Category Archives: inspiration
The Moving Chronicles (Part 3)
It’s getting very close to the move, now, and even the functional items have started to be boxed. And the corgis…
…are not happy at all.
This morning, as I was taping up boxes, I found them hiding in their crates:
This is what we do now… sit ‘n watch ‘n wonder about all these boxes. We feel safest in our crates, though. Will you pack us, too?
Then tonight, while watching TV to try to relax, I was attacked by clingy corgis. I guess they wanted to make sure I wasn’t leaving them… (Leia never clings like this except in the dead cold of winter!)
If we surround her, she can’t go anywhere without us!
I wish there was some way to tell dogs what is happening. Then maybe they wouldn’t be so freaked out. As I type, they are right near me on the floor, watching. Always watching.
But don’t worry, corgis… when the time comes to move, I’ll make sure I pack you, too!
The Moving Chronicles (Part 2)
The dogs continue to think “something’s up.” Their kitchen is quickly becoming a cardboard castle, with boxes stacking up. Yoda follows me around. Even in the 90 + degree heat wave we’re having, he sits on my lap as often as possible (yes, even outdoors) to make sure I don’t go anywhere.
When the movers come, and when we first get to the new house, I’m going to have to close him in his crate, where he feels most safe in the world (aside from on my lap).
In other news, I have been researching invisible fences. The house comes with an invisible fence, which I think might be a better option than putting up chicken wire around the fence of a five-acre lot. It looks like the key to training dogs is to instill in them a sense of fear of the fence–to lead them up to the fence (marked by flags for now) but then lead them away with a sense of urgency or even fear in one’s voice. Since Yoda is afraid of everything, this might not be too hard to do.
The corgis in “feral mode”
The corgis in “civilized mode”
I just wonder… the corgis sometimes go into “feral mode.” When they see an animal or hear a dog getting agitated, they go nuts, sometimes attacking each other or biting on their leashes if they are on a walk, and for a while they stop listening to me. I look in their eyes, and they are in full-on hunter/herder mode. Then, as quickly as it started, they look back at me and become civilized again. But I wonder: if they go into “feral mode” with an invisible fence, is even the threat of a correction from the collar enough to stop their natural instinct?
Has anyone had experience with this? I’ve heard nothing but good things about invisible fences (in terms of keeping dogs confined–not keeping other things out), but I’m skeptical. In any case, I get to try it in about a week!
The Moving Chronicles (Part 1)
For the past few months, my husband and I have been packing up the house in preparation for an upgrade. Moving day is approaching, and–well–the corgis have started to notice.
It started the day I packed up six boxes of kitchenware. I stacked these near the kitchen table, and Yoda knew something was up immediately. When I came back from work, he ran to his crate and looked at me with that “Lassie” look–letting me know he had something to tell me. Well–his crate had all kinds of puke in it (I will spare you a picture). The fact that he threw up in his crate told me just how upset he is about the house being packed up–he goes into his crate (which I leave open for him during the day) when he is afraid or tired. And he has thrown up for less upsetting things before (did I mention Yoda is afraid of everything?).
Since then, Leia has been overjoyed, hiding behind boxes and finding new and exciting sleeping nooks.
Leia finding a cozy sleeping nook among the boxes.
Yoda has been more hesitant. He’s been following me everywhere, and he’s even being clingy with “his friend,” as I call my husband to him. Normally, he is hesitant with my husband, but as the picture below demonstrates, he’s just fine being cuddly (it was such a rare occurrence, I had to snap a poorly-lit picture from my cell phone to capture the moment!).
A rare moment–Yoda cuddling with someone other than me!
Other than that, my biggest challenge as of now is keeping the corgis from eating all the cardboard boxes. I wonder if other dogs like eating cardboard as much as mine. I try to stop them, of course, but I can’t watch them all the time. I snapped this picture while the corgis were innocently sitting on the cardboard boxes, but the temptation must have been too much. As soon as I returned to the kitchen to pack, they had started pulling off chunks of cardboard to eat!
“All quiet for now–but as soon as she puts down her camera and resumes packing, we’re eating this cardboard!”
