes her to snap, crackle and pop as well as moan and groan but so do I.  We both have the unenviable talent of being able to forecast the weather through our joints.    Smokey loves to play soccer and also juggles.  Yep, you read that right.  She stretches out on her back and juggles two tennis balls with her two front paws.  When she’s tired of juggling she’ll bat one of the balls high in the air and catch it in her mouth.  She doesn’t chase or bite car bumpers but, given the chance, she’d gladly do both to the UPS man. 

WAAAAA!  I want to stay here and play but (sigh) work calls.  Y’all have fun today.  I’ll be checking in tonight when I get home.

Hi Susan!  I had to put down my last cat this spring.  She was 19, and spent every one of those years destroying anything rug-related in my house with her little potty habits.  Teresa, she also never quite managed to get her rear end in the litterbox, so I can relate!

About 3 or 4 years ago, she started running into walls and furniture, so we took her to the vet, who diagnosed high blood pressure and completely detached retinas.  She was put on people BP medication, and the nice pharmacist gave us a senior discount because of her advanced age.  About a couple of days later, she stopped running into things.  She had to go back to the vet, and miraculously, her retinas had reattached.  She definitely didn’t have young kitty eyesight, but she was able to see for the remainder of her life. 

Now we have two mini schnauzers, both almost a year.  We got one from a rescue organization this past Saturday.  They are getting along great, but working out their turf.  Lots of wrestling going on here, most of it on my feet!

Hi Susan, Your Callie looks like my Katie, who adopted me at the animal shelter about a year ago.  I was going to take a different cat home when she grabbed ahold of my shirt and I just had to take her instead.

Before I adopted Katie I already had a couple of ferrets, Mr. Jim and Miss Reggie.  My son got a black lab puppy that killed Mr. Jim so I promptly got rid of the dog.  Since I got rid of his dog, my son then brought home another cat, a white Siamese mix that he named Dipstick.  Fortunately Dipstick and Katie get along great and usually sleep piled on top of each other and on me.  I often wake up feeling like I’m suffocating only to realize that I just have 20 pounds of cat sleeping on my chest.

Katie does have one very annoying little thing she does.  When she wants me to go let her outside, even at 3 in the morning, she will jump on my headboard and knock off my big stack of TBR books, usually on my head if I’m asleep.

As for Dipstick, I think he was a hippie in a former life.  He just strolls through life, with a goofy look on his face, his eyes cross-eyed and barely open (but a lovely turquiose color when you can see them), never getting in a hurry or making a sound.

I just love my fur babies, and fortunately--no radioactive poop.

Welcome Susan!  I’m a big Marcelli fan and had no idea you were such a prolific writer.  I’ll have to get busy with your backlist soon!

I feel your poop pain, all while being really, really glad I haven’t had the experience of radioactive poop.  Growing up it was the kids’ job to scoop the poop and keep the yard tidy (we had 4 dogs).  A nasty job, but we’d get a chuckle or two whenever the dogs would eat our crayons...nice bright colours We always preferred the job in the winter when we’d just have to scoop the “poopsicles” in the direction of the garden.

Enough about that!  We currently have two pets, a cat and a Beta fish.  We got panicky when the cat kept sitting up by the fish bowl.  She’s a good mouser and we feared for the life of the fish.  It turns out that she leaves the actual fish alone, but loves to drink the water out of the bowl.  We keep her water bowl filled all day, but she prefers the fish flavoured water.  Now we’re constantly having to top up the bowl for the poor fish. 

The things we do for love, eh?

Hi Susan! Glad you could make it.

My Doodha just left, returning to college with her two mutts. The 11 month old bundle of fluff is not housebroken. Wiat. Check. As Doddah says, he’s “Pee-broken” he simply poops whenever the moment seizes him which means for three weeksall the rugs has been rolled up and stored at the edge of the rooms, doors to bedrooms and offices. Today I can walk without fear through my house, confident there will be no tootsie rolls sized poops hiding in the corner.

:sniff:

Aw, poor kitties!  I mean, poor you! 

