Dinner PAWsible A COOKBOOK OF NUTRITIOUS, HOMEMADE MEALS for Cats and Dogs

The first time I checked out this COOKBOOK of nutritious, homemade meals for cats and dogs—I admit it—I was impressed. Not only was I drawn to the various benefits this book offers, but when I tried some of the recipes on the dogs, the joy they shared proved more than I can express! I have to thank my sister Pat for her amazing ability to find such useful and entertaining books such as this one.

This book offers more than recipes. Cathy Alinovi, DVM and Susan Thixton, the PAWsible authors, know that acquiring enough time to cook for ourselves can be challenging. So, they offer advice on mass food production so that you are not always slaving over the hot stove for your pet’s dinners. There is a section about foods that will help your dog or cat with ailments. Each recipe is equipped with serving sizes for let’s say a 10-pound cat or a 30-pound dog. Supplements are addressed and special hints are located at the bottom of each recipe.

Our dog, Cricket, is an amazing addition to our family. Yes, I can even say that after I arrived home today to find my tissue box torn apart all over the living room floor! (I suppose he was bored!) Anyway, Cricket has a sensitive stomach with any changes in kibble. As I eased him into cooked meat and vegetables his movements became normal and problems disappeared. I also have discovered that when I feed him freshly cooked vegies and meat that he does need to be let outside more frequently. The extra moisture in his food has been a challenge on the days that I work full time hours.

With our previous dog, Porschea, I hadn’t tired the real meat diet until her end of life. She loved the chicken and adored me all the more for that change of diet. Also, Porschea had a chronic problem with crystals in her urine. She had been prescribed many different antibiotics to help her with her many bladder infections through the years. Once I started feeding her chicken and lessoned the kibble the crystals disappeared from her urine samples completely! It is my opinion that she would have lived longer and healthier had I fed her fresh meat and vegetables. I know for a fact that she was happier with the real food instead of kibble!

I recently was sick with the flu and I had to resort to can dog food and some kibble with some cooked vegies and noodles or rice for Cricket. But, if I’d followed the recipe book I could have had a stash of casseroles premade for any interruptions and life emergencies. 😊

I appreciate the information that holistic veterinarian, Dr. Cathy Alinovi and Susan Thixton, also know as the “Caped Crusader for Safe Pet Food” share in this book. I have an eye for keeping our pets healthier and happier and these two ladies have researched and compiled their wonderful information for such a time like this! This is a highly recommended book in my opinion! Let me know what you think too!

I never tire of Regina’s historical adventures!  This is book 4 in a wonderful London, England Regency series. Lydia Villers is strong and admirable, but feeling a tad unsettled over this new position with someone who has spurned her previously. I must admit that I didn’t know what to think of Lydia in book 3. I even disliked her at times! In book 4, I found Meredith Thorn and Fortune the cat at their best when introducing Lydia to Frederick, Viscount Worthington. When a lady loves science she will even put up with the discomfort of a past acquaintance who would otherwise have caused her to—run. An imperfect but excellent choice of a hero keeps the tension and questions coming. There is a pleasing thread of mystery throughout this 1812 tale.

Who doesn’t love a mystery? I know that I do!

Regina kept my attention through the entire story and I felt fully entertained and engaged in both the plot and the characters. I love that NEVER VIE FOR A VISCOUNT is set in this wonderful time period. This novel made me smile! Well done, Regina. Also, Regina’s beautiful website http://www.reginascott.com/ includes announcements and her blog page includes interesting tidbits of historical facts.

I did receive this novel for free and I’m thrilled and excited to share this honest and informative review. I love clean, historical fiction with engaging characters who are caught in the whirlwind of difficulties and challenges.

Questions for Regina:

How did you come up with the room spaces used for the scientific experiments?

For Lydia to be able to get easily back and forth to her new position, I knew Worth’s laboratory needed to be located near Miss Thorn’s home on Clarendon Square, which is mostly populated by townhouses. Like most condominiums today, they were narrow and had relatively few rooms. So, I had Worth purchase the adjoining townhouse to his as his base of operations. Using an architectural plan of one such house from the Regency period, I mapped out which rooms might serve for what purpose. For example, Worth’s experiments require access to heat and water, so I gave him the kitchen of the second house. One of his colleagues, Miss Pankhurst, needs more space to store and spread out the textiles she is researching, so I allotted her the old dining room with it built-in cabinets. I also had Worth remove most of the things that might burn—like padded furniture, draperies, and doilies—from all his research rooms to prevent a fire should an experiment go awry. 

If you were to rewrite a character in this story, who would it be and what would you add or take away?

