Month: November 2017

EVOLUTION???

Initially, the O’Connor Sisters Trilogy was to be called the FBI Trilogy. It seemed like a good name for the series as each of the sisters is under FBI Protective Custody. It was a smooth slide from one trilogy name to another. There were no tugs on my heart over the process of renaming the trilogy.

Yet, the other day, one of my mentors, explained to me the names of each of the books in the series didn’t make her want to reach out, take the story off the ‘future’ shelve, buy it and read it.

Of course, she was correct. However much I had grown fond of the book titles until the books are actually published, everything is fluid.

Therefore, I looked to those writers whom I read and enjoy. Who I look up to even though they don’t know me from Eve. Nora Roberts’ (http://www.noraroberts.com/) Robb In Deaths series are all connected because “In Death” is part of the titles. Likewise, Dean Koontz’ (http://www.deankoontz.com/) Odd Thomas books are all connected and recognizable because “Odd” is in each of the titles. The theme of the rise and fall of the moon ties all of Stephanie Meyer’s (https://stepheniemeyer.com/) Twilight Saga together.

So you get the point I am trying to make.

The Cat and The Blue Sky, the original title for Book 1 of the O’Connor Sisters Trilogy, while it means much to me, my mentor was correct. There is nothing to pull the reader’s attention. Nothing for them to say, “Hmmm, I want to read that book!”

Likewise, As Long as You’re Here and A Blush On A Rose may sound nice but do the book titles peek your interest? Probably not.

I would like to officially introduce you, my readers, to the O’Connor Sisters Trilogy.

Book 1, Love Behind the Lies, should out the beginning of March 2018.

Book 2, Love Behind the Mask should be available in June 2018.

Book 3, Love Behind the Silence should be out sometime in September 2018.

Thank you to those whom I trust to steer me in the right direction. I need the help.  XXOO to you.  You know who you are!

Thank you for your time and as always “Keep Reading!”

Raj Lowenstein

Love, Pain and Loss…Chihauhau Style

Buddy and MeThis morning at about three-thirty, I reached out with my hand to make sure he was sleeping, only to find a cold, empty place when Buddy slept. I got out of bed with tears on my face, and again my heart broke.

Earlier this week, Wednesday, we lost Buddy. He had developed Diabetes over a year ago, resulting in blindness. Buddy Bear Barkinstein, our sixteen-year-old Chihuahua, received two insulin shots every day. When he lost his sight, we wanted to sleep with my husband and me. It was a concession we gladly accepted. He tried but didn’t always make the PeePee pads he had used for many years.

He required constant attention when we were home. I was happy to do whatever he needed. I was his human mama.

I had taken him to the vet the Friday before. He came home with some additional medication for his heart and blood pressure. Yet Buddy, who I often call a little piggy, hadn’t eaten the Wednesday or Thursday before our vet appointment. Over the weekend he had still not eaten and barely drink.

I have been here before with another furry baby, my teacup Chihuahua named Granny. So even before my appointment with his wonderful vet, I had an idea what was going to happen.

The vet-tech texted me only an hour after I had dropped Buddy off to ask if I could come back and speak with the vet. Dr. A., a magnificent young woman, did not want to use the Video Relay Service. She did not want to text me. She desired to speak to me face to face.

Buddy’s heart was double the size it should have been. He was struggling to breathe because his lungs had been compressed to a third of their size by his swollen heart. There might, she explained, be some help, however, the closest Cardiac Veterinarian was in Seattle. Seattle is an hour and a half drive for us. Well worth the trip, but she let me know Buddy probably wouldn’t make it more than a day or two as his little body was beginning to shut down.

I brought him home and spent the following day, from three in the morning until three thirty in the afternoon, loving and being with him. I laid on the floor when he wanted in his bed. When he staggered down the hallway to our bedroom, we curled up on my bed and napped.

People who do not have Fuzzy Children cannot comprehend how great the loss is when they are gone. My heart, as well as my family’s, is broken. The hole that Buddy occupied in my heart is empty.

I will continue to cry and wish Buddy was here. Yet I have twelve years of beautiful memories of my little darling to help me through this tough time.

Thank you for all of you who sent well wishes. It really did help soothe my pain.

Thank you for your time and as always “Keep Reading!”

Raj Lowenstein