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ANNOUNCEMENT! The Good Dog by Laura Stamps is Available!

It is so exciting to announce the release of The Good Dog by Laura Stamps. Let’s check out what this fun and touching novella is about:

Summary

Ashley is not a dog person. She’s not. Just ask her. Yet for some reason she’s obsessed with Chihuahuas. And she’s not happy about it. No, not at all. Not when she has other issues to deal with. Like chronic anxiety. And panic attacks. And a crazy ex-husband who can’t stop stalking her. Yeah, the last thing Ashley needs is a dog. Or so she thinks. Until a stranger at PetSmart tells her a dog is better than a husband. Could this be true? Ready or not, Ashley is about to find out. Endearing, empowering, entertaining, and laugh-out-loud funny. THE GOOD DOG is all of that and more!

Excerpt from the Book

1.

Don’t know how it happened. Have no idea. But I’m obsessed with dogs. It’s a new thing for me. This obsession. Relatively new. Just in the last month. Okay, maybe two months. Possibly three. Okay, four. Whatever. And not all dogs. Just small dogs. The smallest. Chihuahuas. I’m obsessed with Chihuahuas. And I have no idea why. Makes no sense. Absolutely none. The last thing I need is a dog. Dogs are too needy. Everyone knows that. Needy. Not what I want. Not what I need. Even from a dog. And yet, and yet. I seem to be obsessed. With these little Chihuahuas.

2.

But here’s the thing. I know nothing about dogs. Don’t even like dogs. Never wanted a dog. Never owned a dog. Well, not technically. Not me personally. Okay, we had a dog when I was in high school. A big dog. But it wasn’t my dog. It was my brother’s dog. Dogs were his thing. He was the one who wanted a dog. Not me. He was the one who promised to take care of it. Pleaded, begged, pestered our parents for a dog. Relentless, he was. Then one night dad took too many pills (he called them his “mood elevators”), ended up in the pet department at Richway (we still don’t know how that happened), and bought a puppy. Pill poppers, my parents. Both of them. Mom was just as bad. Worse, even. Filled her prescription every month at the local pharmacy. One hundred pills at a time (what was her doctor thinking?). Those green and black capsules. Everywhere. All over the house. I’ll never forget them. High anxiety. That’s what she said she had. Too bad those pills never worked. On the anxiety. As for the high? Oh, yeah. Worked like a charm.

3.

We only had a dog for a year. Ran away the first chance it got. The quest for greener pastures, I suppose. Or maybe it just wanted to be fed. Dogs need to eat. And drink. It’s important. But my brother wasn’t so good at that. Or brushing or walking or playing with a dog. He was lousy at that too. It was probably the weed. Quite the doper, my brother. A year later we were dogless again. And my brother never mentioned dogs again. And dad. He never went to Richway again. But then he never remembered how he got there the first time. He was good at that. Never remembering. But that was dad.

4.

My best friend thinks my obsession with Chihuahuas is a guilt thing. Like I feel bad about the way my family treated that dog. Like I could make up for it by adopting a dog and taking good care of it. Like this would fix all the bad things that happened back then. To the dog. To me. To my brother. Like that would make everything right. But would it really? No. Not even close.

5.

And if you think I like being obsessed with Chihuahuas, think again. Just because I joined a national group for Chihuahua rescue on Facebook. Just because I comment with little hearts on all the posts for homeless and abused Chihuahuas. Just because I cruise my local Petco every week to look at dog sweaters. Just because I know the color, size, weight, age, and sex of the Chihuahua I would want if I wanted one (which I don’t). If I ever adopted one (which I won’t). None of that means anything. Nothing. Not a thing. Nada. Do you hear me? 

6.

However, speaking of that Facebook group, you should have seen yesterday’s post. The one about the tiny Chihuahua, the tan one (the color I want), four pounds (the weight I want), about three years old (the age I want), female (the sex I want) in a precious pink sweater. Such a tiny little thing. Tiny, tiny. And then there’s this. This! She only has one eye. Can you imagine? Poor abused, neglected dog. Poor little Polly. That’s her name. Fully vetted. Available for adoption. And she’s in Dallas. Thirty minutes from where I live. How amazing is that? I hope a good person adopts her. She deserves it. A good person with a loving home. Someone who knows what it’s like to be abused. To escape. To finally get away from the people who hurt you. Someone like me. But not me. Someone to spoil her. To give her more love than she can imagine. That. That’s what Polly deserves. Someone who likes dogs. Someone who wants a dog. A dog person. But not me. No. Not me.

7.

