Amy Shojai's Blog, page 131
July 20, 2012
Feline Friday: VOTE for NAME THAT CAT!
Yes, the day has come. I am delighted at the outpouring of interest in naming cats who appear in my forthcoming thriller LOST AND FOUND. There were 39 total suggestions for feline character names, me-WOW! I ended up choosing four or five of my favorites from your suggestions and then drawing the remainder out of a fish bowl. Two feline characters will be named based on your votes. (Check out the Woof Wednesday for the doggy poll picks!).
The winner’s names and why they chose their selection will also be included in the book, and winners will receive an advance copy of the book.
Image Copr. Florence Ivy/Flickr
Just who ARE these kitty characters?
A sable and white Maine Coon “clicker trained” kitty is devoted to the main character, September. He is instrumental in saving September’s life and capturing the bad guy at the climax of the book.
A senior citizen domestic (no particular breed) kitty who comforts a family when his/her human becomes a victim of the bad guys–now that’s heroic, right?
Does your cat’s name embody the essence of these kitty characters? Love, devotion, fearlessness, smart as only a cat can be? Looks don’t matter, neither does breed or age or even sex–everyone knows that all cats are heroes at heart when they snuggle with us or bring smiles to our faces when we are at our lowest, so make your choice and follow your heart!
The poll below allows you to choose THREE (3) of your favorites. You can come back and vote again as many times as you’d like–and I hope you’ll encourage family and friends to champion your kitty cause and also vote.
DEADLINE MONDAY AUGUST 30TH!
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Don’t forget to vote for your NAME THAT DOG/CAT character choice in the forthcoming THRILLER, LOST & FOUND!
Filed under: Cat Behavior & Care, Writing Advice & More Tagged: Amy Shojai, cat behavior, cat books, cat care, cat heroes, cat training, cats, lost and found thriller,
July 18, 2012
Woof Wednesday: VOTE for NAME THAT DOG!
Yes, the day has come. I am delighted at the outpouring of interest in naming dogs who appear in my forthcoming thriller LOST AND FOUND. There were 29 total suggestions for canine character names. Some were wonderful names but the same as one of my human characters (now THAT would be confusing!), and others seemed too similar to other suggestions. I ended up choosing four or five of my favorites from your suggestions and then drawing the remainder out of a fish bowl. Two canine characters, both “hero dogs,” will be named based on your votes. (Watch for Feline Friday for the kitty poll picks!).
The winner’s names and why they chose their selection will also be included in the book, and winners will receive an advance copy of the book.
Image Copr. Yulia Schoeman
Just who ARE these canine heroes?
A dark sable German shepherd dog, trained for search and rescue, and protection (Schutzhund) was devoted to the main character, September. He died protecting her husband, and she still deeply mourns his loss. He is the “ideal” dog she compares all other canines to.
A senior citizen German shepherd comes out of retirement to track down the September’s missing nephew Steven. He ends up defending his trainer as well as giving September a chance to escape.
Does your dog’s name embody the essence of these doggy characters? Love, devotion, fearlessness, great heart? Looks don’t matter, neither does breed or age or even sex–everyone knows that all dogs have the heart and soul and devotion of heroes, so make your choice and follow your heart!
The poll below allows you to choose THREE (3) of your favorites. You can come back and vote again as many times as you’d like–and I hope you’ll encourage family and friends to champion your cause and also vote.
DEADLINE MONDAY AUGUST 30TH!
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Don’t forget to vote for your NAME THAT DOG/CAT character choice in the forthcoming THRILLER, LOST & FOUND!
Filed under: Dog Training & Care, Writing Advice & More Tagged: Amy Shojai, dog books, dog care, dog thrillers, dogs, fiction, lost and found thriller,
July 16, 2012
Monday Mentions: THRILLERFEST!
Finally back from my annual whirlwind Thrillerfest conference–this year even more awesome knowing that I’m now an ITW Debut Author in great part because of this wonderful organization. I’ll have some short videos later, too, but wanted to post the pictures (they’re out of order, sorry!) as soon as possible.
