Blind Blogger Date

I had the exciting chance to meet a real, live blogger in person today! The blogger in question? None other than Manic Mommy! I started to read her blog pretty regularly several weeks ago, and when she checked out my blog we discovered that she lives in the next suburb over! She is a writer who has an agent, and I am a writer who has questions about having agents...and I am a writer who has been through the publishing process and am working on marketing, and she has lots of of questions about that, so we decided to meet!

WARNING: Obviously all of you out there know that arranging to meet someone that you have discovered on the internet could be dangerous. If you do this, meet them only in public, and make sure your loved ones know where you're going and when you'll be back.

Okay, back to the story. Manic and I decided to meet in a place about halfway between our homes: yes, in public. A killing the day before Halloween wouldn't be a good thing, although we joked about it.

I was so excited to meet her, because her blog is hilarious. She and I e-mailed back and forth a few times and I made a list of things I wanted to make sure to tell her so that she could store it in her brain for future use (when she publishes her book).

When we met at high noon, we laughed when we realized we were both wearing black shirts and jeans: can't go wrong with that! And then I ordered a water and a Diet Coke and she said "ME TOO!"

We had a great lunch and got along famously; it was really fun to interview each other about projects that we have going on, and we also talked about our kids a little bit and working out, since I'm an instructor and she's a student. She is afraid to try spinning (she prefers yoga), but I may just get her to come to my class once to see how she likes it.

She made a point of telling me not to take it personally when she says she's not really a dog person, and I already knew that, because of this. I don't have to have only "dog person" friends. LOL

It's such a small world that it turns out her daughter plays with the daughter of someone I knew from my health club about 10 years ago! Crazy!

After lunch, we walked to the bookstore and we looked at some of the children's books and chatted some more. We decided to give away one of my books...so if you're interested in entering the little contest we've concocted, visit her blog! (You've got 'til Friday!)

All in all, a great lunch with absolutely no violence. And I think I've got a new friend, which is the best part!

Thanks, Thanks, Thanks!

Many thanks to the Beagles of Arizona Rescue Club (BARC: isn't that cool???) in Surprise, Arizona for putting my information on their "links" page.

If you'll look over there to the right, you'll see a listing of Beagle Rescues that I have been had a conversation or two with, regarding the book. Please check them out if you live in their area (or know someone who does), and rescue a beagle!

I'll Take "Best-Selling" Any Way I Can Get It

Upon googling the book with my name (and using the Yahoo! search engine), I discovered a couple of things. Number one, my book is being sold at tons of online places I have never even heard of.

Number two, and more exciting, is that my book is listed under "Hot New Releases" on Amazon, and it's #2 in the best-selling new and future releases under the pet death category. (That's a mouthful!) The number 1? A new book about the Berenstain Bears. Good for them! I am plenty happy with being in second place. Like the other Amazon rankings, this one is updated hourly, but I don't care. I'll take whatever good stuff I can get, even if I'm off the chart this afternoon!

Like You Need One More Blog To Read, Right???

I've gone and done it. I've begun another blog. I couldn't help myself, as I have way too much to say...but can't say it all here because the purpose of this blog is definitely to promote my book and share doggie stories with others.

I can't count the number of times I come across something during my day and think, "Wow, that would be a great blog entry!" Alas, I wasn't able to post about it here. So please, as if you're not busy enough, bookmark my other blog and check in there on a regular basis as well. It might be fun!

Outage

Argggghhh! On Thursday while driving home from work and attempting to call home, I discovered that we had no phone service. Ouch! Well, I thought, at least we have cell phones and the call forwarding feature on our home line...

What I wasn't prepared for was the fact that our internet service runs through the phone line...double ouch!

"This can't happen," I thought. "I have WORK to do!"

But alas, it did happen, and I tried to learn yet another lesson in patience. Our line was repaired yesterday afternoon and I can now obviously spend time online working, e-mailing friends, and reading the blogs I have become attached to...and the whole experience makes me wonder how much harder all of this book stuff would have been without the technology that is available today, so I take a moment to be thankful.

Constant Companion

Lesson Number Two: The Buddy System Always Works, part 1

Bijoux became my almost-constant companion. Barring work and school, which were blocks of time completely incompatible with having a puppy partner, she went everywhere with me. I took her in the car as much as possible, not only to keep me company but also to get her used to car travel. A quick trip to the bank? Bijoux learned in a matter of two or three visits that the bank stocked dog treats for canine customers. An afternoon at a friend’s house? Bijoux made her own friends while we were there! A grocery run for some last-minute dinner ingredients? Bijoux was along for the ride then, too, and loved every minute of it. When the boys were born, life got too hectic to bring Bijoux along on car rides as much as she was accustomed. Whenever a new opportunity for an easy errand with her presented itself, I was quick to take advantage of it, especially on cool and breezy spring or fall days.

I cracked open the windows and left Bijoux in the car, saying “See you later, Alligator!” (BLOGNOTE: I ONLY left her in the car alone for a few minutes at a time, and NEVER on a hot day.) Very early on, she developed a habit of moving into the driver’s seat when I left her in the car. I always tried to park the car facing the building I was visiting. The very second I climbed out of the car and walked away, she got up from the passenger seat and climbed into the driver’s seat, keeping her eye on the door of the building I entered. There she sat, straight and tall, staring in my direction—I know this because occasionally I was in a position to see her from inside—just waiting for me to reappear.

As I made my way back to the car, Bijoux always spotted me immediately. Although she remained seated while I was still yards away from the car, I could see her peering over the steering wheel with her ears perked up, wagging her tail as soon as I came into view. Her whole upper body moved back and forth ever so slightly as she wagged her tail, celebrating my return. It was only when I opened the car door to get in that she got up and hopped back over to the shotgun seat and settled herself, ready to ride on.

Click here for part 2!

Name Game

Prologue: How She Came To Us

We had already decided that we weren’t going to get a dog. In the late 1980’s, Jim was in the Navy, stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. He seemed to be on deployment constantly. I really wanted to discuss having a dog for a pet. Having grown up in a three-Dachshund home, I had developed and intense love for dogs. I was, as they say, a “Dog Person”. What I longed for now was a puppy companion.

Jim wasn’t much for that “touchy-feely” dog thing: he was in favor of the useful reasons for having a dog. He thought that having a dog in the home might provide me with a sense of security…but that was the practical argument. I agreed with him, figuring that even if we had different reasons for wanting a dog, this would all work out to satisfy us both.

We had many discussions about the exact kind of dog we wanted. We weren’t too picky…"all" I wanted was a female, purebred Beagle—one that wasn’t from a pet store, and didn’t cost an arm and a leg. All Jim wanted was a dog that wasn’t too big, wasn’t too small, and didn’t cost an arm and a leg. He was fine with a Beagle. And, with that decision made, we were on our way!

I began keeping an eye on the classified ads. I purchased and studied a book on raising a puppy: Superpuppy, by Daniel Manus Pinkwater and Jill Pinkwater. (BLOGNOTE: This is an EXCELLENT book for new dog owners. I highly recommend it!!) I had many discussions with friends—poor things—about our future dog. I even borrowed a “Dog Naming Book” from the library (BLOGNOTE: A bit obsessive, you are wondering??). I pored through the book as if I were studying for an exam. There were names of all kinds, in many languages, in this book…but none of them fit the image I had of “our dog”. Suddenly a name stood out from the page: Bijoux, from the French, meaning, “little jewels”. (BLOGNOTE: If you've already read "Lesson #1, you might recall that, upon meeting Bijoux for the first time, I noticed her jewel-like markings on her head. And that was AFTER I decided on a name. Check out the photo to the right...) The name had a ring of familiarity about it, too. We remembered that Bijou (no "X") was the name of the dog that belonged to the title character in John Ritter’s television show, “Hooperman”, and we had botched the answer once while playing Trivial Pursuit. I took it as some kind of sign: the first of many. We loved it.

