BARK BARK BARK

Hi, I'm Lucy, Pamela Tracy's dog.
We're on our way camping.
This is my absolute favorite thing to do.
I immediately get over-excited
and BARK  BARK BARK
the minute Mom (really Dad) parks the camper
in front of the house.

Used to be, my family only had quads
But, then, they purchased a side-by-side.
This is great news for a dog because
now there's not only a seat for me
but in case someone (human) takes the seat
I can always ride in the back
My job, of course, is to bark when my smallest human
Pamela Tracy's son
climbs too high.
BARK BARK BARK
He really needs to climb down
I worry

This is my Don
Pamela's husband
He's the sensible one in the family
He doesn't climb very high
From this angle,
he can easily toss me food.
I always say thank you
BARK BARK BARK

The Arizona desert is an interesting place
This desert tortoise is no fun for me to chase
and when I
BARK BARK BARK
its head and feet disappear
What's with that?

This hawk was no better than the tortoise
I mean really
when I BARK BARK BARK
the hawk did nothing.

Mom and I both agree
Meals are one of our favorite things about camping
Mom, because she doesn't have to cook
Me, because Don always tosses me pieces of bacon
BARK BARK BARKON

You can't see me
but I'm at the feet of my smallest human as we travel back home.
He's sound asleep so I cannot BARK BARK BARK
I've done my job and kept him safe.

By the way
I'm not sure where they got the dog
on Pamela's April release
but it's not me.
I'm much cuter and my BARK much more dignified.
Still, you might want to read it.
Here's the link.
Buy

Getting Ideas from the Great Outdoors

Anything you eat tastes better if you're in the middle of nowhere
AND
 if your husband cooked it instead of you!
(or, if you're writing a book, you can think about getting lost in the woods,
stumbling across a forest ranger, who shares his meal) 

The best ideas come if you explore every corner of your world.
Don't just people watch.
World watch.
(Maybe it wasn't a forest ranger.
Maybe it was a meteorologist,
who was gathering data concerning a tornado
that rammed through a one mile swatch of forest last year)

Don't just rely on what you can see from where you're standing.
Go ahead, look down, and sometimes you 'll even need to  crawl into a hole.
This is a lava tube near Flagstaff, Arizona.
(At the top of the tube, we met a veteran. This was Memorial Day.  He was alone.
If you write romance, you always know that heroes don't remain alone
in Happily Ever Afters)

Always, always, reach for the sky!
(Most people sit on their quads.  But, there are those who take a different approach.
Remember, not all stories should be the same.
And, when this guy falls and needs a bandage...
There's definitely going to be a heroine around.
LOL, in this case it was me. MOM)

At the end of the research trip, you can rest and plot your next adventure.
(By the way, dogs always work well in romance novels.
This is Lucy, and she's ready to go home.
Hmmm, this might call for a veterianarian hero)

Pamela Tracy not only camps and gets ideas, but she writes stories about those ideas.  Check out her website
Click Here

Truth is Stanger than Fiction

Pamela Tracy here, and what you are about to hear is true, absolutely true, and I won't even tell you that the names have been changed to protect the innocent because I'm not mentioning names

It's Memorial Day weekend, and for my family that means camping.

When my hubby and I first married, he had a tent that fit two. We progressed (mostly because of the suitcase I insisted on bringing) to a two room tent. Then, I got pregnant. Did you know when you're pregnant and camping in a tent, it's really REALLY a pain to roll off the ground every ten minutes in the middle of the night because nature calls. Yup, you guessed it. We got a pop-up. We still have it for our short camping trips.

Now we have a camper (think bathroom and stove). The reason why my husband agreed is because our camping trips are for longer periods of time and if he wants me fully vested, I want the potty.

So, we've been camping since Wednesday with lots of camping friends.

The chain of events you are about to read is true. They happened yesterday.

1. Early Morning: Married couple (Grandma and Grandpa) leave tent behind to drive to Big City to attend graduation party.

2. After Dinner: Mother A (not her real name) heads to nearest town (twenty miles away - not really a town, more a spot) for trivial reason.

3. After Dessert: Child bitten in head by over excited dog (Don't worry, child is fine we now know).

4. Mother B tosses child in truck, heads for nearest big town for hospital.

5. Instead: Mother B drives off road (there was lots of dust) and her truck goes down an embankment.

6. Two minutes later: Mother A finds Mother B and rescues her and drives her to hospital.

7. After stitches, Mother B turns child over to Grandpa and Grandma who were not supposed to return camping until following day but who for some stranger reason decided to return early and got to big town just in time to rescue grandson. They spend night in hotel while Mother B returns to campsite and other children.

8. Next day, tow truck pulls Mother B's truck from embankment and NOT a STRATCH.

Isn't God amazing.

If I put this in a book, would you believe me?

Ready for Suspense

Pamela Tracy here and, yes, life is never dull.  

Over New Year's my family went camping along with some friends.  The only other female brave enough to venture on this jaunt got the flu, so, lucky me.  I went camping with lots of guys.  Oh, I can keep up.  What you see here is me next to my quad.  The guys pulled over the road so we could have lunch (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and hot dogs).  After we finished eating, the guys pulled out their BB guns (soft pellet - aimed at rocks.)

And, yes, my seven-year-old has one (Thanks Uncle John - I told hubby NO.  I am very much a fan of The Christmas Story and my kid is a Ralphie).

Once the guys started doing guy things, I slithered over to the other side of my quad, sat on the rail, and whipped out a romance (yeah!)

Only my seven-year-old (who still loves me best) said, "Mom, you have to shoot.

Hence the picture of me holding both a romance novel and a gun and looking oh so enthused.

I got a book idea out of this.

Speaking of book ideas!  My next book is a Harlequin Heartwarming and we've just started a blog.  Today is my very first time to post over there.  Please swing over and hear about my sale.  I'd really appreciate it.

http://heartwarmingauthors.blogspot.com/