And yet, and yet. She’s so adorable. In that little pink sweater. I do love those tiny dog sweaters. Too cute. Too bad I’m not interested. And I’m not. Well, maybe. One day. I don’t know. Dallas is only thirty minutes away. Maybe I could go. Just to look. Nothing more. A good, loving person. Like me. But not me. A dog person. That’s what Polly needs. Someone to love her. Like she deserves to be loved. Someone she can love. Like me. But not me. What do you think? Should I go? Maybe. I don’t know. Okay. Just to look.  

AMAZON BARNES & NOBLE BAM INDIE BOUND

To order a signed copy from the author, email: laurastamps18@yahoo.com

About the Author

Laura Stamps loves to play with words and create experimental forms for her fiction and prose poetry. She is the author of 50 novels, novellas, short story collections, and poetry books. Most recently: IT’S ALL ABOUT THE RIDE: CAT MANIA (2021, Alien Buddha Press), DOG DAZED: A NOVELLA (2022, Kittyfeather Press), and ADDICTED TO DOG MAGAZINES: A NOVELLA (Impspired, 2023). Her fiction and poetry have appeared in over 2000 magazines, anthologies, broadsides, and literary journals worldwide. Laura has won numerous awards, including the Muses Prize. She is the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize nomination and 7 Pushcart Prize nominations. You can find her every day on Facebook (Laura Stamps). Website: www.LauraStampsFiction.blogspot.com  

poetry

Quarantini Time

close up photo of martini with olives
Photo by Engin Akyurt on Pexels.com

Challenge Accepted

A friend asked me to write a poem call “Quarantini” about a martini related to COVID-19, of course using some humor. I wrote the poem, which sounded like a ditty and changed it up. This may be my worse poem ever and I am letting it play.

Quarantini Time

When COVID-19 came along

My friend suggested I write a poem

All about a new martini

Given the name quarantini

 

In what they call a quarantine

Many people stay unseen

Keeping in their houses closed

Running out for a reload

 

Life becomes about books and TV

Some will party on with sad glee

Cooking and cleaning and eating freely

Some will have highballs and martinis

 

This is where my friend comes in

With some vodka and some gin

Mixing with vermouth for them

Landing olives by the rim

 

Deciding to try something new

To match colors to be true

A concoction to show no defeat

They came up with the quarantini

 

The colors that we tend to see

Are pinks and whites and crystallies

In little balls of spikes and spheres

To look at it would not bring fear

 

It’s like an ornament or candy

But getting it would not be dandy

This stuff is not to be played with

Unless you have a life to give

 

Mindful seriousness you see

It’s hard to come up with a drink

Try they tended and pulled it off

Downed it with nary a cough

 

This is the magic of this concoction

A patent would not be an option

It’s not that kind of beverage

Just trying to give humor leverage

 

If you want to know the mix

Simply it’s an easy fix

Using booze or soda or juice

Shake with ice and strain it smooth

 

It can be made with garnishes or not

Depends on what you’ve got in stock

Tastes vary tart or sweet or dry

Mattering not what when or why

 

If you’ve figured it out by now

The quarantini recipe is not about how

It depends on what is in the house

Leaning on if you can go out

 

Possibly it tastes like H2O

Depending on what’s on hand to flow

It’s about the attitude of positivity

We all can have a quarantini

This came from my prompt for National Poetry Month – There is a new prompt daily, so be sure to check in!

 

poetry

Humor in These Days of Our Lives – National Poetry Month April 6 2020

laugh neon light signage turned on
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Pexels.com

Just like Ina Garten made this giant martini for the stay-at-home effort, it’s not such a bad idea to use humor in times of trial. If you have ever watched an episode of MASH you will see how the medical staff in a horrible time turned to humor to survive. I’ve done it and I suspect you all have done it, too. So, for today’s prompt let’s write a humor poem. It does not have to be about these days trials, but feel free to do so. If you want to go into a whole different time and place, go for it. Let’s have some laughs.

If you would like to try some other prompts or combine prompts, you can also check out a couple of others, such as Robert Lee Brewer’s Poetic Asides or NaPoMriMo

Happy Writing!

toilet paper rolls on a basket
Photo by Vlada Karpovich on Pexels.com

BONUS!! You can always use this photo prompt!!

poetry

Morning Coffee – Retro April 2019

vintage moka espresso coffee pot maker
Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com

As sure as the alarm
could go off
It need not
as bones are aching
for a walk
Padding to the pot
filling the vessel
Pondering the day
pouring the water
sopping the slosh
Starting the pot
waiting and listening
What’s up with the brew
It Takes Coffee Grounds
to make coffee
If morning starts this way
it’s going to be a long day

The beginning prompt for the 2019 National Poetry Month was on Robert Lee Brewer’s blog HERE The above poem was my attempt to write to the prompt. Perhaps you would like to do the same.

For a visual prompt us the image on this poem and give it a try!