Please also scroll down for the usual Monday Mentions link luv about publishing, writing, pets and more. Stay tuned for some quick excerpts from some of the panels and interviews. And don’t forget, the and polls will be posted this week for you to choose some of the pet characters in my book!
The amazing and generous Sandra Brown at the Thursday night opening reception.
Panel: How Do You Create Spellbinding Series Characters?
Allison Brennan, the Panel Master, for the panel (above) with Jan Burke, William Dietrich, Jack Hoban, Victoria M Johnson, Sharon Linnea…and me. *s*
The book signing–wow, next to the awesome Wendy Corsi Staub.
Kimberley Howe is the Thrillerfest Executive Director.
Yes, I came–I saw–I BLINGED!
Shane Gericke, one of the “Executioners” and great author, and my buddy Paula Lanier…we’ve been hanging out every year (Paula knows EVERYONE! *s*).
David Morrell, co-founder of International Thriller Writers. You may know him as the author of Rambo. *s*
Donna Galanti, one of the Debut Authors this year at the Debut Authors’ Breakfast–check out her book THE HUMAN ELEMENT!
Doug Lyle, Craftfest Director and VP of National Events (with LOTS of great thrillers and nonfiction forensic books), with Paula and my friend Teresa Chandler.
Wendy, Teresa, John Gilstrap (another award-winning author) at the “after” party.
Jon Land, one of the ITW vice presidents…and best seller, too. There’s a lot of great authors at this conference…just saying.
Late LATE late …the after-the-AFTER-party gang! On the far right is Paul McEuen, winner of the Thriller Award for Best First Novel! (He’s a Cornell prof and also has 5 dogs…*s*)
THRILLERFEST AWARDS
Saturday night July 14 the International Thriller Writers (ITW) announced the winners of the 2012 Thriller Awards.
Best Hard Cover Novel:
11/23/63, Stephen King (Scribner)
Best Paperback Original Novel:
THE LAST MINUTE, Jeff Abbott (Sphere/Little, Brown UK)
Best First Novel:
SPIRAL, Paul McEuen (The Dial Press)
Best Short Story:
HALF-LIVES, Tim L. Williams (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
ITW has also announced the addition of two new Thriller Awards next year–Young Adult, and Original Ebook.
MORE WRITERICITY SCHTUFF
6 Reasons to Celebrate “BAD” Reviews
HarperCollins Buys Thomas Nelson
Smashwords Publishes 138,070+ Books
Ebook Pirates–Open Fire or Ignore?
Publishing Jobs from Disney, Hachette Book Group, Little Brown, etc.
PET SCHTUFF
Sasquatch Lives?! from Doug Lyle’s awesome blog
Pet Supply Catalogue–shopping that helps pets! Check it out!
Cat Myths from Sally Bahner’s awesome blog
BLOGPAWS Gives Back donates $12,120 to several worthy animal causes, kudos!
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter .
Don’t forget to check out the NAME THAT DOG/CAT character in the forthcoming THRILLER, LOST & FOUND! Poll with SEMIFINAL NAMES for you to vote to be posted this WOOF WEDNESDAY and FELINE FRIDAY so get your suggestions in ASAP.
Filed under: Cat Behavior & Care, Dog Training & Care, Writing Advice & More Tagged: Allison Brennan, Amy Shojai, David Morrell, Donna Galanti, Doug Lyle, Jack Hoban, Jan Burke, John Gilstrap, John Land, Kimberley Howe, Paul Mceuen, Paula Lanier, Sandra Brown, Shane Gericke, Sharon Linnea, Teresa Chandler, Thrillerfest, Victoria M Johnson, Wendy Corsi Staub, William Dietrich, www.amyshojai.com
July 13, 2012
Feline Friday: Suicide Reporting & Crazy Cat-astrophies
“Don’t blame ME. . .” Image copr. LemurEyes/Flickr
It’s Friday the 13th. Somehow that seems appropriate to address creepy, without-a-clue reportage that does more damage than good. I’m at Thrillerfest this weekend where we’re discussing all sorts of mayhem but that’s make-believe. When bad info crosses over into “real life” that can cause lots of problems.
Every once in a while cats get demonized once again for causing everything from sucking the breath from babies to causing male pattern baldness. Now they’ve been linked to increase suicide risk. On purpose. Because they’re evil.
