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What I'm writing in YEAR OF THE DOG

I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
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Death squeal

Captain’s Log, Supplemental

Blog book giveaway:
To enter, go to the blog links below and post a comment there.
Renovating Becky Miller by Sharon Hinck
Along Came Jones by Linda Windsor

R-rated dog toys...

My friend Minza used to be my roommate, and she’s a garage-sale Diva. She can find the best stuff for the most impossible prices. (She found my Villeroy and Boch oval casserole dish for a dollar!)

Anyway, I had lunch with her the other day and she gave me a little plastic squeak toy for my dog that she found at a garage sale.



Cute, right? Well, beneath that sweet exterior lurked the most horrific “death squeal” I’ve ever heard. If you squeeze its head, it looses this bloodcurdling scream that sounds like the agonized cry of a dying pig.

Snickers loves it.



The funny thing is that she’ll mouth it for a little while, then toss it a foot away and bark at it. As if it’s going to hop up and play with her. My dog is so stupid.
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Comments

Anonymous said…
Awwww - such a sweet puppy! And how do you know that SQUEAKER doesn't get up to play when you aren't looking? Your doggy may be smarter than you think!
Mon Feb 12, 04:24:00 AM 2007
Geekwif said…
When I saw your post title, I thought maybe someone had written a new mystery/horror book. I'm glad it's just a dog toy. That would have been kind of a cheesy name for a book.

Why is it that dogs love the really loud obnoxious toys? I bet that's a lovely sound to wake up to in the morning. :-D
Mon Feb 12, 05:13:00 AM 2007
Anonymous said…
Camy, that is too great! I love the picture of Snickers. My dad's dog, Cede, has a hedgehog that makes a sound like a goose is being strangled.

Cede will play with it for a while, then just lay with it in her mouth. Just when you start to relax, she squeezes it one more time: "HHGGUHUUUHHH!" And I nearly jump out of my skin.

Sarah
Mon Feb 12, 05:48:00 AM 2007
Delia said…
Awww...Snickers is such a cutie!
Mon Feb 12, 07:58:00 AM 2007
Heather Diane Tipton said…
LOL Your dog cracks me up
Mon Feb 12, 03:32:00 PM 2007
Anonymous said…
Hehe - I have to dumb dogs myself - I love them. :) Snickers is adorable.

And now I'm hungry for a Snickers bar. I need CHOCOLATE!
Tue Feb 13, 03:42:00 PM 2007
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