Dear Abby - Favorite Dog Movies: Oliver and Company

Dear Friends,

Several friends have mentioned Oliver and Company as a favorite movie that includes dogs, so I wanted to be sure to include it here.

Oliver and Company is a 1988 Disney movie.  It is a clever retelling of the story of Oliver Twist.   However, in this movie Oliver is a cat and his friends on the street are all dogs!  Oliver and Company is set in present day New York.  The dogs in the movie include a mixed breed dog (the Dodger), an Afghan Hound, a Chihuahua, a Bulldog, a Poodle, and a Great Dane.  Voice actors in this movie include Joey Lawrence, Billy Joel, Cheech Marin, Richard Mulligan, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Dom Deluise, Robert Loggia, Bette Midler, and more.

The movie features songs by Billy Joel, Huey Lewis, and Barry Manilow.  The movie's song "Why Should I Worry?" won a Golden Globe award.

A little trivia:

The animators who worked on this movie shot footage of New York City from 18 inches off the ground in order to capture a dog's eye view!

Roger Radcliffe from 101 Dalmatians makes a cameo.  He appears when Oliver wakes up after sleeping on the truck.

The "Why Should I Worry" number also features Pongo (101 Dalmatians) and Jock, Trusty, and Peg (Lady and the Tramp).

The dogs do dances that are inspired by the work of Bob Fosse.

Here is the trailer for this movie:



Have you seen Oliver and Friends?  Or do you have any other dog movies to share?

Thanks for visiting - have a wonderful weekend!

Love,

Abby xoxoxo

Book Spotlight - Southern Discomfort: A Southern B&B Mystery by Caroline Fardig

Book Synopsis

Southern hospitality meets deadly deception in the start of a charming new mystery series from the USA Today bestselling author of the Java Jive novels.

Quinn Bellandini loves her life in Savannah, Georgia, where she runs her grandfather’s B&B with her sister, Delilah. From baking fresh scones and serving up grits every morning to ensuring the guests see the best of their historic city, Quinn can’t imagine doing anything else—even if it means dealing with nuisances like the occasional malfunctioning commode. But when Quinn drops by the local restaurant owned by her friend Drew Green, and stumbles upon a murder, her whole world comes crashing down.

Drew’s brother was always a little surly, but Quinn can’t imagine that someone disliked the prickly chef enough to kill him. The police, on the other hand, don’t believe that Quinn was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Before her guests can even digest the next morning’s gourmet breakfast, Quinn learns that she and Drew are suspects.

Drew thinks they should do some investigating of their own. Quinn is pretty sure she’s better suited to playing hostess than amateur sleuth. But with Delilah as her cynical sidekick, Quinn starts looking for the real killer—before she gets put away faster than you can say “sugar.”

Author Bio
Caroline Fardig is the USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR of the Java Jive Mysteries series and the Lizzie Hart Mysteries series. Fardig’s BAD MEDICINE was named one of the “Best Books of 2015” by Suspense Magazine. She worked as a schoolteacher, church organist, insurance agent, funeral parlor associate, and stay-at-home mom before she realized that she wanted to be a writer when she grew up. Born and raised in a small town in Indiana, Fardig still lives in that same town with an understanding husband, two sweet kids, two energetic dogs, and one malevolent cat.

 

Social Media

Website:  www.carolinefardig.com
Blog:  http://www.carolinefardig.com/blog/
Twitter:  @carolinefardig
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/carolinefardigbooks

Purchase Links
Amazon  B&N   Kobo  Google Play 

Dear Abby - Favorite Dog Movies: The Fox and the Hound

Dear Friends,

When I asked for favorite dog movies, several people mentioned the Disney movie The Fox and the Hound.  I have not seen this movie, but enjoyed learning more about it to share with you.

The Fox and the Hound is a 1981 Disney movie.  It tells the story of the unlikely friendship of a young fox and a hound puppy.  The fox is named Tod (voiced by Mickey Rooney) and the hound is Copper (voiced by Kurt Russell).  As the fox and hound grow up they are separated.   When they reunite as grown animals, Tod is living in the wild and Copper is owned by a hunter -- who wants to hunt foxes.  The movie is about the strength of friendship.   (And it sounds like a tearjerker, despite a Disney ending!) 

Trivia:

The movie is based on the book The Fox and the Hound by Daniel P. Mannix.  The book sounds much, much sadder than the movie.

Tim Burton did some uncredited animation work on this movie.

The producer's son had a pet fox who visited the Disney studio and met the animators.

Phil Harris and Charo voiced cranes in this movie, but their parts were cut from the final film.

Here is the original trailer for the movie:



Have you seen The Fox and the Hound?   I would love to hear from you about this movie, or other favorite dog movies, in the comments.

Love,

Abby xoxoxo

Book Review and Giveaway - Look for Her by Emily Winslow

Book Synopsis
Lilling might seem like an idyllic English village, but it’s home to a dark history. In 1976, a teenage girl named Annalise Wood disappeared, and though her body was later discovered, the culprit was never found. Decades later, Annalise maintains a perverse kind of celebrity, and is still the focus of grief, speculation, and for one young woman, a disturbing, escalating jealousy.