Huh? Even if they WERE evil, cats are too smart to kill the two-legged servants who hold the keys to the pantry and can openers. Just give me a break!
It’s that toxoplasmosis bug, not cats, that MIGHT increase risk of suicide and honestly, you’ll be more likely to contract that creepy parasite by munching unwashed lettuce.
WHAT IS TOXOPLASMOSIS?
The single cell organism Toxoplasma gondii, a parasitic protozoan, can be found in nearly all mammals (including cats and dogs), and has evolved to infect people and animals without making them sick. It’s been estimated that half the people in the United States have been exposed–60 million men, women and children–already carry this parasite, but never developed symptoms. When they do, the most common sign in both people and pets is transient swelling of the lymph glands. Sort of like flu.
However, the disease can cause life-threatening illness in immune suppressed people, as well as unborn babies of pregnant mothers who become infected during the pregnancy–and the mom rarely show any symptoms.
THE KITTY CONNECTION & FELINE BLAME GAME
Cats become infected either by swallowing the infective stage of the protozoan from the environment, by eating infected animals, or by eating raw meat. The protozoan multiplies in the wall of the small intestine and produce egg-like oocysts. Infected cats are the only animals that pass on these immature forms of the organism; they are shed in the cat’s stool. And THAT’S how kitty got the bad rap. However, the oocysts are passed in great numbers in the cat’s feces for only two to three weeks. Once this stage is passed it’s rare for the cat to ever again shed the eggs.
THE DOWN & DIRTY ON THE DANGERS
It takes two to five days for the oocysts to mature into infective forms of the organism. These organisms can survive in moist or shady soil or sand for many months. The disease is spread when an animal or a person swallows these infective organisms.
Once inside the bird, rodent, cat or person, the protozoan continues to mature, causing pockets of disease throughout the body. If the victim survives this stage of the illness, usually symptoms go away and the disease becomes dormant; the protozoan remains in certain muscle tissues and even the brain.
Cats are diagnosed when a microscopic examination of their stool reveals oocysts, which means the cat is at that time capable of spreading disease. A blood test shows if the cat has ever been exposed. A positive test in an otherwise healthy cat means Kitty is actively immune, and is an unlikely source of disease. In fact, cats rarely show signs of the disease. The immune system of most cats interferes with the life cycle of the organism, so that toxoplasmosis in cats enters a dormant phase often for the remaining lifetime of the cat.
EASY TO PREVENT
Don’t let anyone (your mom, sister, friend, or even doctor!) scare you into giving up your cat by whispering about the dangers of toxoplasmosis. Yes, the disease can be dangerous especially to unborn babies, but a pregnant woman would have to be pretty unsanitary to catch anything from her cat.
It’s easy to prevent the spread of the disease. Since several days are needed for the oocysts to become infective, simply cleaning the cat’s litter box each day eliminates that route of infection. People in high-risk groups, such as pregnant women or those with compromised immune systems should have someone else perform litter box duty.
The chance of contracting toxoplasmosis from a well cared for pet cat is extremely low. The most common infection source in people in the United States is undercooked or raw meat, especially pork, or unwashed raw veggies.
To reduce risk even further, wash your hands after handling raw meat, and cook it thoroughly before eating. Don’t feed your cat undercooked or raw foods, and prevent the cat from hunting. Wear gloves while working in the garden to prevent contracting the disease from the soil.
If you plan to become pregnant, ease your worries by asking the doctor to perform a blood test to see if you’ve ever been exposed to the disease. If a woman has been infected before becoming pregnant, she’ll be immune and her future baby will be protected against infection.
MORE EXPERT INFO RESOURCES
There is much more information available at the CAPC site about toxoplasmosis. For those of you who would like to listen to an audio podcast instead of reading, here’s a great AVMA podcast interview about toxoplasmosis with Dr. Jane Brunt, executive director of the CATalyst Council, and owner and director of the Cat Hospital at Towson in Baltimore. You can also find out more information at the Centers for Disease Control.
This video is one of my most popular and most watched–when a well known pediatrician also got his facts wrong. There’s lots of mis-information out there. But those of us who love cats…and what people protected, too…are doing our part. Please share this post!
