Tag Archive | puppies

MacGregor Bear! Puppies’ Topknots! A Toad! Talk about Being Random!

MacGregor Clan Bear (640x551)

Three bears down, 7 to go. They’re all in process, like my current book.

I got up at 2 to take the puppies out. Tried the no leash trick. They had baths last night, so they didn’t sleep like they usually do. Tanner came right back to me. Max did, then ran off to explore some more. So I won’t do the no leash thing again. Not until Max is fully trained. Which is going to take a while.

Between days of ice and snow, workmen being out here, and then two days of pouring rain, my cupboards were bare. No treats for the puppies. No seed for the birds, and worst of all, no chocolate for me. Writers can’t live without chocolate! At least, not this one.

And I realized that it’s EASTER coming up! Which means Cadbury chocolate creme filled chocolate eggs. 🙂

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Puppies and Topknots

Soooo I spent two hours running errands, shipping 3 bears, picking up stuff for my next readers convention, etc, and that meant that last night, I was behind on my word count. Partly because I was setting up another FB party to celebrate St Patty’s Day, and because I had given both puppies baths.

Now, I really did get my word count. I wrote the remaining 600 words by hand last night, and voila, at 2 am, I typed them out and yes!! I made it.

And look what we found when we went outside yesterday! Well, I found him. Max ran his nose right over him and didn’t see him.

Toad (640x427)toad up close (640x427)

And that’s all I have to say at 2 in the morning. Puppies are in their crate grumbling because I’m not coming back to bed. Well, Max is, just a little. They’re not barking. Usually Tanner will yip if I don’t come back, but he’s gone to sleep, which is the way it should be. Max gave up on me. I think.

I keep using up my internet time because of the cloud saving my stuff, so thought I’d post this during my “free” usage time. Since I was up anyway.

Have a super great day!!

Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear: Website: http://www.terryspear.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/421434.Terry_Spear
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerrySpearParanormalRomantics
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TerrySpear
Wilde & Woolly Bears http://www.celticbears.com

Ack! Change!!!

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Surreal Butterfly among flowers

Okay, this morning I had to blog on Blogger, and so it was fine. Popped up like it was supposed to. No problem. Now, you have to remember I get up early. So I like things to be the way they always are. I confuse my puppies because I do things differently in the morning before I settle down to drink my green tea and work on blogs. But when I open up my browser, I want things to be the same as they always are. IE, I go to the WordPress blog like I normally do, and get to work on the blog. Today, it took me to a different page, and I thought I had clicked on the wrong link, so I started over. And the same thing happened.

At 5:30 a.m., I really don’t want to have to figure things out. I do that with writing a new book and proofing the other. But other than that, I really don’t want to have to think. Not about that. Yes, I have to think about what I’m going to write on the blogs too. That’s enough thinking for the day, don’t you think?

It’s like going into the grocery store and, wait, where did the bread aisle go? I’ve been known to get everything else but the thing I went in for because they moved the item and I can’t find it. There’s never a clerk to tell you where they hid it either. I know that it’s supposed to be a good marketing ploy. Well, guess what? I didn’t buy the bread, and went without for two weeks until I made it into town again. And so they lost a sale! Oh, sure, I’m certain I was the only one who didn’t buy bread because they had moved it–by the way, it’s not only the bread, but anything. I’ve done that several times. Or even gone to Walmart instead of the grocery store and given up looking for something because I couldn’t find it. Oh, dishwasher soap. I’m down to my last little packages. Got to get them next time I’m in town. But I’ll go to the grocery store because I know where it is there. Walmart? Clueless.

Now, the puppies have an eating routine. They are little eating machines. Only yesterday, they decided they wanted to eat earlier than I normally feed them. So alpha that I am (because I made the decision, so I’m still going to hold onto the alpha moniker), I fed them earlier. The problem with that? After their second meal of the day, they wanted a third, you know, for the real time of the day when they normally eat their second meal.

