Jazzie May

Since this is a new blog, I thought I'd introduce the family. First is Jazzie! That photo on the left is her posing for me this morning on the veranda - she's always happy to be in a photo!

She goes by many names: Jasmine Maybelline (for formal times or when she's in trouble), Jazzie May, Jazz, and Jazmina.

She did an interview with Mel Teshco for the LoveCats a couple of years ago that I'll pop in here, or you can read the original post here.

***

Name: Jazzie May. Or Jasmine Maybelline. Or Jazz.

Abode: My brothers, my humans and I all live in house surrounded by trees.

Human Slave: Rachel Bailey.

Likes: My brothers. I love them all. I like to kiss them and sniff them and sit near them. And if they growl at me and tell me to stop, I have to put a paw on their head to hold them still while I kiss them. Sometimes it's hard work being adoring.

Dislikes: When my brothers misbehave. Sometimes I have to tell them to obey the humans. A couple of times I had to tell Fergus a *lot*. The humans took him to the vet afterwards, but, honestly, if he'd been a good boy it never would have happened.

Special Skill: I can smile. They say it's only Dalmatians who can do it, but the vet told my human that very clever dogs can copy the action from humans around them. What, they doubted I was clever?

Sociable or Aloof: Sociable! I love people and dogs.

Night Owl or Early Bird: Early bird. I start nudging my male human from when the sun comes up. There's *so* much to do - we can't waste time sleeping!

Favourite Pastime: Tennis. My human hits the ball for us twice a day and Dougal and I have the job of retrieving it. It's an important job but I'm up to it. (And I get way more than half the balls.)

Best Friend: Dougal. He's just so handsome - maybe because he's a Border Collie like me?

Most embarrassing moment: There's such a thing?

***

Update on the tennis situation: Jazzie is now the proud owner of a spikey, squeaky ball. Did I mention it was squeaky? Best. Ball. Ever. So now during dog tennis, she wants that one hit to her, though she still tries to supervise Dougal's game with the tennis ball at the same time and occasionally catches his. In fact, she's learned to hold two balls in her mouth for just this purpose. That skill took a lot of practice to master, which her humans found endlessly amusing.

The photo on the left here is Jazzie showing us her Kissing Spot. Such a perfectly placed spot on her head is hard to ignore and she has to suffer through many kisses placed there. She'd actually rather a tummy rub, but she accepts the kisses quite graciously.

February Giveaway: The contest to win a pack with Yvonne Lindsay's The Wayward Son, Paula Roe's Bed of Lies and my What Happens in Charleston... is still open. I'll draw it in a couple of days.

Welcome to my new blog!

As you can see, I've started my very own blog - and couldn't think of a better day to launch it than Valentine's Day!

To celebrate, I'm giving away three February Desire books written by Downunder authors:

The Wayward Son, by Yvonne Lindsay
Bed of Lies, by Paula Roe
What Happens in Charleston..., by me!

And here's a sneak peek into each story:

The Wayward Son - Yvonne Lindsay

The Best-Laid Plans

Judd Wilson finally has his chance for revenge. He will dismantle his estranged father’s cherished business empire and—the icing on the cake—steal the man’s ravishing mistress. Certainly the sizzling attraction Judd feels for Anna Garrick will only make his vengeance sweeter. But as fascination becomes insatiable desire, Judd begins to question his intent. He’d believed the worst of his father, and of Anna.

Now, when long-buried family deceits are uncovered, Anna’s fierce loyalty to his father forces Judd to rethink his plans—because destroying the man who hurt him will mean losing Anna, too.…

Bed of Lies - Paula Roe

Her Darkest Secret… Revealed

Banker Luke De Rossi must sell the Australian beach house he inherited from his mobster uncle, fast. But then he runs up against Beth Jones. Is she the rightful tenant? A reporter out for a scoop? His uncle’s lover? Luke wants answers - almost as much as he wants Beth.

The last thing Beth needs is this hunky magnet for media attention breathing down her neck. She has a lot to hide. And falling hard for Luke as he gets closer - and tries to evict her! - isn’t helping things. Separately, they have each made their bed. Now they’ll lie in it… together.

What Happens in Charleston... - Rachel Bailey

Money has always given Matthew Kincaid whatever he wanted. Yet now his son needs something even his millions can't buy. The widower's sole recourse is the surrogate who gave birth to his child - for she is also the boy's true biological mother.

Susannah Parrish needs no prodding to offer her assistance - a child's life is at stake. But to their mutual surprise, the minute she's back in Charleston and residing in Matthew's home, passion consumes them. Is this a relationship doomed by deception? Or is it the one chance at a love they both secretly crave?

Just leave a comment to be in the draw all three books. Maybe tell me about any firsts you've had recently!