• Contemporary,  Fiction Furbaby

    Fiction Furbaby: Meet Killer from All About Charming Alice by J Arlene Culiner @JArleneCuliner @RobsRescues #RLFblog #Pets

    Fiction Furbaby: Meet Killer from All About Charming Alice by J Arlene Culiner @JArleneCuliner @RobsRescues #RLFblog #PetsWriter Jace Constant hates snakes, dogs, and desert dust. Alice Treemont protects and studies all reptiles, rescues stray dogs and loves the Nevada desert. How can they fall in love?

    Arlene Culiner, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. I’m Kayelle Allen, author and owner of this blog. Happy to have you here! We support all furbabies, real life or fictional. We want to know all about your Fiction Furbaby, but first, please tell us about your book.

    All About Charming Alice by J Arlene Culiner

    Genre: Contemporary Romance
    Book heat level (based on movie ratings): Sensual

    Alice Treemont has no intention of falling in love. Living in Blake’s Folly, a semi-ghost town, she cooks vegetarian meals, rescues unwanted dogs, and protects the most unloved creatures on earth: snakes. What man would share those interests?

    Jace Constant is in Nevada, doing research for his new book, but he won’t be staying. He’s disgusted by desert dust on his fine Italian shoes and dog hair on his cashmere sweaters. As for snakes, he doesn’t just despise them: they terrify him.

    So why does the air sizzle each time Alice and Jace meet? A romance would entail far too many compromises.

    Meet Killer from All About Charming Alice

    Full name: Unknown (he’s an abandoned stray)
    Nickname: Killer
    Gender: male
    Species: Dog
    Physical description: According to Jace Constant: “The dog was large—very large. Its bulbous head seemed to sway on a sagging neck. Its legs were long, knotted, and spindly, and its ribs wanted to punch through a dull, ratty-looking coat. Yet, ugly though it was, the damn thing had a strange appeal.”
    Relationship to main character: Killer is a stray. Jace Constant finds him wandering along the road in Nevada and he brings him to Alice Tremont’s animal shelter.
    Relationship to the villain/antagonist: What sort of person would abandon a stray dog? Only a villain!
    Where this furbaby came from: Who knows?

    Do you have any working or service animals in your stories? Tell us about them.

    My heroine Alice Treemont studies and protects snakes. She knows how essential they are to our environment, and she is violently opposed to such horrendous sports such as snake bating and snake shows where the creatures are tortured to death.

    What inspired you to create this character?

    One afternoon, I discovered a fairly large snake—possibly 4 or 5 feet long—snoozing in my courtyard. I was surprised and wary, at first. Then I started to appreciate how wonderfully beautiful it was. In the sun, its scales were a phosphorescent green-gold, and it was also remarkably elegant.

    I didn’t want to ruin the its obviously pleasurable sunbath, so I sat down and let myself bask in this rare moment with an unknown creature. So there we were for the longest while, both of us perfectly at peace, doing nothing, and enjoying the calm.

    The snake eventually left, but the moment had been so enlightening, I wanted to pass on my appreciation of reptiles to others. Thus I created Alice Treemont, my heroine.

    What does the main character think about this furbaby?

    The first fur baby in the story is Killer, the stray Jace Constant finds on the highway. Jace doesn’t like dogs, he hates the dog hairs piling up on the back seat of his car, he hates dog hair on his cashmere sweaters, and as soon as he can, he drops Killer off at Alice Tremont’s shelter.

    What does this furbaby add to the story?

    Killer brings Alice and Jace together. He is also responsible for Jace’s change of heart.

    What about this furbaby will readers like, and why? Like many scruffy, loving wonderful dogs…well, everyone eventually falls in love with them. And Jace’s instant attraction to Alice certainly helps things along!

    About Virgule

    Fiction Furbaby: Meet Killer from All About Charming Alice by J Arlene Culiner @JArleneCuliner @RobsRescues #RLFblog #PetsWhich, if any of the pets in your writing are modeled after your own pets? In what way?

    I suppose that, in many ways, Killer is very much like Virgule, my big black dog. Killer comes from a shelter. He was an abandoned stray. He is very sociable, very loving, and he wins many people’s hearts. Eventually people who are afraid of dogs warm to him. he has great charm.

    What do your pets do when you are writing?

    I also have two rescue cats. Because my garden is a bird and butterfly shelter, the cats are indoor animals. What do they do when I’m working? They snooze or demand attention and some love… which I’m quite happy to give.

    What’s the most unusual pet you ever had?

    How about a pet snail? Not very affectionate.

    Where did you find your pet?

    I found Virgule at the local SPA. He had been there for almost two years, and loved the place. When I took him back for a visit, he wagged his tail happily, then went to his former cage and waited to be let in and fed.

    Where to buy All About Charming Alice

    Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l2VyHtsY7A
    Publisher Buy Link https://tinyurl.com/3wkcnunm
    Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTCD6RBD/thewildrosepr-20
    Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/all-about-charming-alice-3

    J Arlene Culiner Social Media

    Writer, social critical artist, and impenitent teller of tall tales, J. Arlene Culiner, was born in New York and raised in Toronto. She has crossed much of Europe on foot, has lived in a mud house on the Great Hungarian Plain, in a Bavarian castle, a Turkish cave dwelling, a haunted house on the English moors, and on a Dutch canal. She now resides in a 400-year-old former inn in a French village of no interest where, much to local dismay, she protects spiders, snakes, and weeds. Observing people in cafes, in their homes, on trains, and in the streets, she eavesdrops on all private conversations, and delights in hearing any nasty, funny, ridiculous, sad, romantic, or boastful story. And when she can’t uncover really salacious gossip, she makes it up.
    Website www.j-arleneculiner.com
    Blog www.j-arleneculiner.over-blog.com
    Storytelling Podcast https://soundcloud.com/j-arlene-culiner
    Twitter https://twitter.com/JArleneCuliner
    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jarlene.culiner
    Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/jarleneculiner
    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jarleneculiner/
    Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7158064.J_Arlene_Culiner
    BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-arlene-culiner

