Oh for crying out loud! I just climbed out from under my rock and realised I have not updated this since the Clintons were in the Whitehouse… You would not believe how hard it is being waited on hand and foot and generally lounging around. Stupid Global Warming!.

I won’t promise anything to you but I will write something that makes sense soon. Seriously! Don’t hold your breath though, you’re likely to turn blue..

Couldn’t have summed life up better myself…

This pictures doesn’t really show his goofiness, but it does show how long his legs are.  This is one lanky teenage dog!  It’ll be fun to watch him grow.

He’s got an amazing temperament.  Nothing bothers him and he wants to be friends with everyone - dogs, cats, and humans (and other species, too, I’m sure, but we haven’t come across them yet).  He’s already fitting in perfectly with the rest of the pack. 

I’ll see how he does in training classes, but he could be a candidate for therapy dog work…in all my, um, spare time.

Well, he’d be even happier if he had a home of his own.  He’s been moved to Michigan Humane Society’s Rochester Hills shelter, so if you know of anyone looking for a slightly older gentleman, tell them to check him out.

He really is a good dog.

 Remember that kitten who I said had the biggest feet I’d ever seen on a female?  Well, Turns out that she was a he after all (never occurred to me to check!)

They opted not to go from Susie to Boy Named Sue; I think they went with a more standard boy name like Sammy or something like that.  He was adopted and I’m sure he’s busy raising hell in his new home.

Now I’m waiting to see if my application is approved.  I have every reason to think that it will be, but until the dotted line is signed (and the dog is on my doorstep), there’s always that twinge of worry that something will go wrong.  That I won’t be chosen.

How does this carry through the agent metaphor?  Perfectly.  I’ve gone from being the one in control - discriminating from among so many candidates - to making an offer.  Once the offer is out there, the control bounces back to the other side. The agent has gotten excited about the project, but now it’s up to the author to decide if it’s really going to happen.  Just like it’s up to the rescuer now if they’re going to accept my offer of adoption.  It’s up to them to decide whether I really am the right one out of all the potential people out there who might make an offer.

So, now I wait…

And hopefully I’ll have good news to post soon.

Since I’ve spent a lot of time in rescue, it’s not as if I don’t know where to find a young male dog.  I know lots of people in the rescue community.  Heck, if I really wanted to, it would probably be pretty easy to drive down the “right” streets and have one cross my path.  Even though I have some criteria in my mind, I know that it can’t be just any young male dog (even if my dogs like him).  I also know that the right dog might end up being smaller or older than I’m envisioning, maybe even another female in the end.  I’m keeping an eye out, but it might be awhile before I actually adopt.

There are many wonderful and worthy candidates out there.  But it has to be the right match for me. I’ll know it’s the right one when I see it.

Starting to sound familiar to you querying authors out there?

Hearing things like “Your book is wonderful, but I didn’t fall in love…” and other various assurances that you have talent and a great voice and a viable hook - but you’re not getting any offers - is like being the adorable, friendly puppy that people keep passing up.  Anyone who has worked in a shelter or rescue has seen dogs that were perfect, but for unknown reasons, took a long time to get adopted.

It’s a big commitment to bring a new animal home.  Sure, there are any number of dogs that would fit into my household that I would care about and probably end up loving as much as the others…but when you think about living with the dog for 10+ years and all the time and money it takes to care for them, you want to be sure about it.  Especially when there are so many out there who need a home.  You can’t adopt every one that crosses your path or you wouldn’t do any of them justice.

I imagine that this is how agents (and editors) feel.

There’s a lot of promise and a lot of need kenneled up in the slush pile, but there’s only so much that any one person can take on, so it has to feel Right.  As frustrating as it can be to get passed up by agents, they can’t take you in just because you’re cute or seem to get along with their other books.  They need to feel that conviction that they’ll still love your book when it has to go out in the middle of the night or when it eats their shoes. 

It’s a commitment for the lifetime of your book…and as tempting as it is to want to shout “Just give me a home!  It’ll all work out!”, you really do want to be loved.  No one wants to be the book that is taken in only to be chained up in the yard and forgotten.  (Not that I’d ever do that with a dog, but work with me here on the broader metaphor.)

