Our poodle-mix, Houdini, loves his stuffed animal friends. He takes very good care of them, gently gnawing them and periodically arranging them decoratively on our bed or couch. When we adopted our chihuahua-mix, Sheba, she acted like she’d never seen a toy, and her instinct was to grab those stuffed animals and shred them. Her attack on his toys was very distressing for Houdini. He would circle, faster and faster, when she was destroying a toy, working himself into a frenzy. After the destruction, he would lie next to the pieces looking quite mournful. Then, suddenly, Sheba stopped destroying the stuffed animals. To this day, I don’t know what happened between them, but Sheba became blind to the stuffed animals. She acts like they don’t exist. I like to believe that as Houdini and Sheba developed their bond, she became aware that her actions distressed him and decided to stop. Now, Houdini keeps his collection of stuffed friends in good repair. If you come to visit, he’ll show them to you one at a time. Sometimes, guests think he wants to play tug-o-war. He does not. He merely likes to have others admire his collection. Excerpt from Tail for Two:…

Fall in Texas is the perfect time of year to enjoy cooler weather. At Twin Oaks Ranch, that means more than fun campfires, cookouts, trail rides, and family get-togethers. It’s time to take stock of the ranch after summer growth in the pastures, as well as damage to trees and bushes by high winds and storms. This year there was quite a bit of clean-up on my agenda after a wild–weather-wise–spring and summer. What to do? Fortunately, my cowboy neighbors are always ready to lend a helping hand, so I called on them. As we worked on the ranch, I took photographs to show readers how art imitates life in my cowboy firefighter novels. Photo 1: Zander wears a harness that is a potential life-saver. If a line breaks, the harness will keep him from falling to the ground. He climbed up a shade elm that had been damaged by straight-line winds. He cut out the limbs, but he saved the trunk. We expect to see new tree growth appear in the spring. That will be a happy day for us all. Photo 2: Rod can wield a chainsaw with exact precision. In this case, thick blackberry vines had grown…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Joanne Kennedy! Writes: I write light contemporary Western romance set in small Wyoming towns and on ranches like the ones that surround my home. My authentic working cowboys are challenged by women who are fish-out-of-water that absolutely refuse to get back in the bucket. My secondary characters range from cranky old men to schoolteachers to kids of all kinds. Happily ever after doesn’t come easy in my books, but the rougher the road, the better the story–and the more you discover about what really matters in life. About: I live in a secret hideout on the wild edge of Wyoming, an hour away from everything. Much as I love my mountain sanctuary, I’m glad I have a Facebook page (Joanne Kennedy Books) where I can meet readers and share photos of my hiking adventures with our three dogs. There are three cats, too; I have no idea how I ended up with that many pets, but they love starring in my books. I’m crazy in love with…

When Derrick picked Genie up at TyTyler’s house, she appeared to be shy. He figured she was embarrassed to be sneaking around when she was a grown woman, but she was living in her father’s house, and he seemed to be less than enthusiastic about the budding relationship. He hoped to be able to show Genie that he was proud to be seen with her and wanted to deepen their ties. “You’re sure you want to keep Angelique tonight?” she asked Leah. “Of course. Go on now. You deserve a night out.” Leah made shooing motions with her hands. When Derrick handed her up into his truck, he assured her that he would bring her back to TyTyler and Leah’s house whenever she wanted. Genie enjoyed the beautiful countryside as they drove toward Langston. The moon was just rising and it cast a glow on the snowy scenery. There must have been a million stars strewn across the night sky, and all of them were twinkling for her pleasure. “Beautiful night,” she said. He glanced at here and reached for her hand, placing it on his thigh. “Not nearly as beautiful as you are tonight.” A flush of warmth filled…