Or else the ZOMBIE CAT APOCALYPSE WILL EAT YOUR BRAINS–REALLY–I’M NOT JOKING!
So what kinds of hurtful, clueless MYTH-TAKES have you helped debunk about your cat (or your dog?). How do you change the tied against ignorance? Please offer tips here–it’s important.
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter .
Don’t forget to check out the NAME THAT DOG/CAT character in the forthcoming THRILLER, LOST & FOUND! Poll with SEMIFINAL NAMES for you to vote to be posted next week so get your suggestions in ASAP.
Filed under: Cat Behavior & Care Tagged: Amy Shojai, cat behavior, cat care, cat myths, cats, cats and babies, cats and suicide, http://www.amyshojai.com, toxoplasmosis, www.shojai.com
July 11, 2012
Woof Wednesday: More Keeping Hot Dogs Cool
Great way to cool off a hot dog! But notice the life preserver, too…safety first!
How do your hot dogs deal with high temperatures? No, that’s not Magical-Dawg, although if he saw this picture he’d be campaigning for his own doggy life vest. That is a BIG safety issue to help prevent doggy drowning. You can find first aid tips for drowning in that article, too.
That’s Uschi, the cover dog for my forthcoming thriller. As you recall, she granted me a photo shoot and I gave her that squeaky-bone-toy she’s having such fun fetching in the lake! Yes, will work for toys…
We’ve had a slight reprieve in the weather temps this week but it still gets waaaaay warmer than a good-dog should take. Heat stroke will kill dogs very quickly when the outside temperature reaches normal doggy body temperature or above (right around 100 degrees!). I know, I know, this repeats some of my previous post on Hot Dogs, Heatstroke and Cool Tips.
But just because it’s hot out doesn’t mean dogs want to give up being fetching fools. It’s up to us two-legged folks to devise ways to keep pets safe in hot weather while entertained.
What have I missed? Are there favorite hot weather games you play with your dogs? How to you beat the heat? Do you trim down the mountains of fur? Offer them pup-sicle treats? How do you protect them from sunburn? Do tell!
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter.
Don’t forget to check out the NAME THAT DOG/CAT character in the forthcoming THRILLER, LOST & FOUND!
Filed under: Dog Training & Care Tagged: Amy Shojai, dog care, dog swimming, dogs, heat stroke, hot weather safety for pets, puppies, safety, www.amyshojai.com
July 9, 2012
Monday Mentions: Packing, Parenting & Problems
On Thursday I depart for THRILLERFEST! Yay, I can’t wait! I have a bunch of postcards printed with information about my debut thriller Lost and Found and plan to hand ‘em out to readers interested in an “advance look” with an eye toward reviewing the story. If you’re interested, let me know–I’ll keep a list of emails/contact info from the comments section on the book page.
Just so’s ya know, the month of July also will be head-down busy dealing with some angst-icity challenges. One of the problems with being passionate about causes and organizations is that sometimes folks don’t agree with each others’ opinions. That’s perfectly understandable. But it can cause hurt feelings when intentions and/or responses are misinterpreted and unexpected hurtful reactions come from people you respect, admire, or even believe to be friends. Treat Sweet Tweets Right–er, Write, the Hospice Way from awesome blogger Piper Bayard really helped me with this–and maybe it will help readers if/when you find yourself in similar situations.
Anyway, it doesn’t matter in the scheme of things. And I’m nobody’s parent–except for the fur-kids, of course. But after some public “doing what’s ethically right” stands in three very different recent situations and being misunderstood, I’m taking a break from angst long enough for the bruises to fade and am reevaluating such things. Meanwhile, I’ll be busy brainstorming next thrillers–make believe thrills appeal to me at the moment!–as well as preparing for the next play production(s) (yes there are TWO in the works!), so stay tuned.
Monday Mentions is the mash-up-day of all the neato-torpedo links and videos, pet schtuff and bling and writer-icity crappiocca collected over the past week. Lots of fun videos today, too, including some PARENT stuff! Some of this “schtuff” can be hard to categorize and may fit more than one topic so I urge you to at least scan them all. PLEASE add your suggestions to the “Name That Dog/Cat” contest because next week the voting begins!
