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Last week I shared the cover for my CUPID TO THE RESCUE contribution, Her Cowboy Valentine. Part of the fun of writing any book is the research. I go into every new story with certain ideas, then I ask a few experts and I fix my mistakes. 😉

I’m fortunate to live in an area with an abundance of livestock of all kinds, including donkeys. Pam and Ken Davis adopted Molly and her new baby, Missy, about twenty years ago. Molly was, by every definition of the term, “wild”. She was caught in a round up in northern Arizona and transported to Ridgecrest, California, for auction. Pam knew right away the pair was destined to be hers and she made sure that happened by not leaving their stall until the final bell rang. They loaded up the “donks” and headed home. Missy warmed up to them right away; Molly…not so much. As Ken likes to say, “We sent her to Donkey School, so she wouldn’t kill anyone.”

Missy is a sweetheart—curious and gentle, traits that seem common among domesticated donkeys.

The pair has a cushy life in the foothills and they’re definitely part of the Davis family, but true to her roots, Molly, doesn’t warm up to strangers easily. She is fond of red licorice, though.

Another local pal and animal lover Casey Archer (who helped with my alpaca research for MONTANA COWBOY) happened to post a picture of her new baby mini-donkey on Facebook and I texted her two seconds later: “Can I meet him?”

Can you say love at first sight?

His name is Nick and he is adorable. He’s also soft and sweet and loves to be brushed and cuddled—just like the donkey in HER COWBOY VALENTINE.

As you may remember, my hero and heroine in Montana Blueprint for Love - Book 1 in the Property Sisters of Montana series – re-connected at a Habitat for Humanity build in Bozeman.

I mentioned Habitat in an earlier newsletter because I’ve been a supporter for a long time, and because my darling granddaughter Daisy’s stepmom, Sarah, and her four kiddos are this year’s recipients of the Mariposa County Habitat’s build.

Sadly, the pandemic has slowed the build, which was supposed to be done months ago. Like much in life of late, it’s a waiting game. But as Sarah says, “It’s a blessing. An amazing feeling of gratitude comes over me every time I see it.”

Last week’s Q&A was: Have you ever rescued or adopted an animal/family pet? Yes or No?

Well, no surprise to me, nearly all who responded said, “YES.” Many included awesome details and/or photos. I really enjoyed all of your answers.

We’ve had six dogs: our first was a purebred who slipped out of our fenced yard one night to woo a lady friend and never returned—heart-breaking, the next one followed our kids home from elementary school (owners were moving and were thrilled that we wanted to keep Chelsey), one was from a friend’s litter—Belle was my canine soulmate, the next, Sydney, was adopted from the animal shelter. Our Jessie girl came from Kelly’s neighbor. We weren’t looking for another dog, but it’s impossible to resist a Queensland puppy.

My two randomly selected winners this week are:

Teresa Fordice – Yes
and
Patti Rueb – Yes

(Teresa and Patti congrats. Please email me your pick of either a $5 Starbucks or a $5 Amazon gift card.)

Q&A

This week, instead of a normal Yes/No question, I need you to help Jade (heroine of ALL THE STARS IN MONTANA) pick a wedding dress. (I posted this question in the Tule “Christmas in July” Facebook party and the vote was very, very close. You guys will decide the outcome. Pick your fave: #1, #2, or #3)

One winner will receive a signed print copy of either Montana Blueprint for Love or Meet Me in Montana, plus two other winners will get a $5 Amazon gift card.

Please reply the usual ways: email or on my DebraSalonenAuthor Facebook page.

Happy reading,

Deb

Next week: a trip down memory lane as Deb and Paul head out on a road only slightly less traveled since the pandemic. Wish us luck!

 

 

Copyright © 2020 Debra Salonen

www.debrasalonen.com

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