I might rewrite John Curtis, Worth’s rival natural philosopher, to give him a bit more of a backstory    

Or maybe I’ll save that for another book.  

What was the most fun historical aspect to study in this novel?

The ballooning! It is always surprising to me to learn what was available during the Regency period, and what wasn’t. Now we take sandbags and pull cords for granted in a hot air balloon, but those were just starting to be tested in Worth and Lydia’s time. They couldn’t isolate oxygen easily, and helium had yet to be discovered as an element, so their choices for lifting gasses were pretty small. The French had experimented with hydrogen, with sometimes disastrous results!

What would you like to share about your adventures writing this novel or the history you discovered in your research?

Napoleon wanted to conquer England so badly, but England’s might at sea kept him from crossing the Channel easily. So, he started his own air force—of balloons—and the head of it was a woman! Alas, Madame Sophie Blanchard was killed when her balloon caught fire and crashed, before she could make plans for invading England from the air.

What is the take-away that you would love your readers to benefit from reading this story?

Don’t let anyone tell you who you are. God gave you talents, dreams. Embrace them, and benefit the world. That’s what Lydia learns to do.

Will there be a book 5?

Yes, there will! Never Kneel to Knight, featuring Worth’s sister Charlotte, releases in mid-March.  When the thoroughly poised Charlotte Worthington requests that Miss Thorn and her cat Fortune find her a position, she never dreamed the savvy employment agency owner would reunite her with Matthew Bateman, her brother's former bodyguard. Matthew is about to be knighted for an act of valor, and he and his sisters could use some polishing if they're to enter Society after his elevation. Yet how can Charlotte maintain her calm, cool demeanor as their sponsor when she harbors a secret love for him? Matthew Bateman cannot forget the beauty who is miles out of his league. Once a boxer called the Beast of Birmingham, Matthew would like nothing better than to be worthy of Charlotte's hand. As old enemies and new ones attempt to bring him low, can Matthew prove to Charlotte that their love is meant to be?

How do you want your readers to contact you?

Readers can reach me via my website at www.reginascott.com, on my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/authorreginascott, on Pinterest at www.pinterest.com/reginascottpins, at the blog I share with young adult author Marissa Doyle at www.nineteenteen.com, or on Goodreads at www.goodreads.com/reginascott. If you want to know when the next book is out or on sale, please sign up for a free e-mail alert at http://eepurl.com/baqwVT 

To Laura, who’s masterful pen spins lore and imagination into a mesmerizing tale that follows me throughout my days, until the stories very end. But who am I kidding? A Bound Heart sweetens my musings—well past the reading of the last richly written word—all for envisaging Lark MacDougall, Granny, Larkin, Magnus and Rory, the handsome captain of the Merry Lass. Their struggles are a glimpse into the anguish, which hundreds of immigrants suffered after they were spirited from their homes—willing or not—to arrive in a vastly different land. The cost to these brave souls, whether they welcomed the New World or feared their indenture was inspired by Laura’s own family history. Dedicated to her sixth great-grandfather, I find this story appropriately named.  A Bound Heart has enriched my appreciation for my own ancestors daring and dangerous trip across the Atlantic, which planted them in a young country whose culture proved strange compared to their heartfelt home. This story is filled with dreams, ache for what was and what could be as well as danger met with courage. Laura has put her heart and soul into this novel and I feel this to be true for how her words reached out to me.

This novel was given to me by Laura, and I’m honored to present a true and accurate review of this more-than-worthy read. If you enjoy adventure, beautifully written depictions of location, eighteenth century time period, and characters that leap off the page with authenticity, then I recommend this novel to you. In fact, I doubly recommend this story to you! I plan to purchase the audio version of A Bound Heart for I have enjoyed every audio rendition from Laura’s collections of novels. Hearing her tales unfold with turns of phrases—uniquely Laura’s—makes the mundane seem so much less common as her lively tales even stir an eagerness for me to put my hands in the suds!

QUESTIONS FOR LAURA:

I’ve loved the photo you shared from Kerrera, Scotland on Facebook! How did you settle on this location?

I’m so thankful I was able to take several trips to Scotland, one with my pastor brother in Spain, and other trips with Liz Curtis Higgs. Scotland is a very compact country so I found, after taking the train and driving all over, that the Hebrides and that stunning coast with all its rich history would be an ideal setting. The castle ruins and vistas provided so much inspiration!

Was Kerrera Castle modeled after your sixth great-grandfather, George Hume’s Wedderburn Castle?  Did you ever see Wedderburn Castle in person or if it is not standing—its ruins?