    Shout out to Rob’s Rescues – founded by a 9-year-old animal activist

    Rob’s Rescues is a non-profit organization in Georgia helping people in need care for and feed their pets. It was founded in 2014 by a then nine-year-old boy. Rob’s Rescues is dedicated to collecting pet food for people in need to reduce shelter surrenders, and to advocating for the adoption of shelter pets. Rob writes monthly articles advocating for shelter animals in the Around About Local Media magazine publications. His column was first published in 2014. He also has pet food collection sites for people in need in the community and interviews amazing people. His interviews appear online once they are published in his column. Rob volunteers for Pet Buddies Food Pantry, the Cherokee County Animal Shelter and Cobb County Animal Control and collects pet food for these organizations and the communities they serve. He also wants to bring attention to smaller, rural shelters. Mostly he wants to get kids to be Rob’s Rangers to teach kids that they can help shelter animals. Rob has also talked to kids in a classroom setting. Rob’s Rescues is a Non-Profit Corporation and all donations are tax deductible. Website http://www.robsrescues.com/
    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/robsrescues/
    Twitter https://twitter.com/RobsRescues

    Shout out to SPA and Orangutan Project

    From J Arlene Culiner: I have a monthly donation to the SPA here in the Mayenne region of France. This is where I adopt my animals (this is a no kill center). The SPA also runs inexpensive clinics for animals belonging to people with low incomes: La Société Protectrice des Animaux : donateurs@la-spa.fr

    I contribute each month to The Orangutan Project. They rescue orangutans that are homeless or dying because of forest destruction: help@orangutan.org.au

     

  • Fiction Furbaby,  Science Fiction Romance

    Fiction Furbaby: Meet Malarkey from Salt by Liz Shipton @lizshipton @RobsRescues #RLFblog #Pets #SciFi

    A drunken sailor and her level-headed friend undertake a deadly voyage in Liz Shipton’s new YA dystopian romance, Salt. When Bird Howsley receives a cryptic message from her dead brother, she and best friend Sargo set off across a world submerged in water to find him.

    Liz, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. I’m Kayelle Allen, author and owner of this blog. Happy to have you here! We support all furbabies, real life or fictional. We want to know all about your Fiction Furbaby, but first, please tell us about Salt.

    Salt by Liz Shipton

    Fiction Furbaby: Meet Malarkey from Salt by Liz Shipton @lizshipton @RobsRescues #RLFblog #PetsGenre YA Dystopian
    Book heat level (based on movie ratings): PG-13

    What do you do with a drunken sailor when the world is under water?

    Bird Howsley is a drunken sailor with a knack for making bad decisions.

    Unfortunately, she lives in a brutal dystopian water world where survival depends on being a strong sailor and making smart choices.

    Bird has one lifeline: her level-headed sailing teacher, Sargo Paz. He’s a second-generation immigrant working hard to prove himself, and for reasons Bird can’t fathom, he seems to like her.

    But when a cryptic message from her dead brother sets Bird on a mission to find answers about her past, one reckless act puts her and Sargo in the crosshairs of a dangerous underground organization that wants them dead.

    Forced to flee their hometown, they sail into the Salt—where they navigate turbulent feelings and harrowing seas, and discover that the organization they’re running from runs deeper than they know…

    Meet Malarkey from Salt

    Full name: Malarkey
    Nickname: Lark, Larkey, Larkabout, Larkaboo, Lark-a-bark
    Gender: Female
    Species: Doggerel (mutt)
    Physical description: 80lb monster with brown and white splotches, blue eyes, and an eyepatch
    Relationship to main character: Attack dog
    Relationship to the villain/antagonist: Everyone is the villain until this dog decides they are not

    Where this furbaby came from: The main characters rescued her from a gods-forsaken climate refugee settlement in the middle of the Turf

    What inspired you to create this character?

    This story is very much based on my own life and adventures, and Malarkey is no different! She is based on my real-live dog, Aloy, who my boyfriend and I rescued about four years ago. Aloy was extremely fearful and quite aggressive when we first brought her home. But she’s come a long way! Two years ago my boyfriend and I cut ties to the land and moved onto a sailboat, and Aloy came with us! She loves life at sea and is thriving. So far, Aloy has sailed down the Pacific Coast of North America with us and currently resides on the boat with us in the Caribbean, causing trouble for monkeys!

    What does the main character think about this furbaby?

    When Bird (the main character) first meets Malarkey, she naively tries to rescue her, not realizing that Malarkey is aggressive and quite a handful! At one point, she tries to abandon her again, thinking she is more trouble than she’s worth. But throughout the series, Malarkey learns to trust Bird and becomes her protector, and likewise, Bird learns to care for Malarkey.

    How do other characters react to or interact with this furbaby?

    Malarkey is ride-or-die: you are either in the pack, or you are an enemy. So pretty much anyone who comes in contact with her can expect to get a face full of teeth – until they prove they can be trusted, then it’s 100% tail wags and tongue baths.

    What does this furbaby add to the story?

    She is a savage guard dog, and adds some nice comic relief in the form of dog shenanigans. She also acts as a conduit for the main character’s feelings. When Bird cannot look another character in the eye to tell them something hard, she will usually tell Malarkey instead. Malarkey also acts as a way to unify Bird and Sargo (the male main character.) Their shared love of Malarkey brings them together in book one and throughout the series.

    What about this furbaby will readers like, and why?

    Malarkey’s a legend in the making. She has her own voice and personality, and overall, is just a blast to have around. 100 years from now, people will be saying “Lassie who?”

    Describe a humorous incident involving the animal character.

    In book two, Bird and Malarkey must sail across an ocean by themselves. The first night they drop anchor, Bird tries to take Malarkey to the beach. Unfortunately, when they try to land the skiff in the surf, Bird falls out and gets mown down. Malarkey, however, remains in the skiff, perfectly dry, and drifts gently to shore with a look on her face that says, “What the hell are you doing in the water, human?”

