If
you’ve read my author bio somewhere on the Web, you know that I live on
a mountain ranch in Colorado and have a rather spirited Golden
Retriever named Shelby. She follows me everywhere and wouldn’t give me a
moment of solitude if I didn’t periodically assert my rights to be an
independent being and do things like going to bathroom by myself. But I
also have a wife who enjoys kanoodling with me from time to time, and it
isn’t very romantic if a Golden Retriever is simultaneously licking
your face. Fortunately, the young lady has her own, comfy bed on the
floor. That would be the dog, by the way, not my wife.
As
a writer, I clearly spend a lot of time at my desk, and Shelby is
always nearby. She spends most of her time in the media room adjacent to
my study staring out the French doors, monitoring our property for the
multitudes of deer who frequently chow down on our landscaping. If I
hear Shelby whining or barking in there, I know exactly what’s going on,
and I’ll jump from my desk to let her out so she can chase them away.
When she returns, she usually opens the door to let herself in and trots
into the study looking like she had just saved the world from a nuclear
holocaust.
You
would think, since pushing down the door lever is a piece of cake for
her, she’d also let herself OUT, but she doesn’t quite have the knack of
pulling the door open yet. It’s so much easier to push from the
outside. Then I have to get up and close the door again.
But
Shelby’s favorite little caper is to come into the study periodically
throughout the day and stare at me with a very clear message in her
eyes: “Dad, I don’t know what you’re doing in here, but it’s quite
boring, and I need you to stop it. Let’s go outside and do something far
more entertaining like barking at things that don’t exist.”
These
visits happen more frequently as the day goes on since we’re getting
closer and closer to “quitting time” (or at least dinner time if I plan
to return to work afterwards). Usually, after I spin around in my chair
and see her staring me down, I’ll call her over and spend a couple of
minutes giving her vigorous petties. That will pacify her for some
indefinite period of time, after which she comes back for an encore
performance, clearly hoping I’ll listen to reason this time.
I’m
not saying we don’t take occasional breaks during the day to play, take
a hike, exercise, or go for a ride in the car. We do all that. But I
still adhere to a regimented work day, which means no less than 8 hours
(and often 10 or more) at my desk, and that’s a lot of sedentary time
for a dog to endure. Sometimes she’ll goof around outside without me for
a while, especially if chipmunks or other nefarious creatures are in
need of chasing around. But in no time she’s back at the study, and I
need to get up and close the door, hopefully before those dastardly
chipmunks scurry inside.
Oh,
if you’re wondering why I harbor such contempt for chipmunks, just
check out my author blog at GoodReads.com and read about our
cutting-edge chipmunk relocation program. Then you’ll understand.
So
it’s safe to say that Shelby has no understanding of why I fiddle with a
four-screen computer workstation all day (I trade stocks, too), and I’m
sure she thinks we’d both be better off if I did something else for a
living. But my former career was in structured finance, which often
entailed 60 to 80-hour work weeks with barely enough time outside the
office to eat and sleep. If I went back THAT life, she would hardly ever
get to see me, and I doubt that’s what she has in mind.
Sometimes puppy dogs just don’t think things through.
"James Bond Meets Fifty Shades of Grey"
Immerse yourself in the world class novels that combine action, mystery & suspense with tantalizing and tastefully written erotica. You’ll find all your sensibilities roused at once with Kevin Sterling’s ultra-sexy, action-packed Jack Lazar Series.
In
this fourth action-packed thriller, Jack travels to Denmark for a
business venture, but what seems to be a textbook transaction turns into
a nightmare after he gets involved with Katarina, a vivacious Danish
girl who apparently lacks a moral compass, not to mention an off button.
After naively believing their liaison was just a random encounter, Jack
discovers she’s connected to his business deal, and there’s a dangerous
political group with skin in the game, too.
Katarina makes a convincing case of being a victim, not part of the conspiracy, but can Jack really trust her?
The
firestorm gets out of control as Jack digs deeper, unearths the
convoluted plot behind it all, and discovers that innocent people are
being heartlessly killed. He’s not only horrified by the reason why it’s
happening, but how it’s being done, and there appears to be no way to
stop it from occurring again.
Then
the scheme’s real objective emerges, launching Jack into action with
intelligence operatives to prevent it. But that’s not so easy with
assassins on Jack’s tail, forcing him to struggle for survival while
trying to prevent Katarina from getting caught in the crossfire.
Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre – Action, Mystery, Suspense
Rating – R
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