Clancy Is Not Impressed and Other Friday News

Just in case I ever think about getting a big head because my novel was published, my dog Clancy is around to make sure I keep my ego in check. A few weeks ago, after I had I received my author copies of Polar Night in the mail, I wanted to take a picture of Clancy with one of the books. We were at my mom's house and, as you can see from this picture, Clancy was not even a little bit impressed.

He reluctantly agreed to sit and stay for the picture, then took off in a flash as soon as the camera's flash went off and he knew we were done. My mom was cooking chicken in the kitchen and Clancy knew there were more important things to concentrate on than my book. Begging for chicken from Gran vs. a book with my name on it? Is it even a contest?

After this experience, I didn't even try to take a picture with my cat Nate as I can only guess how that would have gone. I guess we can always count on our pets to keep us humble.

Speaking of pets, and especially of dogs like my Clancy who are considered DINOS, or Dogs In Need Of Space, I learned about a great project recently and wanted to help spread the word about it. The Yellow Dog Project is aimed at helping dog owners identify their own dog who needs space by attaching a yellow ribbon to the dog's leash while out and about. This is intended for dogs who are afraid of or reactive to other dogs, dogs who are nervous around children or strangers, or even dogs with injuries or health issues who need to be left alone while they are healing.

Clancy is afraid of children and I always make sure to keep him on a short leash while we are out walking so we don't run into any problems. Because of that experience, I think the idea of identifying dogs who need space for various reasons is a great one and I wanted to give the project a shout-out here on the blog. I also wrote an article about it this week for my animal news column, so if you'd like to read more about it you can find that article here.

Moving away from dogs, I'm very excited to be part of Jessica McKendry's blog party to announce the Kindle release of her debut novel, From The Ashes. Congratulations, Jessica!!

Here is the book summary:

Jaina Indera has been preparing her entire life for the chance to prove herself a superior and loyal citizen of the Imperial Alliance. In order to do so, she believes she must win the galaxy-wide competition known as the Trials. With training at her Gifted School progressing swiftly, everything looks like it is on pace for her to achieve her dream…until a boy named Dragon enrolls in her class.

Suddenly doubting herself and everything she’s been taught to believe, Jaina and Dragon are teamed with six of their classmates for the chance to compete and achieve their dream: winning the Trials. Consisting of four different tests, the Trials are about to challenge these eight young adults to the limits of their abilities. But learning to work as a team is more difficult than they ever imagined and dark secrets from Dragon’s past emerge that put them in mortal danger. Now Jaina must discover what she’s really fighting for if she and her team have any hope of finishing the Trials…alive.

Exploring the nature of self-reliance and self-confidence, McKendry delivers a perceptive, nuanced portrait of the importance of teamwork and the strain it puts on individual desires and motivations. Playing with the concepts of dark and light, her novel is a complex coming of age story that encapsulates the complicated hero’s journey from student to leader. A dark tale of love and revenge, From the Ashes is a powerful reminder to think for yourself instead of blindly following what you’ve been taught to believe.

Check out Jessica's website or follow her on Twitter (@JessicaMcKendry) for more information. Yay, Jessica!

Finally, it's time to once again Celebrate the Small Things with Vikki. 

This week I'm celebrating the fact that I got back to exercising after several weeks of being lazy. And I even managed to get Clancy out on a walk with me so we could both get back in the swing of things. I still have a ways to go before I'm back to where I want to be in terms of exercise, but at least it was a start.

I hope everyone had lots to celebrate this week. Happy Weekend to all! :)