We were a “no pets” household.  Yeah, you see where this is going.  We rescued a cat for a friend of the family and, by the time she came home from vacation, well, the cat was ours.  I think I was 6 or so and my sister was 2.  The cat was mean.  I mean, abused to the point where he had burns, losing fur, scared of men.  Eventually, he liked our nuclear family and he tolerated people feeding him when we went on vacation but no one would call him friendly… except us.  He slept on our beds every night.  And, as much as he’d fight outside, he’d never hurt us.  This is important to know because my sister the 2-year-old took to carrying him around by his neck.  Luckily, he was so big and fat that he dragged across the floor so no hanging or strangulation, but the cat didn’t lift a paw once to her.

Welcome Susan & Hi everybody!  I’d like to tell you about my Weiner Man.  This post is tribute to my Sammy, my darling black cat who was with me for 10 years.  One summer my family had planned a weekend trip up to a friends summer home on a ranch in Sweeny Switch, TX.  We packed up the suv and Sammy (who was about 4yrs)came with us.  During our drive Sammy was wandering around looking for the ultimate spot.  After about an hour I heard rustling in the grocery bags.  I started investigating and found Sammy eating away--on a package of weiners!  In our laughter, my mom immediately came up with a little jingle and “Sam...Sam the weiner man” song was born.  After that weekend and up until I lost my Sammy everyone in my family called him “the weiner man”.

He was an awesome cat.

smiling & humming..."Sam...Sam the weiner man”

I love all the pet stories! So fun and wonderful. They add to much to our lives, even with poop issues.

Callie and Jake are both rescue cats. They were wild and it took me six weeks to tame them. Now they’re total loves. Nikki is a registered poodle...her official AKC name is Princess Nikki of El Bahar. (El Bahar is my fake sheik country.)

PJ--I’m glad you have such a good time with the books! Secrets...hmm...Mia’s book--the Marcelli Princess--takes place about 5 years after The Marcelli Bride. At least in book years. So you’ll get to see everyone in their lives. There are new babies, older kids and Kelly (from book 2--The Sassy One) is 19 and dancing professionally. She has an interesting little story arc.

As this is the last Marcelli book, I wanted to really settle everyone so there were no loose ends.

Hi Susan—I’m another devoted fan of yours. I can’t wait for the Marcelli princess to arrive, and I love your sheik books, too!

We are currently a no-pets household because we can’t decide between a darling little puffball doggy that’ll fit in my purse (something like little Nikki, possibly the world’s cutest dog--that would be my choice) or a giant barking manly monster dog that’ll guard the house (the dh’s choice). It’s fun to pretend we actually have a choice! The reality is, we’ll eventually go to the pound and let our future doggy choose us. *g*

Hello again, Susan. I’m so glad (phew!) you guys didn’t eat that pig for breakfast.

I’m so sorry to hear about your li’l cute pooch’s toxic poop stories. While we don’t have pets, we do have a toddler who’s toilet training. So yes, we do have our “interesting” moments and surprise gifts.

Susan, what a DELIGHT it is to have you here today!!!

I have a little black and white English cocker spaniel named Pepper. She’s been through a few months of training so she can go hunting with my husband Greg.

Her favorite toy is a fuzzy, fluffy pink purse with a blue handle, and it says “Princess” in flowery letters on the front. So the first time she went trotting by Greg with this toy clamped in her mouth, he said sourly, “I can’t believe my hunting dog carries a purse.” I really enjoyed that *g*.

Welcome Susan! it’s great to see you. Jake and Callie are total sweethearts, though i remember they really wanted nothing to do with the two teenager that had invaded your house.

Beth W. - It’s good to hear that someone else has a cat with a thing for plastic. My younger cat does too. So annoying.

Shannon

Hi Susan!

What a great topic for today. I have a cold and woke up bleary eyed and realized my house literally drips animals and I wonder how the heck it happened? I trip over a dog on my way to rip a dog/kid combination out of each bed. The cats are diving bombing the dogs on the way out the door and I swear the turtle was giving me the evil eye.
In my robe I head out to feed my mares with their babies and I have to send the dogs to chase off wild rabbits eating what nubs are left of my garden and I haven’t even had coffee yet!!!!!!!!

I can say, I don’t eat almond rocca to this day. When dating my husband, he warned me to close the laundry room door when the dogs were inside to prevent them from snacking on almond rocca. Never having indoor cats, I didn’t realize cat poop in clay litter looks just like almont rocca. YECH!!!!!

