Some unsolicited advice, and…puppies!

I’m being only partly tongue in cheek in sending you a page full of puppy photos.

Every day dawns with the sun shrouded in the low lying fog of the Charente River, but by mid morning the sun will be bright and the sky blue. We are planning a little trip to a nearby winery, which, curiously, we have not done on any of our many trips to this region of France, which carries its own appellation and is nestled among the better known vineyards of Bordeaux and Cognac. We are not group tour people, but group tours are probably the best way to visit a winery because someone else is driving. We will taste, and purchase, and drink safely at home, sitting on the terrace in the warm afternoon sun while across the Atlantic, Americans begin their long vigil.

We are here to see family, but chose this time very specifically to remove ourselves from the minute speculation and premature prognostications that no one can seem to resist on election night. I have learned how to watch the polls from my husband, but apparently most news organizations either have not, or choose not to acknowledge what they know. So let me offer a tiny bit of amateur advice for your own sanity: 1) Ignore the exit polls. 2) Early percentages of returns before all the precincts are in are meaningless. If you don’t know which precincts lean toward which candidate, and which particular areas have been counted, you cannot rely on a lead for your candidate when only a percentage of the vote is in. 3) The early votes from the east coast may offer hopeful indications, but everything can change with the time zones.

So. Since the craziness is about to commence, here’s a happy little trip down puppy memory lane. Enjoy. Relax. Eat a brownie. Watch a happy movie (no dystopian dramas tonight). Once you have participated to the best of your ability, it’s out of your hands. Let it go. There will be time to process it all in the morning.

***

I invite you to subscribe.

Since it is unlikely you are available to dog sit or cook dog food, there are other ways you can help support my work: You can become a paid subscriber (see below), and you can also purchase my books—even pre-order the new novel, Throwing Bears for George—at your favorite bookseller. Some of my favorite shops are Honest Dog Books, Boswell Book Company, Mystery to Me Books, Books and Company, Barbara’s Bookstores, Barnes & Noble, Target, and, of course, here. My illustrated children’s book, My Dog Pete is available only here. Thank you!

If you can’t spend the money right now, find my books in the library—please ask for them if you can’t—and just hang out with us. Because you don’t have to pay to read or participate.

On the other hand, paid subscribers will have access to previews of the new novel.

And now…puppies!!! Bragging rights if you can identify who is who.

Their unique personalities are already evident in their little faces.