I’ll be back with more updates soon, as I’m sure the challenges of moving with two dogs will continue to present new opportunities to share!
The Stars in Verse
It’s the middle of the Corgi-Versary celebration, and what better way than to add some “Verse”? Here are four limericks introducing the four main characters of the series:
There once was a doggy named Zeph
He was afraid of things right and left.
But he put away fear
And perked up his ear
And discovered the cause of the theft.
.
There once was a puppy named Sapphie
Whose demeanor left her quite happy.
Her favorite thing was her food,
Her bed, toys, and scarf, too—
Loving everything, she squealed, loud and yappy.
.
Courtney, the middle school girl
Lived in her secure, text-messaging world.
But a burglar broke in
And stifled her grin,
Leaving her teenage world all awhirl.
.
Adam’s the star of the book.
Like a detective, he knows where to look.
He’ll solve any crime
With just enough time
To read to Zeph from his new comic book.
Valentine’s Day Giveaway
Dancing With Bear, the publisher of Corgi Capers, is hosting a Valentine’s Day Giveaway! To enter, visit http://www.dancingwithbearpublishing.com. You can win dinner for two and sweets for your Sweet. (Sorry, but family of authors are not allowed to win.)
Don’t forget about the Corgi Capers giveaway and other opportunities, which are running all month:
- Win free books and t-shirts
- Get a free review copy of Corgi Capers 1
- Enter to win the “name that cat” contest, and name a character in Corgi Capers book 3
Corgi Capers: The First Chapters
To kick off the Corgi-Versary Celebration, I’m offering the first chapters of the novel for free–right here on my blog. I hope you enjoy! If you’d like to read more, check out the links at the end of this post.
PROLOGUE
A Princess’ Premonition
In the little Pennsylvania town of Stoney Brook, at the end of a rocky road, was a place where the crickets chirped just a little louder. A place where the summer grass smelled just a little sweeter. A place called Pickwick Farm. Pickwick Farm was home to two people, twelve chickens, two goats, three sheep, a horse, and six dogs.
Six corgis, to be exact.
On this cool August morning, one of the dogs, Owl, was already awake. He patrolled the farm faithfully by the side of his favorite Person, Farmer Pickwick.
“We’ve got to make sure the farm is in order,” Farmer Pickwick told Owl. “We’ll have some special visitors today.”
Owl barked twice and twirled around in the dewy grass.
Inside the small farmhouse, four sleeping puppies and their mother heard Owl’s excited barks. They yelped and jumped up all at once. Their warm comforter became a tangle of paws and ears.
Sparkles, their mother, stretched and turned over. “Go back to sleep, puppies,” she yawned.
The largest puppy plopped down next to her, cuddling on the comforter. “Good boy, One,” Sparkles said. One, the first to be born, was the largest and most obedient puppy.
Two, the second to be born, stretched out next to his brother. Sparkles nuzzled them while she kept an eye on 
the other puppies scuffling near the kitchen sink.
“Three and Four,” Sparkles called. “Back to sleep!”
Four, the smallest of the puppies and the only female, was tugging on one of Three’s tall ears. She wagged her tail and bit down hard. Three yelped and skittered back to the comforter to cuddle next to his brothers. Four’s ears darted back, and she ran in frustrated circles near the stove.
“I want to play, play, play!” she yelped.
But Sparkles and the other puppies ignored Four. Before long she sulked back to the comforter to talk to her favorite brother.
“Three, Three, Three!” she cried.
“Go back to sleep,” Three said.
“I can’t.”
Three fought drooping eyelids. “Why?”
“I have a feeling about today.”
“What kind of feeling?”
“Like something special’s going to happen. And I dreamed a strange word.”
Three’s eyes popped open. “What word?” he asked, his tail wagging.
“Princess,” Four said. “What does it mean?”
Three wanted very much to discuss Four’s new word, but he had to be quiet: footsteps echoed on the stairs.
“Shhhh,” Sparkles whispered. “Here come our People.”
“I said the word was princess,” Four pouted. “What does it mean? Tell me, tell me, tell me!”
