First, the contest. The people have spoken! The final two winners of the What Books Would Bore Your Dog? contest are:
Bone Free by Joy Catamson, submitted by Kath Usitalo
and
Mastering the Art of French Poodles by Julia Styled, submitted by Ellen Perlman.
Congratulations, Kath and Ellen! As soon as I have copies of Am I Boring My Dog to send you, I’ll be in touch for your contact information. Those who want to see all the astoundingly clever entries should go to the original contest blog post; the other winners are noted in posts after that.
As it happens, I know 5 out of the 7 winners personally, three from my former life as a travel writer, one from my graduate school days (see the “Books” and “Academic Manque” sections of www.ediejarolim.com). I say this in the interests of full disclosure. And to provide credibility and context for the fact that I do not, repeat, do not, know dog trainer Eric Goebelbecker, who posted this amazing video review of my book on his Dog Spelled Forward site and on Amazon.
It’s true, I did mention on Twitter that I would be his love slave, but I said that after I saw the review. And since he lives in New Jersey and I’m in Tucson, his wife — and Frankie — can rest assured that I was just being hyperbolic, as I often am.
Finally, I am spending good parts of today talking to myself aloud in a more formal fashion than I ordinarily do because tomorrow evening Frankie and I are going to take part in the Odyssey Storytelling series at the historic Hotel Congress in Tucson. It’s Silver Linings: The Gratitude Show and I’m going to be telling the story of how Frankie’s diabetes led me to write a dog book. But don’t expect uplift — or optimism — from me on a regular basis. Bah humbug.