And a bit more about autumn...or maybe not

I was all set to wax poetic about fall in Michigan, but I think Liz covered that pretty thoroughly yesterday. Then I noticed it's what I talked about last year at right about this time. Hmmm. Even though I blog on the same day every month, this one always seems to take me by surprise and I never know what I'm going to write about until I sit down and do it. Usually very early in the morning on my blog day.

Well, pets are on my mind. As many of you know, I had to say goodbye to a 16-year-old friend this month. Grendel (above, cool in her shades) had been with me since before I started my writing journey, and after two weeks, it's still very odd to be in a room completely by myself. We also have a 2-year-old St. Bernard mix, Tyr (that's him on the lap of Tristan, one of his humans.) Tyr is a fantastic dog, but he's a little calmer and doesn't feel the need to follow me everywhere I go.

So, today is Tyr's 2-year check-up at the vets. This is a challenge because the dog weighs as much as the teenager and is mortally afraid of cars. (Among other things. Don't even THINK about blankets. Those are downright evil in his world.) So getting 170 pounds of chicken into a vehicle is ummm...entertaining at best. No idea how he'll be once we get there. It's been a while since his last visit and he was really still a puppy then. I'll pop in later to let you know how it went.

We also have an iguana named Chewie (for Chewbacca if you ask one son, El Chupacabra if you ask the other.) Chewie is a rescue like both of the dogs, but his story is more interesting. He was found wandering loose in a Michigan trailer park. He'd been chewed on by something--a cat is my best guess. His spines were all broken, he was missing toes, and still has huge scars on his back. I was working at a Nature Center then, and someone found him and brought him in, in a laundry basket with plywood bungee-corded across the top. The Center is only licensed to take native species into their rehab program, and iguanas aren't even close here in the snow belt, so no one knew what to do. This was just a few weeks after my mom died, so things were a little glum at my house. Both teens were reptile fans, so Chewie came home with me. 6 years later, he's 4' long, all his spines AND his toes have grown back, and he's happy as can be.

His cage (which is huge--that's my husband working on the inside before we put the climbing logs and heat lamps and humidifier in and the doors on. My father is supervising construction.) sits opposite my desk in our family room so I can sometimes have stare-downs with him while I type. Over the years we've also had goldfish, hermit crabs, hamsters, chinchillas (one for 15 years) and other lizards, but the current menagerie is just Tyr, Chewie, and it looks like a new puppy who--ahem--followed my 19-yr-old son home. Tyr seems to have adopted Mephisto as his (no photos yet) but I'm not sure Dad has come to this conclusion yet, so more on that later.

I've also found that my wildlife background and pet-loving lifestyle mean animals often find their way into my books. In All Hallow's Evie, out next week from Ellora's Cave, a Labrador puppy named Ghengis plays a role in getting his humans together. Of course in any of my shifter books, the critters are also the humans, but I wrote Dragon in the System,  my first Ellora's Cave sale, in the late 90s--well before I had an iguana of my own, but the heroine of that book has one named Q. A case of life imitating art? Who knows.

Check my website soon for a couple of great Halloween contests! You really don't want to miss Sam Cheever's Trick or Treating. Now, here's the blurb and the purchase info for Evie, the fifth book in my Holiday Hearts series. Have a great Samhain/Halloween, everyone! Hug your pets, and Happy Autumn!

All Hallow’s Evie

Holiday Hearts #5

By Cindy Spencer Pape

Coming Oct. 21,  from Ellora’s Cave

Puchase Link...Read an except.

Blurb:

When Sam Holiday moves into his Victorian home the week before his thirty-fifth birthday, the last thing he expects is to find a ghost in residence. Especially a horny one.

Evie Bonnell has been hanging around since her death in 1916 because she has unfinished business. She died before experiencing sex. She’s learned a lot over the years and has decided single, handsome Sam is the right man to do the job.

Every year she manifests for several days before Halloween, and when she asks, Sam agrees to help. Each night, he teaches her a little more about sensual pleasure. Sam’s delighted that his demure ghost has turned into an eager hedonist, but not so happy that she’ll be gone after Halloween. Not only is she the hottest woman he’s ever had, but he’s afraid he’s fallen in love.

Now it’s up to fate and the Holiday family magic to find a way for the lovers to stay together.