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How did my goal of working on different goals make out yesterday? I was over halfway done on proofing SEAL Wolf Hunting (I meant to read over 162 pages–the halfway point, I read 216), and 814 words over on word count on She-Wolf. Some might say I should just write my 2500 word goal and that 800 is bonus. But I won’t. It’s part of the 2500 word goal. It makes me feel better to know that I only have 1700 words left to go. It’s a psychological game. Did you know that? It really is. I tell myself, I’m at 9314. I need to get to 10,000 today. Not too shabby when my goal was 1,000 for Tuesday and the rest of the week 2500 words a day. Anyway, I don’t tell myself that I need 10,000 today. I tell myself I need 9500, and then wait a minute, my count is off. I only need less than 700 today???????

Even better! Okay, so I tell myself I need 500 words at a time of the 2500 word goal. I just need to reach that next 500. And then I’m over it and I just need to reach that next 500. What happens is that I’m really on a roll, like I was yesterday, and kept writing. But I kept thinking I needed to get to proofing the other book. So I had to stop and work on that. And then on that, I was like I needed 162 pages. But a fourth of the way to my goal, I was like maybe I could spread this out over 4 days instead of 2. Then I felt better. I could do that. But then I kept reading and I only found one error, disagreed with one change they made, and agreed with 2 changes they made and kept reading. And then I made the halfway point and wanted to keep going until it was getting so late, I figured it really was time to go to bed. The point is, yes, there is a point to my ramblings–if a goal seems too difficult to attain in the time allotted, spread out the goal over several days until it’s doable, BUT then do over what you planned to do. That way you’re making progress toward the end result at a faster rate and I don’t know, for me, it makes me feel good. I get behind on word count and I feel like a dark cloud is hanging over me.

On bears? I sewed up one of the sashes for a bear and wound bobbins. So I didn’t get started on the bears, but I still did some things necessary to working on them. Now that the bobbins are wound, I can jump right in to sew them once my word goal is met and I’ve finished proofing the book.

But you see, I had to listen to 15 mins of The  Trouble with Demons (YA) audiobook, to approve it. And I had to do other things yesterday too, so, all in all, a really good day.

700 words for She-Wolf. I can’t believe it. I think I’ll finish those, get my 10,000 and finish proofing SEAL. Then I can work on bears, and then get back to working on She-Wolf and start on my word count for tomorrow. See, if I get my word count done, I can actually take a break later in the week. 🙂 Or if I have other stuff that pops up, I won’t be behind.

There really is method to my madness. Really.

So do you get discombobulated when you’re hit with a change in your routine? Does it throw your whole day off, or can you deal with it and get back on track without too much trouble?

Do you ever leave the grocery store without the item you went in for because you couldn’t find it?

Have a super great day! Ice and snow this week, 70s for two days next week. 🙂

Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear: Website: http://www.terryspear.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/421434.Terry_Spear
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerrySpearParanormalRomantics
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TerrySpear
Wilde & Woolly Bears http://www.celticbears.com

Are You a Multi-Tasker?

SEALWolfHunting_catalog

I am. Okay, today, I’ve got to start proofing the final copy of SEAL Wolf Hunting. Don’t you love this cover? Besides the guy, I LOVE the wolf. Since I write about wolves, as  in werewolves, but they’re so human and so wolf-like that it seems sacrilegious to call them werewolves–as in a horror version of them, I love to see a beautiful wolf on the cover taking up center stage too. Why? Because the man is not just a man, but a wolf. I love this time with the book–it’s nearly done–just checking to make sure there are no other mistakes, but there are so few, that it’s a time for me to have that one last read that’s more for pleasure than anything, before you get it!

