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Welcome to the January 2013 issue of A Dragon's Guide. I'd especially like to welcome those of you who signed up for this newsletter during the Indie Writers Unite! (IWU) Holiday Blog Hop. Since my current fantasy series deals in large part with human-animal relationships as a means for humans to reconnect with the natural world, I make this area a focus of the newsletter. I also announce new publications and, as below, the anniversary of others. Next month will mark two years since the publication of Big Dragons Don't Cry, Book 1 of A Dragon's Guide to Destiny. Since then, Dance with Clouds, Book 2, and House of the Moon, Book 3, have been published. I'm celebrating by offering a free Kindle copy of Big Dragons Don't Cry to anyone willing to review it on Amazon. If you already have this book, I'd also love to have a review. Reviews not only help to publicize a book, they give readers valuable information in making their selections. They also help authors to know how they're doing. Thanks in advance if you are willing to review Big Dragons Don't Cry. The Amazon page for Big Dragons Don't Cry is here. This book launches the reader into a full-blown crisis. South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony is asked to take in a herd of wild elephants who knows humans only as murderers of their family, elephants with a highly developed talent for escape. If he doesn't take them, they'll be killed. A man who went to Baghdad during the Iraq War to help save those animals who hadn't yet been killed is unlikely to refuse, but the elephants continue to practice the fine art of escape, finding and crushing the generator that powers the electric fence, and escaping. Local wildlife authorities revive the death sentence, and local citizens set out to fulfill it. That Anthony manages to keep the elephants out of trouble and on his 5,000-acre preserve is the first miracle of the book. That he survives their period of adjustment is the second. It's a testament to how much he is willing to risk his life to save theirs. The development of his relationship with herd members is an ongoing wonder. As the elephants trampled barriers to their freedom, this book tears down the false separation between "humans" and "animals." Many stories showcase the elephants' intelligence and compassion. One example: whenever Anthony left the preserve, Thula Thula, the elephants always knew when he'd return and lined up at the front gate of his home to greet him. On one occasion, his flight was cancelled. Observers noticed that the elephants stopped their trek to the gate and turned around. It was later determined that they changed direction the moment Anthony learned of the flight's cancellation. Though primarily about elephants, the story also covers in depth the plight of the rhino population, the preserve's attempt to fight back against poachers, and Anthony's success is persuading six Zulu tribes whose land bordered the preserves to join him as partners in a more wide-scale conservation effort. Sadly, Anthony is no longer alive to carry on this work. He died in March, 2012. Shortly after his death, in a final tribute, two elephant herds, coming from different directions, made journeys of about 12 hours each to Anthony's home. They stayed for two days before returning to the bush. Their act of tribute and mourning reached countless readers. As one of them, I was eager to learn more about Anthony and the elephants. This book satisfied my curiosity and awakened my awareness. Watch Lawrence with the elephants of Thula Thula. Penguins at Play Oskar, the Blind Cat Mick and Bethany Sydlowski didn't intend to adopt a kitten. Passionate fans of old musical instruments, they arrived at a farm to see an autoharp. Once there, they also saw and fell in love with a tiny kitten who had been born blind. They hesitated to adopt him because their cat, Klaus, had been hostile to a kitten they'd tried to adopt, but they couldn't resist this kitten. They carefully introduced Oskar to Klaus, a former stray with damaged ears. Klaus and Oskar not only became inseparable; Klaus keeps his own protective eyes on Oskar to prevent accidents. The Sydlowski's other concern that the kitten's blindness might cause him difficulties in getting around the house and might lead to him getting hurt, proved unfounded. As the video below of Oskar as a kitten shows, Oskar is active and graceful. Best of all, Oskar's stories can help those hesitating about adopting a special-needs pet to realize that the huge rewards of such an adoption. A Facebook page further publicizes his story and that of other disabled pets. In November Oskar received the grand prize at the first Friskies awards. The University of Missouri's College of Veterinary Medicine has an innovative program developed by its Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction. Called Veterans and Shelter Dogs, the program brings together selected veterans with PTSD and shelter dogs in need of training that will help them become successful adoptees and family members. A 24-year-old participant, Bryce Menges, says of the program, "That one hour, twice a week, completely resets me for the next couple of days. It helps me to know I'm helping the dogs." Read about the Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction. Please feel free to pass this newsletter along to those who might be interested. If someone passed it along to you, you may want to subscribe. If you subscribe to the Dragon's Guide newsletter, you'll get regular--but not frequent--updates about the site, information about new books, and anything else related to dragonland. This section of the site will provide information as it arrives.
A Dragon's Guide to Destiny |