Hi Susan!

Congrats on the Walden’s list!! Series and mainstream side at the same time! What a coup!

And hey, good luck with the radioactive poop thing!

welcome susan, love your books

Hi Susan and Welcome!

Since I am in desperate need of new series, I was wondering if your books are listed in reading order on your website?

I have a cat that I’ve mentioned here before.  He is solid black, long hair, actually quite beautiful. His name is Caesar, but responds to Satan, Lucifer, or Oh Dark One.  He’s the meanest thing in the world and runs our house.  We have no bathroom problems as we trained him from a kitten to use the bathroom outdoors.  He was near deaths door and the vet said we needed to put him to sleep.  We said we wanted to him to die naturally at home with us with him.  After 3 days, he got up and has been fine.  That was 5 years ago.

I lived in Houston from ‘82-’88 and I went to Pappasitos quite often.  I worked part time at Willowbrook Mall while going to college.  I’ve not been back. 

I look forward to reading your books.

Oh, dear. Maureen Child is here. Susan has brought in the rabble ...

Love all the pet stories. I find it interesting that so many cats love plastic. In our house, both the dog and the cats think plastic grocery bags are evil!

Lisa--hunting dog with a purse? Too cute!

Prudence--yes, all my books are listed on the web site. If you click on “off the menu” you’ll get to the “regular” web site. You’ll find all the info you need. I list books in order published and all by series.

Kate--it’s true, the pets pick us. I went in for one little girl cat and came home with a brother and sister pair.

Shannon--hi!! Yes, the cats weren’t into other people before, although they’re much more friendly now. I think it’s an age thing. It would be too much trouble to move to another room.

We are now a three kitty household.  The fourth kitty had cancer and left us this summer.  All of my cats are named for judges.  All are rescues.  One remains very shy, but the other two aren’t.  Of note, Ben (Benjamin Cardozo) tries to eat packaging tape - so if you open a box, he’s always there, trying to chew on the tape.  Sal (Salmon P. Chase)- who is a long haired grey and white cat and looks like he’s saying “don’t hate me because I’m beautiful"- likes to eat cords.  All cords.  I have gone through so many computer mice (before I moved to a wireless mouse), irons, vacuum cleaner cords, electric blanket cords ,etc.  It’s a miracle he’s alive. 

Susan, I have just ordered the Marcelli and Buchanan books and can’t wait to read them!

Lynn

Something from an old blog entry…

Ya know, I didn’t think I was afraid of flying critters until a night a few years ago. I squeaked when snakes would slither by in the garden and shriek at the cat when he had a tail hanging out of his mouth, but there was no climbing on chairs and screaming until…

It was around midnight one night, I went back downstairs for that late night sandwich because I cannot sleep if I’m just a little bit hungry. I switched on the kitchen light and something HUGE (I mean it must’ve been like a hawk or eagle or a flying elephant!) buzzed my head. I spun around with a squeak and the monster came at me yet again. I then commenced the most embarrassing moment of my adult life. I hit the floor screaming my head off with my hands over my head until hubby came running downstairs to demand what the *&$& was wrong with me.

He then yelled, “Hey cool! It’s a bat!”

I looked up from the floor and said, “Really? A bat? That is cool!” I stood up to inspect this creature (I really do love animals). It immediately whizzed around my head again, and I promptly returned to writhing in fear on the floor.

The cats and the husband spent a half hour hunting the little flying mouse down (they had great fun). I spent the half hour on the floor until the husband presented the creature to me in a finch cage. Only to have the nasty little guy crawl through the bars and launch itself one more time at my head.

Eventually the bat returned to the great outdoors and I returned to an upright existence.

I really don’t know why I reacted that way to the bat- unless the moment of being dive bombed by the red-tailed hawk a year earlier caused some kind of permanent damage.  But that’s a tale for another night.

I don’t know where to start but I have 5 cats and one on loan from my daughter til she finds a “real” job and an apartment. If I had to save the poop of 6 cats I’d have to move out!!!!!