But—for a day—it was not to be. On a day in early April of 1990, we eventually came to the conclusion that financially, we wouldn’t be able to afford it. In financial terms, having a pet is similar to owning a car: once you make the purchase, there are regular, sometimes large and unpredictable, expenses that come along with the responsibility and commitment. This decision was a disappointment to both of us, but we knew that eventually we would realize my dream of dog ownership.

Little did we know it would be the very next day! A friend phoned me late in the afternoon. “Did you see the classifieds?” she said. “No,” I said, “We decided not to get a dog right now.” “Look in the classifieds,” she urged.

I casually flipped through the newspaper until I reached the animal ads. I couldn’t believe my eyes: the perfect little ad that seemed too good to be true was right there in front of me: “BEAGLE puppy, AKC, female. $50. Last one.” I immediately picked up the telephone and dialed the number. The puppy was born on an actual farm in Chesapeake, the mother was on the premises, and yes, the puppy was still available. Believing that perhaps fate was intervening, I excitedly made an appointment to meet this ten-week-old puppy later that evening. Jim was skeptical, but I convinced him that maybe this was a sign that we shouldn’t ignore.

That was over thirteen years ago. Listening to that instinct was one of the best things we have ever done.



So, that's my prologue! As far as "Ruby" is concerned, I struggled for a while in coming up with a name for the book. I felt strongly that "Bijoux" (BEE-shooo) would be, in a book, a name that most young kids would have trouble reading. For a while I considered making the book about a Buddy or a Susie (which, as you'll find out later, is what I called Bijoux quite often), but Buddy is a boy's name and the photos would have been goofy (!), and Susie is too much of a human name to me.

One day, the name "Ruby" popped into my head (maybe Bijoux put it there!). Did you put it all together yet? Ruby is a little jewel. Just like Bijoux.

Discombobulated Is My Middle Name...

And that will be obvious as you read this poorly assembled post. So much to do, so little time. I have several things to post about today, and I don't know where to begin.

Reviews: The book now has two reviews on Amazon! Very thrilling. All good reviews will obviously help me a bit with the marketing because the book will gain some credibility. Have you purchased the book? If you did, and if you liked it (what's not to like? LOL), please please please take a couple of minutes and review it for me on Amazon. Just a couple of simple sentences about what you like about the book will do, and I would really appreciate it!

Post Office Update: I just visited my new friend M at the post office today. I was sending out more review copies, and she called my number, so I went to her window. I asked her if her supervisor told her that I called, and she said yes, and thanks. She then proceeded to tell me how upset she had been when she looked into those blasted guidelines after I left and discovered her mistake; she didn't want the guy at the other branch to have a bad reputation when she was wrong all along. She said she called me ON HER DAY OFF, but that I had to know the real story behind these guidelines. She was very cute about it, but actually a little hard on herself, in my opinion. I'd much rather have that, though, instead of someone who could care less. I told her it was all good in the 'hood, and that now we ALL know the guidelines.

NaBloPoMo: I was so irritated yesterday because I tried to type up an initial post, and it was going really great until I tried to attach a link. Then: POOF! It was gone. WAH. So now I have to start it all over again...but at that point, I had to walk away from the computer! By the way, I created two blog groups on NaBloPoMo: All About Pets and Beagle Bloggers. I also joined the Chicago Bloggers group. Anyone out there want to join me?

Progress made today: I sent out (as I mentioned above) 4 more review copies. Julie has thrown a bunch of great ideas my way for marketing, and one of them that I love is the website petsugar.com. I've read popsugar.com, but there are lots of others (if you go to petsugar, scroll down to the bottom and you'll find the listing of all their other "Sugar" sites). Julie told me that petsugar is a relatively new "branch", so I sent them a copy of the book. I also sent a copy to a magazine called Modern Dog. I saw it in the bookstore yesterday and it looks like a great magazine. It comes from our friends to the north--no, not Wisconsin--Canada! What I loved was, when I called the toll free number to ask who I should address my book to, the woman who answered the phone was VERY friendly. I am on a roll with great customer service!

I have begun making follow-up phone calls to the pet boutiques who received my letters. I don't enjoy the phone calls, I must say. I would much rather get in my car and visit everybody but, besides it being very unprofessional to pop in without making a phone call first, the vast area I would have to cover would make it a huge waste of time, energy, and gasoline. So making phone calls it is! I had a couple of positive exchanges during today's calls; a couple of store owners want to see the book. One shop doesn't stock books but the owner said he has a "community board" that I am welcome to post on, so that's a good thing. Moving right along!

Beagle Rescues: I am starting to hear from the Beagle Rescues that I sent information to; they seem really excited about the book and I am hoping that they will be a major part of my marketing. More to come on that as it happens!

Bijoux's name: It occurred to me that after I started posting my essays about Bijoux/the real Ruby, I totally skipped over the introduction that I wrote! Well, I won't post the whole thing out of order now but I will post about how Bijoux got her name, because that information is important in the path leading to Ruby. Stay tuned for that.

Identify yourself, please: I am starting to get "hits" from all over the world, which is really exciting for me. Please feel free to leave a comment and introduce yourself. You don't have to have a google account to put a comment up; you can post under "anonymous" if you want. I'd love to hear from you!

To my friends in the Land Down Under: I asked M at the post office to weigh a book package and tell me how much it would be to get it to you, and the postage is $5. So if any of you all the way down there would like to order one directly from me, e-mail me using the link over to the right and we'll get that set up.

I think that's it for now. Isn't that enough? My goodness! I'm exhausted just typing about it! Have a great evening...more tomorrow!

NaBloPoMo

I just signed up to participate in National Blog Posting Month, which is November. "All I have to do" is post everyday during the month. I will be posting both here and on the NaBloPoMo site on a seperate blog, which should be fun. I'm using the blog on that site to post about my *current* dog Roxie, because she is just hilarious and I can't post too much about her on this blog, because it's all about the book.

Of course, after I signed up I remembered that Jim and I are going away for 5 days mid-month. How am I going to manage that one? Hmm. I may have to write some short posts early and ask Julie to throw them up. (Not literally: gross!)

If you're interested in joining NaBloPoMo, click on the link I just installed at the bottom, right-hand side of this page. And add me to your friends list! On NaBloPoMo my user name is Remembering Ruby. Creative, huh? (Workin' it...workin' it!)

If you are a NaBloPoMo member and stopped in to check this blog out, welcome! Please leave a comment and identify yourself...I'd love to meet you!

Where Else Can You Find A Blog With Three Consecutive Entries About the U.S. Postal Service?

This morning I tried to call the Post Office to sing the praises of M, the super-dee-duper Window Clerk (Is that an official title? I'll have to look that up) who far surpassed her normal job requirements when dealing with me this weekend.

Unfortunately, after asking me for my address (I assume there are different supervisors for different parts of town? That's an interesting concept. If you misbehave on the job, do you get "demoted" to the more whiny areas?) and going to find the correct supervisor, she left me on hold for a really long time--for this type of call, anyway. I ended up having to hang up because I was on my way out to meet my friend D for lunch. I did not let this apparent indifference about leaving customers on hold for an indefinite amount of time deter me from wanting to call back.