WRITER-ICITY SCHTUFF
Designing From Bones on cannibalism, awesome post from Gene Lempp
CJ Lyons Indie Success! and you can’t even hate CJ, she’s an awesomely nice person!
WORST Book Covers EVER! a hilarious blog from Colin Falconer
Marketing for Romance Writers with some free online classes, too
Publishing Predictions Score, an interesting evaluation
New Suspense How-To Blog from the awesome Rebecca York, something for all writers!
The Perfect Blog Post template anyone?
Top 25 Free Mysteries & Thrillers from iTunes
Authors Guild & Writers from David Gaughran
Neato writer conference over Labor Day (see video below) and my publisher Bob Mayer (plus many others!) will be there.
PET SCHTUFF
Pets In Nursing Homes–lower infection risk!
Ape Intellect another great shared link from Jane Miller
Dog Memoirs…but where are the cat books?
Kangaroo Paw Preferences–are they right-pawed or left-pawed?
A couple more videos on ‘parenting’ enjoy!
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter . Don’t forget to check out the NAME THAT DOG/CAT character in the forthcoming THRILLER, LOST & FOUND!
Filed under: Cat Behavior & Care, Dog Training & Care, Theater & Performance, Writing Advice & More Tagged: Amy Shojai, cat behavior, cats, dog training, dogs, pet care, pets, Thrillers, videos, writing advice, www.amyshojai.com
July 6, 2012
Feline Friday: Kitty Claws & Pedicures
Seren tries to keep her claws trimmed but needs help.
Sneaking up on Seren-kitty can have dire consequences. I was reminded of this during our bi-weekly session trimming her claws.
Yes, she gets regular pedicures, especially since she’s gotten older. Senior cats‘ claws tend to thicken and now she “clicks” when she walks across the hardwood or table top. Arthritis makes it harder for her to retract her claws–but one of those claws hasn’t retracted well in years. It happened when she was eight.
FLASHBACK 6 YEARS AGO…
At 2:00 a.m. I couldn’t sleep and decided to work in my upstairs office. The moon cast enough glow to guide my steps without switching on lights. But Seren wasn’t expecting anyone to appear in the dark doorway, and one claw caught and tore on the guest room’s bedspread (HER bed) when she leaped in startled reaction.
Active pets rarely suffer from claw or nail damage, because they wear down the length either through scratching posts or from walking and running on the ground and sidewalks. But claws allowed to grow too long often split or pull loose when snagged in bedding or carpets. Even Magical-Dawg has torn both his dew claws just being a roughneck tackling toys during fetch. Yanking out a claw has to hurt like the devil!
Many nerves and blood vessels feed the toes and claw bed, so damage in this area can be painful and bloody. Seren acted nonchalant–cats are stoic little critters and almost never cry uncle–but I noticed a telltale drop of blood splattering the office door. She’d basically lifted the claw away from the tender nail bed, which was exposed. OUCH!
Although the wound looked bad, claw damage rarely is serious and usually can be treated with first aid–that is, if your pet will allow you to do so.
FIRST AID FOR TORN CLAWS
Often you need someone else to restrain your pet while you treat the nail so the painful injury doesn’t get you bitten. Use a muzzle or wrap the pet in a towel with only the affected paw sticking out. Then use very sharp, clean pet nail clippers to remove the damaged nail.
When the claw hasn’t split too far, you can simply clip off the dangling section. If it’s jagged or the split end bleeds, you must trim slightly ABOVE the damage. That can mean cutting the nail flush or nearly even with the toe. You may prefer to have your veterinarian take care of this, because chances are the nail will bleed even more, the pet will yelp and flinch, and you’ll have a mess to clean up as well. If the bleeding fails to stop within about 30 minutes, the veterinarian needs to address the toe anyway. I knew what to do based on the tips from emergency room vets quoted in my pet first aid book.
When Magic tore his dewclaw he required vet sedation and cauterization, plus some antibiotics. He never does anything halfway. And he’s still a weenie about nail trims.