    About AloyFiction Furbaby: Meet Malarkey from Salt by Liz Shipton @lizshipton @RobsRescues #RLFblog #Pets

    This post is called Fiction Furbaby, but perhaps your own pet does not have fur. If you have a pet that has fins, wings, scales, or other features, please tell us about them here.

    Which, if any of the pets in your writing are modeled after your own pets? In what way?

    Malarkey is 100% my dog. In the prequel novella to the series (Scourge) there is also an orange cat named Zig Zag who is somewhat modeled after the cat I had as a child. He has unfortunately passed away now, but I’m glad I got to immortalize him in writing.

    What do your pets do when you are writing?

    Literally anything she can to try and stop me from writing and get me to take her for a walk.

    What’s the most unusual pet you ever had?

    When I was a kid I had a lot of mice, hamsters, bunnies, etc. At one point I had a rat. I named him Pantalaimon after the daemon in Golden Compass. He was black and white, cute and very smart.

    Where did you find your pet?

    We rescued Aloy from a dog rescue in California called GEPDA – I’ve included a link to their Facebook page at the end of this article.

    What do you feed your pet?

    Dog chow and (don’t tell my boyfriend) table scraps.

    Where to buy Salt

    Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Salt-Thalassic-Book-Liz-Shipton-ebook/dp/B0BRHK64P7

    Liz Shipton Social Media

    Part-time author Full-time pirate
    Hi! I’m Liz. I’m a freelance writer, indie author, and full-time, off-grid, live-aboard sailor. I’m currently sailing around the world with my boyfriend and my dog, turning my real-life adventures into YA Sci-Fi and Fantasy books.
    My debut fiction series, Thalassic, is based on my own experience sailing from California to Panama. It’s about two friends who are forced to sail across a dangerous ocean in a post-apocalyptic, high-tech dystopia. Along the way, they fight pirates, rescue a dog, run from a shadow government, and (of course) fall in love ❤️
    I love incorporating the incredible experiences, beautiful places, and fascinating people I encounter on my travels into my work. Many parts of the world are underrepresented in fiction, particularly speculative fiction, and I feel grateful to be able to explore them, both physically and in writing. In addition to exploring the world, I like to explore themes surrounding mental health, addiction, technology and climate change in my books.
    When I’m not penning YA novels about the impending apocalypse, I work as a freelance content writer specializing in articles about code (I used to be a software engineer), music theory (I also used to be a musician), and off-grid living/digital nomading. On the rare occasion I’m not writing, you can find me swimming, hiking, telling my dog I love her for the bazillionth time today, or watching Taskmaster.
    Website https://lizshipton.com
    Facebook https://facebook.com/lizshiptonauthor
    Instagram https://instagram.com/lizshiptonauthor
    Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/23026308.Liz_Shipton
    BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/liz-shipton
    Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/stores/Liz-Shipton/author/B0BN4YHLXF
    Tik Tok https://tiktok.com/@lizshiptonauthor

    Shout out to Rob’s Rescues – founded by a 9-year-old animal activist

    Rob’s Rescues is a non-profit organization in Georgia helping people in need care for and feed their pets. It was founded in 2014 by a then nine-year-old boy. Rob’s Rescues is dedicated to collecting pet food for people in need to reduce shelter surrenders, and to advocating for the adoption of shelter pets. Rob writes monthly articles advocating for shelter animals in the Around About Local Media magazine publications. His column was first published in 2014. He also has pet food collection sites for people in need in the community and interviews amazing people. His interviews appear online once they are published in his column.
    Rob volunteers for Pet Buddies Food Pantry, the Cherokee County Animal Shelter and Cobb County Animal Control and collects pet food for these organizations and the communities they serve. He also wants to bring attention to smaller, rural shelters. Mostly he wants to get kids to be Rob’s Rangers to teach kids that they can help shelter animals. Rob has also talked to kids in a classroom setting.
    Rob’s Rescues is a Non-Profit Corporation and all donations are tax deductible.
    Website http://www.robsrescues.com/
    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/robsrescues/
    Twitter https://twitter.com/RobsRescues

    Shout out to GEPDA

    We rescued our dog Aloy from GEPDA, a big dog non-profit rescue group in San Martin, California. They do great work rehabilitating dogs from around California and Mexico. You can find them on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/GepdaRescueUS/

     

  • Fiction Furbaby,  Mystery,  Paranormal

    Fiction Furbaby: Meet Adventure (Addy for short) from An Angel’s Wylder Assignment by Tena Stetler @tenastetler @RobsRescues #RLFblog #Pets #Mystery

    Fiction Furbaby: Meet Adventure (Addy for short) from An Angel's Wylder Assignment by Tena Stetler @tenastetler @RobsRescues #RLFblog #Pets #MysteryTake a Wylder ride to the past with a Warrior Angel and Native American Shifter to save the future in Tena Stetler’s new paranormal romance/mystery An Angel’s Wylder Assignment.

    Tena, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. I’m Kayelle Allen, author and owner of this blog. Happy to have you here! We support all furbabies, real life or fictional. We want to know all about your Fiction Furbaby, but first, please tell us about An Angel’s Wylder Assignment.

    An Angel’s Wylder Assignment by Tena Stetler

    Genre Paranormal Romance/Mystery
    Book heat level (based on movie ratings): PG13

    Angel Killian Dugan’s annual trip to the family castle in Scotland is shattered by the arrival of Legion Commander North. Killian’s skills are needed for an urgent time travel assignment. A rogue demon has escaped back in time. He must discover the why and where then stop the demon before it can damage the past and change the future.

    Killian’s girlfriend Chinoah Grace, a Native American shapeshifter is included in the mission, which takes them to the wild west town of Wylder, Wyoming in 1878. She will have her hands full fitting in and making friends. Nothing is as it seems. They encounter visions, spirit quests, and a mysterious shaman. On top of it all, blending in as a blacksmith is more physically difficult than he imagined. But not as challenging as keeping his hands off his undercover wife. Will they complete their assignment or run out of time?