So that’s one of my number one priorities. I also want to continue to work on bears. I finished two last night. I finished making a 3rd, but still need to embroider the paws. 🙂

Plum large bear (393x640)

Plum bear with plum faux suede paws, 19″

Purple Bear (557x640)

Purple Bear with faux suede paws, 10 1/2″

 

And I want to get my word count in on She-Wolf. 2500 words a day. I need to be at 8500 today. I’m at 7200 right now. So moving right along. Usually when I get in edits, I have to quit everything and concentrate on only the edits. Then I’m playing a horrible game of catch up. So I’m trying to work on my blogs, word count, then proofing, then bears so I don’t get behind on anything. 🙂

It’s kind of like playing an RPG, role-playing game. I’m playing Dragon Age: Inquisition for my break time at night once I have all my other stuff done. Yesterday, besides word count, I was critiquing 10 chapters of a critique partner’s book, and while I was playing the game, I was finishing up the bears. Now, I also have to constantly stop to take puppies out, to play with them, cuddle with them, train them, feed them. So I do have other stuff going on. But in the RPG–there’s always a decision to make. Do I concentrate on the Big Boss, the guy with all the strength that is really, really hard to kill, and then work on his minions after he’s dead? Or do I tackle everyone at once? Then once the little guys are dead, I can use all my strength against the big guy?

Well, oftentimes I’ll go after the big guy while the little guys are beating at me too. And when I’m working on my projects, often I’ll tackle the one that needs to be done first–just all day long for every day that it takes to get it done. Then my stack of things to do goes down a little before it goes up a lot again.

So this is kind of a new experiment for me. Working on all things–having a goal for each, and getting each of them done, and not just working on one big project. I think it’s working, so far, because I think when I do just one major thing, I tend to take breaks anyway, and I don’t get as much done. Time will tell.

I want to get half of the proof book done today, and the other half tomorrow. That’s my goal. I need to start sewing up the other bears–4 of them, so another goal. And word count on She-Wolf.

Other than that, that’s it! 🙂

When you have jobs to tackle, do you go after the tough ones first, or the little ones until you’re ready to tackle the big one? I do that with first line edits. The simple stuff first. Then I tackle the bigger issues. 🙂 When I see a page of issues, I want to reduce the number quickly. Then it doesn’t seem like so much.

Have a terrific Friday and hope all your issues are little ones. The Big Bosses can be a real chore to deal with.

Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear: Website: http://www.terryspear.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/421434.Terry_Spear
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerrySpearParanormalRomantics
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TerrySpear
Wilde & Woolly Bears http://www.celticbears.com

 

Back to the Bears…

No, not bear shifters. But I’ve got to get ten bear orders out. Soooo, the last time I was making them, Max was about five months old, and really good about it. Did I mention that Max and Tanner are real lap puppies? Their breed is known for that.

But when I tried to have them on my lap, it didn’t work. When I sew, I have to use the pedal, and so I’m jarring the puppies up and down. And it makes it hard for me. There’s no room on my sewing chair to have one lie beside me. So I have to devise a better plan.

I put a towel on a chair and had them lying on it while I was sewing at the machine. Max is listening to the men working on putting screening on my roof fans that had none. But otherwise, he curled up with Tanner and was sleeping while I sewed up some of the bears.

The Sewing Room

The Sewing Room

Then the men needed to see me to show me where they fixed everything. And after that, I started stuffing bears. So I moved the chair to the “stuffing room,” so I could begin working on some of them while I caught up on emails.

The Stuffing Room

The Stuffing Room

Then I moved them to the couch where I jointed some of the bears. No picture of that, but sometimes they were lying on their bedding on the couch, and then sometimes Max would crawl back into my lap. Did I mention they were lap puppies?

No bears done, just a bunch in progress.

Off to write. I have to write 2500 words a day to get to where I need to be. 🙂 I was doing a lot of research yesterday, and finally decided that my heroine would be a forester. Nice wolfish occupation.

Have a great day!! It’s FOGGY here today.

Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear: Website: http://www.terryspear.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/421434.Terry_Spear
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerrySpearParanormalRomantics
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TerrySpear
Wilde & Woolly Bears http://www.celticbears.com

 

 

Vacuuming Puppy Whiskers And Brainstorming Story Ideas

I had a Labrador retriever who loved when I wanded her with the vacuum cleaner hose, lifting off some of her shedding hair. But then I had a standard poodle, same time, only she was a little puppy, and she was terrified of the vacuum, all sixteen of her years as she grew old. She didn’t bark, and I tried to convince her it wouldn’t hurt her, but she was never convinced. She would lie and watch me mow the yard with the big tractor mower though, and that was okay.