Upon my return from lunch, I called again. This time the operator asked me what my call was regarding, and she didn't need my address because she was putting me directly through to the Window Supervisor. The woman answered and when I told her that I was calling to give "Big Ups" to one of the clerks (I didn't say "Big Ups"; I just like that term better for the story--it adds flavor!), she seemed flabbergasted. It's clear that she doesn't get many calls like mine.

I tried to make the long story short for her (it's tough: I challenge YOU to try it!) and in the middle of it she asked me, "Well, did she offer you Express Mail so it could get there faster?" She obviously was missing my point, so I had to back up a bit and recap my recap. I finally got it all out and she thanked me and told me she would let M know that I called. I hope she really does. I hate it when management gets feedback (especially good feedback!) and then suddenly get too lazy to pass it on to the people who need to hear it.

In other post office news (will it ever stop?? LOL), the book that I sent (Priority Mail, remember?) to Ross the Intern at the Tonight Show got delivered to the studio around 7:30 this morning. I wonder when he'll actually have it in hand.

Things are percolating now...Send good karma my way, please!

Who Knew The U.S. Post Office Had Such Amazing Customer Service???

I have another chapter of the "Ellen book and the Post Office" saga for you today!

In keeping an eye on my Delivery Confirmation number, I found out (Friday night) that the book that I sent to "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" was indeed delivered on Friday morning at 11:22! Whee! So that was a relief, that I wouldn't have to expect it back in my mailbox in a matter of a week or two...

And then yesterday (Saturday), I left the house to run some errands and discovered that I had a voice mail message when I turned on my cell phone. To my surprise, it was the Post Office lady! Say it with me, people: "Whaaaaaa???"

Here is her message, word for word:
"Hi Melisa, it's M from the post office. That book going to Ellen's show should be fine because back in May they made some changes and now they're saying that if it's rigid you can do Delivery Confirmation First Class and it doesn't have to be 3/4 of an inch thick; they added some stuff in there and I was wrong, so I'm sorry. I just wanted to tell you that, that piece should be fine. Thanks, bye."

If I had been standing up at the time I listened to it, you could have knocked me over with a feather.

But wait! How did she get my number, you're wondering?

During my time at her window, she was dazzled by the labels on the envelopes and asked about them. I told her about the book and she seemed interested, so I gave her my business card! (Workin' it, workin' it!) Turns out it's a good thing I did that; she probably was up all night thinking about this situation and how she thought I was totally freaked out; it's great for both of us that she was able to make that call! Now I know just how great some post office employees are. I plan to call her branch manager tomorrow to give her a big "Holla!" Management needs to know these things, you know?

Could a "Comedy of Errors" Get This Book on the Ellen Show????

So...I wasn't going to actually blog about sending the book to the Ellen DeGeneres Show unless I was successful in getting it some airtime, but the events of this week are just too bizarre to keep the details in my own house.

I decided long ago that the first book I would send out as part of my marketing plan would be to Ellen, for several reasons:

1. I'm a big fan, of course. I have been following her (not literally!) since she played Margo Van Meter on the "Duet" spinoff called "Open House" on Fox.

2. I know how much she loves animals.

3. I know that she will often, at the beginning of the show, give some airtime to unusual things, like the "Cheers To You!" CD...which I bought--AND LOVED--after I saw it on her show.

Good reasons, right?

When my three author copies arrived a couple of weeks ago, I set one aside to send to the show. I worked on my letter and packaged it all up to take to the post office, and did so first thing Tuesday morning.

Do any of you remember what happenned on Tuesday's Ellen show?



Hmm. Yikes. Did any of you out there who have been following this story catch what Ellen's hairdresser's daughter's name is? Click "play", below. It's in the first 10 seconds.



Uh huh. Mind-blowing, isn't it?
Picture this scenario in your mind:
You're a staffer at the Ellen DeGeneres show and you receive an ADORABLE little grey envelope that has a colorful little label. Upon taking a closer look, you see that the label depicts--is that a DOG COLLAR?? Oh, and the collar has a little red heart tag on it! What does the tag say?

"Remembering RUBY"? What is this, some kind of joke?

No, it's not...I ASSURE you it's not. And now, I present to you An Open Letter to the Ellen DeGeneres Show:

Dear Ellen and Staff,
Hello. I did not mean to have what I think is probably the worst timing in my entire life when I sent you my new book, called "Remembering Ruby". I am not insensitive; I am well aware of what is going on with Ellen, Portia, Ruby, Mutts & Moms, and most of all, Iggy. My Ruby had her name months before America ever heard of your Ruby. If I had just waited until Tuesday after 4:00 to go to the post office; I would have watched the show and decided to wait a couple of weeks before sending it. Obviously I cannot go back in time but I do hope that you will take pity on me for apparently living in the Twilight Zone. I would really appreciate it.
Love,
Your Fan,
Melisa

Figuring there was no reason to obsess about it (as I am prone to do, about EVERYTHING), I went on with my week, keeping an eye on the story as it is just unbelievable to me what a fiasco this turned into. I really wish that Iggy could be back with Ruby and her family.

Anyway, I spent several hours this morning finishing up some letters and packaging up books to send out for reviews:



It seems like, with all the time I spent on it, the stack should be about triple that size, but whatever...on to the rest of the story.

One of the books is going to Ross the intern on The Tonight Show. Why? He loves animals, especially dogs. Check out his blog to see many videos of him and his dog Louise. It's hysterical. Upon arriving at the post office (a different branch from the one I visited on Tuesday), I put the Ross envelope on the counter and asked for delivery confirmation with First Class Postage. The postal worker, a woman who is very, very nice but also reminds me of Cliff Clavin from "Cheers", informed me that I had to send it Priority Mail in order to get the Delivery Confirmation. I said, "Wha?? I just sent one from the other branch on Tuesday, and I was able to do that."

Sidenote: I wasn't protesting having to pay extra for Priority Mail; I was just flabbergasted that this postal guideline was something apparently taught on the day in Post Office School when the other guy from Tuesday was sick or something. My Ellen book was now in Jeopardy!

She said, "No, you couldn't have done that. The parcel has to be more than 3/4" thick in order to do that. They know the guidelines."

Lucky for me I rarely clean out my purse so I had the receipt handy. I showed it to her and she said, "Huh. Well, what do you know? He shouldn't have done that. It will arrive there 'Postage Due'."

IT WILL ARRIVE THERE "POSTAGE DUE?"

Could there be any more embarrassment associated with getting this book to Ellen? Maybe the pages in that particular copy are blank? Maybe the mailman dropped it in the mud on the way there? Maybe my letter is full of typos???

She went on to ask her co-worker for confirmation on what she was telling me, and she got the head nod from that lady. She was very apologetic to me as if this mistake by someone in another branch reflected on her as well. I appreciated the sentiment greatly but told her it wasn't necessary. I said, "I checked the delivery confirmation on that book this morning and it said it had arrived at the Santa Clarita, California post office and left for delivery...does that mean anything?"

She said, "Oh! That's good news! That means you have about a 50/50 chance of it getting delivered as is. It just depends on if the carrier notices the shortage."

