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#WoofWednesday Shine a Light
Category Archives: Dogs
New Dog Portrait Contest
I’m still getting the occasional hit on my Cover Dog Photo Contest posts from last summer. Thought I would let you know, I’m running another portrait contest. This one is a raffle to celebrate the launch of Maximum Security later this month.
It’s part of my online launch party on Facebook, Wednesday, November 20, from 7pm – 11 pm, EST. Participate in party activities to rack up entries. There will be lots of other prizes as well, but the grand prize is an oil painting of your dog from photos that you supply to me. No purchase is necessary to earn entries.
Go to the Maximum Security Launch Party Page to RSVP, and while you’re there, get your first entry by suggesting a caption for the photo of Buddy, a little troublemaker caught in the act of eating Grandma’s Christmas present.
If you’d like to study up for the trivia questions, half of these are from this sample of Maximum Security. The rest come from A Shot in the Bark and Drool Baby. Other activities do not require any special knowledge to participate.
Please feel free to invite anyone who likes dogs and mysteries – but then, who doesn’t?
#WoofWednesday – Yard Work
Winter Song – A Dog Owner’s Lament
It is so Cold today
The wind is Bold today
And I am Sold today
On staying in my bed.
Oh, No, the puppies said
No matter what your dread
We’ll dance upon your head
Until you see our way.
And so we’ll bark and bark
Eventually you’ll hark
You’ll take us to the park
So we can run and play.
(Sung to the tune of Tra-La-La Boom-de-ay)
Book Sample: “Maximum Security”
I’m really excited about Maximum Security. It’s going to be another month before it comes out (November 21, Yikes!) and I can’t stand it, so I’m posting the first 10% here. This dog park mystery features my very own Max (yes, that’s her, above) as an escape artist (she’s playing to type). If you want to go straight to the dogs, skip the prologue and go to “Day 1.”
To get the PDF, click here > Maximum Security Sample
I hope you love it!
Here’s another picture, just because.
For Hugh Howey
My response to Hugh’s latest blog post:
#WoofWednesday: Seen at the Dog Park
Meet Simba, Cover Dog Photo Contest Winner!
I feel like Dorothy, at the end of the Wizard of Oz, where she wakes up and pontificates about finding things in her own back yard. For three months I scoured the internet, looking for the perfect escape-artist cover-dog for Maximum Security. Doh. He lives next door.
Meet Simba. Simba Lives with Jerome Wilson, owner of Northside Grange Pet and Urban Farm Supply, where I get my grain-free kibble.
Simba is a bright and talented young man. I’ve known him since he came to live with Jerome as a pup less than a year ago. One day in July I was hanging over the fence and being neighborly. Simba has his own yard-within-a-yard, to keep him out of the garden. I noticed a small stock pallet leaning against the gate to Simba’s playpen, blocking the gap between the bottom of the gate and the ground.
“Does Simba ever try to escape?” I asked.
Turns out escape is one of his great pleasures in life.
Watch Simba in action.
Simba Wiggled through, only to meet his warden . . . er, owner, Jerome, on the other side.
I haven’t decided which picture to use yet because I don’t know which is my favorite. I’ll be sure to post the oil painting here when it’s done. Meanwhile, I’ve been playing with this image and I like it alot.
If you’d like to see some of my other entrants, click here and here.
Free E-book
Well, almost free. I do have a small favor to ask. I’m trying to get the word out about A Shot in the Bark and Drool Baby to the sort of people who would enjoy my books. Which means dog park people. And the best place to find dog park people is at a dog park.
Does your dog park have a community board? Do you have access to a color printer? Would you be willing to print out the fetching flyer above and hang it on your dog park community board?
If you send me a photo of my flyer hanging at your dog park, I will gift you with a copy of A Shot in the Bark. If you’ve already read Shot, I’ll send Drool Baby. And if you’re one of my favoritest people in the world and have read both, I’ll put you on a list to get Maximum Security when it launches in November.
If you don’t have a dog park community board, but know of another public board where dog people congregate, talk to me first.
To get your book:
1. Click on this Dropbox Link and download either of the files. The PDF is the best quality, but it’s 12 MB. The JPG is only 1.2 MB.
2. Print out the flyer. Please print it full sized. It’s designed to fit on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper.
3. Hang the flyer securely on the community board at your dog park, or other agreed upon location.
4. Take a snapshot of the flyer in place. Be sure to include the background so I can see that it is hanging at a dog park and not a biker bar.
5. Send the photo to me at carolannnewsome AT netzero.net. Tell me where you hung the poster, and which book you want.
6. Bask in the warm glow of my eternal gratitude while reading your new book.
Your Fur Baby Could Be My Cover-Dog
I’ve gotten some nifty submissions for my cover-dog contest. Check out Skyla, an agility dog who has mastered the art of jumping fences
And Sweet Baby, who is a real climber:
Then there’s Tug, exilting through a car window. Which is exactly what my Max used to do. Notice the fetching pink restraint:
I love seeing everyone’s furry children. I also love the different ways in which people are approaching the concept. I had a pretty clear idea what I wanted when I made the original post, April 21. Now I’m looking at this project in an entirely new way. The theme is still Canine Jailbreak, and I still need a good picture of the face, but the type of jailbreak is up to you.
The contest does not end until July 30th, so there’s still time to catch your personal escape artist in the act.
In case you’ve forgotten the rules, here they are:
Caught in the Act Cover-Dog Contest
Is your dog the reincarnation of Houdini? Can he find his way out of tight places? Is no fence safe?
I need a cover dog. And I’m willing to give the finished oil painting portrait of this dog (16″ x 20″ or larger) to whomever supplies me with the photo after I’m done photographing it for the cover. The winner gets the painting, I keep the reproduction rights. The winner and canine will also get an attribution in my book, along with a brief profile.*
The name of the book is Maximum Security. It features my dog Max as an escape artist. Only problem is, I featured Max on the cover of A Shot in the Bark and I can’t use her again. So I need another dog face.
I need a decent photo of a dog squeezing under a fence or other tight place. It must include the dog’s face, from the front or a slight angle. Extra credit for a manic look in the eyes. The more expressive, the better! More points for rescues. You can submit as many photos as you like. You don’t need to be a professional photographer, just be able to capture the face and have it in focus. I’ll post my favorites on this blog. Send your photo to carolannnewsome@netzero.net Put “Caught in the Act!” in the subject line.
You must have taken the photo yourself and either own the dog or have the owner’s permission.
I expect to be working on the painting in August or September, so there’s plenty of time to take pictures. As an enticement, I am posting photos of prior covers and other pet portraits so you can see what I do. We’ll say the deadline is July 30, 2013.
*By submitting your photo to this contest, you are giving me permission to post it on this blog. If your photo is selected, you are giving me permission to use it as source material for a painting to be used as a cover on my up-coming book, Maximum Security, and for other commercial purposes.The winner will receive the finished painting and no other compensation. The winner receives bragging rights only, and does not receive any reproduction rights associated with the finished painting.
Lia Anderson Dog Park Mysteries by C.A. Newsome 