So both Max and Tanner follow me around while I’m vacuuming. They have no problem with it, which is really great.

Today it’s a foggy, misty, rainy vampire day. The pest control guy is coming. I’m vacuuming up the millions of pieces of grass and leaves the dogs keep bringing in. And Tanner got too close to the vacuum wand as I lifted it to move, and I sucked up his whiskers. Split second. Surprise on both our parts. LOL

Luckily, he was fine with it and we haven’t suffered any trauma and he’s still not afraid of the vacuum. I don’t suggest doing that though.

And that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Males all Tuckered Out

Males all Tuckered Out

Notice who’s got the bone? Max and Tanner used this as home base. It’s their Place Training spot. So they’d go there whenever things got too wild between the corgis as they were playing. They felt safe. 🙂 <3

I was brainstorming with beta readers for She-Wolf. Sometimes my limited mind can’t see unlimited possibilities. I have the general story idea, have to when I pitch the book and sell it. But then there are the details. Why, why, why???

And so, I’m staring at a blank page on my monitor that says Chapter 1, trying to figure out why this and that and thus.

Then I get smart, and sometimes even just asking the questions “out loud” to someone else, ideas will start to come to me and they haven’t even responded yet. I’m thinking that this is the way I want to go. But…and then I propose a new question on top of that. Then they have some excellent ideas I hadn’t considered, and I’m thinking some more of how I want to begin the story, based on the brainstorming tips.

And, I’ve got bear orders stacking up. I’m making 4 Matheson clan bears, 1 Morrison clan bear, 1 MacGregor clan bear, 1 dark purple bear, 1 purple dragon bear. I cut nearly all of them out last night, and then realized I was missing one bear. I still need to cut out all the sashes and bonnets for the clan bears, but this morning I found the clan fabrics in my stash, so they’re all ready for cutting. But then, the bug guy is coming, so I waned to vacuum. And so begins my story of vacuuming puppy whiskers.

I’m off to work on the story.

Hope you have a great day, no matter what the weather! It’s supposed to be 70 here today, but high of 40 the rest of the week. Oh, and in the cold, I took Max for group training. No one else showed up, so we had individual training again. We were so cold, we only did it for half hour instead of an hour. I had Max there 20 mins early and we practiced before that, so he and I still nearly had an hour.

And now, it’s time to get to work! 🙂

Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear: Website: http://www.terryspear.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/421434.Terry_Spear
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerrySpearParanormalRomantics
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TerrySpear
Wilde & Woolly Bears http://www.celticbears.com

 

Puppy Training–Socialization–The Stairs

Jennifer Gone to the Dogs

The whole wolf pack–miniature size, and you know they originated from wolves, right? And my daughter as we tried to talk Tanner into walking the stairs. And the rest of the pack, showing him the way. The video wouldn’t upload. Will try later.

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And after that, we needed a good dose of chocolate. 🙂 <3

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The Boy’s Night Out. Now Rilo and Max are asleep, and Tanner’s  tackling that big bone.

And I’m back to edits!

Have a super almost gone Sunday!

Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear: Website: http://www.terryspear.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/421434.Terry_Spear
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerrySpearParanormalRomantics
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TerrySpear
Wilde & Woolly Bears http://www.celticbears.com

Christmas in February–Snow in the Heart of Texas!

When I lived in Amarillo, we had snow. A lot. But in Central Texas, years can pass and no snow. The day before we had ice, which has been unusual also of late. So I had taken the puppies out first thing in the morning, hoping that the sidewalk wouldn’t be icy and it wasn’t! But it was raining and we had thunder and lightning, so I was hurrying them along to get back inside.

About two hours later, while working on proofing a book, I took them out again. It was still thundering, but to my amazement, it was snowing!!!

