Why We Ride: Women Motorcyclists Speak Out

I recently contributed an essay for "Why We Ride," a book about women motorcyclists.

"Why We Ride" contains stories from 100 incredible women riders! The stories will make you laugh and some will bring a tear to your eye ... but all of them are as incredible as the women who wrote them.

You can read my essay here:
www.lastchancerescuebook.com/writing.htm

To purchase the book, click here.

Won the Scholarship - Must Fly

Wow. A double-whammy day (and I mean that in a good way). First the Indie Awards, and then a letter from the Minnesota 99s - a women pilot organization - telling me I'd won a scholarship toward flight training!

And here I had just about decided my plate was FULL - no room for anything else - and that flying would have to wait!

So perhaps this is divine intervention? Or perhaps it's simply craziness... but I am NOT one to squander opportunity! (It might, however, have to wait until fall...)

Last Chance Rescue Named Indie Award Finalist!

I've just gotten some fantastic news:

'Last Chance Rescue' has been named a Finalist in the Romance category of the 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards!

The Indie Book Awards recognize the best publications from small presses, mid-size independent publishers, university presses, e-book publishers, and self-published authors.

'Last Chance Rescue' will be listed as a Finalist in the 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards catalog which will be distributed at Book Expo America in New York later this month to thousands of attendees including book buyers, library representatives, media, industry professionals, and others.

Wa-hoooo!

SquiDoo, Peek-a-Boo

Does anybody else think this social networking thing is getting a little out of hand? MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn and now SquiDoo (not to mention my author page on amazon.com)! But if you're gonna jump, you might as well jump in the DEEP end, right?

Yes, I - author extraordinaire that I am - now have not only a Facebook page, but also a SquiDoo page (oh, wait, they call it a "LENS"...) To check it out:

www.squidoo.com/lastchancerescue

If I weren't an author, just think about how much I'd be missing out on...

ME - a Writer??

I figured it would be a routine trip to the library. I go there often, and this time I stopped to chat with Diana (the head librarian). As I exited the library, a teenage girl stopped me to ask about Last Chance Rescue. Her questions boiled down to essentially this: how did I become a writer?

My attempt at answers felt entirely inadequate!

Fifteen minutes later, back in my car after picking up my daughter at daycare, I reflected on this question. The truth is, I've written all my life. But I have never thought of myself as a "writer"! Why, I wonder? Because I have so many other identifications (mom, wife, daughter, sister ... business owner ... motorcyclist ... you get the idea) that it had not occurred to me to add "writer" to that list?

Or is it because I don't "write" as a job? Honestly, I couldn't do it - it is HARD WORK! (And, I might add, not exactly a highly-paid occupation.) In fact, I wonder sometimes WHY I have undertaken a second one!

But the answer is "Yes" - I am a writer. I'm still getting used to that idea. The day I held my first copy of Last Chance Rescue was the first time I thought: oh my gosh, I'm an AUTHOR! Was it easy? NO WAY!! But do I like the feeling? YOU BET!

Menopause, Horses and Premarin

Lately my daughter has taken a shine to three horses that pasture near our home. When we pass them on the way to daycare in the morning, she gets very upset if I don't 'pause' to say hi to them. (Then it's 'bye bye horsie' ... 'no cows' ... 'no peep' [that's 'sheep' for you non-parental types]...)

Got me thinking about the magical 'power' of horses, and not just in childrens' lives...

"Last Chance Rescue" touches on a matter of personal concern, which is the mistreatment of horses involved in the Premarin trade. In fact, Jessie's horse, Mistletoe, is a rescued 'PMU' mare (you won't want to miss the scene when she gives birth!).

For approximately six months from fall through spring, the pregnant mares live in 'pee barns,' forced to stand in stalls with urine collection devices strapped to them. The stalls are deliberately narrow to prevent pregnant mares from turning around and detaching the collection cups. In the last month of their eleven-month pregnancy, the mares are put out to pasture to have their foals. The mares are put in a herd with a stallion, so they quickly become pregnant again. In September, their foals are taken away from them to be sold, whether or not they are fully weaned. The next month, they're back in the barns and the cycle starts again.

Horses are magnificent creatures, and it breaks my heart to think of what they endure. You can read more about horses and Premarin here

Last Chance Rescue Reviewed in "Wings of Gold"

"This is a story about a search and rescue team and its adventures in the Colorado Rockies. The author, like her protagonist Jessie, is a military veteran trained in rescue operations (five years as an Army National Guard paramedic -- earning her helicopter pilot license in 2001). Jessie is an independent type. She has lived alone and worked wtih a SAR team since returning from Iraq. When she meets up with Brad, an old high school buddy, at a reunion, her life takes a turn. There is romance mixed with true to life rescue scenes in the high country."

To read a free excerpt, visit www.LastChanceRescueBook.com.