But Seren’s nail stopped bleeding almost immediately since the nail bed wasn’t cut but only exposed. She even allowed me to clip off a good portion of the claw without need of restraint, and then immediately she began cleaning the injury.
Wait until bleeding has stopped before washing the paw, or you may dislodge the clot and restart the bleeding. Use a mild antiseptic liquid soap like Betadine Skin Cleanser.
AFTER CARE FOR TORN CLAWS
By the next evening, Seren’s nibbling removed most of the remaining claw, but the nail bed exposure concerned me. Bacteria can easily enter through cracks in a damaged nail and infect the nail bed. To help prevent problems, you can soak the affected foot in an antiseptic solution three times daily, five minutes at a time, for four or five days.
Two days after the injury, Seren’s toe looked swollen, but with regular soaks, that quickly went away. I simply ran water in the sink, add some Betadine, and held the injured paw in the solution. She complained, you bet! But she never threw a fit, simply hid her face against me as if she knows it’s for her own good.
Six years later, that kitty toe-claw is ginormous, thick, and needs more frequent trimming than the rest. These days Seren doesn’t move nearly as fast, and with the Magical-Dawg around, she doesn’t startle nearly so much anymore. And that ginormous claw looks dang imposing when she shows it to keep the dawg at bay.
Has your cat ever caught a claw? Do you trim your kitty’s nails? I use regular “people” nail trimmers on Seren and just snip off the sharp points. She gets a treat after each session–yes, she makes me pay! How do you manage your pets’ nail care?
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter . Don’t forget to check out the NAME THAT DOG/CAT character in the forthcoming THRILLER, LOST & FOUND!
Filed under: Cat Behavior & Care Tagged: Amy Shojai, cat claws, cats, claw trims, clawing, first aid, old cat claws, torn claws, www.amyshojai.com
July 4, 2012
Woof Wednesday: Patriotic Dogs
“Even if all friends desert you, the dog remains true…”
I’m hugging my dog today, and thanking God for all those who fight for the rights of the underdog. God bless us and keep our loved ones safe.
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter . Don’t forget to check out the NAME THAT DOG/CAT character in the forthcoming THRILLER, LOST & FOUND!
Filed under: Dog Training & Care Tagged: Amy Shojai, dogs, July 4, military dogs, patriotic dogs, puppies, tribute to a dog, www.amyshojai.com
July 2, 2012
Monday Mentions: Thriller Unveil, Chicken Soup-icity & Writer Beware!
COVER UNVEIL! You like? Boy, I do too–and click on the cover to learn more about the book as well as the ongoing NAME THAT DOG and NAME THAT CAT contest. By the way, a special shout out to the Magical-Dawg’s breeder Gillian Salling for sharing her gorgeous cover dog, USCHI VON FERNHEIM, TD. (That “TD” stands for Tracking Dog title this dog acquired at six months of age.)
LOST AND FOUND is about the future. My nonfiction books are the present, of course. But today’s blog also revisits the past.
Several years ago I was fortunate to be a co-author on two books, Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover’s Soul and Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul with awesome peeps Dr. Marty Becker and Carol Kline. These books were incredibly popular and sold extremely well–authors LOVE books like that with great royalty payments! Unfortunately for the authors, though, the founders of Chicken Soup decided to sell the brand–the company became Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing (CSSP) in 2008. And when that happened–POOOOOOF!–all the co-author royalties suddenly disappeared. That’s because the first publisher Health Communications Inc (HCI). decided to sue CSSP, and so CSSP returned the favor–to the tune of millions of dollars spent on attorneys.
The kicker? They decided that the co-authors should foot the bill for their lawyerly shenanigans. In other words, instead of continuing to earn substantial income, suddenly our royalty indicated each co-author OWED the new publisher in excess of 5 figures. No, we didn’t have to pay them–this just meant they didn’t have to pay US as long as that column remained in the negative column. Funny how a simple contract can be re-interpreted the way they want. My friends Marty and Carol have many other Chicken Soup books, and there are a number of other authors in the same soup-y situation.