I’ve also had two dogs - a beagle who was 12 and a really loveable mutt for 17 yrs. They have eaten things like birth control pills, contacts, baby oil (was horrible), a collar, kneehigh, and “grass” (was the 60’s lol). One hid an entire package of sticky roll buns throught the apt. while i was at work.

My first and oldest cat 15 was from the pound. The rest were all ferals and I still feed various ferals (5 at the moment). I get all the females fixed now. When my daughter was very small she decided to give the cat a bath. She poured dish washing liquid all over her and wasn’t able to tell us how much or how long so a trip to the vet was in order. After coming back she started peeing all over the place. No rugs for me anymore.

I’m afraid to say I have read any of your books as yet. Could you pick one of your books for a new reader to start with?

okay typo - that was haven’t (sorry) for both lol.

Welcome Susan and HI everyone

Susan - I can’t believe you’ve written 100 books! I’m ashamed to say I’ve only read 3, but the silver lining is that I have 97 more to read and enjoy My first book of yours was The Seductive One. Then, quite by accident I found Holly and Mistletoe. I will have to go on a hunt for the rest of both series as I love Jordan and his brothers sounds scrumptious I could also really relate to both Holly and Brenna. They were so real and absolutely perfect just as they are

As for cats, well I have a cat called Tyrant. He was named after a hero in an historical romance (who just so happened to have black hair and amber/yellow eyes I call him Ty for short, or TRex if he is being particularly obnoxious (which is most of the time). I could talk for hours about what he gets up too, but I will say two things. One, he is the epitome of the book ‘My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes’. If there is a box, a cupboard, a clothing basket (luckily he’s stopped jumping in when there is clean washing - not fun in winter - he waits until the basket is empty) he gets in it. And two, I didn’t pick him from the RSPCA - he picked me. He rushed his way through the cage, pushing aside all his brothers and sisters, and sat up against the glass and tapped on it with his paw. I’d said that I wanted the cat that wanted me… The RSPCA pointed out he was the worst mannered cat they (and I have the scars to prove it although at 13 he has mellowed...somewhat) had but it was definitely love at first sight. He will come along the fence and rub against my head. I know, he’s marking his territory, but I could have told him I belonged to him from the moment I saw him.

Thank you so much for stopping by Susan - and thank you Squawkers for organising

orannia

PS Sorry this was so long!

Well, isn’t the poop radioactive to you as well, Susan? Do you have to store it in the freezer (and if so, Christina, I’m not sure I’d let my kids eat any “weird frozen things” at her house anymore)? 

Oy, from the bottom of my heart....Oy.  You know you’re going to be getting super-long pooper scoopers from your friends now, don’t you?

And most importantly....ONE HUNDRED+ BOOKS?  That’s unbelievable and please, please let us know about your process.

Fortunately the radioactive poop only has to be stored in the garage. I get to start tossing it in the trash like a normal person on Thursday. The “stored” stuff has to be held for 80 days. It’s in a plastic container with a really, really tight lid!

As to a book suggestions...I would say the easiest is Sizzling. It’s out right now. It’s funny and sexy and one of my favorites. While it’s part of a series, it works fine as a stand-alone. Then, if you love it, you can pick up the first two--Delicious and Irresistible.

Maybe everyone else in the world knows but me cuz I am shocked no one has asked…

Who is Dani’s guy in Tempting? I would hope Gary because there seems to be so much story there to tell.  But the teaser makes it CLEAR Alex is adopted as are all of Mark’s kids.  Sooo I have been up and down the internet looking and googled until I ran out of ideas.

So help a girl out… please?  Before I drive people crazy.

Yes, Christina, the rabble is here!!  Just be glad I don’t feel like ‘rousing’ today!

I have a kitten that is blind.  He was born this way.  His eyes are half white and half a cloudy blue.  He is so funny.  He runs into walls and doors.  We have this recliner he likes.  He jumps up onto the top where your head goes.  One time he completely missed and flew right over the top.  He cracked his head on the wood part of the step behind the chair.  I felt so bad for him but it was pretty funny.  He just shakes it off and tries it again.
One other thing Felix does is eat ribbon.  I was wrapping Christmas gifts and he was right on top of the paper.  I gave him ribbon to play with but after a while I noticed that he was eating it.  I pulled the end of it and I swear a foot or more of ribbon came out of his stomach.  It was one long piece.  Gross!

