Heavy Traffic Expected on the Rainbow Bridge…
- At July 13, 2012
- By Roxanne Snopek
- In Life, Roxanne Writes On
- 2
This fall, when our youngest leaves for university, my husband and I will become, rather suddenly, empty-nesters. Well, I should say, our nest is empty of human offspring. Our remaining dependents now consist of one ancient, sexually-frustrated cockatiel, four elderly cats, two poodles (smart and healthy, if a little high-strung) and one Cavalier King Charles spaniel with the sweetest temperament ever. (Blank as an unpainted wall, though, our Addie.)
We’re not particularly looking forward to taking over all the pet chores; however, we know it’s time limited. Our two oldest cats, Tabitha and Mylos, are particularly frail.
While Tabi is holding her own, we’ve been treating Mylos for diabetes for several years. He’s now in remission for the second time, but over Christmas, he developed pancreatitis. We didn’t expect him to make it to spring, but he recovered, more or less, with antibiotics. Then he developed hyperthyroidism, and it looks like his pancreatitis is flaring up again. We’ve decided that we won’t let him go through another episode, given his other illnesses, so as soon as we see signs of discomfort, we’ll be walking him to the Rainbow Bridge.
At almost 17, he’s had a long life, but it’s always sad to lose an old friend.
What are you reading?
We were at a Canada Day party recently (well, on Canada Day, duh) when a friend asked me what my favourite book was. And then LISTENED FOR A RESPONSE. A brave man, our friend. Or perhaps really, really bored. Asking me about books is like asking our spaniel about food. Specifics don’t matter. The answer is YES YES YES, GIMME GIMME, MORE MORE MORE.
My favourite book of all time is, of course, Barbara Kingsolver’s Poisonwood Bible, for many reasons. (Ask me, next time you’ve got a couple of hours to kill.) But I’ve read many other good ones lately. Last night, I finished The Marriage Bargain, by Jennifer Probst, and it was great! (I’m fond of her publisher, for reasons I will announce shortly. Stay tuned, fans.) I enjoyed Goodnight Tweetheart, by Teresa Medeiros – it’s a good story, AND I learned a bit more about Twitter. Sworn to Silence, by Linda Castillo, is a great, gripping thriller set in Amish country.
And then of course… there’s the Shades of Grey trilogy. I read the first two, grudgingly, as research. (It’s true! I’ll tell you more about that soon, too.) But I confess that part of me wanted to know just what all the hoopla’s about. Literary pop culture; I like to have one section in Trivial Pursuit that I have a chance at winning!
I won’t add to the plethora of scathing criticism about her wordcraft. (I try not to say bad things about other writers… we have feelings, you know.) It’s not my favourite book, HOWEVER, Ms. James has done a great job creating a multi-faceted, tortured hero in Christian Grey, so props to her for that.
Anyway… it’s time to get back to work. But I’m curious: what are you reading right now? What’s your favourite book of all time?
Do You Like Cowboys?
- At July 01, 2012
- By Roxanne Snopek
- In Life, Roxanne Writes On, Uncategorized
- 0
I know I like cowboys. Always have. I love horses, too, even owned one for a short time. About 14 years ago, as a surprise birthday gift, my Mr. (Always)Right had some photos taken for me. Now understand, horseback riding isn’t really his thing. He’s what you might call a reluctant cowboy, but he knows my weakness, so he duded himself up with chaps, boots and hat, and found a friend with a cooperative horse.
For a touch of “bad boy” he even attempted to add a cigarette! (Of course, since he doesn’t smoke, all the pictures are of him either coughing or laughing.)
Why am I talking about cowboys today? Well, (drum-roll please!) in August, Entangled Publishing will release my first book featuring, wait for it: a reluctant cowboy.
This book will be available in digital format only, at least initially, so if you don’t have a Kindle or Kobo or iPad or Android… well, get into the twenty-first century buckaroo. It fits way better in a saddlebag than 43 paperbacks.