Tag: cat lovers

This week I thought I’d talk about pets. We own a cat, a calico named Harley, and a German Shepherd named Annie. If any of you have ever owned a Shepherd you’ll know they are fiercely loyal, loving, and mild tempered animals. They also SHED. I’m talking, we could make a quilt, kind of shedding.

Much as this drives me crazy, I hate to think how much we ingest, yuck, I still love her very much. She’s family.

Harley joined our family a year ago, and it wasn’t long before the two became inseparable. We took them on walks to the amusement of our neighbors. A seventy-five pound dog and a little kitten, most often the kitten leading us all, 🙂

In my WIP I’ve added a German Shepherd, and like our lives, he’ll be an integral part of my characters lives as well. Jake, the Shepherd in my book, has recently returned from Afghanistan where he worked as a service dog searching villages for IED’s. When one explodes too close for comfort, Jake and his handler, Nick, are injured and return home to a hero’s welcome. Needing space from all the hoopla, they use the excuse of therapy to escape to the small mountain town of, Tidal Falls, Washington, where they hope to be left in peace.

Sara Sheridan is also looking for peace. She’s on the run from an abusive marriage and just wants anonymity. Her and her daughter cross the country searching for the perfect place to disappear, until they come across Tidal Falls. The town welcomes them, and after a while they happily settle into small town life.

Then Sara’s landlady, a matchmaker and a true romantic, hires one of her new tenants, Nick, to do some repairs on Sara’s house, and the sparks begin to fly.

Can these two work through their emotional issues and find a life together? Or will Sara’s ex-husband catch up to her and destroy everything she’s built?

I’ve had a hard couple of days. The chapter I sent in for critiquing came back with a lot of harsh comments I couldn’t help but take personally. I know you need to pick yourself up, dust off your pants, and keep writing, but sometimes I second guess myself. Maybe I’m not good enough to write a book. Maybe I don’t have the talent to get my thoughts across properly. Maybe I should give up.

Added to this, my DH took Annie, our Shepherd, with him when he left for work this time. She has an issue with other dogs. She doesn’t play well, or at all, actually.

The park we’re staying in has strict rules about dogs, behave or get out. So, he decided to take her with him and set her loose with some other dogs her size, in the hope she would learn to play. If not, he’ll find her another home.

A bad week, as I said.

After a nice breakfast with my biggest fan this morning, my mother, I’ve decided to tackle the book, again. I’ll try to take the best of those critics advice, and discard the rest. I won’t let a few harsh words defeat me.

While I’m working on that, my baby dog is going to be doing the same. Learning to adjust, take the good, get rid of the bad.

We’ll both succeed, we aren’t quitters. 🙂

Have any of you received harsh critiques or reviews? What did you do to overcome them? Any advice on teaching a dog manners? I’d appreciate feedback on both topics. Hopefully next week turns out better.