After sending Ross' book with the Priority Mail rate and sending the rest of them First Class (without Delivery Confirmation, of course), I left the post office, reeling. (Okay, that was dramatic. Sorry.) Three outcomes are possible:
1. The book will be delivered.
2. The book will be delivered after an Ellen staffer pays the extra postage.
3. The Ellen staff will refuse delivery and the book will be returned to me, at which time I will return to the post office with my receipt (since I have no purse-cleaning plans for the next week or two) and ask them to fix it.

And now, I present to you, An Open Letter to the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Part Two:
Dear Ellen and staff,
It's me, the girl with bad timing and apparently a useless/forgetful/sleepy post office staff. If you received my book with no incident, then I say to you "Halleluyah!" If my book came to you with some postage due and you paid for it, then I am almost as overjoyed as I was when I gave birth to my sons. (almost) I apologize deeply for the error; I know it may seem to you--since you don't know me--as if I tend to blame everyone else for my mistakes, but I assure you that is not true. When I make an honest mistake I am very good at claiming responsibility and making amends. That said, although I did not make the error in computing the postage, I will absolutely refund you what you paid PLUS, let's say, an extra $5 for your trouble. Best wishes to you and your families, and I hope to hear from you soon.
Love,
Your Fan,
Melisa

After all of this, I'm going to hope that fate will get my book on air. This has just been too weird! But I need all of the luck I can get with this one...keep your fingers crossed for me! I'll keep you posted!

Making a Powerful First Impression...

Lesson Number 1: There Is Such a Thing As Love At First Sight (part 2)

We gave the farmer fifty dollars and eagerly took the puppy out to our pick-up truck. As Jim drove, I held her up on my shoulder so she could look out of the window behind us at her birthplace. I playfully took her paw and waved behind us. As we drove away from the house on the long dirt road, her mother—the largest Beagle I had ever seen—chased us for a bit, barking as the last of her babies made her way to a new life.

As prepared as we had been mentally to take on a puppy, our house was definitely not so. We had none of the things that new puppy owners should have: no puppy food, no water dish, no bed, no leash, no collar, and certainly no toys. We also had no plan for the next day, when Jim returned to work and I returned to my full day of college courses. Although we had been thinking about a puppy for a long time, this was still an impulse. We had to jump into action right away.

The first errand that needed to be run was for puppy food and other necessities. Jim decided to stay home with Bijoux while I took a list of needed items to the grocery store. When I returned home, we fed her and played with her—with the new toys I bought, along with a pair of socks that Jim knotted—until she was exhausted. We also managed to use almost two rolls of film, taking as many photographs of our new addition in one evening as new parents would of their newborn.



In our many “pre-puppy” discussions, Jim and I were both insistent that when we brought a puppy into our home, we would housebreak her with the crate method, rather than just barricading her into the kitchen. As luck would have it, we had good friends—Dawn and Scott—whose English Springer Spaniel had recently outgrown his puppy crate. In the morning, I tried calling Dawn, but she was not home. Her answering machine picked up. “Bijoux is here!” I excitedly breathed into the phone. “Could we borrow the crate that you used for Rex? Let me know!”

It was almost time to leave for work and school, and since we didn’t have a puppy crate in our possession, the only choice for the day was to put a baby gate up in the kitchen doorway. For one day, we thought, it’s no big deal.

Upon arriving home from school a few hours later, however, I anxiously unlocked the front door and discovered that it was a big deal. The house looked like a truck had driven through it. Newspapers and school papers were strewn everywhere. Formerly clean laundry was scattered all over the floor. The place was a chaotic mess. Suddenly after hearing my entrance, Bijoux, whipped into a frenzy, skidded around the corner to greet me. I took her outside to take care of her business immediately and then went back in to survey the rest of the damage. As I looked through the clutter, I began to discover that although she had made a huge mess, nothing was ripped, chewed, torn, or otherwise. She had just pulled things down from tables…not damaged them. I was quite impressed and pleased. Still in the living room, I wondered how she was able to knock the gate down when I had double-checked its security.

As I approached the kitchen, I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was the baby gate, still snugly in place where I had left it that morning. Somehow she had conquered the height of it on her first day trying! We would never find out whether she jumped or climbed her way to freedom, but this very early event in our life together gave us a strong indication of the spirit for which Bijoux would become known.

My Ship(ment) Has Finally Come In!

Last night at about 8:00 p.m. the doorbell rang. It was the second time it rang within 30 minutes, and very weird because NOBODY ever comes to our house after dark unless we're expecting them. The first visitor was someone from the Boy Scout Troop, but that's another story.

Anyway, at 8:00 p.m. when the bell rang, the dog went crazy barking as usual, and Jim and I looked at each other as if to say, "Whaaa?"

I went to see who it was and, through the window, saw the UPS truck pulling away. Hurray! What can Brown do for me? It can bring me books!



Now the pressure's on. Thank goodness I don't work tomorrow and Friday; I'm going to have to get all of my review copies in the mail!

It's an exciting day!

The Beginning of Ruby

Lesson Number One: There Is Such A Thing As Love At First Sight

We drove to the farm in Chesapeake, about fifteen minutes away from home, and promptly got lost on the country roads in the area. My impatience was annoying to both of us, and we finally stopped at a gas station so I could call the farmer for directions. He sounded as edgy as I, and after a quick turnaround, we finally made it to our destination.

The farmer welcomed us into his home and led us to a family room. I don’t remember much about the farmer himself other than his general gruffness, but he was friendly. We sat down, Jim on a chair and I on the floor, and waited with intense anticipation for him to bring this little girl to us. Suddenly there was a little scurry of activity, and we saw her. She was small, full of energy, and had floppy ears that were cuter than description. Her clumsily large paws seemed to indicate at first glance that she would grow to be a good-sized dog. She ran to us immediately, and I felt her softness for the first time. As I looked her over, I noticed first that although she was a tri-color beagle, she had unusual tiny black spots of fur mixed in with the white parts of her, similar to a Dalmatian. I said, “You said she’s all Beagle, right?” The farmer explained that she was indeed a pure bred Beagle, and that her distinctive markings were called “blue-ticking”, which was a sign of good ancestry. I didn’t know anything about it, but was satisfied with his answer. Then I noticed one of her most distinctive marks: just above her eyes on the top of her head was an oval-shaped spot of black fur. It looked positively regal…like a jewel? I felt a surge in my heart that told me we would not be leaving empty-handed.

I spent a few minutes playing with her on the floor as I asked the farmer several questions. There was one question I needed to ask which had deal-breaker potential written all over it, but I couldn’t leave without knowing. “Why is she the only puppy left from the litter? It’s unusual to see an ad in the paper for the last puppy left.” We were surprised to learn that she had been purchased by another family, but then returned. I began to worry, but continued my probe. “Why?” The answer resonated in my head for years after that night, and makes me smile every time I think about it. The farmer sat back in his chair and said, “Stupid city folks. They thought she came housebroken already.” We laughed at the silliness but after all these years we are so grateful to those “stupid city folks” for making it possible for us to take over.

The final test was yet to come: I had to convince Jim that this dog was for us. I looked over at him as he watched this funny little puppy play on the floor in front of him. He was trying to be the calm one, the reasonable one. He slowly leaned down and snapped his fingers to get the puppy’s attention. She bounded over to him immediately and he scooped her up in his arms. She nuzzled in his neck and licked his face, and as I sat there with my fingers crossed behind my back, willing some kind of chemistry to happen, the puppy did the “work” herself. Jim’s mouth widened into a smile, and as he looked down at me I knew I wouldn’t need to say any more. I raised my eyebrows, and he nodded. It was a done deal.