When DNA linked to the Annalise murder unexpectedly surfaces, cold case detective Morris Keene and his former partner, Chloe Frohmann, hope to finally bring closure to this traumatized community. But the new evidence instead undoes the case's only certainty: the buried body that had long ago been confidently identified as Annalise may be someone else entirely, and instead of answers, the investigators face only new puzzles.

Whose body was unearthed all those years ago, and what happened to the real Annalise? Is someone interfering with the investigation? And is there a link to a present-day drowning with eerie connections? With piercing insight and shocking twists, Emily Winslow explores the dark side of sensationalized crime in this haunting psychological thriller.

Book Details:

Genre: Psychological Thriller
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: February 13th 2018
Number of Pages: 304
ISBN: 006257258X (ISBN13: 9780062572585)
Series: Keene and Frohmann #4 | Each is a stand alone novel

Purchase Links: Amazon 🔗 | Barnes & Noble 🔗 | Goodreads 🔗

My Review
Look for Her is the story of Annalise Wood.  Annalise was a teenager who disappeared in 1976 from a small English village.  Her body was found later, although the murder is never solved, and she becomes famous in death in this small town. 

As the book opens, a therapist has two patients who are obsessed with Annalise.  One seems to want to be her, and the other believes she is Annalise's child.

Then some new evidence is found, and the cold case is open again.  Former detective partners Morris Keene and Chloe Frohmann reunite to find the murderer and finally solve the case.

Look for Her is a unique book, told from several different perspectives.  The therapist Laurie Ambrose puzzles over the women who have presented with obsessions with Annalise.  The transcripts of their therapy are important to the story.  There are also the perspectives of Morris and Chloe.  It took me a bit to sort out the characters, but as I did I became very interested in this complex story.  Emily Winslow does a good job at delineating a number of very strong, unique characters.

The pace starts slowly and builds as the book continues with several surprising twists and turns.  This book kept me guessing to the extent that I was truly surprised by the ending.  

The tone of Look for Her is dark with a sadness that pervades the book, just like it does the small town in the novel.

I have not read the other books in this series, but this worked as a standalone.  I think that fans of dark, twisty thrillers like Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train will enjoy Look for Her as well.

Author Bio
Emily Winslow is an American living in Cambridge, England. She trained as an actor at Carnegie Mellon University’s prestigious drama conservatory and earned a master’s degree in museum studies from Seton Hall University. For six years she wrote for Games magazine, creating increasingly elaborate and lavishly illustrated logic puzzles. She lives with her husband and two sons. She is the author of four novels and a memoir.

Catch Up With Our Author On:
Website 🔗, Goodreads 🔗, Twitter 🔗, & Facebook 🔗

Giveaway
This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Emily Winslow and William Morrow. There will be 1 winner of one (1) physical copy of each of the 1st three books in the Keene and Frohmann Series: The Whole World, The Start of Everything, and The Red House AND there will be 5 Winners of one (1) physical copy of their choice of ONE of the 1st three books in the Keene and Frohmann Series: The Whole World, The Start of Everything, and The Red House. The giveaway begins on February 12 and runs through March 18, 2018. This giveaway is open to US & Canada residents only. a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received a copy of this book from Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours.

Book Spotlight and Giveaway - The Muse of Fire by Carol M. Cram

Book Synopsis 

Abandoned at birth, the grandly christened Edward Plantagenet rises from London’s Foundling Hospital to take charge back stage at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, only to be blind-sided when he rescues Grace—a young woman escaping an abusive father. 

Grace finds an outlet for her passions as a Shakespearean actress, becoming ensnared by intrigues and setbacks that mar the pathway to stardom she craves. 

Set against the tumultuous backdrop of the Old Price Riots of 1809, Grace and Ned find common purpose in a quest that threatens to tear both their worlds apart.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound

Author Bio

Carol M. Cram is the author of A Woman of Note (Lake Union Publishing, 2015) and The Towers of Tuscany (Lake Union Publishing 2014). In addition to writing fiction, Carol has enjoyed a great career as an educator, teaching at Capilano University in North Vancouver for over twenty years and authoring forty-plus bestselling textbooks on business communications and software applications for Cengage Learning. She holds an MA in Drama from the University of Toronto and an MBA from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. Carol is currently focusing as much of her attention as she can spare between walks in the woods on writing historical novels with an arts twist and sharing her Nia practice as a Nia teacher. She and her husband, painter Gregg Simpson, share a life on beautiful Bowen Island near Vancouver, Canada. 

For more information, please visit Carol M. Cram's website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

Giveaway
During the Blog Tour we will be giving away three paperback copies of The Muse of Fire! To enter, please enter via the Gleam form below.  

Giveaway Rules 
– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on March 22nd. 
– You must be 18 or older to enter. 
– Giveaway is open to residents in the US and UK. 
– Only one entry per household. 
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion. 
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen. 
The Muse of Fire