Yes, to modeling the fictitious Kerrera Castle after the rebuilt Wedderburn which had fallen to ruins but has been restored, thankfully. Though it looks very different now than the original castle where my kin lived, it’s on the same grounds.

Oh, Larkin has stolen my heart! Was the baby photo on your website the beginning of his character’s creation for A Bound Heart? What an excellent addition to your story he is indeed!

So happy Larkin stole your heart, too! I hadn’t thought to include him then found that amazing photo of a red-headed infant on the web. When Lark was boarding the ship for Virginia, I thought her life would be wonderfully complicated by a baby. I love babies so tuck them in books whenever it suits the story 😊

Granny said the most amazing things! Thank you for her and for Lark’s amazing love interests: Lard Magnus MacLeish and Captain Roy MacPherson. Which one of these characters was your favorite to write?

I loved Granny, too. So happy you want to quote her! I enjoyed Magnus very much as a character yet felt the heaviness and responsibility of lairds back then tending their tenants and sheep and heartbreaking things that stretched their lives to the seams.  So here is a fun Granny quote! Thank you Laura!

"His whiskers need trimming," Granny said in the next breath. "He has the look of a pirate, he does."

Elsewhere, you’ve shared about reading diaries from the time period of your story. Where did you find such treasures to glean the authentic thoughts and attitudes of the people in your story?

Much can be found on the web if you take care to check the legitimacy of your sources and through inter-library loan for out of print books, etc. What helped, most of all, was the collection of letters penned by my Scottish ancestors, written back and forth between Virginia and Scotland in the 18th-century. A true treasure trove! Somehow those letters were lost about 1900 by the family but thankfully someone had copied them, so we still have what was said. Also remarkable are the legal documents and business dealings and surveys signed by my George which also include the signature of George Washington as well. Truth really is stranger than fiction!

Will you pen another winsome tale from your beloved Scotland? (I hope so!)

Readers have said they’d love a sequel to A Bound Heart. So happy about that though I’m not sure it will happen as I’m slated for other stories. Something about Jamaica in winter sounds quite nice!

Where do you wish your readers to connect with you?

​

http://laurafrantz.net/

https://www.facebook.com/laura.f.frantz

https://www.instagram.com/laurafrantzauthor/

https://www.pinterest.com/laurafrantz/

email: laura@laurafrantz.net

The Forgotten Life of Evelyn Lewis by Jane Rubiettta

Shall I start by telling you how I felt at the end of the novel? Sure, it was like a holy hush as the splendidness of story washed over my heart and mind.

This story has depth and take-away, excellent character if you will. Jane writes with unique dazzling detail that kept me turning pages as fast as I could during this extremely busy Christmas holiday.

Evelyn Lewis is amazingly complex and quite likable. I believe there will be many who can relate to her struggle with a past that will not stay forgotten. The hero, Taylor, well let’s just say that he was also believable and worthy of the heroine’s notice.

I love how Jane used an innocent and exuberant child to tie these pages together in a memorable knot of love and southern down-home welcome. I’ve had a Bonnie Sue in my life a time or maybe two. Are you curious to find out if you could say the same? There are so many perfect-to-fit personalities represented that I felt that this was a unique and interesting story all the way through--till the very last word.

Bravo Jane! I’m giving this shout out with hope that you’ve already started book two. This is a novel to read and re-read for sure and I've already gifted this book to another excited reader. (Who will love me forever for sharing this debut novel. I’m sure!)

QUESTIONS FOR JANE:

How long has this story brewed in your inner being?

Some of the elements of the book are from my childhood--the sunset porch, a farm, Tennessee. It's been brewing for years but begged to come to life over the last few years.

Your characters sparkle with authenticity. How did you accomplish this in your first novel?

Thank you so much for that! I've had some excellent mentors in my life, some fabulous friends, and a terrific editor. Plus, I rewrote the book 1,000 times, more or less. 

Have you known an Evie or two?

Maybe we all have a little bit of Evie in us--it is easier to avoid some of the past because we don't know what to do with it. And I do love her strength and survival skills

Do you enjoy writing fiction or non-fiction better? Or is this not a fair question?

That's a good question. My first non-fiction book, Quiet Places, took a zillion years to write. My last non-fiction series I wrote four books in a year! So The Forgotten Life of Evelyn Lewis as a first novel took a long, long time to write--so it would be tempting to say "I like writing non-fiction better" but that would mostly be because the novel took a long, long time to bring to life.  

What is an important theme in this story that you want your readers to realize?

That no one's past needs to be unconquerable, and no one's future needs to terrify. And that healing happens best in community. 

What other types of books do you write that could relate to this fiction story?

