Dear Abby - Pet Meet and Greet: Neo, Rusty, Skye, Remy and Sonny

Dear Friends,

Welcome from the very chilly south!  It is feeling very wintry here, and putting me in a holiday mood.

This week we have a wonderful family who stopped by the blog to visit.  Our Doxieposse friend, De, brought her dogs Neo, Rusty, Skye, Remy and Sonny.  They are beautiful dogs and have wonderful stories!

Abby:  I'm so glad you all stopped by.  I know my readers would love to hear about your pets.

De:  First, thanks so very much for wanting to include my crew. We all appreciate the invite. The crew consists of 4 Dachshunds and a Golden. Skye, a long hair wild boar, is the oldest, she will be 16 in January of 2017. Rusty is 14 and a chocolate dapple. Neo is 12 and a double dapple, and the puppy is Remy. He's a soft wire and will be 1 year old in February 2017. And last but not least Sonny will be 3 in February 2017. 

Abby:  Is there a story behind any of your pets' names?

Sonny

De:  There's not really any stories about the crews' names except for Sonny. My first golden was named Sunny. He was a stray that was found & we got him from an ad on a grocery store wall . He lived 16 1/2 years , passing in 2000.  He was a very special pup. I knew that I wanted another golden but was a bit hesitant with the doxies. Once I found him I knew that I would end up calling him Sunny because that's what the old brain would do. So to avoid confusion, (his & mine) we named him Sonny. 

Abby: You have a wonderful family of pups!  I would love to hear more about them.

Skye

De:  Skye & Sonny are registered therapy dogs. Skye has been since she was 4 years old & Sonny just finished his first year. And can he work a room! Skye is also a certified Crisis Response Dog. She has responded to several disaster sites. But at 16 years of age I don't ask that much of her now. It's Sonny's turn to pay it forward.

Neo

Rusty

Rusty and Neo are rescues. Rusty is happiest walking his yard to keep the elephants away. And I must say he's been very successful. Not one elephant sighting in his 12-year watch. Neo is deaf. He was going to be put to sleep because the breeders couldn't " use" him anymore. He is the happiest little guy around. Just throw his ball and give him a lap and he's golden!

Remy

Remy is the puppy. And what a hoot! He's a bundle of happiness. He also thinks Sonny is his personal play toy. Remy will run from one end of the house & jump on Sonny at full speed. They run & play and wear each other out. Which is extremely funny to watch as Remy weighs about 17 pounds & Sonny tips the scales at 90 lbs. But Sonny was brought up to respect the little ones, and he thinks he's a dachshund anyway.

Abby:  Thank you so much for visiting!  I really enjoyed learning more about your wonderful fur-kids.  I can just picture Rusty on elephant watch, and Remy and Sonny happily playing!  Readers, you can leave comments or questions for De or her pups in the comments section, below.

Thank you all so much for stopping by!  I hope you have a great weekend, and stay warm!

Love,

Abby xoxoxo

Book Review and Giveaway - Wallflower Blooming by Amy Rivers

Book Synopsis
Val Shakely is a list-maker. Daily routine. Check. Calm, quiet (but successful) business. Check. No drama. No excitement. Some might call it boring, but it’s precisely the way Val likes it. She loves her hometown of Cambria, nestled in the mountains of Colorado, and runs a fruitful PR firm. And that’s more than enough for Val. So what if she doesn’t have a social life?

Then, her cousin Gwen decides to take on the local political bully, the Mayor, in head-to-head combat for the Mayoral seat and Val takes her company reluctantly, and against her better judgment, into the fray. The minute Val takes on Gwen’s campaign, the safe world that she has carefully constructed begins to unravel. She feels the pressure of the campaign and the personal attacks by Gwen’s opponent.

And as if that wasn’t complicated enough, Val finds herself falling in love. Val’s desire to stay on the sidelines is put to the test and she’s forced to reexamine the life she’s built as she trudges toward a new and more exciting future.

 

Purchase Links

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

My Review

Wallflower Blooming is a charming novel set in a small town in Colorado.  Val Shakely runs a PR business.  Her work leads her to help her cousin Gwen with PR for her Mayoral bid.  

Val is a quiet homebody who loves to read and enjoys calm and peacefulness.  She is surprised to be part of the political scene, and even more surprised to meet an intriguing man.

John Hatfield is also independent and a bit of a recluse, so his romantic interest in Val takes him by surprise.

When Val and John deal with a political bully, and she uncovers some secrets from her family, they find some things they need to work through ... while continuing to get to know each other.

I loved the small town setting of this book, and enjoyed the characters of both Val and John.  They were very likeable and sympathetic, and I found myself rooting for their relationship to succeed.  I especially loved the way both the characters bloomed as they moved out of their comfort zone in their budding relationship and life in general.

Wallflower Blooming is well written.  Amy Rivers does a particularly nice job balancing descriptions and dialogue.  The characters are well-drawn and believable.  I look forward to more reads by this author in the future.

This is a very pleasant, upbeat story, and it would make a relaxing weekend read.  Recommended!    

Author Bio
Amy Rivers was born and raised in southern New Mexico and currently resides in Colorado. She had an idyllic childhood despite a severe visual impairment and, perhaps because of her disability, she learned a lot about compassion and empathy from a young age. Her keen interest in social issues and violence prevention led to a Master’s degree with concentrations in Psychology and Politics. She was the director of a sexual assault response program and remains an advocate for social justice. Amy has been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Nurses, Novelty Bride Magazine, ESME.com and Splice Today. Wallflower Blooming is her first novel.

 

 Connect with Amy
Website | Facebook |  Twitter  | Goodreads | Amazon

Giveaway
One lucky reader will win a copy of Wallflower Blooming.  Giveaway is open to readers in the U.S. and Canada.  The giveaway will end 12/15 at midnight.  Winner will be contacted by email and needs to respond within 48 hours.  The book will be mailed to winner by the author or her publicist.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received a copy of this book from TLC Book Tours.