Hey, anyone wanna win a book with a story of mine in it?

[taste_is_sweet]

As I mentioned last week, I've got a story coming out in a new Dreamspinner Press anthology. :D







And here's the contest! I should have one trade paperback version of Don't Try This at Home and I'll definitely have eBook copies to give away. So, since my story Gordon's Cat is about animal hijinks, tell me an animal story!

Funny, freaky, interesting--anything but tragic, please!--animal stories! The one I like the best will get the trade paperback, and the next four best (I hope I get more than five people leave comments...) will get an eBook.

And of course you can buy it from Dreamspinner here.

Comments

[springwoof.livejournal.com]

Awesome! Yay, congrats to you!

Animal stories, huh?

Did I ever tell you my story about the bat?

So one evening I'm sitting in my office at home working at my computer, when, out of nowhere comes a bat. (No, I have no idea how it got in the house.) The bat promptly flies at my head (because apparently that old wives tale is true; bats do fly at your head). Let me tell you, that is a panic-making event, even if you're not particularly afraid of bats, because big squeaking things with beady eyes FLYING AT YOUR HEAD. Every fiber of my being knew this was just wrong.

The worst thing is that the bat didn't just fly at my head once. Oh no, it barely missed, so it turned around and flapped over for another try. I'm not sure what it actually wanted--to land on my head? Nest in my hair? Whatever, it kept missing as I danced and ducked wildly out of the way. Eventually, I ended up hiding under my desk to get away from it.

The whole time, I'm calling for help from the Spouse. "Spouse! HELP!"

He called back from downstairs: "What now?" sounding very put-upon.

"HELP! There's a bat. It's flying at my head! Help!"

"Oh, come on! I'm not falling for that. Whatever you're watching on the Internet, can't it wait for later? I'm busy."

"BAT! I'm serious! It's a BAT! Aaaah!!"

"For goodness sake, it's not a bat. It's just a big bug or something. Don't worry about it."

"I can SEE IT! It's a f***ing BAT! HELP ME! I'm under the desk!"

Finally, I hear him stomping up the stairs, complaining all the way. "Dammit I told you I was busy, and you and your imagination turn a bird or something into a--
HOLY SHIT! It's a BAT!"

Then I got to say the world's biggest I-Told-You-So (still from under my desk).

[sgamadison.livejournal.com]

Hah! So deservedly so!!

[springwoof.livejournal.com]

::grin::

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

Ha! Sweet, sweet vindication. :D I hope he was appropriately apologetic.

[springwoof.livejournal.com]

you'd think so, wouldn't you?

Alas, the Spouse doesn't respond well to I-told-you-so....

[sgamadison.livejournal.com]

I love the cover!

Well, I don't know if this counts, but once I had a client bring me a dog that had been injured. After I examined it, I came back in the room and informed her that her dog had been bitten by a snake.

"A snake!" She exclaimed. "That's impossible!" She was highly insulted. "We have invisible fencing!"

I blinked at her. Because, you know, it's not a force field. In the end, I couldn't help it. "Did you remember to put a collar on the snake?" I asked.

*grin*

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

This story has made me chuckle for days. You should use it in a story!

[sgamadison.livejournal.com]

I might have already done that... *coughs and looks innocent*

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

I would love to read it. :)

[sgamadison.livejournal.com]

E-pub or pdf file? I'll send you a copy! :-)

[squeakyoflight.livejournal.com]

Oh I so want a book!

So, animal story *that you don't already know.* Um.

When Madelee and I were clipping the cats nails on the weekend, Zapho was really, really upset, as she is wont to be because she was abused as a kitten. So I've got both her front paws in one hand and the clipper in the other and Madelee is gripping her scruff and hanging on for dear life, because we both know that, if Zapho gets loose, we are dead. The cat will kill us. There will be nothing left for the compost bin.

So Zapho is freaking out, and Madelee, being just a small girl, freaks out herself a little bit, and lets go of the cat's scruff. And Zapho immediately uses her newfound freedom of movement to lean her back-leg on my forarm and - nothing. She didn't even extend her claws. Here this neurotic cat is, so upset that she's growling and spitting and swearing at us in fluent *kitty* and yet, she doesn't hurt me at all

And it felt really good because, afrer nearly six years of being with us, she has finally figured out that we aren't going to hurt her, and she is safe. And that made me really happy.

=^.^=

Xox

Squeaky

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

That is really lovely. Zapho reminds me of Chloe, who still is terrified if we pick her up or move too fast, but who's started coming to me to demand to be petted. :)

[rissabby.livejournal.com]

Okay. I saw this last week, but I'm not a story writer so I skipped it. But, since you're asking so nicely, I'll give it a go. I think I heard this on Animal Planet where they have a tendency to glorify animals -- but still, it's one of my favorite dog stories.

=================================

There was a nice, but ordinary middle-American family. Mom, Dad, two kids, a cat and a Dalmatian dog.

One night, after everyone was asleep, a house fire started somehow, and it began to get smokey. The Dalmatian woke up at the smell of smoke and started barking and going from bedroom to bedroom to alert the family. The dog got his people down the stairs and out the door to the corner. The dog looked over his people and saw that they were safe, and then he turned around and went back to get the cat.

========================================

The end. And who knows if it's true or not. But, I love this story for the way it shows how a dog feels about their pack. That everyone who is in the pack belongs in the pack. I ♥ dogs.

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

I love stories like that. :D. Thank you for sharing it!