Happy Thanksgiving - Meet Zeke

On Thanksgiving, we give thanks for our pets - dogs, cats, and the occasional bunny find their way into our novels. Why? Because we love them. Today Christine Lindsay shares her love for Zeke. Take it away, Christine!

ZEKE

By Christine Lindsay

With Christmas around the corner, one of my happiest pet memories comes to mind. Our English Springer Spaniel Zeke was ten last Christmas—starting to get a little old, but always a puppy when our grandsons came to visit.

As we all sat around the living room last year, trying to get over our turkey “coma” the three boys all under the age of 7 were running around the sofa chasing a radio control car. They were laughing their heads off. And there was Zeke in the middle of this parade. Now Zeke was never a dog to lick people. I taught him that early on that I didn’t care for that.

But the grandsons didn’t count. Zeke knew very well they were just puppies, and his to keep in line. So in the midst of this squealing, laughing circuit around the sofa was Zeke on the heels of the boys, and every once in a while giving them a little lick on the ear to keep them in line.

Sadly, Zeke passed on that following spring, due to cancer. But I’ll never forget this gorgeous dog who gave us so much joy.

About Christine Lindsay

Christine Lindsay is an Irish-born writer, proud of the fact that she was once patted on the head by Prince Philip when she was a baby. Her great grandfather, and her grandfather—yes father and son—were both riveters on the building of the Titanic.

Tongue in cheek, Christine states that as a family they accept no responsibility for the sinking of that great ship.

It was stories of her ancestors who served in the British Cavalry in Colonial India that inspired her historical series Twilight of the British Raj of which Book 1 Shadowed in Silk has won several awards, and Book 2 Captured by Moonlight. Christine is currently writing the final installment of that series called Veiled at Midnight to be released August 2014.

Also coming out February 2014 is Londonderry Dreaming, a romance novella set in Londonderry Northern Ireland, not far from Christine’s birthplace. Her newest release a short Christmas story, Heavenly Haven, has just been released as an Ebook.

Christine makes her home in British Columbia, on the west coast of Canada with her husband and their grown up family. Her cat Scottie is chief editor on all Christine’s books.

Please drop by Christine’s website www.christinelindsay.com or her blog http://www.christinelindsay.org

Follow her on Twitter and be her friend on Pinterest and Facebook

When It's a Baby ...

Today on what has become Pet Love Tuesdays, I'm sharing a photo of our beagle Riley when she was a baby. In this photo taken in July of 2003, Riley was a little over 8 weeks old.

The older dog in this photo was my sister's first boxer, the dearly departed Fritz. Fritz was a Prince among dogs. You can see in this photo that he knows Riley is a baby and he's giving her some fatherly love. Okay, not his baby, but he "knows". His instinct is to protect her. I think that is so cute, and one more reason I love dogs.

An Interview with Award winning author Linda Rondeau

Welcome to Romancing the Writer, Linda. I’d love to hear a little bit about your journey to publication.

Some say they are called. All I know is that I’ve always enjoyed telling a story, even when I was a school girl. Whenever I had an audience, I told a yarn or two. As is often the case, life got in the way of my hobby. Finally, at work, I felt the nudge. It’s now or not at all. Write for me and I will show you things you never hoped or dreamed. I don’t recommend quitting the day job. For me it was necessary. I never looked back.

I’m not sure where this course will lead, but God has provided in ways I cannot imagine. I quit the day job on June 21, 2000. Won a few awards, published a few short pieces, went to a lot of conferences, honed my craft and kept moving forward. Got an agent three years into the process but still could not seem to get that elusive book contract. Then on June 21, 2011, I got “the call.” Two years later, I have five published manuscripts with three more on the way by end of year. God is good.

Which, so far, is your favorite character from one of your own books?

I think Dorie Fitzgerald from It Really is A Wonderful Life/2012/Lighthouse of the Carolinas is my favorite. The book is about an Iraq War Widow who finds new direction when she moves to a small Adirondack town and joins a theater group in production for It’s a Wonderful Life. In some ways Dorie is me at her age. I met my husband doing community theater.

Do you have any advice for authors as yet unpublished?

Don’t rush it. So many authors either give up too soon or they rush to self-publish when they are not ready. My last few publications were actually books I’d written early in my career as a writer. In some ways, I’m glad they weren’t published then. I’m grateful God put the brakes on those books until I had learned better writing skills. It takes time. Be patient and trust in the Lord’s timing.

What is the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

Don’t write for the market…write the story God gives you. It took a long time for me to define my writing as I write very much out of the box, i.e. not genre specific or cookie cutter via genre. However, I do follow the rules of good writing. There is a difference.

What are you working on now?

I am currently finishing my second Adirondack Romantic suspense. My first one was The Other Side of Darkness. That book is going off the market, but I plan to rewrite it as a series to go along with my current work in progress, Legacy of Regrets.

A widow is hired by her former college history professor to help him with a research project involving the history of the Adirondack Railroad expansion. She begins to question her sanity when she suspects she is being followed.

What typical writing day look like?

Unfortunately, I don’t have a “typical” day since each day brings its own set of challenges to meet. However, I have routines. I typically try to do my devotion time first thing before the day crowds it out. Then I sort through my email to see what might need immediate attention. I check my two multi-author blogs and share. Then I either work on new stuff or do marketing.

I’m still recovering from my cancer so I have to rest anywhere from one to three hours in the afternoon. I typically spend another two hours after my rest, then prepare dinner, then go back to work for an hour or two, settling in for some television around 9:00pm. On days my husband doesn’t work, I try to be flexible and spend time with him at least part of the day. We might golf, go see a movie or go hiking. He’s my number one priority.

Where can we find you on the web?

The Website

Facebook

Twitter

This Daily Grind

Pinterest

And now for an excerpt from JOY COMES TO DINSMORE STREET/Helping Hands Press:

Most people looked forward to the dawning of the new millennium. For Colin O’Donnell, Christmas 2000 holds no anticipation until he learns Ma expects a visit from Joy, an adored cousin who disappeared on the girl’s sixteenth birthday. Why does she decide to visit Ma after all these years? The day Colin’s father left, Ma clutched Joy’s photograph as if it were a lifeline.

Colin suspects the two disappearances are somehow connected although they occurred decades apart. Perhaps Joy’s visit will bring answers to years-old daunting questions. First, however, Colin must wrestle with a current mystery. What did he do to drive his wife from their bed? When all is revealed and the past and present collide, will Colin fight to preserve his marriage or follow his father’s path of abandonment?

Caption This...?

This makes week two that I've posted photos of my dogs. What can I say? They're cute, and my daughter takes some great candid shots. These are good enough to ask for captions:

Jack says: "Did you see that? He cut me off!"

Riley says: "LOL! And then what did you tell the cat?"