Wolves and Bears and Contracts, oh my!

Thought it's time to share the story of when I got my contract with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

And when you live in the middle of a wildlife preserve, most everything is a story...

dramatic recreation.
There were two publishers interested in making an offer for my YA novel, ICE DOGS. So we knew the date it was to happen. As you can imagine, I was a bit of a basket case that day.

Hubby was hanging around, not helping with the nerves, so before it all went down, I suggested he take the dog out for a walk.

At the exact moment the offer came in, I glanced out the window to see my dog running for her life down the driveway with a freaking Timber Wolf on her tail. The wolf got right to the bottom of the stairs of the deck before it wheeled around and ran off.

And my man was missing.

So forget about the fact I just had the offer of a lifetime, and all my dreams come true. Instead of celebrating, I had images of my man surrounded by a wolf pack somewhere.

I think my exact words were, "Gotta go... the wolves!"

Turns out, while on their relaxing walk, the dog spotted a bear with two cubs, began a chase that didn't really work out for her, and came running back to my Hubby. All Hubby saw was teeth coming at him.

He climbed the closest tree and stayed there to wait it out. The dog continued running home, and somehow picked up a wolf along the way. (I swear, I'm not making this up!)

So the dog got chased by a bear AND a wolf on the same walk!

Leave it to MY DOG to steal my thunder!