Since the puppies are puppies, they’ve never seen ice or snow before. So this has been a new experience for them. And for me? It’s like Christmas. Which means? I’m out there taking pictures, knowing that it’s not going to last and I have to have proof that we really did have snow in February in 2015!

Oh, I know, some of you that are eyeball deep in snowdrifts are going to be shaking your heads. But really, if you had flowers in February, when you’re normally eyeball deep in snowdrifts, wouldn’t you make a big deal of it? Sure.

So here’s our snow day…and an ice picture or two.

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Havanese Paw Prints in Snow

Havanese Paw Prints in Snow

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And there you have it! Christmas in February in Central Texas!

I’m off to work on all the stuff I have neglected while I’ve been trying to finish the book. Need to get to work on 2 teddy bears pronto. Others are stacking up quick. 🙂 <3 And then, have to get started on the She-Wolf book before I get behind on it. It will be the first book I have written where a she-wolf is running a pack. And yes, it’s based off a true wolf pack story. 🙂

Puppies are sleeping on my lap–Max just growled—in his sleep. Wonder what he is dreaming about? He’s started to go into hunting mode–the prey, Tanner. It’s the funniest thing. I really got them for research in canine behavior for my wolf stories. He’s done it twice now that I’ve seen. He’ll crouch down low, head down, tail down, and move cautiously toward Tanner. The first time I saw him do it was in front of the AC guy. We just watched, fascinated. Tanner was standing up to him, tail up, anticipating. Then Max and Tanner started to play, really gentle like. They can get pretty wild, so I was glad with an audience, they were good. So then this next time, Tanner laid down on his belly, head up, anticipating. I wish I could get it on video. But often when I grab my camera, they’ll stop what they’re doing, look at me, and come over for attention. 🙂

And we’ve just finalized Call of the Cougar’s audiobook, so it should be coming out in a couple of weeks.

Have a super great day!

Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear: Website: http://www.terryspear.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/421434.Terry_Spear
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerrySpearParanormalRomantics
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TerrySpear
Wilde & Woolly Bears http://www.celticbears.com

The Physics of Two Puppies Sharing One Space–My Lap

Max on Top of Tanner

Max on Top of Tanner

Tanner on Top of Max

Tanner on Top of Max

Tanner Being a Photo Hound

Tanner Being a Photo Hound

I have to say that taking these pictures is not easy. I have to raise the camera way above them so that it will focus and take them and I have NO idea what I’m really taking a picture of until I bring the camera down and check. I can’t see in the viewing window at the time I take the picture. It’s amazing that any of them captured what I was trying to show, both puppies curled up on my lap while I’m working on my current story, except while I paused to take a picture…or two. I never know when this phase will end with them because they will be too big. Or possibly in the summer, they would be too hot.

Max and Tanner looking back

Max and Tanner looking back

The towels are there to keep them from slipping off my lap or to the left, from slipping through the arm of the chair when one of them, or both, are sleeping to the side of me. Sometimes, I’ll feel a struggle going on next to me, and see one of them slipping, slipping, slipping…sometimes I’m able to rescue the one falling into deep space, or otherwise, landing on the tile floor. Sometimes not, and then the puppy wants right back up in my lap.  So no trauma there.  Tanner is 4 months and Max 7 months old Havanese. Max weighs 10 lbs and Tanner 5. It looks like Tanner is about as big as Max in these photos, but a lot has to do with his thicker fur and the angle of the camera.

Okay, off to write on the book some more. I’ve written 5500 over word count so far, and still haven’t reached the end. 🙂 And I always wonder why I worry about word count?

Have a glorious Sunday!

Here was my sunset last night.

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Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear: Website: http://www.terryspear.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/421434.Terry_Spear
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerrySpearParanormalRomantics
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TerrySpear
Wilde & Woolly Bears http://www.celticbears.com

Rats in the Attic! And the Muse and Me are in Time Conflict!