    Meet Adventure from An Angel’s Wylder Assignment

    Full name: Adventure
    Nickname: Addy
    Gender: Female
    Species: Canine
    Physical description: furry, curly tail, black,
    Relationship to main character: She kinda belongs to the Blacksmith shop. Killian and Chinoah took over the blacksmith shop when they arrived from the future. Chinoah and the dog bonded immediately. She promised to never leave the dog on its own again. She named it Adventure because of events in the dog’s life .
    Relationship to the villain/antagonist: She attacks when heroine’s life is in danger.
    Where this furbaby came from: The dog was a stray. The old owner took her in during frigid weather and left her at the blacksmith shop when he moved away due to health issues.

    Do you have any working or service animals in your stories? Tell us about them.

    I have several working or service animals in most of my stories. A Witch’s Journey Series is all about animal rescue. Several animals in these stories have duties.

    What inspired you to create this character?

    Well, I try to have companion animals in most of my stories. Adventure seemed to just come as part of the story when I started writing it. I’m what is known as a panster (write by the seat of my pants) so my stories are character driven. Adventure stole the story in many ways and even saved a life.

    What does the main character think about this furbaby?

    There is a deep bond there because Chinoah is a wolf shifter. Once Adventured learned to trust Chinoah in both forms they were inseparable. Killian enjoys a good bond with Adventure but not like Chinoah. He was a bit worried she Chinoah announced that the pup would be returning to present day with them when the assignment was over.

    What about this furbaby will readers like, and why?

    Adventure is so loyal and protective, it adds another layer of feel-good to the book.

    Describe a humorous incident involving the animal character.

    Killian indicates Adventure must stay at the blacksmith shop while he and Chinoah port to another place in Wyoming. Chinoah disagrees and the dog jumps into her arms just as they are leaving. No way Adventure was going to be left behind. Another reoccurring one is that the pup always pushes her way into the buildings first then runs straight to her rug by the wood-burning stoves.

    Which, if any of the pets in your writing are modeled after your own pets? In what way?

    Several of the dogs or puppies in my books are modeled after my own chow chow, Mystic Reign. Mystic has a sweet, curious nature everything and person in her world must be investigated.

    What do your pets do when you are writing?

    My parrot, Taco, sits on my shoulder giving me her opinions. Mystic usually lays in the middle of the room or at the doorway guarding.

    What’s the most unusual pet you ever had?

    An iguana, his name was Fluffy. We had him for 15 years. He was a great pet and I still miss him. Mystic and Taco came from breeders. Fluffy was a rescue. Sammy Turtle was also a rescue. She is now 50 years old.

    Fiction Furbaby: Meet Adventure (Addy for short) from An Angel's Wylder Assignment by Tena Stetler @tenastetler @RobsRescues #RLFblog #Pets #Mystery

    What do you feed your pet?

    Mystic a special mix of dog kibble and tablespoon of Blue Buffalo canned dog food; Taco gets a cooked mix of veggies and sprouts, and then fresh fruit. Eclectus Parrots are a fruit-eating bird. She also gets fresh seed once a week. Sammy gets a mix of warm veggies, sprouts and blue buffalo canned dog food daily. On occasion, she gets her favorite sloppy joe or spaghetti sauce.

    Describe a toy or favorite item your pet loves.

    Mystic like little squeaky balls and stuffed toys. Taco likes parrot toys than can be torn up, shredded paper, pine cones, the food toys cranberries, snap peas, corn on cob on a skewer. Sammy enjoys her heat rock and tunnels in her habitat. They all have travel cages and love to travel with us in our truck and 38-foot 5-wheel trailer.

    Where to buy An Angel’s Wylder Assignment

    Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Angels-Wylder-Assignment-West-ebook/dp/B09PJQYXMX/
    Barnes and Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/an-angels-wylder-assignment-tena-stetler/1140834339?ean=9781509240050
    iBooks https://books.apple.com/us/book/an-angels-wylder-assignment/id1602043436
    Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/an-angel-s-wylder-assignment
    Universal Buy Link https://books2read.com/u/4XD2PN

    Tena Stetler Social Media

    Tena Stetler is a best-selling author of award winning paranormal romance with an over-active imagination. She wrote her first vampire romance as a tween, to the chagrin of her mother and the delight of her friends. Colorado is home; shared with her husband, a brilliant Chow Chow, a spoiled parrot and a forty-five-year-old box turtle. When she’s not writing, her time is spent kayaking, camping, hiking, biking or just relaxing in the great Colorado outdoors. Her books tell tales of magical kick-ass women and mystical alpha males that dare to love them. Travel, adventure and a bit of mystery flourish in her books along with a few companion animals to round out the tales
    Website https://www.tenastetler.com
    Authors’ Secret’s Blog – https://www.tenastetler.com/category/authors-secrets-blog/
    My Say What Blog http://www.tenastetler.com/category/my-say-what-blog/
    Twitter https://www.twitter.com/TenaStetler
    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/tenastetler.author
    Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/tenastetler
    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tenastetler/
    Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14187532.Tena_Stetler
    BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tena-stetler
    Amazon Author Page www.amazon.com/author/tenastetler
    Get to know Tena Stetler better by signing up for an email newsletter https://www.tenastetler.com/newsletter-signup/

    Shout out to Rob’s Rescues – founded by a 9-year-old animal activist

    Rob’s Rescues is a non-profit organization in Georgia helping people in need care for and feed their pets. It was founded in 2014 by a then nine-year-old boy. Rob’s Rescues is dedicated to collecting pet food for people in need to reduce shelter surrenders, and to advocating for the adoption of shelter pets. Rob writes monthly articles advocating for shelter animals in the Around About Local Media magazine publications. His column was first published in 2014. He also has pet food collection sites for people in need in the community and interviews amazing people. His interviews appear online once they are published in his column.
    Rob volunteers for Pet Buddies Food Pantry, the Cherokee County Animal Shelter and Cobb County Animal Control and collects pet food for these organizations and the communities they serve. He also wants to bring attention to smaller, rural shelters. Mostly he wants to get kids to be Rob’s Rangers to teach kids that they can help shelter animals. Rob has also talked to kids in a classroom setting.
    Rob’s Rescues is a Non-Profit Corporation and all donations are tax deductible.
    Website http://www.robsrescues.com/
    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/robsrescues/
    Twitter https://twitter.com/RobsRescues


    Romance Lives Forever Blog (RLFblog) is closed as of Dec 1, 2023. Comments prior to 2021 have been deleted. This site will remain online until July 2025.