But before Three could answer, Grandma Pickwick appeared at the kitchen door. The puppies ran over to greet her, their tails wagging and their ears pressed happily back against their heads. And in the excitement, even Four forgot all about her strange new word.
~ ONE ~
A Lucky Break
Adam Hollinger was the last boy left at practice. Again. Patrick, Coach Harris’ son, sat next to him in the shade under the bleachers. The two were covered in dust from the field. A clay-red skid mark stained Patrick’s pants from his slide into third. The boys’ Lancaster Reds baseball hats were lined with sweat from the morning’s practice. While Coach Harris spoke on his cell phone, the boys read the newest edition of The Adventures of Logan Zephyr and the Stellar Squadron. This volume was titled Logan and the Sapphire Kingdom.
“This is the coolest part,” Patrick said, turning the page. He had already read the comic five times. He practically knew it by heart.
“Why?” Adam asked.
“It’s where Logan Zephyr finds a space dog.”
“A space dog? Cool!” Adam smiled, looking at the green puppy with three tails and two antennas.
“Wouldn’t it be cool to have a space dog as a pet?” Patrick asked.
“It’d be cool to have any dog,” Adam sighed. “My parents have been promising me a dog for over a year now.”
“Why don’t you get one, then?”
“Dad doesn’t really want one. He’s always busy with his architecture business. Mom says it’s hard for him to be working for himself. He’s always either in his office or meeting with clients. Every time I mention a dog, Dad changes the subject. Besides, my parents don’t think Courtney’s responsible enough.”
Patrick laughed. “I don’t think your sister’s responsible enough, either!”
Patrick had known Adam long enough to see Courtney’s bad attitude worsen since she started middle school.
“I think my mom would like a dog, though,” Adam said. “She had one when she was a kid. If we could only convince Dad…”
“Speaking of your mom,” Patrick said. “Where do you think she is?”
Adam shrugged. “I don’t think she’s ever been on time.”
A tall shadow blocked the sunlight, and the boys looked up to see Coach Harris standing over them. He had finished his phone conversation.
“Well, boys.” He sounded disappointed. “That was Bryce’s mother. I found out why Bryce wasn’t at practice today.”
“What happened, Dad?” Patrick asked.
“Last night Bryce was skateboarding. He fell and broke his wrist. His doctor told him he won’t be able to pitch for the rest of the season.”
“He’s going to miss Autumn League?” Adam asked.
Autumn League was the post-season travel league made up of the best players in each region. The biggest honor for players Adam’s age was to be selected for the all-star team.
Coach Harris sighed.
“He was our secret weapon,” Patrick sighed. “He could strike out anyone!”
“Our games start in just a week,” Adam added. “What’ll we do?”
“The only thing we can do. We’ll find someone else on the team who can pitch.” Coach got a little sparkle in his eye. “While we’re here waiting, let’s give your arm a try, Adam.”
Adam’s ears turned bright red, something they did when he was embarrassed or nervous. “Me? Pitch?” He was an outfielder. He’d always been an outfielder.
“Sure, why not?” Coach insisted. He was halfway to the field, catcher’s mitt already on his hand.
Adam shuffled out from under the bleachers. He pulled on his red cap and gave Patrick his comic book. “I guess I’ll have to finish reading this later.”
“You can borrow it,” said Patrick. “I’d give just about anything — even my limited edition Logan Zephyr comic — to see you try to pitch!”
Want to read more?
I hope you enjoyed this sneak peek at Corgi Capers. If you’d like to read more, you can purchase the book at the following locations:
Direct from the publisherAmazon (it’s also available for Kindle)
Autographed copy
Leia on Christmas
Note: this post was written in response to Yoda’s post.
My favorite time of year is Christmastime. It’s the end of the year, and my Person gets to stay home for like a week and a half, and I get to follow her around the house, and I get to play almost all the time. It makes me so happy, I feel like a kid at Christmas, Christmas, Christmas!