So I was pleased to see that the two companies finally settled their dispute. And I quick-like-a-bunny emailed ‘em to find out what this means for the co-authors. I first emailed Kim Weiss, director of communications for HCI and she said they’d been told to have us direct questions to Amy Newmark, the publisher of CSSP, and here is Ms Newmark’s reply:
Hi Amy.
We received no money in the settlement.We will start publishing the backlist books with new ISBNs in July and we hope to generate royalties for the coauthors later this year as a result.
Amy
I’ll give you three guesses (and the first two don’t count) how long I’ll hold my breath to see income on THAT new deal. The settlement means nothing for the co-authors. Nothing. It means NOTHING. It only means CSSP now owns the HCI backlist and gets to publish it and continue to perform creative bookkeeping to keep any/all income made possible by the blood-sweat-teeth-gnashing of co-authors.
Bitter, much? Uh…yeah. So from me to you–WRITER BEWARE OF HCI AND CSSP. They have in the past and most certainly will in the future interpreted contracts any which way that pleases them, to the woe of those who trust them to be ethical.
Monday Mentions is the mash-up-day of all the neato-torpedo links and videos, pet schtuff and bling and writer-icity crappiocca collected over the past week. Some of this “schtuff” can be hard to categorize and may fit more than one topic so I urge you to at least scan them all.
WRITER-ICITY SCHTUFF
Book Passages Mystery Writers Conference July 19-22, with some awesome speakers including the awesome Doug Lyle, forensic specialist
Types of Social Media Users–what type are you? (“Sparks” here…)
Publishing Syndicate call for submissions
Amazon Buys Dorchester Pub Assets
PET SCHTUFF
Our Animal Natures asks (and answers) the question, Why don’t we human doctors routinely cooperate with animal experts?
Pedigree Canned Dog Food Recall little blue plastic pieces in the food could choke your dog, please be careful!
Winn Feline Foundation Announces 2012 Media Award presented to awesome pet writer/author Darlene Arden!
Bark in the Park 2011, Image (c) Jennifer Mills – jennifermillsphotography.com
6th Annual Planet Dog Foundation Fundraiser to Benefit Maine Medical Center’s Therapy Dog Program. I love this company! Not only does Magical-dawg love their products, they do good schtuff for dogs…check out the video, below.
How Animals Talk–Vocal “Matching” in Animals and a related article on how goat moms recognize kid bleats even after they grow up!
Responsible Dog Ownership Day turns 10 Celebrate with your dogs on September 22.
Planet Dog Offers $25,000 In Grants. Since 2006, PDF has contributed over $875,000 dollars in cash and in-kind product donations to exemplary canine service programs. $25,000 in grants go to this year’s grant recipients: Austin Dog Alliance, of Austin, TX; Central Lakes Search and Rescue, of Garfield, MN; Champlain Valley Search and Rescue K-9 Unit, of Keeseville, NY; Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters, of Norfolk, VA; Freedom Service Dogs of Englewood, Colorado; New Jersey Search and Rescue, of Mahwah, NJ; Service Dogs of Virginia, of Charlottesville, VA; and Susquehanna Service Dogs, of Harrisburg, PA. Check out the awesome video.
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter . Don’t forget to check out the NAME THAT DOG/CAT character in the forthcoming THRILLER, LOST & FOUND!
Filed under: Cat Behavior & Care, Dog Training & Care, Writing Advice & More Tagged: Amy Shojai, cats, Chicken Soup, dogs, Lost And Found,
June 29, 2012
Furry Friday: Making Fireworks Fears Flee
Scaredy cats typically hide so your cats may disappear when the fireworks start booming. Copr. KrazyBoutCats/Flickr
The 4th of July celebration each year brings cookouts, family gatherings, fun-filled fireworks—and petrified pets. The noise turns some dogs into howling wrecks, and cats into reactive runaways.
SIGNS OF FEAR
Dogs show fear in various ways. Panting, shaking, squinting, yawning, a “worried” furrowed brow, and showing the whites of his eyes (whale eye) all indicate growing unease. He may whimper or come to you and seek attention, or flinch and yelp at the fireworks sounds. Cats more typically hide, tremble or make a doorway dash that sends them into the great outdoors to be lost or hit by cars. Some dogs and cats lose control of the bladder and bowels when they become frightened.