     
  • Fiction Furbaby,  Modern Western,  Western

    Fiction Furbaby: Meet a Xysticus from A Room in Blake’s Folly by J Arlene Culiner @JArleneCuliner@RobsRescues #RLFblog #Pets

    Fiction Furbaby: Meet a Xysticus from A Room in Blake's Folly by J Arlene Culiner @JArleneCuliner@RobsRescues #RLFblog #PetsBack in 1889, when Blake’s Folly boasted three silver mines, many saloons and brothels, the adventurer, Westley Cranston, fell in love with Sookie Lacey a former prostitute. Their powerful romance was doomed but never forgotten, and the repercussions could be felt 130 years later. The six stories in A Room in Blake’s Folly tell the tale.

    J Arlene Culiner, I’m happy to host you on Romance Lives Forever. I’m Kayelle Allen, author and owner of this blog. Tell us about your book.

    A Room in Blake’s Folly by J Arlene Culiner

    Genre Historical to Contemporary Western Romance
    Book heat level (based on movie ratings): sensual

    In one hundred and fifty years, Blake’s Folly, a silver boomtown notorious for its brothels, scarlet ladies, silver barons, speakeasies, and divorce ranches, has become a semi-ghost town. Although the old Mizpah Saloon is still in business, its upper floor is sheathed in dust. But in a room at a long corridor’s end, an adventurer, a beautiful dance girl, and a rejected wife were once caught in a love triangle, and their secret has touched three generations.

    Tell Us About Your Cover

    Why did you write this book?

    I wanted to show the Far West as it really was, without the cowboy myths, without the shootouts and without the happy mail-order bride fantasy. I felt that real people had to be portrayed with all their failures and successes.

    What is your favorite genre to read?

    I read many different sorts of books, but my favourite is literary travel.

    Who is your favorite character from fiction (not including your own)?

    The interfering and bossy Flora Post from Stella Gibbon’s delightful Cold Comfort Farm is a great favorite of mine. She can’t be fooled, but she sees the humour in everything.

    What are you working on at the moment?

    A non-fiction history of life on the Great Hungarian Plain.

    What books will we see from you in coming months?

    Two new versions of stories that are also set in Blake’s Folly, Nevada will be coming out this spring: All About Charming Alice and Desert Rose. Here are the blurbs:

    All About Charming Alice

    Alice Treemont has no intention of falling in love. Living in Blake’s Folly, a semi-ghost town, she cooks vegetarian meals, rescues unwanted dogs, and protects the most unloved creatures on earth: snakes. What man would share those interests?

    Jace Constant is in Nevada, doing research for his new book, but he won’t be staying. He’s disgusted by desert dust on his fine Italian shoes and dog hair on his cashmere sweaters. As for snakes, he doesn’t just despise them: they terrify him.

    So why does the air sizzle each time Alice and Jace meet? A romance would entail far too many compromises.

    Desert Rose

    Rose Badger is the local flirt, and if the other inhabitants of backwoods Blake’s Folly, Nevada, don’t approve, she couldn’t care less. With a disastrous marriage and a dead-end career far behind her, settling down is the last thing she intends to do. Newcomer Jonah Livingstone is intriguing, but with his complicated life, he’s off limits for anything other than friendship. Besides, Rose has a secret world of her own—one she won’t give up for any man.

    The last person geologist Jonah Livingstone expected to meet in a semi-ghost town is the sparkling and lovely Rose Badger. But Rose, always surrounded by many admirers, doesn’t seem inclined to choose a favorite. So why fret? Jonah keeps his personal life well hidden…and that’s the best way to avoid disappointment.

    Where to buy A Room in Blake’s Folly

    Publisher The Wild Rose Press
    Universal Buy Link https://books2read.com/BlakesFollyRomance

    Fiction Furbaby: Meet a Xysticus from A Room in Blake's Folly by J Arlene Culiner @JArleneCuliner@RobsRescues #RLFblog #Pets

    J Arlene Culiner Social Media

    Writer, photographer, social critical artist, and impenitent teller of tall tales, J Arlene Culiner, was born in New York and raised in Toronto. She has crossed much of Europe on foot, has lived in a mud house on the Great Hungarian Plain, a Bavarian castle, a Turkish cave dwelling, a haunted house on the English moors, and on a Dutch canal. She now resides in a 400-year-old former inn in a French village of no interest where, much to local dismay, she protects spiders, snakes, and all weeds. She particularly enjoys incorporating into mysteries, non-fiction, and romances, her experiences in out-of-the-way communities, and her conversations with very odd characters.
    Linktree https://linktr.ee/j.arleneculiner
    Website https://www.j-arleneculiner.com
    Blog https://j-arleneculiner.over-blog.com
    Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7158064.J_Arlene_Culiner
    Twitter https://twitter.com/JArleneCuliner
    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/blakesfolly/
    Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/jarlene.culiner
    Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/jarleneculiner
    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jarleneculiner/
    BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-arlene-culiner