Click here for part 2!

Falling Behind On My Own Schedule

Yikes.

I have taken a couple of days off due to a combination of having to work at the salon (what's that? oh yeah, my job!), not feeling well physically, and feeling mentally drained...I shouldn't have done that.

Now I have to pay the price for my sluggishness as I feel my mental lists creeping up on me...Yes, I even took a couple of days off from making my to-do lists! What was I thinking????

I have been reading a great book by a publishing industry expert that contains some fabulous ideas on marketing a book, and along with learning a bunch of things I didn't know before, I have collected some action items that I would be stupid not to try. I won't go into all of it right now, but one thing that has jumped to the near-top of my (mental) list is to make a "Review Sheet".

I had figured that I would just send a beautifully-written letter along with a copy of the book to each person I wanted a review from. This industry expert that wrote the book outlined how to do a "Review Sheet" that actually gets enclosed with the letter, giving even more details about my book and where to send a copy of the review (so I don't have to hunt for all of them!), etc. It made complete sense to me and also showed me how much more I have to learn. But, I enjoy a challenge and I am firm in my belief that this book will help so many families...so I keep plugging away!

So the "Review Sheet" is my assignment for tonight, along with some of my cover letters. Tomorrow will be 7 days since I placed my bulk book order, and I am hoping to receive them by the beginning of next week (I can hope, can't I???). I want to have everything ready so as soon as those books come in my door, a bunch of them can leave again without even staying for dinner. LOL

I'm off to check some items off my (mental) list! Wish me luck!

Anyone hungry?

I have just been "tagged" by Kat of My Two Cents to answer these food questions. How fun is that? Yeah, yeah...I'll work on book stuff after I answer these questions. :)

In turn, I am tagging my sister Julie of House of Jules.

1. How do you like your eggs? Scrambled, poached, or fried.

2. How do you take your coffee/tea? I don't drink coffee. I like tea with milk and sugar on it, and preferably at tea time on a boat in the Bahamas,as I was over the summer with my son and the Boy Scout Troop.




3. Favorite breakfast food: Eggs and turkey bacon or, if my Mom is cooking, Belgian waffles, or if Julie is "cooking", hot dogs and papaya juice in New York City.


4. Peanut butter - smooth or crunchy? SMOOTH.

5. What kind of dressing on your salad? 1000 Island or Balsamic Viniagrette.

6. Coke or Pepsi? Coke Zero. Pepsi makes me queasy.

7. You’re feeling lazy, what do you make? Grilled cheese and potato chips.

8. You’re feeling really lazy. What kind of pizza do you order? Extra cheese with onions.

9. You feel like cooking. What do you make? Marinated Flank Steak, twice baked potatoes, and some kind of vegetable just so it looks like we're eating healthy stuff.

10. Do any foods bring back good memories? Fondue. Always good times!

11. Do any foods bring back bad memories? Liver. And although I like cole slaw, I always think of my Grandma's funeral when I eat it. And although I like broccoli, I always remember how, when we made our son eat it as a 4-year-old, he threw up all over the dinner plate.

12. Do any foods remind you of someone? Hmmm. Not really. Other than broccoli. (See #11)

13. Is there a food you refuse to eat? Liver.

14. What was your favorite food as a child? Why do I suddenly feel older than the hills? I can't remember! I always loved a good cheeseburger...

15. Is there a food that you hated as a child but now like? Fish

16. Is there a food that you liked as a child but now hate? No

17. Favorite fruit and vegetable: Fruit: probably watermelon or good strawberries. Vegetable: broccoli and corn, although I don't think that counts as one, really.

18. Favorite junk food: Any sweets, and movie popcorn that is contains more butter than any human should be allowed to eat.

19. Favorite between meal snack: potato chips

20. Do you have any weird food habits? no

21. You’re on a diet. What food(s) do you fill up on? vegetables and salad.

22. You’re off your diet. Now what would you like? Everything.

23. How spicy do you order Indian/Thai? Mild. I'm boring.

24. Can I get you a drink? Jack and Coke or a Margarita, depending on where I am and what we're eating.

25. Red or White Wine? White

26. Favorite dessert? Cheesecake or ice cream sundae

27. The perfect nightcap? Umm, hot cocoa?

Your turn, Julie!

Lazy Sunday...I mean SATURDAY

I had intended to do so much today! Over the last couple of days I steamrolled through my goal of getting all those letters out (almost 100 of them), and it was my additional goal this weekend to write the letters that I will send (accompanied by copies of the book) to various places, asking for a review.

At this point in the day, however (it's 4:30 p.m.), I am feeling slightly wiped out by the intensity of this week. I think I will choose to iron instead of work on letters, and maybe even--the horror!--clean up the kitchen or something. I'll post more about my progress--and I WILL have made progress by then--tomorrow afternoon!

In the meantime, enjoy this video from Saturday Night Live.

The Label! (Can I Get a Drumroll?)

I mentioned that I was picking up my fancy schmancy mailing labels from Julie last night, and I did. They are SO awesome; I just love them! Hopefully the label, combined with the red (Ruby red! Get it?) envelope, will make the recipients drop everything to find out what could be inside the gorgeous packaging. (It'll be my fancy schmancy business card, along with either a letter and a sales sheet for the book, or my fancy schmancy business card, along with a press release, which I color-copied for free, as you'll remember, from FedEx/Kinkos!)

Want to see the label? Here it is:

I covered up my address, so you'll have to use your imagination in that area.

Isn't it cool? Wouldn't YOU love to get something with a label this nice on it? Props to Julie; as usual, dazzling artwork. :)

I'm getting my pet boutique letters out today, as well as the rest of the press releases. I can't wait to get the other letters out! My goal is to have them in the mail by Saturday morning.

Have a great day! More later!

Just an Ordinary Day, I Guess...OR IS IT??

Well, after the "whirlwind" of birthdays lately (ha ha: the last two days!) I was going to be sorry to say that it is nobody's birthday today--in my family, that is. Then I was checking a couple of the blogs I now read daily and discovered that it is Kat's Mom's birthday today! Woo hoo! So Happy Birthday to Kat's Mom!

I have added Kat's blog down there to the right, as well as Katie's and Karyn's. (It must be a good day for women whose names begin with "K"!) *LOL* Check them out when you get a few minutes!

Book news? I am picking up my fancy-schmancy mailing labels from Julie this evening (yes, she designed those, too!) so that I can begin mailing letters to different types of businesses: pet boutiques, pet cemetaries, vets, shelters, and various publications to try to get reviews as well.

I finished the pet boutique letters yesterday afternoon. I am starting in the Chi-town area with those and "oozing" outward. Today I am hoping to get the pet cemetary and shelter letters done, and then we'll see how long it takes me to do the rest.

I placed my bulk order for books yesterday, so I can take my time on the "Would you please review me" letters. There are probably a million--okay, that's exaggerating, sorry--vets in this area, so that will probably take me a while.

Busy times! I work at the salon this afternoon, tomorrow, and Friday, so I guess the book is going to get squeezed in during the early a.m.'s for the next couple of days! (and I'm starting the countdown to Friday...)

Happy Birthday, Dad!

It's our Dad's birthday today! (which you would already know if you read the title of this post, but I thought I'd state it again.)