The best thing about Christmas is the tree. It’s this giant, glowing plaything my Person puts up just for me. She hangs these things at the bottom for me to play with. She calls them “Unbreakable, just for you.” I don’t know why. But when I get excited, I knock them off and push them around with my nose. Then I get to watch as my person digs them out from under the tree and hangs them back up again for me. It’s a fun game!
The other best thing about Christmastime is that my stupid brother is afraid of everything—for a change! He won’t even come near the tree. He watches me from atop the stairs, and it’s great being able to play by myself. Here’s why: one or two of the packages under the tree smell like they have bacon treats in them, and I know I can get them and open them if I just try. The problem is, if I start to nose through the packages too much, or if I start to tear off some of the shiny wrapping paper, my stupid brother howls his “tattletale howl,” and our Person comes running over to take the package away from me. But one day, I tell you, one day I’ll sneak over there and open the package when no one is looking. And then those bacon treats will all be mine!
The other best thing about Christmas is all the people and activity. While my brother prefers to hide out in his crate, I take advantage of all the fun. Here’s a picture of me and my best friend. He put me inside of a bag, and it was the most fun I had that hour!
The funnest Christmas game ever!
Here’s a picture of me opening all the presents. I love when people start to rip open packages. I just nose my way right in and tear up some of the paper. There’s nothing so fun!
Getting ready to tear into a package
Here’s a picture of me sitting on my best friend’s legs. That way, if he tries to open up any other packages, I’ll be ready and waiting.
Watching for more packages to rip open
And here’s a picture of my fraidy-dog brother. The People tried to give him a package of cookies wrapped in tissue paper, but he was too scared to rip it open. You can just see the fear in his eyes. A few seconds after the picture was taken, he high-tailed it back up into the kitchen to hide out in his crate. He doesn’t know what he’s missing!
Getting ready to retreat to the kitchen
Here’s my favorite picture. My People put two fluffy beds under the tree. They said it was “to encourage Yoda not to be afraid.” But what do they know? Yoda was just as scared as ever. Know what that means? Both beds are mine!
My People are telling me to share with my brother… but he’s too scared!
Happy Christmas to you, and I hope your Christmas as exciting as mine, mine, mine! And now, I hear something jingling out there—I’m off!
Editor’s Note: Leia is the capricious, perpetual puppy that inspires the character Sapphie in the Corgi Capers mystery series. Her antics always make for an interesting plot!
Howl-o-ween Blog Hop + Giveaway
Halloween and the Imagination
Halloween has always been my favorite holiday, and as a kid I never understood why. But this year, perusing a Halloween store and then driving around a rural area and observing all the Halloween decorations, I think I understand.
Halloween lets the imagination free—like a ghost escaping the grave for its yearly romp around the world.
Winter is too sleepy and dreary to allow the imagination full reign. It’s dulled by cold nights and dark mornings.
In springtime, the imagination is too fulfilled with relief that winter is gone. Spring cleaning and yard work take precedence.
During summertime, the mind is too happy enjoying summer. Whose imagination has time to reign when there are pools and beaches, barbeques and vacations?
by Marji Cooper
No, during those first parts of the year, the mind is busy saving up experiences. It’s during the fall that the mind can finally spend them. The heat of summer cools, and the air takes on that crisp quality, with the sweet scent of decaying leaves always lurking. The trees turn the world into a surreal, magical place. And at Halloween, there are no rules. Yes, Christmas is imaginative, but as Jack Skellington proved, there are rules that cannot be broken. Christmas is all about warmth and happiness. As countless English teachers and professors have pointed out to me, happiness doesn’t make for good literature. It doesn’t push any boundaries.
Corgi Capers Book 2
Halloween has no rules. Halloween stories can be happy. They can also be sad, melancholy, nostalgic, macabre, twisted, and imaginative. Literally, the imagination is the only limit, and that’s what I love so much about this time of year.
In my newest book, Corgi Capers: The Sorceress of Stoney Brook, Adam Hollinger lets his imagination run away with him—to the point that he is convinced his new neighbors are a pair of witches. Using his detective skills, he must (reluctantly) face his fears to determine whether they are, in fact, witches. It’s still got baseball and bullying and—of course—lots of corgis to help with the detective work. But this second book in the series is all about imagination at the most imaginative time of the year.