    Shout out to Rob’s Rescues – founded by a 9-year-old animal activist

    Rob’s Rescues is a non-profit organization in Georgia helping people in need care for and feed their pets. It was founded in 2014 by a then nine-year-old boy. Rob’s Rescues is dedicated to collecting pet food for people in need to reduce shelter surrenders, and to advocating for the adoption of shelter pets. Rob writes monthly articles advocating for shelter animals in the Around About Local Media magazine publications. His column was first published in 2014. He also has pet food collection sites for people in need in the community and interviews amazing people. His interviews appear online once they are published in his column.
    Rob volunteers for Pet Buddies Food Pantry, the Cherokee County Animal Shelter and Cobb County Animal Control and collects pet food for these organizations and the communities they serve. He also wants to bring attention to smaller, rural shelters. Mostly he wants to get kids to be Rob’s Rangers to teach kids that they can help shelter animals. Rob has also talked to kids in a classroom setting.
    Rob’s Rescues is a Non-Profit Corporation and all donations are tax deductible.
    Website http://www.robsrescues.com/
    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/robsrescues/
    Twitter https://twitter.com/RobsRescues

  • Contemporary,  Fiction Furbaby

    Fiction Furbaby: Meet Stanley from Take a Chance on Me by Jana Richards @JanaRichards_ @RobsRescues #RLFblog #Pets

    Fiction Furbaby: Meet Stanley from Take a Chance on Me by Jana Richards @JanaRichards_ @RobsRescues #RLFblog #PetsLove at first sight goes awry in Take a Chance on Me, a contemporary romance by Jana Richards and book 2 in the Victorian Mansion series. When Darcy discovers Nick plans to tear down her beloved Victorian to build a condo complex, she vows to fight him, despite the attraction between them.

    Jana, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. I’m Kayelle Allen, author and owner of this blog. Happy to have you here! We support all furbabies, real life or fictional. We want to know all about your Fiction Furbaby, but first, please tell us about Take a Chance on Me.

    Take a Chance on Me by Jana Richards

    Genre – contemporary romance
    Book heat level (based on movie ratings): PG13

    Teacher Darcy Ferris loves travel almost as much as she loves her Toronto neighborhood. But no matter how far she roams, she always returns to the genteelly shabby Victorian mansion where she grew up, the last place her father lived. Darcy’s world is turned upside-down when the Victorian is slated for demolition.

    Since the death of architect Nick Cummings’ mother, his father has retreated from his real estate development business, and from life. In a desperate attempt to interest him in something once more, Nick buys a beat-up Victorian mansion and draws up plans to replace it with a Victorian-inspired condo. He hopes his father’s old spark will return if he helps him build the new condo. But he doesn’t expect such opposition from his new tenant, Darcy Ferris. Nor does he expect to fall in love with her.

    Nick and Darcy must come to terms with the past before they can forge a future together. And they’ll need to take the biggest chance of all – on love.

    Meet Stanley from Take a Chance on Me

    Full name: Stanley

    Nickname: n/a

    Gender: male

    Species: Pure bred Pug

    Physical description: scrunched-up face and nose, short legs, curly tail, tan body with black around his nose and ears.

    Relationship to main character: Stanley belongs to Jenny Ferris, Darcy’s grandmother. Darcy is looking after Stanley temporarily while her grandmother’s leg is in a cast.

    Relationship to the villain/antagonist: Stanley takes an instant dislike to Nick when he moves into the Victorian mansion. What does he know that Darcy doesn’t?

    Where this furbaby came from: When Stanley was rescued from a puppy mill, Darcy’s grandmother Jenny adopted him.

    What inspired you to create this character?

    My dog Lou. She was a pug/terrier cross, not a pure-bred pug like Stanley, but she had a lot of Stanley’s quirks. Like her love of food, her stubbornness, and her absolute loyalty. But unlike Stanley, Lou never growled at anyone in her life. She loved everybody!

    What does the main character think about this furbaby?

    Darcy likes Stanley and is happy to look after him while her grandmother recovers, but she knows his heart belongs to Grandma Jenny. He merely tolerates Darcy because she feeds him. Darcy is grateful to the little mutt because it was his frantic barking that alerted neighbors when Jenny tripped and broke her ankle.

    What does the villain/antagonist think about this furbaby?

    Nick has never had a dog, so he’s wary of Stanley’s growls and barks. For some reason, the dog has it out for him. If they’re going to get along, Stanley’s going to have to learn who’s the alpha dog in the Victorian mansion.

    What does this furbaby eat?

    Just about anything! Again, I modeled Stanley’s appetite after my dog Lou’s. She loved food and had a particular fondness for vegetables such as raw carrots, broccoli and cauliflower. But she REALLY loved fruit, especially strawberries. More than once I caught her in our garden raiding the strawberry patch! As she got older, her stomach wasn’t quite as strong as it had once been and we had to give her smaller meals, three times a day. If too much time passed between meals, she’d throw up. I gave Stanley the same delicate stomach and love of raw carrots!

    What does this furbaby add to the story?

    Stanley adds humor. His antics are funny and a little silly. But he also allows Nick an opportunity to grow and learn what it’s like to have a pet. Nick’s mother was allergic, so he didn’t grow up with animals in the house. He doesn’t know what to make of Stanley when he barks and growls at him. But when Darcy needs him, he takes control and gets over his apprehension about spending time with Stanley.

    What about this furbaby will readers like, and why?

    I think readers will enjoy the humor Stanley brings to the story, and because he’s based on a real dog, readers will find him true to life. And really, who can resist an adorable pug!

    Describe a humorous incident involving the animal character.

    Darcy first meets Nick on the front porch of the Victorian mansion as she and Stanley arrive home from a walk. Darcy is instantly attracted to Nick, but she senses there’s something he’s not telling her. Stanley senses it, too, and, to Darcy’s embarrassment, he pees on Nick’s leg!

    Fiction Furbaby: Meet Stanley from Take a Chance on Me by Jana Richards @JanaRichards_ @RobsRescues #RLFblog #Pets

    About Layla and Leelou

    This post is called Fiction Furbaby, but perhaps your own pet does not have fur. If you have a pet that has fins, wings, scales, or other features, please tell us about them here.

    What do your pets do when you are writing?

    Layla and Leelou are two senior calico cats that we recently adopted. When I’m writing, Layla will sometimes sleep on the mat I put down for them in my office, but if she’s hungry, she will paw at my leg, as if to say, “Jana. Jana. Jana. Feed me! Feed me now!” Leelou always demands attention. She’ll jump up on my desk and stand on the keyboard, or crawl onto my lap and make herself comfy. I’m constantly covered in cat hair. It’s not easy to work when they’re around, especially if they’re hungry. But I wouldn’t have it any other way!

