Our Furry and Feathered Friends

by Jean C. Gordon

Who likes pets in romances? I do. So I was surprised last week when I realized that none of the heroes or heroines in my seven Love Inspired Romances (counting my Christmas 2015 Holiday Homecoming and the book I'm currently finishing) have pets. And only one of the five books I wrote for Avalon Books has a pet in it. Why am I surprised? Because we have lots of pets. Meet:

 
Xena, our seven-year-old lab-boxer, and we think some shepherd, too, mix.



 

Cat1 and Cat2, twin sisters who really belong to our daughter, but moved themselves over to our side of the house because of the dog population on their side.




Mr. Buttons, our grandson's six-year-old lab-boxer mix.


Appa, the terrier our granddaughter brought back when our daughter and her family returned from their year in Guam.

Zori, whose heritage is anyone's guess. She looks like a miniature chocolate lab. Someone abandoned her on the experimental farm our son-in-law managed in Guam. He couldn't find a home for her, so she came back with them.




Moving outdoors, I have Baby Rooster, who replaced my old rooster, the yellows, and a Guinea fowl that was given to me. I think it's a male because I haven't seen any Guinea eggs in the year and a half I've had him. Our son-in-law also has a small flock of Guinea keets (immature adults) acquired earlier this summer.

Do you have a favorite pet in a book you've read or written? I think the next book I write is going to need a pet or two.

Thursday Sisterhood with Danica Favorite

Family Status: Married with two girls at home- the Princess and the Cowgirl, and two adult step children. I also have a Dog, who is my favorite (just ask the rest of the family, and they will tell you that he is my favorite), and some chickens. Currently, the chickens are Lacy, Nyssa, and Gwennie, but the kids are trying to talk me into getting more.

Also, I have an inordinate amount of love for my chickens. And, since I mentioned pets, I should also give a shout-out to the toilet fish. We have a fish. It lives on the toilet. I can never remember its name, so I call it the toilet fish.

What Is Your Favorite Beverage: Tea

What Is Your Favorite Food: Really, you have to ask that? I JUST had to give up chocolate for health reasons, among a few other things, and so these days, all of my favorite foods are off-limits. I'm currently trying to get satisfaction by biting the heads off cinnamon bears.

What Is Your Favorite Thing to do During Free Time: I'm sorry, what is this thing you call free time? If I had free time, I'd read more. I also like to make art, knit, and travel.

Who Has Been the Most Influential Person in Your Life: I am a terrible interviewee because I HATE questions like this. My answers change a lot, maybe I'm fickle. But really, there's not a MOST person. A lot of people have been influential in my life in different ways. Camy Tang and Cheryl Wyatt (yes, the LIS and LI authors) are two of my best friends and they have taught me so much about friendship and grace, and with where I'm at in my life right now, I've been really clinging to the things they've taught me. Also, my friend Kay has been really amazing in helping me free my creative spirit. Hmm... those are all current. I can't think of any in the past at the moment.

First Book You Fell in Love With: The Secret of the Old Clock

A Book You Wish You’d Written: Pride and Prejudice

First Book Published: Coming November 2014!

Most Recent Book:Coming November 2014!

Out Next: After my November release, I'll have a follow up coming Spring 2015.

How Many Have You Written: I lost count... somewhere around 20 or so. This should be an encouragement to folks who'd like to be published and feel like it's taking FOREVER. If I can do it, so can you.

What Do You Know Now That You Wish You’d Known Then: That as much time as you spend unpublished WAITING, the waits are equally as long when you're published, so be prepared to make waiting the story of your life. :)

What is Your Favorite Bible Story: SERIOUSLY, I hate questions having to identify my favorite anything. I change my mind ALL. THE. TIME. Right now, it's Jonah, because we're doing a great Bible study on Jonah at my church, and it's been really impactful on me.

What is Your Favorite Bible Verse: I have a lot of favorites, but let's go with the summary of the Bible in one verse. Amos 5:4 "This is what the Lord says to Israel, Seek me and you shall live."

What is Your Favorite Hymn: I'm extremely fond of the Doxology. We sing variations of it every Sunday. It goes through my head a lot, especially when I'm out walking, and sometimes I think I even move in tune to it. I probably look silly doing it, but it makes me happy.

 What is an Ongoing Prayer Request You Have: Why are these questions so hard??? My ongoing prayer request is big with lots of pieces that are hard to explain, so I'll do my best and hope it makes sense. I'm in a weird season of transition and figuring out my life, healing some past wounds, and working on deepening my relationship with God. There's a very amorphous project in my head that has a bunch of pieces, but so far, I don't know what it all means, or how to put it together, so I'm just holding them, and praying for God to give me direction.