As part of this blog hop, you have a choice of one of the following books: Corgi Capers: Deceit on Dorset Drive (the first in the series); Corgi Capers 2: The Sorceress of Stoney Brook (Halloween-themed); or For Whom My Heart Beats Eternal (a trio of time-travel stories for ages 16 and up—romance, post-apocalyptic, and sci-fi-fantasy). You can check out the descriptions here.
Enter using the Rafflecopter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Corgi Capers: The Sorceress of Stoney Brook
I’m happy to announce the publication of Corgi Capers Book 2: The Sorceress of Stoney Brook. This Halloween-themed mystery for young detectives is out just in time for Halloween!
Corgi Capers Book 2!
Corgi Capers: The Sorceress of Stoney Brook
Book Two in the Corgi Capers series, Corgi Capers: The Sorceress of Stoney Brook embroils Adam and Patrick in the scariest caper yet. The old Frostburg house has new tenants, and to Adam and Patrick, they look like witches. Belle and Cassie dress elaborately, speak strangely, and seem to know way too much about the Hollingers. Adam and Patrick read about how Logan Zephyr, their favorite comic book hero, defeated an evil sorceress and wonder if they, too, are facing real witches. When Belle asks Adam to rake leaves for her close to Halloween, Adam decides it’s a great excuse to investigate the house—or is it the perfect way for the witches to cast a spell on Adam and his best friend?
Targeting middle-grade readers (ages 7 – 12), the novel switches perspectives between the corgis and their people, offering humor and insight entertaining to adults and children alike. While trying to solve the mystery of his new neighbors, Adam confronts other challenges as well: it’s the Autumn League playoffs, and the team is counting on Adam to pitch his heart out; Adam’s sister is hanging out with a high-school bully, and the two have nefarious plans for Adam; and Marnie, a girl at school, has been fighting the other girls over who gets to take Adam to the Harvest Dance—to Adam’s chagrin.
The title is a nod to my parents, who both graduated from the State University of New York at Stonybrook. Stoney Brook is the fictional town in Pennsylvania where my series takes place.
Where to buy:
Corgi Capers 1 (Amazon) (Publisher)
Corgi Capers 2 (Amazon) (Publisher)
Or, you can check out my store for an autographed copy!
Excerpt:
Chapter One
The Stranger
A corgi barked from the kitchen window as Coach Harris’s pick-up truck pulled into the driveway. Adam Hollinger stepped out of the truck and waved up at the kitchen window.
“Hi Zeph,” he shouted. Adam slung a school bag over one shoulder and a baseball bag over the other. “Bye, Patrick,” Adam yelled as the truck pulled away.
Patrick Harris was the coach’s son and Adam’s best friend. Their All-Star baseball team, the Lancaster Reds, practiced hard every day after school. They were determined to win the Autumn League State Championship.
Adam turned to see the cool October sun disappearing behind the hill of Mr. Frostburg’s house. Or rather, the house in which Mr. Frostburg used to live. Ever since Adam and his corgi, Zeph, caught Mr. Frostburg burglarizing neighborhood homes, no one had seen Mr. Frostburg. He’d been arrested, and Mr. Hollinger said it might be a long time before anyone saw the likes of him.
For the past month, a large ‘For Rent’ sign stood near the end of the driveway, and the house remained vacant. Adam always got the creeps when he looked at that empty house, but this time was even scarier than usual. On the front porch that used to belong to Mr. Frostburg, stood a robed and hooded figure. When the wind blew, the robe lifted and swirled so that the figure seemed to hover like a ghost. The wind flicked the robe, and a strand of long, blonde hair came loose from the hood, blowing like a kite tail in the wind. Then the hood blew back over the figure, shrouding it in shadow. Adam closed his eyes and counted to three. When he opened them again, the figure was gone.
Adam raced the setting rays of the sun into his house, where Zeph barreled down the stairs to greet him. Zeph’s happy howl made Adam forget—at least for now—the strange figure on the hill.
