It broke my heart when a couple that I know indicated that they were moving to Europe and had to find another home for their 13-year-old dog.

She is just too old and arthritic to make the long trip in a crate. The couple is making a big effort to find her a good, new home. But so many people wouldn't be as kind for elderly or sick dogs.

It reminds me of Luke in my novel about him. Having a dog go blind would be just enough reason for many humans to drop him off at the pound. It's difficult for me to understand the human characteristic that makes so many of us just want to "give up" so easily on another person or creature.

When things don't go our way, or the situation becomes difficult, the response is often to just "bolt" and leave and not put the effort needed to remedy the situation.

Many will respond with a quick quip that they "tried" but just couldn't make it happen. Trying takes time, hard work - a thing called persistence. It mystifies me that a human can give up so easily on someone (yes, dogs are someones) that they previously professed to love.

Love means never giving up! Love means loving another even with all his or her flaws. Think about it the next time you want to bolt and leave.

And, just to be clear, I am not advocating that anyone ever stay with someone who is abusive. Been there and done that.  I am talking about someone who is worthy of your love, like a long-time friend who has always been there for  you.

As for the old dog who needs a new home, we'll find a way. That's the unconditional way to show our love and respect and represents real humanity!

Til Next Time,
Carol

To say I'm excited is an understatement. I am probably to the point of oversharing! But, for me personally, I've made a big commitment. No more "whenever the muse strikes me." My publisher fully expects a number of seasons out of me.

What do I mean by that? Troll River Publishing is currently taking one episode from Season 1 and posting it each week until all six episodes have been put up on retail outlets like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords. Every Tuesday until April 18th, a new episode of Snow Blood will be available for purchase. Check out my Author Page at TRP.

Then, the full book will be available at all the outlets above.

But, that's not all! I've committed to a Season 2 and more. So you probably can understand my excitement. I hope you will support my efforts and purchase Season 1. But more than that, I want to hear from you. I want to know what you think about Brogio, the very first vampire; his great love, Selene; Kane, the first son of Brogio; and most of all, Snow Blood, the beautiful white husky turned vampire who tells the story of their struggle to survive!

And one more favor. Please, write an honest review about Snow Blood and post it at the retail outlet from which you purchased it. Reader reviews are writers' life blood. We need them as much as vampires need blood to exist!

Til Next Time!
Carol

When I wrote Luke’s Tale, I examined all the beloved Lab’s qualities that enabled him to give such unconditional love to Ash and Sara. What stood out the most were patience, tolerance and compassion. Those three characteristics just came through as I modeled Luke after a number of my beloved pets.

But, then it struck me that the universe was pointing me to additional ways for me to learn patience, tolerance and compassion-three of my very own weak points!

I’ve written before how Fergy, my Dutch Warmblood mare, taught a very impatient person (me) how to wait patiently for her to heal from injury and retrain. It took years. And then, just when she was finally there, I lost her to heart failure. For those of you who don’t know me, I have always been a “I-want-this-to-happen-right-now” kind of girl. But, Fergy taught me that it wasn’t the end goal but the journey that we shared that mattered the most. And, with that, came patience. The kind of patience that a dog displays waiting for his human to come home.

In the past year, another teacher has come into my life to illustrate tolerance and compassion. It’s not that I am totally intolerant and without compassion. But most people who are impatient have a bit of intolerance and let compassion fly out the door when they are in a hurry to make things happen. It is difficult not to be tolerant or compassionate when dealing with an 85-year old who has had a stroke and a great deal of memory loss. This is a person for whom I share caregiver responsibilities.  Using Luke’s tolerance and compassion for Sara in my book, I am finding my way to being a better person for the sake of another.

I admit that the past decade has been filled with opportunities for me to learn and grow. Those opportunities are everywhere if we will just recognize them. I hope you will take advantage of them as they occur in your life.

Til Next Tiime,

Carol

Like millions of others, I watched the Oscars. The first thing that hit me was the loving, kind and careful manner in which co-presenters treated the older stars. As a friend of mine shared with me, “It was so sweet and showed real respect … something many people have forgotten.”

But what raised my concern were the harsh comments on Facebook and Twitter the next day. People criticized the appearances of Goldie Hawn and Kim Novak, telling them to sue their plastic surgeons, how “out of it” Novak acted, and John Travolta’s blunder when he mispronounced the name of the next singer.

It is easy for people to criticize others in a public forum where they don’t have to face those they attempt to harass. Unfortunately, this is just another form of harassment and bullying. For instance, take Kim Novak-once a great beauty and beloved star who suffered from both a breakdown and cancer and is 81 years old. What pleasure can anyone take from speaking cruelly about her?  Many say “because she is a public figure, we have the right to criticize.” Do we?

What do you think? Is it right to speak unkindly about anyone’s appearance? Is it right to criticize an elderly person because he or she can’t “quip” with those younger than they? Is it okay to berate someone because they goofed up and mispronounced a name? Think of it like this: If you were the object of this type of criticism, how would you feel? Human beings are all basically fragile when it comes to what other people think and say about us. Why be the one to inflict pain on another?

In the case of Kim Novak, she was a trouper for getting up there and making no secret that she was having a problem. Academy Award winner, Matthew McConaughey, was her co-presenter, and he was wonderful, rescuing her beautifully and leaving her with her dignity. Isn’t that something we’d all like to do?

Til Next Time,
Carol

Episode 1 is live on Amazon, Kobo, and Smashwords.

http://www.amazon.com/Snow-Blood-Episode-Adventures-Vampire-ebook/dp/B00IRO2PU4/

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/412404

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/snow-blood-episode-1

For the next 6 weeks, a new episode will be released each Tuesday. I hope you will join in by reading this different tale with a tail. It has no reviews yet, so as you read the episodes (or when you finish all 6), please help me by leaving honest reviews on any or all of the above retailers.

In the highly competitive world of publishing, Indie authors are disadvantaged. We need all the help we can get. Your help is very much appreciated.

 Thanks, Carol