I also have 2 dogs that are great.  One is not too bright (Lola) and the other is scared of everything (Peanut).  Lola is the younger one and Peanut is the older.  Between the 2 of them you could write a book on all the bad stuff and funny stuff they do.  They are like children.  I miss them because I am back at school now.  I hope I can see them and my kitten again soon.

When we got married we got a pot bellied pig… Her name was Penelope.  She loved peanut butter and banana sandwiches and laying out on the patio and sunbathing.  We lived in a small condo next to the gate leading to the parking lot, everyone walked by… then they’d stop and ask us “is it really...?” What we didn’t know was that pigs get sunburned. Yes, sunburned.  Poor Nelly-P got so fried the first couple of times she sunbathed she had little pork rind curlings peeling off her back.  After that, I had to lather her up with baby sunblock so she wouldn’t burn.  She was a great pig, smart as a whip and housebroken/litter box trained.  She hated the dirt though.
My little brother had a desert tortoise named Archimedes.  He used to hibernate from October to April in a shoe box, then come spring he’d scratch on the box to be let out and proceed to eat every single flower that bloomed in my mother’s back yard.  No one told him desert tortoises don’t float, and he fell into the pool and drowned

Maureen--you’re always welcome, rabbling or not. Or is it rousing or not??

Sybil--Alex is Dani’s hero. Gary was just to...well...nice. To be a hero, a guy needs issues and conflict and Gary was kind of conflict-free. Something Alex is not!

I didn’t know pigs got sunburned. I worry when our dog lays in the sun, tummy up. Her bare skin seems so exposed. Hmm, another question for the vet.

B...but Maureen, you’re so much fun when you’re rousing the rabble! I remember driving down the SW Fwy in Houston, and you had me laughing so hard I couldn’t see. I believe you explained the difference between boy cars and girl cars.

Good thing Susan was driving.

Hi Susan,

I had the same thyroid condition as your cat (hyperthyroidism) and underwent radioactive iodine therapy as well.  I wasn’t sure if it was courage or sheer stupidity that caused me to swallow a pill that a nurse who was wearing gloves was holding with metal tongs.  Fortunately, I was still allowed to use the bathroom after swallowing the pill (I was just instructed to flush three or four times for a few weeks . . .much better than storing anything).

I have Sizzling sitting beside my bed and can’t wait to read it . . .if only my professors would cooperate with a lighter workload.

Good luck with your cats!

Caitlin

First off, I have to say I love the Marcelli series!!

My favorite story about 2 of my cats is: One night when we were getting ready for bed I was running around with all the lights off picking up the LR. I didn’t know it at the time but one of the kids had left a plastic bag on the floor and one of our cat, Layla, got in it and went to sleep. As she heard me cleaning up, she decided to get out of the bag. BUT, we had another cat who was scared to death of the bags, and he heard her moving around, he tried to run off , Layla loved her ‘brother’ and wanted to be next to him, but had gotten the bag stuck around her neck (one of the loop handles) and one leg stuck inside. Anyway, he’s freaked out and running from her, she’s freaked out because he won’t let her near him AND she can’t get the bag off, they’re running aorund in circles in my LR in the dark. By the time we were able to get the bag off of Layla our male cat had gotten so scared he’s wet himself and so had Layla. I know we shouldn’t have but my husband and I were cracking up laughing watching them run around in circles until we could calm down enough to get to them and help them.
Oh, we also have another cat named Athena. She is aptly named. The evening we brought her home the other cats crowded around her, this tiny 5 week old kitten, and she arched her back, raised up on her hind legs and preceeded to let them know she wasn’t scared of them (6 cats ranging in age from 6 years to 5 months)! Hence, her name, Athena (after the Goddess of War and Wisdom)!!

Caitlin, I hope you’re feeling all better now! I’m not sure I could get down a pill the nurse wasn’t willing to touch!

Hey Christina........HOW do you remember this stuff??? LOLOL

Hey, Maureenie.  Yes, Christina, more rabble...rousing. (?)

I have two cats, Tom and Ed.  My son still scoops their poop.  But not for long.  At least it’s not radioactive.  Yet.

And yeah!  Susan, congrats on those double Walden’s listings.  Bravo!