Dad is recovering from a hip replacement currently, and he is doing GREAT. He did a lap around the hospital floor he was on, on the afternoon he had the surgery done and he's been going going going ever since! I called him the day after surgery (Friday) and asked how he was doing; he said, "Great! I was just running around the hallways."

"REALLY?" I asked.

"Well, sort of...walking fast with the walker..."

It's that kind of hilarity that Julie and I (and the rest of the family) expect from Dad, and he rarely disappoints.

Obviously, Dad being my Dad, I have countless memories that I could share on this blog today. Unfortunately, the one that keeps popping itself up as the one I have to share first is how he ate Milk Bones in front of my friends when I was a teenager, to be "funny". I guess I don't have to add any detail to that...just let your mind do the rest. I was obviously horrified. But that's how he rolls. If you want the serious, pick another guy. If you want the Funny, choose my Dad.

Dad likes to be unpredictable, too. When I got a speeding ticket only months after getting my driver's license, I pulled Mom aside in the kitchen and told her about it. She was furious, and said the words that made me shudder: "YOU'RE going to have to tell your father." I went to bed, planning how I would tell him the next day in such a way that I would not be grounded from driving, but couldn't sleep because of the guilt. I got out of bed and went to where he was watching some tv show and slowly spit out my story, waiting for the hammer to come down.

"Well, you'll have to pay for it," he said.

"What?"

"I said, you'll have to pay for it. Hey, tickets happen. I get 'em, and I pay for them."

That was it.

I was so excited! Of course, his unpredictability went the other way, too: when I expected that something wouldn't be a big deal, well...it's his birthday. I don't have to give an example of that!

Another memory that stands out about my Dad is that, because of him, I still, at almost 39 years old, can call up in my memory the taste of dry washcloth in my mouth from the times when I had a really loose tooth that was hanging by a thread and he said, "Get me a washcloth. I'll pull it out."


Dad has managed hotels for years and Julie and I have benefitted greatly. When I was in fifth grade, I had my birthday party at the pool of the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza in Chicago.

In 6th grade, we lived (for the first part of the school year) at the Holiday Inn in Hurst, Texas.

We moved to Knoxville, Tennessee just before 8th grade and we lived at the Holiday Inn only about a mile from the site of the 1982 World's Fair. I had a cheeseburger from the restaurant almost every night for dinner, and we routinely went downstairs to bring sundaes up to our rooms for dessert. My friends loved being invited for sleepovers. But best of all, Julie and I knew what day of the week the video game guy would come to take the quarters out of the arcade machines. The hotel arcade was awesome; it had Pac Man, Centipede, Defender, Donkey Kong, and Burger Time. We would station ourselves in the arcade on that great day each week and wait for him, and he, probably "thrilled" to have groupies, set us up with tons of game credits before he left. Thanks Dad: because of you being a hotel manager and maintaing a game room, Julie and I had "Mad Skills" with the video games!

Julie and I were also exposed to lots of experiences that many kids weren't, besides having free reign over a hotel. We, being suburban children, took regular excursions to the city when Dad worked at the Ascot Hotel on Michigan Avenue and then the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza. We saw the museums, the parks, Buckingham Fountain, and more. We saw shows (the first one I remember is "Bubbling Brown Sugar", which we bought the soundtrack for. I can still hear it!) every now and then. Dad, along with Mom, also made it possible for me to participate in a CISV student interchange, in which we had a German visitor (Tina) stay with us for a month during the World's Fair, and then I stayed with her in Darmstadt Germany for a month the following year.

Although Dad has always been a television fan, sometimes our tastes don't see eye to eye. For example, wrestling. Ick. He used to watch that ALL of the time. I did, however, enjoy joining him in the family room when Roller Derby was on; that was always a good time. We also enjoyed shows like "All in the Family", "Emergency!", "Adam 12", and later, "Cheers" and "The Cosby Show".

As far as movies go, well, he'll watch almost anything. I do remember Julie and I getting into major trouble for watching "Mommie Dearest" one too many times. As an adult, I now understand why you wouldn't necessarily want your young daughters laughing and imitating the "NO MORE WIRE HANGERS" scene over and over again so I guess I should thank Dad for yelling at us...

Seriously though, that reminds me of the most important thing I think my Dad has taught me, and that is how to be a good parent. Mom and Dad had the bar set pretty high for us and we didn't always come through, but when we tried our best we knew they were proud of us because they told us so. Our parents still tell us they're proud of us, which is something that not too many thirty-somethings can say.

I see myself doing and saying many of the same things I was brought up with, and I know that it's working because the boys are growing up to be fabulous young adults. We eat dinner together 99% of the time, we spend time doing "family" activities, Jim and I try to be very involved with the boys' extra-curriculars, just as Mom and Dad always were with mine and Julie's...Although Dad and Mom don't live here, their values are helping to raise our family the right way, and that is something you can't put a price on.

So, in closing, I just want to say: Have a Happy Birthday, Dad! Don't get crazy and take a jog around the block or anything; watch some wrestling (ick) and enjoy yourself! We love you!

Author Copies!

It must have been the Luck O' The Julie's Birthday, because my author copies of the book FINALLY arrived yesterday! Whee! Now that so many of my family and friends (and who knows how many strangers!) have the book, it was a little anti-climactic. However, I can now place my order for a stack of books that I can have on hand, which is very exciting.

Julie brought me a gift on Sunday that was a crazy kind of exciting: she had the book's logo (and blog masthead) put on the front of a t-shirt for me, with the blog address on the back. She also had a blank journal made with a cover that is my business card with a twist: instead of "Author", she put "Ink Slinger Extraordinaire", which is what I demand that my family call me in private (KIDDING.).

She may make the shirt and a journal (not like mine, but one for kids) available on our websites...so stay tuned!

Happy Birthday, Beautiful!

Today is Julie's birthday. Holla! She's still the younger of the two of us (ha!). She can still say she's in her early thirties (barely), which is way more than I can do.

Being 4 years and 11 months apart, we had a naturally tumultuous relationship as little girls. I felt like she was always trying to get in my business and she felt like I was extremely bossy. Hmm. Maybe we were both right!

Being typically territorial, we spent lots of times standing with our toes right on the carpet line between the other sister's bedroom and the hallway, being extremely annoying but figuring it was okay because we didn't actually ENTER the room.

We did, however, band together when it was really important. Like when we got the Donny and Marie dolls. We put on lots of great stage shows with those things.

Or when we went nuts about the original Cabbage Patch Dolls, with our Mom leading the way. A Babyland General Hospital opened up in Knoxville, and our family became Xavier Roberts groupies, as you can see by this photo.
Mom even made an unintentionally creepy loaf of bread that resembled a Cabbage Patch baby head for him when he came to town to sign the butts of the dolls he created.

I brought her to school for show and tell when I was in 1st grade.

She was a big hit. Speaking of hits, the other thing that I had as part of my show and tell presentation was the Fisher Price clock that she bashed me in the head with during a car trip to Canada. (I don't remember which came first: the show and tell or the head bashing.)

We bonded under the big magnolia tree that was in front of our house in Knoxville. We spent hours on the weekends under the low branches of that thing, weeding what was sprouting up underneath. Those days of weeding instigated a lifelong disgust with gardening, so much so that Jim and Julie have had a running bet: she owes him a quarter if she EVER does yardwork again in her life. It wasn't until I saw the tree a couple of years ago and noticed that the current homeowners cut off the bottom branches and made it possible for two little girls to not have to crouch so low to do their weeding. Godspeed to the current children in that house! We paved the way...