    Where did you find your pet?

    Actually, they found us. Their original owner passed away, and they were taken to the Humane Society. My daughter’s friend had only eight days to find them a new home or they’d be surrendered to the Humane Society permanently. She asked us if we’d be interested in adopting them. Considering their age (they were 13 at the time and are nearly 14 years old now) and the fact that these two sisters had been together all their lives, we felt we had to take them in. We didn’t feel confident that anyone would want to adopt two such senior cats together. Despite the cat hair everywhere, we haven’t regretted our decision. These ladies belong in our home!

    Describe a toy or favorite item your pet loves.

    After Christmas, my local pet store had Christmas-themed catnip toys on sale. I picked up a Christmas stocking-shaped toy and brought home for the ladies. They went nuts over it! When they started fighting over the toy, I ran back to the pet store and purchased another one!

    Where to buy Take a Chance on Me

    Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KNBM8G3
    Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07KNBM8G3
    Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07KNBM8G3

    Jana Richards Social Media

    Jana Richards has tried her hand at many writing projects over the years, from magazine articles and short stories to full-length contemporary romance, paranormal suspense and romantic comedy. She loves to create characters with a sense of humor, but also a serious side. She believes there’s nothing more interesting then peeling back the layers of a character to see what makes them tick.
    When not writing up a storm or dealing with dust bunnies, Jana can be found pursuing hobbies such as golf (which she plays very badly) or reading (which she does much better).
    Jana lives in Western Canada with her husband Warren and two senior cats named Layla and Leelou. You can reach her through her website at http://www.janarichards.com
    Website https://www.janarichards.com
    Blog https://janarichards.blogspot.com
    Twitter https://www.twitter.com/JanaRichards_
    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/JanaRichardsAuthor
    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/janarichards155/
    Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2892274.Jana_Richards
    BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jana-richards
    Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jana-Richards/author/B002DEVWWG
    Get to know Jana Richards better by signing up for an email newsletter
    https://www.janarichards.com/contact.html#newsletter

     

    Shout out to Rob’s Rescues – founded by a 9-year-old animal activist

    Rob’s Rescues is a non-profit organization in Georgia helping people in need care for and feed their pets. It was founded in 2014 by a then nine-year-old boy. Rob’s Rescues is dedicated to collecting pet food for people in need to reduce shelter surrenders, and to advocating for the adoption of shelter pets. Rob writes monthly articles advocating for shelter animals in the Around About Local Media magazine publications. His column was first published in 2014. He also has pet food collection sites for people in need in the community and interviews amazing people. His interviews appear online once they are published in his column.
    Rob volunteers for Pet Buddies Food Pantry, the Cherokee County Animal Shelter and Cobb County Animal Control and collects pet food for these organizations and the communities they serve. He also wants to bring attention to smaller, rural shelters. Mostly he wants to get kids to be Rob’s Rangers to teach kids that they can help shelter animals. Rob has also talked to kids in a classroom setting.
    Rob’s Rescues is a Non-Profit Corporation and all donations are tax deductible.
    Website http://www.robsrescues.com/
    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/robsrescues/
    Twitter https://twitter.com/RobsRescues

  • Erotic,  Fiction Furbaby

    Fiction Furbaby: Meet Heathcliff from Incognito by Lisabet Sarai @LisabetSarai @RobsRescues #Romance #RLFblog #Pets

    Fiction Furbaby: Meet Heathcliff from Incognito by Lisabet Sarai @LisabetSarai @RobsRescues #RLFblog #PetsBetrayed and abandoned by her first lover, Miranda freezes when someone she knows tries to become intimate. In Lisabet Sarai’s erotic romance Incognito, Miranda learns that lust and trust aren’t antithetical.

    Lisabet, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. I’m Kayelle Allen, author and owner of this blog. Happy to have you here! We support all furbabies, real life or fictional. We want to know all about your Fiction Furbaby, but first, please tell us about Incognito.

    Incognito: Secret Lives, Forbidden Loves by Lisabet Sarai

    Genre Erotic romance

    Book heat level (based on movie ratings): X

    Shy and serious by day—insatiable by night.

    During the day, Miranda Cahill works diligently on her doctoral thesis. At night, she has sex with strangers.

    Public coupling, multiple partners, age play, spankings, bondage, lesbian lust—each salacious adventure exposes new dimensions of her depravity. Her secret life explodes when she realizes her masked partner at a kink club and the charismatic colleague courting her are in fact the same man.

    Dickens scholar Mark Anderson seems like an affable, uncomplicated Midwesterner, but he has hidden depths, myriad talents, and an unlimited appetite for erotic variety. With Mark as her guide, Miranda comes to accept the intricacy of her own desires, as well as to trust her heart.

    Reader Advisory: This novel is an erotic romance featuring a committed relationship and culminating in a wedding. Nevertheless, the main characters participate in a wide range of taboo sexual activities, both together and separately.

    Meet Heathcliff from Incognito

    Full name: Heathcliff

    Nickname: Kitten

    Gender: Neutered Male

    Species: Feline

    Physical description: Heathcliff is a short-haired ginger tabby with golden eyes. He’s about four years old.

    Relationship to main character: Lives with the heroine Miranda in her Beacon Hill apartment

    Relationship to the villain/antagonist: N/A

    Where this furbaby came from: Miranda adopted Heathcliff from the MSPCA when she moved to Boston to start her doctoral work. She has always loved cats, but as an undergraduate she wasn’t allowed to keep pets in her dorm.

    What inspired you to create this character?

    Miranda’s a bit of a grind and a loner. I felt Heathcliff would help balance her solitary inclinations. Plus I had a plot idea that required a cat to implement.

    What does the main character think about this furbaby?