And re Gary, well, it could be good to have a boyfriend you could *confess* to, right?  But then there’s the whole not hot thing.  That’s a total problem.  A romance with a not hot hero.  Um.  Maybe not.  So bring on Alex!

You’ll notice I didn’t mention the tiger story.

My cat Gracie is about three years old and loves to play--with just about anything.

My bluetooth ear piece for my cell phone went missing today, after I left it on my dining room table last night.

So, knowing my cat’s penchant for knocking things onto the floor and pushing them under the couch, I moved the couch.

Lo and behold, I found:
10 ponytail holders
15 mints
12 cat toys
1 fridge magnet
and 31 water bottle caps
but no bluetooth—that was in her cat toy box.

Hey Chris--I agree. An ex-priest is going to set up problems I’m not sure any of us want to deal with...in life or fiction!

Poor Dani.  I could just imagine how she must have felt when that lady called Gary “Father”.  Yikes!

I’m glad Alex is her hero.  Loved all those sparks they were creating in the excerpt!

So Christina, just how do you tell a girl car from a boy car, hmmm?  Inquiring minds want to know!

PJ - I’ve always figured the girl cars are practical, fit well within your budget, have clean seats, and have a box of tissues tucked under the seat. The boy cars are the ones that are short, low to the ground, have two mufflers, cost 75% of the boy’s monthly budget, and go “rumble rumble VROOM” at every green light. When they aren’t busy screaming “my owner’s got a little penis!”, that is.

pj, I believe Maureen’s explanation had something to do with gaseous emissions.

OTOH, Andi’s explanation says a lot, too.

I have a daily calendar of Forgotten English by Jeffrey Kacirk.

Tomorrow’s word is snoodle from W.H. Long’s dictionary of 1886. Snoodle means to rub and scratch and attend assiduously to pigs.

So, Christina and Susan, did you two snoodle the pig you won????

Tomorrow is also the Feast Day of St. Anthony, who is patron and protector of pigs.

Susan, I just realized from reading the comment threads that you recently moved to western WA, too. We sure are having freaky weather here, aren’t we?

TIGER?! Christina? What with pigs and tigers, Houston sure was an exciting place to be.

Keira-who’s-imagining-Christina-walking-a-tiger-on-a-leash-in-the-park

Okay--I love the definition of snoodle. We didn’t get close to our pig. It just seemed kinda weird, knowing it was soon off to, um, feed a shelter.

LOL on the cats running the darkness.

Brandy--glad the Marcellis are working for you. Mia’s book is really fun!

Okay--tomorrow we get serious about this whole writing thing. Sort of. Well, not really. But I think I was supposed to!

Welcome Susan!

I certainly feel your pain. When we bought our sheltie Tasha she had all her shots, but unfortunatly still caught parvo. We were lucky that she recovered. After she came home from the vets, we were told to keep her separated from our other sheltie for two weeks, plus clean her area everyday and then swab it down with bleach. I would go in to clean with my raincoat and boots on because she was so happy to see me that she would jump up and down, and in the process I would get a good coating of doggy doo.  She was the sweeties dog, and I felt so bad when I would have to leave her by herself.

I have to tell you the funniest thing that happend this morning.  I live in southern Oregon and we had a big snow fall today.  I was at work and looking out the window when I saw this little robin on the ground.  All of a sudden it jumped up and grabed a berry hanging from a bush, and back down again to the ground. I swear I could see its little legs bend for the jump up. It must have done this over ten times; looked just like a cork bobbing up and down. Certainly made my day brighter!

"Now I not only get to scoop it up, I get to keep it. Like a treasure. There are absolutely no words to describe my joy.”

I just fell off the chair laughing. 

Welcome Susan.  Enjoying all the pet stories.  Unfortunately with all my allergies, we only have an outside cat and dog and I don’t get much interaction with them. 

I’ve been reading your books quite a while now and enjoying them very much, I’m picking up Sizzling with my next paycheck.  Have to save my money for lunch and gas to attend the KYRW meeting this weekend. 

Christina I have to tell you that I did discover you before Susan, although I adore both your books, so if long time fans count, then guess you can hold that over Susan’s head even if she can write faster.  <g>

Hope you enjoy your time here! 
deb