De-Skunk Your Dog

De-Skunk Your Dog

Dear Friends,

While In the Doghouse is a work of fiction, I did draw from my personal experience as a pet-parent to create Skip’s personality and escapades, such as GETTING SPRAYED BY A SKUNK.

My dog, Kimo, who I pet-parented and adored for fourteen years, was a labrador-mix and was sprayed multiple times by skunks in San Francisco (yes, there are many skunks within the city limits).

People, tomato juice does not work–that’s an urban legend. Multiple baths won’t work–water makes the smell worse. But thanks to the dot-com era and the world wide web in 1999-2000, I found a De-Skunk formula that worked like magic. The first time I tried it, I was shocked by how quickly it worked; the smell was gone immediately. I channeled the memory while writing a scene for In the Doghouse. I’ll share the scene at the end of this newsletter. Right now, I want to share the De-Skunk Formula with you:

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How Are You?

How Are You?

Dear Friends,

How are you?

Everyone deals with a change to normalcy differently. There’s no right or wrong way to find your footing. Here are a few things that resonated deeply with me while offering a much-needed smile during these super abnormal times.

If you can handle a few well-placed F-bombs and Sh-bombs, I love how author Chuck Wendig explains what he is feeling and thinking during COVID-19 and #stayhome in his blog, “It’s Okay that You’re Not Okay.” Okay, I just read it for the fifth time. Even if you don’t like F-bombs or Sh-bombs, I hope you’ll still read it.

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Lost and Found in Tucson

I lost my wallet in Tucson, but I found so much more.

Image: Dog with a rose by Annaca at Pixabay

Dear Friends,

Last week I shared a story about my brother’s wallet, but also while we were visiting in Tucson, I lost my wallet for the first time in my life. I had my driver’s license in a separate place and wouldn’t struggle to get on the plane home the next day, but I was upset because I had a sweet note in the wallet from my best friend’s dad claiming me as his adopted daughter. Forget the cash inside. Forget the credit cards I’d need to cancel. I did not want to lose that priceless note.

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My Brother’s Wallet

Recently I met up with some of my family in Tucson, Arizona. The mix included my younger brothers and sister. Anyone who has read my life-inspired novel, Tiger Drive, knows that my love for my three younger siblings motivated me during a time in my life when I needed motivation the most. When I was a teen, they were the reason I believed in a brighter future and pushed on. They are the reason I went to college—even when I was scared to death to leave them behind. They were—still are—my hope.

It’s rewarding being a big sister to three loving, kind, nurturing, and hysterically funny people despite their not-so-loving, not-so-kind, not-so-nurturing, and not-so-funny childhood.

Case in point (no pun intended): my brother K’s wallet.

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Happy #BookMeme Day In the Doghouse

I spent some time making #Bookmemes for In the Doghouse

This meme is from Chapter 9 of In the Doghouse. Please feel free to share this meme. Happy Reading.

It’s Tiger Drive’s 2nd Bookiversary

Tiger Drive Turns Two!

Dear Friends,

Two years ago today, my first novel, Tiger Drive, was published. I know without an absolute-frigging doubt that I would have never published Tiger Drive without the belief and support most of you showed from the beginning.

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A Tiger Drive Truth

Tiger Drive by Teri Case. Photo by Gretchen Lemay

A Tiger Drive Truth

Dear Friends,

We have a condo in Florida. The previous owners decorated it with tiki bars, surfboards, and lots of mustard-yellow and dark brown paint. The tiki-ness and boards are gone, and we began the battle with the wall colors last week. As always*, we are using Behr’s Beach House White, and as always, I painted a heart for Ted on the dark brown wall. It’s a tip I learned from my dad, Dick. I used it in my novel, Tiger Drive:

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Serendipity, Sentiment, and Silver Spoons

Serendipity, Sentiment, and Silver Spoons

Dear Friend,

A few decades ago, my mom handed down the family silverware to me, as in the silver-plated ware that belonged to her mother and father. The box, which had a red velvet interior and been refurbished on the outside with several layers of contact paper–the last being a brick pattern–gave me more memories than the mismatched utensils. I can remember my grandma and grandpa (or Ma and Pa, as most everyone else called them) pulling out the contact-paper-covered box for holiday dinners and special events.

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A Character from Tiger Drive is also in In the Doghouse!

Image: Therapy Dog at Golden Years from In the Doghouse by Teri Case — Photo by Yakobchuk Olena, Adobe Stock License Required

A Cameo Character in In the Doghouse is from Tiger Drive

Dear Friend,

For those of you who have read my novels, did you recognize one of the characters from In the Doghouse as an original character from Tiger Drive?

If not, you’re not alone.

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Back to School Again: A Short Story

Cover: Back to School Again by Teri Case

Dear Friend,

Happy New Year!

I’m not arrogant enough to say the following short story I wrote is a gift, but I am still giving it to you. If you read last week’s newsletter, you know that my goal word for 2020 is Ready. Part of being ready is embracing change, and my gut says that change is in the air. Back to School Again: A Short Story is all about getting comfortable with change. To read the story, click the link below:

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