Okay, so the termite inspector came out to do his annual check and yes! No termites! Also, and this was so great, so exciting, the puppies didn’t even bark at him! They greeted him and were still shy, but they didn’t bark and misbehave! They even held it so that I could take them out to potty when he left. That’s a BIG deal.

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Tanner tuckered out.

The bad news is–hey, without bad news, all the good news is just boring, right? Who wants to hear about all the great news? That everything is going along fine? We want conflict, right? We want to see that someone else has problems so we feel better about our problems, right? 🙂 <3 Of course. 🙂 That’s what makes life interesting. The conflict. The drama.

Okay, so I’ve got rats in the attic. So says the pest control guy. I KNOW I get mud daubers in the house constantly in the spring through the fall. I know I have a lot of places that things can get in. Never seen a mouse or evidence of mice in the house, though when my parents lived here, the first few years, they had a terrible problem with them. I have snakes in the house. So maybe that’s why? Anyway, he said that on a little bit of decking in the attic, he could see rat prints in dust, and their droppings. And that there’s a little bit of chewing. So I’ll have to check this stuff myself, document it, and share it. With you. Isn’t that what friends are for???

I’m finishing a book first. I’ve GOT to finish this. Twelve days and it has to be turned in. I have a ton of stuff stacking up in the meantime. Call of the Cougar–need to proof the audiobook for one.

So what’s happening now is my Muse and Me are in time conflict. What this means is that it wakes up at times that I want to sleep. Sure, I hear the puppies stirring a bit, and that’s probably what really wakes me, but then my Muse decides to go through scenarios in my book. Not only that, but it tells me all the things I should have done during the day or when I get up. Like, Hey, did you put the clothes in the dryer last night?

Shoot! Nope. But if I get up to do it right then and there, which I would if I didn’t have puppies, I would wake them, and they’d want to go out.

Now, the problem with that is for the last two nights, I’ve actually put them to bed at 7 pm, then I continue to edit, or write, and they wake up the next morning at 5 am. It’s great! But it means I can’t turn on the light or get up without “telling” them that it’s time to get up. And I want them to learn that 7 pm to 5 am (or later) is their bedtime.

Oh, and you know I do lots of research for my books, so I’ve talked a lot about the phases of the moon in this one, and so I was looking at the phases, making sure I got it right, and wow, guess what I found???? The werewolf diet. Hey, sometimes I can’t even make up stuff that great!

Anyway, so I’ve got to figure out a way to talk about it in the book, that makes it seem seamless. It’s not just an urban legend. Some actors supposedly followed it–Madonna, Demi Moore, according to Grazia. It’s also known as the lunar diet or moon diet. It has to do with fasting during the new moon and full moon. But what’s interesting is that when I was at The International Wolf Center, they fed the wolves only once a week. That’s normally how they eat in the wild. They’ll have a dead deer, for instance, (often road kill and someone will drop it off at the center), and once it’s gone, they don’t get fed until the next week. So it’s really appropriate to call the moon diet a werewolf diet, even though it’s not based on the phases of the moon. Anyway, food for thought.

Before I turn THIS into a book, I’m off to write on A SEAL Diving for Trouble. I had another epiphany when I was working on edits. Near the end of the book, as I’m editing over and over again, I’ll keep seeing loose ends. I mention something, and then don’t tie it into anything else, or I just forget to explain it. So sometimes when that happens, I’ll see where a loose end is vital to the story. Which is what happened when my muse began talking to me at 3 am. And that means going back in and making some changes that will change A LOT again. *sigh* Did I mention I have only 12 more days to finish this book?

Okay, off to write. 🙂 Oh and TGIF!!!

Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear: Website: http://www.terryspear.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/421434.Terry_Spear
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerrySpearParanormalRomantics
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TerrySpear
Wilde & Woolly Bears http://www.celticbears.com

No Heat, New Security Lights

The night before last, I was fighting with the thermostat, thinking that’s why the heat felt like the AC was on. It was 3:30 in the morning, took out the puppies, came back in to change out more batteries. The temp got to 44 in the house. Way too cold for sleepable comfort. (Yes, sleepable is not a real word. Authors have been known to make up their own. And that’s my story.)