So, for all of you stray books out there, I hope your forever home finds you soon.  And for the homeless dogs, I am taking you into consideration. 

Maybe we’ll find a match soon.

I hope he doesn’t have too much of a hard time getting adopted since he’s an older dog and one of those big black dogs that people pass over.  He’s a really nice dog and has managed to be rather silly even while restricted to his crate.  He knows how to relax, but he also has a lot of energy, so he has plenty of good years left.  I do agree with the humane society’s assessment that he’s better off without cats (Enigma, Ophelia and Jebby concur!).

Little Miss Olive seems to have finally kicked her bladder infection and it appears that it was just an infection, not bladder cancer.  I’m perfectly happy if she continues on for quite awhile pretending that she doesn’t have mammary cancer!

Juno’s new food has been working really well for her sensitive tummy!

Turtle’s increased thyroid medication dosage helped her find her waistline!

Last, but not least…Sierra’s allergies are laying low.

Good Dogs!

Is there any way to avoid this? 

Assuming that plagiarism is not a factor, there’s no way that you can be sure that nobody else has used your beautiful phrase.  Unless you’ve come up with something harvested from the depths of your own twisted imagination.  But even then, you run the risk that your phrase/description/metaphor won’t work for anyone who doesn’t share your twisted imagination.

I know some people who are masters of metaphor, but for many others, I feel like less is more.  You’re better off using simple, direct language, especially at the peak of an important scene, rather than attempting flowery language that ends up as dead as my garden in November.  The right words can enhance a scene, but dried up plants and weeds are really just a distraction from what’s important. 

Here are the rules:

Link the person who tagged you.

Mention the rules in your blog.

Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.

Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.

Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.”

I can just hear some of you murmuring that you know damn well how quirky I am.  Save it for the comments section…which I get to moderate just in case anyone tries to overshare.

Here goes:

1) I have a thing for accessories - shoes, bags, jewelry…while this may not seem particularly quirky, it is for someone like me who is a pretty low-maintenance woman, and even more so for someone who works in the grassroots environmental advocacy movement.  We’re all entitled to our guilty pleasures, right?

2) While there are plenty of evil foods that I adore - including classics like chocolate, fries, and mac n cheese -  my favorite food is broccoli.  I used to beg my mom to make broccoli.  Love it!

3) A lot of revelations about my novel and intricate plotting happens in the shower.  I’m a shower thinker.  Instead of singing, I work out my characters and plot twists.  When I’m done with the shower, I throw on pajamas and race over to my desk to jot down notes or start typing.

4) Anyone who has ever been grocery shopping with me knows that I can’t stand the thought of warm dairy products.  I won’t buy things like milk, yogurt, or sour cream unless I’m at one of the stores closest to my house where I can rush them directly home to the fridge.  Maybe I was meant to be the person who transports coolers of transplant organs?  One of the obvious related things to this is that the concept of a glass of warm milk makes me shudder, so please don’t ever suggest that’s what I need to relax.

5) While I can sleep perfectly fine while the cats fling things from shelves, slam cabinet doors, and throw themselves against walls, or while the dogs rearrange positions 400 times (all within inches of me, of course) and chew nylabones on the pillow next to my head, I have the total mom instinct of flying awake if anyone whimpers, groans, or paces uncomfortably anywhere in the house.

6) I can’t keep plants alive.  You know those “air plants” that aren’t even in dirt, you just spritz water on them every so often?  Yep, I’ve killed one of those.  Last year I bought a perennial for my garden and it died within a week.  I guess I can maintain a flower bed of annuals for a few months because they’re destined to die anyway.  In my defence, I am very good at caring for four-legged mammals!  And at least I don’t have to worry about keeping plants in the house that might be poisonous to the critters.

Over so soon?  I suppose that’s enough quirks for one day.  Now it’s time to share the love….

Halley, Adrianna, Fritz, Jose, Mulitia…you’re up!  (Yes, I know that’s only 5. Looks like I need to find more friends who blog!)

“What is she doing?”

“Writing.”

“Can anything be done about it?”