Mayhem
and Magic, For Real
November was not a month of unmixed
blessings. In fact, something truly horrible happened during November, so I’ll
get to that first.
No secret I rescue dachshunds. About four
years ago I received a bonded pair from a puppy mill in Big Spring, Texas.
Bella and Bam-Bam had spent their first couple of years in concrete crates and
never learned how to interact with people or, really, be dogs. To this day
Bam-Bam is terrified of men, and Bella was uber-shy around strangers. I realized
after I’d fostered them for a while that they weren’t suitable candidates for
adoption, so I kept them, and we loved each other. They both were fine with me,
even though they were still unable to relate to strangers.
Well, on Friday the 13th, Jazzy and
Cookie, who grew up on the streets and have absolutely no self-esteem issues,
ganged up on Bella. I rushed her to the vet, where she was stitched up. When I
picked her up on Saturday, she seemed to be doing well, but on Sunday evening
Bella had a stroke or a seizure, and she died early Monday morning. My heart is
still broken. My neighbor and fellow writer, Ann Wilmer-Lasky, wrote a Haiku
for Bella, and here’s a picture of Bella taken by her husband Barry:
Treasured
Friend: A Haiku
Innocence, truly,
Has no protection against
Pack mentality.
Okay, that’s the ugly stuff. My
heart will probably never get over aching for Bella. I feel kind of like a
murderer, in fact. Gah.
On to nicer things. Several people
won copies of the audio edition of HUNGRY SPIRITS, narrated by Denice Stradling
(who is now working away on GENTEEL SPIRITS, bless her). I’ll be getting in
touch with each of the winners individually.
I also got the cover art for Daisy
Gumm Majesty’s next adventure, BRUISED SPIRITS. I love it:
Also, Darlene Allen has finished
narrating THANKSGIVING ANGELS for audio, so it will be available in December (I
think). I’ll be giving away audio copies at the end of the month in my contest.
If it’s somehow or other not
available in December, I’ll give away copies in January.
And December is the month UNSETTLED
SPIRITS, Daisy Gumm Majesty’s latest adventure, will be released! I’ll be
giving away either e-copies or paper copies of UNSETTLED SPIRITS in my December
contest.
Therefore, if you’d like to enter
my December contest, for which Bam-Bam (who is coping much better with the loss
of Bella than I am) will choose wieners at the end of the month, please send me
your name and home address (if you want a paper copy of UNSETTLED SPIRITS) to alice@aliceduncan.net
If you’d like to visit my woefully
out-of-date web site, the URL is http://aliceduncan.net/ and if you’re interested in being
Facebook friends, please visit https://www.facebook.com/alice.duncan.925
Thanks!
Alice - I am so sorry about Bella. I know animal nature is what it is, but that is so sad. An absolutely lovely haiku! ON a positive note as well - love the covers!
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