Dear Friends and Readers,
April is concluding and May is going to be a crazy busy month! It’s my birthday month, and I’ll be 71. Hard to believe—until I look in a mirror. But I have no complaints; I am what I am and I ain’t what I ain’t. (See John Prine song at conclusion of newsletter!).
May 23 I have my official book release party at the Haunted Book Shop from 5:30-7:30. Please stop by. It’s going to be a blast. My friends Mandy Haynes and Dean (Miranda) James will be there signing their books with me. Both are very fine writers, so we’re going to talk books and reading and tell secrets on each other.
 To celebrate Independent Bookstore Day, I worked for a few hours as an employee at The Haunted Book Shop. |
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I’m so excited to see this book (LIGHTS, CAMERA, BONES) in print and on the bookshelves. It takes at least a year to really get a book printed and in the hands of readers. It’s a long process that requires several terrific editors, the art department, the publicity department, and then the bookstores and librarians to order the books and have them available to readers. It’s a behemoth of a process. And there are days when it is overwhelming. But then the book is here, in my grubby little hands, and it is a love affair!
I had a bad week this month with three of my older animals. Little Izzy developed pancreatitis. She has Cushings and diabetes, so it’s a real balancing act to feed her good, healthy food that doesn’t impact one of these issues. I do cook for the dogs, but Izzy needs a very special diet so I’m on prescription canned food for her. She is not happy!
Castor the cat has diabetes and IBS. He is also still semi-feral, but he is really smart. He hates for me to catch him. So he has taught himself to go to the kennel when it is time for food and his insulin shot. He is such a good, good boy. And handsome to boot!
Athena had some weight issues that impact her ability to clean herself, so she got a “sanitary trim” at the vet and more medicine to try to help her. But we ran blood tests and everything there looked good. Whew! I just have a lot of older, sick pets here now.
I keep posting on Facebook all of the desperate animals looking to be fostered or adopted. I know it hurts your heart to look at them—because it hurts me. But we do have some success sharing these adoptable pets and finding people who want exactly that one pet that has been languishing in a shelter for months. So one success story is worth being upset—at least to me.
We have a bumper crop of dewberries this year. Mandy and I have picked a bunch and there are so many more! Cobblers! Lemon tarts! Yum!
I just finished putting out beneficial nematodes to control fleas, fire ants, and termites. These microscopic organisms are mixed with water and sprayed around the yard. The organisms burrow into the ground and then kill the pests by boring into the eggs and preventing them from hatching. This is a terrific way to help control pests if you have animals or those awful fire ants. Evil doers!
I order my nematodes from Arbico Organics. They have organisms that attack a lot of pests! No chemicals, no poisons, safe for pets and children. Check them out and see. And no, I don’t work for them, and I don’t own stock! I just want to share something that works really well for me.
I’ve had two books—TOUCHED and PENUMBRA—translated into Spanish by the fabulous Isabel Brown. Now I need to figure out how to get the word out. I am handicapped because I don’t speak Spanish. I can read it, a little, but I am not fluent. But I want the world to see the fabulous translations Isabel did. I need my thinking cap!
We’re always busy here on the farm. Mandy and I have over 75,000 words on SQUATTERS, the comedic, feminist thriller we are writing together. And I’m busy working on DOG-GONE BONES for 2025. BLUE CHRISTMAS BONES will be out in October and I really, really need an Elvis impersonator for the book launch then. Any volunteers?
And, finally, I have found the old files of THE BOOK OF BELOVED and THE HOUSE OF MEMORY. Why is this good, you ask. Because Thomas & Mercer gave me the rights back to these books and I’m going to reissue them as fund raisers for Good Fortune Farm Refuge. It keeps the books alive so people can read them, and it also help raise some money for the animals.
Converting files is a task that would drive a person nuts! Lots of strange characters, broken lines, etc., etc. can occur. Priya deals with all of this with total calm, but keep a good thought for us as we do this and go through the manuscripts hoping to find all the glitches! And sometimes this summer those two books will join THE SPECTER OF SEDUCTION and A VISITATION OF ANGELS as the four completed Pluto’s Snitch books. All proceeds will go to GFFR.
So that’s all the news that’s fit to print. I do have a song for you—one that I love so much. “Dear Abby” by John Prine. He died during the initial outbreak of Covid. What a fabulous singer/songwriter he was. Enjoy.
Until next month—be out running against the wind! Sitting still nets you nothings (Lily told me to say that!)
Carolyn and the Critters!