Up to 20 percent of dogs suffer from fireworks fears or other noise phobias. The statistics for cats are more difficult to know since they simply disappear and owners may not realize what set them off. Some dogs develop true panic attacks. Dogs in panic mode can’t think. Instead, they go into autopilot and display a fight-or-flight reaction.
Extreme fear prompts Poochie to do anything to get away from the scary noise: he’ll pull down window blinds, collide with screen doors or crash through windows, breaking glass and potentially cutting himself. If you are in his way, or he can’t hide, he may instinctively use his teeth to deal with the panic.
Even patriotic pups can be frightened of fireworks. Copr. Lisa Calvert/Flickr
PHEROMONE HELP
An innovative product designed specifically to help dogs deal with fear—especially noise phobias—employs a natural pheromone that dogs recognize on an instinctive level. Pheromones are chemical substances made by the animal’s body that act as a form of communication that, when inhaled by your pet, talks directly to his brain.
The product Comfort Zone with D.A.P. (dog appeasing pheromone) is an analogue of the pheromone mom-dogs produce to calm nursing puppies. It calms the fears of dogs of any age, from puppy to aging oldster. Cats benefit from Comfort Zone with Feliway, an analogue of the cheek pheromone that tells cats their environment and territory is “safe.”
Both products come as plug-ins from pet products stores, but it won’t “drug” your dog or cat into a magic cure. It instead helps put a damper on fear long enough to “think” so that your behavior modification/training techniques can work. You’ll need to have these plugged in for several days in advance for it to offer your dog or cat the best benefits.
AROMATHERAPY
You can also find help for dogs from Earth Heart products that use aromatherapy to sooth doggy angst. Canine Calm is designed to sooth dogs prone to distress due to thunderstorms, fireworks and other noisy or anxiety-producing situations. It contains pure essential oils of bergamot, tangerine, lavender, geranium, marjoram, and ylang ylang, all known to have a calming or even natural sedative properties. Earth Guard mists can be sprayed directly onto cloth, skin or fur without staining or leaving sticky residue and are said to be safe for puppies as young as 8 weeks old.
The company also has a “Share the Calm” promotion through June 30th to provide firework phobic, dog loving families with a buy one get one free offer with their Canine Calm purchase, so that they may have one bottle for their dog and share a second bottle with another dog loving family with a firework-phobic dog, or have an additional bottle to take with them on their holiday. Use the code ShareTheCalm at the time of purchase. Earth Heart also offers Travel Calm mist for dogs restless during travel. Luckily, that’s one that Magic won’t ever need–he thinks HE should drive!
GIVE DOGS A JOB
Dogs can’t panic when using their brain for something else such as “work.” Drill him on obedience commands and special tricks, or ask him to play fetch and carry around a favorite toy. That engages his brain into productive activity rather than thinking about the scary noises. Giving him treats and positive rewards for remaining calm also reinforces the benefits of controlling his emotions. For instance, puzzle toys stuffed with fun treats the dog–or the cat–must manipulate to get at the goodies can go a long way toward keeping their mind off the fireworks.
Ideally, pets can be counter-conditioned to the scary noises by exposing the fearful dog to recorded sounds of fireworks played at a very low volume, and rewarding him for staying calm. Gradually, you increase the noise level, to help the cat or dog “get used” to the noise and learn to tolerate it. Desensitization programs can take weeks and sometimes months to work, though.
Are your pets fearful of loud noises? What do they do? Have they ever damaged your house–or injured themselves or others during a panic attack? Is there a special way you handle the kitty or doggy panic attacks? Please share! Here are 12 more tips on relieving noise anxieties.
Being scared kills the fun. Help your pets turn the fearful whimpers and scaredy-cat hisses into joyful purrs and wags, so your whole family (furry and otherwise) enjoy the howliday.
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter for your chance to NAME THAT DOG character in the forthcoming THRILLER, LOST & FOUND, and pet book give-aways!
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Amy Shojai, cats, dogs, Earthheartinc.com, fear, fireworks fears in pets, how to soothe pet fear, noise phobias, pets, puppies.About.com, www.amyshojai.com