“Where’s Sapphie?” Adam asked Zeph. “Not in trouble again, I hope.”
Zeph wagged his stubby tail and ran up the stairs, beckoning Adam to follow.
Upstairs, Adam and Zeph stopped in front of Courtney’s bedroom door. Courtney, Adam’s older sister, was a seventh-grader now. Ever since school started, she spent most of her time in her room with the door closed.
Zeph barked and scratched on Courtney’s door.
“What do you want, stupid?” Courtney asked, opening her door only a crack.
At the bottom of the door, a tiny nose poked out. It was Sapphie’s. She sniffed and cried and clawed at the door until Courtney let her out. Sapphie jumped high in the air, springing into Adam’s arms. Zeph barked jealously as Sapphie licked Adam’s ear.
“Mom’s gonna be so mad,” Courtney said.
“Why?” asked Adam.
“When she sees what you look like, she’ll be mad—with the new neighbor coming over.”
“What new neighbor? And what do you mean, what I look like?”
“Ever heard of a mirror?”
Courtney flung her door wide open and pointed to a full-length mirror on the wall. Adam looked beyond the magazine clippings of celebrities that decorated the mirror and examined his reflection.
His sweatpants were dusty from running drills. Coach spent most of practice making the team work on base running and sliding. Adam’s face was scuffed with white chalk from the pitcher’s mound and his red hair—now covered in dust—stuck straight up, as if he’d rubbed it with a balloon.
“Don’t you know anything? There’s a new neighbor moving into Mister Frostburg’s old house.” Courtney said. “Mom invited her over for dinner, and we’re supposed to look nice and be polite.”
Adam glanced at his sister. Courtney’s face looked like she had covered it in makeup and tried to rub it off when she heard Adam coming. Adam started to question her about it but then changed his mind.
“Have you seen the new neighbor yet?” Adam asked. “I was coming home from practice, I looked over, and I saw a really weird…”
But before Adam could finish, Mrs. Hollinger came up the stairs carrying Adam’s school bag. Her eyes widened when she saw Adam.
“You’ve got to get cleaned up,” she scolded. “Miss Arabella will be here soon, and I want you looking your best.”
“Who’s Miss Arabella?” Adam asked.
But Mrs. Hollinger didn’t answer. She was too busy pushing him into the bathroom, shoving a stack of towels and washcloths into his hands. Mrs. Hollinger closed the bathroom door on him before he had a chance to protest.
Links:
Where to buy:
Corgi Capers 1 (Amazon) (Publisher)
Corgi Capers 2 (Amazon) (Publisher)
Or, you can check out my store for an autographed copy!
Fangs, Fur, Fey, and… Corgis!
This one’s for the kids. There’s nothing furrier than a corgi growing its winter coat, and that’s what’s happening right about now in the Hollinger household. The cold October chill is bringing creeps of its own as fifth-grader Adam Hollinger juggles All-Star Baseball with mystery. Not only are the two new neighbors the creepiest people he’s ever seen, but his seventh-grade sister has a new group of friends that bring goosebumps to his skin.
Corgi Capers Book 2: The Sorceress of Stoney Brook. Available in just a few days with DWB Publishing!
In this Halloween-themed mystery novel for young detectives, Adam must discover whether the two new neighbors really ARE witches. Almost as important, he must crack the case to find out what his sister and her new friends have planned for Halloween. According to her, it’s the best prank yet. And all the while, the corgis are there to help.
Oh, and an interesting fact about the Fey. Did you know that legend says fairies used to ride corgis while running their mischievous errands? It’s why corgis have a “fairy saddle,” that white stripe around their collars. Legend has it that the special coloring was left from where the fairies would sit. If Sapphie the Corgi is any indication, the fairies just might still have a hand in daily corgi life!
For this giveaway, you can enter for a chance to win a copy of Corgi Capers: Deceit on Dorset Drive (book one). If you live in the US, you can choose either a Kindle or PDF version or a paperback. If you live internationally, you can win a Kindle or PDF version. Enter using the Raffle Copter form below:
Enter to Win Here!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Corgi Capers 