Spring is Wildlife Season!

Here on the mountain behind us, all sorts of wildlife have been popping up. Fawns and bunnies, of course. Robins, towhees, Stellar’s jays, finches and my favorite: hummingbirds! Last year we had a bear so we’re all keeping an eye out for that one again. Recently we had a bobcat hanging around. Our dogs think this is pretty cool, but what do they know? By the time they find out otherwise, it’ll be too late.

I love being surrounded by nature. But nature doesn’t always benefit from us butting in. In fact, nature almost always loses. That’s where the dedicated people involved in wildlife rehabilitation come in. Committed and knowledgeable, these people are on the frontlines, mending the damage caused by habitat loss, inappropriate human-wildlife contact, injuries by vehicles or pets. This is the time of year when wildlife rehabbers spring into high gear (ha, did you see what I did there? huh?) and need your help. Several years ago, when I wrote a book on wildlife rehab, I learned so much about how we can help wildlife recover from our human ignorance – and why we all need to do our part.

It was my favorite book of the series.

Then it went out of print.

Now, thanks to the dedicated and talented team at Heritage House Publishing in Victoria, BC, my little wildlife book is alive again! New title, new cover, updated content… didn’t they do a lovely job?

So… (drum-roll please) I’m thrilled to announce that the repackaged version of my book, formerly titled Wildlife in the Kitchen, is now available for purchase, in both paperback and digital format. For any of you who support wildlife rehabilitation in all its entities, you’ll be happy to know that Elizabeth Melnick of Elizabeth’s Wildlife Centre, in Abbotsford, BC, is featured prominently in this book. And as soon as print copies are available, I’ll be donating her a box of 50 to use in fund-raising, volunteer appreciation or whatever best serves her needs. I’m so proud to have been able to include her story in this book – and to call Elizabeth my friend!

PS: one of the cool things about being a writer is that you never now when one idea might spark another, or where this trail of sparks will lead. This book contains a chapter on wild mustangs, the free-roaming horses that continue to run wild across parts of North America. Researching these amazing creatures fascinated me – and continues to do so. So, I started writing a novel about a guy who makes this his purpose in life – but is the son of a Montana cattle rancher. Oooh, conflict. That little spark turned into Three River Ranch, the first of what is now a four-book series of digital romance novels with Entangled Publishing.