Besides standing strong together on Remembering Ruby and all of the issues we overcame together with the book (I can't imagine having done this with anyone else), our other greatest time of banding together in the face of adversity was Black Thanksgiving. I won't go into the details too much, but we spent an entire Thanksgiving weekend taking inventory on our Mom's Beanie Babies, Cherished Teddies, Precious Moments figurines, and Hallmark ornaments. The Beanies were the killer, though. I can't go into it any more than that, or I might start crying and Julie might, also. It was a time we'll never forget, unfortunately.

In 1995, Julie, Mom, and I had our first Girls' Weekend. We went to the Mall of America and had a blast.

We shopped til we dropped, rode the roller coaster at Camp Snoopy, and it was then that I discovered--because of Julie's wise recommendation--that I looked fabulous in Coffee Bean lipstick by Revlon. (Thanks again!!)

Our next Girls' weekend was in New York City, as Julie had moved out there. Mom and I flew out and the three of us did all of the touristy stuff: Broadway shows (Three nights in a row: Ragtime, Grease, and Rent!), great food, the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, and the World Trade Center.

Julie eventually came back to the Chicago area, and now she lives only about 20 minutes from us. She is always there for us, as we are always there for her. She is like a second mom to the boys: she is the only one in the world who knows them as well as Jim and I do. And that's important, because it makes it three against two.

At one point, after the boys went through phases of calling her many things (Joo-ie, Aunt Noodie, Aunt Doody, just Julie, etc.), she told them, "Why don't you just call me Beautiful?" So they did, for a while.

Another of the many things that I absolutely love and appreciate about Julie is how she has shown me so many "little" things that I never would have discovered on my own, for example, parts of New York that only a local would be able to share. After I went out there the first time and did all the touristy stuff, future visits were taken up with more "normal" things. She introduced me to Kate's Paperie in SoHo



as well as (right across the street) the most beautiful grocery store in the world, Dean and Deluca.



We have enjoyed lemonade from Balthazar together,



hot dogs and papaya juice--for breakfast--from Gray's Papaya, every day for three days straight.



She has introduced me to her friends who are awesome people. She doesn't take friendship lightly; she works hard at it and the people she includes in her inner circle care about her just as much as she does them.

We have dined at the Miracle Grill in the Village a couple of times (her favorite restaurant!),



and we've spent hours outside stage doors waiting for autographs after the many shows we've seen together, both in NYC and Chicago. We came up short, however, when we braved the Chicago winter waiting for more than an hour for Matthew Broderick and/or Nathan Lane after "The Producers" previewed in Chicago. Jim, not being a fan of the cold OR waiting for autographs, was a great sport as he stood off to the side like he didn't know us. Matthew! Nathan! If you happen to read this, e-mail me or just make a comment. We'll forgive you IMMEDIATELY for avoiding the stage door; we're sure you were just afraid of the love that was going to come your way...


Here's a slightly startled Christina Applegate, signing our Playbills after "Sweet Charity" in Chicago.

One of the funniest memories in recent history involves New York and Broadway shows. Jim sent the two of us to New York for a long weekend in honor of our birthdays last fall and, after seeing "Avenue Q" and getting our Playbills autographed,



we walked down the street to look for a bite to eat. We came upon a big row of posters and signs advertising the shows that were current Broadway shows. The first one was for Martin Short's show. We suddenly decided it would be hilarious to pose in front of these signs just like we do in front of the shows we really attend. We stopped a couple who was walking by and asked them to take a photo of us in front of Martin's sign, and they obliged.


"Yes, we imagine the show was WONDERFUL!"

We spent the next 30 minutes posing in front of various signs as if we were part of the picture and, I'm sorry to say, you're just going to have to believe me when I tell you that it was one of the funniest things ever. I guess some of what happens in NYC stays in NYC.

Julie is a great cook, too. She is not afraid to try new recipes, and our family has been the grateful beneficiary of many a gourmet meal. She has brought unbelievable culinary delights into our house, like Emeril's Italian Chicken with Spaghetti Bordelaise, Swiss Cheese Bread, Fruitastic Salad, and most recently a menu full of Mexican recipes that would have delighted any restaurant owner. (Yum. I think I'm STILL full.)


Though she's a fixture in the kitchen, the place you will find her more often than not is behind the camera.


She has photographed our boys within minutes after birth and every life stage from that point on (and her friends' weddings and children as well!). Her talents have given us the gift of being able to look at thousands and thousands of photographs and call up memories immediately as we do so.

Many of my greatest life memories involve this chick who was always my sister by blood, but now I am proud to call her my friend by choice. She is the best aunt any kid could ask for, not only to my boys but to the kids of her friends as well. She is full of life and really knows how to have fun or, as my friend Kate would say, "make her own party". She is thoughtful, caring, and generous both with resources and time. She is a blessing to her family and all of her friends.

Julie, Happy Birthday. You are more special than you could ever imagine, our sister, sister-in-law, aunt, and friend. Our birthday wish for you can be summed up in this photo from Dylan's Candy Bar in NYC:




We love you!

Torn Between Two Emotions, Feelin' Like a Fool...

I just went to check the book's Amazon listing as I do from time to time, to see how it's ranked.

Wait.

Back up. (Beep Beep Beep Beep)

I have some information that will be helpful for you to know before I go on.

I e-mailed Amazon a couple of days ago to request that they place the book under the subheading "Books > Children's Books > Issues > Pet Death" rather than just under "Books > Children's Books > Ages 4-8" or whatever it was under before. This is obviously the right category for it. This won't be news to you unless you are a new visitor to my blog--WELCOME, by the way, if you are!--and haven't read anything else on this page before digging right in to today's entry...

Besides being the right category, having any book in a more specific "home" should help the marketing effort tremendously. After all, if I'm going to Amazon to look for a book about, let's say the comedic stylings of Ben Stiller, I'm going to look in the entertainment section rather than just non-fiction.

But I digress.

Anyway, I was overjoyed, upon checking the listing just now, to see that Amazon went with my wishes--don't you LOVE when that happens?--and that my book is number 8 in that category. Woo hoo!

Ah yes, back to the title of this post. Everytime I get excited about good news regarding the book, my inner voice pulls me back just a little bit. This IS a book partly about death after all (and yes, the living beyond it). As total strangers start to buy the book, nine times out of ten it will be because an animal has died. Yikes. That's sort of heavy, don't you think?

This has been such an emotional journey to begin with; I'm really going to have to get through this inner struggle (Julie is probably reading this, laughing right now because I have conversations with myself all the time) and keep remembering the reason I wrote this book in the first place: to help other families who are going through the same pain that my family went through.

Ahh. I feel better already. Thanks, Me!

The Stories Keep Coming...

One of the best things about having written this book and sharing the news about it with others is that people share their own doggie memories with me. (That's a sad thing about having written this book, too--to talk to people who are still struggling after their loss)

Tonight I spoke with a really nice family who I am just coming to know after being in the same community with them for years. The mom was telling the grown son that I had written this book, and that she couldn't read it just yet, as their little dog Cody just passed this year and she didn't feel ready. This woman had already shared with me the story of Cody's passing a couple of weeks ago via e-mail right after she read my post about "Messages from Beyond"; she had an eerie experience like that on the day Cody died.

Anyway, when she told her son (and husband) about my book, her son's face lit up and he started telling me about his memories of Cody, who he described as his "best friend." He was full of joy in speaking about his late companion, and it was really great to watch his facial expressions as he spoke. Memories really do carry you through.