Part of the lure of fiction is to flesh out in "real people" the principles I know to be true in my own life. So, exploring issues of fear, trust, healing in fiction, as I do in my books such as Resting Place, Worry Less So You Can Live More, and others, was super appealing. 

How should your readers reach out to you?

Oh, I'd love to hear from readers! You can reach me through my website, JaneRubietta.com and also find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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• PENS OF PRAISE CHRISTIAN WRITERS GROUP                                                                 January 15, 2019
• Tuesday 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
  
  Faith Church
  2201  42nd Street, Manitowoc, WI  54220
     Faith Church is located next to Festival Foods
     Not far from the Manitowoc exit off Interstate 43
  
  Brick by Brick – Building Social Media is our lesson this month.  Susan Marlene will direct this class of social media tips. How to start and grow in your social media reach. Susan will provide information about some popular how-to books on this important topic. Also, reading-share-time allotted for those who attend!
  
  Pens Assignment: For Fiction and non-fiction writers wishing to participate with reading their work: Edit your pages and share a scene or selection infused with purpose- who, what, where, when, and or why.
  
  Remember, leaving your reader inspired with excellent take-away is like an open invitation for your reader to return!
  
  PROMPT: Use at least three of these words to create your prompt—nullify; annihilate; praiseworthy; promise; pledge; sympathy; future; imminent. Or write to this: My word for 2019.
  We are a safe place to share.
  
  Bring your favorite coffee or tea with you!
  
  As always, if you have any questions or concerns don’t hesitate to contact Becky McLafferty @ rebeccamclafferty@gmail.com or
  Susan Marlene@ susanmarlenewrites@gmail.com
• 
  
• Let Susan Marlene know if you will attend so that we can provide a printed lesson for you and also save a seat for you! 

Her Deadly Reunion by Beth Ann Ziarnik

Amazon best-selling author of Her Deadly Inheritance, Beth Ann Ziarnik, is back with another romantic suspense. This is the sequel that I’ve been waiting for! Jill Shepherd is to meet her father for the first time at the Gates Mansion in Wisconsin. (Which in our real world is the Pabst Mansion from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.) Clay Merrick, the hero, has his own struggles, so my question to you is—will he be there when the heroine needs him most? 

Jill faces extreme rejection from those in the household as well as welcomed love from her father. Someone tips her off that her father’s illness may be caused by poisoning. Jill and Clay investigate all who have visited her father recently in order to find any possible mysterious murderer—before it is too late. Yet no one seems to be a likely suspect. I enjoyed this read and do recommend this novel. If you have not read Her Deadly Inheritance, I suggest that you begin with that novel and read this one next!

When a historic home is used in story I feel that adds pizzazz immediately. How did you come to the decision of using the Pabst Mansion instead of any other?

I had looked at a book about mansions in Wisconson and liked the Pabst Mansion in Milwakee. I knew that Jill’s father lived in Milwaukee, though she didn’t. Oshkosh Senior Center sponsored a bus tour, which included this mansion and I attended. A bocent, who is a trained guided tour specialist, was assigned specifically to me to show me all the nooks and crannies of this mansion in case I could use those areas in the novel. They were so excited about Pabst Mansion being used for a story setting.

QUESTIONS FOR BETH:

Do you have a favorite room in that mansion?

If I had to choose one it would be Captain Pabst’s study, which has four German proverbs painted into the design of the ceiling area that are meant to encourage people. I chose one of those sayings and included it in the story. This room had 14 secret compartments!

Which of Jill’s half sisters did you enjoy writing the most?

They were both interesting to write. I really enjoyed Lilly and how she developed. That she became one of the pivotal secondary characters was a total surprise to me.

What is a message woven into this story that you wish your readers to benefit from?

The message that love covers a multitude of sins, I Peter 4:8. We need God’s love to cover the wrongs we’ve done. The characters in this novel had to come to this place in one form or another. They also had to forgive one another.

Will there be another book for Jill and Clay?

Yes, I’m already writing Her Deadly Vows.

How can your readers reach you?

https://bethziarnik.wordpress.com/

Beth’s other social media is listed on that website. Thank you Beth Ann for a wonderful read and interview! I look forward to book three! I will watch for it!

  

MESSIAH by Viola Heverlein Guest Post

Messiah
All is not lost
Messiah has come
Provided the full cost
Spirit blood water a son
Listen up you that are lost
Satan has you on a run
Believe and receive at all cost
Father Son Spirit
Lord Jesus Christ
Messiah

This poem was hared with me by Viola's son, Arnie Haverlein. Thank you Arnie! This is a precious poem and your mother's love for Jesus shines through!