Soooo, I keep thinking it’s me. I’m doing something wrong, and I don’t want to call someone over to fix it, get a big charge because a switch has flipped or something. Didn’t even think of the breaker box.

So I call an electrician. He says he doesn’t fix heat pumps. But I have 3 security lights out, 2 that were completely not working, and 1 that’s sensor won’t tell it to go off during the day. So I had him change them out so that when I’m up at oh-dark-thirty (yes, this is really a time…I have to get up at that time a lot….lately), I have some light. My main reason is so that I can see that the puppies actually go potty, because sometimes they get distracted with chewing on grass and the like, and so I can see if there’s a skunk about. I have run into one at night before a couple of years ago. So it’s possible. But I’m wondering if it’s better not to see a skunk in the middle of the night…what you don’t see can’t hurt you, right?

Then I call an AC/Heat guy, and he says it’s not a heat pump, but an electric unit. I’m not calling the other electric company again.

Soooo, he found out that the coils were burned out in the unit and luckily it’s still under warranty and no charge on that. But…you know there’s a but, right? If it burned out, there’s got to be a reason. Not enough air flow. That’s going to cost some money. So he’s supposed to get hold of me and they’ll work on that next.

Now, I’m only 1314 shy of getting my word count. See? You didn’t think I could do it with all else going on, did you? Ye, of little faith.

I turned in Silver Wolf Christmas edits, and today I’ll get my word count, but it doesn’t mean the story is done. *sigh* I haven’t figured out my big satisfying ending. Right now, I’m going back in and showing them trying to solve the mystery of who the bad guy is and where he’s at, and tie everything together. It’s a job, and somebody’s got to do it. My characters, as much as I’d like for them to get on the ball, won’t budge unless I help them out.

🙂

Valentine's Day photo library

How many hands does it take to keep 2 Havanese puppies still for a photo? 🙂 <3

And that really is my story, and why I’ve been focusing on it and not on everything else that keeps demanding my attention, like electricians and heating guys. Oh, and I was working on training the puppies with all the strange men in the house. It was great. At first there was all the barking, but then I was able to use the collar on Max to get him to return to me–he actually ran outside to see the electrician, giving me a heart attack because he was barking and looking scary. Little dogs can still take a nice bite out of a leg. But I used the collar and he came back to me. We had several instances where I had to use the collar. But the key is to be consistent and persistent. After a few corrections, they were fine and stayed by me. He even sneaked out the door when we were in the backyard and I was showing the electrician which lights needed to be changed. Max was an angel. sniffing around at the plants only a couple of feet from me. No fenced-in yard, and off leash. I had scooped up Tanner when he slipped out. I couldn’t grab both dogs.

When the electrician came back in the house to turn off the breaker, we had to start all over. When we went outside to potty, it was much better. When the electrician came inside again, I was actually training them to Place and they ignored him.

Second man, new trial. Barking, only this time Max minded much faster. Tanner is barking some now too, but if Max doesn’t, Tanner quits. Tanner’s also more to just want to greet. So the AC man was in and out of the house so much that after a while, the puppies wanted to see what he was doing, but they no longer barked. The AC man sat on the couch to write up the paperwork and Max was checking him out, but we were good.

So, see? We had an added benefit to getting heat and security lights. Puppy training!

And I got all the stuff together to ship for party prizes, couldn’t write while all of this was going on. But the puppies totally crashed and I was able to make some headway.

Here’s the latest place I’m at with giveaways! 5 print copies of Savage Hunger at Night Owl Romance Reviews! Be sure and drop by to enter!

http://www.nightowlreviews.com/V5/Blog/Articles/Jaguar-Pride-by-Terry-Spear

Okay, off to write my last 1314 words and more..

Have a great…oh! Garbage Day. Knew there was something else I had to do today, besides taking Tanner in for rabies shot. 🙁  Have a great Wednesday!

Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear: Website: http://www.terryspear.com
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