Monthly Archives: January 2014
Corgi Capers Book 3 in the works!
There are many downsides to having so much snow and such cold weather this winter. The definite upside, however, is that the extra snow days have given me lots of time to work on the next book in the Corgi Capers series. The book is well underway, and I hope to have it to the publisher this spring.
Book 3: Curtain Calls and Fire Halls, which takes place during November of Adam’s fifth-grade year and Courtney’s seventh-grade year, follows Sapphie as she gets into even more trouble than ever, and Adam as he volunteers for the local fire company. As part of her punishment for her behavior in Book 2, Courtney must take Sapphie to dog-training classes and volunteer at the nursing home. Luckily, the neighbors look out for Courtney, inviting her and Sapphie to participate in the middle school’s fall play—a play that calls for a special canine actor—or actress! Is Sapphie doing well enough with her training classes, or is the coveted role in the school play just a bit over her head?
Leia the Corgi, inspiration for mischievous Corgi Capers star Sapphie.
Meanwhile, Adam is waiting for baseball to begin in the spring. In the meantime, he’s making new friends at the fire hall. But mystery seems to follow Adam, and before long he’s got a new crime to solve—and new friends and acquaintances as suspects! And Zeph, as always, is trying to stay away from scary things and keep everyone together… with Courtney biting off more than she can chew, Adam always away at the fire house, and Sapphie disappearing every chance she can get, Zeph just wants to make sure everyone ends up safe and sound…and away from anything scary.
A Corgi Wonderland
Leia and Yoda Corgi have been enamored with the recent cold snap and the snow it’s brought. Except for times of extremely cold wind chill that send Leia inside, I have had to beg the corgis to come in from the cold. You hear people warning each other about the importance of bringing their pets inside during such temperatures, but I have a different warning:
Snow makes the corgis as frisky as ever. They love chasing each other, rolling in the snow (I think they’re trying to make “corgi angels”), and of course, eating it. One of their favorite things to do is have a corgi showdown (or “snow-down”). They stand at opposite ends of the yard and stare each other down. They creep forward one millimeter at a time until a loud noise–a bird, a car horn, or perhaps an “accidental” cough from me–sends them chasing each other at full speed:
When the snow is deep enough, they love running through the yard and creating “corgi paths” that they run through over and over again. Here is a shot of them making one such path:
Corgis gone wild in shoulder-deep snow!
Forging a corgi path in the snow.
Yoda is consistent in his love for the snow, but once in a while, Leia gets that little spark in her eye and becomes especially snow-happy:
Not sure how much more snow we’ll get this winter, but if it ever starts to get you down, just think like a corgi, and all will be well. Stay warm!
In Search of Winter by Sapphie Corgi
My person has been complaining lately about a thing called “winter.” It sounded like it might be good to eat, so I searched all over for it—the kitchen, the pantry, and even the compost heap outside, which was covered up in snow. But I couldn’t find winter anywhere. I got so mad, mad, mad that I ran around the house until I found my brother. Then I bit his ears. Biting Zeph’s ears always calms me down.
Zeph was no fun, as usual, and told me to stop. Like that was going to happen! But then I remembered that Zeph knows just about every word in the world, so I told him I’d stop biting his ears if he told me what “winter” was. He answered right away.
He said winter was the cold and snow and white skies and swirling sleet. I growled a little.
“Give me one,” I said.
“One what?” Zeph asked.
“One winter. No, make that two winters. Give me two winters. Mine and yours. I want to take them into my bed and eat them.” I always took treats into my bed and ate them. I usually steal Zeph’s treats, too. What’s his is mine, after all. Then I remembered Zeph was taking too long giving me his winter, so I snarled a little and said, “Give me your winter. Now, now, now!”
“I can’t give you winter, Sapphie,” my brother said. “It isn’t something that can—”
But I’d heard enough. “Where are you hiding winter?” I growled.
“I’m not hiding it, Sapphie, I—” But as he spoke, he glanced outside. He’s not a very good liar, and I knew he’d hidden winter in the yard. I’d have to go out and look for it, I decided as I bit his ear again. Only… finding winter might have to wait a while. Digging is hard to do when there’s so much snow on the ground!
Name That Cat Winners Announced!
Happy New Year’s Everyone! Hope 2013 brought you love and happiness, and hoping 2014 does the same. I’m starting the new year off with some good new.
After tallying the entries in the “Name that Cat” contest, the two highest scores were chosen, and the winners are…
Laura F. and Wendy W.!
The name for Adam’s friend in Corgi Capers 3 will be Gavin, and the name of the cat will be Shadow!
And now, the correct answers to the contest questions:
- Mr. Hollinger, Adam’s father, is an architect. He used to work for a firm, but he has recently started his own architectural business in the detached garage (now an office) of his family’s home. Thus, while Mr. Hollinger is often “home,” he’s also often “at work.”
- Mrs. Hollinger’s ongoing obsession is correcting grammar. She is a proofreader by trade, and she gets easily distracted correcting grammar in conversations, advertisements, and displays–much to Adam’s annoyance!
- Sapphie’s favorite thing in the world is–well, everything! She claims that toys are her favorite thing in the world, as is eating, as is sleeping, as is chewing her brother’s ears, as is… well, you get the idea.
- Courtney’s biggest obsession is… her cell phone. The worst punishment she could receive is being grounded from her cell phone, and as you can imagine, the phone itself causes much havoc in her adventures.
- When Adam needs to think about solving a mystery, he wears the fedora his father gave him. Though he’ll discuss the situation with Patrick when he’s able, or seek help on the computer, there’s nothing as helpful as wearing his hat and imagining he is Riley Couth, the super sleuth, his favorite comic book detective.
- Zeph is not afraid of ice cubes. Though he fears most other things in life, he enjoys crunching on ice cubes while sitting on his favorite comforter in the kitchen.
- In Corgi Capers 1, Sapphie narrowly avoids trouble after being stuck under a pile of newspapers. Mr. Hollinger has a hoarding habit when it comes to newspapers. He refuses to get rid of them until he has read them all, and when a mischievous Sapphie sneaks into his office, well… nothing smells quite as exciting as newsprint!
- Adam dislikes cell phones. He sees the trouble Courtney gets into with cell phones. Alarmingly, his parents discuss the possibility of getting Adam his own phone soon.
- Sapphie and Zeph got their names from Adam’s favorite comic book series, Logan Zephyr and the Stellar Squadron. In one episode, they encounter a royal alien named Princess Sapphie, who is spoiled and energetic, just like little Sapphie the Corgi.
Thanks again to everyone who entered, and congratulations to the winners. Both Laura and Wendy will be receiving a copy of Corgi Capers 3 upon release!
Corgi Capers 