Great Feedback, Book Signatures, and HI DAD!

I am getting wonderful feedback from those friends and family who have ordered and received the book (of course, I also wouldn't necessarily expect that my friends and family would tell me that the book stinks, either!). It's so great to hear from everybody as their books trickle in.

I put my business cards out at the salon yesterday, and am planning to bring a bunch of copies to the Fall Festival we're having on November 11. Dawn (salon owner) thought it would be fun to offer copies and have a mini book-signing. So, we're going to try it!

My current issue (because I always need to be working through some issue!) is that I'm trying to figure out what to write when I sign the books. People are starting to ask me to sign their copies, and these aren't all people who have lost a pet. I am having a hard time with this. I can come up with many caring and sincere things to write in a book for someone who has lost a pet, but what about for those who are either just really supportive of Julie, me, and the book and bought a copy (or copies!) or for the random future stranger who buys one because they like the story and see value in reading it to a child whether or not there has been a loss? I mean, what do other beginning authors do? Suggestions, anyone? Jim thinks there has to be a website out there somewhere for this very issue...but I don't have the time at this moment to research it. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, leave me a comment if you can help me out! (or even if you can't!)

Lastly for today, I wanted to give a big SHOUT OUT to our Dad. He just had surgery today, and everything went really well, so we're thrilled. Hi Dad! We love you!

Scooooooore! (And, by the way, go to your local FedEx/Kinkos!)

For the ten+ years we've lived in this town, we have had to drive about 20 minutes to get to the nearest FedEx/Kinkos store, for copies. It has been a pain, because this town has about 1,000 of everything else, but only two FedEx/Kinkos, 20 minutes east of me and 20 minutes southeast of me.

Lo and behold, the higher-ups at FedEx/Kinkos decided to do something for my part of town (finally!), and they built one just a couple of blocks from my neighborhood (YAY!).

I stopped in a couple of weeks ago to send a fax and to tell the manager, who I recognized from one of the other stores, how happy I was that they finally opened a FedEx/Kinkos closer to me. I felt like a real nerd, but couldn't contain the excitement. Plus, I could be wrong here, but I think I may have made his day.

After teaching my class this morning, I headed to the nearest FedEx/Kinkos, which was not the one near me, to enlarge a sign I made into a poster for the elementary school LMC. Their poster enlarger wasn't working, but on my way out I noticed something on the counter: something bright and shiny, as if an aura was around it, beckoning me to come hither.

Nah, not really. It was a flyer. A glorious flyer: announcing that today--YES, TODAY--was the Grand Opening celebration of MY FedEx/Kinkos! They were having specials every hour and as luck would have it, during that very hour they were offering FREE poster enlargements! At MY FedEx/Kinkos!

You know where I'm going here. Actually, you know where I went. To get that FREE poster enlargement!

But the story gets even better.

From 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. at MY FedEx/Kinkos, they were offering FREE color copies!! Who does that? They cost .89 each!

So I scurried home and printed out my press release, the flyer for the elementary school that I have to deliver tomorrow, as well as an ad with those tear-off phone number thingies at the bottom. At 5 p.m. sharp, I went back to FedEx/Kinkos and said, "Free color copies right now, right?" The guy said, "Yep. You know there's a limit of 3, right?" Feeling immediately dejected, I said, "Oh. Okay."

Then he laughed and said, "Just kidding. Make as many as you want."

I was the only person there! How great is that? All told, I made about 160 color copies. What a savings! So please, find YOUR FedEx/Kinkos and go there! They are awesome!

Thanks for your time and attention.

Updates

I just checked Barnes and Noble online, and the book is once again available there. (Yay!) Of course, if you're not a member at B&N, isn't is just easier to click on that button down there to the right? You don't even have to leave this page.

Also, I hesitantly announce that my author copies from the publisher ARE indeed on their way in the next 48 hours. I received an e-mail from them this morning, thanking me for my patience. It was really no problem. If I am nothing else, I am an extremely patient person.

I am.

Really.

Okay, okay, you got me. I'm not.

But I've waited this long; I can certainly wait a few more days!

Card-carrying Author

My business cards arrived yesterday. (By the way, we use Vistaprint for many things: I highly recommend them!) Julie designed those, as well. They are awesome; they are set up vertically and they look just like the book cover.

The exciting part is that after my name comes the title of "Author". Still feels weird!

I went crazy last night, handing them out at the parent meeting for our Boy Scout Troop. I will probably go crazy at the health club today too, as I have a class to teach; so if you're at Healthtrack, look out for flying business cards!

Back to Elementary School...

I just paid a visit to my sons' former elementary school, to donate a copy of the book to the LMC (Library Media Center: because 21st century school libraries contain so much more than books!). I absolutely LOVE this school. My boys attended this school from Kindergarten through 5th grade. I volunteered as the room mom every year except for one, and dabbled in other committees also. The entire diverse community of teachers, staff, students, and parents was/is so very tightly knit and it's such a welcome place. Besides the high standards of education held here, the teachers and staff offer so much more; they definitely impacted our family as I'm sure they did many others.

Mrs. J had both of my kids in 2nd grade--different years, of course. She is just one of the dynamic, energetic, caring teachers on staff. She tries to maintain a reputation that she is the "meanest" teacher at the school, but only succeeds in fooling the kids until they attend her class on the first day, because she is so fun!!

Mr. G had my older son for 3rd grade and, later, my younger one for math. He actually invited his entire 3rd grade class to his wedding that year!

Mrs. W had my younger son for 4th grade. She is a no-nonsense woman: doesn't take any "business" from anyone. At the time, she was PERFECT for him. One of the things I loved about her is that if my son had a problem he wanted to talk about, she was more than willing to meet with him (and sometimes, me too!) before school. She gave him so much respect and always made sure he knew she was listening to him, and they worked together on solutions.

Mr. R had my younger son for 5th grade. He lives practically in the school's backyard. He taught my son a lot about negotiating the delicate relationship issues between 5th grade boys and girls. (He did a lot of refereeing that year!)

Mrs. M had my older son for 5th grade. In addition to having a great year, he had the chance to audition for the Nicole Kidman movie "Birth", because Mrs. M received info on the casting call and thought he should try out for it. (Needless to say we're glad he didn't get that particular movie...but auditioning was an experience that not too many kids get, and definitely unforgettable. He no longer reads scripts.LOL)

On my way in, I stopped to see the school receptionist, who has been there for a really long time. She once told me that she remembers my 15 year old coming in to see her at the office on a regular basis as a kindergartner, not because he had a stomach ache or some other problem, but just because he wanted to visit the office. (Awww...cute!) She told me that I can make some flyers to hand out to the teachers and support staff. Yay!

I then spoke with the LMC Director, whom I had not met previously. She thanked me for the book and is allowing me to create a poster to, err, post in the LMC so the kids walking through will know it's there. We chatted for a few minutes and then I walked through the halls to the front door, checking out the student art that hung in the hallways along the way. It seemed like only yesterday that we were a new family at this school, and now that's all in the rear view mirror. Time flies.

I'm sure you can see why I decided to put this school on top of my priority list when it came to marketing this book. Yes, the student age group is right. Yes, the LMC Director is very friendly. What it really boils down to for me though, is that I feel supported here; I feel comfortable here. And even though it's been 2 years since my younger son left, they welcomed me back today with open arms and were genuinely happy for my accomplishment. It doesn't get much better than that!