    She adores him, though he’s sometimes mischievous or demanding (like all cats). Without realizing it, Miranda also judges other people by how Heathcliff reacts to them. When the orange tom cozies up to Mark, she’s suitably impressed.

    How do other characters react to or interact with this furbaby?

    Mark Anderson, the hero and love interest, knows exactly how to make Heathcliff purr. He’s an easy-going, sociable guy who loves both cats and dogs. Still he understands that being accepted by Heathcliff is an important step toward winning Miranda’s affection and trust.

    What does this furbaby add to the story?

    Heathcliff plays a critical role in the plot. In the process of seeking attention from a pre-occupied Miranda, he inadvertently reveals a secret that shapes the rest of the story. What secret? Readers will have to get the book to find out! (Or search my blog, where I’ve actually published this snippet!)

    Please share an interesting fact or tidbit about this furbaby.

    Heathcliff is named for the dark, emotionally-tortured anti-hero in Wuthering Heights, one of Miranda’s favorite books. Since she’s working on her Ph.D. in literature, it’s not surprising she’d mine the canon for a name. However, Heathcliff’s personality isn’t at all like Emily Bronte’s character.

    Fiction Furbaby: Meet Heathcliff from Incognito by Lisabet Sarai @LisabetSarai @RobsRescues #RLFblog #Pets

    About Katsu and Soba

    This post is called Fiction Furbaby, but perhaps your own pet does not have fur. If you have a pet that has fins, wings, scales, or other features, please tell us about them here.

    Which, if any of the pets in your writing are modeled after your own pets? In what way?

    I’m a huge ailurophile. I can’t imagine living with a couple of cats. That being the case, it’s a bit surprising that I haven’t written more fiction fur babies.

    Heathcliff isn’t that much like my own current cats, from a personality perspective. Katsu and Soba are more energetic, even though they’re about Heathcliff’s age. In the morning and evening they play-wrestle and run around chasing each other. (Sometimes they do that in the middle of the night, too!) Heathcliff, in contrast, just likes to relax while keeping Miranda company.

    What do your pets do when you are writing?

    Sometimes Soba (black male with white toes and whiskers) sits on my lap. Katsu (tiger female) will occasionally jump up into my lap to see what I’m up to, but even though I scratch her behind the ears, she rarely settles down.

    It’s not unusual for both of them to curl up together on my desk. They’re very close, though they’re not siblings. One of Soba’s tricks is to wander around behind my monitor and disturb the cable connection, so that all of a sudden everything on my screen turns green! Meanwhile, if she’s in the mood, Katsu likes to bat at my stuff and knock it onto the floor – pens, USB drives, and sometimes my eyeglasses. She also used to chew through my mouse cables. I finally had to switch to using a wireless mouse!

    What’s the most unusual pet you ever had?

    I had a white mouse when I was in grade school. Unfortunately, mice are rather fragile, so that didn’t last long.

    Where did you find your pet?

    We adopted both Katsu and Soba from animal rescue organizations. Katsu was about three months old. Soba was about ten months. Both had been homeless.

    What do you feed your pet?

    Nothing special, just commercial cat food. They’re not picky. Oh, and when I make tuna fish salad, they get the liquid from the can. They love that!

    Describe a toy or favorite item your pet loves.

    When he’s in the right mood, Soba loves to chase crumpled-up grocery receipts. He’ll bat them around, throw them into the air then leap up after them, or push them under the rug then frantically dig them out.

    On the other hand, sometimes I’ll throw one and he’ll just look at me, as if to say, “Yeah? What am I supposed to do with that?”

    Where to buy Incognito

    Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B1N7CTMQ
    Barnes and Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/2940165857058
    Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/incognito-secret-lives-forbidden-loves
    Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1147874
    Kinky Literature https://www.kinkyliterature.com/book/362-incognito-secret-lives-forbidden-loves
    Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61138791-incognito

    Fiction Furbaby: Meet Heathcliff from Incognito by Lisabet Sarai @LisabetSarai @RobsRescues #RLFblog #Pets

    Lisabet Sarai Social Media

    Lisabet Sarai became addicted to words at an early age. She began reading when she was four. She wrote her first story at five years old and her first poem at seven. Since then, she has penned plays, tutorials, scholarly articles, marketing brochures, software specifications, self-help books, press releases, a five-hundred page dissertation, and lots of erotica and erotic romance – over one hundred titles, and counting, in nearly every sub-genre—paranormal, scifi, ménage, BDSM, GLBT, and more. Regardless of the genre, every one of her stories illustrates her motto: Imagination is the ultimate aphrodisiac.
    Website https://www.lisabetsarai.com
    Blog https://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com
    Twitter https://www.twitter.com/LisabetSarai
    Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/lisabetsarai/beyond-romance-blog-posts/
    Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/83387.Lisabet_Sarai
    BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/lisabet-sarai
    Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/author/lisabetsarai
    Get to know Lisabet Sarai better by signing up for her email list: https://btn.ymlp.com/xgjjhmhugmgh

    Shout out to Rob’s Rescues – founded by a 9-year-old animal activist

    Rob’s Rescues is a non-profit organization in Georgia helping people in need care for and feed their pets. It was founded in 2014 by a then nine-year-old boy. Rob’s Rescues is dedicated to collecting pet food for people in need to reduce shelter surrenders, and to advocating for the adoption of shelter pets. Rob writes monthly articles advocating for shelter animals in the Around About Local Media magazine publications. His column was first published in 2014. He also has pet food collection sites for people in need in the community and interviews amazing people. His interviews appear online once they are published in his column.
    Rob volunteers for Pet Buddies Food Pantry, the Cherokee County Animal Shelter and Cobb County Animal Control and collects pet food for these organizations and the communities they serve. He also wants to bring attention to smaller, rural shelters. Mostly he wants to get kids to be Rob’s Rangers to teach kids that they can help shelter animals. Rob has also talked to kids in a classroom setting.
    Rob’s Rescues is a Non-Profit Corporation and all donations are tax deductible.
    Website http://www.robsrescues.com/
    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/robsrescues/
    Twitter https://twitter.com/RobsRescues