Home at Last!

I’m home from Malice Domestic and the Mystery Lovers Festival at last. Not that I had a horrible time. In fact, I had a great time at both. But I really needed to come home because of my fur-kids.

Before I explain why, I do want to say how pet-oriented my whole trip seemed to be. First, I visited a great bookseller in Glen Burnie, Maryland, and a fan caught up with me at the same Borders Express. We discussed--what else?--my Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries and some of our respective experiences with pets.

Then, a neighbor at some property my husband and I own in Glen Burnie introduced us to her adorable dog, Bruiser.

Next, I actually got to meet Hudson, the sweet, well-behaved and utterly lovable Lab mix owned by our guest blogger, and my agent, Paige Wheeler.

At Malice, I seemed nearly always to be around fellow pet lovers who also willingly traded tales about the babies they’d left at home. One writer, though, who sat beside me at our signing had her cute Papillon perched on the ledge of her walker!

After that, I headed to Oakmont, Pennsylvania, near my hometown of Pittsburgh, for the Mystery Lovers Festival, where I met Clea Simon, author of MEW IS FOR MURDER. No, not MEOW IS FOR MURDER, my fourth Kendra book, but another mystery with a similar title. As Clea said, great minds think alike--but fortunately in this case not exactly alike.

Okay, so why was I so eager to get home? My 13-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Sparquie has spent the last few days at the vet’s. She’d stopped eating, very unlike her. It could have been because she started nibbling on her bedding, a bad habit she’d had when younger but had given up, or so I’d thought. She seemed to take it up again now that I was out of town. She was also found to have pancreatitis. Fortunately, she seems to be getting better. I returned home too late on Wednesday to visit her, but if all goes well I’ll be able to bring her home on Thursday morning.

Then there’s Lexie. She’s been acting nuts and upset in my absence, not only because she misses Sparquie but also because she’s jealous, believing that Sparquie is on one heck of a long, fun ride. How do I know? Well, Lexie loves rides and acts as if she thinks a lot of human acts are hints that she’s about to embark on one. She has a special high-pitched whine that she utters only when she thinks a ride is coming on. My older son Eric, who stepped in to assist with the doggy situation, even took her for a ride to see if it helped her to settle down. It didn’t.

Well, now I’m home, so I’ll give Lexie lots of attention. She seems to be worn out. When I get in the car to fetch Sparquie, though, I expect she’ll get all excited once more. Please send some good wishes our way, especially for Sparquie. Thanks!

--Linda