Running with the dogs

Coming up on Sunday is the Leashes and Laces 5K run in Post Falls, Idaho. I’m participating along with my German Shepherd, Falco. He’s a true delight to go places with and a lovely dog. When he joined our household at eleven weeks old I wasn’t so sure about him. Falco was definitely the doggy version of ADHD. Despite going to dog training, he pushed all my buttons and was a handful to put it mildly. More than once I wanted to throw in the towel. Despite his normal mode of operation at about a hundred miles an hour, he was and is a gentle soul with a most congenial nature. Falco is a big dog, weighing in at a good hundred plus pounds. He’s primarily black with big black eyes. He looks tough. He’s not. Without reservation I can say he is the best-natured dog I’ve ever had. Never once in eight years have I seen him get upset about anything. He loves people, he loves other dogs, he’s in love with our little rescued cat. He’s a true gentleman who, when he looks intently into your eyes, seems to be speaking to your heart.

Someone once asked me how I could keep sharing my home with animals when their lives are so short and their passing so painful. I responded, how could I not? Yes their lives are relatively short but the joy they bring in the time we have together is invaluable. Sunday, Falco and I will participate in a worthy fund-raiser for the K9 unit in Post Falls. Our being there benefits a very worthy organization but even more important to me is spending time with a dog who makes my life richer and happier simply with his presence.

With A Vengeance

My last post was one written with sorrow in my heart but today, I want to write about joy and finding happiness in all corners of the world. This weekend I’m at the Bold Strokes Books Lesbian Book Festival debuting my novel Crimson Vengeance. The main character, a 500-year-old vampire is a lesbian and one kick-ass woman! So how does a writer who’s been married (to a man) for twenty years end up writing a lesbian romance you ask? I’d love to give a quick and easy answer except I don’t really have one. This character simply came to life in my imagination and I liked her a lot. In my mind, love is love, and everyone deserves the right to love the person they choose. In Crimson Vengeance, Dr. Riah Preston falls in love with Adriana James. It’s their story, their journey, their joy. Of course, there’s danger, death, and evil, but hey, that’s pretty much standard in all my books! What is more important to me in all my stories is the path to finding a soul mate as cliché as that might sound. Passion is great. Sex is great. Yet finding that one person who touches your soul is like nothing else in the world and everyone deserves that.

Sitting among the warm, encouraging, and interesting women at the BSB Book Festival has been the most fun I’ve had in ages. Had I not written this book I may never have met many of these women and that would have been shame for my life has become so much richer because of it. Joy truly can be found around every corner if you simply open your heart to it.